Prime Originator

Sometime later, Leon collected few frozen Three-Legged Golden Crows into his Worldspace.

After nodding to Bluewinter in the distance, he returned to the Western Frontier's side and found himself a large open field next to the temporary military camp.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow's frozen bodies were quickly brought out before Leon defrosted the ice and extracted remnant traces of Wrathful Demonic Energies in the bodies.

"You don't have to watch if it's too boring," Leon said while getting his hands dirty from plucking the feathers earnestly.

"Not boring at all," Aria quickly shook her head. She found Leon very attractive when he is working earnestly—she could watch him for days.

However, she did not plan on being idle.

Aria quickly tied her hair and rolled up the sleeves and hems of her light blue dress before she said, "Let me help."

"You don't have…" Seeing Aria's determined look, Leon quickly shook his head and smiled, "Alright."

With two people working on the job, the first Three-Legged Golden Crow was quickly de-feathered despite its large size.

"I think one body is enough for now," Leon muttered while looking at the big featherless bird.

"Mm," Aria nodded in agreement.

After wiping some golden bloodstains off her face, Aria added, "One body has is more than enough meat to feed the whole army." 

"Maybe not just a whole army, but a whole city," Leon added with a smile before his gaze fell on Aria's bloodstained dress.

Compared to Aria, Leon was still clean, considering the bloodstains have only gotten on his hands.

After shaking his head, Leon suggested with a slight chuckle, "Why don't you go wash and leave the rest to me?"

"Hmm…" Aria paused for a moment to inspect herself before she nodded, "Alright."

Aria threw an ambiguous look over her shoulders before she left, but Leon could only smile wryly. There was much work to do.

He can only enjoy himself later.

Shortly after, Leon was left alone on the field with the de-feathered Three-Legged Golden Crow.

"After this, I will need to de-feather a few more for the Blue Luan Tribes as well. But I wonder if they will like it raw or cooked…" Leon began pondering before shifting his gaze onto the mountain of plucked feathers.

"These feathers are suitable materials for making projectile weapons and equipment with runic enchantments… the meat are highly nutritious and beneficial for Body Cultivators without a doubt…"

The bones of the Three-Legged Golden Crows were even better materials for weapon and armor crafting.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow's body was undoubtedly a heavenly treasure trove filled with valuable parts that humans could use.

"As for the blood…" Leon shifted his attention to the golden blood, "The golden blood has already lost its potency… no one will be able to obtain the Golden Crow's bloodline from absorbing these golden blood."

"However, it will be a waste to just throw them away like this…" Leon mulled for a moment before his eyes flickered, "Seems like they can be used to commence by blood refining phase…"

There were not many options for him to choose from, but he had become strangely interested in the Everlasting Blood Mantra.

With the Black Vortex and Nihility Law on his side, he was no longer concerned with any side effects the technique may have that could affect his mental state.

"I haven't planned on it, but perhaps, Blood Cultivation might be the most suitable energy cultivation path right now…" Leon pondered thoughtfully.

Given the chaos that the Cataclysm brought to the world, the Wildlands would be thriving with berserk beasts and bloody battles.

The ideal location to cultivation Blood Cultivation had always been the battlefields, and there could not be a bigger stage for this than the Wildlands.

"Unlike other primordial body cultivation techniques, the Everlasting Blood Mantra requires refining many different types of blood aside from True Grandmist Energy to cultivate…Hm."

As Leon pondered, the General Marquis shortly arrived beside him and reported, "Your Highness, the soldiers have been gathered."

"Alright. Let us head over." Leon nodded. 

His dirty hands were cleansed shortly by the power of nothingness in an instant, transformed into energy that was absorbed by him.

…

A few dozen miles away from the Western Frontier, a large company of military vehicles could be heard traveling along on the main road.

"Miss Lilith, it won't be much longer before we reach the Western Frontier. The Great Wall should be within sight from here," A soldier spoke after seeing the familiar stretch of road and scenery from the back of the leading military transport vehicle. 

"That's great to hear," Lilith responded with surprise despite a lack of energy. 

Heavy bags were seen under her eyes, as well as every other soldier onboard the transport vehicle. None of them were able to get a wink of sleep from the rattling wheels moving on the road.

Lilith poked her head out to inspect the road ahead before she suddenly gasped with surprise, "Where did that tree come from?" 

"What tree are you talking about, Miss—" A soldier followed suit with a doubtful expression before his eyes widened in shock. 

"Holy sh*t! Isn't that the Elder Tree from the Great Forest?! What is it doing here in the Western Frontier? How???"

Everyone on board was startled by the soldier's cry before the commander sleeping in the front passenger seat also woke up with a start. 

Only the driver had been aware of the situation ahead much earlier but chose not to say anything— afraid that he would be reprimanded for interrupting the commander's beauty sleep. 

"What happened to the Great Wall!?" The commander exclaimed after shifting his gaze beyond the Elder Tree in the distance.

The Great Wall did not appear as tall as it remembered it—That was until the commander noticed the enormous rift beyond that caused the Great Wall to bend slightly from its immense weight.

"The situation in the Western Frontier is much worse than I anticipated!" The commander stated with a heavy expression. 

"If the Western Frontier has been devastated to this degree, wouldn't we be throwing away our lives by trying to defend this place?"

"Can anyone survive whatever devastated this region? Is anyone still alive? No wonder why we saw Her Majesty leading all the civilians and elves away earlier…" 

The soldiers were terribly shocked, assuming a grim fate was awaiting them at the Western Frontier. 

However, the noses suddenly picked up the aromatic smell of cooked meat, and their appetite was instantly whetted.

"What is that smell? It smells so good—!" A soldier asked. He could not stop his mouth from drooling. 

He was not the only one. 

Many soldiers in the back of the transport vehicle began drooling as the fragrant smell seemed to pervade the entire region. 

"I have never smelt anything like this before…dammit, even if I have to risk my life, I must find out what it is and take a bite at least!" 

"Right? It smells like someone is cooking some legendary roasted pheasant! How can the smell reach so far outside the Western Frontier?!"

"Hmm… The situation in the Western Frontier might not be as bad as we imagined! At least, we were informed that the elite cultivators of the empire are all gathering there…" 

"The Duke, the General Marquis, the Supreme Elder of the Elven Tribe, and even His Highness is all there…"

While listening to the soldiers talked, Lilith furrowed slightly. She did not share the same enthusiasm towards the so-called aromatic scent that they mentioned.

Although it did smell pleasant, it also made her nauseous at the same time—like she was about to commit cannibalism on her own kind or something. 

Sometime later, the advance company finally reached the temporary military camp outside Military City and beside the big Elder Tree. 

"What the…" 

The commander and the others' gazes quickly fell on the scene ahead before they were stunned, speechless.

Soldiers laughed and talked raucously while enjoying themselves beside a colossal campfire, where giant chunks of unknown meat hung on a spit over the fire and oozed with heavenly deliciousness.

"What kind of situation is this?" The commander finished his question after finally recovering from his surprise. 

Lilith's pupils narrowed slightly as she sensed the powerful and vigorous aura emanating from the soldiers in the distance while their muscles bulged with power.

'When did the humans have so many powerful Body Cultivators?' Lilith questioned with doubt in her mind. 

"You guys must be reinforcements returning from the Grassland Region," A robust-looking soldier spoke in a deep and powerful voice upon approaching Lilith's group. 

"That's right. I am the commander in charge of this advance group, Commander Julio," The commander nodded after peeling his eyes away from the campfire. 

"I see. Greetings, Commander Julio. I am Captain Reuben." The robust-looking soldier saluted before saying, "Please wait here for the moment, commander. I will send someone to quickly inform the General Marquis of your arrival." 

"Alright. Please do.." Commander Julio nodded.