After Shu Ru stabilized her mind and body, she rejoined the couple in examining the place. Thanks to his map, Arthur was able to locate the hiding Yin Beast. It stealthily gazed at them from the other end of the cave, where what seeks is.

Though it was stronger than Shu Ru, the Yin Beast was still weaker than Arthur and Lucy. It had the strength of a High Sovereign and was able to wield an ominous power.

Before Arthur initiated its attack, it sensed the danger coming from the invaders so it chose to engage first. The ground underneath the trio suddenly turned dark and started pulling their bodies downwards.

This acted merely as a mean to slow down its enemies. The beast was the main attacking power, using its lengthy claws, it ferociously slashed at the most dangerous one, Lucy.

It considered Lucy the most threatening one since she could use Yin Powers thus she can easily resist its attacks. Unfortunately, its attack didn't land on Lucy as the lower half of its body suddenly was frozen. Moreover, dark and durable threads wrapped themselves around its paws.

Though Arthur and Lucy's retaliation was immediate, the Yin Beast wasn't that easily defeated. With monstrous strength, it shook off the ice that was immobilizing but wasn't able to get rid of the Death Threads that bound it to Arthur.

Arthur grabbed the threads and swung them down, heavily smashing the Yin Beast into the ground and causing it to groan from the pain. Lucy followed right after as the ground under Yin Beast turned into Lava thus burning its skin and causing blood to gush out. Dizzy from Arthur's merciless swing and Lucy's lava, the Yin Beast was unable to get up in time as the effect of the Death Thread was activated and that's without including the Tri-Spirit, which made use of this opportunity to imprison it using thick black chains that wrapped around its whole body.

The fight merely took twenty-one seconds and neither Arthur nor Lucy suffered any kind of damage. In fact, even when the ground turned dark and attempted to swallow them, it still didn't cause any damage since the ground was surprisingly made from Dark Magic.

The beast's proficiency in Dark Magic wasn't low but it didn't reach Arthur's thus the latter was easily able to negate his enemy's assault. In fact, he's immune to Dark Magic and Lucy wouldn't be slowed down by such an attack. Only Shu Ru would be totally helpless in such a situation.

Speaking of the girl, she retreated far away the second the ground changed, which was a very wise decision. The girl smiled helplessly as she saw how the Yin Beast was so easily subdued. The flawless cooperation of the couple and their overwhelming strength really made her envious.

"There, we've caught it for you. Though taming it falls on you."

Arthur signaled for Shu Ru to take care of the beast while he and Lucy headed to the end of the cave, where the Yin Beast was initially hiding.

Just as he predicted, there was something unusual about that area. Ominous energy lingered around it and the place was jet black, the ground, the roof and even the broken objects scattered on the ground.

"So this is what the Book of Life was sealing!"

Once he laid his eyes on the thing floating in the air, Claud exclaimed loudly.

With incomprehensible symbols on it, it floated in the air without being disturbed by the Yin Power in the surroundings. This was none other than a jet black talisman, very similar to the ones Zodiak used. This small object that released an absurd amount of Dark Magic was a portion of Zodiak's powers. The reason Arthur's heart was throbbing was due to the existence of this talisman.

"And I was wondering why you chose to fight the reaper instead of fleeing. hahahahaha"

Claud heartily laughed as he finally understood why Arthur wanted to go all-in against the reaper instead of simply fleeing. Like Claud, the Tri-Spirit was also bouncing happily inside his consciousness. Though Arthur was the main holder of Dark Magic, it still receives a small portion which strengthens it.

Arthur reached for the Talisman, which reacted to the Dark Magic emitting from him and slowly floated toward him. His hand held the black talisman which dispersed and left behind countless black specks of light that entered his body.

Almost immediately, a row of blue windows appeared before his eyes.

*You've acquired another portion of Zodiak's powers*

*Dark Magic will deal 20% more damage*

*New skill acquired [Assault of Darkness][Active] : Use Dark Magic to trap your target(s) in a world of darkness, depriving them of sight for ten seconds and rendering them vulnerable to Magical attacks.*

*New skill acquired [Talisman Mastery] : The user is now able to create Elemental Talismans.

Elemental Talismans can be used to attack or defend.

Dark Talismans will deal 50% more damage.

Death Talismans will heal the user for 40% of the damage done.

Light Talismans will grant the user decaying bonus movement speed.*

*Makaze, Evil Wind is reacting to the Dark Magic absorbed : 45.87% until completion....*

*Your Intelligence and Wisdom stat increased drastically. Check your Status Window for more details.*

A large amount of knowledge was poured into Arthur's brain which made him slightly dizzy for a few seconds. This trip was fruitful, to say the least. The damage increase for Dark Magic will surely be helpful in the future.

The sheathed dark blade suddenly started vibrating intensely in excitment.

"Now then, where the Star Iron?"

Arthur surveyed his surroundings but saw nothing but broken furniture. There was no iron whatsoever. Though he was disappointed, he still didn't give up yet. There may be some secret room hidden somewhere.

Arthur glanced at Shu Ru, who was supposed to be busy taming the Yin Beast only to find her patting the crouching beast, which obediently let her do as she pleases.

He wasn't paying attention thus he didn't know how she managed to tame him but it's not like he cared. As long as she got what she wanted then it's fine.

The young girl had a soft smile on her face as she stared at the beast affectionately. Having such a strong companion by her side will ensure her safety even in High-Realms, after all, the Yin Beast could compete against a High Sovereign.

Lucy sat in a comfortable spot and started her meditation. Her Pure Yin Physique was madly absorbing the large amounts of scattered Yin Energy.

Her body shined with a silver color, illuminating the dark cave and creating a beautiful scene. She was like a vacuum, swallowing everything. The wall separating her from the Sovereign Realm was being crushed easily as her cultivation rose drastically.

She was more compatible with Mana rather Nether Energy despite the latter being more powerful. However, the Green-Leaf World didn't have abundant Mana thus it's hard for her to cultivate.

Nonetheless, the little Mana scattered in the Wicked Forest started madly heading toward her. The evening sky was covered with blue specks of Mana that illuminated the usually gloomy forest.

These blue specks joined together and became a big wave that came crushing at the palace, bypassing any material thing in its way and entering Lucy's body.

The silver light emanating from her body along with the countless blue specks created a breath-taking scene. Even the busy Shu Ru was forced to stare at this sight with a half-open mouth.

From a surprise to another, she hadn't been with this couple for more than a day yet she witnessed things that made completely speechless. She thought she was a genius but compared to Lucy, who broke the barrier toward the Sovereign Realm this fast, she was mediocre... and that's while being modest.

And just like that, Lucy became a Sovereign but her cultivation never stopped increasing. At last, she stopped when she reached the Peak of Little Sovereign and that's only all the Mana was absorbed, leaving nothing left.

Arthur, who was on the side, appraised everything in the cave, from the walls to the ground and finally found the reason for the abundance of Yin Energy.

The Yin Beast couldn't have been born from nothingness. As per Claud's speculations, there was indeed something that partially the cause of the white palace above them.

*Dark Yin Vein (Rank: Heavenly)

Age: 9,847

*Short description: A Yin Vein that was corrupted by the Dark Magic. It releases both Darkness and Yin Energy and is lethal to people with abundant Yang Energy or Light Magic users.

Tip: The user gains 100% Nether Energy regen as long as he's within 100 meters of the Vein.*

'After all, was the rumor about the Star Iron false?'

Arthur lamented inwardly as he sighed.

"Most likely, though a Yin Vein is rare, Star Iron is rarer."

Claud wasn't optimistic about the whole matter but he didn't stop Arthur from venturing in the Wicked Forest for it wasn't that dangerous for either Lucy or Arthur.

TITLE: MEAT GRINDER / SEEKER OF KNOWLEDGE / ONE WITH THE SWORD / ARK HOLDER / LIVE WITH HONOR, DIE WITH GLORY / BREAKER OF CHAINS / HOLDER OF THE DARK BLADE'S OATH / MAD DESTROYER/PSYCHOPATH/DRAGON RIDER / UNSEEN BOND / ONE STALKED BY THE REAPER

Level: ??

Class: Dark ARK Parasite

Realm: 2nd Grade God

-

Strength: 2.891B

Intelligence: 3.54B

Agility: 2.66B

Wisdom: 2.5B

Vitality: 3B

Dexterity: 2.19B

-

Health: 3.32B// Health Regen: 11.9m/s

Nether Energy: 2.74B // Nether Energy Regen: 5.4m/s(+100%)

Mana: 3.6B // Mana Regen: 8m/s

Stamina: Infinite /Stamina Regen: ???

-----

Creation: 634

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Attack: 3.25B (+35% damage [Dark Flame Ring]) (+20% if Dark Magic is used) (+40% if Makaze is used)(+5% [Warrior's Cry[LvMax](Passive)][+2% from Breaker of Chains Title]

Defense: 2.99B (+25% Damage Reduction) (+5% [Solid [LvMax](passive)] (+10% [Golem's Wall(LvMax)(Passive)]

Magic Defense: 1.59B

Soul Defense: 159,999

---

Enigma abilities : Telekinesis / [Light Operation/ Righteous Death ] / Sixth sense / ARK(Activated)

-

Mental Power: 12871

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Elemental Resistances(+)

Fire: 100%

Darkness: 100%

Wind: 35%

Water: 75%

Earth: 75%

Light/holy: 65%

Shadow: 30(+20%)%

Lightning: 100%

Ice: 30%

Death : 10%

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Death Count: 1 (2 more to obtain 'Unbound')

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Possessions (472,012)

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Races:

?Humans (282,991)

?Demons (84,997)

?Beasts (+)(101,528)

?Unique Beasts (2498)

?Mythical beings (1)

*****