"You better believe what you’re saying..."
Alazan hummed lightly. He and Ronan were of dual identity, coupled with the "master-slave contract," if Ronan died, he would also cease to exist.
Ronan didn’t want to argue with Alazan over this meaningless issue, so he directly changed the subject and asked, "Have you found the exit?"
He instinctively glanced at Dudor the Third, lying obediently in his arms.
"I think I’ve found the direction..."
Ronan raised his face, but he heard Alazan continue, "But to reach the exit’s location, you can’t avoid encountering the Storm Spirit that resides at the very center..."
"I never intended to avoid it."
Ronan released Dudor the Third, stood up, and spoke calmly.
He took two steps to the cave entrance, raised his hand to blast the cave walls, having rested and prepared to head out.
The crystal stone walls only offered temporary concealment of his aura; soon those elemental life forms would come rushing over, as Ronan summarized from his time in the Storm Realm.
Alazan called him, his tone serious.
"You should at least show me your method for dealing with that ancient Storm Spirit... A Storm Lord about to ascend to Level 7 is no joke... It can tear you apart more easily than a snowflake, with just a glance, you’d melt on the spot..."
Ronan paused his steps. After a moment of silence, he opened his palm, revealing a pale ancient finger bone.
It was supposed to have three segments, but the fingertip segment was gone, precisely the mysterious finger bone Ewaqu had once gifted him.
A golden ladybug gently landed on the finger bone, crawled up and down for a while, and Ronan heard Alazan’s slight sigh in his mind.
"Turns out it’s Nash’s finger bone... If you possess it, there’s indeed nothing to worry about."
Ronan’s expression shifted slightly, "You know the owner of this finger bone?"
Alazan slowly spoke in a tone of reminiscence, "The leader of the Shadow Leech Academy, who pursued peace and tranquility his whole life, yet never stayed far from strife. Even after death, his remains were excavated and refined into a magic tool... In the end, a pitiable individual..."
"Shadow Leech Academy... Nash..."
Ronan’s eyes moved as he looked at the finger bone in his hand, wanting to learn more, but Alazan refused to say more.
He didn’t have time to listen to Alazan recounting past stories, stashed the finger bone, punched through the crystallized rock wall before him, and strode out from the cave.
As soon as Ronan emerged, the storm elemental life forms nearby smelled blood like a fish swarm and immediately pounced on him.
A black aura surged from Ronan’s body, spreading out like a massive grindstone, rotating slightly. Several elemental lives within a hundred meters were instantly crushed, turning into countless chaotic flows and electric glows that scattered away.
More wind and electric element life forms rushed towards Ronan, the scattered aura quickly retracting, adhering to his body surface, condensing into a substantial crystallized form, like armor made of obsidian, perfectly fitted to Ronan, with many sharp protrusions and blades at the shoulders and joints...
This was Ronan’s "Qi Battle Armor," refined over countless battles in recent months, adjusted according to his combat habits and style.
Compared to a few months ago, his proficiency level of [Ascetic Body Refinement], as well as his ability to use and control the black aura, had greatly improved.
Ronan had even constructed his own [Double Helical Palace] within, his combat power had already undergone a leap in improvement compared to before.
Dressed in this unique armament, wielding dual swords, with black hair fluttering, a black pattern resembling vines and flames grew at the center of his chest, combined with the "Ancient Mara’s Body," emanating a primitive, ferocious, and wild aura all over.
He actively charged into the densely packed elemental life forms before him, like an ancient sharp blade, nothing could stop it as he plunged into the elemental life form swarm.
One Storm Element Spirit after another exploded, Ronan broke through them like a black lightning, slicing through layer after layer of storm and electric curtains.
Under him, Dudor the Third appeared even more agile, with speed exceeding Ronan.
Over the months, they had already developed a high degree of synergy.
Just as Ronan previously told Alazan, he seemed to immerse himself in battle, but in fact, his mind was clearer than ever, consciously avoiding those elemental spirits surpassing the third rank, if unavoidable, he sought to resolve or disengage from combat as quickly as possible, never putting himself in peril.
He didn’t know how far he had traveled within the Storm Realm, if the direction pointed out by Dudor the Third and Alazan was correct, he should be constantly approaching the center of the Storm Realm.
Ronan penetrated through several waves of attacks from the elemental spirits, gradually slowing down.
In the battle circle he initiated, more and more elemental spirits above the third rank appeared, starting to become unavoidable.
Ronan halted on a crystallized rocky peak, took out several healing potions, downed them, and took a short rest.
He looked up and saw dozens, even hundreds of meters tall elemental life forms, surrounded by fierce winds and thunder, each exuding an aura that made him shudder slightly.