Corrupt Creations

Seth and Lan Xue looked towards all four directions and were actually able to see the Desolate Scorching Wasteland environment very clear. The abyss had perfectly merged together with the mainland and they were now back to the surface. There were no marks left behind, like that place hadn't been an obscure abyss to begin with. 

The hundred and fifty thousand meters separating those two places, was covered in less than twenty minutes and the two individuals that were experiencing the whole process were not even able to feel how fast the earth had moved upwards. 

"What in the just hell happened?" Lan Xue lost her cool after witnessing that unbelievable scene, making even her speech change. Maybe, she was getting influenced by Seth after spending so much time with him. 

At least, cultivators at their level could clean their bodies using their own Mana and they didn't even need to eat anything as well. That's why during all that time they spent together, they were able to stay clean and healthy. If things were different, maybe Lan Xue would have changed completely and not only partially. 

While she was still lost about the things that had just happened, Seth came to a sudden realization. They were out of that abyss, and now, he would have to face the reality. 

He circled Lan Xue and stopped right in front of her, completely taking her off guard. After that, he just opened his arms and dropped his guard and defenses. 

"We're out. I said we would overcome this hurdle. But now that we're here, I am ready to pay you what I owe. That day, when you said that you hated me, I told you to keep on moving forward, so that you could collect your payback later on. Now, the time has come." 

"What are you talking about...?" Lan Xue didn't know how to properly react to this. After spending day and night with him, killing myriad types of monsters and sharing hundreds and hundreds of stories, her hatred towards him had long gone. 

"Do it." 

"No... I..." 

"Why are you acting so evasive like that? Why are you not attacking?" Seth actually wanted to be hit. It would lessen his guilt of bringing her down together with him, in a long trip to that cruel abyss. He still felt at fault for that. 

"I... I can't." Lan Xue was feeling exasperated. After recalling that day, some of her bad feelings returned; however, they were completely erased by a hidden feeling she had developed for him. It wasn't love, but it was a seed, a feeling that made her heartbeat speed up while looking directly at him. 

Seth didn't know about it, but he felt like she might have forgotten the hate she felt that day. However, he didn't want to leave out of this unscathed, else he would feel guilty forever. That's why he decided to revive that feeling, forcing it out of her. 

"If you can't do it, then I will have to awaken your ire once again." 

Seth suddenly took a step forward and pulled her body closer with his right arm, that was firmly holding her waist. His left arm quickly pulled her head towards him as he planted a rapid kiss on her lips. He didn't want to turn it into something sexual, so he did that very quickly, only to spike her anger up. He didn't do it out of love as well, since he didn't feel that way about her yet. 

However, Lan Xue wasn't able to process everything so fast and instead of getting angered, she froze. It was like she had casted one of her freezing abilities on herself. Her body had frozen, but her heart was wildly beating, threatening to jump out of her chest. 

Seth quickly separated and kept waiting for the incoming hit, but even after a whole minute had passed, he wasn't attacked. However, he didn't know if Lan Xue was mad, or if she was completely outraged by his action. He kept waiting and waiting, until suddenly, Lan Xue's body turned into thousands of snow flakes, disappearing from there. 

"What the... Lan Xue! Lan Xue!" Seth called for her and even used his enhanced Soul Sense to find her location, but she had already vanished from that area. She was a Mana Sovereign cultivator now and her speed was impressive. 

"Holy shit! What the fuck happened?!" 

"You have scared her! An ominous beast of harassment like you, would definitely scare a petite lady like her." Lexi started to recriminate him, making Seth feel even more at fault. 

"Come on... Why she didn't hit me? This isn't making any sense." 

"I don't know the answer for that either; however, it would be better if you were to think about that in another place. I don't know if you're still remembering, but the abyss had just caused a massive earthquake around this whole territory, and soon, many practitioners will rush here to see what the hell had happened." 

"Sigh... I guess you're right. Let's go, maybe we can still find Lan Xue along the way. This whole situation is somewhat strange." 

"If I were you, I would let her in peace for now." Lexi suddenly said and Seth realized it sounded like a warning. 

Seth didn't fully understand it, but he felt it was indeed the best thing to do. 

A dark shadow suddenly left from the territory previously known as the Forbidden Lands, going towards the city called Yellowstone Pass. Seth would have to inevitably go there, in order to leave from the Desolate Scorching Wastelands; however, there was something he needed to do there as well. 

Now that the Cerberus Clan was annihilated, he had to finish the job by annihilating the Scorching Trade Group too. They were still responsible for many lives lost and for a lot of bloodshed. But Seth was not a punisher, so he was doing that for himself and not for others. Anyone that had something to do with the Cerberus Clan, had to perish. 

Some fifty minutes later, the first practitioners started to arrive at depths of the Desolate Scorching Wastelands, where the Forbidden Lands were. Before the events that had happened on that day, none of them would dare to approach that area. However, there wasn't an ominous aura around that place anymore and they were able to perfectly see and sense anything there. 

As more and more practitioners approached, searching for some loot or some signs of what in the hell had really happened there, the place once considered as a desolate piece of land, received the highest number of practitioners it had ever received. 

Amidst that crowd of people, there were already many demons and humans that were actually secret subordinates working for Velgor and the Clans under his command. There were also hidden experts that worked for the Higher Grounds, analyzing everything they saw. 

While a lot of people was being attracted towards that area, Seth traveled all the way to the city named Yellowstone Pass. He moved like a silent shadow and no one was able to see his figure entering the city. Actually, with all the destruction that happened inside that city, the guards had no time to see who was coming and going at the entrance. 

Very quickly, he found the way towards the Scorching Trade Group, where a lot of shady business was sill happening on the underground tunnels. They had taken this chaotic opportunity, to increase their wrongdoings. 

There were a lot of innocent people working at the first floor, taking the debris away and cleaning the headquarters, but Seth ignored them and went directly to the secret passage that led to the underground. Even before the security guard was able to notice there was someone approaching, his head had already been severed by a swift slashing movement Seth had executed. There was a dagger made out of darkness on his hand, the perfect tool for a mass assassination mission. 

He stormed his way towards the underground tunnels, quickly disposing of anyone that was working down there. There was a group of civilians lying unconscious on the ground, being prepared for black market operations. They were fortunate to be save, but unfortunate to not even see who had saved them. 

Seth cleaned everything on the secret underground tunnels first, then he went to the second floor of the building the Scorching Trade Group operated in. Up there, the official headquarters for the important members of that group existed. At that exact moment, there were eight members discussing some important things and a woman standing by the side. 

Seth used his Soul Sense to spy on them and realized they were all members of the same family and that the Scorching Trade Group had maintained their secrecy using that operation model. Unfortunately for them, their dirty blood would be spilled today. 

For Seth, it didn't matter if they were or weren't from the same family. What mattered, was that they were the masterminds behind that dark association. While the kept discussing about their shady business, a reaper was approaching that room to reap their lives and send them to hell. 

Since Seth didn't need any information from them, he just appeared right at the middle of that meeting room, surprising all of them. Less than ten seconds later, all the integrands of that family were already lifeless lying down on the floor, with a fountain of blood coming out of all the seven orifices on their heads. The unfortunate ones, didn't even have a head anymore.