Mixed Blessing System

Eight days later...

After leaving Cykad, Lothur traveled quickly to the meeting point he had arranged to meet Blood and Smoke when they split up to solve different problems.

During this time, he didn't encounter any difficulties, having traveled to the vicinity of the Shadow Sea without much emotion.

No sign of his women was to be found along the way, something he had expected.

The enemy was probably preparing for him, so hiding the short term was reasonable.

In any case, on arriving at the beach he had signaled to his two creations, Lothur immediately came across two small feline creatures waiting for him.

'That was quicker than I had imagined...' He smiled at the sight of his two cats, seeing the advantage of having spectres working for him inside the Castle of Shadows and around the continent.

[Name: Blood]

[Soul Cultivation: level 23]

[Body Cultivation: level 22] [STR: 5,299] [CON: 5,784] [DEX: 5,450] [AGI: 5,570] [INT: 1,499] [PER: 5,556] [WIL: 3,662] [SOU: 13,226]

...

[Name: Smoke]

[Soul Cultivation: level 23]

[Body Cultivation: level 22] [STR: 5,430] [CON: 5,835] [DEX: 5,458] [AGI: 5,601] [INT: 1,499] [PER: 5,556] [WIL: 3,780] [SOU: 13,995]

He was not dissatisfied when he saw the two of them and how much they had improved since the day their group had suffered their greatest defeat.

As much as there was a big difference between him and these creatures, they were not far from reaching level 24 of soul cultivation. As long as they could absorb 15 level 23 spectres each, they could progress.

Under normal circumstances, that might seem like a lot. However, Lothur was about to attack a group of dozens of Sages! With his help, these two were about to make a major breakthrough!

"Creator, how are you? Were you able to save Cykad?" Blood asked Lothur as soon as she saw him, rushing to his side along with Smoke.

Seeing the two creatures sitting on his shoulders, Lothur smiled at them. "Yes, I managed to save him. Now Cykad is free to decide his own fate."

"Good for him." Smoke commented. "But what about us? Do we leave immediately for the Castle of Shadows?"

Lothur looked toward the Shadow Sea, seeing a fog in the distance that prevented him from seeing beyond a certain area of the vast sea ahead.

"Yes, time to act. The demons are moving more and more strangely, so let's deal them a deadly blow!" Lothur replied, not wanting to miss the chance to take down part of the enemy forces.

Eliminating the Castle of Shadows had its pros and cons. On the one hand, letting the organization continue to exist might help him learn of some demonic plans before anyone else. Still, on the other hand, he would lose the chance to raise Blood and Smoke.

If he went to the Castle of Shadows today, he could destroy the demons visiting that place and dominate the spectres below level 24 so that Blood and Smoke could slowly devour them. Meanwhile, he would use the system to deal with those he couldn't subdue with the Black Flames.

That would eliminate a major threat to the world and also strengthen two creatures who were completely loyal to him and could help him fight the demons.

Because of this great advantage, Lothur didn't mind losing his spies hidden among the enemies.

So, without delay, with Blood and Smoke on his shoulders, he flew toward the Shadow Sea, traveling at high speed but without distorting space to not attract unnecessary attention.

Given Lothur's current abilities, it would only take him a few minutes to reach the Shadow Sea and arrive in a fog-covered area.

On the first level of the Dark Sea, one would face a white area of fog, not too dense but capable of hiding the darkness ahead.

Anyone who sailed close by, not knowing what was there, would think that this was just an ordinary area of fog and that after a few minutes of crossing it, they would reach its end.

However, after this first layer, an area of darker fog extended over a much larger area than the previous one.

Upon reaching this part of the Shadow Sea, strange things would begin to happen.

The laws of nature there didn't work in the usual way. Unusual natural phenomena in the outside world were more likely to occur there, such as the sudden appearance of lightning and the like.

Not only that but there was life in that ocean region in every part of the world. However, those near the Shadow Sea were compatible with the darkness of the area, and sea monster attacks were quite common in this region.

Because it was difficult to see ahead, and even cultivators couldn't see much or get a better feel for it, the chances of getting lost there were high.

The longer one stayed there, the greater the chance of being attacked. As a result, there was a high probability of death for anyone who ventured into this murky sea.

'Interesting...' Lothur thought as he saw the darkness of this area, not being able to see that far ahead of where he was even using his sight.

'I feel like I'm being suppressed by something. Is this a natural feature of the area?' He tried to look for the rules in the surroundings, thinking there might be clues for him, like he saw in living beings and various things in Concordia.

But for some reason, all he could see was darkness.

'It could be something at a higher level than me or something I haven't understood yet in my journey as a cultivator.' He looked around with interest as he flew towards the place the 5th-stage spectre he had in the Castle of Shadows had indicated.

Considering how fast Lothur was flying, even though he was suppressed, nothing attacked him, and even the phenomena around him didn't make him feel any pain when he was hit three times during his flight.

After almost 5 minutes of crossing the second level of the Shadow Sea, Lothur could finally see ahead when he noticed that the thick layer of fog in front of him was getting thinner.

At that moment, he saw what appeared to be the interior of a dome surrounded by fog, a dark place that existed in perpetual shadow.

In the middle of that sea area surrounded by fog, there was a small island of about 6 square kilometers, with a large castle covering a large part of it. Seeing it, just before crossing the last bit of fog in front of him, Lothur took a deep breath and said.

"Get ready. We're going to be attacked from all sides!"

...