Chapter 1614 - Respect
Entering the sealed lightning space, Davis crossed into the land inside. In this region and even the outside, the skies were always clouded with stormy clouds, and therefore, no sunlight could enter. Despite yin energy overflowing in this space, the atmosphere here was quite stable for the living because of lightning energy which is intrinsically yang counteracting each other.
Davis quickly arrived in front of the underground cave and saw Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim's whose jaw dropped.
"You...! How did you come here...!? Wait! How are you even alive!?"
"Mhm, you seem like you're way happier having your granddaughter Niera turn into a widow, huh?"
"It's not like that-!"
Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim's expression possessed an ounce of anger before he pounced on Davis and hugged him tightly.
"Eh?"
"Ahahaha! You're alive! Good! Good! Only you would dare to speak to me like this! Good!"
Davis certainly didn't expect this hug as his brows twitched. Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim then separated, heavily patting Davis's shoulders.
"You brat gave us a scare right when you fell. I thought that your women were all crazy to keep you without burning your body, but it looks like I was the fool! It is a good thing that I'm the fool!"
Davis saw Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim become a bit emotional. He couldn't help but smirk as he asked, "What did you think? That they were all shallow women who will leave me behind in my crisis?"
"No, I thought you were a shallow man to have so many women, so I believed they wouldn't think of you anything much as other than a provider but to see them still be together even after you were in a confirmed death state as stated by Apothecary Nazca Alstreim... sigh, fortunately, I was wrong. You truly do love Niera, as you said, and she does love you too, unable to forget you..."
Davis nodded as if it was a given.
Sophie, Niera, and Mo Mingzhi didn't know that Shirley 'revived' him, unlike Evelynn, who took breaks every once in a while after a massacre, listening to Nadia and Isabella's call for her to return. However, she declined each time, stating that she wasn't the old Evelynn and she was a slaughterer, truly poisonous woman, and whatnot, all the while hiding behind that spider shell of hers.
Davis wasn't the least bit reproachful of her actions. It could even be said that she brought justice for him, which made him extremely happy. However, she inevitably killed children, which made him worried about her mental health. As for those children, he didn't care and chose not to care.
In fact, he was of the same opinion as Evelynn.
If they're growing up into wicked path cultivators, then they are better off dead so there are fewer innocents affected in the end, although it was counterintuitive to his thought process where he didn't want to kill children because he knew that they still hadn't done anything wrong that would warrant for them to be killed.
However, he was no righteous person, nor did he try to create a better world by choosing the option of taking care of those children because he knew that people who try to create a perfect, hate-free world would only end up succeeding in destroying it.
As far as he considered, his family came first to him, and only then did the others enter the picture. Even now, he was still mad about the non-existent army destroying his Loret Family, making his father and mother self-destruct.
If he hadn't used Fallen Heaven at that time just because he felt pity for those millions of people, the derailed fate's results would've followed suit, so he was glad that he didn't spare any sympathy for those people.
As Davis traveled through the underground cave, he couldn't help but ask.
"Where's my father and mother?"
"Your mother was here, but she later went to meet her husband in the Purple Thunderflame Mountain. A mother can only endure loneliness a little after seeing her loved son's death, sigh..."
'Clara must've taken them back home once she gathered them...'
Davis inwardly thought before he met up with three figures. All three of them were facing the front. However, only two of them were cultivating while the one behind them was helping them cultivate through guarding them against the intense heat that threatened to destroy them.
"Your wife even helps Sophie? What kind of wind had blown her way to do that?"
Davis blinked his eyes as he saw Grand Elder Elise Alstreim help Sophie and Niera as she placed her palms on both their backs, aiding them in their cultivation through sheer concentration and effort, which normally someone even close wouldn't be willing to do.
"Well, she feels grateful to your dead soul. Don't make her embarrassed, though."
Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim rubbed his chin with a silly smile while Davis stared at him. This guy killed him two times with his words already.
Nevertheless, Davis nodded and appeared behind those three.
Looking at them, he found that Sophie and Niera were not at a critical junction but were just circulating their essence energy amidst the intense flames and lava underneath them, appearing to almost burn their butts, but it didn't due to their own energy and Grand Elder Elise Alstreim's energy protecting them.
However, he was surprised to have seen them grow from Low-Level Law Dominion Stage to Peak-Level Law Dominion Stage in these short seven months. This was too fast of an improvement in his books because they possessed little to no anchors to support their cultivation increasing this fast.
"Hehem~"
He coughed, trying to get their attention.
However, they seemed to be in deep concentration that they didn't hear a thing amidst the seething flames and boiling lava.
'Should I come later...?'
Davis almost felt bad for disturbing them, but he knew that they would be happier to see him alive rather than continuing their cultivation session that bordered on the level of insanity. If they kept this up, he understood that they might even fail their breakthroughs to the eighth stage, but he learned that they had the Domitian Family spatial rings, so he also knew that they had some ideas for their breakthrough.
"How dare you two ignore your man!?"
Davis raised his voice, causing the three of their bodies to go stiff.
Sophie and Niera took some time to finish their circulation, but Grand Elder Elise Alstreim turned to look back with wide eyes, her purple pupils trembling as she saw Davis look at them with his raised brows.
"What are you looking at? I won't pay you for helping them."
Davis amusingly smiled while Grand Elder Elise looked horrified as if she had seen a ghost. At the same time, Sophie and Niera practically jolted from their meditative positions and looked at him with sheer disbelief in their eyes.
Then they suddenly rushed towards him, both of them simultaneously throwing their arms at him as they tackled him, wrapping their arms around his neck and body. However, Davis was able to take their impact without his body even trembling. He wrapped his arms around them, letting them cry over his shoulders.
"Davis... thank the heavens~"
"You're alive~"
Sophie and Niera were already flooding with tears as they held Davis dearly, not wanting to separate even for a single moment. Davis could only caress their backs and heads, lacking the words to console them as it was the first time they even learned that he was alive.
"You...! Don't tell me practicing the laws of death can enable you to become a ghost?"
Grand Elder Elise Alstreim's body shivered.
"Jeez, I brought your dead family back from this nowhere, and you're wondering if I'm a ghost?"
Davis couldn't help but silently laugh.
Grand Elder Elise Alstreim simply stood up and appeared near her husband, asking him to explain what the hell was going on here.
Meanwhile, Davis kept consoling them as he caressed their backs. Their ceaseless trembling did make him feel worried, making him wonder how much they could've suffered to come to this place and increase their cultivation, even going as far as to harm their own bodies.
Fortunately, these two elders helped them. Otherwise, it would be difficult not to receive an injury in this gruesome cultivation session.
After three whole minutes did the two blonde-haired beauties calm down, looking at him with tender expressions on their faces. To Davis, it was obvious that anything he said at this moment, their moment of weakness and love would be taken as though it was the word of the gospel.
"Let's go home."
"Yes~"
Sophie and Niera's eyes gleamed. As for their cultivations that were put on hold, who cared at this moment after he arrived?
Davis kissed both of their foreheads in a gentle manner and grasped both of their hands as he took them back.
"Hey...! wait...! wait! Are you going to leave our people here?"
Davis stopped as he turned to look at Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim.
"The conflict isn't over yet, and this is the safest place existing on Alstreim Family's Territory. Do you want to endanger them and give me an additional headache?"
"Grandpa, go away! You can't be like this just when Davis recovered and came back for us...!"
Niera bellowed, causing Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim to feel like his heart had been pierced.
"Sigh, she's completely taken the role of your wife, no longer caring about her people."
"No...!" Niera's expression became cold, "I was merely looking out for-"
"I know, I know. Don't get mad. I was just teasing you..."
Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim inwardly gulped. This lass, she had completely fallen for Davis that she even berated him. But what could he do? He expected this to happen someday, and it happened to be today: a joyous day that he couldn't help but deeply smile.
The most feared man in the Fifty-Two Territories for a short amount of time was none the person in front of him. His granddaughter sure did catch the prize.
"I understand your words, Davis. Let them remain, but let Niera have the key to this sealed space. I plead-"
"Sure, I don't want it until I need it again, but that's a while away. Niera can have it in the meantime, so this way, there would be ways to this sealed space."
Ancestor Ezekiel Alstreim seemed taken aback before he heavily nodded.
"I'm grateful."
Davis couldn't help but blink.
Did these people hit their heads to be looking at him with a respectful and grateful gaze?
'Oh wait, I'm the Emperor of Death, huh...'
This title that he had been given was at the back of his mind that he almost forgot about it!
"Then let us be on our way."
"Alright."
Soon, the five of them headed back out of the hidden island.
On the way, Davis couldn't help but suddenly stare at Sophie's countenance, noticing that her eyes were quite tired but radiating with charm as she held his hand and flew along with him.
"What...?" She noticed his gaze, slightly blushing over it.
"Let me check your soul..."
"...!"
Sophie reacted strangely, causing Davis to heave a sigh, feeling that his assumption came true.
If Sophie has darkness in her soul, then it was almost confirmed that Mo Mingzhi possesses it as well.
However, was this the source that caused them to go crazy in trying to obtain vengeance for him?