After punishing Sister by forcefully plowing her face and inseminating her stomach, we continued walking through the forest in search of more Diabolicals; well, that was Sister's goal; I was merely tagging along because she was here.
'Though speaking of Diabolicals, I wonder if our supposed trial was supposed to have anything to do with them? Maybe kill the most of them? Hmm, no, probably not. We've been walking for a few hours and only encountered three of them.' Mused Elif lightly with a thoughtful expression as he rubbed his chin, only to shake his head.
Diabolicals didn't seem to be all that common, but they weren't that rare either; Sister and I were just casually strolling through the forest, and we'd already encountered three of them, so they weren't hard to come across. Of course, I'm sure it would be easier if the yellowish Qi that enveloped the forest didn't hinder our divine sense, but it does make it more interesting.
"So, do you have any clue what we should be doing for the trial?" Asked Elif curiously as he glanced at Elaine, who walked beside him while quietly humming and bobbing her head.
"Hmm? Oh, I had completely forgotten this was a trial; I was having too much fun. I don't know." Replied Elaine lightly as she tilted her head in confusion before snapping her fingers while her eyes widened, only to shake her head with a shrug of her shoulders.
Chuckling at Sister, I faintly shook my head while affectionately rubbing her head, causing her to chuckle cutely as she leaned into my embrace; however, we didn't stay that way for long as he happened to come across another Diabolical, which caused Sister to vanish from my side as she dashed towards it.
'Haa, this woman; I do not know what she finds in those hideous monstrosities.' Thought Elif with a shake of his head as he placed his hands behind his back while stepping on the ground, utilizing his movement technique to nimbly maneuver through the forest.
However, even before I arrived at the scene, I noticed the Diabolical looked slightly different compared to the others we've encountered, and when I finally approached it, I knew I wasn't mistaken; gracefully landing on a branch, I glanced at Sister, who was enjoying whatever vision she was experiencing, before looking at the monstrosity, which promptly noticed me.
Seeing it turn half of its eyes towards me, I vividly felt the potent Qi swirl around me, but with a surge of my Immortal Will, I stopped it before it could even form a vision; nonetheless, I couldn't help but furrow my brows as I stared at it. Compared to the other Diabolicals we've come across, this one had far fewer eyes but made up with each eye being two to three times as big; combine that with the denser Qi wafting off it compared to the others, it didn't take a scholar to realize this specific Diabolical was more dangerous than the any other.
Furrowing my brows, I leaped off the branch and softly landed beside Sister, who was sporting a massive grin while muttering words I'll pretend I didn't hear, though what slightly worried me was that her usual silver eyes had traces of yellow in them, showing that these Diabolicals were indeed corrupting her.
"Sister!" Said Elif solemnly as he grasped Elaine's shoulders and shook her, snapping her out of her little dream.
"Oh, y-yes, Brother?" Asked Elaine with a tilt of her head as she stared at Elif, the yellowish tint promptly receding from her eyes.
"Are you feeling fine? The madness Qi was beginning to corrupt you." Asked Elif in slight concern as he held Elaine's cheeks, causing her to smile sweetly while she kissed him.
"Hehe, I'm fine, Brother; you worry too much; I know when to stop looking at them; these Diabolicas are simply too weak to affect me." Replied Elaine softly as she proudly puffed out her chest, prompting Elif to pull her nipple, elicitating a moan from her.
"Hmph, not funny." Added Elaine with a huff as she covered her chest while turning away, causing Elif to chuckle.
"So, regarding this Diabolicals, mind explaining it to yours truly? I'm quite lacking when it comes to information regarding the Forest of Madness." Asked Elif with a faint smile as he turned and glanced at the Diabolical behind them, which just continued to stand there while glaring at them with its eyes.
"Oh, I probably should've told you about them. This is still a Diabolical, merely one that's been alive for a much longer time; the ones we've encountered before were newborn or infant Diabolical. Those Diabolocals probably haven't even been corrupted for over a thousand years; however, this Diabolical would be considered an adolescent or juvenile Diabolical." Remarked Elaine calmly as she approached the Diabolical, standing close enough to where she could see her reflection within their many eyes.
"Juvenile Diabolicals can be anywhere from one thousand to one million years old. You can also tell the difference between the Diabolcials by the number of their eyes; younger ones will have more eyes, yet each one will be smaller, and older ones will have fewer, with each being larger." Added Elaine with a faint smile as she pointed at the Diabolical's eyes before summoning Orcus and slashing downwards, cutting the monstrosity in half.
Waving my hand, I quickly formed a Qi shield that protected my body from being stained with the bodily liquids of the Diabolical.
"It also seems they explode no matter which way you kill them… Good to know. Though for a juvenile to take roughly a million years to essentially evolve, that's a massive jump from the meager thousand years." Stated Elif as he dispersed the Qi shield and approached Elaine, who promptly emerged from the void while storing Orcus within her dimension ring.
"Well, that's because, during this time, it's gaining intelligence, though take my words lightly as they will only be as clever as the average beast. Most teenage Diabolicals, the next 'evolution' of Diabolicals, aren't anything special and only know how to either flee really… The Adult Diabolicals and above are another problem altogether; they have intelligence and can be very dangerous. However, thankfully, they're all separated between the outer, inner, and core sections of the Forest." Remarked Elaine softly as she turned and glanced at Elif while folding her arms, only to point in the direction they had been constantly walking in.
"Well, that is more information than expected. Out of curiosity, how many different versions or evolutions are there of Diabolicals?" Asked Elif with a raised eyebrow as he followed alongside Elaine, who continued deeper into the forest.
"There is the Infant, Juvenile, Teenager, Adult, Senior, Ancestor, and Grand Ancestor. The first three stages of Diabolicals reside within the outer section of the forest, and so long as you've got a strong dao heart, they're basically harmless. The next two stages can be pretty dangerous for most Realm Sect disciples despite them being the best amongst the best cultivators in the OverRealm… As for the Core, I've never been there, but I didn't happen to come across an Ancestor once because I was causing a stir in the Inner Section; they are very dangerous, and even I can only look at them for but a minute." Stated Elaine softly as she raised seven fingers while glancing at Elif, who nodded, only for his expression to twitch at her words.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Asked Elaine with a pout as she held her head with a teary-eyed expression while eyeing Elif, who lowered his hand.
"That's for doing something reckless and foolish, you stupid girl." Said Elif firmly as he eyed Elaine, who stuck her tongue out while grumbling under her breath.
"Hmph, I'm not a girl; I'm a full-fledged woman." Said Elaine as she eyed Elif, groping her chest, causing him to roll his eyes.
"You're only seventeen; I would hardly call that a woman." "And? You're only twenty-one, and in the grand scheme of things, you might as well be a second older than me when compared to Mother or Father." Remarked Elif and Elaine, respectively, as they eyed each other, only for the former to scoff in annoyance.
"Hmph, but I'm still older nonetheless, which means my words are law. If I call you a girl, then that means you must be a girl." Said Elif pridefully as he raised his head to the sky, causing Elaine to scoff, only for her to smirk afterward.
"Heh, sure thing, Brother, or maybe I should say Sister? Those photos of yours sure say otherwise; you looked very feminine in that dress. I was even a little jealous since I knew you wore it better than me." Said Elaine with a wicked smirk as she stared at Elif, who furrowed his brows in confusion, only for him to freeze in place.
"Mother promised me!" Yelled Elif angrily as he clenched his fist while glaring at Elaine, who laughed in amusement before summoning a crystal ball while a projection of a four-year-old Elif wearing a princess dress appeared.
"Mother really is ruthless; the first thing she does after you survive your first Heavenly Tribulation is to punish you. Oh well, I'm sure the public will love this." Said Elaine with a wicked grin as she turned around and skipped away, prompting Elif to chase after her.
"ELAINE!!" "Hehehe ~catch me if you can, Brother~." Said Elif and Elaine, respectively, as they played cat and mouse throughout the forest.