Chapter 368: Broken Dam

Priam saw Dandara’s eyes light up at that information, and he felt satisfied as well. Not because they would gain anything directly from it, but because it would give Mirra a unique opportunity.

There was practically nothing for a Primordial Chaos Beast in the sect. The techniques from the Vanculari Ancestral Art were useful, and Mirra had devoted herself to learning soul mastery and all of its applications.

However, that Ancestral Art focused on the spiritual side of her race; her Primordial Chaos Beast side—which was her true strength—had barely been developed.

On top of that, Mirra only had the knowledge of the Holy Mages that Priam had given her to study. That was valuable as well, but unfortunately, her most powerful ability remained stagnant.

Now, her golden opportunity had arrived.

"Very well, we’ll go there afterward. But first, we need to get those two hatchlings."

Priam spoke calmly, and the pair headed toward the nest at the mountain’s peak.

All the destruction and flames from their previous battles had devastated only the area around the mountain, leaving the summit intact. Dandara understood why after asking Lulani.

From high in the sky, the Wyvern had noticed the presence of the two hatchlings and deliberately avoided destroying them with her attacks.

Although she was wild and completely uneducated, she still retained a small trace of compassion. Besides, on this planet, even a newborn could survive without its parents if it was strong enough.

How would they feed themselves and grow on their own?

It was simple. After all, there were two hatchlings.

One of them would have to kill the other and then devour it.

Primordial Chaos Beasts and Mutant Beasts shared the ability to evolve rapidly by consuming highly nutritious food. The victorious hatchling would grow considerably just from that one ’meal.’ Afterward, it would leave the nest and begin its solitary journey.

That entire planet was overflowing with opportunities and extremely high-level natural resources. There was a real chance that the survivor would reach adulthood and eventually become a powerful Mutant Beast.

That was the brutal law of the beasts’ wild nature.

The pair arrived at the top of the mountain and reached the nest.

Although the hatchlings had only just hatched, their bodies were already larger than a house. Their appearance, however, was quite ugly: there wasn’t a single feather on their bodies, making them look like plucked chickens, while an extremely sour odor emanated from them.

"They’re both males," Dandara commented with a slight smile as she approached and began forming the contract runes.

Since they were newborns, their souls and minds had no resistance capable of blocking the bond. Dandara only had to offer them some of the food she carried for both of them to lean toward her. Just like that, the contract was quickly sealed.

After establishing the pact, Dandara took the opportunity to feed them until they couldn’t eat anymore. Once the two little ones fell into a deep, satisfied sleep, she stored them inside her inner space.

Now, she had six contracted beasts—although three of them were still hatchlings. Dandara hadn’t even had time to take care of the Celestial Beast she had obtained earlier. But once they returned, she would focus entirely on that.

Without wasting any time, the pair set off. However... they only knew the general direction and had no idea of the exact distance. Dandara had interpreted the Wyvern’s earlier words as "a few kilometers," but she soon corrected herself when speaking to Priam.

"Lulani mentioned a distance that would leave her tired if she flew there in a straight line..." Dandara sighed. "Besides not knowing how to speak, her mind is very simple and hasn’t been stimulated much; her intelligence is quite limited. Fortunately, she’s still young, and I can correct that over time."

Priam wore a peculiar expression. That was an absurdly vague reference.

Dandara smiled somewhat bitterly. "There’s no other way. It’s pretty difficult to understand everything she’s trying to convey. There are some things I have to interpret on my own."

"That’s not so bad. We have time. Let’s head in that direction slowly, gathering valuable herbs and resources for the sect along the way. We can also take the opportunity to look for other Mutant Beasts suitable for you," Priam said calmly with a slight smile.

"At present, our six generals are completely trustworthy, and all the soldiers can already fight independently. Even the future recruits won’t give you much trouble, since the veterans can train them. So you’re freer now to focus on direct combat, and building your own army of beasts would be excellent."

Dandara nodded enthusiastically, smiling sweetly. She knew that although Priam had other reasons for being there, his priority was helping her become stronger. He truly thought about her and spared no effort.

Dandara no longer even knew how to put what she felt into words. Ever since the day they first met, her life had completely changed, and he had always done his best to help her; he had never once looked down on her or treated her like an accessory.

Clearly, he also thought of her differently. Knowing that for certain, Dandara’s eyes glowed like flames, driven by a desire to take the next step in their relationship.

They walked side by side through the forest. Dandara kept her head lowered, lost in her own thoughts.

Suddenly, when she noticed his hand so close to hers, she couldn’t resist. She intertwined her fingers with his.

"..."

As expected, Priam didn’t reject her. He didn’t even pull away an inch.

However, that reaction only made her sink even deeper into her thoughts.

Whenever she tried to get closer to him subtly, he never pushed her away, but neither did he give her any real opening to move things forward.

When she tried to provoke him more directly, Priam visibly reacted, allowing his masculine desires to surface. However... he possessed terrifying self-control, capable of suppressing any impulse within a matter of seconds.

The problem was that Dandara was nowhere near possessing that same level of self-control. The closer she got to him physically, the more she felt like she was on the verge of losing her mind.

The only obvious solution was to go all in at once.

The difficult part, however, was finding a moment alone with him. Priam seemed to have a natural magnet for attracting women around him, and they became attached to him with absurd ease, never letting him be alone for even a moment.

After spending several minutes enjoying the warmth of his hand, Dandara took a deep breath to calm herself. She was certain that Priam wasn’t acting so passively out of coldness or malice, but because he had carried a deep, natural emotional barrier for a very, very long time.

However, she had already done the hardest part: cracking that barrier.

Now, all that remained was one final, decisive blow, and everything he had been suppressing deep within his soul would overflow like a broken dam.

Seeing the scene, Dandara swallowed hard, overwhelmed by thoughts so lustful that Priam would have gone completely catatonic if he could read her mind.

At that exact moment, a subtle shiver ran down Priam’s spine.

’Hmm? Why do I feel like someone is plotting to devour me alive?’

The instinctive thought appeared in his mind out of nowhere—without him even imagining how ’painfully’ accurate it was.

...

The two of them moved cautiously through the forest while Priam carefully sensed every fluctuation of energy around them.

[Moonlight Magnolia detected]

It didn’t take long for them to find the first extremely high-level herb. Priam’s eyes lit up when he received the notification, and he carefully scanned the surroundings until he found it hidden beneath the shade of a tree.

It was quite small, looked completely ordinary, and didn’t emit any powerful aura. But this was an astonishing treasure anywhere in the Divine Plane.

Fortunately, nothing escaped his senses or the System’s interface. Whether it was a mediocre resource or a high-level one, Priam could easily detect it through his control over the wind.

However, when it came to something extraordinary, the herb usually didn’t emit any noticeable fluctuations or anything that would draw attention to it. This was common among natural treasures of Sage-level quality, as they were all closely connected to the energy of nature and possessed a natural instinct for self-preservation.

For this reason, anyone exploring that planet had to move slowly, examining every inch of the land with their own eyes. This limitation prevented most sect members from searching large areas because of the time limit.

But that didn’t affect Priam, since the System alerted him the exact moment a valuable resource was nearby. As a result, he collected everything worthwhile while moving at a shocking speed.

...

The first three days on the planet passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Priam collected two extremely high-level herbs and two dozen mid-level ones. Those two main treasures alone would have left the entire sect ecstatic.

On the fourth day, Priam and Dandara reached a mountainous valley.

"There!" Dandara pointed toward an area near the source of a river.

A lush tree stood there, only two meters tall. Its branches radiated an imposing natural aura, and its leaves shimmered softly in multiple colors.

Seeing this, Priam released Mirra, who shot toward the tree like a bolt of lightning.

She was genuinely excited. Priam had already noticed that with each passing day, Mirra was becoming more and more eager to grow stronger.

The reason was obvious: she watched everything Priam went through all the time and knew how dangerous and difficult his life was.

She couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Priam get into trouble and end up in an irreversible situation, unable to do anything to help him. That was why she wanted to become as strong as possible. But... Priam clearly held her back.

Priam wanted Mirra to be a happy girl who could live her life freely, without carrying the enormous burden he himself carried. She, on the other hand, despite still being immature, wanted to protect him at all costs without caring about the consequences for herself.

The two of them had different thoughts, but they were equally devoted to each other.

The little girl sat beneath the tree’s canopy, reached out and placed her hand against the trunk, then closed her eyes.

"Lulani said that all seven legacies have seven layers. In the first one, any remotely competent beast can assimilate knowledge about the Ranks, as well as learn how to evolve and develop properly," Dandara explained beside Priam.

"In the later layers, however, lies the true legacy left behind by the Great Lord of the planet. He recorded his techniques and methods of manipulating energy there. Layers 2, 3, and 4 contain an immense variety of teachings, allowing any type of beast to benefit from them. Finally, the last three layers basically contain his main techniques—only unparalleled beasts with the right affinity can learn them."

"Lulani’s father and mother managed to comprehend and assimilate one of the seven legacies. They were the only ones of their generation to accomplish such a feat, which was why the Great Lord accepted them as his disciples."

Priam nodded in agreement.

Observing the tree’s structure and the density of the planet’s natural energy, he was certain that the planet’s commander had the energy of nature as one of his major specialties.

Dandara continued, "Lulani spent as much time as possible studying here. She managed to reach the 3rd layer despite being very young, but she felt that advancing beyond that would be difficult. For that reason, she focused on raising her power as much as possible and following a different path. Every ten years, races from across the universe come to the planet to recruit beasts at the Sage level."

Priam understood. These beasts were probably taken to facilities similar to humanoid sects, where they would carry out missions for sovereigns and prove their worth.

That entire planet functioned as a divine breeding ground for Primordial Chaos Beasts, where new races occasionally emerged, and countless powerful figures were forged.

*Buzz!*

Suddenly, catching everyone by surprise, a deep buzzing sound echoed through the air.

Priam fixed his gaze on the tree. It was the epicenter of the disturbance.

Dandara’s eyes widened.

"That’s it! Lulani mentioned that this was the reaction when someone reached the 7th layer!"

Priam was surprised for a moment, but soon nodded with an unmistakable look of pride. Mirra wasn’t an ordinary girl; she possessed an Anima of 95, and ever since her birth, her talent and learning ability had been frightening.

Everyone waited in silence for several minutes. Until...

"!"

Suddenly, Priam and Dandara felt the entire world freeze.

They raised their eyes toward the sky. Up there, they saw space twist before an imposing figure emerged from the rift.