Chapter 552: Father

Liam had a poison-releasing pipe in his mouth, so he couldn't deny the accusation even if he tried. Of course, he had no intention of doing so in the first place, and the evident threat didn't change his mind.

If anything, Liam studied the fearsome powerhouse with genuine curiosity. Smiling Blade had been a high-stage branching expert, too, but Liam now had senses that could gain proper insight into that level.

The burly, tanned man felt immense and heavy, his presence intense and vast. He was bigger than Liam in terms of raw power, but that size also carried a certain depth, like a greater density of its unique nature.

The breakthrough was the transformative event, but growing through such a long stage also brought meaningful improvements when comparing low-stage to high-stage.

Clearly, that was an opponent beyond Liam, at least in terms of raw power. He wasn't sure he would win with all his tricks, but his mind devised hunting strategies nonetheless.

From the look of it, those strategies could become useful sooner than Liam desired.

Still, there was some satisfaction, too. Despite the power difference, Liam didn't feel like suffocating. His Qi automatically fended off that intense pressure, confirming his rightful place at that superior level.

"I am," Liam responded, not even stopping smoking as he locked eyes with the man.

The man felt about to erupt, but nothing unfolded. He held back his boiling anger, snorting instead. "Follow me."

That was a crossroads of the deadly kind. The man had turned to retreat inside the invisible dome, and following him would give him the home advantage.

After facing the Church's formation, Liam truly didn't like those odds, even if multiple trump cards now rested in his rings.

Nevertheless, Liam had expected such risks, and there were redeeming qualities. The branching expert could have easily exposed him to the other Tribes there. His silence implied some willingness to cooperate.

The worries remained in Liam's mind. He didn't hesitate at all with his body, flying through the invisible barrier without meeting any resistance.

The world suddenly transformed. What had once appeared as empty dunes became a bustling, multicolored sight.

A small body of clear water, an oasis, stood at the center of several lines of stone habitations, most being one-story-tall houses. Beyond them, on Liam's right and left, two open areas expanded, one with more lizards, the other dug in.

Instead, a vast palace with columns and tall open entrances made of stone and marble stood on the oasis' opposite side, the Qi enveloping it adding value to its evident relevance.

Liam saw no wood among the habitations, or any tree, for that matter. Also, he believed there were no mortals at all. Moreover, faint sounds, tremors, and traces of Qi warned him about an underground layer.

Some unrest was also in the air, likely due to the outside attack, but nothing even remotely close to proper panic.

The branching expert didn't care for Liam's curiosity. He headed straight for the palace, not even attempting to restrain his speed, forcing Liam to do the same.

Usually, such situations would demand lavish welcomes, or at least basic pleasantries. Yet, the man didn't even introduce himself as he led Liam through a balcony on the palace's third and last floor.

There didn't seem to be anyone among the floor's vast marble corridors and halls. Luxurious furniture was everywhere, from armchairs, couches, carpets, chandeliers, paintings, and more, but everything remained spacious and bright, with windows, balconies, or openings everywhere.

And among all that bright beauty, the man seemed to lead Liam to the darkest room there was, one featuring another powerful presence.

The place was small compared to everything else Liam had seen. It didn't even have windows to let in natural light, instead relying on red braziers. It resembled a closet repurposed as a meeting area, emptied of all its contents, leaving a low table at its center.

As for the figure already at the table, Liam would have recognized her even without feeling her cultivation level. She was a mid-stage branching expert eerily similar to Rachel, her maturity not diminishing her beauty one bit.

More than a mother, the woman resembled Rachel's older sister, with no marks of age on her face. She also had long, black braids and green eyes, but her yellow robe hid everything. She only kept it open enough to expose the beginning of her ample cleavage.

"We expected a rooting expert," The woman announced, gently supporting her head on one hand. "Wanderer, it seems you had good reasons for making us wait."

Despite the apparent youth, the woman's tone, words, and general demeanor reeked of wisdom and maturity.

As for the husband, he remained a mass of bottled-up fury even after he sat at the woman's side.

"Don't mistake my wife's words," The man declared. "Her politeness is already more than you deserve for torturing our daughter for three months. Now, sit."

'Doesn't she still have a couple of flasks?' Liam wondered. He had perfected the Qilin's Idea so much that the symptoms wouldn't flare randomly anymore. As long as Rachel had followed his instructions, she wouldn't have felt any pain.

Yet, arguing against that wall of rage was pointless. Liam sat before the couple, pipe in his mouth. The table had no pillows, wine, or refreshments, so his poisonous smoke claimed quite a lot of attention.

That was on purpose. It was a statement more glaring than Liam's usual cape. He was showing himself as a poison master, and a deadly one at that, as proven by what he smoked.

Still, it took far more to scare branching experts. Actually, fear couldn't be part of the equation with that single-minded stubbornness.

"Well?" The man asked, still somehow holding back his fury. "When are you going to heal our daughter?"

"Your daughter tried to trick me into-" Liam began, calm as always, only for the whole palace to shake.

"I don't care!" The man interrupted, shouting, finally exploding a bit. "Nothing you say will matter until I know my daughter is safe!"

The wife remained calm under those ethereal but violent gales. Liam didn't flinch, either, his Qi protecting him, but something shifted in his mind.

'Oh, I see,' Liam thought, summoning two items from his rings and placing them on the table.

"This will remove the toxin," Liam explained, pointing at the dark-red flask. "I've added a healing pill for your troubles."

The world instantly parted. The two alchemical products vanished, as well as the man. Of course, Liam had seen the entire process, not missing a single detail. The man had forgotten about him as soon as he saw the antidote.

As for the wife, she had followed her husband's departure with her eyes, but they soon returned to Liam, showing a hint of interest.

"Wanderer, was that truly the antidote?" The woman asked.

"It was," Liam confirmed. The rank 2 healing pill had been an additional kindness, one that could further prove his alchemical prowess.

"Do you think it was wise?" The woman questioned. "Or are you that confident even without a hostage?"

Losing that leverage on the Dark Heaven Tribe could be a heavy blow to Liam's plans. It could even add another enemy to his list while he sat in its home, but his reasons had been far simpler.

"It's nothing deep," Liam revealed, diverting his gaze as screams from the auditory hallucination echoed in his ears. "I just can't bring myself to hate a father protecting his daughter. I guess even I have a limit."