"Ugh." Alex felt excruciating pain as soon as it finished. He had the urge to scratch it but refrained before Alaya said something.

Meanwhile, he began checking what kind of power that the male gave him and observing whether it would be detrimental to him or not.

"You must have felt a great discomfort right now. It's due to Life and Death Power. For now, we should go to a Divine World, so you can refine its power." Alaya explained. "Well, I can also begin recovering my power in the meantime. Foundation Rank to Martial Saint won't be a problem, but God Rank will take at least eight years before I can become a God King again."

"Let's go to Eulja." Alex thought for a moment and turned to Mithra and Lan. "What are you two going to do?"

Mithra and Lan exchanged looks. They wanted to meet Alex again, but when the wish had been fulfilled, they realized that they were just like an ant in front of him. In other words, they would keep becoming his burden during this time.

"If you don't have the place to go, come to Eulja with me," Alex said after noticing their hesitant face.

Mithra thought for a moment and asked Lan. "Are you going to…"

"Ga Wu," Lan told her that he would follow her decision.

She took a deep breath as her expression turned serious. "I have realized that my wish is too naive, and the way I handle things is too soft. Even though I am happy for Master's graciousness, I would like to go on my journey. If I were to fall during this journey, I want to apologize in advance because I can't repay you. Still, I hope that I can see Master soon."

Alex narrowed his eyes and asked again. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Mithra nodded with determination. She didn't want to take advantage of what Alex could give. It would be easy for a person like him to grab someone like her and increase her strength, but Alex might have brought a few other people besides her. The people around him might think that they were leeching off him.

She wanted to take this journey head-on, so no one could tell her that she relied on him to succeed and there wouldn't be an attack on his reputation…Or at least, the one that was related to her.

"Thank you, Master."

Alex thought for a moment and handed a token. "Take this with you."

"What is this?" Mithra tilted her head in confusion.

"I have put an array inside there along with the needed Spiritual Energy. It will be able to save your life once."

"This…Thank you."

"And take this with you too." Alex handed yet another token. "If you have reached the Martial Monarch, destroy this token. You will know what it means when you break it. That's why you should stay alive until then, alright?"

Mithra smiled and repeatedly nodded. "Yes. I will. I still desire to meet you."

Alex nodded and patted her head. "Although you have gotten in a complicated situation, I think no one will approach you for the time being. Take advantage of it and check the whole world. You need to grow faster."

Mithra nodded with a serious expression.

Alex then went to Lan and said, "Although my Pure Fire allowed you to heal yourself, the residual power should be enough to increase your power. Become her partner and protect her, okay? With her also protecting you, you two will become a family."

Lan flapped his wing as if telling him, "Leave it to me."

"Good." Alex nodded with a smile.

Meanwhile, Alaya was impressed by Alex's fortitude. He must be enduring the pain this whole time, yet he could still smile and act so natural. Even she didn't have the confidence to keep it up.

It might be the first time Alaya acknowledged that Alex was also a monster like the previous Spirit God.

"Alright then. I will be looking forward to our next meeting." Alex smiled and waved his hand, summoning the Teleportation Array. "I am sure that I don't need to send you back to the surface, right? Besides, this cave is filled with powerful energy, so I am sure that it will boost your cultivation for a period of time. Try to take advantage of it."

"Yes (Ga Wu)."

Alex then disappeared with Alaya, heading straight to Eulja.

Luckily, it wasn't that far from Eulja. He only needed to endure for a few hours before arriving right in the castle's garden.

"Huft." He let out a sigh as sweats covered his body.

"I will let you do the rest…" Alex said.

Alaya turned around after sensing her presence and sweatdropped. "I guess this is our first meeting, little princess."

"Indeed. I often heard about you from my father but never met you personally."

"Ahaha. Your father looked for me because he thought I would be able to do something for your mother. Unfortunately, reviving the dead is taboo and comes with so many defects. I ended up not agreeing to his request. Do you hate me, Princess?" Alaya smiled.

"Nope. I would be lying if I say I don't wish to see my mother, but I won't hate you for something as simple as that. My father worked twice, if not thrice as hard to fill the role of a father and a mother at the same time. For that, I have nothing to say other than thank you." Lin Xingzhi shook her head. "However, you need to remember this. Don't think that because you are protected by a contract, your life is guaranteed. If you harm Alex, I will surely kill you myself."

"Ahaha. I have no desire to harm him. Of course, I know that you wouldn't buy it. That's why I want to say one thing." Alaya smiled. "You shouldn't put any trust in me, so you can keep observing me."

Lin Xingzhi nodded. "So, what are you planning to do now?"

"I will be helping him with the training, so I need to be beside him until he wakes up."

Lin Xingzhi thought for a moment before waving her hand, lifting both of them up. "I will show you to a room that you can use for practice."

"Much appreciated." Alaya nodded with a smile as Lin Xingzhi carried them inside the castle.

She looked around the castle while asking, "The current Spirit God is more amazing than the past…"

"Who knows." She shrugged. "I have never compared them because they are all the same."

"Fair enough."

"But just don't mistake him as a Spirit God. Please call him Alex instead of that title because we have our own circumstances."

"Sure thing." Alaya nodded.

"I just want to ask you one last thing." Lin Xingzhi narrowed her eyes.

"Alright. You can ask me anything."

"Are you planning to…" Lin Xingzhi hesitated and shook her head. "Never mind."

As if she understood what she was going to ask, Alaya replied to the unfinished question. "I am not planning to do that. Besides, because of the previous battle and the side effect of faking my death, I only have one thousand years to live. I just want to enjoy my life peacefully like this without tying a knot with anyone.

"Do you know why I am known as the Life and Death Goddess?" Alaya smiled. "It's because I have witnessed so many of it. I know how happy when a life was born and I know how painful it is to see someone we hold dear be separated forever. That's why I am not planning to do anything.

"I hope that you can treat me as someone who is in her retirement. Of course, if we don't count the time I've spent during my own death, our current age is pretty similar, you know. So, call me Alaya, Princess." She smiled.

"Are you implying that I am old?" She narrowed her eyes.

"No, no. I know that I should have more lifespan, but this is the only thing I can do. Maybe I should pick up a disciple or something, but I will wait until we defeat the beast."

"You haven't answered my answer."

"Princess… We both are women. Age is sensitive, so let's stop talking about it."

"No, no. This is an important topic." Lin Xingzhi shook her head while narrowing her eyes.

"Whether you are old or not, it's your choice. You can tell the world you are old even though your lifespan allows you to live for at least another ten thousand years. That's why it's better to drop this topic." Alaya facepalmed in disappointment.

"Anyway, you can call me Lin Xingzhi or just Xingzhi."

"Yes, Xingzhi. You are indeed that old man's daughter." Alaya laughed, recalling how the old man acted in front of him. "Anyway, I will be watching over this planet until I die. That's something I can promise. You don't need to give me a special identity or something."

"I shall do that." Lin Xingzhi nodded. "So, how long do you think he will be in this state?"

"I am not sure because this is the first time I did it. I think he will finish the process in less than a year, depending on his talent."

"Alright then. I hope that it won't take too long."

"It won't. Trust me." She said with a serious expression.

Lin Xingzhi was bewildered for a second before shaking her head. "I didn't mean the refining process. I was talking about the importance of the bat investigation."

"Ah!" Alaya scratched the back of her head.

"I want you to tell me everything I need to know, especially regarding the Great War. I don't like to see the unknown party."

"I agree. I also need to get more information about them from you, so I can talk about how terrifying they are currently. From what I know, they seem to have a limited lifespan, so that's the reason why most of this only started occurring recently. I hope that you are ready to fight them."

"Of course, we are ready. We will do our investigation first. After Alex wakes up, we can talk about it in detail and start planning the countermeasure. How about it?"

"Sure." She nodded with a serious expression. "I will gain my power as quickly as possible."

They arrived at the room in the middle of the corridor. It was a Guest Room with the same feature as the main bedroom since Alex would also use it together with Alaya.

"This is the room. You can rest assured that no one will bother you until you are done. If you need something, there is an array next to the door. Just activate it and the maid will come to you."

"I understand." Alaya smiled.

"Then, I will leave you alone.' She closed the door, leaving Alex and Alaya in the room.

Alaya put down Alex on the bed before she sat in a lotus pose, faced him, and started cultivating as well.magic