Chapter 416 — Start of Advancement

After the demise of the Commander’s subordinates, Liora did not communicate with Alpha and Assira, nor did she choose to dive deeper into the inheritance she had just obtained.

After dealing with the aftermath of the earlier "battle" and collecting the spoils, she unfolded the palace and swiftly entered it.

Before long, Liora stood alone again in a dark void deep within the building.

As the master of this treasure, Liora couldn’t help but feel a sense of safety upon entering it.

She felt that she would be invulnerable as long as she hid in it.

"The inheritance itself is very valuable, containing several techniques, rare information, and even hidden knowledge that can help me expand my horizons."

"However, the most important thing to me at the moment is the palace itself."

"As an Ancient Devil-level treasure, it can, for all intents and purposes, ensure my safety."

"Even if several Archdevils appear and try to besiege me, they will be unable to hurt me as long as I stay in the palace."

This was the case before Liora advanced to an Archdevil.

Once she did and her control over the palace increased even further, she would be able to use this treasure to launch attacks, too, compared to just using it as an indestructible item like now.

"Fortunately, this day is not very far away...", Liora whispered and took a deep breath.

Every goal in her mind before her departure from the Demon World had already been achieved.

Not only had she obtained the soul-related Greater Devil Technique she sought, but her strength had also improved dramatically.

If anything, her goals had been overachieved, and her gains had gone beyond what she had ever expected.

Now, she possessed everything she needed to advance to an Archdevil.

Or to be more accurate, she had everything she needed to deal with the World Devourer Ancestor blocking her advancement.

Liora remained silent for a while.

Invisibly to the naked eye, her physical strength was slowly consumed and fed back to her soul space, helping it expand little by little, as if it were ready to become a demi-plane.

Every once in a while, she would stop doing this and consume treasures to help her recover.

Then, she would continue operating the unknown technique, feeding back to her soul.

This process lasted for quite a while.

It was only when Liora felt that the enhancement in her soul power was minimal and she would have to spend a long time to improve it any further that she finally stopped and opened her eyes.

A brilliant glint flickered across her crimson pupils.

She didn’t hesitate.

Her demonic energy surged. Her face flashed with determination.

After so long, the time to advance had finally arrived!

At the same time, the time to face the World Devourer Ancestor was nearing!

--

Liora stood alone within the dark space.

Holding a blade made of Nothingness in her palm, she let its gray color reflect in her eyes before suddenly taking action.

Her right hand blurred, and a gray light flashed.

The next moment, blood splattered everywhere.

Not of Liora’s enemies, but from her own body.

With a clean cut following the swing of the blade, Liora’s body was neatly divided into two parts.

As Indestructible Matter flowed towards the wounds, they both recovered instantaneously.

In the blink of an eye, two Lioras had emerged in the dark void.

They both possessed a terrifying aura, reaching the peak of the True Spirit stage and being several times stronger than the Commander.

Liora possessed the ability to create clones since her previous advancement.

However, the clone she created this time was different from the past.

Intelligence could be seen in its eyes, mirroring that in Liora’s own gaze.

"Creating a clone is easy. But having it truly be ’alive’ is impossible for other Greater Devils."

"Only I, whose physical body is strong enough, and whose soul is enough to be divided into two, can achieve this."

"Rather than calling it a clone, it would be more accurate to call it a divided part of my own body. The two are one and the same.", Liora muttered.

Following her words, the two bodies exchanged a glance.

Then, the one on the right began to move.

A small flicker flashed in its eyes as it entered its own soul space and stared at the True Spirit Gate hovering above its head.

With Liora’s strength, pushing it open was possible long ago.

However, the gray miasma constantly trembling around the gate had always stopped her from giving it a try.

The miasma was the representation of the World Devourer Ancestor, who was waiting for her to advance and attempt to take over her body just as they had done while in the Demon Weapon World.

Liora had always been afraid to touch the True Spirit Gate because of this, knowing that doing so was bound to awaken the opponent.

Therefore, since her advancement to a Greater Devil, her stage had not improved at all. Her current strength was the result of her practicing Devil Techniques and other extraordinary encounters.

But today, Liora no longer had that worry.

The moment the eyes of the soul body opened, it stared silently at the True Spirit Gate before moving.

With a flash, it soared into the sky and approached the True Spirit Gate.

Liora’s movements seemed to have alerted the slumbering World Devourer Ancestor.

Although they weren’t enough to awaken them, their instinctive reaction caused them to attack her.

The miasma parted, and gray tentacles made from the power of Nothingness shot out before lashing at Liora with all their strength.

This attack was not a material one. Instead, it directly targeted its opponents’ souls.

The last time the two had met, Liora had to utilize her Demon Weapon to survive the opponent’s attacks.

But now, this blow was no longer as threatening.

"I’ve received the nourishment of the Snake of Time, practiced the unknown soul technique, and even had my soul transform."

"Compared to the last time I faced you, I’m countless times more powerful.", Liora stated.

Facing the lashing tentacle, she didn’t choose to evade, nor did she put up any defense.

Rather, she calmly raised her hand and chopped toward it with her palm, as if she were wielding a knife.

A black light flashed. A loud shriek followed.

The menacing tentacle quivered and spasmed all over the place.

The next moment, it split into two parts before being divided even further.

In an instant, the tentacle had been completely obliterated.

Although the World Devourer Ancestor didn’t suffer any harm and quickly launched another attack, the next tentacle also suffered the same fate.

With a mere wave of Liora’s hands, the opponent’s blows were quickly invalidated, and the tentacles were torn apart.

Step by step, Liora got closer and closer to the True Spirit Gate despite the World Devourer Ancestor’s interference.

An unknown number of destroyed tentacles later, she finally arrived and stood before it.

Its massive size and oppressive aura shocked Liora, as if they possessed the ability to strike at her soul.

Thankfully, her soul power and strong will helped her recover quickly.

Shaking her head and suppressing the impact, she slightly lowered her head before placing her two hands onto the gate.

Then, with a gentle shove, she pushed it forward.