When they learned that the portals being up the colossal tree was a lie fabricated by Mental Lord Vincent, the group grew visibly anxious.
Dastan was so furious he recited a long, impressively creative string of curses targeting Vincent's lineage, intelligence, and afterlife.
Barcas asked how Leyvi had managed to climb the colossal tree when no one else could. Leyvi simply answered with his usual lie that he possessed a unique heavenly body that allowed him to climb any tree.
The crowd was left dumbfounded. What kind of useless unique heavenly body is that?
Lily glanced at Leyvi with open suspicion. Didn't you already have a unique heavenly body to dismantle formations? How many unique heavenly bodies do you have?
Leyvi then recounted his encounter with Mental Lord Vincent, describing in vivid detail how Ava had saved the day and how Vincent had met his end.
Those from the Protogaea Continent were stunned to hear that one of the strongest and most elusive individuals in this Mystic Realm expedition had died just like that.
Of course, Leyvi did not mention Ava's new eye power, making Vincent's demise seem even more bizarre and inexplicable to his listeners.
After that, he told them about his experiences while staying within the Waniwani Commerce Plaza, which reminded him of the heavenly dishes he had stocked up on.
He brought out several servings so everyone could enjoy a proper meal. The ladies were especially joyful to taste such exquisite food again after so long.
Leyvi did not miss this chance to tell Valenia about Ayaya and Lumine, that they had been captured by Prince Charles and were being forced to work there.
Valenia acted as though she did not care, but her heart stirred with a quiet sympathy. After all, they had journeyed alongside her for a time. Even though Lumine had been all too obvious about her ulterior motives, especially after mentioning Tasya's cooking ability, Valenia knew it was likely tied to her career as a Spirit Gourmet Maestro. She was not truly a bad person, just ambitious in her own way.
Leyvi also informed them that all the people on their list whom he had managed to meet were already part of a faction. Some had joined voluntarily, others had been captured.
He explained that he had tried to invite those who joined willingly to come with his group. But considering he was a suspicious stranger recruiting them while claiming that someone they knew was with him, nobody would be foolish enough to believe such a story.
Seraphina could not help but scold Leyvi for failing to persuade her former bodyguard to join him. If he had succeeded, she would have someone to order around right now.
Livana felt glad to hear that Princess Waniwani was doing well. After all, she had been one of the princess's royal guards. Even though she would not be returning to Princess Waniwani's side, having decided to go to the Cloud Continent with her lover Barcas, she still cared deeply about the princess's well-being.
The next piece of news Leyvi delivered caused Dastan to become extremely enraged.
Dastan refused to believe that all of his Royal Guards, including his Royal Guard Captain, had perished.
He even accused Rose, who had led the investigation, of possibly manipulating the information to trick everyone for her own ulterior motives.
But Rose denied his accusation calmly, stating she had no reason whatsoever to fabricate the results they had uncovered.
This only heightened the tension between Dastan and Rose.
When Dastan grew more and more unreasonable in his fit of rage, Anda finally stepped in to stop it.
Once Anda had spoken, Dastan obediently, if reluctantly, calmed himself down.
Rose could not help but become more and more impressed with Anda.
As a member of the Love Ecstasy Sect, she had studied the many natural bearings and dispositions of people. Understanding psychology and identifying a person's true self were crucial to increasing the effectiveness of her illusions.
Because of this, she had observed countless individuals over the years, including many of the top female figures of the Protogaea Continent. Women with immense cultivation, authority, and influence.
And she was certain of one thing.
Anda carried the bearing of a True Queen.
Not a title. Not a throne. A presence.
It was the kind of aura that did not need to be asserted. Others submitted to it instinctively. The kind that bent the atmosphere of a room simply by existing within it. Rose had only met Anda for a short time, yet she had already witnessed it firsthand.
It felt as though Anda had been born for this role.
Even Tamina, who would become a queen in the future, seemed to lack this particular quality, at least from what Rose had seen so far.
However, a woman with this kind of bearing usually would not settle for just any man. And even if she did, unless it served some grand ambition, she would never willingly share her man with others.
So, to see someone with such a dominant, queenly presence openly welcoming and even promoting a harem for her husband was a deeply interesting surprise. It was an anomaly, to say the least.
That said, Rose knew she might be completely mistaken in her observations. She could not know for sure.
Perhaps Anda harbored a grand personal ambition, similar to the War Empress Celes of legend, who had famously used a harem as part of her conquest. Empress Celes was a legendary figure who had undoubtedly possessed the bearing of a True Queen.
After the situation with Dastan subsided, Leyvi did something to lighten the mood.
He told them he had spent some time looting the ancient palaces and had gained various treasures.
He walked around the main hall, and a steady stream of treasures began to emerge, one after another, quickly filling the space. The only things he did not bring out were the alchemy-related items. Those were for Anda alone.
The women's eyes were naturally drawn first to the ancient jewelry and beautiful gemstones.
He told them to divide the treasures among themselves.
Everything he brought out was just a small portion of what he had gathered, so it was not a big deal at all. Furthermore, they had all been traveling together for quite a while, always listening to Anda's lead. How could he act stingy with them now?
But to the others, Leyvi appeared like a God of Generosity.
They had no idea Leyvi possessed an internal storage room. All these treasures were enough to fill three spatial rings, so they assumed he had brought out most of what he had found.
After all, if it were them, they would have kept everything for themselves. People had killed one another for far less than these valuable ancient relics.
As for Dastan, he was already familiar with Leyvi's generous nature and did not react like the others.
His mood improved considerably after receiving incredibly rare metals, which he could use to create several more magnificent vehicle-type spirit artifacts. He even described his plans in detail to Tantan, who was glad to see her master still held a passionate interest in metallic monsters. Her dream of bullying large demonic beasts was still very much alive.
After the treasure-dividing session was done and the mood had turned lively again, Leyvi shared the final piece of important news.
He told them that a portal had appeared in Formation Prodigy Bellion's territory.
"Daa hahaha! So we can go home after all! Damn you, Leyvi! You intentionally held onto this news until now. You made this prince anxious for nothing," Dastan laughed, his earlier tension melting away.
"Heh, don't get too happy just yet. A portal has appeared, but we do not know for sure if it will lead back to our planet. What if it leads to the underground world you were originally supposed to go to?" Leyvi cautioned.
"Damn it, Leyvi! Don't jinx it! This prince can't take it anymore!" Dastan said, his anxiety returning in a flash.
"Hahaha! Look at you. Gonna cry again?" Leyvi teased.
"Bullshit! When did this prince ever cry!" Dastan retorted.
"So, get packing, everyone. Our next destination is Bellion's territory. We are going to wait there until the portal is ready." Leyvi ignored Dastan and announced to the room.
Barbara and Barcas, the twins, exchanged a serious look.
Barcas shifted his gaze to Leyvi and said, "If there is only one portal, we might be in trouble."
His words drew everyone's attention.
"Huh? Why?" Leyvi asked.
"Sigh… I thought so. It seems everyone has forgotten that each portal has a numerical limit on how many people it can transport. With only one portal, there is no way everyone here can use it," Barcas explained.
Almost everyone was left dumbfounded. They had indeed forgotten all about that limitation.
"I see. That means a major war could break out over control of the portal. A serious problem indeed," Anda said thoughtfully.
Hearing the word "war," the mood in the room grew tense, and everyone grew visibly nervous.