"Lawrence!"

  His return to the Forbidden Area does not go unnoticed by the guardian beast, the Qilin immediately detects Lawrence and roars furiously.

  "Once I'm done with them, I will kill you! You are considered a danger to the balance!"

  Lawrence frowns at this unexpected information. A danger to the balance? Which balance? Are these the delusions of a mad beast or do his words hold some deep meaning? But the elders of the Sacred Rock Sect do not give him time to ponder this.

  "Moonlight--!"

  "Watch out, Elder Ash!"

  As Elder Ash attempts to attack Lawrence, the malevolent Qilin uses this oversight to claim his life instead. Elder Ash's eyes widen at the attack, impossible to block or dodge, 'Why? Why does this beast insist on fighting us when we both have the same enemy?'

  Then a gigantic palace intervenes. The Qilin's sand tornado destroys part of the palace and pushes back its owner.

  "Cough... This Qilin has made us a priority, don't look away, Elder Ash!"

  Blood emerges from Elder Cloud's lips, receiving a direct attack from a legendary beast caused more damage than expected. Slowly the palace is being rebuilt, but if he receives more attacks like the previous one, his Way will be damaged for life.

  "This enmity will not be resolved until one of us dies!"

  The bloodshot eyes of Elder Ash momentarily turn towards Lawrence and then to the Qilin, if not for the help of Elder Cloud, he would already be dead!

  The infernal battle resumes once more, only this time there is a spectator who smiles and claps each time one of the participants is injured. As time passes, Lawrence's smile fades as he predicts the inevitable outcome.

  "Tsk."

  He activates the portal and walks through it, disappearing without a trace. The elders see this as an opportunity, but quickly all hope vanishes as they see that its teleportation is anomalously canceled.

  Something must have happened to the destination portal.

  When Lawrence returns to the mansion, his first action is to create a Dimensional Rift, but this one is quite different from those he usually uses, it leads to the chaotic dimension he obtained after enhancing his innate ability. A dimension only he can access, and whose items inside can only remain for a limited time before being destroyed by the chaos.

  Without any fear, he sends the portal to such a place.

  'The portal materials are durable, but their damage will be irreversible in about twelve hours from now...' Lawrence estimates the time the portal can last in that chaotic dimension before being destroyed, after this, he shifts his focus in another direction.

  "As we feared, the Forbidden Area is not as simple as it seems."

  Serene Will, Sky Petal, and Coldness Divine listen to his account of what happened with the Qilin's sudden level increase and his conjectures about it.

  "No, it can't be." Serene Will recalls her self before ascending to the Divine Plane. "Back then I was at my prime, I had power and wealth, and yet I didn't consider myself a match... Your conjectures must be wrong, there's no way a native from the Inferior Plane could challenge it successfully."

  Coldness Divine sees her reaction and takes a deep breath. The kingdoms of both may not be close to each other, but she can guess which Forbidden Area Serene Will is referring to.

  She was about to talk about it, when Lawrence brings them back to the present.

  "It's time, those elders won't last much longer. We need to bring in fresh blood."

  When Lawrence was not around, it was Serene Will who explained his plan to the others. She had read his mind back then, she knows perfectly well what her husband is scheming.

  He smiles and creates a Dimensional Rift. "Let's return to the Divine Plane. If today that deer does not die, we will have to surrender at that tree."

  +++

  At the same time as Lawrence and company travel to the Divine Plane for the second time, the Sacred Rock Sect suffers from a confusion of astronomical magnitudes.

  "The Lunar Cascade Sect... What are they planning?"

  Both Elder Red Mountain and the newly appointed elders and disciples of the sect are seriously considering the idea that the Lunar Cascade Sect has broken the cold war and has decided to make movements against them openly.

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  "If they eliminate the blood trace from the portal, our sect will lose one of its rights. The portal itself may not be of interest, but the problem lies in that this portal is enabled to operate throughout the Heavenly Path Kingdom!"

  Just thinking about the stolen trade route, all present feel their hatred grow towards the rival sect.

  The portals in the Heavenly Path Kingdom are strictly limited, each belonging to one of the three major sects, while only one per city will be public property. What would the kingdom be without the existence of such portals? Nothing, just a speck of dust. These not only function as trade routes but also for the travel of all kinds of hunters. Without this diversity of cultures, no city would thrive.

  The portal should have had better protection, but this weakness itself was a sign of openness to the other sects. If this incursion is successful, yours will be too.

  Now all trust has been broken.

  "Elder! The portal has restored its signal!"

  The words of a disciple bring everyone present to their senses.

  "We still don't know what's happening on the other side of that portal, so this time we'll act with caution. Only the elite can enter, only those I select will be allowed. I will accept no objections."

  Elder Red Mountain is in control of this incursion. Whether elders or disciples, no one dares contradict him. He personally selects the elders and sends them through the portal.

  "Halt!"

  Just one of his words is enough for no one to dare make a move. The next second, the disciple in charge of the portal is terrified.

  "E- Elder, the portal has lost its signal."

  "I know."

  Elder Red Mountain sighs noticeably, "I know."

  This time only three elders chosen by him managed to cross the portal. Just as the fourth was about to enter, he stopped him, saving his life from a failed teleportation. No one present dared to speak, all remained silent, waiting for Elder Red Mountain to say something about it.

  But in the end, he said nothing.

  Time passes again and the personnel in the room maintain their discretion, no one dares speak more than necessary. Until the voice of the disciple once again echoes.

  "Elder, the portal has restored its signal."

  Everyone directs their attention toward Elder Red Mountain and is surprised by his next action.

  "E- Elder?"

  "Hah, I can't believe that at this age I have to move these old bones."

  "Elder! You're not thinking of--"

  "I have to do it. If my presence means anything, I hope to bring reason to the Lunar Cascade Sect. A war with them will have irremediable consequences, I cannot allow such a thing to happen."

  Elder Red Mountain walks toward the portal and stops in front of it. Then he looks back at the faces of all those who were once under his care and smiles. Only he knows the meaning of that smile.

  "If I don't return, don't send anyone after me, this isn't something any of you can resolve."

  Leaving those words behind him, he steps into the portal.

  At the next moment, the portal loses all signal.

  +++

  Lawrence creates a Dimensional Rift destined for the chaotic dimension, the only place where the signal of the female portal can be nullified when, both in the Inferior Plane and in the Divine Plane, his enemies await him.

  As soon as he acquires the return portal, he creates a Dimensional Rift to the Inferior Plane and waits. He is not alone, his women are accompanying him closely to respond to any situation. The previous event left a mark on them, those elders were in a superior league compared to Elder Cloud and Elder Ash. They will not allow such a thing to happen again.

  "They are coming."

  The portal activates without any warning and a man transports through it.

  His appearance is very common, an elderly man with white hair and beard, green eyes, and many wrinkles on his face, but it is still possible to glimpse the beauty he maintained when he was young.

  Unlike the previous elders, this one does not care about what lies beyond the portal, because as soon as he steps through it, he does not move away like the others.

  "Ho?"

  When their gazes meet, they understand perfectly, they cannot allow the arrival of a new stranger! They must send the portal back to the Inferior Plane and carry out the plan! Lawrence immediately steps back towards the Dimensional Rift, while his women protect the retreat route.

  "I knew it. A third party was involved."

  "Eh?"

  Lawrence senses that something is wrong. From behind, he feels a deep impact and is sent to the Inferior Plane much sooner than planned.

  After coming to, he realizes that he is not the only one who has crossed through the Dimensional Rift, Sky Petal is also with him, and that's not all. Both he and Sky Petal are severely injured.

  "Aaaagh! That bastard is dangerous!"

  Lawrence complains about the pain but forces himself to stand up using sacred magic. He walks awkwardly toward the Dimensional Rift and waits, not calmly, but with a fear he did not think he would experience today.

  "Do it! Quick!"

  Coldness Divine and Serene Will return to the Inferior Plane with injuries much worse than his, but Lawrence does not waste time thinking about such things.

  In the same instant he positions the portal in front of the Dimensional Rift, a man appears through the latter. His cold and emotionless gaze freezes Lawrence's body, even if it was just for a fraction of a second, that man tried to raise his hand and launch an attack against him, but all attempts were in vain.

  The teleportation was already underway and that man is forced to disappear from this place in the direction of the Forbidden Area Cloudsea.

  In a hurry, Lawrence cancels the Dimensional Rift from the Divine Plane and creates a new one destined for the chaotic dimension. Only when the portal is successfully sent to that place does he fall to the floor, sighing in relief.

  He then asks: "How serious are your injuries?"

  "I lost my arm and Serene Will is about to lose hers."

  While Coldness Divine lost her left arm, the pieces of flesh indicate the pain she must be enduring at the moment, Serene Will has an irregular cut on her right arm. If she does not receive treatment right now, she will lose it.

  Lawrence extends his hand toward Serene Will and regenerates her arm to the point of not being considered an emergency, but this also meant that he did not heal it completely.

  "This is not over yet, and I cannot lose my mobility at this moment. Coldness Divine, you understand, don't you?"

  "Yes."

  Despite all the wounds on her body, Coldness Divine does not hesitate to use fire magic to close the cut on her arm. The next moment, Lawrence uses his sacred magic on her, finishing her treatment.

  "If it's a wound that can wait, then let it be. Once all this is over, it won't be too late to help you."

  Lawrence superficially heals the wounds of all of them, while he himself heals completely. When all the wounds on his body are treated, Lawrence consumes some medicinal pills and then creates a Dimensional Rift.

  He must return to the Forbidden Area.