While Eden and Seraphina were dealing with Dominique, Nova, Everly, and Rayna had just finished briefing Aelina about their time in the Forbidden Forest.
On Aelina's normally unreadable face, a slight frown hung upon her lips as she thought about their story. While tapping the armrest of her chair, her gaze sharpened, and she stared at the girls in front of her, looking for any signs of deceit. She even used a sliver of Qi to examine their minds and bodies to ensure they weren't brainwashed.
However, her frown deepened when she found that they were fine other than a poison slowly being expelled from their bodies.
After a few moments of silence, Aelina spoke up in a somewhat skeptical tone, "...So, you're saying that at the center of the Forbidden Forest is a Basilisk?"
Nova nodded.
"...And that Mira made some sort of deal with this Basilisk for a bit of Celestial Nectar?"
Nova nodded again, cold sweat starting to form on her forehead.
"...To top it off, not only is a massive Heartwood Corruptor at the center of the forest, but the Toxic Blade Sect has made this place their home."
"D-Don't forget that we heard the Sect Master of the Toxic Blade Sect was meeting with the Crimson Slayer Sect." Nova chimed in, feeling like this point was more important to the Sect as a whole.
"..."
Aelina's lips parted, staring at Nova speechlessly, wondering if she happened to enjoy repeating bad news. Shaking her head of useless thoughts, she asked them, "Was it just the Crimson Slayer Sect he was meeting with? Or is there someone else involved? For example, maybe the Shadoe Necromancer Sect."
"No, Sect Master." Everly stepped up, shaking her head, "We didn't hear anyone mention anything about the Shadow Necromancer Sect, or any other Sect for that matter."
Aelina nodded thoughtfully and didn't pursue the topic anymore.
"Then... do you know what sort of deal Mira made with the Basilisk? Or perhaps when she plans on leaving?"
Nova and Everly looked away, embarrassed.
"T-That... I'm sorry, Sect Master, but as soon as it looked at me, I froze. I can't recall anything that happened after that." Nova stuttered.
"T-The same goes for me, as well, Sect Master! I don't know what happened, it was almost like I suddenly died for a few minutes then came back to life." Everly said, the fear of facing such a monster still etched into her bones.
Although Aelina was a bit disappointed, she understood that they didn't stand much of a chance against an old mythical beast.
However, just as she was about to nod, Rayna quietly spoke up, "...I believe I heard her mention a treasure that can speed up the maturation of plants."
Aelina froze for a split second, her eyebrows twitching, before her head shot over to Rayna in surprise.
"Who did you hear say that? Mira?" She hurriedly asked to which Rayna nodded.
"Haaa..." She slumped in her chair and sighed. However, on the inside, she was screaming.
'Dammit! My herbs!' Aelina almost forgot that Mira had a lot of her high-grade herbs that still needed more time to mature, along with so many more. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Mira was a walking Sect right now with how many herbs she had on her.
'I swear, if that damn Basilisk thinks about doing anything to Mira or taking my herbs...! I'll drag that bastard out of his hole and make sure he doesn't have another day of peace!' She bit her cheek to calm down as she realized that maybe leaving everything in Mira's possession wasn't the smartest idea.
'But what else can I do? Such a treasure is too amazing not to use. Even that Basilisk entered into an agreement with her!'
Aelina took a deep breath, regaining her composure. "I see," she said with a calm voice, hiding the turmoil within. "It seems that we have quite a few matters to deal with."
Nova, Everly, and Rayna nodded in agreement, knowing the importance of the information they had just provided.
"We'll have to put off attacking the Toxic Blade Sect anytime soon, given that they reside in a natural barrier. Not to mention they have a Basilisk 'guarding' them. If we make too much noise, we might disturb it." Aelina thought out loud before she muttered:
"...Hopefully, Mira can form a good relationship with it to give us a major edge in this war."
Everyone's expression fell after Aelina said that.
Mira? Form good relationships with someone?
Fat chance!!
Hell will freeze over before Mira decides to be nice to someone!
They'd be more than satisfied as long as she doesn't cause the thing to have a blood feud with the Battle Maiden. No, they'd be satisfied as long as Mira came back in one piece.
"Haaa... Come on. Do you guys really think so low of Mira? From what I've seen so far, she's a rather intelligent woman. She wouldn't be so stupid as to anger the beast, would she?" Everly sighed and asked aloud.
Aelina gave the woman a deadpan glare, causing her to shrink away.
"You underestimate Mira's ability to make enemies. Just her existing seems to cause most people to hate her, much less when she opens her mouth." Aelina spoke with confidence. After Mira's last adventure outside the Sect, Aelina felt like the sky might collapse should she allow Mira out again.
That's how much trouble she managed to cause. In such a short amount of time, as well!
"...I should probably start increasing the Sect's defenses just in case an angry Basilisk comes knocking at our doors," Aelina muttered, half-jokingly, as she doubted a mythical beast would be so petty that it would cause trouble for them even if Mira were the one at fault.
However, she wasn't one to rely on "what-ifs". If there was even a hint of a possibility of a Basilisk coming over, looking to slaughter, then she had to be prepared for it.
"Is that really necessary, Sect Master?" Nova asked.
Aelina looked at her, thought for a moment, and chuckled. Shaking her head, she said, "No. Not really. What can any of us do in the face of such a beast?"
The three breathed a sigh of relief as they wanted nothing more to do with the Basilisk.
But before they could become too relaxed, Aelina said, "However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't heighten our defenses. The Toxic Blade Sect is an ancient and powerful organization. They might not have the greatest individual combat power or cultivation, but their unique poisons make them annoyingly deadly individuals."
"Back in my day, most of the disciples rigged their bodies to explode in a poisonous mess should they die. That way, they can avenge themselves. Truly a bunch of pests, even until the end." Aelina frowned, just thinking about those times.
She almost kicked the bucket on more than one occasion whenever she had to fight against them. The problem with fighting them was that entering a melee duel just didn't work. All of their weapons were poisoned, their aura was toxic, and even their breath smelled like a donkey's ass!
While she tried to avoid them as much as possible, back then, they were much more rampant and unruly than they are now. She'd almost always see them when she was out searching for lucky encounters, and she'd almost always have to fight them.
Nova and Everly felt chills run down their spines, glad that they didn't face any of them head-on without fully understanding their capabilities. While Rayna kept a neutral expression on her face, not fazed by this information at all.
However, if one were to look closely, they'd notice that the veins on her hands were more visible than they were before, but unfortunately, nobody saw that. After a split second, she returned to normal as if nothing happened.
"Anyways, you three just go back and rest. Thank you for reporting everything to me. I'll talk with the Elders about what we should do going forward and how we should prepare for the Toxic Blade Sect's inevitable involvement. I'll call for you when I need you." Aelina said, chasing them away, as there was a lot she needed to do and not enough time to do it.
The three understood that and gave Aelina a bow before heading down the mountain toward their homes to rest.
"Speaking of Mira, I wonder if Eden and Seraphina were able to heal her disciple." Everly pointed out, causing Nova to stop for a moment.
"Hmm... You're right. I almost forgot about that," She muttered before she resumed walking, except this time in a slightly different direction.
"We might as well check in on them to make sure everything went smoothly."
Everly didn't have a problem with that and followed after Nova, along with Rayna, who just decided to go with the flow.
With that, the three of them their way toward Mira's residence.
