Damien wanted to leave immediately, but that wasn't a freedom given to him.
The day after their meeting with Julian Veritas, Yulia approached him with a message.
"There are other people who will be joining you on your trip to the Southern Region, so you will have to wait. Don't worry, it won't be longer than 2 weeks at the very most."
To summarize what she said, a teleportation array that could cross hundreds of trillions or even more kilometers in one smooth jump wasn't cheap to run.
The materials were actually nonsensical to gather, so in terms of usage, the array was quite inefficient. It could at most be fired once a year in order to do so without wasting resources that were needed elsewhere.
Damien wanted to look at the array and see if he could improve it, but there was no reason to. At least, not before he got to the Southern Region.
Plus, he didn't really mind. Two weeks wasn't a short time but it also wasn't too long. It was just enough for him to finish up his business in Veritas.
Currently, Damien was in the process of "relaxing."
Or at least, that was how outsiders saw it.
He spent most of his days meditating, sunk deep into his thoughts as he perceived the concept of harmony. When he wasn't, he was ambling around the various compounds of the Veritas Estate doing this and that without any clear goal.
But that was nothing more than a front.
While Damien did want to comprehend the concept of harmony as soon as possible, it wasn't something that could be realized through meditation.
Harmony had to be achieved naturally, because that was its entire purpose. Damien would eventually harmonize with nature, but he couldn't force it at all.
He spent a lot of time in what looked like meditation, but in reality, his mind was elsewhere.
He just left his main body alone so he could keep up the image of being aimless.
But Damien didn't just have one body. Putting aside the nigh-infinite number of mana clones he could make, he had two other true bodies he could use as he pleased.
The first was Alexander, and the second was his non-living Avatar, which he'd been calling Damian for convenience.
Alexander and Damian were undergoing the tasks he assigned to them.
On one hand, Alexander was building prominence in the Eastern Region.
His job was to build a sect. He would take in disciples, train them, and prepare them as a secret army for whenever they were needed in the future.
Alexander was also in charge of the Sanctuary. Ever since he came to the Heavenly World, Damien used Alexander to help those in his pocket universe ascend through the things he knew and the laws he used.
Rose, Ruyue, and Elena were already at the cusp of Divinity. All they needed to do was cement themselves on the paths they wished to take and form the nature of their Divinities to undergo Cosmic Rebirth.
However, those like Elvira, Bai Yuxuan, Feng Yuxiang, Bianca Snow, and Lucius, who had been stuck in 4th class for a very long time, were able to make rapid progress under his guidance.
The Sanctuary was no longer what it used to be.
Rather than a sub-universe or a separated plane, it was now a true universe in its own right.
It had the capability to provide Cosmic Rebirth for its inhabitants, and it had the ability to contain those who completed the process.
If there was a difference between the Sanctuary and Grand Heavens Boundary, it was what happened after.
There was no ascension mechanism, since the Sanctuary didn't have any connection to the Heavenly World, but it also didn't have the restrictions of Grand Heavens Boundary.
Damien constantly shared the knowledge he gained with his personal universe, and now the Demigods who lived there had a clear understanding of where they stood in terms of power scale and where they needed to reach.
They had the ability to do so with the Sanctuary's firm Universal Law that was edging closer to a Heavenly Order with every passing day, and for the majority, they didn't even feel the need to leave for a higher plane.
The Sanctuary had everything they could ever ask for. There were several secret realms that could aid Demigods and more were popping up every few months.
The existence of the Void Library meant they could be assisted on their lonely roads to true power and didn't have to walk in the dark as they'd have to do if they left.
And most importantly, there was a sense of community.
The Sanctuary was one big family. Yes, there were those who wanted to ruin order. Yes, there were countless conflicts across the vast expanse of worlds.
However, that couldn't be changed unless one removed free will from the equation.
What made the Sanctuary different was that people who threatened its overall security were never allowed to fester.
A threat that could tear its denizens into factions that absolutely hated each other couldn't exist.
Therefore, not to mention safety, just the environment of the Sanctuary was far more welcoming and promoted thoughts of growth and prosperity.
Damien was still taking his stance as an absentee creator. He didn't want to be too involved in the Sanctuary's development, because he wanted those people to grow in the way they felt was best for themselves.
It was their home, after all, not his.
But Alexander was the one who facilitated their ideas. Alexander was the one they could use to adapt and change the Sanctuary itself to best support them.
So he worked alongside Lynn to do the most important things without actually giving his input on many of those decisions.
Alexander had quite the busy life, but since he was an autonomous clone, Damien didn't have to directly control him.
Damian was different. Damian did have a portion of Damien's soul, but he didn't have any sense of ego. He was a husk, to put it simply.
If Damien wanted to use Damian, he had to place his mind in the Avatar body and move it on his own.
That was the reason his main body was relatively dormant.
Because while Damien stayed in the Eastern Region and Alexander worked ceaselessly for the future, Damian was already on his way to the Northeast.
The Straea Clan wasn't easy to deal with.
In fact, they were a downright diabolical force without any sort of morals. The only reason they could keep their status was because they had unreasonable strength.
Damien had to focus on the Straea Clan itself, but that wasn't all there was to deal with.
Under the main clan were the 4 Evils. They were not clans or sects like the Sapientia Clan under Veritas, but four individuals who had the same standing.
Because those 4 individuals each had the power to rival a minor clan like Sapientia.
To combat them, Damien needed more assistance.
And he had the perfect people in mind.
Damian wasn't headed to the Northeastern Region without a plan. No, he was going to gather the connections Damien made while acting as a mercenary in their territory.
With two great clans at his side, what did he have to fear?
As long as everything went according to his plans, saving Void Palace wasn't even a question anymore.
Instead, it was only a matter of time and effort.
