Damien sighed at the unfortunate timing, but he figured it'd be weirder if the Empyrean Dragon Realm didn't open at a time like this.
After all, with how much rampant mana had been spread into the atmosphere during the previous matter with the Wang Clan, it was only natural that a mana-reactive gate like a secret realm entrance would be aroused.
Wild spatial fluctuations started to spread from the middle of the crowd. But since most people weren't skilled enough to feel those fluctuations, they weren't able to move away in time.
Although the geniuses from major powers were warned by their elders and hence left the area, many rogue cultivators were directly sucked into the forming spatial rift that had spawned.
Damien glanced at them through the folds of space. A few hundred had been sucked in, but only tens of them survived and successfully entered the secret realm. The others were either torn apart and killed by the unstable space or teleported randomly across the Central Continent.
'Haa, I guess I can consider myself lucky to be a spatial cultivator. Even if a situation like this occurs, nothing will happen to me.'
Soon, the spatial rift stabilized. The entrance to the secret realm truly opened, and had become safe enough for those who had come for it to flood into it.
Damien looked around, spotting Long Chen in the crowd. When he did, he couldn't help but grin.
'Little brat, it seems you've been busy while I was away. Look at you moving around with a beauty in each arm. And isn't that your master? I can't believe you had the gall to bag a Sect Elder.'
Damien's mental transmission entered Long Chen's head, almost causing him to stumble.
'I see you are just as crass as always. Hypocritical, too. Why didn't you tell me that the two Heavenly Fairies of the Supreme Fairy Paradise were your women? Not to mention the little princess of the Xue Clan. I thought I had a knack for making enemies, but now that I see you I don't dare to say I'm the best at it.'
'Enemies or stepping stones, it hasn't yet been decided what their position will be. Anyway, get in there and become more powerful. Next time we fight, the punishment will be calling me Boss for the rest of your life.'
Long Chen grinned wolfishly. 'Tch. Someone like Wang Tianhe doesn't represent my fighting prowess. If you think you can manhandle me like you did to him, then you're in for a great surprise when you taste my blade.'
Damien returned the same ferocious smile. 'Good! That's the kind of confidence any subordinate of mine should have. Very well then, I look forward to our meeting in the secret realm. Let's try not to kill each other this time though, okay?'
Long Chen gave one final nod before jumping into the secret realm entrance with the beauty by his side. Damien didn't know who she was, but considering how the other scions looked at her, she must've been someone with high status.
As for Xiao Xun, as an Elder of the Celestial Star Palace, let alone entering the secret realm, she couldn't even publicly show too much affection for Long Chen. If they didn't have something like Damien's trained eye, or Rose's insane ability, nobody would be able to tell the true nature of their relationship.
After his greeting to Long Chen, Damien's gaze turned towards a certain group of individuals with snow-white hair. Looking at them, he could only feel disdain in his heart.
'Isn't this a great way to start Ruyue's revenge against the Xue Clan? The fact that her most earnest wish is to kill the man who claims to be her father, what kind of hellish treatment did they put her through? Let's see how many of your geniuses can come out of this expedition alive.'
Finally, his gaze turned back to Elena. Although their reunion and the talk they needed to have couldn't happen because of the secret realm opening, it was simply delayed instead of cancelled. He had no plans of letting go of this opportunity.
He turned to Rose and Ruyue, who both nodded to him with smiles on their faces. It seemed the two of them were planning to explore the secret realm together as well.
Conveniently, or should he say, purposefully, giving him an opportunity to be alone with Elena.
He was truly grateful to have such understanding women. He once again resolved himself to reciprocate their trust in him a hundredfold and flashed away, appearing next to Elena.
He held his hand out in an exaggerated manner. "Now then, shall we go?"
Elena looked at him up and down. Even though he's changed so much in the time they were apart, both when he was pushed into the dungeon and on their time in the Cloud Plane, the Damien she knew and the one she had fallen so head over heels for was still present somewhere in there.
Just the fact that he had finally come to her earnestly like this was enough to affirm her of this fact.
She grabbed his outstretched hand gracefully. "With such an amazing guide leading me, how could I refuse?"
The two of them flashed away. Damien entered the chaotic space of the spatial rift with Elena's hand in his.
'Interesting…my control over Dimensional Magic has improved to such a point.'
Since the previous spatial rift he entered was conjured by a Demigod, he didn't notice it. But now, his improvement was basically shoving itself in his face to see.
Within the chaotic space, he could see the outline of the entire Empyrean Dragon Sect. The spatial transmission formation had been laid out to cover the entire sect and transport them in randomly, but he didn't have to rely on such chance.
He felt how easy it was to wade through normal space when he left the 3000 Beast Mountain Range. With this kind of ability, choosing where the spatial transmission formation would spit them out was a piece of cake.
'Even then, I can't really tell which areas will be more beneficial compared to others. Since this time, I'm focusing on Elena's improvement rather than my own, I should just drop us somewhere near the main sect and allow fate to do the rest.'
He imprinted the map of the Empyrean Dragon Sect that he was seeing into his head. It would be useful later when he had to go to the sect's center to contact the World Core. After he was finished, he chose a relatively inconspicuous area and allowed the spatial transmission formation to do the rest.
The duo soon appeared in the middle of a small forest. It was just a normal forest, with average-sized trees and no beasts inhabiting it. But it was quite a refreshing sight to Damien, who had become so used to trees that were multiple kilometers in height.
Although the process of choosing a destination and memorizing the map took a decent amount of time, to Elena, it was just an instant. In the chaotic space, she couldn't feel the flow of time, nor could she understand what was happening. In the eyes of someone without a spatial affinity, the chaotic space was just an expanse of blackness, no different from flowing one's eyes.
But now that they touched ground again, she opened her eyes and spread her awareness, immediately putting up her guard.
Damien smiled. 'Alright. This is her adventure after all. I'll just take the back seat and act only when I'm needed. Other than that, simply enjoying her company is enough.'
The Empyrean Dragon Realm opening that had once caused him to feel so much excitement, to think that only a year later it'd be something he considered a walk in the park. His rate of improvement was shocking to say the least.
But he didn't mind it. 'If it's date locations we're talking about, what could be better than this?'
He grabbed Elena's hand once again and flashed away. If this was their first date, he'd make sure it was one she'd remember for the rest of their lives.
