As they approached their destination, everyone had already gathered inside the fake airship cockpit that Alita had created for appearances.
"What's going on? Why would the sect's defensive barrier be fully deployed like this?" Leyvi frowned as he watched the large screen. The view of Mountain Dew Sect was getting closer and closer.
Vivian and Bobori looked especially worried. Both of them were frantically sending messages to people inside the sect, trying to find out what had happened.
The last time the barrier had been fully activated was years ago, during the destruction of Bellion's former sect, Mystical Array Valley. That unknown enemy had completely wiped out the sect. The tremors from the battle had been so powerful that they reached all the way to the mountains where Mountain Dew Sect resided, causing the barrier to activate automatically.
Mountain Dew Sect was not a strong sect. In fact, it was considered among the bottom tier of all sects on the continent. It barely met the minimum requirements to exist and was only allowed to manage this particular mountain range, which contained just one spirit stone mine.
Although the sect occupied a vast territory, the wealth generated from a single spirit stone mine was not nearly enough to support a large number of cultivators.
Thankfully, the vast mountain range was rich with naturally growing spirit herbs. These herbs could easily be harvested and turned into Qi Refining Pills, becoming the sect's secondary but steady source of income.
Leyvi himself used to work as a spirit herb picker in these mountains to support his early cultivation days.
Besides the herbs, there were also many Low Level Demonic Beasts living in the mountains. Hunting them provided yet another source of income for the sect.
In recent years, the sect's financial situation had improved significantly thanks to their cooperation with the Pill Ascension Sect. Pill Ascension Sect had helped train many of Mountain Dew Sect's alchemists, raising numerous Alchemist Students up to the Alchemist Teacher level. This allowed them to produce much better alchemy products.
More capable alchemists naturally meant more wealth, which in turn allowed the sect to support a larger number of disciples.
However, the ceiling remained the same. The strongest cultivator in the sect right now was still only at the Core Formation Realm.
This limitation came from both low cultivation talent among the disciples and a lack of high-quality resources. Most cultivators here only possessed low-grade or middle-grade spirit roots. Those with high-grade spirit roots usually leave for better sects.
As for top-grade spirit roots? They were almost nonexistent here. That was why Core Formation Realm was generally considered the limit for most people in the sect.
Without the Talent Bead, reaching the Core Formation Realm in his later years would most likely have been Leyvi's limit as well, assuming he cultivated diligently and encountered no major obstacles.
As the Universe Airship drew closer to Mountain Dew Sect, Leyvi spread his spiritual sense outward to investigate what was happening. He wondered what kind of threat could force the sect to activate its defensive barrier so completely.
Given the sect's overall strength, the barrier would only be fully deployed if the threat exceeded the Core Formation Realm level. Could there be an enemy at the Nascent Soul Realm attacking them?
As his spiritual sense swept across the land, Leyvi quickly realized that the threat was not coming from the north, but from the south.
He saw hundreds of mostly High Level demonic beasts launching a fierce assault on the southern side of the sect's barrier. This force was roughly equivalent to hundreds of Core Formation Realm cultivators.
No wonder the sect had no choice but to activate the barrier. After all, Mountain Dew Sect only had a few dozen Core Formation Realm cultivators in total. They were vastly outnumbered.
Even more surprising was the fact that these were not land-based demonic beasts. They were marine demonic beasts, clearly originating from the sea south of the sect.
Normally, fish-type demonic beasts struggled to move on land. Yet these creatures were swimming through the air as effortlessly as if they were still in water. This raised strong suspicions in Leyvi's mind. He extended his spiritual sense even further south.
Sure enough, he spotted a Commander Level Demonic Dolphin hovering several kilometers away, calmly watching the attack unfold.
Leyvi guessed that the dolphin was using its bloodline power to allow the marine beasts to "swim" in the air and commanding them to assault the barrier. He also noticed something familiar about this particular demonic dolphin.
"It's those red eyes again," Leyvi muttered.
He had encountered several crazed demonic beasts with those same deep red eyes before. According to Layla's reports, the frequency of their appearances had been steadily increasing across the continent, raising growing concern.
The cause remained unknown, but one thing was certain. These crazed beasts always targeted cultivators with relentless bloodlust, willing to fight to the death no matter the cost.
However, this particular demonic dolphin surprised Leyvi. Although it possessed the same unnaturally red eyes as the others, it did not appear crazed at all. The dolphin simply hovered in the distance, observing the battle with calm, patient intelligence.
Could it be possible for them to maintain their sanity? Leyvi wondered.
If these red-eyed beasts could keep their minds while harboring such intense hatred toward cultivators, the situation could become far more troublesome than before.
While Leyvi was deep in thought, one of the monitor screens zoomed in on the Commander Level demonic dolphin, allowing everyone in the cockpit to see it clearly.
"Do you need help?" a soft, feminine voice came from behind him. "I can extinguish that dolphin for you if you want."
Leyvi turned around and offered a polite smile. "Lady Coryl, you've only just joined our family. How can I let you handle this matter? If it's just a Commander Level demonic beast, I'm confident I can deal with it myself."
On the fourth day of the wedding celebrations, Leyvi had finally sat down and spoken with Coryl properly. It turned out she genuinely wanted to join the Leyan Family. She seemed to particularly enjoy the warm, lively dynamic they shared.
Considering that she had been quietly protecting Tasya during her cooking tours and her long history of never harming humans without provocation, Leyvi had agreed to let her join as a guardian. Her role would simply be to protect the members of the Leyan Family.
Anda, of course, kept teasing that Coryl was actually romantically interested in him. But Leyvi found it hard to believe. After all, Coryl was a demonic beast. How could she possibly feel romantic attraction toward a human?
"Really? You can deal with it yourself?" Coryl asked, visibly surprised. It wasn't just her. Cora, Vivian, and Bobori, who were not yet familiar with Leyvi's true strength, were equally shocked.
Coryl had spent countless years observing both cultivators and demonic beasts from within her coral fortress. She understood very clearly the gap in power between a Core Formation Realm cultivator and a Commander Level demonic beast.
"Don't worry. I have helpers," Leyvi said calmly. He turned around and left the cockpit.
"Anda, are you sure he'll be alright? That's a Commander Level demonic beast down there!" Vivian asked worriedly.
"Sister Vivian, you can leave it to him," Anda replied with a relaxed smile. "Don't forget, Mr. Bison and Scarlet are also Commander Level now. It will be fine."
"Shouldn't we help too?" Vivian asked again, still concerned.
"Don't worry. Just watch," Anda said, gesturing toward the large screen.
She then turned to Valenia and Cempaka. "Val, Cempaka. After Leyvi deals with that dolphin, you two go and clean up the rest."
The two women nodded without hesitation and left the fake cockpit.
Bobori was stunned. Sending just two Core Formation Realm cultivators to handle hundreds of High Level demonic beasts? He wanted to say that it sounded like a reckless decision, but Anda's complete confidence made it difficult for him to voice any objection. He could only hope that nothing went wrong.
"Jojori, watch that screen carefully and see how your uncle deals with that demonic dolphin to protect your home," Anda said warmly while gently rubbing the young boy's head.
Jojori stared at the screen with clear doubt in his eyes. Could Uncle really fight such a huge and powerful fish? So far, the image he had of his uncle was that of a funny, generous, and easygoing person.
However, the very next moment, Jojori's eyes widened in shock.
A massive translucent diamond suddenly descended from the sky like a falling meteor, heading straight toward the demonic dolphin.
The dolphin sensed the incoming danger at the last second and managed to evade a direct hit. But when the enormous diamond collided with the ground, it created an earth-shaking impact that split the earth apart violently.
The shockwave and shattered rocks carried incredible force, striking the dolphin and sending its massive body flying away from the epicenter.
Bloodline power leaked from its body as it lifted its slightly bloodied form from the ground and swam through the air, staring cautiously at the unknown enemy that had ambushed it moments ago while preparing for serious battle.
Soon, a massive and majestic golden bison with two diamond-like horns emerged from the newly formed crater. Each heavy step it took caused the earth to tremble beneath it.
Standing proudly atop the head of the enormous bison was none other than Leyvi. His long hair and signature red jacket fluttered dramatically in the wind.
On the Universe Airship, Jojori's eyes sparkled with pure excitement. "That's Uncle and Mr. Bison! So cool!"