The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 31

Successfully opening the Lower Dantian, the stagnation all over her body disappeared as if finding an outlet. But the pain that penetrated her bones did not subside—it even intensified continuously.

At this moment, Thea also had a guess. Because she had recondensed her Witch Power and successfully stored it in the Lower Dantian, this allowed the Witch Power to coexist with the Andros power that had emerged when she was turned. As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers—the Witch Power and the Andros power had already begun their confrontation.

Steadying her mind, Thea did not hesitate to draw out the wisp of Witch Power she had just condensed in the Lower Dantian, sending it into her meridians. Instantly, the pain intensified sharply, almost making her faint. The blood all over her body also seemed to be stimulated, starting to boil.

But the more intense the reaction, the more she believed it was in line with the laws of nature. Before she could catch her breath, she immediately focused all her attention, resolutely guiding the Witch Power, which was on the verge of dissipating, to circulate the Large Circulation.

Whether she could take the opportunity to suppress, drive away, or fuse the Andros power—success or failure hinges on this move. Thea had already regarded this as a path of no return.

Outside the door, Alexander could clearly feel her pain. Several times, he wanted to rush in and stop her, telling her to give up. But every time he touched the door, he heard her suppressed groans again. She had persisted for seventeen years, striving desperately to find her true self. What great reason did he have to make her give up?

After the wisp of Witch Power entered the meridians, Thea used her consciousness to guide it, moving it bit by bit along the predetermined path. Countless times, she had pulled it back from the brink of dissipation when she was only one step away from the God of Death. Gradually, it condensed, and as its speed of movement in the meridians accelerated, it grew stronger bit by bit. Finally, it successfully completed the Large Circulation and returned to the Lower Dantian.

This process took a full ten days. And during this month, the boiling blood, the struggle and fusion between Witch Power and Andros power—all made Thea face the God of Death every moment.

Many times, she thought she had already died, but each time she was pulled back to reality by deeper pain. Until later, she became numb.

Feeling the coldness overflowing from the Lower Dantian, Thea, who had been sitting stiffly cross-legged, relaxed her jaw and fell backward straight. She did not open her eyes, and tears overflowed from her eyes, flowing down her dirty cheeks into her soaked hair.

After the numbness faded, she realized that the endless, bottomless pain had disappeared at some point. This clear realization made her sit up abruptly. Then, recklessly, she guided the Witch Power in the Dantian into her meridians again.

It hurt… but not as much. Compared to before, it was like heaven and earth.

Thea concentrated her mind, guiding the Witch Power to circulate the Small Circulation. This time, after entering the meridians, the Witch Power had no tendency to dissipate, and its movement speed was much faster.

Moreover, she could feel that as the Witch Power circulated, Moon Glow was absorbed into her body, quickly transformed into Witch Power in the meridians, and merged into the circulating wisp of Witch Power. Of course, this process also inevitably led to the dissipation of Witch Power. But as long as more was condensed than dissipated, it was fine.

As the sun set and the new moon rose, Alexander, who had been guarding outside the house for eleven days, pressed his ear against the door. He hadn't heard any movement from inside for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but gently push the door open.

There was no light in the room. Although it was dark, Moon Glow seeped in through the glazed window facing the east, and the furnishings in the room were clearly visible. A thin figure stood by the window, looking up at the not-so-bright new moon. Even when the door was pushed open, she did not turn around to look.

"Thea." Before Alexander could step into the room, an unpleasant stench hit his nose. Looking at the dirty woman standing quietly by the window, tears flashed in his blood-red eyes. He smiled and let out a long breath. "I'll bring up dinner."

The Andros body was strong, but it couldn't withstand eleven days of constant torment. She now needed to supplement a lot of food.

“Alexander.”

But before he could turn around, Thea called out to him. She took her eyes off the new moon, and under his gaze, slowly turned to face him.

"You…" Alexander looked into Thea's eyes, greatly shocked. He flashed to her side, raising his hand carefully to touch them. The feeling under his fingers told him that all this was real. He frowned, couldn't help but ask. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know either." Thea turned her head to look at herself in the glazed mirror. In the darkness, a pair of red pupils dotted with silver were bright and lively. She curved her lips upward, turning back to look at Alexander happily. She clasped her hands together, channeled her Witch Power, twisted them in the opposite direction. "And this." She pulled them apart forcefully.

The room suddenly turned cold. Ice crystals spread rapidly from her feet, and in the blink of an eye, silver edelweiss covered the entire small manor.

Before he could recover from one shock, another, even bigger shock came. At this moment, Alexander was stunned by these two shocks. He stared blankly at the scepter covered with silver edelweiss, foolishly raising his right hand and placing it on it—immediately, he was frozen.

Thea did not stop him. Seeing him frozen, she laughed loudly. When Alexander broke free from the ice, she was already in tears, but still laughing.

Alexander looked at her affectionately and with heartache, opening his arms wide. "Hi, baby. This is yours."

Thea did not hold back. She put away the Silver Frost Moon Scepter and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly and sobbing. "Thank you. Thank you for always being with me, thank you for not letting go of me."

Once, she had only lingered on his tenderness, fascinated by his unruliness—but those were fleeting. In these twenty years of silent companionship, he had gradually entered her heart. She was sure she had fallen in love with him.

Holding the stinky woman tightly in his arms, Alexander leaned down and kissed the top of her head affectionately. "I accept your thanks." But being able to pick up the Silver Frost Moon Scepter again is entirely due to your own efforts and perseverance." No one knew better than him how much pain Thea had endured for today.

After calming down a little, Thea's mood finally stabilized. She looked up. "Can you check my teeth? I tried earlier, and it seems I can't grow fangs." She opened her mouth wide.

Hearing this, Alexander gently held her jaw. "I'll try to summon them. If you feel anything, stop me immediately." Seeing her nod, thick blood surged from his blood-red pupils.

Thea carefully paid attention to her body. There was a slight pain in her gums, but it was very mild and itchy—there was no sign of fangs growing. However, as Alexander summoned her, her sense of him became stronger and stronger.

With thick blood surging in his eyes, Alexander leaned close to Thea's wide-open mouth, reached in and touched it with his finger, then pulled back. He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "Even bloodline summoning can't make the fangs grow—so it's really impossible. How about your body? What do you feel?"

Hearing him say this, Thea finally felt relieved and closed her mouth. She frowned, recalling the painful process that had made her break out in cold sweat. After thinking for a moment, she spoke. "When I was recondensing my Witch Power, I felt as if something was being stripped away."

"But when I tried to pick up the Silver Frost Moon earlier, I was sure that the strong self-healing ability of the Andros body had been weakened, but not completely lost. And the most important thing is, after hiding the Silver Frost Moon in the meridians." She smiled at Alexander's eyes, which had faded from blood. "I can feel my life trajectory again."

"Congratulations." Alexander pinched Thea's thin cheek. "You haven't eaten for eleven days. Let's go down to eat some meat."

Thea did not move. She was indeed very hungry now. During those eleven days, she relied on the Andros body for the first five days, and then only on Witch Power for the next six days. Fortunately, she had survived the most difficult start. But she felt very guilty towards Alexander.

"I somewhat regret not having a child with you." This was the truth from the bottom of her heart.

"Tsk." Alexander laughed. But hearing her words, he had to admit that his heart was very warm and happy. "Darling, I think before you feel guilty, you need to understand one thing—the eight Andros dukes…" He started, then refuted himself. "No, that's not the right way to calculate."

What was wrong? Thea looked at him with her silver-red eyes. Could there be other ancestor dukes among the Andros?

He licked his lips, thinking for a moment before continuing. "First, we have to exclude Duke Austin Corell." He nodded to himself, affirming. "Yes, this is the correct calculation." The remaining seven Andros dukes have lived for more than ten thousand years, striving for more than ten thousand years. Up to now, counting all kinds of messy situations, only a handful of children have been born."

Why exclude Austin Corell? Thea blinked. Was Austin Corell dead?

"And then there's my mother—she's even more unlucky. Obviously, she's had countless men, but only I popped out of her belly." He put his arm around Thea's shoulders, sighing. "So, it's perfect for us to live happily together. Don't think about those illusory things anymore."

If they accidentally had a child like Rocky Anastas, wouldn't that be even more unlucky?

Thea pouted, softening her voice. "Isn't your family urging you to have heirs?"

"To be precise, it's my father who's urging me." Alexander sneered. "But whether to have children or not is up to me." If he's in a hurry, he can try himself. Let's drop this topic. Let's go down to dinner."

"Alright." Thea channeled her Witch Power to clean the dirt off her body, taking Alexander's arm and happily walking out of the room. "What did you make?"

Alexander led her to the kitchen, flipping the dinner he had prepared earlier with tongs. "Can you try this meat?" Do you want me to cook it a little more?" Since she couldn't grow fangs anymore, presumably her desire for blood had also faded a lot.

Letting go of his arm, Thea leaned close and smelled it, couldn't help but frown. "No, it's too raw and has a strong fishy smell."

"Then I'll cook it a little more…"

Boom…

Before he could finish speaking, a loud bang came from outside the door. Alexander raised his eyebrows, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He curved his lips into a cold smile. "You're here too late." They had been living here for more than a month without hiding. With the Andros' speed, they should have arrived long ago. It seemed there were some guys who didn't want him to return to the royal capital so soon.

Thea leaned against the kitchen doorframe with her arms crossed, watching Molyneux Stirling, dressed in a black tuxedo, leading a group of Andros slowly walking into the castle. She smiled and said. "You're just in time. We were just about to go to the royal capital."

Molyneux Stirling, with his crimson eyes, had originally been smiling. But when he saw Thea's silver-red eyes, the smile froze on his face. His eyes narrowed slightly, then he suddenly flashed forward, reaching out to pinch Thea's chin. But before he could touch her, the Silver Frost Moon Scepter was already pressed against his heart, instantly freezing him.

Alexander glanced back, snorting. "Serves you right." He gave Thea a thumbs-up. "Darling, well done."

Crack…

Molyneux Stirling broke free from the ice, retreating two steps. He looked at Alexander, who was cooking beef in the kitchen, and asked, "What's going on? Didn't Ana say Thea Dessey had been turned?" Then was I dreaming just now?"

"This question." Alexander shrugged, expressing his helplessness. "It's just as you see it. Something went wrong during the turning process, so Thea wasn't completely turned." He paused, thinking. "Or maybe Selah Dessey's bloodline is too strong."

After all, he had never seen any other turned person who could resist the desire for blood for so many years. And now it was even more interesting—she couldn't grow fangs at all.

Thea twirled the Silver Frost Moon Scepter with her fingers, looking at Molyneux Stirling very innocently.

Molyneux Stirling didn't know if Alexander was telling the truth, but he was sure there was something wrong with Thea Dessey's turning. After hesitating for a moment, he said seriously. "Father asked you to return to the royal capital."

"Alright." Now that Thea's major matter had a good start, he was in the mood to deal with some disobedient things. He put the cooked beef on a plate, waving for Thea to come eat, completely ignoring the group of Andros in the main hall.

Molyneux watched Thea Dessey fork the cut-up cooked beef into her mouth, chewing and swallowing. He glanced at the Moon Glow Ring on her finger, his confusion deepening.

Seeing the woman eating happily, Alexander finally couldn't hold back anymore. He turned to get a bottle of blood. Since she had been turned, he had never drunk blood in front of her. Now it should be okay.

Thea glared at him, but her heart felt very sweet. Perhaps because the Andros power hadn't been completely digested by the Witch Power, blood still had a slight effect on her. Although it was very weak, she believed that with continued cultivation, this effect would disappear one day.

Compared to the uneasy peace here, the West Sea Forest, tens of thousands of miles away from Taroni City, was currently experiencing violent winds, thunder, and lightning. What was even more bizarre was that there was not a single dark cloud in the night sky, and the high-hanging new moon seemed to be firmly nailed above the West Sea Forest.

The glowing Moon Glow poured straight down into the Dessey Witch Ancient Tomb deep in the West Sea Forest. Countless little sprites in the ancient tomb sat on the silver cores of the black mandalas, tilting their cute little heads to greedily absorb the rich Moon Glow, all with looks of enjoyment.

The girl sitting in front of the treehouse moved her slender jade fingers as fast as a shadow. As her ten fingers danced, the Moon Glow surrounding her quickly condensed, then uniformly formed wisps after wisps, which continued to condense.

When her ten fingers returned to a lotus position, resting on her knees, the almost solid Moon Glow instantly poured into her body.

At the same time, a two-winged five-clawed Eastern Dragon rushed out from between her eyebrows, roaring up to the sky. The roar made the violent wind even angrier, but even so, it couldn't move the woman at all. Her expression remained as calm as water.

After roaring, the two-winged Eastern Dragon transformed into a one-foot-long silver-winged Eastern Dragon Scepter emitting a dark light. The woman sitting quietly changed the gesture of her hands resting on her knees. Immediately, the scepter split into countless silver needles emitting a faint cold light, surrounding her. In an instant, within a two-meter radius centered on the woman, it became a void.

The woman moved her hands again, but this time she was not condensing Moon Glow—she was controlling the silver needles to pass through the black mandalas in the ancient tomb.

This excited the little sprites who had been absorbing Moon Glow. They scrambled to sit on the silver needles, spinning around in the black mandala flowers.

It wasn't until dawn that the woman stopped moving her ten fingers. The silver needles, as if summoned, immediately returned to her side. She flipped her hands, and the silver needles returned to their respective positions, merging into the two-winged Eastern Dragon Scepter. With a dragon's roar, it disappeared between her eyebrows.

The thunder faded, and the wind died down. The woman sat quietly in meditation for a moment before slowly opening her eyes. Her light black pupils were like deep pools—clear yet bottomless. Her gaze swept over the little sprites who seemed to be tired from playing, and she slightly curved her lips, smiling fondly. "Who will help me collect the Black Mandala Spirit Dew later?"

Her gentle and clear voice carried a calming aura, making the drowsy little sprites even more relaxed. At this moment, a silver-winged little sprite wearing a flower crown rushed over, her little mouth chattering away.

The woman listened carefully, then raised her hand and gently brushed her flower crown. "Then thank you, Miss Silver. Please help me collect the Moon Glow Spirit Dew on the black mandalas today."

One drop of Moon Glow Spirit Dew every day could well cleanse her father's body, thus extending his lifespan to the greatest extent.

The silver-winged little sprite nodded vigorously, taking the small glazed bottle placed on the roof of the treehouse and rushing towards the black mandala flowers, starting her work.

After watching the little sprite flying up and down to collect the Moon Glow Spirit Dew for a while, the woman looked away, standing up and walking to the eaves to look up. The east had turned red. She sighed softly. "Time flies. In the blink of an eye, seventeen years have passed."

In these seventeen years, except for returning to the ancient castle every seven days to visit her parents and gathering outside news every half a month, she had spent almost all her time cultivating witchcraft and forging silver needles.

Hard work pays off. She was only one step away from achieving the Witch Ancestor body. She had also infused Witch Power into each of the complete set of silver needles one by one, then hidden them in the Upper Dantian with the help of Witch Power. What surprised her even more was that because all the silver needles in the complete set had the same attributes, texture, and contained Witch Power, there was an indistinct connection between them.

As soon as she noticed this, she simply used Witch Power to smelt them repeatedly, making the connection between them even closer. Later, she even had the idea of forming an Eastern Dragon Scepter. But once this idea arose, the existing silver needles were not enough. Fortunately, she still had the remaining Earth Core Silver Stone—so she continued to forge.

108 long thick needles, 402 long needles, 720 thin short needles, 999 cow hair needles—she finally hid them all in the Upper Dantian one by one, forming the Silver-Winged Eastern Dragon Scepter.

Choosing to form an Eastern Dragon Scepter with silver needles was a tribute to her previous life. And the reason why the Eastern Dragon had an extra pair of wings—she cast her gaze at the little sprites in the flowers.

The wings of the Eastern Dragon were sprite wings, representing that the owner of the Silver-Winged Eastern Dragon Scepter—Elara Dessey—would, like these little sprites, guard the West Sea Forest all her life and strive for it unceasingly.

Flap… flap…

A strong black crow landed on the birdcage hanging under the eaves, very humanely wiping its face with its wings. It spoke in a hoarse, unpleasant voice that even it hated. "Since Ana Stirling took control of the Moon Glow ten years ago, she has been plotting to imprison the West Sea Forest."

"In these ten years, she has not only turned the Rozin people who defected to her without limit, but also the Andros nobles she has won over. I estimate that before long, the forces in her hands will be able to surround the West Sea Forest. How long do you plan to stay cooped up in the forest?"

The woman did not speak, as if she hadn't heard.

The black crow stared at her with its two black bean eyes. After a full two minutes, it finally dropped its head. "Elara Dessey, can we still have a good talk?"

"Hehe." The grown-up Elara forced a smile with calm eyes. "I'm a human, you're a bird. We have no common language." Wanting to talk to her properly—shouldn't he tell her what kind of creature he really was?

Could the Dessey Witches' grudge-holding nature be innate? The black crow raised its head. "I've explained it to you 666 times. I didn't talk to you before not because I didn't want to, but because my soul was severely injured and I couldn't speak at all."

"Cut the nonsense. Just tell me—Is the soul sealed in the black crow's body really Austin Corell's?" Elara glanced sideways at Cinderaven, snorting coldly when he closed his beak again.

"Twenty years ago, Fisher's soul suddenly woke up. And you haven't been ill since the day Fisher's soul woke up. Could there be no connection between these two things?"

Cinderaven looked back at those light black eyes without avoiding them. He really wanted to say it clearly, but when he left the West Sea Forest back then, he had promised Lord Vanzelna that he would not tell any Dessey Witch about the agreement between him and her until a Witch Ancestor appeared in the West Sea Forest.

"I'll tell you something interesting. A human woman fell in love with a duke in Andrea Capital."

Seeing Cinderaven change the subject, Elara only felt bored. "A human woman." She knew who it was, her eyes still calm. "If I remember correctly, Roxane should be thirty years old this year. Has she not been turned?"

“No. It's said that Roxane Mullin doesn't want to be turned." Cinderaven sneered, not hiding his contempt. "If she doesn't want to be turned, why did she provoke the Andros?"

"Maybe she has a strong taste." Elara said solemnly. "She wants to be forced—it's more exciting that way!"

Hearing this, Cinderaven almost fell off the birdcage. He clung tightly to the birdcage with his two claws, stabilizing his figure before quickly changing back to the previous topic. "What are you going to do next?"

At that moment, a ray of sunlight fell on Elara's nose, making her blink her mysterious light black eyes. She smiled and said, "I haven't been out of the forest for a long time. Has the outside world almost forgotten the Dessey Witches?

That was absolutely impossible. After all, the West Sea Forest was located at the neck of Andrea Kingdom. Perhaps the weak Rozin people might have forgotten the Dessey Witches, but the Andros, Witch Clan, and Werewolves would never forget the West Sea Forest.

"I heard that almost all the Moon Glow in the outside world is now in Ana Stirling's hands." Elara gently twisted her fingers, then blew on them. "Does that mean the price of Moon Glow has gone up?"

Cinderaven probably knew where she was going to start.

"Speaking of that battle back then, the West Sea Forest suffered heavy losses." Elara sighed softly, her gaze turning to the east. "As the ruler of the West Sea Forest, I should find a way to recover some losses. There seem to be 218 Moon Glow Rings in the treasury. It's just in time for the good price—let's take them all out and sell them."

“Alright. Anyway, they're just taking up space." Cinderaven knew the Dessey Witches were ruthless. Those Moon Glow Rings were all taken from Rocky Anastas' followers. He didn't need to guess to know where she was going to sell the Moon Glow Rings.