Aengus and Be stood atop a towering mountain, before a giant cave.


    At the entrance of the dark cave was an ominous red statue of a coiled serpent.


    "Hubby, you said the Ancient Red Serpent Deity had marked you, right? So, we need to destroy this temple to weaken his influence. Although the effect won''t be immediate, if we continue destroying his temples, your problem might be solved more easily," Be said, gathering energy in her palm to destroy the statue.


    "That''s not a bad idea. We should order the army to destroy all of the nearby temples as well," Aengus agreed, letting her proceed as she wished, while he send a message to Sienna using her Naga pearl. Her Naga pearl was now much stronger and more useful for long distancemunication.


    Both of them remained cautious, in case any unexpected problems arose, though the likelihood seemed low.


    To start, Be conjured a small ball of Phoenix mes to test the temple''s defenses.


    "Kaboom!"


    The fireballnded on a transparent protective barrier.


    "So, it seems there are indeed someone inside," Be mused, ncing at Aengus.


    Aengus gave her a small nod and looked at the spot where the fire was slowly burning through the barrier itself. The effects of the Phoenix mes were immediate.


    tter, tter, tter.


    With earthshaking vibrations, several demonic serpents emerged from therge cave. Their figures towering 20 metres, menacing.


    "Our guests have arrived!" Be said, smiling dangerously.


    Aengus inspected them using Appraisal and all of them were ordinary, their power at Greater Demon at best.


    So, this was just a trivial fight.


    But, Activating his All-Seeing Eyes, Aengus could make out several human figures inside the cave, their silhouettes appearing miserable and frail.


    "Be, there are humans inside. Don''t destroy the cave," Aengus cautioned, his curiosity piqued about their origins and how they were captured.


    "Oh, okay," Be replied without hesitation, trusting his abilitiespletely. He had proven them many times by now.


    Hiss... "Who are you? Hiss... Why are you attacking this sacred temple?" one of the serpents hissed, trying to initiate a conversation.


    Their gaze shifted from Be to Aengus, attempting to gauge the motives of the two half-breeds.


    "It''s you?" they hissed, seemingly recognizing Aengus.


    Aengus and Be raised their eyebrows in unison.


    Hiss... "How dare you barge into the Serpent Deity''s temple? Our deity will not spare you. Everyone will hunt you down."


    "Everyone! Capture him! We will offer him as a gift to our deity, and he will surely reward us with his precious bloodline!" the leadermanded, his serpentine features twisted with fanatical zeal.


    "Hiss!"


    They all charged at Aengus, using their inferior bloodline abilities. Someshed out with their tails, aiming to crush him into a pulp.


    But they didn''t know what they were dealing with.


    Aengus remained calm andposed as Be intervened.


    "You dare attack my hubby in my presence? That is certainly bold," Be said coldly.


    She radiated a dark, sinister aura as she swiftly unleashed her mental attack, turning the serpents into mindless puppets.


    The dark aura overwhelmed their minds, enving their consciousness.


    "Tell me," Be demanded, her voice sharp, "Does everyone in your cult know about Aengus? If so, what are their ns?"


    Aengus listened intently as well, awaiting the serpents'' response.


    Hiss.. "Yes. We received the Deity''s message to capture him. He said the half-breed was needed alive. But we don''t know what others have nned," the serpents replied, their answers identical.


    Be''s expression darkened.


    "If you don''t know, then you are no longer needed. Kill yourselves!"


    Upon receiving themand, the serpents immediately turned biting on themselves, taking their own lives within moments.


    Be stood like a Subus queen with royal grace, while Aengus nced at their lifeless bodies with indifference.


    "Let''s go inside," Aengus said, stepping forward into the cave.


    The cave was vast and broad, and the stench of rotting flesh and human blood filled the air, sickeningly pungent.


    The cave was dimly lit, illuminated only by faint light seeping through a few open holes above. Snakes didn''t need much light for vision anyway.


    Then they finally saw the humans, but they were lifeless, their bodies shrunken to skeletal forms. Among them were young women, men, children, and elderly people, numbering about twenty.


    "What were those worms doing with these humans? They''ve suffered so much!" Be eximed, her voice filled with sympathy.


    The Duo''s gaze shifted to the menacing Red Serpent statue, its eyes glowing with a bloody hue.


    "They must have been offering them to this ''Deity'' they call it," Aengus said, his special golden eyes seeing through the process.


    "Oh... So these fools were trying to perform a resurrection ritual. But it''s impossible to bring back the dead," Be added, her tone indifferent. She nced at Aengus, her voice softening. "Hubby, I''m not saying this to target your former human lover or anything."


    She was talking about Aria''s resurrection as they didn''t she was already alive.


    "I know," Aengus nodded, though doubt lingered in his mind.


    "That''s good..." Be sighed in relief, subtly watching him from the corner of her eye.


    "We need to end their suffering. They can''t live like this," Be said, preparing herself to disintegrate the lifeless bodies to ashes.


    As Aengus habitually activated Appraisal, he found something intriguing. Among the lifeless bodies, one held a Unique Skill—and it was astonishing.


    "Wait! Be!" he shouted, stopping her mes mid-air.


    Be nced at him, perplexed. "Why did you stop me? Can you bring them back from the brink of death?"


    Aengus gently shook his head. "No, it''s not that. I have some business with one of them," he said, leaning closer to inspect the body.


    He ced his hand over the Unique Skill holder''s chest and activated Skill Absorption.


    [ Congrattions! You have acquired a new Unique Skill: Mana Harvest (Rare) ]


    [ Mana Harvest:


    1. Faster Recovery of Your Mana reserves from the environment surrounding you.


    2. Absorb your enemy''s Mana to increase your own Mana reserves. ]


    Aengus was satisfied by the notification. He ignored the other skills, which were ordinary and of no value to him. The person was a young boy, barely at level 19, but Aengus didn''t care.


    What mattered most was the Unique skill Aengus needed to recover his energy faster.


    The boy drew hisst breath as Aengus drained his Unique Skill from his fragile soul.


    Be watched his satisfied grin with curiosity.


    Aengus turned to her. "You can send them off now, Be."


    Be nodded and began to finish the task suppressing the curiosity as she realised he wasn''t willing to tell her some of his Secrets yet. It made her a little disappointed, but she believed it would be solved eventually.