Heaven's Ichor

Understanding that he didn't want talk about how his injuries healed themselves, and how he manged to kill the Mosquito Creature, Abyss decided to not press him on it and let it go.

Appreciating that his Uncle decided to press him on it Aster started to go in to thought about what to do when returning home, if he was to bring to the Mosquito corpse back with him, a lot of questions would be raised about how he managed to survive the night in the Labyrinth and even more so when the other survivors of the group they came in with knew that they were being chased by a Creature from the Labyrinth,

Rubbing his temples, Astel felt that they were out of the stove, and into the fire, the moment they solve a problem, a new one takes it place

The knowledge of Uncle learning a Dao spell is unknown to everybody, we could use it as and excuse but in doing so we would be hounded by the sects to join and killed if we refused, do we really have to leave the corpse behind, looking at the Mosquito Creature lying on the floor of the Labyrinth, Astel felt unwilling to leave it, going through everything that they did only for them to throw away the spoils, "sigh" Uncle, you don't happen to own a storage artifact, do you? Astel hope growing in his eyes yet knowing that he was grasping at straws at this point as storage artifacts were some of the most expensive ones to buy, only second to teleportaion talismans.

"Brat, who do you think I am? Even most elders of the sects don't own any, yet you expect me, someone who has no cultivation art to own one" Abyss said, an eyebrow raised at the sheer ridiculousness of the question. 

"Sigh" "I was just asking" the last bit of hope disappearing from Astel's eyes, replaced with spitefulness, "Let's hide the corpse at least, if we can't get it, we should damn sure make no one else can" 

Tearing the green moss off the cracked stone walls, the duo started wrapping the Mosquito Creature's corpse in it until it resembled a giant coarse green egg and stuffed it in a random corner of the Labyrinth. "You think people will notice?" 

Looking at the giant green egg laying between two walls, looking more conspicuous than ever, Astel started to regret his life choices. "It's already done, we might as well go along with it at this point." Astel said, unable to hide the the regret in his voice. 

Finally "getting rid" of the evidence, the duo finally returned home. 

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Ares continent: outside A0

Poverty... That was the most suitable word for the land they were in now, run down houses made of discoloured stone and rotten wood, people wearing nothing but torn rags, and a constant aura of gloom and hopelessness surrounding them. 

Yet if someone reached a high vantage point, they'd be able to see a gorgeous icy blue pavilion so tall that it's tip reached towards the sky, just a couple kilometres away. 

This was one of the four strongest sects that occupied the Ares continent, the Ice Jade Sect, accompanying it was the Flaming Body Sect, the Burial Ghost Sect and the Beast Control Sect, all having Nascent Soul cultivators as ancestors, and multiple Core Formation elders allowing them to keep their rule for so long. 

They were the reason Astel ventured into the Labyrinth in the first place, the only way to get a cultivation technique was to be born with talent eventually recruited by the sects, or exploring the Labyrinth, hoping you get lucky, and find a hidden inheritance or gain an opportunity to comprehend a Dao spell, like his Uncle did. 

Taking a look at the entrance again, Astel saw a couple Qi Condensation disciples led by a Foundation Building cultivator stationed there, watching everyone who entered and exited with a gaze resembling how a predator sees a prey. feeling like he dodged a bullet by leaving the corpse behind. 

A couple minutes of walking later, Astel.started to feel the familiar sound of the gravel crunching beneath his feet, the weird smell that seemed to be ingrained into the land and seeing the rusty metal houses all around him, Astel let out a sigh of relief as after everything they went through, they finally entered the safe embrace that was home...