Unfortunately, the two men only kept their eyes on Richard until he left.

Richard and Grace didn't take long before they arrived outside the temple.

And this time, they were greeted by John Goldwood and his wife.

Both of them were Lord Realm Magi.

Back when he was still in the World Realm, Richard had felt threatened by them. But now, after gathering fifty thousand Aether in the Grimoire Realm, Richard felt that they were no longer opponents difficult to face.

"Your business here is finished, so quickly return our son," said John's wife.

Her gaze showed that she wouldn't leave if Richard refused.

Richard smiled at her, then casually waved his hand.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Erick and his lover appeared in front of them, looking weak and powerless.

Erick was of course shocked when he saw his parents, and then he looked at Richard and Grace, remembering how they entered his room while he was making love.

However, perhaps because of the trauma, he didn't immediately scream at Richard.

"Mr. Goldwood, Mrs. Goldwood, now our business is done. We'll be leaving. If you bear a grudge, you can come anytime to take revenge," Richard said casually, causing the couple's faces to twist in anger.

But Richard didn't care. He summoned his flying ark, leapt aboard with Grace—

Whoosh!

The ark immediately shot forward at full speed, heading toward the Central Region of the Land of Human.

Richard wanted to obtain the mine as soon as possible, pay off the Holy Star Kingdom's debt installment, and marry Lilith.

That brief kiss… the taste of Lilith's lips was still vivid in his mind, and he wanted it again.

He had to admit that the charm of a blonde woman like Lilith was truly unmatched.

Of course, with Grace beside him here, at least he could restrain his desires.

On the ark, he hugged Grace onto his lap as he sat on a forward-facing seat.

While traveling toward the border, Richard noticed that the direction of the border led into a desolate land.

It truly wasn't suitable for humans—its forest was massive and dense.

Each tree was nearly as tall as a mountain, with leaves like rooftops.

The forest was clearly inhabited by powerful wild beasts.

Even from the sky, Richard sensed many dangerous wild auras.

They seemed to be watching those who passed overhead.

If one dared to fly too low, they could leap up to attack at any moment.

But that didn't mean there were no people at all.

Richard could see several individuals hiding atop the trees, watching the situation below.

They were all in the Grimoire Realm—none were below that.

Richard didn't plan to stop. He only observed briefly and then focused forward again, occasionally flirting with Grace.

The border between the Eastern Region and the Central Region was unlike the border of the Ancient Ice Region.

There was a massive chasm stretching from one side to the other, appearing dark from above yet constantly releasing thick black smoke.

The width of the chasm was nearly ten kilometers, vast and enormous.

Richard knew this chasm was created by a sword strike from a Grand Sovereign in ancient times.

The black smoke was the remnant of that power, still lingering.

It wasn't dangerous, and the chasm itself wasn't considered a dangerous place.

Many explorers came seeking treasures below ground.

Richard saw several towns around the chasm that appeared to be extremely free—or more precisely, lawless.

Damage everywhere suggested the towns frequently saw battles.

"Ohh…" Richard was slightly surprised as his ark flew above the chasm.

It suddenly came to a complete stop.

A moment later, something previously invisible appeared—an enormous spiderweb.

His flying ark had been caught in the web and could no longer move forward.

The fact that he hadn't sensed the web at all showed its quality was far from ordinary.

But who placed it there?

It was clearly the work of a Magus, not a spider.

Before Grace could even rise from Richard's lap, a bare-chested man with a large spider tattoo on his chest appeared before their ark.

He was somewhat thin, but his body was solid and tall, carrying a massive sword.

Richard sensed that he was only a Grimoire Realm Magus, though clearly at a high level.

Grace stood first before Richard, while the man simply watched them.

"Who are you?" Richard asked in an annoyed tone.

This wasn't just an interruption—it felt more like a robbery.

Perhaps it truly was a robbery.

"You do not have permission from the Dark Abyss Clan. You cannot pass unless you pay one hundred thousand Spirit Natures," the man replied.

"What?"

Richard felt as if his ears had misheard.

The Dark Abyss Clan.

Naturally, he had heard of this faction—a force that had only risen in the recent eras, yet not even founded by a Grand Sovereign.

"Whoever you are, as long as you're not a member of a top-tier faction in the Eastern or Central Regions, you must pay to pass. Everyone does," the man said again.

"Unless you're willing to travel below without flying," he added.

"Ohhh, so you're claiming the sky and airspace here?" Richard asked.

"This is our territory," the man replied.

"You must've just started doing this, right? I've never even heard of such a rule—I wonder where your courage comes from."

"That's none of your concern. If you refuse to pay, don't blame us for making things difficult."

"Fine, we'll pay." Grace suddenly spoke.

Before Richard could even turn toward her, she tossed a ring toward the man.

He took the ring, checked it, then nodded.

"You may pass now," he said, flying backward.

With a wave of his hand, the giant spiderweb entangling Richard's ark vanished, and the ark resumed flying forward.

Richard furrowed his brows but allowed the ark to continue.

Once they were far enough, he asked Grace, "Why did you choose to pay?"

Even if it was troublesome, Richard wasn't afraid of a fight.

However, Grace seemed to have her own reason for choosing to pay.

She likely understood the source of the Dark Abyss Clan's newfound courage.

Richard needed to find out because there was a possibility that they would compete with him for the mine. In any case, it would appear not far from the border.

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