Harem Overlord

"Judging by the speed we are going, it will probably take us a month or more to reach the castle." Kai told the group when they woke up in the morning.

"But we managed to travel hundreds of steps in one day. Shouldn't we be able to reach the castle in a week or so?" Watanabe asked as Kai shook his head.

"The closer we get to the castle, the stronger the pressure will get. Even I cannot bear it alone. We will have to take more frequent breaks when that will happen." Kai explained.

 The group looked gloomy as they started their ascent. Everyone who was still feeling the pressure managed to finish the entire day without passing it to Kai. 

They continued their routine in this manner; they would wake up in the morning and try to climb as many steps as they could without giving up. In the night, they would be too third to do anything and would fell asleep the moment they would stop.

As they continued their ascent, more and more elves started gathering at the base of the hill to see them. It looked as it had been quite a time since an elf had climbed the stairs since the elves below started shouting encouragements for the group.

Since they were already too high, they could hardly hear anything but they could still make out a few words that told them to keep going

But on the tenth day, Watanabe and Riang gave in to the pressure and Kai took it off them as his speed slowed even further. Even though his face wasn't still showing any expressions of exertion, it was clear that he was feeling the pressure of six people at once.

But on the twentieth day, the pressure on the remaining girls and Kai doubled as they suddenly stopped because of it.

"We are halfway done." Kai explained as all of them sat down and started taking deep breaths.

"We still have to go for two more weeks." Watanabe said as she looked at Kai and the girls.

Kai's face had finally started showing signs of exhaustion while the other girls were panting.

"Can you share the pressure between all of us?" Riang couldn't see it anymore as she asked Kai on behalf of the girls from the mortal realm.

Kai and the others blinked before they smiled at them. Riang and the others slowly felt a little pressure on them but it was bearable as they saw Kai and the others relax by a bit. 

"Then let's continue." Kai said as they continued their journey.

It took them 15 days to reach the top of the stairs but when they did, all of them crashed down as soon as they stepped above the last step.

They stayed there for a few minutes as they had a huge sense of accomplishment. They then stood up and walked towards the castle's entrance.

It was two huge golden doors that were etched with a careful pattern and as Kai touched them, they ignited from his touch and started shining brightly.

They opened to present a dimly lit hallway with torches on both the sides. As the group entered it, the doors closed behind them.

Mariel created small fireballs that hovered in the air beside the group and brightened the entire hallway. It was at least a kilometer long and the end of it had another gate.

Even though the pressure had been reduced by great amounts the moment they stepped above the last stair, it was still there.

But as the group walked towards the second gate, the pressure slowly started to lift from them. As they reached the end of the hallway, the pressure had vanished.

The group stood in front of the gates as they saw the images of a small lake etched on the gates which were pure black in color. 

Kai pushed them open as the doors opened with the groaning sound of metal. The other side revealed a small golden lake that filled the atmosphere with an unimaginable fragrance.

It was so sweet that it felt as though they were eating honey. The lake was surrounded by a cave which didn't have any exits except the one they were standing in.

But before they could enter it, a figure appeared from the shadows and came to stand in front of them. It was clear as day that the figure was a woman but they couldn't see her appearance since it was hidden by a cloak.

"So you are the eves that managed to reach this place after a millennium." The woman spoke in a voice that reminded the group of spring and sunshine, though they were not sure how that was possible.

However before anyone could speak anything, their appearance started shimmering. The woman stepped back with a gasp as Kai smiled.

"We are not elves you know." He said as all the girls returned to their original looks and the cloak wearing woman gasped

A green staff with a blue gem attached to one end appeared in her hand as Kai smiled and his form started t shimmer.

"It's been quite a while Xiaozen." Kai said as he turned back to his original form and the cloak-wearing woman fell back on her butt.

"Kai." The woman said in disbelief as she slowly removed her cloak. She had Yui's green hair but they reached down to her knees and were silkier than Yui's. Her eyes were a mixture of green and blue and she had heart-shaped pupils.

She was wearing a plain green dress that reached down to her ankles and was slit at the right side and had golden embroidery at the edges.

No one could determine her age since with cultivators, you never knew how old they are and appearance can always fool you.

She stood up and carefully eyed Kai and the rest of them with alert eyes as though she expected them to vanish any second.

"But everyone says that you have been dead for two millenniums now. How are you alive?" Xiaozen asked as Kai smiled at her.

"That's honestly a very long story. It would be best if we all sit down to listen and tell it." Kai said as everyone obliged.

 Kai then proceeded to tell about everything that happened to him as everyone listened with keen interest. Though most of them knew how Kai had used the wish and curse, they wanted to hear it in detail.

Xiaozen and the girls from the mortal realm were fascinated and shocked as Kai told them about his encounter with the Divine emperor and other powerhouses of the universe and were shocked to hear how powerful they were that they managed to subdue Kai.

"I don't know what I should say to that." Xiaozen said after Kai was finished.

"But why didn't you kill them immediately instead of delaying it?" She then asked as Kai gave her an evil grin.

"That would have been far too lenient and kind. They will first suffer from insomnia and depression and will have nightmares about me coming to kill them. But when I will arrive in front of them, their worst nightmares would come true." Kai explained as Xiaozen nodded since it was the only thing she could do.

"But how did you came to know that I was dead?" Kai asked as Xiaozen's expression darkened.

"I think it was after you died that the barriers around the elven realm suddenly started to weaken. Many cultivators noticed this and tried to enter the realm but they weren't able to do that. However, when the news about the barriers getting weaker spread across the realm, people found a way to trade information to and fro from the elven realm.

People can now trade information both easily as the greedier elves will sell important information at a very high price and cultivators who need it will buy it. Though no one has been able to enter or exit the realm, I fear that they will soon be able to do it." Xiaozen explained as Kai nodded.

This meant that they would have to be even more careful while exploring the realm since information could be leaked to the other elves and in his current state, Kai didn't want that to happen.

"Who could have known that so many things can change in a few millenniums?" Kai asked as many of them chuckled.

"Just because an immortal can't feel the flow of time pass by, it doesn't mean that nothing happens in that time." Xiaozen said even though she was smiling.

"Now that you are here, I already know that you are going to absorb the energy from the lake of awakening. All of you should leave him alone for the time being." Xiaozen said as she pointed at the girls. 

They looked at Kai in confusion but he nodded seriously so they stood up and left the cave. The doors closed behind them as they looked at each other.

"I wonder what is going on in there that they wanted us to leave?" Riang asked as the other girls just shook their heads.

"Only Kai knows about that." Sahara said and they sighed.

After all, there was nothing they could do about it except wait.