The storm sands became denser and more penetrating with each passing second. At a short distance, the reflection observed the whale, completely red and focused, plotting something mysterious.
Amidst the tumultuous environment, his heightened instincts, copied from the original, surfaced. In response, the reflection seemed to engulf itself in black flame, displaying three dark wings on its back, indicating its decision to act. However, even before taking a step forward, it distinctly sensed the dissipation of the QI emanated by the whale.
At that moment, all the sand under its control infiltrated deeply into the rounded and robust body. Soon, the whale began to spit a lot of blood, and its condition became extremely serious. A strange sensation sprouted in the rudimentary mind of the reflection, but the perception that something was unfolding prevailed, and it then advanced with a dark determination.
On the whale’s side, the Yin and Yang tattoos shimmered, pouring their QI into crucial points of the body, avoiding instant death. Ancient internal injuries seemed to burst bloodily, while the sands, like deadly blades, invaded, slowly piercing viscera and muscles.
In an instant, the infernal laws were triggered nearby, making death tangible. It was at that moment that Bruno shouted, "We don’t have time! Remove the defenses, let the sand invade everything!"
Alm’s eyes widened; it seemed like suicidal madness, but there was no less insane alternative. Thus, he accepted that he had already mounted the tiger and surrendered to insanity. In the next second, all the QI within the whale froze, turning them into fragile mortals. Immediately, the sand explosively invaded every inch inside the body.
In a second, every muscle and fat of the whale became as solid as stone. The skin’s texture now resembled the roughness of ancient rocks. All the blood was compressed and turned into particles as if it were fine sand. The heart was now completely obstructed, its rhythm ceasing altogether.
The meridians, lungs, and every internal organ were relentlessly invaded and crushed by the intrusive sand. It was at this critical moment that the reflection, shrouded in dancing black flames, swiftly arrived a meter from the whale. However, the only noticeable movements by the reflection were the eyes of the whale, which seemed to devour all light like a deep abyss.
BOOM!
A violent burst of energy emerged without any warning, and a sonic wave sent the reflection spinning in the air, along with all the sand. He stopped after a few seconds, with his runic body slightly damaged, before turning attentively forward.
The reflection immediately tried to sense the location of the whale, but a strange feeling passed through his mind. Then, on pure instinct, he jumped to the side.
Slash!!!
A crisp cut through the air passed through the reflection, and the runic right arm of the reflection was severed, exploding into particles.
He landed on the ground without understanding where the cut came from before activating his bloodline to the maximum as a means of defense. Soon, the entire storm ceased, and the QI spread through all the sand on the ground, creating an inescapable web. It was then that he felt movement several meters away, but at the same instant, it vanished. Without warning, a brutal explosion hit his runic chest, sending him flying like a balloon.
CRACK!
The sound of runes breaking and turning to dust echoed with the wind. Then, the bloodied whale stopped, breathing heavily, its eyes empty as if it were about to fall dead at any moment.
"It was a success... we finally completed the Viscera Training of body cultivation. And we finished the first level entirely," Bruno commented without the great excitement expected.
The Viscera Training literally involved refining every internal organ of a cultivator’s body, and everything had to be done precisely in a specific path and method. At times, they had attempted it in the past, but the absurd amount of QI required, and the slowness of the process demanded a lot of free time they never had available.
Bruno, sensing the QI within the sand, came up with the idea of letting it do the hard work; when the sand invaded every key point, they exploded all the QI and bloodline power at the same time, mastering this sand within their bodies and using it to refine them. They could only explode once, and in that single second full of power, they had to internally refine everything simultaneously. If they failed, everything would be over, but with two ancestral consciousnesses working together, everything was completed without error.
"We gained a weapon that the reflection doesn’t have, but the internal damages are severe. Maybe we have two more moves," Alm said seriously.
Bruno sighed, looking forward attentively. "We’ve already hurt him enough with the surprise effect. Now, he’ll come at us with everything, but we have the advantage of superior physique and speed... WHAT!"
In that second, Bruno and Alm were stunned to see the reflection floating in front of them. Around him, the earth runes vibrated, then suddenly, the earth energy in the runes seemed to transform... The air became tense, and electric currents began to run through the giant and round body of the reflection.
"WHAT THE HELL! He... He can convert earth energy into electricity!" Alm exclaimed, unable to believe it.
Bruno stammered as he spoke. "He doesn’t have much control... but... could we do that?"
Suddenly, the sand on the ground rose, and the reflection disappeared at an impossible speed.
"He’s faster! We have to counterattack!" It wasn’t clear who spoke those words, in this critical and desperate moment, Alm and Bruno seemed to synchronize immediately, and all their thoughts became one. They returned to being a single entity.
They didn’t have QI or bloodline power to use; the only weapon was their body. And this weapon was cracked, threatening to explode with any abrupt movement. But the thousands of years cultivated in the midst of blood and desperate struggles gave them instinctive expertise and inexplicable reflexes. Their eyes and senses couldn’t keep up, but their souls seemed to mystically foresee where the strike was coming from, and an inexplicable punch was delivered to the left, using everything they had.
BOOM!
Both sides collided and were pushed five meters apart. But neither of them fell, and both maintained a penetrating and attentive gaze on each other.
Electric currents ran slowly through the real whale’s body, trying to invade the body. With their enhanced body, this should have been impossible to succeed. However, due to the number of wounds on the whale, the electric currents found an opening and attacked violently. Quickly, the whale’s vision began to darken, a call of imminent death.
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"We only have... one move..." Alm and Bruno slowly spat out in unison.
The reflection seemed to hear that and smiled sinisterly. Its state was lamentable, with hundreds of holes in its runic body. However, slowly, two points on the runic body lit up. They were the palms of its two fists... they were the Yin and Yang tattoos.
"Shit..." They murmured, and the reflection’s eyes lit up.
Three dense and pure energies violently intertwined; it was their new full move, and they would experience it directly against themselves. But it didn’t stop there... gravity and magnetic power emerged between the three powers. Then, they connected and resonated as if life, death, and the mundane earth had become tangible.
"This... this will... it refuses to bow." The legends about the Behemoth they read in the Divinestone clan library came to mind.
It has three horns representing life, death, and the mundane earth. It refuses to bow even to the heavens, and the roar it emits is so powerful that it terrifies all enemies of the earth, bringing peace to all places. Therefore, Behemoth is considered a guardian of life that helps weaker creatures survive. (CHAPTER 5)
"We are the Yin of death, the Yang of life, and, at the same time, the mundane earth." Alm and Bruno murmured, understanding. This was the desire of Heaven’s Will from the beginning, and they were directed towards it. Unconsciously, they trod this path, solidifying this union.
Their minds trembled with this revelation. Encountering Denil and mastering his body was not a coincidence. Purchasing the Yin and Yang Supreme Qi Collector was also not a coincidence. And now... seeing before their eyes, the union of all this also seemed not to be a coincidence. Heaven’s Will couldn’t speak, but its words were written before their eyes. Simply put, that reflection was showing them all the power they themselves have in their hands now. The power they needed to take revenge on the queen!
"But, we still have to survive!" The whale murmured, clenching its fists tightly. Then, in its mind, something began to condense, and subtly, the presence of a crown of luminous Qi took shape.