The sea serpent’s tail projected like a divine whip descending upon the land. Sounds of impact and tremors echoed from a great distance, highlighting the remarkable difference in the physical power of a cultivator in the Core Formation Realm compared to the earlier realms. At this stage, the cultivator reaches a density and understanding of Qi capable of converting it from a gaseous to a liquid state. This allows for a seamless fusion with the body, creating a core.
The core is a place where Qi can be stored, acting similar to a heart pumping Qi through the meridians, nourishing the body and life force. For this reason, Alm and Bruno weren’t overly concerned about Almin’s life expectancy. Reaching this realm would greatly increase his lifespan, giving him a few more hundred years to solve his problem.
The battle unfolded in an intense minute; Langrum led the front line, with Almin covering at a medium distance and Ruri providing support with her new heroic power granted by the queen inside the prison. However, even with their efforts, victory seemed impossible.
The sea serpent struck Langrum violently, and the sound of bones and scales being crushed echoed. Simultaneously, Almin emerged above the creature’s head, his firepower exploding in full force directly into the eyes of the marine creature.
BOOM!!
Despite her precarious condition, Langrum managed to rise from the ground, supporting herself on her large sword. The serpent roared in pain, retreating a few meters toward the sea. Almin, although not particularly strong or skilled in combat, had extensive experience facing various types of beasts due to his past life. Even though this experience was limited, as he had never surpassed the Foundation Establishment Realm before, he knew how to identify the most painful and vulnerable points to exploit.
Langrum advanced again, spreading her own blood around towards the beast. Engaged in a bitter struggle, they could barely fend off the serpent’s attacks, which had yet to shed a single drop of blood.
’I can only hold on for a few more seconds.’ Ruri mentally communicated to Almin and Langrum, who became tense.
Almin sighed and spoke without averting his eyes from the serpent. ’Goku should be arriving... but...’
’I don’t want to disappoint Master so much. We have to win this fight, at least!’ Ruri spoke firmly, completing Almin’s words.
Langrum didn’t respond, but she shared the same sentiment. They could have ended it with the elder quickly, but their arrogance might have ruined everything. If the whale returned now and saved them from their own mess, it would be an even greater humiliation.
’I’ll use some pills I made recently. Langrum, just step back and focus on delivering a blow with 100% of your power,’ Almin instructed, taking three pills from his spatial inventory.
These pills had no names, and probably no alchemist on this planet had worked with them. They were created using the herbs Almin harvested on the fourth level of the prison. At first glance, these herbs were common on this planet, so the level of difficulty to produce them wasn’t too high. However, inside the prison, the herb underwent a mutation and was corrupted by Yin and infernal laws. He produced them at night during the month he trained the women in the desert and didn’t know exactly what the effect would be.
Upon analyzing these pills, the whale indicated that their Yin was pure enough to connect with celestial laws, but upon consumption, they could overpower the body’s Yang and kill the user. The only solution would be if Almin could ignite the Yang in his body and balance it. However, the level of difficulty was extraordinary; perhaps it would be better to wait to reach higher realms to use these pills.
"With one mistake, I could die, but without taking risks, I’ll never be able to revive Lyra," Almin murmured, without hesitation, ingesting all three pills at once.
Goku had already warned him: bringing Lyra back to normal was something even he doubted was possible. How do you achieve the impossible by always doing the expected minimum? First, Almin needed to trust himself. Second, Lyra didn’t have many years left; it was better to die trying than to see her succumb to old age.
Langrum stepped back to a distance close to Ruri, while Almin approached the serpent. In two seconds, the serpent stopped writhing as it sensed Almin nearby and stared at him with extreme fury. It was barely acknowledged, but this insect was responsible for all the pain it was suffering.
However, as it twisted its body for a full attack, it felt its scales softening and was perplexed to realize that they seemed to be melting. Then, it felt the air invading its lungs at an infernal temperature. In a second, the space became hazy, and the temperature in the area reached alarming levels, causing even the beach sand to melt.
Almin’s eyes bled violently and evaporated immediately. He struggled to control all the energy in his body and spat out a mouthful of blood. However, in his eyes, there was only determination, and he soared into the sky screaming.
"Run!"
The fifteen women who were bitterly fighting inside the village heard this, and sanity seemed to return to their eyes. It was an absolute order from Almin, one he had used several times to train them in the desert. Hearing it now by pure instinct, they turned and ran in Ruri’s direction.
Above, hundreds of fire runes appeared around Almin as he formed hand seals, giving his utmost to control the runes and the laws. Flames began to emerge behind him, and his body started to explode in blood. However, the runes exploded together and turned into arrows of fire that covered the sky.
Almin sent a message to Ruri, who immediately canceled the heroic power focused on the sea beast. Almost fainting, she rose and used the power of the array; earth laws emerged and closed in, protecting her, Langrum, and the 15 women.
The energy of the flames circulated through the sky. In Almin’s eyes, only absolute black emerged, and the dark red flames suddenly turned into completely black flames, blending completely with infernal laws and Yin.
At that moment, the sea serpent felt the shackles being released from its body. It released all its Qi and water laws to intercept the ant in the sky. However, the black arrows grew rapidly, turning into meteors falling to the earth; just breathing those black flames caused agony in its soul, and it instinctively covered itself with water in defense.
This was a new technique that Almin created in this moment of pressure. It involved using Yin energy and infernal laws in his body to connect with the fire laws in the sky, forming huge fireballs. Each ball fell like shooting stars, exploding among the sea beasts of the village, along with the sea serpent.
Each of them was like fireworks exploding when they landed. Black flames covered the battlefield, and the meteor shower didn’t stop. It seemed like the heavens were collapsing, and terrible flames completely engulfed everything.
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The struck Sea Beasts roared in pain and agony, slowly melting until they were torn apart. Those who escaped being crushed were burned to death.
A giant area turned into a sea of flames; Almin tried his best not to hit the earth shield and then fell from the sky completely without energy, suffering severe internal damage. The sea serpent used its Qi to protect itself, but the power was abnormal; its scales melted, and its entire skin was burned. Internally, it was perfectly fine, with about 80% of its Qi intact, but the pain caused by these flames was indescribable.
At that moment, the earth shield opened, and Langrum flew towards the serpent, cutting through the flames. The serpent was mentally disturbed but sensed the green-clad woman approaching. However, what could a cultivator of this level do? Its basic rationality only saw things uniformly.
Two meters from impact, a sharp gleam made the black sword shine intensely. In that brief second, to total disbelief, the serpent felt a certain level of danger belatedly but was already too close.
Langrum’s runic seal power was a surprising card kept for moments like this. It proved completely efficient once again; with the serpent’s scales melted, its physical defense was drastically reduced. It was the perfect opportunity, and the sword advanced. She knew that with her cultivation, she would never kill this serpent with one blow. However, before reaching the target, a message reached Langrum’s mind, causing her to direct her strike to a specific, more distant location of the enemy’s body.
Slash!
Blood rained from the serpent, and the sound of breaking glass reverberated. The beast’s core was hit millimetrically, and it was destroyed. In a distant corner, the whale watched everything and nodded, somewhat satisfied; finally, the alchemist’s real power was being used. But they didn’t take their eyes off a point in the sea, feeling a presence watching them.