The whale, completely bloodied, returned to the base with brisk steps, leaving everyone perplexed. The air hung in suspense, a mix of shock at the whale’s lamentable state and the realization that they had faced and defeated a sea creature even more powerful than the previous one practically alone.
Without wasting time, the whale gathered everyone, and within minutes, they urgently headed towards the desert. The Three Extremes Sect would undoubtedly be alerted to the death of an elder responsible for something crucial. Upon arriving and finding everything stolen and destroyed, they would initiate a ruthless search in the region. Resting there was not an option.
Now, there were about seven hundred people walking together. Only Almin and Ruri were unconscious; Langrum was injured but could still walk, and the women had minor injuries but little Qi to use. An attack at this moment would be fatal, but the whale led the march, completely red, while Bruno used the power of his soul to monitor the surroundings. It was a last resort, and after their souls were restored by the queen’s divine Qi, they could use it again, but with caution.
After six hours, they entered the desert and advanced further to avoid a sandstorm. At this point, Almin had already used the tattoo to consume all the abyss crystals they had in their inventory and common crystals in Elder Anzo’s ring, restoring his Qi. Now, finding themselves in a location where they had some chance of escaping by running into the storm if necessary, he used the laws of the earth to create a large dome, covering everyone as if they were inside a cave. Then, they focused on resting.
***
At the end of the night, the whale opened its eyes and woke everyone up quickly. It sensed hundreds of auras coming from the sea, all more powerful than the triton they had defeated. They all seemed to be elders of the Three Extremes Sect, and were almost visible from a distance.
Physically recovered and with a good reserve of Qi, everyone rushed directly into the storm before it was too late. The whale used its earth runes on all the nearly seven hundred beings it carried, protecting them from the storm and depleting itself considerably. However, it noticed that the elders were approaching slowly, invading the storm in pursuit. With death looming from behind and the imminent entry into the territory of the formidable bull-headed beast in front, challenges were piling up.
Keeping the pace and sensing the presence of the elders, when morning arrived, Ruri woke up. She had no physical injuries, just severe Qi exhaustion and mental stress due to the prolonged use of the hero’s rune.
"Fortunately, these elders are slow in the desert... but something seems off," Bruno assessed. "If there were disciples with the same bloodline as us, there should be elders. In this desert, they could advance faster while being cautious."
"They must be aware of the existence of that dangerous beast nearby. These storms would only kill an elder if they were very careless. But... we can use that to our advantage," Alm said maliciously.
Approaching the edge of the beast’s domain, they turned to Almin, who was awake but still very weakened. They sent him the exact location of their city in the desert and spoke.
"Wait for my signal. Then, Almin, use the laws of the earth thorugh the array to continue protecting the people and run towards the city. I’ll catch up with you later."
Ruri looked at them expectantly, and they picked her up and carried her with them. Now, she was something essential to them, a powerful weapon. She clung to them with extreme satisfaction, and they set off, heading north. When they were a good distance from the group, bronze-colored armor and several high-level weapons were taken out, along with everything useful in Elder Anzo’s ring.
The three extreme powers were used again, and everything was handed over to Ruri. This time, they wouldn’t fight, and she was instructed to use everything to gather all the natural Qi around that she could. A giant disturbance was felt, both by the beasts and the elders; both sides ran towards that focal point, but they were at a considerable distance.
The Yin and Yang tattoo was activated, and all the Qi that Ruri gathered was placed inside the pieces of armor and weapons. In her final breaths, she sealed everything in there. Finally, they scattered everything and ran.
Almin and the others were given the green light to run. The beast sensed the massive invasion in its territory, but when it tried to figure out what was happening, the seal of a weapon exploded with overwhelming power.
The level of destruction was capable of killing it, and despite the beast’s suspicion that the invaders could be the same as before or that it might be some trap, the slave seal prevented it from ignoring that level of destruction compared to those ants. Alm and Bruno, aware of this, went straight towards the city using only the power of their physical bodies. Every few minutes, their hearts bled as they released a seal and detonated a weapon.
"We lost all those runes and Qi from the formation. Now, we lost armor and several weapons that could have been reused. We’ve been three months out, and we lost much more than we gained!" Alm complained incessantly.
Counting the stipulated time for both sides to meet, the armor and everything else exploded, creating a visible pillar of destruction in a huge area. The whale ran without looking back; if it saw that, tears of fury might have flowed too.
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As the destruction passed, they found the group. When the beast realized that it was all a distraction, it was already too late. All seven hundred original inhabitants marveled at the new location for the first time.
Only a month and a few days had passed since they left the city. But now the place was completely taken over by a green and pure forest. It became a natural paradise, without any beasts or animals; only pure plants and vegetation lived there.
The whale didn’t care much and went straight to the castle while everyone explored the place gleefully. Alm and Bruno spent the day recovering, then finally turned to the few things they gained in this long adventure. They examined the demonic metal and sighed, confirming that they were still nowhere near having the ability to use it. Both would have to advance to the next level of the Dao of the Divine Smith first. Besides, even if Alm and Bruno could use it in forging, they couldn’t since they would have to return it to the sect. That was their mission, after all.
"Well, neither the patriarch nor anyone from the sect will be able to find a use for it. It can be kept for us, and in the future, we’ll take it back," Bruno commented, trying to accept that loss.
So, they turned to their only real gain, with some anticipation. A severed head emerged from the inventory. It was Elder Anzo’s. Then, they focused on his memories. Obviously, there was a block that would be impossible to break without triggering a self-destruct.
However, their plan with the seven men returning to the village was all devised after reading Anfi’s latest memories. To their surprise, in the Three Extremes Sect, there was a mental technique that few could practice. Elder Anzo criticized this power a lot, so much so that in Anfi’s final memories, he clearly saw the young man successfully hiding beasts in the form of women underground, out of the old man’s sight.
In the end, this power was used to deceive Anzo on various levels with the collaboration of Ruri’s mental domain on the seven men. And if everything had gone well, the elder would have opened his grandson’s memories and transferred them to himself in his final hours. To read the memories, they had to transfer them to themselves to finally analyze them. Reading the old man’s complete memories was impossible, but reading everything from his last hours was simple, and everything within his grandson should be available to them now. Simply put, Anzo became a proxy of Anfi’s secrets.
After a few seconds, a sigh of relief came from the whale. At least one extremely important thing they achieved: all of Anfi’s memories were completely preserved, waiting for them. Quickly, a vast knowledge of the Three Extremes Sect came to them. And, as a bonus, a mental technique was given to Ruri as an offering.
Alm then said lightly, "It doesn’t come close to the level of the Soul Sealing Technique she mastered. But, this technique has some quite peculiar qualities."