The group exited the prison calmly, and the elder responsible for the entrance observed them with keen eyes. After a few seconds, he nodded and bid them farewell without saying anything. Almin and Langrum sighed afterward; they would have loved to see the astonishment of the elder and everyone’s admiration for advancing a realm. However, the whale had Ruri use her mental power to deceive the senses of this weak elder, and he didn’t notice their advancement.
"You’ll have the opportunity to show yourselves later. Hiding your strengths and making the enemy underestimate you is a trump card to be used at the right moment," the whale spoke calmly. Of course, that wouldn’t fool the senses of a high elder or the patriarch, only the weaker ones. So they didn’t give a chance for bad luck to strike them and quickly ran out of the city.
In the early evening, they all reached the desert, but they didn’t waste time heading north of the continent. The system clearly chose side quests according to their needs and extra things that Alm and Bruno initially didn’t notice. Back then, as soon as they finished taking control of Denil’s body, the first mission the system gave them was to master the bloodline within the body; they certainly planned to ignore that for some time, but the system made them take care of it quickly, and it proved to be extremely useful.
Then, when they wanted to join an evil sect, the hints from the side quest "Master the Infernal Law and create the symbol of the Evil God" were quite useful in directing them toward something bigger. Now, this new side quest should be equally interesting.
’Collect all Yang herbs and be the sponsor to create the Five-ring Yang pills,’ Bruno thought, analyzing. ’We were already going after Yang herbs anyway, but Five-ring pills... isn’t that something only found in the divine world, made by supreme alchemists?’
Alm and Bruno became strangely thoughtful; this mission seemed to be something complicated, but they already knew they couldn’t use the benchmark of their other universe to measure it. So they asked Almin about it.
Almin heard about the five rings and spoke somewhat thoughtfully. "Hm... I’ve never seen five rings, but my grandfather could make them with three rings sometimes. The quality of the herb and the refinement level of the furnace used are the most important points. If I had both, maybe I could manage two rings..."
The whale listened, becoming astonished. ’If any alchemist on this ascending planet can get three rings, five should be something possible for a high-level alchemist here.’
Bruno then spoke to Almin, "We’re heading to a city run by alchemists. And there, they cultivate high-level Yang herbs."
At that moment, Langrum turned eagerly to the two talking. She had been extremely down these days and didn’t appreciate feeling intense pains coming from her bloodlines due to not having enough Yang. One must remember that the lack of Yang doesn’t stop her cultivation progress. It only affects the control of her bloodlines instead. Alm even wondered if it was a withdrawn effect instead.
"I need a five-ring pill. That’s our goal," the whale spoke, and Almin was a bit shocked.
"We’re not going to steal one... we have to create one," they said calmly, and at that moment, Almin froze in fear.
The whale saw that lack of confidence and spoke, "There must be many experienced alchemists and furnaces there. The mission will be extremely dangerous, and you will be the main beneficiary, but the danger will be immense."
Almin took a deep breath but didn’t step down, with Lyra’s image in his mind. Evolving quickly was his primary goal.
The whale then continued, "You are an evil cultivator, and you will be killed immediately if they find out. So Ruri will completely seal your cultivation, so they won’t notice it. Still, it will be very dangerous. Remember, if you release your cultivation, you won’t come out alive from there."
Almin nodded, sensing extreme danger as Alm continued to talk. "With your abilities, you should be able to become a disciple and infiltrate inside. You will have a week to stealthily investigate everything with Ruri’s power and inform us through the array. At the right moment, we’ll invade and steal everything we can; books, furnaces, and, of course, herbs."
"If you make a mistake, all of us could die. But if it works, you’ll gain a lot... but then you’ll have to make a five-ring pill. So also seek the knowledge for that inside."
A deadly silence permeated as the group walked. On that same day, they left the desert and were officially away from the relatively safe zone of evil cultivators, so they continued heading to the northern area of the continent.
At night, while Ruri slept, Almin meditated, contemplating deeply on the mission ahead. The next day, Ruri worked all day sealing Almin’s cultivation completely; only a bit of QI circulated in his meridians. Anyone below the Core Formation Realm would think Almin was in the later stages of the Qi Gathering Realm. Most importantly, it was impossible to sense the infernal laws or the death aura from him; only a faint mortal feeling remained as if Almin were someone who had fought to survive many times.
After continuing the road for another day, they finally spotted a small but extremely bright and wealthy city from the top of a hill. Even its walls seemed to be made of expensive material.
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"Alchemists make a lot of easy money," the whale murmured, and everyone nodded.
Forgers still need to work intensely to find and mine the material for forging. Alchemists, on the other hand, can easily find or grow their herbs in nature. An experienced alchemist, knowing where to look, can easily find useful herbs for simple pills that can be sold at a good price. And in this city run by alchemists, money was flowing, and therefore, everything emanated grandiosity.
’Well, we part ways here. From this distance, you can communicate through the array. Your grandfather was an alchemist, so he should serve as an introduction; don’t hesitate to use him. You have one week.’ the whale spoke mentally to Almin.
He nodded, clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and hesitantly took the first steps toward the city. Ruri jumped and held his hand, giving some encouraging words in a gentle way, and Almin was disarmed, even smiling a bit awkwardly, relieving all the tension in him.
’She knows how to manipulate him easily with her childish ways.’ Bruno commented admirably.
’Ruri is just doing the same thing she does with you. She’s used to it, and it has become something simple and natural.’ Alm said sarcastically, but Bruno didn’t retort. He just sighed at his brother. The three of them were easily won over by her.
Everyone watched him leave; then, he joined a long line at the city gates. In the late afternoon, it was his turn, and after several minutes of talking to the guard, he was taken inside after showing a pill made by himself.
Bruno, seeing Ruri’s tension, spoke calmly. "He was probably taken for examination. His talent is a bit above average when motivated; now, just relax and wait."
’How much of a waste of time! It would have been enough to wait for the night and invade, killing and making a mess while the others steal everything.’ Alm said dryly.
Bruno replied seriously, ’Again with that. I won’t kill anyone for nothing; let’s just... steal a bit... and we’ll only do that because the system didn’t give us a choice!’