Duality of Shadows

The whale entered the building with a neutral expression, advancing towards the elder. However, internally, the two were extremely cautious and thoughtful. Earlier, Bruno had a lot of fun noticing the expressions of the elders watching from afar.

As planned, they could easily manipulate the Qi of the bone club, making it impossible to measure its true power without their permission. Obviously, their weapon was superior to what was sold. However, the show was just to draw even more attention from everyone and make it clear the connection of this weapon with the other one sold.

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But everything changed shortly after they entered the city. To their surprise, for a short moment of milliseconds, their souls felt a pair of eyes, accompanied by high soul power, focused on them. Then, an intense feeling of death struck them but disappeared quickly.

The bait they planted attracted something they were far from being able to handle. This made them break into a cold sweat of concern. It was at this moment that the elder’s casual words sounded.

"Hello, Goku. I was expecting you."

The whale looked at her, and in their eyes, they immediately noticed something bothering her. As they approached, they received a dozen rings.

"Everything was sold, and the value was twice as much as I had predicted," she spoke as they observed the rings filled with abyss crystals. There were so many crystals that it took a dozen rings to store everything.

The whale then asked mentally, ’Why didn’t you take your share?’

’That... sorry, something happened.’ She responded seriously. ’I’ll be straightforward; I have many good contacts. The biggest one is an old acquaintance, a high elder from the Bloodthirsty Light Sect. I owed her a favor, something worth my life. And... she recently called in that favor.’

’Hmm... the patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect wants to see me, right?’ The whale spoke dryly. They expected the other two patriarchs to try something similar, and the high elder, knowing the connection between them, acted quickly.

The elder was stunned for a second but soon sighed and spoke, ’Yes, for a disciple like you to meet with the patriarch of another sect could be misunderstood as some kind of betrayal. So, to try to make him accept...’

’Don’t worry, take your share. I will meet with him.’ The whale cut in quickly and handed her two rings. They wanted to resolve this quickly and rethink their plans. ’Can I see him now?’

The elder received the rings still without words but didn’t complain. She worked honestly, selling everything in the best way possible, even when tempted. And in the end, the trust between them was rewarded.

’I’ll send a message. He should receive you, informing the location.’ she spoke quickly.

After two hours, with no changes happening inside or outside the building, the elder mentally sent the location of a room in the same central building, to their shock. That place belonged to the Vital Yin Sect; for this meeting to happen there could only mean one thing. The time the patriarch took was surely used to request permission from the black elf who commanded the Vital Yin Sect.

The fact that the elf accepted this surprised Alm and Bruno. The patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect must have offered some benefits for the elf not to mind. And at the same time, he didn’t want to take risks meeting in the shadows. They hadn’t counted on any of this, and things quickly seemed to be getting out of their control. But, not feeling the threat of death again, they decided to move forward.

’Why the hell would he do something like this?’ They reflected as the whale walked through a corridor inside the building. Soon, they opened a door and entered.

It was a large formal room, much bigger than one could imagine. Inside was well-lit, but there was no one. The whale simply moved calmly and sat in a chair.

As soon as he took a deep breath, a black claw emerged in front of him, followed by a hole that appeared from the void. They then watched a three-meter tall humanoid figure, red in color, with two horns on its head and black wings, emerge from the void.

Around him, a beastly aura was burning to the maximum, as if he intentionally wanted everyone to know about his bloodline from some demonic beast. However, Alm and Bruno’s senses couldn’t be deceived; that man, who appeared to everyone as a mix of human and demonic beast, actually had a subtle demonic bloodline that he hid from the world.

"Boy, we finally meet again."

He began to speak, and his deathly aura was as dense as that of the black elf. Surprisingly, however, he spoke lightly and informally, even with a slight smile. Alm and Bruno felt that he was showing his true personality; he was straightforward and simple. However, something hidden seemed to permeate his mind.

"You used the elders I sent you well," the whale commented emotionlessly.

The patriarch nodded, and a strange expression appeared. "I finally managed to upgrade my weapon with the blood of those elders. My saber came from my master, who was the former patriarch, and after the efforts of two generations, the saber now finally possesses power comparable to an Evil God Level weapon."

"Too bad my master’s dream has now become something so trivial that dozens of high elders now possess," he concluded, a bit irritated. Clearly, he was referring to the bone weapons Alm and Bruno sold.

The whale didn’t respond and just nodded. His silence was a silent message for the patriarch to get straight to the point.

"Well, boy, I don’t play in the shadows. So, I want to honestly bargain," he said directly, regardless of the difference in status. "I’ve already asked for permission from the patriarch of your sect. And I even formed a soul contract with him to solidify my honesty."

"What do you want, and what can you give me in return?" The whale spoke dryly, equally uninterested in formalities.

"Well, the Bloodthirsty Light Sect is home to most demonic beasts or hybrids looking to cultivate. The sect’s founder himself was a mythical demonic beast told in legends..."

He began to talk for a few minutes about how powerful and magnificent the founder was. Alm and Bruno listened only until he mentioned having multiple heads and stopped caring. Beasts with multiple heads were of the lowest possible level and only existed in mortal worlds.

The whale’s eyes seemed impatient, so the patriarch, realizing this belatedly, concluded, "His race was known as the guardian of the underworld, an exalted Cerberus!"

Interest struck the whale like an electric shock, and the patriarch saw that and mistakenly got excited. "Our founder left behind many things, knowledge, and one of them. That weapon above Evil God level. In the description of one of... the books he left. I immediately knew it came from a beast of the divine realm."

’Book? Description of a beast from the divine realm? What kind of senseless nonsense is this?’ Alm grumbled mentally. ’A pathetic mortal recognizing the origins of that and seeing through my disguise? That’s impossible.’

’The world is small... in our universe, Cerberus bloodlines weren’t that uncommon. Still, to think we would find one here so close is quite lucky.’ Bruno commented, then fell into thought.

’The bloodline of a pure Cerberus brings heightened senses, to the point where you once even perceived another dimension. Feeling the origin of that bone slightly is not impossible. But then, leaving it described in a book really is impossible. Something is wrong.’ Bruno concluded.

The patriarch continued, clearly trying to convince Alm and Bruno. "The Bloodthirsty Light technique that gives the sect its name is something specialized in refining the blood and a bit of the soul of victims to increase combat power. For most people, it’s just something used in weapons. But the technique is much deeper."

He spoke with pride and paused, looking into the whale’s eyes. "I’ll be straightforward. I know that weapon on your back also came from that beast, and for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be as strong just on the surface. In half a year, the Abyss will fully open for us to explore, and if I have this weapon, I can use the technique to boost its power to another level."

The whale didn’t react, so the patriarch continued talking. "Give me the weapon. I know Abyss crystals no longer matter to you. But my sect has a connection within the Abyss that will bring you many benefits. When you go to the Abyss, you’ll be able to find it. I guarantee, by the soul contract I made, not even the black elf who leads your sect can give you that. And I will also owe you a great favor."

Bruno calmly analyzed the figure in front of him and was convinced he wasn’t completely lying. The black elf clearly kept an eye on the movements of the two patriarchs and protected them; that’s why they couldn’t be directly robbed. Bruno then commented mentally.

’Something very good seems to be offered. It must be a connection with some high-level demonic clan, much better than the one we were going to enter...’

Then, Alm interrupted with something in mind. ’Wait! The Cerberus has a bloodline that connects to demons and Yin Energy. What if those eyes from earlier were actually hi, the Cerberus?’

’The stories of the founding of the three sects are thousands of years old. Someone with a mortal cultivation wouldn’t survive that long.’ Bruno immediately responded.

’The body indeed wouldn’t survive. But the technique he created called Bloodthirsty Light, he said it can refine blood and soul. Isn’t that very similar to the demonic techniques of sealing and soul refinement that we learned? We now fully understand various demonic techniques, which is basic among demons; the Cerberus could easily have created something similar.’

Bruno’s mind clicked, and Alm completed. ’This patriarch having a subtle demonic lineage is not a coincidence. And him knowing the origin and the real power of that bone on our backs is not a coincidence either.’

Bruno then murmured thoughtfully. ’The sect’s founder, the Cerberus, he is alive after sealing himself. If he keeps a living bloodline in the body, it’s possible only his soul survived, being able to interact with the world slightly for so long. He looked at us before and ordered the patriarch to try to convince us. But why all this?’

Alm then smiled internally. ’This idiot insisted that we go meet someone in the Abyss at all costs. And he also wants our weapon; him being just a sealed soul... it’s not hard to imagine.’

Bruno then murmured thoughtfully. ’If he tries to take a new body with demonic possession, his soul would be taken by celestial laws in a few centuries for being too weak. On this ascending planet, it’s impossible for him to find a cocoon for his soul that protects him. But with this high-level bone...’

Bruno then understood. ’His intention is to seal his soul in the bone. Then later possess us as slaves!’