An unusual silence and chill pervaded the area at the base of the gigantic volcano, which, unlike the others, was not active. The whale sighed, sensing the strong and pure triple power at the top of that place.
’It was really interesting to analyze that; I can easily replicate it.’ Alm murmured seriously. ’But unfortunately, it seemed to be in perfect balance. Without combining the three life energies, I think it’s hard to make it work.’
Then, they felt the girl climb onto their back and land on their shoulder; soon, Ruri spoke excitedly. "Master, I think I understand the basics of that mental power. It’s very similar to the second sutra of the mental cultivation I’m studying."
The whale nodded, and Alm spoke. "The power of the soul and life energy are complex, but I can easily replicate it."
"So, can we use it together? It will be our exclusive move!" Ruri said enthusiastically.
"We’re missing life energy; if we do that, we’ll end up like..." Alm began to say when his mind clicked.
Ruri noticed it, and a radiant smile appeared on her face. After a few seconds, the whale murmured. "It’s possible to do something similar, concentrating and drastically reducing the amount used. Using this... if both of you contribute life energy, the amount used will be minimal."
Alm then thought coldly. "If we only use it in emergencies, it won’t affect us much. But the explosive power, yes, if it’s with your dragon glass katana, it will be even more lethal."
"Great, this will be our secret dual technique! It lacks a name... Eternal Bond!" Ruri exclaimed with a small jump and a laugh.
’Well, our bloodline is practically extinguished, and along with the laws of the earth, they refuse to recover since we entered the abyss,’ Bruno commented mentally. ’So, we couldn’t rely on Ruri’s hero rune for fighting; maybe, at most, she could use it for a few breaths. Now, we have something useful.’
The whale gently stroked Ruri’s hair, then they focused on climbing the volcano. That rune had no intelligence and only responded to their approach, as if it were a defense mechanism. Soon, as they reached the base of the volcano, everything went dark. This made it clear that they had overcome the defenses and could move forward.
But, this was just logic that anyone in this situation could understand. As they climbed the volcano, with each meter above, Alm and Bruno felt, with their heightened instincts amid blood and despair, something clear: they were approaching something dangerous.
They used their souls to check, and on the surface, there was only a giant inert rune floating. But... something strange caught Alm’s attention.
’I don’t feel any fire laws; the volcano is completely dead. But, the entire top of this volcano seems to be covered in abyss crystals.’ Alm analyzed. ’With the massive amount of QI and energies feeding this rune, under its influence, over the years, abyss crystals are formed and are identical to common crystals. So... the three life energies, combined with QI, must be the origin of the treasures that emerge within the realms in the abyss.’
Bruno listened, intrigued, and the instinctive sense of danger was still getting stronger every second. So, thinking calmly, he remembered a dangerous moment they experienced. When they almost died after accidentally discovering the will of the queen inside an abyss crystal. (Chapter 92)
Bruno then spoke. ’If everything in the abyss is a formation created by the queen’s order and power, then these crystals that have formed... it’s almost certain that they have the same origin as the one that almost killed us.’
’It seems possible; the evil cultivators received a crystal that was formed from inside some realm, and they didn’t know how special it was. We were lucky to get it at that time, and it almost was our end.’ Alm replied dryly.
The entire climb to the top of the volcano, using physical cultivation, was smooth and fast. In thirty minutes, they finally took a final leap and stepped onto the top. The first thing they felt was the dry and cold air.
So, Ruri sighed, and both saw where there should be a deep crater; there was only a dense black glow. It was as if they were on top of a colossal and unique block of abyss crystal. And in the center of everything, at the top, was the black rune that seemed to be ten meters tall.
Bruno then spoke calmly. ’I don’t feel anything coming from the rune; the danger is below our feet, in the center of this gigantic block of crystal. I think it’s a treasure, perhaps the largest and best treasure that this realm of flames has ever produced. We have to...’
Suddenly, when Bruno thought he had to grab it no matter what, the souls of both trembled with a suffocating feeling. It was the death blade at their throats.
’It seems like your theory was correct; this entire crystal block contains the queen’s will. Just a small crystal almost killed us; this gigantic one must have thousands of times more of her power.’ Alm spoke coldly.
’All this, and at least fifty times larger than our inventory. Our only option would be to break it... but... if we do that, we die.’ Bruno said, sighing. ’All the fire laws of the realm of flames came from somewhere; I feel like that is the answer.’
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The whale stared at the center of that giant block for several seconds, deep in thought; then Ruri waited, but soon, she instinctively felt that her master seemed to be trying to solve a difficult problem.
So, Ruri murmured softly in their ear. "Master, is there something inside there?"
"Yes, in the center, there is a shocking treasure. But a dangerous energy is protecting it; only using my brute force won’t be able to get it." They responded calmly.
"Master is always so brute... but it’s very cool." She said, smiling. "But I’m always here to do things smoothly." She added, puffing her chest.
"Hm? Do you have any idea?" Bruno said softly.
"The first mental cultivation sutra is called ’Gentleness and Connection.’" She spoke, smiling, and Alm and Bruno remembered having read a bit of it, but only superficially.
"I’ve already completed the first sutra. With ’gentleness,’ I managed to improve my ability to hide from others’ senses. As for ’connection,’ it is used to link mental power to anything non-living." She spoke and felt the whale tremble, which made her feel proud.
Bruno quickly said, "Array. Can you use that connection and transfer it to him?"
"Hm? Yes, that’s easy." Ruri said immediately.
Alm and Bruno got excited. The queen’s will was naturally inert, awakening only with some extreme stimulus. With mental power, which was a natural energy, Ruri could approach without alerting, and throw everything into Array. Being in the Array, they could transfer directly to the inventory and erase the will.
"Perfect, you’ll be very useful. Good girl." Bruno said, patting her head, but her reaction was to lower her head with a slight whimper, avoiding their gaze.
A few seconds later, they walked to the center of the place, near the rune. The whale warned that there was a powerful inert will that was one with the block of crystal. She had to find that and approach it with the utmost care; any mistake and the will would be alerted, which would spell her end. After all, it was the will of the queen.
Ruri took a deep breath, nervous. After a few seconds, she clenched her fists and turned to the whale, saying, "I’ll be perfect, and no one will compare to me. Just watch."
A red blush spread across her face, but she quickly sat in a lotus position and closed her eyes.
Minutes passed, Alm and Bruno observed her in silence with lost looks. They then saw countless drops of sweat running down her white and delicate face. Her breathing became strained, and Ruri began to tremble with a contorted face.
The whale approached, extending its arm, almost touching her shoulder. They felt the state of her body and noticed the mental power being consumed rapidly. In a short time, she had already lost more than half of her modest power. The two sighed mentally; although she had the ability, her cultivation seemed to be an apparently insurmountable barrier.
They calmly withdrew their hands from her shoulder, but felt her small hand moving and grasping them back. Surprised, they wondered if it was instinctive.
Then, they approached her and sat down, remaining by her side without moving away. Her hand stayed connected to theirs, as if there was a sacred and eternal bond. There was no more trembling from her, and even her heart beat calmly and gently. At this moment, Alm and Bruno felt clearly, surprised, that Ruri had reached a state of absolute flow.
Five long and torturous minutes passed...
And when Alm and Bruno felt the last drops of her Qi fading away, their souls trembled as they noticed the Array stirring fiercely. She did it! The two thought excitedly and immediately used all their energy to transfer that dormant power of the queen, as fast as possible, to the inventory.
Inside that enclosed space, the golden will opened its eyes.
CRACK!!
However, it was destroyed in the same second without giving any chance for the queen to feel it herself.
Both were excited, realizing it was a success. Then, belatedly, they noticed something and opened the whale’s eyes. Ruri was unconscious, and she only had time to crawl and snuggle up to them, hugging them face to face with a slight smile on her lips.
Alm and Bruno sighed heavily, but it was merely an attempt to mask the unease that overtook them. For the first time in countless years, upon hearing her soft breathing, they felt something unexpected—a deep, familiar warmth, like the bond of a family they had never imagined having. Ruri, completely exhausted, simply sought comfort as she nestled close to them, her faint smile reflecting the security she felt by their side.
They said nothing, but for a brief moment, an inexplicable feeling washed over them—as if this moment, which now seemed so innocent, was only the beginning of something that would take years to understand.