The whale ran at full speed, and in front of these gigantic islands, it would take hours just to cross them due to their immense size. But in the midst of the run, the Yin and Yang tattoos lit up, and they tested their effects. After ten minutes, a dark smile shone on the whale’s face as they felt their bodies being filled with an astronomical amount of Qi.
’Great, the tattoos never disappoint. Inside this place, we have an endless and infinite source of Qi to use, converting life energies.’ Alm commented, laughing in a villainous manner.
Thus, their speed multiplied hundreds of times in a minute, and it continued to increase. They spared nothing and seemed to even exceed the limit their bodies could bear. Then, in a few minutes, sounds cutting through the winds and gigantic trees falling along with the earth splitting echoed.
They jumped onto a tall tree and witnessed a high-speed pursuit happening nearby. Soon, their eyes tensed... Alm’s joy was short-lived...
’That... is a clone... of a cultivator in the Divine Sovereign Realm...’ Bruno muttered seriously. This realm was precisely the twelfth and last realm possible for a mortal, obviously only achievable in the divine realm.
’He deliberately created a clone with power equivalent to the elementary level of the Heaven Stage Realm. And he’s chasing someone...’ Alm added dryly, the real cultivation of this creature couldn’t be hidden from their divine souls.
Bruno, looking at that clone resembling a humanoid with six arms and wings, spoke tensely. ’It seemed too good to be true. The islands must have assessors at the peak of cultivation... even if we have infinite Qi to use, if they sense something wrong and use their real cultivation, we die. We have to find a way to kill them, or we’ll never destroy the Tree of Life.’
They observed the pursuit covered by dense vegetation from above, and after a few minutes, they spotted the fleeing figure leaping over the trees in an unbelievable and dazzling evasion. On the whale’s back, Ruri immediately jumped in surprise at the sight.
It was a slender human woman with short hair and a rounded face, her distinctive slanted eyes unmistakable. She had the same East Asian physique as Ruri and her people.
The whale sighed, saying, "This place is connected to various universes. I’ve seen humans resembling your people in other places myself; she’s not from Montide, it’s just an unfortunate coincidence. You can call it Convergent evolution."
Ruri took a deep breath, unable to say anything but seeming to understand... until the convergent evolution part, that is. That was a term from earth, after all. The whale then turned its attention forward again, but this time, it was they who were surprised. The human woman was exactly at the ninth level of the Core Formation Realm, just like them, but she was fast... unbelievably so, even shocking Alm and Bruno.
The woman skillfully dodged, using a unique ability that seemed to blend Yin with spatial concepts. When she used it, her speed practically exploded instantly, becoming so fast that even the residual images created by the movement didn’t have enough time to disappear. In fact, the ’residual images’ were practically indistinguishable from the original body, making it appear as if the user had been cloned while moving at impressive speeds.
"A divine technique from another universe..." The whale let slip from its lips.
At that moment, Ruri seemed to have an idea. "Master, why don’t we save her? This technique... would be good to have, wouldn’t it?"
The whale huffed slightly. Indeed, this woman was just running, and she was injured in various places. They needed information, and they would wait a bit until she was closer to death to capture her. However, forcibly obtaining the technique was almost impossible, as it would likely have some kind of memory block.
"It would be good... but I don’t intend to keep her alive. As I told you, we have no time to waste, and everyone is our enemy," the whale said dryly.
Ruri thought quickly and spoke, "But, master, can’t you do the same as you did with me and Almin, erasing the enemy’s domain? If she accepts to bow to master, can we spare her?"
"I don’t have time to convince her. Don’t get your hopes up; she’s not an ally and is not part of your people," they said as they jumped from the tree towards the confrontation.
CRASH!!
A dozen trees and a crack in the earth opened with a move from the creature. Instantly, a residual image exploded, and five meters ahead, space distorted, revealing a woman spitting blood, with a deep cut on her back. She was fleeing... but she was on the line between life and death every moment.
The creature looked at her with cold eyes, and she immediately stabilized forcibly, turning to run until...
Slash! The tip of a saber pierced the skull of that clone. Then it exploded, transforming entirely into Qi and evaporating.
The woman looked with wide eyes... a giant, round figure appeared out of nowhere, and she instinctively took a step back. She only saw a subtle violet aura vanish... he appeared unnoticed by both her and the creature. Then, the fat and round figure instantly destroyed the creature... cold sweat ran down the back of the frightened woman.
At that moment... she caught a glimpse. Beside the whale, holding its hand, was a young girl. That girl... looked exactly like her and her relatives. As a result, a pure and gentle smile bloomed on the girl’s face towards her.
"Sister, my master looks mean, but he’s not bad. Can we talk?" Ruri said softly.
The woman then thought for a few seconds in silence as she looked into the eyes of the girl, waiting for her decision. She wanted to run, but for some reason, she felt that she would regret it for the rest of her life. Her instincts, which were her greatest weapon, begged her to accept. Then, she sighed softly, taking a step forward.
’She didn’t even look at us...’ Bruno spoke incredulously. ’A cute and pure face is always convincing. But, I confess that if it were different, we would never pass any credibility.’
So, Ruri smiled and pulled the whale’s hand, walking closer to the woman, who began to speak. "I’m Sayqi. It’s been a very... very long time since I’ve seen a human... the last time was before coming to this place; it’s been forty-five thousand years..."
Ruri jumped, and the whale looked dry. From this woman’s vitality, she shouldn’t be even 100 years old, but they quickly understood. In this place, a cultivator never ages and preserves the vitality from when they first entered.
"I’m Ruri, and this is my master. Sorry, but we don’t have time to waste." Ruri spoke, looking into Sayqi’s eyes tensely. "My master only needs information, and we’ll try to complete this entire place. Can we negotiate?"
Sayqi listened to those words and remained silent. Then, she turned to the whale and finally looked into its eyes calmly. There was nothing there... no malice... no kindness... just pressure, something that seemed to naturally emanate from Alm and Bruno’s presence. ’Maybe this is power?’ She thought.
She remembered him destroying that illusion and sighed. ’I don’t feel like she’s lying, and he, despite his appearance... I can’t judge him for that.’ of course, that was nothing but an excuse for herself. How could she believe someone that easily in this place? It’s just that she was truly too injured. If she tried to run, she was certain she would fail miserably. The whale killed her enemy with a single strike, after all.
She then spoke, still looking at the whale. "Sorry for my previous behavior. I’ve seen many people who seemed good and ultimately betrayed me, and the opposite also happened... I’ve lived a lot... I’m simply tired of this life."
She then began to explain a bit of what she knew. Basically, every year about a million new cultivators entered this place at once. Then, in less than a year... only a thousand advanced, and the rest simply died brutally at the hands of the creature. But, their bodies were expelled from this place without anything left.
"I tried to defeat Hexaalis in the central temple before, but I never succeeded. Fortunately, relying on my family’s technique, I managed to escape and run away from him. And he, with his true body, never pursued me far."
"I’ve tried hundreds of times... and couldn’t even get close to defeating him. So, I have no choice but to stay in this place."
"I thought at least I would be safe. But every five hundred years, a clone of him is created to attack me." She shook her head, sighing. "His power in the beginning was much lower, and initially, I could defeat him, but with each new pursuit, his power was a bit higher than before. By now, all I can do is only flee in desperation. After a few hours, he disappears."
"Hm... he does that to toughen and train you until the day you can beat him." The whale said calmly.
"Yes, I’ve seen countless cultivators die. And they were mostly superior to me... I was just faster at escaping. And currently, the level of my technique has become something even I can’t believe, but..." Her voice became heavy. "There’s a time limit in this place. Hexaalis told me that after fifty thousand years, he would attack me for real with all his power and kill me."
"I’m here alone, and I can’t improve anymore. Everyone who arrives has an infinite ego and malice, they would never treat someone not of their race well. There’s no hope of beating him, and I still have to always be careful of his attacks."
Sayqi then sighed again and looked at Ruri, then at the whale, and added, "I don’t care anymore. Since you’re the only humans I’ve seen in a long time, and Ruri reminded me of my sister... it seems fate is guiding me. Please, take me with you."
Ruri was shocked, and the whale looked strange, a bit confused. Sayqi then, realizing the confusion, smiled, remembering that they were newcomers.
"There are only three paths to leave here: win, die, or give up. Winning involves completing the test, but giving up means you must forsake becoming a hero and become a hero’s companion." Sayqi explained slowly. "If someone accepts this, all their heroic power will be given to their leader, and you will intertwine your fate with the hero forever. If he dies, you will die too, and in the end, if they achieve victory, you will have to return with the hero to the hero’s universe."
Sayqi then thought briefly about her sister and her family. It had been 45 thousand years, and the chances of finding them alive were almost nil. At least having hope of leaving that place after so long was enough. Going to another universe? It didn’t matter, having a home without the people she loved waiting for her didn’t make sense.
"We just have to defeat that creature... Hexaalis, to move forward, right?" The whale spoke quickly.
"Yes, Hexaalis told me many things. There are four assessors we have to defeat on each floating island. Their specialties are different and distinct, and with each victory, we are rewarded with divine treasures to enhance ourselves," she promptly replied.
"All the challenging cultivators who appeared were at the ninth level of the Core Formation Realm, right? What realm is their true body in?" The whale asked lightly.
"Yes, everyone who arrives is at most in that realm. And no one can break through or ascend a level here. The monitors are always at the second level of the Heaven Stage Realm; only the level of their techniques or the overall challenge increases on the other islands," Sayqi said quickly, while Ruri looked at the two with a slight smile.
Then the whale nodded and spoke dryly. "With your information, you’ve paid us for the help we gave you. We don’t have time to talk, and I have no reason to trust you. I don’t want Ruri in danger for blindly accepting you." They then gently pulled Ruri, wanting to turn and leave.
Ruri noticed her master’s hidden intentions and quickly made a contorted and teary face. Sayqi saw that and became silent and a bit tense... indeed, if she were with her sister here, she would never take the risk of joining a stranger. She thought with regret.
"Master, wait!" Ruri said in an exaggerated manner, clearly with ulterior motives. "She has no ill intentions! Trust me... I know! She can prove she won’t harm us. Maybe... yes!"
Ruri turned to Sayqi, who was thoughtful. "Your family’s technique, it’s something that can never be passed to strangers, right?" Sayqi nodded affirmatively; that was obviously the defining secret technique.
"Since I look like your sister and we also have many other things in common... if you teach me that, it will be proof of your loyalty to the master!" Ruri said pompously. "My master is someone worthy, who takes good care of me... only me! Don’t have any ulterior motives! But, he always treats well those who are loyal. We even have many companions waiting for us."
Sayqi fell silent... seconds passed... then the whale sighed impatiently; they were wasting too much time unnecessarily. This divine technique was really worth a try, but having it was a dream...
"Alright," Sayqi interrupted their thoughts, making them look incredulously at her.
’This is bullshit, right?’ Alm couldn’t help but comment mentally to Bruno.
’Hahaha!’ Bruno only laughed, though. ’Yes, this is bullshit! And bullshit is exactly what we need at the moment. Conventional simply won’t cut. So, who cares?!’
Sayqi then took a step forward from the whale and knelt, bowing her head as if it were completely natural to do so... only after kneeling did she realize what she was doing and couldn’t understand why she did that. Something seemed to lead her to it naturally; it was very strange.
Bruno remained silent for seconds, then mentally exclaimed, ’The Rune of Faith... it reacted. And the rune’s power seemed to flow to her naturally, influencing her.’ Bruno then got excited. ’We transcended our mortal and unattractive form!! Look! Now we have our own charm! Fat... and round charm... but a charm nonetheless!’
Alm just scoffed at the ’charm.’ Ruri, once again, was essential. They didn’t know how to make a good impression, and the girl did that job; thus, only with an open mind could this power influence something.
Then, after a minute, a robotic voice sounded among the three there. It was the confirmation of the formation for Sayqi to lose her heroic power and become a companion to the hero. She responded without hesitation.
In the same second, a golden power emanated from within her and quickly invaded the whale’s body. They promptly activated the tattoos and, holding Ruri’s hand, transferred almost everything to her. In an instant, Ruri’s eyes shone in an infinite gold; however, she soon blinked, controlling that power and returning to normal.
Sayqi didn’t take long to take out a Jade Slip, handing it to Ruri, who almost jumped for joy taking it.
The whale converted the remaining golden power it held. Its tattoos glowed, and without giving Sayqi time to react, it moved and touched her forehead at an unprecedented speed.
She froze completely, unable to move; her soul was invaded! But in the next second, she felt an almost divine relief, as if chains that had bound her entire body, without her knowing, had been released.
It all lasted ten seconds. The whale didn’t say a word and just retreated as fast as it advanced. Sayqi, in turn, kept her eyes fixed in its direction; her whole mind, body, and soul vibrated in ecstasy... Even without a single word, she realized that her destiny had been completely altered from that day.
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But quickly, Sayqi felt a bloodthirsty gaze cutting through her stupor. Soon, her eyes met Ruri’s, which seemed to want to split her in half. Sayqi wasn’t foolish and sighed, understanding the message. Little did Ruri know what she was thinking, though. ’Why would this girl think I want something with this rolling ball? Sure, I do respect him, but he is just...’ She once again looked at the round whale, ’How can I say it... he is not the type you would usually consider for a partner...’ Of course, she only thought about it. Well, her description was already very mild, to say the least.
"Hexaalis is powerful, and I’ve seen that you have the power to face him. I will tell you all his movements to ensure; within a year, we can certainly advance." Sayqi spoke to the whale gently. "With your talent, I have hope that within less than five thousand years, we can complete everything."
"It won’t be necessary. I’ve already said we don’t have time; we’ll complete everything in 22 hours." The whale replied dryly, lifting Ruri and placing her on its back before turning around.