Zaimo and Ximo returned to the dwarf clan, located in the far west of the central city. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the dwarf advisors, whose expressions were tense. Ximo promptly complied with his brother’s request, gathering a group composed only of the most outstanding and trustworthy dwarves.
He didn’t choose the most powerful or those with great accomplishments. Only the dwarves, whom Ximo was sure would give their lives by his side if necessary, were gathered. Alm and Bruno couldn’t risk information leaks before the time came.
With only two days available, time couldn’t be wasted. They immediately convened in an isolated underground hall. There were eighteen dwarves of varying ages and genders; most had only average talent, but all possessed cultivation in the middle or late stages of the Body Destruction Realm, obviously achieved through force.
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While Alm and Bruno assessed the dwarves, Ximo returned and completely sealed the hall. "Here you go, brother. All the spirit jades that the clan keeps guarded and some low-level Yin and Yang pills, as requested." Ximo handed over a few dozen spatial rings.
Unfortunately, the dwarf clan had consumed all the major treasures they possessed to nurture their cultivators during this difficult period. Only the spirit jades, which were the currency used there, remained. However, they possessed a considerable amount of internal Qi, similar to spiritual crystals.
"We don’t have much. Even the sacred gems were sold..." Ximo added. Alm and Bruno were not familiar with the sacred gems, but if they were not available, it didn’t matter now.
Zaimo held the pills, while Alm and Bruno activated their tattoos. Pure Yang completely replaced the impure Yang from the mortal herbs in the pills. Soon, the entire place was enveloped in dense laws. Everyone’s Qi stirred, and they were stunned, unable to comprehend this transformation.
"Take it." Zaimo, possessed, sent the pills to Ximo and continued speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "This Yang pill will remove all impurities from your body and increase your combat power several times. But it’s not easy or simple. In the next twenty-four hours, you will undergo torture that will mark your life forever. The pain is so intense that this method is considered lethal; most of the time, those who swallow it end up killing themselves before the end because they can’t bear it."
Everyone swallowed hard, just feeling the Yang from the pill they knew it wasn’t something normal. Zaimo, looking at Ximo, continued. "This will put you on the same level as that Divine Beast. Then, we still need to work on other areas, but we don’t have time, so this method is all I have left... I went through this myself before, you saw the difference it made in me."
Ximo nodded and, without hesitation, swallowed the pill. Everyone watched anxiously; the clan leader was reliable and serious... but within a few seconds, his whole body turned red, and his face contorted.
"AHH!"
He let out a miserable scream suddenly. His clothes were torn and blood spurted from his skin. He fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth and writhing, causing everyone to jump in fear.
Ximo began to roar and then cry out in pain as if he were being tortured in hell.
Most of those present were completely petrified, but one person broke the inertia, quickly advancing with moist eyes. It was a female dwarf with long black hair and a rounded figure. Although, by dwarf standards, her appearance was below average, her eyes betrayed an evident desperation as she witnessed Ximo in that condition.
A few seconds later, several other dwarves hurried to assist the clan leader. Seeing him in that state, they thought he was on the brink of death. Ximo was visibly in agony, but still struggled to wave to them, indicating he was relatively okay.
"Do you also wish to strengthen yourselves? Or are you here just for moral support?" Zaimo addressed the five present and the others around. They watched Ximo, crying miserably on the ground, and didn’t respond immediately.
The dwarf woman clenched her fists. "Lord Zaimo, please give me a pill like the one given to the leader. I want to share the same pain as him."
"We want it too!" The others spoke in sequence. In no time, all eighteen dwarves present expressed the same desire.
Alm and Bruno nodded. At the very least, Ximo had made an excellent choice in selecting these people. Everyone was willing to share in his suffering. It clearly demonstrated the kind of leader Ximo was.
Zaimo spoke slowly. "Well, the pain slightly diminishes when shared. However, it doesn’t change much, and it’s common for everyone to perish together in the end. If you don’t mind, take one."
Alm and Bruno prepared Yin and Yang pills for everyone. The men received the Yang pills, while the women were bestowed with the Yin ones, of course. Although their level was slightly lower than what Ximo consumed, when that first woman received hers, Alm gave her one of equal potency to Ximo’s.
"Swallow it and hold each other’s hands, so you can help each other," he said gently, and she nodded, a bit shy but understanding.
This method was similar to the one used with the disciples of the three factions in the Three Extremes Sect. The difference lay in the fact that the level of impurities in these dwarves’ bodies was several times worse. However, their cultivation levels were much higher, resulting in much greater mental and spiritual power. There was no risk of them losing their sanity and turning into uncontrollable beasts. Of course, if the original pills were high-level, things would be different.
Now, they were stabilizing their bodies and building a solid foundation. If the foundation was unstable, it would be like a tree without roots. The taller the tree, the greater the chance of falling. Dwarves relied too much on their armor and technology.
Everything had its positives and negatives. The positive was that their extremely powerful inventions were capable of multiplying their power several times. Additionally, as they constantly researched, their battle equipment only grew stronger.
However, the negative aspect also became evident. They were no longer pure cultivators. Their own power was sorely lacking. Without their weapons, they wouldn’t be able to withstand a single blow from someone in the same realm.
It took several hours, and everyone seemed to genuinely wish for death to finally end this torture. However, the truth was that after absorbing an excessive amount of Yang, in the case of the men, their bodies began to feel the threat of Yin deficiency. Instead of losing their sanity, they simply passed out in a self-defense mechanism of the body.
Suddenly, their heads felt fuzzy. One by one, they passed out, falling into a deep sleep. Only Ximo and the woman remained awake, suffering together as they balanced the Yin and Yang opposites of the pills they had consumed. Ximo’s power would definitely soar far above that of the divine beast with her help. However, for them, the torture seemed never-ending.
A day passed. Upon awakening, they all felt that their bodies were completely transformed, feeling incredibly revitalized. Their blood and Qi flowed smoother than ever, and they were filled with an energy that seemed several times stronger than before.
"Brother, what was that? How could our power increase so drastically? We are now much stronger than anyone in the same realm. I can hardly believe it!" exclaimed Ximo, overflowing with excitement and barely able to articulate his words coherently. With their new power, they could add many new runes to their battle armor, boosting their overall power.
"You haven’t simply become much stronger than common cultivators. You have finally reached the average level of a common cultivator. Your old selves were too weak," explained Zaimo, shaking his head. "Well, now we have one more day. Ximo, study this and share it with everyone."
Alm and Bruno transmitted an incomplete Qi circulation Dao to Ximo. It was something simple at the basic levels for any cultivator in their realms. However, they all had such poor understanding that they would need to exert great effort to grasp it.
"This will be the secret weapon for unleashing explosive power. Spend half the day studying and the other half refining your equipment. I have other things to attend to," said Zaimo, turning to leave.
They made their way to an open courtyard within the clan, away from any hustle and bustle. All the dwarves were busy inside the buildings, focused on refining their equipment. Ximo didn’t need to say anything; everyone felt that something important was about to happen and focused on improving themselves.
’Zaimo, do you really want to end all of this? What are you willing to sacrifice?’ Mephistooge’s diabolical voice echoed in the dwarf’s mind.
"Everything, sir. If you give me the power to end this war, my life won’t mean anything," Zaimo responded without hesitation. Then, he took a deep breath and continued earnestly, "This war has already cost the lives of many innocents... I am aware that the two Divine Fairies have chosen to act as gently as possible. But in a war, many die on both sides. There are no winners, nothing justifies so much killing."
Alm and Bruno nodded. This dwarf wasn’t so bad. In the scene they witnessed in the inland city, with Zaimo completely out of himself, it was certainly the queen’s mental dominion over him that affected him. It was similar to what happened to Almin in the past when his wife died; he acted without fully understanding his actions.
The two briefly investigated the queen’s rune in Zaimo’s soul and saw that it was fully activated. This universe was similar to the one they destroyed; everyone was born completely dominated. Removing it with just a thread of their divine souls, and without any Qi, was completely impossible in the current state. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to do... Still, allowing Zaimo to live as a slave of the queen didn’t seem to be the right option.
’When they master the basics of the technique, they will realize they can circulate their Qi along with their life force. The power will be hundreds of times greater, but at the cost of their lives,’ Mephistooge casually commented.
Zaimo nodded lightly. "Understood; if they really have the opportunity, they will all act if necessary."
’As for you, don’t worry. I have another much more efficient technique that I can use through my body along with yours. For now, let’s move forward,’ they said, and immediately the tattoos lit up.
While everyone suffered through the torture of the pills, Alm and Bruno didn’t stand still. They extracted as much Qi as they could from the spiritual jades Ximo gave them for a whole day. It took a long time, as the level of Zaimo’s tattoos was equivalent to what they had when they first formed them. It was very basic, and they had only a thread of divine soul to manipulate it.
So, a large amount of Qi entered the dwarf’s meridians, and Alm and Bruno circulated it precisely.
Crack!
The muffled sound echoed. In theory, he should have advanced a level. However, this was the Realm of Body Destruction; he would never advance without rebuilding the body. Only a strange aura formed around the dwarf; it was all his Qi and life force leaking out of his body, in anticipation of the reconstruction that should occur. He was now almost like a fragile mortal.
At this point, any attack could easily strip him of everything, and he would obviously succumb. Even the power used for his reconstruction could kill him in the slightest mistake, given the conditions of his body. Going through reconstruction was dangerous on various different levels.
’I’ll use all the remaining Qi to slowly explode you from the inside out. It won’t be gentle; the pain your brother endured will be nothing compared to this. You just need to endure and stay awake. I will rebuild your body.’
So, Alm and Bruno got to work. There was no sound coming from Zaimo. For him to reconstruct himself, everything of him was dismantled by the two. He just remained awake, with his eyes wide open, as he felt his whole body being destroyed and reconstructed, experiencing all the agony and pain it entailed. All of this without being able to move or say anything.
His determination crumbled several times, but Alm and Bruno didn’t let him give up... forcing him, of course. After six hours, when everything seemed to be over, Alm and Bruno were excited to realize that there was still plenty of Qi left.
Crack!
Another level was surpassed, much to Zaimo’s despair. Only Mephistooge’s promises echoed in his mind. All of this would put an end to that entire war. However, soon, even that thought crumbled; the demon was experienced in undermining his hopes. Then, another level was surpassed... and it seemed like it would never end...
With just two hours left until the ceremony, all the dwarves streamed out of the clan buildings, ready. Ximo and the dwarf woman walked together hand in hand. Although they were just very close friends, after the help Zaimo provided, things had changed. Ximo then addressed Zaimo.
"Brother...!"
Ximo and the woman suddenly gasped in shock. They saw Zaimo in the distance. He was already standing up, but his body was covered in blood. There was a black, viscous liquid and such a large amount of blood around him that it looked like a pool.
As he got up, the dwarf woman hastily turned away. That’s because the current Zaimo wasn’t wearing anything. He woke up at that moment and hurriedly put on new clothes. However, he barely put them on before they were torn to shreds in his hands.
"Oh my God...!"
Zaimo’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Those clothes were very sturdy, but they tore like paper in his hands. It was only then that he realized his power had instantly exploded to an unimaginable level.
Zaimo carefully put on other new clothes. Feeling the immense changes in his body, as well as his Qi swimming powerfully within his meridians, he felt like crying. It was as if he had ascended to the heavens like a Dragon.
’Now, feeling confident?’ Mephistooge spoke in his mind, his words sweet and demonic.
He sighed and replied excitedly. ’Thank you, sir! I won’t disappoint you!’
A few minutes later, they set off along with the entire clan of dwarves towards a place located several kilometers outside the central city. It was a colossal altar where the ceremony to honor the new hero would take place.