[Destroy the Flame Mirror formation]
[Reward 01: +20 Celestial Points]
[Reward 02: Access to the celestial knowledge options menu]
[Accept?] [Yes / No]
Alm and Bruno quickly read the messages on the green screen, excited. Another golden quest had appeared, and its rewards were as good as the previous one. The pattern was clear: performing tasks of great value for Heaven’s Will always brought great rewards. However, the objectives seemed almost suicidal for their current level of cultivation.
’Just destroy? Doesn’t involve saving a missionary... it seems he’s already dead and they found a way to benefit from his divine soul in other ways. Well, whatever,’ Alm commented, as the whale moved, following the demons into the mountain.
They simply accepted the optional quest without thinking too much. Their situation wasn’t comfortable, they couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity. Did it seem like suicide? So what, they would figure it out; their lives have always been full of impossible things.
There was a path beyond the mountain gate. Everyone walked silently for a few minutes until a gigantic celestial pillar came into view.
It was a colossal pillar that rose far beyond the clouds and further still; clearly connected to the tribulation covering the entire planet. No one could see its end. They could only see the runes forming demonic patterns through the pillar and an endless flow of scarlet lightning slowly flowing from it, emitting a wild power.
At the base of the pillar was a huge sea of scarlet lightning, each lightning strand connected to an infernal rune. Each rune had power equivalent to one-third of what existed in the entire abyss.
The lightning at the edge of the sea was relatively calm, but as they advanced, it became more violent. As for the area next to the celestial pillar, the lightning roared in the form of countless infernal beasts; it seemed that in this kind of law, the emergence of these beasts was common.
Ruri and Rehvka watched the celestial pillar, sensing a spiritual presence there. Rehvka immediately sensed a strong Yin connection mixed with it. The two were completely bewildered; it was something far beyond what they had ever seen.
’It’s a Heavenly Lightning Spirit,’ the whale spoke softly through the array to the two. ’In the divine world, the density of Qi and laws is so great that, under very specific conditions, the runes born from heaven and earth gain a soul and life. They are a race called Heavenly Elemental Spirit.’
The two widened their eyes. A spiritual race? Did this mean they had no body, but could live like living beings? The two marveled at these mysterious revelations.
’They are remarkably pure and do not possess much intelligence, initially only a primitive instinct. Their abilities are considered treasures for cultivators, so they are used in various ways, like in this formation you are seeing. Rarely does a member of this race manage to develop freely. When this happens, their intelligence slowly elevates, and they can even cultivate themselves. But it’s a different kind of spiritual cultivation from collecting Qi,’ Bruno finished, and the two listened in awe.
The voice echoed loud for all. "Enter the sea! The test will last for five days; whoever is alive by then will pass!"
The moment they arrived, the demons didn’t hesitate or think much; they jumped directly into the sea of infernal lightning. They were like emotionless machines, aiming only to reap the benefits or die.
The three silently leaped into the sea, side by side. The two women trembled slightly, the lightning piercing their bodies like needles with frenetic force. Alm and Bruno didn’t mind, they only noticed that the energy in the outer region wasn’t as violent as they expected.
This was lightning from the tribulation of the nine heavens; the formation attracted and kept the lightning falling onto a density of accumulated infernal laws. Thus, they gave life to a Heavenly Lightning Spirit after countless years. This life was born directly from the infernal runes; this sea was made of runes that were being indirectly nourished.
The formation modified the lightning, which no longer had destructive will, only celestial power. These infernal runes were completely imbued with this power, and everyone could absorb it directly into their inner rune.
To the shock of Alm and Bruno, they felt the infernal runes of everyone begin to crack and rise, similar to the method they used to elevate their three runes. With this formation, these demons created a similar method; it was truly an invaluable treasure.
The two women were trying to absorb somehow, but without success. They did not possess these infernal inner runes. When Ruri reached the Elemental Condensation Realm, she merged the spatial rune into her body and possessed that single rune. As for Rehvka, obviously, she had a Yin rune.
Feeling their hands being grasped by the whale, its voice sounded through the array. ’Rehvka, I will transmit the method to create the infernal rune. With your Yin tattoo, master the lightning and the laws and form the rune in your body. Then just absorb it, just like everyone else is doing.’
Alm studied the entire Evil God’s Tablet in prison and knew perfectly well the method to create this. This law was very close to Yin; for Rehvka, it would be a very welcome gift.
Creating an infernal rune was only possible with a terrifying density of this law and celestial power. That’s why the Evil God’s Tablet only created the base, and the heavens completed it in the tribulation. Creating a second rune without going through the tribulation was considered impossible. No one who wasn’t breaking through to the Elemental Condensation Realm would be crazy to waste the tribulation to create another rune. If they tried, they wouldn’t advance, getting stuck forever in the elemental realm.
For the others, using this place to create the rune was possible in theory. The only detail was that the infernal power, along with celestial energy, was uncontrollable. Only with the Yin tattoo was it possible to conquer it; Rehvka could do it effortlessly.
’Ruri, focus and seal your meridians. I will send only the celestial power through the array to your body. This is the same power that came from the tribulation, forming the inner runes of everyone. I will guide you to create a second inner rune. This will be your rune of mental power,’ Bruno concluded.
For the two of them, with the tattoos and the knowledge they had, it was simple to do this. Of course, the foundation of it all was Ruri’s powerful mental power; without it, the rune wouldn’t solidify. That’s why they didn’t form another rune for themselves. They didn’t have another power as strong that would be able to create something like this; Bruno’s Yang was already being used for the faith rune. But they weren’t disappointed at all; the two had received a divine gift.
Both of them were ecstatic. It was almost standard for cultivators to have a single inner rune. Since everyone there had their meridians open absorbing as much as they could, you could tell that these demons from the divine world also had a single infernal rune. Now they would go against that logic and form a second one; this would elevate their power several levels.
The whale initiated the processes and kept the two close. To avoid raising suspicions, they continued to swim towards the core at the same speed as the others.
As they approached the center, the demons contorted their faces; their bodies felt infinite pain. Simultaneously, a thunderous and terrifying sound echoed from the depths of their souls. Strange visions began to form in their minds, affected by the powerful infernal laws.
Everyone was forced to resist the disturbance while still having to attract more lightning. Because of this, even breathing became difficult, and their speed slowed down. However, they did their best to get closer to the core, knowing that the closer they got, the greater the benefits would be.
*Poft!*
Before the first hour passed, a demon exploded into a bloody mist. It was one of those who had passed the second test and was severely injured. Shortly after, another demon exploded, and this continued to happen every little while. However, at this first moment, none of those among the top 300 were affected; the benefits of having gone directly to this test were evident.
Half a day passed. The lightning pool was huge, and although everyone was doing their best to swim to the center, they were still in the outer region. In fact, there was still a considerable distance from the intermediate zone, let alone the real core.
Painful groans echoed all around, the demons were at their physical and mental limit; however, they tried to make the most of the benefits. At this point, only 210 demons remained; only 10 of those who came from the second test survived, all the others were among the top 300.
Fortunately, Ruri and Rehvka were wearing masks; amidst the intense suffering of the demons, the two couldn’t help but smile. Muffled sounds repeatedly emerged from their bodies. They had already formed their new runes and were nurturing them like two black holes absorbing everything around them.
Rehvka had her Yin tattoo, which allowed her to do this efficiently on her own. As for Ruri, who didn’t have this resource, she was being assisted by the whale, which transmitted celestial energy directly to her through the array. All the laws around the trio were more subtle and weakened. Any external observer would notice that they were the ones benefiting the most.
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Two days later, all the demons were unconscious. The trio also pretended to be unconscious and floated silently on the surface of the lightning pool. The absorption speed had to be drastically reduced, but it was still happening. Moreover, they moved towards the center, as if being carried by the current.
Suddenly, figures appeared in the air above the infernal lightning. Alm and Bruno felt their presences and their minds tensed. There were dozens of demons in the Divine Sovereign Realm, the highest realm of divine cultivation.
They carefully observed everyone below.
Suddenly, the whale’s group felt countless eyes focused directly on them, sending a cold sweat down the trio’s backs.