Duality of Shadows

Alm and Bruno surveyed the whole region, now teeming with life. The city formation, pulsating with Yang power, naturally began to absorb it; soon, its level increased drastically. The entire city was like the dense heart of a sacred region, and everything within it seemed even more dazzling.

The groups of people were separated into men and women and now exited the city. The whole place became their home; there was no longer a barren desert. Now, this region would be called the Sacred Forest.

As soon as everyone was ready, they began to absorb the Qi madly and broke through levels with ease. Runula and Deryu were among them; now everyone would concentrate on cultivation for the remaining fifteen days. Those in the Elemental Condensation Realm would break through to a new realm and undergo their first reconstruction. As for those in the Body Destruction Realm, they would be able to reconstruct twice: once to correct previous issues and another to drastically change their power.

There were almost a million people. Even with the Qi density close to the divine world, it was only an impression. Everything there would not be replenished, and with everyone sucking it all in, it would only be enough for them to rise a few levels. If the whale tried to absorb it, they would barely rise a single level.

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As for Ruri, they had already made her reconstruct once. She would only rise to the second level of the Body Destruction Realm and undergo one reconstruction. Then, they would have to leave and take action.

The whale approached Rehvka and Thea, who remained in the city. Rehvka was already at the elementary level of the Spirit Fusion Realm, and the amount of Qi she needed to advance was currently higher than what they needed.

It would be very difficult for her to rise to the first level; she would need to go to the divine world. But unfortunately, they still had other issues to resolve, and she would hardly accept going alone to the divine world. Therefore, her focus was on elevating her understanding and techniques.

The whale stopped beside the two and observed Thea. Now she had a complete android body, very similar to what she had in the other universe. But internally her structure was different; she had to adapt a lot because she didn’t have the same resources here.

They saw the whale approaching, and Thea immediately bowed to him, speaking earnestly. "I’m ready to help, sir. I’m not good at forging conventional weapons or equipment; I specialize in hidden and mechanical items. But I’m creative and can meet your demands."

The whale nodded and asked lightly, "Before, I saw you were equivalent to Rehvka in combat. Clearly, I don’t sense any cultivation in you. How does your power work?"

"That... I’m not entirely sure. The soul gem you blessed me with is very different from all those in my universe. I can naturally absorb natural things like metals, plants, and herbs. With that, I can get my soul to absorb natural Qi and accumulate everything, with the help of the Yang tattoo. My power is based on my equipment and understanding of techniques... but mostly on how much I can eat," Thea said thoughtfully.

Alm and Bruno were completely surprised. Without hesitation, they activated their souls and delved into Thea’s robotic body to witness it with their own eyes. It was a humanoid android body; she shouldn’t mind. If the situation were different, it would certainly be invasive.

After analyzing everything for a few seconds, the shock only increased. "She really created a channel connected to the mouth, leading to a space equivalent to a stomach in the chest," commented Alm, while the whale withdrew something from the inventory.

A high-level metal from the underworld gained from Veria appeared and floated toward Thea. A fervor permeated the air, and her robotic eyes glowed intensely. Even without moving, her fists remained steady, as if she were making a great effort to control herself. She looked at them as if pleading, leaving them feeling strange, but the whale indicated that she could proceed.

Crack, Crack, Crack...

Then, with swift movements, sharp metallic teeth emerged, altering Thea’s delicate elvish face and creating an image of a bestial, wild elf. She took the metal, bit into it, and swallowed it as if it were organic.

Alm and Bruno watched closely. Suddenly, the soul gem on her forehead began to pulsate, generating power that accumulated in her stomach.

’That... is the queen’s golden power!’ exclaimed Bruno, surprised.

After Thea swallowed everything in seconds, a golden power emanated from the soul gem, melting and transforming everything into more golden power and soul power. Then, everything accumulated in the gem itself.

’She was already a heroine and, on top of that, she fused her soul with a sacred sword before; her soul retains that property, and this golden power must be a remnant of that, but she’s completely in control. She’s equivalent to Ruri using heroic power,’ Alm analyzed sharply. ’In that universe, it’s impossible for someone to emerge with a divine soul like ours. By using that gem to the fullest, along with our soul, and still using the tattoos to accumulate power superior to that of a hero, strange mutations occurred, but this certainly has the influence of the Heaven’s Will.’

They knew that the queen sealed cultivators from the immortal realms who possessed a divine soul. These cultivators nurtured the laws of the universe and created strange things, so the presence of the divine soul in the soul gem could have generated something peculiar. And the tattoos they used, and now Thea also used, could have accelerated this process. After all, the level of power and Qi that the tattoos influenced was far beyond what that universe could handle.

It didn’t take a second for Thea’s Yang tattoo on her forehead to start pulsating gently. Suddenly, the tattoo seemed like a black hole, absorbing everything in the environment into itself. When everything stopped, they quickly felt a subtle pressure and power emanating from the android.

They analyzed her Yang tattoo and came to a conclusion. "It’s no longer the original technique. The tattoo on you acts as a core, and your robotic body functions as the meridians. Its density is equivalent to someone in the middle of the Body Destruction Realm, but adding to your equipment... you must have a level close to Rehvka in power."

Thea nodded in agreement, but the whale continued using its soul to assess all the internal changes in that robotic body. They observed several strange hidden gadgets; it was definitely something cyberpunk. They also noticed something similar to the weapons they helped create with the robots in that universe. Then, as they descended... they spotted something strange, and the whale’s face changed.

Thea felt their gaze, and her fluctuations became restless as if she were incredibly embarrassed; Alm and Bruno were among the few who could notice it clearly. Her face didn’t change—she couldn’t express emotions very well with that body.

The whale looked away and Bruno muttered: ’Why the hell did she try to make something so close to reality between her legs?’

’Don’t be naive, the two are together. Why can’t she have that too?’ Alm spoke bluntly.

The whale turned back to the two, now having a good understanding. "I get it, you don’t need to cultivate directly, but you require a lot of natural resources. So you’re getting stronger as we ascend."

Thea nodded and then explained her experiences. It seemed good, but it was extremely more difficult than for an ordinary cultivator. She could consume any high-level natural thing, it was simple. But after a certain limit, weak things she couldn’t even absorb anymore. Her demand kept getting higher and more terrifying, so she stalled at her power in the other universe and couldn’t find more powerful things. She tested, and there was a possibility of absorbing other soul gems... but she refused to do something like that.

An ordinary cultivator could progress gradually, step by step, but for her, if she didn’t consume something of quality, she wouldn’t advance. How could a weak and lonely being ascend and acquire powerful things? She faced many problems, but seeing the whale’s calm demeanor, she felt relieved and safe.

Rehvka chuckled lightly. Her master showed no concern at all; her problem meant nothing to him. That was exactly it. The whale, after understanding the situation, nodded. A spatial ring floated towards Thea.

"These are metals and items from the underworld, I have many stored, and I’m giving you half. Then talk to Almin; here, there are many high-level herbs you can consume. Don’t consume them all at once, even if you can; you must gradually get used to the power increase. Although you don’t have the body of a cultivator, your mind and soul are equal to everyone else’s. You must get used to advancing slowly."

After speaking, he turned to Rehvka and gently touched her head and hair. Soon, a sea of ​​knowledge was transferred to her, leaving her dizzy.

"The Yin and Yang Supreme Qi Collector is divided into levels. Before, I gave you level one; now, I’ve passed levels two and three," the whale said softly, while she still seemed unfocused. "You two completely altered the technique, which is great. Now, study the higher levels and adapt them for your own use, don’t follow the conventional path."

Rehvka had already created her own Dao, and Thea was also using her tattoo in a completely different way from the original. The two could continue to develop together and elevate themselves while they dealt with the pending matters on this ascending planet.

"Thank you, sir!" said Thea seriously.

But the whale just snorted in response. "No idiotic formalities. You will now walk alongside my disciple. Just be yourself, and I won’t treat you badly."

At that moment, Rehvka steadied herself but felt her mind throbbing with so much rushing in. She turned to the whale, and her face twisted with joy; it really seemed like he did it on purpose for her to feel pain. "Oh, master... be as... as tough as you can..."

The whale just snorted and turned away without even responding. The android was stunned as he walked away. She felt the squeeze on her hand from Rehvka, then turned to look at her. The two understood each other with a glance, then the android’s face, which was extremely realistic and even emanated life, trembled; her partner just smiled.

The whale headed for the castle and prepared for his next moves. Half a day later, the room was opened, and Ruri entered smiling, her body and skin now subtly glowing. She was ready, and now they could put the plans into action.

"Prepare the spatial formations, we have a few days to dig a hole," said Alm sinisterly.