The whale returned to the city, finding Quitera waiting for him at the entrance alongside Rehvka, Thea, and Almin. Rehvka was holding her little brother named Quirio in her arms, playing with him, while Thea and Almin assisted her. The mother smiled gently at their affection for the baby.
Quitera was already familiar with everyone, and everyone in the city treated her with reverence, like a figure of great importance. The three were already close to her, with Almin being appointed as the life brother of her son; she then treated him as her own son without hesitation.
As for the two other women, Quitera felt confused and pensive. Thea was a different and strange life form. But regarding Rehvka, she avoided talking to Ruri about it out of fear and concern about the dark nature of her relationship with her son. The fact that the two were clearly together didn’t change her perception. It was evident that Rehvka treated the whale differently, and certainly, if her son desired, things could progress.
She was worried because she saw her son as a young man full of vigor in his prime. He had two beautiful women so close to him—any ordinary young man would struggle and likely try to have both.
But that was obviously an unfounded concern. The whale was far from an ordinary young man, and Rehvka didn’t romantically see things. She did love him, but even Ruri had already sensed that it was a familial kind of love. However, if the whale ever desired something unusual or even erotic—if it involved great pain—she would accept it without hesitation.
The whale landed in the city, and everyone turned to him. His expression was unreadable, but Langrum beside him conveyed that everything went perfectly. Soon, Almin was the first to speak.
"I can already create a low-level version of the Nine Heavens Pill. If I can practice a few times with the materials, I’ll quickly reach a satisfactory level."
Alm and Bruno nodded in satisfaction; it was faster than expected. Now they had to make the Nine Star Tree grow, and they recently gained a perfect place to use the pills.
The world where the twelve families lived, on the moon, was a formation that sucked the Qi from the divine world. If they used the pills there, they could use the formation to amplify it. Or maybe even go further than just amplifying.
"Start preparing for a dangerous raid. We’re going to a mortal place that exists on this planet, a place where Qi and cultivation are nullified," the whale spoke slowly to the three.
Quitera jumped in surprise. "You’re going to that place on the other side of the continent? That’s a taboo, not even cultivators from the divine world dare..."
The three around her sighed. The whale was like that, common logic didn’t work with him. The more dangerous, the more benefits they would have, and he couldn’t let it pass.
"Almin, prepare as many pills as you can; they will be essential and your power source. Rehvka, you’ll lose your cultivation, but your body naturally possesses the Yin of death; it will be a test for your Dao. You must find a way to evolve and use your Dao only with your body and the laws around. As for Thea, you’ll be the only one who will practically not lose your combat power; prepare a stockpile of armaments."
The whale spoke to them emotionlessly and moved into the city. He would also lose his common cultivation, but he would have the physical cultivation and the power of his internal runes to use. They would lose half of their maximum power, but it would be an opportunity to improve in other areas.
At their current cultivation stage, they needed so much Qi to ascend that they couldn’t rely solely on crystals or natural resources, otherwise it would take years to rise a single level. Thus, the plans revolved around Almin’s pills. They had the effect of helping to attract the Qi from the divine world using their internal energies.
The resources from that place would be useful for Thea to consume, manufacture equipment, and many other things; but the main objective of going there was the beasts that lived there. They had never come into contact with the outside world and, living in that place full of valuable things and without the ability to cultivate, their physical bodies must have evolved to something divine level.
For the Land of Life to nurture and make the Nine Star Tree grow, it was necessary to use the Land of Death, and that land needed to absorb things with life energy. The beasts with terrifying physiques had that in abundance. They would be the ultimate food to nourish the tree.
In the end, everything revolved around going there. Now they would have to figure out a safe way to cross the sea of this planet. They had knowledge that something happened to everyone who tried to sail or fly over the seas. No cultivator came back alive after venturing away from the continent for a few kilometers. (Chapter 179)
They had an idea, but they needed to gain access to the location on the moon to confirm it. Soon the families handed them access to the place, so they went back to the forge.
Inside the forge, Oldis was the only one present; she was pregnant, but it was still early days. Zaimo hadn’t been connected yet, his body had to be more fully formed, but he would soon return to the world. Oldis took care of and prepared things for her baby alone, and upon seeing the whale, she waved excitedly.
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"Sir, Almin’s pills were very effective. In fact, I’m expecting three at once," she said with a smile.
Alm and Bruno were a bit surprised. How could such a petite woman handle having three at once? Anyway, Oldis was a strong woman and everyone would support her. In the city, no one was alone; all the mothers helped each other out, and there were no major issues among the inhabitants. In the end, she seemed radiant and happy; surely, with Langrum’s influence, she would want to have more in the future.
The whale focused and retrieved the Dark Ice Fragment he recently gained from a chest in the system. It was a cylindrical piece thirty centimeters long, formed exclusively in the underworld, in the core of a highly-level Yin planet. It could absorb Yin to become stronger and devour the life of the opponent and the user; it was perfect for making a dagger for Rehvka, who was already dead.
If it had been before, they would simply make the dagger quickly, there was no material to try to refine it much. But now it was different, with chaotic refinement, they could fuse different materials that were somewhat compatible, without fear of losing everything.
They used metal from some underworld chains, those that the twelve families used to restrain the people in the city. They had a sinister property of sealing people; it was a magical addition to the weapon.
Everything was done carefully, and unlike the immortal core where they failed at the last moment, they now had more experience in chaotic refinement and managed to fuse the two materials. A metal that seemed made of ice and yet black steel emerged in the world.
Any disciple of the Forge God, and even the god himself, would be envious. Their ordinary refinement could produce something similar, but the chances of failure were extreme. They would probably fail dozens of times before succeeding, and with the rarity of the material, it wouldn’t be worth it. But Alm and Bruno could do it with very high chances, and even in failure, they wouldn’t lose everything.
It was thirty centimeters of material, divided into two and refined again. Shortly after, a dark +1 dagger with a 15-centimeter blade was created. Its properties were already excellent and didn’t need the enchantment runic seal; instead, the sharpening seal was applied. With this in hand, Rehvka’s power would multiply several times. And she could enhance the weapon by feeding the metal with Yin. Even in the divine world, this weapon would be useful for a long time.
Alm and Bruno didn’t need weapons for themselves, so they focused on creating a +3 spear with the best available metal and used the enchantment seal with fire laws from the array. Almin would receive this, and it would be useful for him to fight in emergencies.
The next day, a soft-looking human elder from the Moonlight family arrived. He brought the formation and the key to go to the separate world on the moon. The whale welcomed him, and the elder explained its functioning in detail. It didn’t take long for them to open a channel and enter.