Underground, the whale held the long spear extended forward, gripping it with both hands in a stabbing position.
There seemed to be no longer a vast cavern; in every direction of that space of several meters, there were spears like thorns that sprouted from the ground. All the spikes seemed to have their tips directed towards the Oni puppet, preventing any escape route, and he stood there with his body completely pierced in hundreds of places.
The Oni’s eyes were wide; that movement was sudden, without any use of Qi, without any fluctuation, and without any chance of evasion. He felt the fusion of the three extreme powers in each thorn, creating something that penetrated his physical defense as if it were nothing.
They were underground, and all that world inside the chaos gem was once part of a planet that was removed and sealed. There were some ores and metals in the depths of the earth; everything was suddenly moved and used to create these spears.
A purple aura surrounded the whale’s spear. Suddenly, that aura moved out of the spear and accumulated on the whale’s shoulder. In seconds, the small feline figure emerged, still with an extremely confused look.
The whale pulled out the spear that pierced the Oni’s chest. In the same second, all the thousands of thorns around broke and turned to dust. The puppet staggered but remained standing with all its strength and pride, refusing to fall.
"Did you create that just now?" The Oni looked at the whale a little dazed, then sighed. "I thought my victory was certain, and wanted to teach you a few things as an older one; but it wasn’t necessary."
The whale nodded gently. "It was just something instinctive that she used, for the first time, it was good."
"Great, there are indeed clear limitations. But it’s an excellent move worth refining..." He nodded gently, and all his bloodline runes began to disappear; his end was near. Soon, his entire expression turned serious, and he explained.
"That greedy woman used the Scripture of Will to create those abominations called heroes. The Dao Heart is something intrinsic to all forms of life, connecting them to celestial laws. She merely dominated people’s minds and stimulated an artificial will, imitating the Dao Heart," he spoke quickly, reminiscing a distant past in his memories.
"That’s the source of the heroes’ power, and it’s very superficial compared to the original; initially, I could easily defeat dozens of heroes at the same cultivation level. But their numbers were infinite... and coupled with the resources she stole, they became increasingly powerful. After a few thousand years, even at my peak, I wouldn’t be able to defeat more than one at a time."
The whale nodded understandingly. He was well acquainted with heroes, but he didn’t dare claim he could fight against several at once.
"Defeating heroes alone is impossible, no matter how powerful you become. That’s why I’m giving you all my accumulated knowledge about the Scripture of Will. You must create your own allies, or you’ll never win." The Oni nodded, and a dozen runes appeared and floated towards the whale.
"Even in my time, she never had to go all out. After sealing most of the primordial beasts and using them as nutrients, your so-called heroes rose to the point where they could slowly wipe out all the immortals. Apparently, the queen’s cultivation realm was something truly unique, and her power was really unstable... but... I felt like her karma was holding her back. She hadn’t noticed it; karma for someone at our level is supposed to be irrelevant... that should be impossible. Maybe I was wrong, but that’s what I felt."
"There was only one person who could put up some kind of fight against her, even with an inferior cultivation. If everyone had joined forces, there might’ve been a chance to do something. Our plan was for him to kill her while we held back the heroes at the cost of our lives. But he... he switched sides… and that was the end for countless races and immortal cultivators," he finished, his voice turning cold and bloodthirsty. "Of course, that was in the past. Millions of years have passed, and by now, she must have full control over her power."
The whale nodded understandingly. Immortal cultivators were individuals who lived eternally if not killed, being a true divinity among all forms of life. They should have had an ego and individuality like no other to unite to defeat a common enemy? It was hard to imagine.
The chance of victory existed, but it was only symbolic. Each should have fought on their own, with their own interests at stake. Initially, they were willing because the queen was a threat to them and their races. It didn’t take long for the queen to convince one of them, offering hegemony over their race and himself... and many others must have followed.
"I am a defeated warrior, but like me, many refused to bow down. I advise you to seek out the surviving races of that era... anyway, my time is up," he sighed and gave one last deep look at the whale. "I wish you luck. My fighting spirit is with my race; if you aim your fists in the right place, they won’t disappoint you."
As soon as he finished, his body began to glow in a greenish hue. The puppet closed its eyes, and its entire being turned to dust; however, a great density of that energy remained.
The whole place was covered in the glow of the green energy. The whale looked excitedly at it and nodded. Everything moved and entered his body.
CRACK!!!
A thunderous sound echoed, causing Liumi on his shoulder to jump with her back fur standing up in surprise.
’Complete Early Marrow Temperament, excellent,’ Alm mentally exclaimed excitedly.
The life energy multiplied several times, and the whale’s entire body filled with an intense explosive power. By clenching their fists, both felt that if they fought those two beasts again, they would easily win now. The difference in their physical power was like heaven and earth.
’We haven’t even reached the Body Destruction Realm yet. But our physique is not inferior to someone in the Divine Origin Realm. When we rebuild and improve... it’s beyond imagination...’ Bruno reflected, also excited.
Thus, everything fell silent, and only they remained. Soon, the whale turned to the small figure on his shoulder. It was only a non-physical spiritual form, but after that fight, they felt immense potential in her.
"Liumi, how are you feeling?" The whale spoke gently, still holding the spear in his hands.
She looked at him and spoke, trying to identify what she felt. "It’s strange... I feel your hands squeezing me in a very different way... and a little embarrassed, but it’s not bad."
They quickly loosened the grip on the spear, which was now her body. It was natural for Liumi to feel a strangeness due to the very different body she now had. Soon, they transferred some knowledge to her: methods of using the laws of the earth along with Yin and Yang that they had learned to use.
She closed her eyes, and her entire body turned into purple energy again, merging with the spear. It took an hour for that energy to emerge and touch the earth. The rocks came together and molded themselves, Yin and Yang intertwined, and a physical form was created. It was something simple, but with Thea’s help, it could become much more realistic.
But it was like before, it looked like a domestic purple cat with yellowish eyes. Alm and Bruno looked at it feeling a strange cuteness emanating from her. Liumi jumped on their shoulder and sat down, feeling that ’body’.
"You’re a bit smaller than you were, but this is just an earth avatar. Your real body is still the spear, and you can’t stray too far from it. But you’ll be free, and over time, you can create an avatar much more similar to your old body... or, if you want, we can arrange a real body for you when you’re ready to leave," said the whale slowly.
She shook her head. "No, this is fine. I’ve always preferred my beastly form, and I feel like this size is perfect."
The whale sighed, then they sat down on the ground. Liumi jumped into their lap and stared at them with extreme anxiety. Bruno began to speak calmly, first about everything that happened after she died.
Her gaze became completely stunned. A large-scale war that killed all the most powerful cultivators on the planet? Her eyes trembled with fear. But she was even more stunned to learn that the whale’s allies protected her entire race, and they were perfectly fine. They were even multiplying rapidly, which was a clear sign that they felt safe.
A silence lingered for a few seconds between them. Liumi seemed unsure how to react to what she felt. Her gaze turned to the whale, showing an internal conflict mixed with self-guilt.
"You saved me... then brought me back... why? It may not seem like it, but I had suspicions about the slave seal inside me... I just didn’t want to tell you... for fear of what would happen. I betrayed you and almost killed you... it wasn’t of my own will, but I could have caused a lot of harm," she spoke, trembling; if her body could shed tears, they would certainly be falling.
"Don’t blame yourself for anything. You were born as a slave and must have been through a lot; it’s natural to be afraid. You acted on instinct without any malice, but now it’s all over. Your sacrifice saved everyone in your race, and no one will go through the same thing again. Now, just look forward. I can leave you with your race, and you can become the protector of the forest."
She focused her eyes on the whale and spoke quickly, anxiously. "Can’t I be of use to you? I did as you told me before... I know I don’t have control over this power, but I promise I’ll improve."
"You have potential; it seems like your talents and the power of this spear were made for each other. But my path is long and difficult, you have no idea... I won’t force you into anything, I just want you to be happy. What do you want to do? How do you want to live this new life?" The whale spoke calmly.
She paused in silence, looking at the whale. Her mind reflected on everything she felt and heard. Then, on her life and what she really wanted... she was fully convinced that this figure in front of her was someone who could do even the most impossible things. With all possibilities open, what path would she like to follow?
"I don’t like to think too much; I just feel like I want to follow you, my instincts say that," Liumi spoke seriously, then continued with conviction.
"My race was part of the humanoid branch. But we’re closer to beasts than to humanoids, whether in the way we think, act, or see the world. There must be others like me all over the place; divine and demonic beasts are used by others as if they were disposable. Someone as kind and willing to help them is rare. You said you have a city; let me take care of these people, they will be grateful and useful."
The whale nodded, seeing the determination in her yellow eyes. They had hybrid beasts in the city, but they were former slaves, and it was only by chance that they accepted him. They both always felt that they would never get along with pure beasts that weren’t slaves.
The cultural difference and way of thinking were immense. Just having overwhelming power would make them submit, but submission wasn’t something solid and reliable. Now, someone who thought like them would be truly useful. Liumi could help understand their demands and what they needed. And the power of the spear used by her was something they could refine indefinitely; even an immortal cultivator recognized that.
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They pondered for a few moments and then witnessed her gaze trembling in the face of their hesitation. Her large, round eyes, like shimmering amber, shone with an irresistible pleading expression. Beneath the soft fringes of her lashes, they seemed to widen even further, emanating a tenderness that melted even the most resistant heart.
Suddenly, Bruno reached out from the whale and gently stroked her head as if he were back on land, facing a cat with its hypnotic gaze. His body was something made of laws and earth... but the feeling when doing so was the same.
’Seems like that look is something every feline instinctively knows how to do,’ said Alm, a bit dazed.
Thus, the whale began to talk about the important things, about their goal, the future, and the terrifying enemy they would face. It was clearly something too big for someone as simple as Liumi to even imagine. But she didn’t care to dwell on it too much, just nodded genuinely happy to know that she could be useful.
Everything was aligned now. Liumi didn’t mind not being a conventional life form; she always felt like she didn’t quite fit in with her body. Her potential was limited in the past, but now it could go indefinitely far.
Alm and Bruno recounted a bit of their history to help her understand better. The body didn’t matter; only what was inside each of them did. Their experience and knowledge were all that mattered, the rest could be traded and discarded.
She seemed to have understood, but didn’t care to think too much about it; she was happy and excited, and that was all that mattered. Her nature and the nature of beasts in general were like this; they liked to be free and do what they felt. But it couldn’t be mistaken for having a low will or ambition. Their minds followed different paths, but beasts were as powerful as any other race.
Liumi had a goal and would overcome obstacles to fulfill it. She was completely certain that this figure, who she discovered was an immortal being from another place, would become a greater influence than her imagination could conceive. Soon, she would be the voice of the beasts and would try to unite them.
Half of her power would come from the whale’s ability to forge her body. The other half would come from her understanding of the laws of the earth, as he was a specialist in Yin and Yang. Liumi had always been talented in the laws of the earth, even though her bloodline and body were the opposite of that. Now that she had received a ’body’ of affinity and infinite potential, her talent would flourish and she wouldn’t disappoint if well stimulated.
They soon stood up, storing the spear. Liumi could stay outside using her avatar, but she chose to stay in the inventory and get to know Fides and the other soul who was there. They were now equals, and she wanted to be as helpful as possible taking care of them. But whenever she wanted to leave, she could, and she could even walk alone outdoors with a large distance restriction between them.