Three days passed, and the first batch with hundreds of Nine Heavens Pills arrived. All of them had three or four rings, a level considered high by this planet’s standards. However, Almin was convinced that soon he could create pills with five or six rings.
Thea slept and ate non-stop in the city, consuming half of all the herbs and natural treasures that the Dark Lynxes had gathered on the secret continent.
The whale took only Rehvka to their lunar world. The pills they received represented a third of the total, so everything would be hers. The massive amount of divine realm Qi was so great that, even with the whale’s help with the tattoos, it took an entire day to incorporate everything into her body.
In the end, Rehvka advanced two levels, reaching the third level of the Spirit Fusion Realm. Her lack of vital energy wouldn’t be a problem for one or two years, though she wouldn’t need to wait that long.
Two days later, Almin delivered the second third of the pills. The whale saw the excitement in his eyes as if he were a child who had done a good job. He truly loved alchemy and worked hard in that area. He managed to produce two pills with five rings, and the overall level of all the pills increased slightly.
The whale kept everything for itself, and eagerly absorbed everything initially... but then realized the consequences of further elevating physical cultivation. With a greater amount than Rehvka, who was two realms above him, they only advanced three levels with great effort. Now he was at the fifth level of the Elemental Condensation Realm.
The last batch arrived a week after Ruri left. This time, Almin, Rehvka, Thea, and Liumi went to the lunar world and quickly entered the chaos gem that the whale possessed.
All the Onis awaited in silence. It was suddenly that they arrived in that world and ordered everyone to prepare. Almin would only cultivate and keep 95% of everything, while the other three would command all the Onis and Dark Lynxes to cultivate.
Everyone was still in the Qi Gathering Realm, even the Onis having a physique equivalent to the last mortal realms. Now, they finally advanced in cultivation, and their power increased dramatically.
The whale used all the pills and directed all the Qi from the divine world into the chaos gem.
Crackling sounds echoed like fireworks as the three women watched, analyzed, and tried to help everyone. The understanding of those Onis and Beasts about their bodies was extreme, but their understanding of Qi was limited. Even though it was possible to go much further at once, everyone stopped at the Core Formation Realm. They would have to assimilate their gains and understanding to advance further.
Meanwhile, Almin spent four days absorbing everything. He advanced four levels and rebuilt himself four times, reaching the seventh level of the Body Destruction Realm. This was the same realm where Ruri and the other three in the family were. Now, their cultivation speed was equal; however, Ruri had four times the workload. Runula, Deryu accompanied her cultivation, and now Coltia was being fed along with her.
For the families, it was easy to ascend these levels with their resources; the real limit was the ninth level. Breaking through to the divine realm was complex, difficult, and could take hundreds of years for their members.
Once everything was done, the whale handed over to all the Onis their new technique. It didn’t need to be understood to be used; the whale directly invaded their mental seas. Using the queen’s domination rune as a base, it slowly altered everything. The first time took hours, but he quickly refined the method; there were many to practice.
In no time, all the Onis took a deep breath and activated the technique with a thought. The entire world within the chaos gem changed color. A golden hue covered everything, and a completely new rune appeared on everyone’s forehead.
There was no internal reversal. The basic-level technique could be used by everyone, but only those who developed their will and Dao Heart would elevate it and show its true power, with no limit to how high it could be.
Alm and Bruno analyzed that with seriousness. The rune on them was different from the original technique and the queen’s technique; it was still incomplete. So, they made some changes, using the Onis as guinea pigs.
In no time, an Oni emerged with a rune identical to that of a queen’s Empyrean. However, it was clearly a disguise created using the methods Ruri taught them. Even a high-level Empyrean wouldn’t notice the difference if they weren’t focused on them.
The initial extent of this new power was close to what Almin and Ruri could use without the whale’s help. But when the whale handed over and changed Almin’s heroic rune, and he activated it, an infinite pressure surged in the world, all laws became agitated and trembling.
Alm and Bruno were excited; the level of power they could use was equivalent to what Ruri used when they fully activated her rune. Now, they didn’t need to sacrifice their bloodline and Qi for this power to be used by them. The fuel for it was just their will. Not even Qi was consumed directly; they gained the potential to create terrifying allies.
"The queen has her heroes... let’s call them Dark Crow," Bruno said mentally. "The Dark Crow is a symbol of death and transition, but also of renewal and transformation. In some traditions, it’s seen as a messenger that brings news of change and rebirth."
The test with Almin was a success, now they turned to Rehvka who was eagerly waiting. She didn’t have a heroic rune, but with the method of activating the rune from the families, and the knowledge in the original technique; they envisioned a way. Using her own divine soul and mixing it with a part of her soul, they created a new rune similar to the queen’s.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
It didn’t take long for Rehvka to activate the same power with a radiant smile. It was slightly inferior to Almin’s, but they would improve it in the future. The important thing was that she was now on equal footing with Ruri and the others. So they decided to test something different, they went to Thea and went through the same process, placing a rune inside her soul gem.
Nothing happened, and she couldn’t activate it. But when she activated her strange runes floating around her, that new rune was among all the others as if it were originally part of it. In Thea, it was different, but when she learned to fully control those runes, she could use this new power at some level.
Thus, the whale returned to the city. Soon, he triggered a change that would render all Empyrean families catatonic. Everyone in the city, no matter who, became an Empyrean. But they all knew their new real name; they were one of the Dark Crow.
The next day, the whale opened the spatial channel, and Almin, Thea, and Rehva returned to the secret continent, taking the chaos gem with them. With a stronger cultivation now, the Onis and Dark Lynxes would continue gathering resources and beasts. Only a quarter of the continent had been explored by them.
Alm and Bruno changed plans now that they had gained a new ability. With all the resources, not just the group, but all the people in the city would be cultivated. The four families had a dozen Empyreans in each of them. Now they had infinite ones. If everyone in the city reached the divine realm, combined with everything they had, they would have an army capable of fighting against the families.
Of course, there were cultivators in the Divine Origin Realm. But over time, they were confident they could elevate their group closer. Combined with the fact that the four allies were within them, knowing their weaknesses, creating allies and divisions within them. They could, in a short time, attack and in a single move destroy all the families together.
The problem was just continuing to rise secretly without leaving traces. That’s why they wouldn’t change the inner rune of the four yet. In a few years, everything could unfold. So, the whale stayed and waited patiently in the city for something.
A week before the family competition, the guests arrived. Langrum notified the whale that people from the families were waiting for him outside the formation. He moved slowly with a playful air.
He didn’t allow them to enter, just lazily stepped out of the formation and faced the guests. It was a dozen elders, and in the center of them, a young master awaited him, staring coldly.
"You finally came," his words sounded full of sarcasm. "I’m Yahci..."
"No matter your name; speak quickly what you want, I don’t have time to play with any idiot," the whale cut him off sharply.
His face contorted, and he spoke, trying to control himself. "You... I’m the vice-leader’s son..."
"I don’t care. Go find someone with nothing to do," the whale cut in again and turned to enter the formation once more.
"WAIT, YOU BASTARD!" Yahci roared, and all the elders around focused their cultivation to restrain the whale.
The whale stopped and turned slowly to the elders. All their eyes bulged; the whale seemed to move as if nothing was happening. They couldn’t seal him in any way.
"You think I can’t kill you all here? Came to provoke me again?" His words were dry, and suddenly the whole atmosphere grew cold. Even the elders felt immense pressure upon them.
They were all in the first divine realm, the Spirit Fusion Realm. But they felt fear and pressure from a mortal cultivator in the Elemental Condensation Realm; their rational minds couldn’t process that.
Yahci didn’t know the thoughts of the elders and thought the whale stopped and turned because the elders wanted him to, so he spoke furiously. "You idiot mortal, I came here personally and don’t want to dirty my hands."
The whale smiled, and the elders felt a cold sweat run down their backs. This young master was such a supreme hothouse flower that he didn’t feel the climate and fluctuations of the environment. Living without danger and being adored as a rare talent created this foolish figure. Yahci continued indifferently.
"I’m in a good mood today, damn it. You will participate in the family competition, right? You and the man from that arrogant woman who spreads strange rumors. Everyone can see she’s still a virgin, and that’s just idiocy."
The two were internally intrigued. Strange rumors? Virgin? What the hell did Ruri say about them...
"She’s just a mortal who was lucky to be accepted by the family as one of the central disciples. But her talent is reasonable; I liked her, and it’s always fun to slowly break down someone arrogant. Since she hasn’t been stained by you, I can accept her."
Yahci spoke pompously, and Alm really wanted to leave; idiot young masters are always the same everywhere. But Bruno watched that idiot closely; a bloody aura and recent karma were around him. He said he was in a good mood... he clearly did something on this planet before meeting them.
"Spit it out and cut the crap," Bruno said clearly, anger evident in his voice. If Yahci took too long, Bruno would find out what they did, destroying their souls and lives.
Yahci smiled, scoffing, feeling the suppression in his mind from the whale, hence the anger. "In the family competition, there are always individual fights, and grievances are resolved among the youth. With blood, of course. Everything that happens there stays there. I want a duel to the death..."
He stopped midway, hearing the ridiculous laughter from the whale and narrowed his eyes. "Hahaha, all this because of Ruri? Why do you think I’ll accept? She’s already my woman; I don’t need to prove anything to anyone."
Yahci clenched his fists and thought quickly. Then he drew a sword and spoke slowly. "You... fine. If you win, no one can seek revenge. You’ll also get my weapon; it’s something a pathetic mortal shouldn’t know, an immortal weapon..."
"Just this garbage? I’m not interested." The whale cut in quickly. "An idiot bastard like you wouldn’t know; the four families left an immortal weapon for the external branches. The level of that sword is just the same."
The elders huffed; Yahci really didn’t bother to know anything about this planet. Seeing the elders’ expressions, Yahci’s face turned red; anger possessed his mind, and he drew something else without much thought. A bluish lance that seemed heavier than it appears emerged.
"Young man! That’s a family treasure!" An elder exclaimed dryly, but Yahci ignored and spoke with a roar.
"I wager my main weapon. You idiot mortal, have you ever seen anything like this? This is a saint-level immortal weapon. The inferior weapons you saw are of the most basic level; this one, there are only a dozen in each family. I, as the son of..."
"I accept." The whale spoke, cutting in immediately. "But, I want you to make it clear to everyone before the duel, and the four families are aware. I don’t want the old bastards backtracking on their word."
Yahci smiled as the elders huffed. "Great, I will personally make it clear to everyone. It’ll be a duel to the death, winner takes all."
After speaking, Yahci waved, and a spatial channel appeared. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible, not giving the whale any chance to back out. In seconds, he vanished, and the elders followed, giving one last look at the whale and waving.
Left alone, Bruno snorted. ’He’s a moron, isn’t he? And what if he wins, so what? Would Ruri run into his arms? He thinks a woman is an object that changes owners as he wishes. Well, screw him.’
They called Langrum with a thought, and she exited the formation to meet them. Immediately, the whale ordered a large group to go out and investigate what these bastards did on the planet. Thousands of people from the city went out and searched the entire continent.
It didn’t take long for the news to arrive...
It was a village in the north of the continent. About two days ago, they arrived and ransacked everything. As the sect and the continent lost their main cultivators, almost all the villages and cities they protected lost their protection and surveillance. Soon, these idiots arrived and saw only almost mortals, and everything could be done cleanly.
What did they want? Just to have fun. Thousands of men were killed, and the women were captured and went through hell. A method very similar to what they did to the people of Montide. But since they couldn’t use the excuse of repopulating the side branch, all the women were killed before they left.
They simply invaded, did what they wanted, destroyed all evidence, and left. An entire village was left in flames, and all its inhabitants dead. All for sadistic fun. Bruno heard this and grew cold and silent; Alm, on the other hand, was excited. The fun would be good at this family competition.