The whole ground shook, the laws vibrated, and the air became suffocating. The demons’ eyes widened, unable to believe what was happening. The woman had broken into the Divine Origin Realm, and the deafening explosion was just the beginning.
They looked up and saw the red runes and all the formations around the place trembling. At the same moment, sounds of small explosions started; the runes of the formations couldn’t withstand the pressure and kept exploding continuously.
But that wasn’t the most surprising thing. The sky was closed and dark, emitting an abnormal pressure. Was that a tribulation?
"Time to get to work." The whale’s lazy voice sounded, and everyone behind it responded.
The sound of weapons being drawn echoed. The demons turned toward the group, their hearts stopping. They all pointed upward and attacked with all their might, piercing the black clouds...
BOOM!!!!!
"FUCK! Are you guys crazy, bastards?" A demon roared, turning to run and get away. He didn’t dare use his cultivation, fearing being marked.
But, after taking a few steps, his body seemed to freeze. He turned around, and his eyes met a pair of blue eyes that seemed to devour his soul. Kaiyka just stared at him and held the hilt of her katana.
"Hm, where do you think you’re going? The party just started." The whale’s voice sounded with a ridiculous tone. "Since you’re in such a hurry, we don’t need a host. You can leave."
The demon couldn’t breathe upon hearing that; it was like a decree from the god of death. But the one next to him spat dryly. "What? You have no idea what..."
Slash!
That was the last thing they heard. The sound of an invisible cut split them in half, ending their lives. They were two elder demons from the powerful Shadow God sect, at the peak of divine cultivation, but due to the tribulation, they had to seal all their cultivation, and in front of that katana, they had no time to react.
Their souls shone, but Kaiyka stepped forward and grabbed them, immediately starting to read their memories.
It took two seconds, and soon the entire planet was covered by terrifying black clouds. The level of the tribulation surpassed a mere trial; it reached the level of a celestial punishment and was one step away from turning into an annihilation.
Alm and Bruno didn’t attack; they weren’t crazy enough to challenge something that would definitely break into a terrifying level. If it turned into annihilation, their plans had a high chance of being ruined.
All the other demons in the castle felt an abnormal, primitive fear and were petrified in their places; they just sealed their cultivation and waited. Everyone knew what was in the sky and what the consequences would be if they got marked.
Kaiyka closed her eyes and read the information as quickly as she could, while Venjio positioned himself beside her, ready to protect her from the celestial punishment.
Ruri immediately moved toward the sealed tree. That was Amary’s body. Despite the external formations being suppressed and broken by the power of the heavens, the central formation still kept him trapped. The Shadow God sect had poured a lot of power to prevent any trouble.
Within the solar system, as soon as the tribulation started, all the Shadow God sect cultivators felt the event and moved in fear. But the moment the first tried to enter the planet, the celestial laws vibrated furiously.
Everyone stopped and, out of pure survival instinct, sealed all Qi and cultivation from their bodies. That was a warning: if they came within a centimeter and tried to interfere, they would be marked.
The cultivators had grim expressions. Something was very wrong, but they didn’t dare to move or even send a message to the sect. Any fluctuation from them would mark them and be the end.
It wasn’t just their deaths at stake. Like the demons inside the castle, the ’tribulation’ would elevate its power to kill a cultivator at their level. They would fall, but the one who caused the tribulation was still on the planet, at the center of it all. With the elevated level of it, it was unlikely that the defensive formations would hold up, and the sect’s most precious treasure would be destroyed.
Trying anything would result in disaster. All those demons were experienced and quickly understood, without needing to talk. But, the one causing this couldn’t escape without ending the tribulation; once it was over, they would seal everything around and capture it.
Alm and Bruno laughed internally. The heavens were merciless and furious, like a violent beast ready to tear apart anything it didn’t like. They were just goading this beast to focus on their enemies and take advantage of its power.
But this time, things were dangerously intense. They also sealed their cultivation and couldn’t do anything, or the situation would worsen. Everyone else had to endure the celestial punishment of Rehvka, meant for a cultivator one realm above them. At the same time, they had to destroy and steal everything in time before it ended.
The heavens quickly crumbled, and a storm of furious black lightning rained down. Rehvka leaped into the air, becoming the main focus and reducing the burden on the others.
The rest of the group surrounded Ruri and Kaiyka to protect them, clenching their fists and taking part of the storm directly.
The whale just waited patiently. The lightning also hit it, but its robust physique made it feel like just a slight tickle.
Minutes passed until Kaiyka opened her eyes and turned to the whale. "One of them was doing maintenance recently. In his recent memories, there was a lot of information about the formation."
They nodded and moved toward Ruri. She was trying to understand the formation roughly, and it would take hours. Kaiyka arrived at her side and sent the memories.
Ruri closed her eyes, quickly absorbing all the information. In a minute, she opened her eyes, easily understanding the basis of the formation. The whale, seeing this, nodded in satisfaction. Then, Ruri took out a spatial ring and removed a small spherical core; it was the immortal core that Amary had been inhabiting and was already prepared for use.
Ruri prepared herself and closed her eyes, puffing out. "Calm your fluctuations. You’re too excited. If I mess up, I’ll disappoint master." After she spoke, the core in her hand calmed down, and she moved it.
The heavens continued to collapse in an apocalyptic storm of lightning. They grew and intensified, turning into celestial pillars crashing down on the planet. Rehvka was spitting blood, and her body was in a deplorable state.
If it were someone else without great defenses, they’d already be dead... but it just so happened that Rehvka was already dead.
As long as the soul gem in her heart remained intact and her body didn’t completely disintegrate into bloody mist, she could slowly regenerate. She had no defenses, but she was extraordinarily resilient, just like her entire life.
Alm and Bruno watched intently. The rest of the group had learned to work in perfect harmony. They all defended together, protecting Ruri so she could focus.
All the lightning’s power, which would be unbearable for the weaker ones, was directed into the array, where Corin absorbed or redistributed it among everyone. Keeping everyone in the array proved useful in various ways, despite the challenges it involved.
Minutes passed until the heavens began to roar and absorb all the energy around; it seemed to be nearing the final wave. Concern grew, and time was running out.
Alm and Bruno mentally prepared for the possibility of having to attack and restart the process, creating a celestial annihilation. While they pondered this, and the supreme black storm raged over the land, Ruri made a move, and all the red runes around the tree began to shift.
Then, they all exploded, and the whale sighed in relief. Ruri smiled and moved the immortal core to the center of the tree.
After Amary was disconnected from the body, he would need to use a possession technique on the old body. Over time, since he had been the previous owner, the soul would be able to reconnect easily with the body.
Once the immortal core was emptied, Ruri signaled, and the entire tree was transported to her beastly world. The heist was complete; now they just needed to collect the spoils and make a quick escape.
The escape was as simple as the invasion. Everything flowed smoothly because, after Ruri received the golden tablet from a former heroic disciple and the whale provided the galactic coordinates of the planet, she realized there was a deleted connection to the place.
Amary explained that, in the past, his race had owned one of the sealed worlds in the Desolate Battlefield. The Shadow God sect had taken everything and simply erased the spatial connection. The doors were closed, but the structure was still there.
It was understandable that the sect didn’t care; after all, even if a hero tried, it would be impossible for a cultivator to reopen the door the way Ruri did. Besides, it was almost impossible for anyone to take that golden tablet from that human, and with so many powerful cultivators watching everything, who would dare to invade the core of all formations?
But the Dao of the Formation God, combined with Ruri’s spatial knowledge, created this miracle. Of the various formations, the spatial ones were her specialty.
To escape, as soon as the celestial punishment ended, everyone would run and return to the sealed world in two seconds. No living being would have seen their arrival or departure, and there would be no conclusive traces of who had done all this.
RUMBLE!
The heavens roared, gathering all their energies and preparing the final furious move. The place fell into silence, waiting. Rehvka, now on the ground and covered in blood, clenched her fists and looked up... with a satisfied and pleased smile.
"Hey, let’s... be tougher... this doesn’t even come close to when master punishes me."
She spoke lightly, and everyone heard. Soon, everyone took a deep breath, imagining very wrong things about the whale and this information.
Alm and Bruno had cold eyes. They had never punished Rehvka in the way she implied; they only let her have fun deliberately when an opportunity arose. Rehvka said that intentionally, and they knew they couldn’t curse her, as she would probably love it and say something even worse in the future.
"Pfft... you haven’t seen anything..." Ruri made a sarcastic comment, and everyone heard clearly. Though she didn’t say more, everyone filled in the gaps with similar thoughts: what kind of dark experiences had Ruri been through?
’It’s your fault. You’re so rough.’ Bruno spat mentally. Alm, feeling wronged, threatened to curse but soon gave up. The heavens collapsed.
BOOM!!
The planet vibrated as if it were at the end of the world. The previously pure green now looked tainted by a furious and wild energy.
The group roared with all their might, enduring the pressure. However, through the array, Corin happily absorbed everything they couldn’t withstand. Everyone benefited, refining their defenses and bodies slightly, but Corin was quickly enhancing his physical cultivation.
Finally, the world seemed to fall silent. Rehvka staggered back and, soon after, felt her body float and be placed on the whale’s back. She clung to the whale’s neck, smiled slightly, and calmly faded away.
No one waited. While the energies in the heavens were still unstable and starting to disperse, Ruri was already manipulating the spatial runes to make their escape.
At the same time, at the center of that solar system, something abnormal and unpredictable suddenly began to happen.
The whole whale group rushed to Ruri’s side. She huffed, and the spatial runes connected and pulsed. The space started to distort, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief until...
Crack! Crack! Crack!
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Everyone’s eyes widened, and their hearts pounded. Suddenly, all the spatial runes began to explode incomprehensibly.
After several explosions, the runes stopped and froze. It wasn’t just the spatial runes; Alm and Bruno were clearly stunned. All the natural laws, Qi, and even the spatial laws petrified inexplicably.
A power that seemed to transcend the celestial laws suppressed everything.
The entire spatial channel was nullified and dispersed. Alm and Bruno felt the magnitude of the power with their souls. There were hundreds of cultivators around the planet, all equally petrified. It wasn’t something from the Shadow God sect.
’What the hell?’ Alm muttered, but the answer came quickly.
The whale turned, stunned, to a direction in space, right at the center of the solar system.
ROAR!
Suddenly, time and space shattered like glass, and an invisible but terrifying sensation began to spread.
The world fell silent, except for the roar reverberating in their minds. In the emptiness of space, a ghostly figure materialized, gigantic and imposing.
Its form was indescribably terrifying: a colossal chimera larger than a sun, with various heads of felines, canines, and other races. Its furry body twisted with serpent tails, and its multicolored wings spread out like a curtain of shimmering feathers. Four scaly legs mixed with different insect legs, creating a creature that seemed straight out of a nightmare.
Alm and Bruno’s eyes widened. Everyone in the group saw it. Nothing could exist before that entity; everyone felt powerless mortals; even the celestial laws bowed and trembled before that presence.
But...
At that same moment, a dozen golden channels formed throughout the solar system. Alm and Bruno felt a despair they hadn’t experienced in a long time; it was the power of the heroes.
They were completely powerless, all their power sealed, and they couldn’t escape. Seeing those channels, they knew that, in a few minutes, several heroes would appear. This terrifying power wasn’t suppressed by the queen’s power. This could only mean one thing...
’Caught us.’ Bruno murmured dryly.