When everything happened, the battle in the skies was abruptly interrupted. The impact was so massive that all the laws of the spatial channels were destroyed; even the golden channel was affected and temporarily stopped stabilizing. At the same time, thousands of souls took the chance to explode, completely eliminating all the invaders.
A thunderous roar echoed throughout the Void Forest, spreading across the entire planet. Along with the sound, a golden light replaced all colors, and no one could see or feel anything in the face of that power.
Near Ruri, before the golden ray could reach her, it exploded as if a force of much higher level was blocking it. The shockwave was terrifying, but Corrin jumped in front of her to protect her.
*CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!*
Everyone in the array, because of him, could still feel the whale from a distance and were distressed. In the world covered by gold, frightening sounds, as if steel was being broken, could be heard; but it was bones being continuously shattered.
The whale was up high, and the queen’s power was on his body, both locked in a life-or-death duel.
The first ray collided with his defenses, and after consuming all the primordial power and the laws of the land, it was successfully blocked. But he didn’t have a backup for the second ray.
His bones were being crushed, his muscles burned, his blood boiling. All their faith power was being consumed to regenerate. It healed the bones, and they broke again, along with his entire body. It was a dance a centimeter away from the whale’s body exploding.
But... the queen’s power was only weakening slightly. The faith power, on the other hand, was almost depleted.
That level of power was far beyond their current cultivation. It was like ants trying to fight against a storm.
Initially, they thought the inventory might save them, but just thinking about opening it solidified the sense of death. If this power entered the inventory, the runes forming it couldn’t handle it and everything would explode. If that happened, the whale’s body would explode along with it.
The power level they were dealing with was infinitely above anything they had faced before. As they grew stronger, the power of the inventory and their other techniques, which had once been supreme, were no longer so invincible.
The second plan was to try absorbing this power with physical cultivation. They had bought the fourth level of physical cultivation and thought they might advance using this energy. The first stage of the fourth level was called the "Gate of Death."
This energy was destructive and very efficient for refining, just like the power of the heavens. They had full knowledge of the stages and knew where they needed to alter to advance. But no matter what they did, it didn’t seem to be working. Their bodies were just being destroyed in their attempts.
’Damn it... it’s like trying to quench your thirst by drinking seawater. It’s not going to work.’
Recalling the knowledge of this level, like the others, the specific places where they had to make changes to complete it were clear. But there was nothing indicating how they should make those changes to their bodies. By the logic of all the other levels, it seemed obvious they would use some energy to do it.
But now, it seemed like something else. It was as if they were using the wrong fuel to make a machine work.
At the time, they found the name of this stage strange. Maybe, upon completing it, a new power, unknown to them, would emerge from death; that’s what they imagined.
This desperate attempt took several seconds, and everything was still covered by the golden power. Until Alm and Bruno realized...
’We’re done, this body won’t hold. Maybe our souls will survive if we burn them to escape.’
In the last seconds they had, Alm and Bruno reflected while the remaining faith power was consumed. Why did they choose this madness? Because they trusted their instincts. For some reason, they felt there was a 50% chance of success.
Something unknown could save them. And, even though they were seconds from the end, they felt death wasn’t certain.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.
Alm and Bruno grunted. If they failed and the body exploded, even if their souls survived, they wouldn’t be able to stop the hero’s arrival.
Both felt the anguish of the people in the array and noticed their struggle. Escaping with just their souls was still possible, but the whole group would be captured by the hero.
’I’ve passed the stage of hesitation. I’d rather die here than abandon her.’
*CRACK!*
The faith power was exhausted. Then the final break of all their bones echoed. There was no blood left, and the whole whale’s figure began to crack as if it were made of porcelain.
The destructive power had lost only a third of its energy, then advanced, invading every inch mercilessly.
The whale’s body was at the extreme limit. All the vital energy moved automatically to protect it. Reflexively, they made this energy flow through the meridians created in physical cultivation.
It was more efficient and really helped, but it lasted only a second before everything was consumed.
It was the true end.
The moment all the vital energy of the body was burned in the meridians, Alm and Bruno felt something inside them tremble. It was as if something had changed, and time seemed to stop.
Inside the spiritual sea, where the soul resides in the body, something small lit up like a star. Alm and Bruno felt it in shock, but the answer to what it was came automatically.
"Gate of Death!"
They felt a strange energy flowing from that luminous point. They acted quickly, placing all their hopes on it. They directed this energy source out of the mental sea. Suddenly, that luminous point pulsed, releasing more of that energy.
The entire body of the whale was illuminated in black. It was, in part, what they imagined; a power from death that was unknown to them.
Previously, Alm and Bruno considered themselves experts in the Yin of death; even in the queen’s universe, they never felt it was something unknown, just stronger than what they knew. But faced with this new energy, they realized they knew much less than they thought.
The whale’s body seemed like a dry sponge dipped in a river. Suddenly, every inch was filled; they used the physical cultivation knowledge, and the meridians began to change, forming new pathways.
Then an overwhelming force emerged and a muffled sound reverberated. All the gold was swept away.
The whale’s eyes widened. All the queen’s power was suddenly dispersed, unable to resist even for a second. At the same instant, the entire body regenerated. The burned vital energy resurfaced, but now it was at least a thousand times greater.
The whale clenched his fists. Cracks sounded. He felt that if he punched with all his strength, even the space of the divine world would fracture.
’Fuck, what terrifying physical power,’ he murmured, surprised at himself. ’Gate of Death... the name was literal, so this was the power to open it.’
The first stage was called the Gate of Death, followed by the Gate of Life, and lastly, something called the Threshold of Life and Death.
It was now clear: to advance in physical cultivation, they no longer needed Qi or other known energies to refine the body, but a very specific and mystical power.
The technique of tattoos, after a certain point, was just mystical words they had to interpret to advance. Physical cultivation was more straightforward. No hints were needed; just trust the power of the technique and push it to the limit, using it until the end.
’The creator was a battle maniac with a simple and direct mind. He didn’t waste words when the painful practice would solve it. Eventually, the practitioner of his Dao would advance somehow... or not; and a painful death would occur. I have to admit I like his methods.’
To open the Gate of Death, it was necessary to bring the mortal body to literal death, burning all the vital energy in the meridians of physical cultivation. This condition made this power emerge automatically, as if a gate of death was being opened. This energy was capable of refining and changing the body.
’The 50% chance was if we could endure without exploding until the queen’s power weakened enough to open the gate and expel him.’ Alm and Bruno reflected and sighed; in the end, they advanced and won.
They turned to Ruri, who was distant. Her eyes were moist, and a warm smile blossomed on her. Seeing her face, they felt a strange joy in their victory.
’It’s not over yet,’ they told her, and turned to the golden spatial channel that was reforming. ’I’m going to destroy it, completely sealing this forest from the outside world. Without the queen’s power, it won’t be able to return.’
Ruri nodded; all the defensive energy was destroyed. Now, she had completely mastered the central runes of the formation and could do as she wished.
Without delay, the whale moved toward the golden channel. It was just a bit of the queen’s power, but since it wasn’t being used to attack, with one move, they put everything into the inventory. Even before the power could react, the inventory’s domination technique nullified it.
In the same second, Ruri completely sealed the forest. It was all over, or almost. How the hell were they going to escape after drawing so much attention?