On that day, when Ruri came to share the news about Nebai and Zaimo, she didn’t want to leave the whale’s side. She felt their wounded souls and was eagerly waiting. However, Alm and Bruno still had a lot to do; first, they showed her their gifts.
"I’m going to upgrade your katana. This weapon is made from the bones of a Primordial Dragon. It’ll match perfectly with your bloodline, and with a bit of training, it can help you activate part of your draconic bloodline in a controlled way," the whale explained calmly, watching Ruri’s eyes light up. "But don’t get too excited yet; this is the smallest of the gifts. All the scales from the Chaos Yang Dragon have been forcibly integrated into it; everything will be yours. And there’s even an internal primordial rune as a bonus."
After speaking, they moved closer and focused on Ruri’s core; they were going to give her the Yang primordial rune. An internal Yang rune in a woman could cause a lot of unnecessary problems. But using a tattoo to alter the Yang, while simple, would ruin the primordial power.
Fortunately, they had a solution. Ruri already possessed a spatial internal rune, a mental rune, and a chaos rune. They simply fused the Yang rune with the chaos rune, using their knowledge of the laws of chaos to transform it into a new rune.
All the power of the chaos law was lost forever, converted into Yin. But, due to the laws of chaos, the primordial power was preserved, resulting in a Yin primordial rune.
"Done, now just the scales are left. But that will come later; first, go into seclusion and fully assimilate the new internal rune. Almin will be around for a while longer, so don’t..."
The whale stopped upon seeing Ruri’s disappointed expression, feeling a pang of bitterness inside. He huffed and continued, "The scales came from a Yang Dragon. To fuse with them, you’ll need to remove the Yang. I also need to recover, so we’ll do this together. First, focus on one thing at a time."
A radiant smile blossomed on her face. "I’ll be back quickly." Ruri nodded, handing her katana to him before rushing off to isolate herself.
Alm and Bruno sighed lightly; after Ruri fused with the scales, the Yang would directly affect her body and mind. To remove that effect, they would soon have to deal with a problem much more exhausting than usual.
With the katana in hand, it was simple to remove the immortal core where Les resided. Then, they fused all the metal with the Dragon bone using chaotic refinement, eliminating any trace of Yang. Soon, a terrifying weapon, perfect for someone with the bloodline of a Primordial Dragon, was born.
Les returned on her own to where Ruri was. Alm and Bruno then focused on the second priority: the soul jade of the God of the Forge, which would be the first-place prize at the convention, along with the Heavy Sword of the Earth Dragon.
Many questions surrounded that soul jade. It belonged to the God of the Forge, but according to Nebai, that dwarf had made it clear to his people that he wouldn’t leave something like that behind.
Normally, the soul jade could only be read with the creator’s approval. Probably, a remnant of his will remained until someone managed to decipher its contents.
They pulled out a round object the size of a fist, covered in golden runes that kept its contents sealed. Alm and Bruno activated their tattoos and easily destroyed the seal.
Then a pure and subtle aura began to flow from that soul jade. At that moment, Alm and Bruno’s eyes widened.
’This... can’t be...’ Bruno murmured, unable to believe what he felt.
Alm focused on it coldly, and seconds later, he spoke in shock: ’Yeah, there’s definitely a fluctuation identical to the Yin and Yang tattoos.’
It was something very subtle that probably no ordinary cultivator could perceive. But both recognized it immediately, stunned. They took a deep breath and concentrated, using their perceptions to probe that soul jade.
Inside, something immediately opened its eyes. "Oh? Is this my Dao?"
Alm and Bruno were allowed to enter and see what was hidden inside. There, they noticed exactly what they had felt: two runes identical to the Yin and Yang tattoos.
But something was wrong with them; a terrifying power seemed to be contained within. It was like a bomb capable of causing the end of the world, and the tattoos were the seal keeping everything under control.
After seeing that clearly, they withdrew their senses and opened the whale’s eyes. In the next moment, the jade pulsed, and an ethereal figure of a dwarf appeared. It was the same dwarf they had seen a few months earlier, the God of the Forge.
"You possess my Dao?" he asked, staring at the whale. Obviously, it was just a remnant of his will, and he didn’t know they were already acquainted.
"Yes, and we’ve met before. I’m a missionary," the whale replied quickly. "I’ve already helped your people, just as you planned. And I’ve also destroyed the worshippers of the God of Wealth."
That will was surprised. "You fulfilled everything?! Wait, what about the hammer?"
"I did things differently, but in the end, it all worked out. Maybe I can still get your hammer; anyway, that doesn’t matter anymore," the whale said dryly. "Why the hell did you leave a soul jade, telling the dwarves you wouldn’t leave anything behind? And why are these runes inside it?"
The will of the God of the Forge listened and processed quickly. He looked at the whale, very confused, and asked, "Wait... this soul jade wasn’t supposed to be for you to get. I said I wouldn’t leave this behind because these runes are a gift for the heroes."
The whale’s expression turned serious. "Gift?"
"Yes, I gathered numerous immortal cultivators; with the help of a strange woman’s power, I sealed the power of all of them. This was for the heroes to try to force it open... and you know what would have happened. The level of power sealed within the runes is capable of killing an immortal hero without any chance of defense."
Alm and Bruno listened attentively, but their doubts only grew. The dwarf, in turn, seemed just as confused as they were.
After a collective sigh, they decided to tell the dwarf about the changes the Queen and the heroes had recently caused in the universe, a direct result of their actions.
"What? All the Empyreans can now advance and become heroes?!" the dwarf exclaimed, surprised. But then he suddenly understood the missing piece. "So that’s it! Only the power of an immortal hero could force open this jade, but it would still be risky. So they handed this over to the young ones, hoping some Empyrean would get approved by me without needing to force anything and risk losing everything."
"But why were the heroes so desperate to open this?" the whale asked dryly.
"Have you heard about the calamities and the Primordial Chaos Level items?" the dwarf spoke quickly, and the whale nodded. "Then you know the Queen sealed three of those items in her universe. She did this before the battle where I died; one of those three is called the Reincarnation Mirror."
The whale nodded; he already knew the names of the three. He had also encountered the Ghost Calamity, related to a Primordial Chaos item, the Bestial Spear of the Void.
"It turns out that when I was still alive, the Reincarnation Mirror was one step away from being completely dominated by the heroes and the Queen. And all this was because of a strange woman who developed an incomplete Dao. This incomplete Dao, which was just a cultivation technique, did something impossible: it could subtly unite Yin and Yang."
The dwarf spoke, and the whale narrowed his eyes, seeming to understand something. The dwarf continued explaining:
"The name of this technique was: Yin and Yang Supreme Qi Collector. And with this technique, the union of Yin and Yang could generate a law identical to that of the Reincarnation Mirror; thus, it was easy to dominate it. These runes inside the soul jade were created with this technique, and the heroes could clearly sense them, which drove them crazy to obtain it."
The whale then asked, "This strange woman is the creator of this technique? Why didn’t they just capture her?"
"Yeah, she was a hybrid of human and beast, and created something as strange as her personality. It was impossible for the heroes to capture her because I killed her. So, all they had left was to find this soul jade and get its contents."
"Wait, you fought alongside the heroes in the last battle. What were your intentions? No matter which side you were on, it doesn’t make sense to kill her. If you were against the heroes, wouldn’t it have been better to use her to get the item and give it to some powerful immortal cultivator?" the whale asked directly, becoming increasingly suspicious of the dwarf’s words.
"When the total war broke out, I was already very old and would die in a few years. My creations were never sold directly to either side, but the heroes could buy them from my disciples and restrict who got one. That’s why I isolated myself, and the heroes didn’t care much. I maintained my neutrality the whole time, but obviously, I always wanted to put an end to that greedy Queen’s plans."
"Before the battle where I died, it was already clear to me: immortal cultivators couldn’t fight in unity; they were all too proud and thought they were superior to each other. The heroes, on the other hand, were totally united... the war was doomed to fail."
The dwarf sighed, with a distant look, remembering the past. Then he turned his gaze to the whale, more seriously. "If you’re a missionary, then you already have a divine soul. But know that to reach the immortal realms, having a divine soul is mandatory, and that’s something incredibly difficult and unlikely to achieve."
"I’ve talked to countless immortal cultivators and asked about this... but the answer from everyone was always the same: ’I can’t say anything about this; you can only find out on your own.’ That infuriated me," the dwarf said with a tone of anger.
"But I never settled for that. I spent all my last years of life researching and gathering information. In the end, I came to a conclusion: all immortal cultivators possess memories of their past lives. In other words, to reach that level, reincarnations are directly related."
"After reaching that conclusion, I questioned an immortal cultivator. He didn’t answer directly, nor did he say a word. But, from his fluctuations and gaze, I realized I was partially correct."
"With this information in hand, I secretly allied with trustworthy allies. And thus, the plan was born: winning that war was impossible at that moment; all we could do was buy time, so that in the future, people capable of turning the tide would emerge."
The whale snorted. "You all bet everything on something uncertain and senseless? What did you expect from that, to kill everyone and try again in another life, if you were lucky?"
"You were almost right. It wasn’t something that uncertain. The strange woman who created that technique was the only ally capable of dominating a Primordial Chaos item because of her technique," the dwarf replied with a slight smile. "We bet everything on her. But to make that happen, she needed to complete her incomplete Dao and become a deity."
Alm and Bruno nodded; indeed, they had recently discovered that the tattoo technique was flawed and incomplete. The Wuji was not the end, and they advanced the technique on their own, creating the Taiji.
The dwarf continued: "That cultivation technique created two opposing runes, and its main effect was to split all the Yin and Yang of the user, allowing them to dominate all the natural laws of the universe. But that wasn’t all; this technique had a surreal potential, which was the key to advancing and completing the Dao: it could perfectly divide a soul into two completely opposite poles. It was almost like turning into two different souls, yet still being one person."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.