Alm and Bruno stopped hundreds of miles away from that place. Everything around them was empty, and they found themselves near a river surrounded by simple vegetation. This was the central region of that sealed world, and everything there seemed strangely ordinary and natural.
But... something subtle, imperceptible to any ordinary cultivator, didn’t escape the senses of the two. They activated their celestial souls stealthily, probing the laws of the place for a brief moment before cutting off.
’The laws of the waters here have stopped flowing. There’s only what was already here, but it’s as if its energy has been cut off,’ Alm confirmed, feeling the Yin of the place weaken.
Bruno nodded: ’This place had a natural balance. So, when we removed Undine from the seal, that balance was broken. Hmm... does that mean all the other natural elements are still here? Excellent.’
Excited, they turned to the inventory, eager to ask the one who would surely have answers. However, upon entering, they saw Liumi and Ruri standing side by side with serious expressions.
Liumi quickly explained what she had witnessed, surprising the two. They moved immediately to the chaos tree, activating their souls to try and sense something... but there was no trace left of Undine.
’What the hell is going on? Did the tree kill an Immortal?’ Bruno murmured, tense.
’Master, I think it was voluntary. The two seemed to be connected by something. Before anything, they synchronized and became one,’ Liumi spoke quickly.
Alm scoffed, irritated. They had lost a valuable source of knowledge. But coldly, he considered: there were still four other possible sources there, and they had time to investigate. He said impassively: ’Liumi, Ruri, stay alert. This tree is very strange. Keep your distance, and if you feel something off, let me know immediately. If it tries anything against you, I’ll burn it without hesitation.’
The two nodded, and then Alm and Bruno turned their attention back to the outside world. They couldn’t waste time and started moving quickly.
They had already planned for this search scenario; having a body created with the laws of the earth wasn’t a coincidence.
With their mastery over this law, they easily located the largest concentration of people across the land. Unfortunately, their temporary bodies didn’t have enough Qi to fully visualize the environment. Using their celestial souls was risky, considering there might be immortal heroes hiding.
***
Shortly after, a group of demonic beasts gathered. Among them, a Beastial High Elder was giving a speech to the young creatures.
Behind this High Elder, completely hidden, Alm and Bruno spotted a colossal altar. On top, rested a reddish crystal, emitting an intense glow, almost like flames. Bruno immediately felt the law of faith flowing from the object.
’Finally, we found other cultivators using this,’ Bruno murmured.
In the Queen’s universe, there were almost no people who cultivated faith. Maybe because of fierce competition and the general lack of trust. Gathering followers and creating devotion was extremely difficult. The gains with few followers were minimal, and the knowledge of this law was scarce, making it unattractive.
"Children, pray! Pray to our great Sun God! He will grant you his blessing! When you become disciples of our Golden Crow Sect, the light of the Sun God will watch over you, illuminating your paths. You will never again be lost or alone..."
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The High Elder proclaimed fervently, gesturing. Thousands of demonic beasts kneeled and joined in the devoted cry.
As they prayed, the crystal on the altar began to glow even brighter, quickly lighting up the entire area.
The Golden Crow Sect was once number one among alchemists in the universe. However, due to Almin and Lyra, the Phoenix Cry Sect had surpassed its position. As a result, the two belonged to the enemy alliance.
As for the Sun God, Alm and Bruno knew he was the leader of the sect. He was a pure Golden Crow, so they thought this title probably came from his bloodline. However, he really cultivated faith, being called a God, with everyone in the sect as his devoted followers.
Alm and Bruno watched for a moment, but as soon as the crystal glowed intensely, something inside it caught their attention.
’It’s a fragment of a divine soul!’ Bruno declared. ’It’s not connected to the law of faith. This Sun God is using it to nurture these young beasts.’
The High Elder knelt, bowing to the altar and crying out with emotion: "Great Sun God, hear the calls of your devotees! They are your children, ready to join your holy realm. Please, grant them your blessing!"
Suddenly, a beam of celestial light descended from the heavens, illuminating the altar. Inside the light, burning like a divine sun, a figure resembling a giant bird began to emerge.
"Great Sun God, you’ve descended personally!"
The High Elder shouted, ecstatic, bowing repeatedly. Everyone around joined in the clamor, shouting fervently.
"Don’t be so emotional. If you want, I can come more often," a mocking voice sounded from the altar.
The figure that appeared on the altar was none other than Alm and Bruno. Using the laws of fire and faith with their tattoos, it was easy to deceive everyone.
As soon as they heard the sarcastic voice, the demonic beasts sensed something was wrong. They raised their heads in alert.
At that moment, Bruno extended his hand, grabbing the crystal that was several meters tall. With that, the altar darkened.
"Good children, goodbye. If you miss me, keep praying. If I hear you, I promise I’ll come back."
Bruno gave a warm smile to the stunned demonic beasts, then crushed a teleportation talisman and disappeared.
It took a few seconds for the demonic beasts to react. The crystal, the symbol of their faith, had been stolen in broad daylight. That wasn’t a divine descent.
Overwhelming roars echoed: "Blasphemy! Pursue!"
Immediately, all the demonic beasts summoned their true forms and scattered in all directions to search for the one responsible.
Unfortunately for them, Alm and Bruno were already dozens of miles away, thanks to a single talisman created by Yue. Her skill with talismans was exceptional. Moreover, they had activated the concealment of their celestial souls, making it impossible to sense them, and thus, impossible to locate them.
Ruri couldn’t contain her laughter next to Liumi, amused by the theft and their flawless performance. Shortly after, she murmured, ’Wow, talismans are really amazing.’
Alm and Bruno nodded in agreement. Talismans were like small, one-time-use, quick formations. They could be activated suddenly, almost without generating perceptible fluctuations before use.
The main problem was that their effectiveness depended two-thirds on the creator’s skill and the rest on the quality of the materials used. Also, the materials required were incredibly expensive, and once a talisman was used, everything was lost.
’Formations have much grander and longer-lasting effects, but talismans are like a simplified and efficient version; sometimes they can have unique effects, but that’s very rare. The inscriptions you developed in the past are similar. Yue has received knowledge of both,’ Bruno explained, and Ruri nodded in agreement.
Not always was raw power the most effective solution. Auxiliary knowledge was extremely useful, especially for those with resources and access to the true understanding behind these practices. Something almost no one had, but Ruri smiled contentedly, knowing only they could make this possible.
With the crystal in hand, Alm and Bruno carefully examined it.
Bruno immediately absorbed the law of faith that permeated it, eliminating any residual influence of the Sun God. Now, the power was under his control, but it wasn’t as abundant as they expected.
Soon after, they extracted the divine soul fragment contained in the crystal. It was small, but it was being consumed to generate power and nourish the young demonic beasts. If it continued like this, the fragment would be destroyed.
This was a simple method of consuming the power of a divine soul. Since such souls could regenerate, breaking them and absorbing their power was a simple and efficient practice.
In a matter of seconds, Alm and Bruno nourished the fragment, partially restoring it. It didn’t take long for the original consciousness of the fragment to sense the connection and awaken.
When the eyes of this consciousness opened, they were like two pairs of intense red globes, burning like fierce flames.
’What? You have a divine soul... there are two of you... and you seem different from an ordinary soul...’
Alm responded calmly: ’We’re missionaries. We’ve already freed the Immortal Undine from her seal, but we need knowledge and information about this place. Where are you, and what do you know about this sealed world?’
The reference to Undine’s liberation was left vague, implying that she had escaped on her own. They couldn’t reveal what actually happened inside the inventory.
’You managed to free her? How...’
Before the question was completed, Alm and Bruno sent selected memory fragments to the consciousness. They showed how they had infiltrated the formation, freed Undine, and escaped. However, the fragments were incomplete, concealing the fact that she ended up in the inventory in the end.
The consciousness’s eyes trembled, staring intently at the two. Then, it looked around the environment... and, upon noticing the inventory, its eyes widened. A tense silence hung in the air until, taking a deep breath, the consciousness finally spoke.
With evident euphoria, it began to report everything it knew, as if something extraordinary had finally appeared before it.