Duality of Shadows

Chapter 881: Alpenglow
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Lieson entered the room with Ruri. Now that things had settled down, Alm and Bruno’s first action was to retrieve the fragment of the Ice Phoenix’s soul from the pill. The process only took a few minutes, and finally, the Phoenix was in perfect condition.

"Let’s get straight to the point," said the whale seriously. The Phoenix’s soul emerged from the pill, and its eyes fixed on him intently. "You must already suspect that I’m a missionary, and what my goal is..."

They briefly explained that they had freed the Fire Phoenix, along with other primordial beasts. Then, they reported what had happened with Almin and Lyra, explaining that Lyra kept her sister with her. The Phoenix’s blue eyes trembled upon hearing this.

"Yes, a few years ago, I heard that the Cauldron of Chaos and Order was brought by the heroes," murmured the Phoenix, and Alm and Bruno’s eyes gleamed.

"Where is the cauldron? And where are the heroes and the important people of the queen?" asked the whale directly.

"Hmm... it’s in the ancient... No, that place is gone now. These days, people call it the World of Absolute Beginning. The God of Forging, my sister, and I caused tremendous destruction and created that place," explained the Phoenix seriously.

Alm and Bruno immediately remembered Mistie mentioning that place. It was near the region where the Convention that started the competition for karmic luck had taken place. In the past, it was a separate world full of treasures, explored by the greatest powers. However, it was completely devastated during the war and turned into a chaotic region that could kill any cultivator who dared enter. Only the heroes, with their powers, could access and leave that place. (Chapter 665)

It was clear that the place hid something, and Alm and Bruno were already planning to explore it eventually. However, since only the heroes could survive there, they decided to postpone it until they were closer to reaching the peak of divine cultivation.

Now, however, that was exactly the necessary destination, though they were still far from having the confidence in their power to make the journey safe.

The whale snorted heavily. "What exactly is that place?"

The Ice Phoenix nodded and began to explain calmly. Having been sealed for a long time, she revealed that, when negotiating with the heroes to switch sides, she was readily accepted and taken to that place, where she gradually learned everything.

There were no restrictions for ordinary people from the universe to enter. However, anyone who did would be detected and immediately eliminated, perpetuating the rumors that the place was a death field, spread by the heroes themselves.

After the devastating battle, the place indeed became a distorted world. After all, a power capable of killing thousands of immortals wasn’t trivial. Despite this, the queen dedicated extraordinary efforts to stabilize the region over time.

She not only restored the former glory of that place but also elevated it to a supreme level, turning it into a domain like no other over time. The primordial power, extracted from sealed beasts—not just from this universe, but from countless others—was brought there.

This power accumulated in a grand formation, culminating in the creation of a primordial red sun—an indescribable existence, resembling the first sun to rise in the universe, but incredibly larger and more powerful.

That sun bathed a single planet, a colossal and terrifyingly vast one that radiated divine power. It was no accident that the planet had such magnitude; it was the very body of God Gaia.

Called Alpenglow, the planet was surrounded by a magical, iridescent light that covered its entire surface. Reflections of pink, gold, purple, and deep blue danced incessantly, creating an incomparable landscape of beauty and mystery.

God Gaia, through his Divine Dao, absorbed energy from the primordial sun, nourishing and strengthening his body. This made the planet Alpenglow a unique place in all the universes and in all of existence. There, the nine laws at the immortal level coexisted in perfect harmony, making it a sacred, pure, and incredible sanctuary. Even the most insignificant grass growing on Alpenglow would be considered an invaluable treasure in the queen’s universe.

In this unparalleled world, the queen brought the greatest heroes from her universe, known as the Heroic Founders. There, these heroes abandoned their old bodies to be reborn in new ones, nurtured for millennia in secret places.

Hearing this, Alm and Bruno remembered the Devil’s Mountain they had visited in the underworld. There, they found terrifying bodies, sealed and being nourished. (Chapter 575)

So, that was the purpose of those bodies. A hero would receive a supreme body to reincarnate into, and this would help them break through to the immortal realms easily. There must be countless places for creating these bodies, beyond the one they had visited.

When they recently faced the first immortal heroes and destroyed their bodies, Alm and Bruno realized that, even with just their souls remaining, they were still heroes. The queen had marked the heroes’ souls with her power.

The queen developed this method so that they could be reincarnated into supreme bodies, greatly facilitating their process of becoming immortals, especially when starting anew in Alpenglow.

Everything became clearer: the Heroic Heirs, heroes from the common universes, were only the first stage in the queen’s training to form her soldiers.

After working tirelessly, those who failed were discarded and used for other purposes. The ones who succeeded were reincarnated into the queen’s universe, becoming Heroic Founders.

They became the ’favored ones’ in the queen’s universe, to face the new test. They would be hunted across the entire universe, where the cultivators were far more powerful than in others; they obviously didn’t have their full heroic power, and it wasn’t simple. If they survived, after one generation, they were taken to the planet Alpenglow to begin the final stage.

"On that planet, are there only heroes and those starting over?" asked the whale.

The Phoenix shook her head negatively. "That’s also where the Charming Eyes Race lives, along with some mutant or abnormal races that appeared in various universes. They’re all slaves and workers, serving the heroes."

Alm and Bruno were surprised. That was the race of the queen and the skeleton they had saved. According to the information they got from him, the queen erased the existence of that race from the heavenly laws. She probably wiped out all its members, as she reached her position using the power of that race.

Alm thought coldly, ’So she found another way to use this race, and surely made sure no one could rebel. Indeed, it would be a huge waste to just wipe out the race.’

The Phoenix continued calmly. Essentially, that was the queen’s center of everything. Where all the heroes went through their final test, and where her servants gathered to receive orders. It was also her home, and there was even a sacred castle there.

But currently, she wasn’t in the castle. The Phoenix told them that when the Cauldron of Chaos and Order arrived, the queen went to examine it, then gave orders to keep it sealed and left immediately afterward.

Alm and Bruno were slightly surprised. So, she decided to prioritize opening their universe instead of trying to open the cauldron.

This made it clear that the queen truly saw them as a top priority threat. After all, they were the only ones, besides her, who managed to create a celestial soul — something she did everything to avoid, even erasing her own race from the heavenly laws.

Although Almin and Lyra were safe for a longer time, they knew that with the queen’s full effort, the time Behemoth could keep the place sealed would be shorter than they had estimated. The time for them to grow stronger, every moment, was getting shorter... every second lost could be crucial.

"Those other beasts mentioned the Forging God before. You were on his side during the war and saw him die. What happened?" the whale asked seriously.

"Yes. I was also very shocked when I was freed from the seal and taken to that place. He was indeed working there as a forger for the heroes. All the weapons and equipment of the immortals were made by the Forging God."

"I was under mental control, so I didn’t talk to him. But, the few times I saw him, he seemed different from what I remembered... his fluctuations seemed abnormal. Still, it didn’t seem like he was being controlled or forced to be there. He acted with conviction, like the heroes. He certainly had a mark on his soul to prevent problems, but it seemed inactive."

"Even so, his weapons and equipment were supreme. Moreover, in recent centuries, he started creating strange new rune seals. There’s no doubt it was really him. This kind of skill is unique in the world, no disciple or imposter could imitate him." The Phoenix concluded with conviction.

Alm and Bruno snorted. That explained why the Larimar market couldn’t find Agarthium, essential for creating new rune seals. This metal only appeared in simple regions with low Qi and laws, never in that supreme planet.

That’s why heroes ordered people from the queen’s universe to buy as much as they could in recent years. As for why this had intensified lately, it could be related to the items of the Primordial Chaos. Maybe the Forging God had been ordered to create something to help... who knows...

Alm and Bruno also reflected on the immortal heroes they had faced. They never had a real fight against them, because they couldn’t afford that luxury. They always attacked to kill, or ran away.

That’s why the heroes never had the chance to use their weapons and leave clues that they were made by the Forging God. In Ruri’s case, using the devastating technique recently, weapons were useless; they could only protect themselves using that formation.

"I met the will of the Forging God twice. He told me everything about the past... you must know the tattoo technique I use, right?" the whale asked. At this moment, Ruri felt the tension and anxiety coming from them, moving closer to the whale to offer support.

"Yes, it’s the incomplete Dao of that half-beast woman," the Phoenix answered lightly, but her eyes trembled slightly.

The whale took a deep breath before continuing: "You fought by her side in that final battle where she died, to enter the reincarnation cycle. I heard the queen managed to capture her and obtain her Dao... do you know where she is?"

The Phoenix’s blue eyes were clearly chaotic, a rare feeling of pain arising in her. This made the whale and Ruri hold their breath. She spoke seriously:

"I remember when this Dao began to be spread among the heroes. Not long ago. Luckily, I wasn’t involved in capturing her... or I’d feel very guilty today."

The Phoenix sighed heavily before continuing:

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"Sometimes, the heroes and I would get missions to deal with captured souls, forcibly extracting their memories to obtain their Daos. But it was very tedious, and sometimes the soul was destroyed before we could get the complete Dao. In this case, the queen dealt with her personally, as it was so important."

"When this Dao was transmitted to the heroes, it was when the queen reappeared in her castle. It was clear that the queen obtained the Dao of that woman’s soul after much effort. However, even then, the Dao wasn’t complete."

"My Yin power and something primordial created at the beginning of everything, and her technique is capable of manipulating the other Item of the Primordial Chaos, which is a manifestation of the will of the heavens. Using my power was an easier path, so I was assigned to help complete the Dao..."

The whale interrupted: "Only with your Yin? That sounds impossible."

"Yes..." the Phoenix murmured, painfully, as if searching for strength to say something she didn’t want to. She snorted, and, looking at them, it seemed like she was pulling a painful thorn from her chest:

"It wasn’t just me. I was responsible for the Yin power. As for the Yang... the Chaos Yang Dragon would help."

The whale replied dryly: "How? I killed him. He was too carefree helping his bastard disciple in this universe, not busy with an important task."

The Phoenix nodded: "Indeed. I wasn’t that busy either, so I came here. We both just created two pure Yin and Yang seeds and gave them to her. Then, every few years, we had to nourish them to maintain that..."

"Her?" The whale asked, tense.

"Yes. Even after her soul had been broken into ridiculous and useless fragments, the queen used all her power to seal her in a body. I don’t know how, but I could still feel her mortal soul was broken inside there. Still, she was conscious... and obviously under mental control. She herself was responsible for completing her Dao for the queen, using our pure and primordial power."

"So, we just delivered our energies. On my side, it was easy, because we were both women and Yin is part of our essence. But for the Chaos Dragon, the process was... for her, it was very painful and exhausting, to say the least."

The whale looked into the Phoenix’s eyes, feeling she was hiding something: "The Dragon died years ago. How was that resolved?"

"You can imagine... she already had the primordial Yin and Yang seeds we gave. These seeds are like internal runes of a cultivator, except they needed to be energized with primordial Yin and Yang. Without that Dragon, the Vermilion Bird and other immortal beasts tried to replace him, but it wasn’t enough. Heroes had to help... In the end, I was forced to watch her suffer for long periods to obtain the other part. The Dragon was quick, although more painful. This alternative method was slow, but equally torturous. In the end... I just couldn’t help, I remember everything constantly... but I couldn’t even control my body."

"She..." Ruri murmured, crying.

Meanwhile, Alm and Bruno held Ruri’s hand and took deep breaths, completely cold. After reaching a certain level of hatred, only emptiness dominated their minds. There was only one thought, and all their will was focused on one thing: saving that person who had been so important to them.

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