The whale and Ruri suddenly found themselves floating in the middle of a sea of golden runes, feeling their bodies being pulled forward. They held each other’s hands tightly as they felt themselves pass through a barrier, and the surroundings changed drastically.
A cold sweat ran down both of them as they realized they were surrounded by chaotic, high-level spatial blades.
It was clear they had entered a zone where the aftermath of a terrifying battle from the past was still present. Just a fragment of these blades could destroy their low-level cultivation bodies.
However, the celestial runes that brought them here still surrounded them, protecting them. It was then that the whale felt all the Qi and laws of their body being forcibly ripped away.
The system had already warned them about this loss, but Alm and Bruno realized that the celestial law runes were entering their meridians and settling in their bodies, completely sealing their cultivations. Even if they found Qi to absorb, they wouldn’t be able to use it because of this seal.
’This feeling... it’s like we’re pretending we’ve never cultivated,’ Bruno reflected, feeling the celestial runes shaping his body. He noticed Alm was watching Ruri closely.
The system applied the same process to her, sealing her cultivation. However, on her forehead, the beastly world was forcibly opened, releasing a large amount of Qi and laws from within.
Bruno, noticing this, quickly checked the inventory, but everything was intact. As they were warned by the system, they weren’t foolish and had stored a significant reserve of faith power, Qi, and laws for emergencies, and this hadn’t been touched—unlike what happened with Ruri.
Alm grunted, confirming everything was in order. ’All her pets lost everything just like us, and their cultivations were sealed. Well, whatever; our inventory wasn’t affected.’
A few minutes later, they crossed another barrier, leaving the chaotic region behind. As they emerged, they looked like a shooting star piercing the sky, entering a new world.
Above them, there was a horizon of golden stars—that was the starting point they had come from. Below, they saw a vast green forest. Feeling the environment, they realized there wasn’t a trace of Qi.
Alm and Bruno were confused. Wasn’t there supposed to be a primordial red sun? The God Gaia’s planet was supposed to be something supreme for cultivation. But before they could question the phoenix, they saw a massive mountain ahead. The whale grabbed Ruri, turning to protect her.
**CRASH!**
The whale collided with the mountain, causing it to tremble as dust and dirt spread through the air. They were embedded in this blood-colored stone mountain, surprised to see that the rock remained intact, even after the impact.
The mountain was incredibly resistant. The whale spat a lot of blood, enduring the toll of the violent collision. His internal organs were cracked, and his bones were fractured. If it weren’t for his physical cultivation, survival would have been impossible.
They checked Ruri, who was firmly protected, clutching her belly; then they sighed in relief. Her fat acted as a pillow, ensuring she had no scratches. Moving with difficulty, they ignored the pain and fell from the mountain to the ground.
The whale fell on his back, cushioning Ruri. Then, a deafening roar echoed. Ruri quickly got up and saw a giant creature not far ahead.
It was a beast over ten meters tall, bipedal, but with a long fish-like tail functioning as a third leg. Its enormous fangs resembled those of a tiger, and its sharp claws emanated a poisonous aura.
"Huying said this is a powerful mutant beast. It has several balanced bloodlines in its body, creating a unique new race," Ruri quickly explained.
Huying was the name of the Ice Phoenix. After connecting more deeply with Lieson and Ruri, she created a bond of trust and revealed her name. The reason was that she didn’t want to be called just Phoenix, risking being confused with her sister. There was clear dislike between them.
A brutal killing intent exploded as the mutant beast charged toward them. The whale stood up with difficulty, taking a deep breath. He knew mutant beasts well—after all, Deryu was exactly that.
Deryu was an anomaly born of two pure black wyverns. From birth, it showed signs of atavism in its draconic bloodline, being much more powerful than an average wyvern and able to evolve its bloodline with ease. No draconic beast could evolve as easily as him, showing how abnormal a mutant beast could be.
Alm and Bruno quickly assessed the situation. They weren’t in a condition to fight without burning valuable resources, as the beast was exerting tremendous pressure on them. However, they noticed that the creature also lacked cultivation. Its power came exclusively from its bloodline and physique.
They noticed something in the beast’s eyes—it was completely devoid of intelligence, which was surprising. So they spoke softly: "Ruri, hold it off for a bit. You can use dragon blood, right?"
Ruri heard and nodded, stepping forward. With a sigh, she slowly drew her katana from her waist, producing a sharp sound. As she faced the mutant beast up close, the creature gulped, widening its eyes.
The small human began to emanate a dense primordial draconic aura. Her body was covered in violet scales as she moved forward without hesitation, attacking with speed.
**Clang!**
The beast reacted immediately, guided purely by instinct. A huge figure and a small violet silhouette began to dance in combat, while the entire forest was filled with the sounds of metal clashing against metal.
The whale just sat down, taking a deep breath. Without Qi or cultivation, the meridians for physical cultivation were empty. They couldn’t fully activate their abilities, and their power was less than a third of its normal strength. Still, the natural regeneration of physical cultivation was impressive.
There was the possibility of opening the gates of life and death to gain energy. They could also use the celestial soul. But these options were too risky. They had no idea where they were, and countless immortals might be nearby, sensing the disturbance.
Fortunately, they weren’t alone. They just needed Ruri to buy them some time so they could recover.
*Slash!*
Ruri was fierce and experienced. She also noticed the complete lack of intelligence in the beast. So, when she saw an opening, she delivered a precise strike, cutting from the creature’s shoulder to the ground, severing its arm and leg from its body. However, the beast’s massive tail swung like a whip and hit her hard.
*BANG!*
Ruri was sent flying like a falling star, crashing once again into the same mountain as before. Alm and Bruno quickly got up, alarmed, but sighed in relief when they saw her quickly getting back up, almost unscathed.
With the Primordial Dragon bloodline activated, Ruri’s defensive power was terrifying, comparable to a dragon’s. Though the effect was short-lived, this ability was her ace in emergencies. She had traded a serious wound on the beast for that impact, relying on her defenses to withstand the damage.
Ruri jumped back into the fight without hesitation, but even without an arm and a leg, the beast could still fight.
Purely by instinct, it started adapting to Ruri’s attack patterns, stabilizing the fight. Aware of this, she adjusted her approach; it was only a matter of time before she won. She was a sword master, facing an instinct-driven fighter with no technique.
’Training her well. No matter the situation, if she’s not defeated quickly, she’ll win,’ murmured Alm, clearly proud. He then noticed Bruno looking at the mountain in the background.
The mountain’s resistance wasn’t surprising — it housed an impressive deposit of minerals of a terrifying level. These were metals they didn’t recognize but carried a peculiar mix of various natural energies.
’Are these minerals mutant, just like the beast? Is that even possible?’ Bruno thought briefly. ’Well, doesn’t matter. They look good enough for a welcoming gift.’
As the minutes passed, Alm and Bruno focused on recovering their bodies and keeping a close eye on their surroundings, while Ruri kept fighting. The beast couldn’t defeat her or land another hit. Despite its strength, its intelligence was so low it didn’t even consider fleeing.
This lack of reasoning was why Alm and Bruno hadn’t chosen to run. They were in an unknown world, filled with unpredictable dangers. Running blindly could lead them to face something even stronger.
Besides, they didn’t feel the presence of any other beasts within a large radius, suggesting that this creature considered the area its territory. Defeating it would guarantee temporary safety. So, they decided to stay and let Ruri fight while they recovered.
Then, something caught their attention.
’Her draconic power isn’t decreasing,’ observed Alm, intrigued.
They remembered what the Ice Phoenix, Huying, had mentioned. They took a deep breath and then analyzed the Behemoth bloodline flowing through their veins. A slight change was noticed.
Without hesitation, they fully activated the bloodline. It was as if they were burning it, something they’d done countless times in the past, but was now almost irrelevant.
The whale’s body was enveloped in a yellowish light, which gradually settled into its skin, becoming denser before stabilizing. The result was a body that looked like it was made of rock or earth.
’Hm? The bloodline is being nourished and could stay active all the time… interesting,’ reflected Bruno, satisfied.
Alm snorted. ’This is good. Huying said there are no humans here. With the bloodline active like this, the human blood will be completely suppressed, making it impossible to identify that we have it.’
Bruno agreed. Ruri also seemed to be the same. Now, she looked like a mutant beast with scales, or a powerful Dragoness. As for them, they looked like giant earth golems; it was an effective disguise. If someone from the Queen’s universe who knew them encountered them, they’d have a hard time recognizing them.
*Slash!*
An hour passed. During that time, Ruri had already cut off the beast’s tail and the other arm, and it was now on its last breaths. However, like any mutant beast, its power was unpredictable. Suddenly, it roared and went into a frenzy, unleashing a final burst of strength.
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
Ruri knew this would happen. Her instincts had already alerted her to the danger, and she had prepared for it while cornering the creature to this point.
She snorted, snapped her fingers, and shot a violet beam of light at the beast. Thanks to her mental cultivation, she could still use this power, even though it was very weak without Qi to sustain it.
The light hit directly, and the beast’s body trembled. A strange mark appeared on its forehead. Ruri smiled and turned to the whale.
’Success. I’ve tamed it… as a slave, but it’s temporary, and I won’t hurt it,’ she declared.
Alm and Bruno sighed in relief. If they were alone, they would have only the option to flee and use their souls to hide, hoping not to encounter more dangers. The celestial soul power only hid the senses, it could be easily seen. That’s why they used it alongside someone who could hide from sight, to be complete.
The whale handed the beast a recovery pill. He had brought it for emergencies, but he had others and wouldn’t mind using one to heal it quickly.
Ruri began searching through the creature’s memories but soon stopped, frustrated.
’It’s too stupid, and its memories are a mess,’ she complained. Still, she was able to get a good sense of the region they were in.
The area was a massive archipelago, filled with islands. The island they were on was the beast’s territory, and at the edges, there were other powerful creatures, subordinate to it. With the beast under Ruri’s control, they were temporarily safe.
Alm and Bruno nodded and turned back to the mountain. The beast had chosen this place as its territory because of these metals, which it consumed to strengthen itself. Without delay, they used their bloodline to extract all the mutant metals, storing them in their inventory.
With no Qi to use, the bloodline would be their greatest weapon. Those incredibly hard metals would be useful. So, the duo entered the mountain while the beast kept watch over the surroundings.