After all the blood golems and draconic beasts burned half of their energy, in just a few minutes, they all reached the other side of the spatial tunnel.
When they crossed into the second small world, it felt like they had jumped into the bottom of an abyss. Everything was submerged in absolute darkness, with no visible light source. Still, they could feel the ground beneath their feet, accompanied by a thick smell of blood and death, so suffocating it felt like it was invading their lungs.
Despite the extreme darkness, they could see their companions just a few meters away, but beyond that, there was only total blackness. At that moment, Ruri opened her eyes, stunned, and jumped off the whale’s back.
"Get together fast!" she shouted, unsheathing her katana and attacking in a direction.
*BOOM!*
Everyone jumped in shock at hearing the destructive explosion and feeling fragments of space scattering in all directions.
A nearly ten-meter-long spatial blade emerged from the void, dangerously close to them. If that dragoness hadn’t intercepted the attack, they would have been killed before even realizing the danger.
"Blood golems, form a defensive circular ring. Draconic beasts, stay in the center. Stick together as much as possible!" Bruno quickly ordered. "Hurry, the longer we stay still, the worse it will be. We need to move. Ruri will show us the safest way."
Swallowing hard, they all followed the orders. That region was saturated with broken spatial laws, remnants of an apocalyptic battle from the past. However, it seemed to be an outer area, where the level of laws wasn’t insanely high. Because of this, Ruri was able to feel the fluctuations without too much trouble. And knowing where they were, it wasn’t too hard to break them.
As for the mutant armies behind them... with no knowledge of spatial laws and not much Qi to use their cultivation, crossing this world to reach the next was an act of pure luck. Maybe less than 10% of them would make it to their destination.
Additionally, the darkness and the complete absence of any sense of direction made the challenge even more terrifying. No one knew where to go or where to look for hidden treasures in that place.
Ruri led the group, feeling the fluctuations of the spatial blades and pointing out the safest paths. They all ran in a frantic march.
Still, it was impossible to avoid all the blades. The couple worked together, blocking and destroying the ones that came near. After an hour, Nayr and Hibria had already adapted to the fluctuations of the environment, instinctively predicting the blades with a second of advance.
Ruri, satisfied, indicated the risky spots with about five seconds’ notice for the two, then they helped too, making things faster and safer.
After another hour of progress, Ruri smiled grimly, through the array she said: "That bitch is ahead. We’re almost on her tail."
Alm and Bruno nodded. The demoness had probably lost a lot of time in the tunnel, hesitating to consume resources. They must have entered this world shortly after her, and their speed was greater than hers.
"She’s completely alone and moving slower than us, but she’s following the right direction safely... this feels like cheating," Ruri commented, frustrated.
Bruno murmured: "She was probably helped by the hero who brought her here. This is clearly against the rules, but the cultivation world was never fair. It must have been someone extremely powerful and influential."
A few minutes later, Ruri, Alm, and Bruno’s senses clearly picked up the demoness ahead. They could see her movements more clearly, so they narrowed their eyes.
She was emanating energy similar to that of a hero, and the spatial blades around her simply diverted.
"No... she’s not just diverting them!" Ruri exclaimed, furious. "That bitch is directing the blades to the entrance of this place. We’re far enough that the blades reach us weakened, but this will drastically increase the danger for anyone who comes after."
Bruno sighed. It was probably a "gift" from her to them, she clearly realized that they had defeated the mutant demon she left behind. Little did she know they were almost on her tail.
But with this, the people coming in would be severely hindered. Maybe only 1% of the participants would survive the trial, and that was being optimistic.
Ruri gritted her teeth, determined: "The participants should only reach this place after the first day is over. If we capture her before, maybe we can use her ability to minimize the deaths."
"It’s possible. Let’s go all the way and try to catch up with her," Alm said calmly, quickening his pace.
As they moved forward, the number of spatial blades began to decrease. Soon, they felt the presence of a spatial channel ahead: it was the entrance to the third and final world.
"Quick!"
Ruri roared, urging everyone to run. They felt the demoness was standing still, seemingly waiting for them. Was she plotting something? They couldn’t afford to waste time.
They sped up, and as they approached, they finally spotted the demoness. She turned to them, clearly startled to see them there. But then she gave them a mocking smile.
"You’re too late. Lucky idiots. I’ll take your lives in there," she said, raising her middle finger before disappearing, as if some mysterious force pulled her to the other side.
"Shit!" Ruri cursed under her breath. They had just missed the chance to catch her.
They moved quickly, and just as they were about to jump through the channel, a figure appeared from the void, showing up in the exact spot where the demoness had been moments earlier.
"Congrats. You guys are eligible to earn a big bonus for being the first to arrive." A soft, feminine voice echoed, as the figure fully appeared, making everyone stop, alarmed.
Ruri immediately widened her eyes, and her katana at her waist started trembling violently. Les looked completely shaken by what she saw in front of her.
The figure was delicate, with skin as black as ebony, contrasting sharply with her pink hair. A pair of elegant horns adorned her head, giving her a supernatural majesty.
She had no wings and her height was that of a regular human. Her eyes pulsed a golden hue. Alm and Bruno immediately sensed her abnormal condition: her mind and body were under the control of the queen. Those eyes, shining like liquid gold, conveyed both divinity and the loss of her autonomy.
Ruri spoke through the array, tense: ’Master… Les is crying… she said this is the Fey Goddess. She’s her master, who should’ve died a long time ago in the battle that created the Devil’s Mountain.’
Alm and Bruno sighed heavily. The Fey in front of them was alive, radiating a subtle divine power. She had immortal cultivation, but despite that, they felt she wasn’t so powerful in combat. Compared to the Leviathan, for example, she seemed a bit weaker.
The Fey stared at the group and continued: "According to the rules, the first three to arrive must be tested by me and answer a question. After that, I may grant a wish, as long as it’s related to the test."
Seeing Ruri’s confused expression, the Fey smiled slightly and explained: "The third small world is bigger than the initial world where the mutants were sent. There are hundreds of treasures, left for various races. I can, for example, take you directly to the treasures destined for dragons. That’s a big bonus, while the others, coming behind, will only start at the initial point of the place. For them, it’d be impossible to find anything specific in time."
"The first one was that demoness. So, if Ruri and I answer, would both of us get the wish?" Bruno asked. The Fey nodded with a slight motion.
An idea crossed Bruno’s mind, and he turned to Ruri. She looked directly into his eyes. No need to say anything. She smiled faintly, understanding.
"As long as I answer your question, I pass, right?" Ruri asked, and the Fey confirmed with a smile.
Ruri then drew her katana from its sheath. The Fey looked at her, confused, but the moment after, the blade trembled, and a soft fluctuation was felt by everyone.
The Fey Goddess widened her eyes, her heart racing. She couldn’t stop herself from asking: "Where did you get that?!"
Noticing something, the Fey seemed about to continue speaking, but Ruri quickly responded:
"I bought it at an auction in the underworld. The seller said he found a powerful sword and managed to bring it back by luck from a really dangerous place. Then I asked a dwarf to adjust the blade for me." Ruri smiled playfully and added, "Alright, I answered your question. Thanks a lot!"
The answer was acceptable. It was known that in the past, some chosen ones went in and out of the Devil’s Mountain, taking things left behind there. This spread rumors about treasures, encouraging others to search for the place.
It was plausible that someone had found and brought back the sword that once belonged to Les, the Fey Goddess’s disciple. The fluctuations emanating from the katana were indeed remnants of Les’ soul, made so her master could recognize them.
Hibria, Nayr, and the others were stunned. That was a cheap trick... could Ruri be a con artist? They all then looked at the Fey.
She just stared at Ruri, while a small smile slowly appeared on her face. Sighing, she said, "Your human race really knows how to scheme… even though you’re a half-blood. Anyway, I fell for it."
"Hehehe, I have to be clever to stay by my husband’s side. Just a little trick. Hope you don’t mind." Ruri murmured, laughing.
Bruno was amazed by her shamelessness but satisfied. She practically read his mind with a single look and pulled off the plan perfectly. Alm snorted and turned to the Fey:
"We’re in a hurry. Ruri was second. Now it’s my turn. Ask."
The Fey turned to him and studied him for a moment before saying:
"A couple of half-humans with primordial bloodlines... interesting. Anyway, you’re good with earth laws, so answer me this: what’s the biggest advantage of earth law over all the other natural laws, even Yin and Yang?"
Alm answered without hesitation: "The potential to be common and seemingly simple. It’s completely outside the norms, disregarded, and not flashy. It’s hard to find someone who cultivates it, not because it’s weak, but because it’s not attractive."
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The Fey narrowed her eyes, while everyone behind him wondered: ’What the hell is he talking about?’
A golem snorted and waved to the Fey with a sarcastic smile. He produced a small stone, which briefly shone with a yellowish aura.
Alm continued calmly: "Doubt it? Look, it seems normal and ordinary, but feel the inner beauty of this law."
He said it without giving the Fey time to think, tossing the stone gently in her direction. She caught it instinctively, throwing a dry look. But when she felt the inside of the stone, she realized something was wrong.
’Hm? There were two things inside until now? Now I only see one?’ she thought, suspiciously, using her senses.
However, inside her body, secretly, a fragment of celestial soul, completely out of her senses, infiltrated. The fragment, controlled by Bruno, moved quickly through the meridians and, in an instant, entered her mental sea.
*Poft!*
The stone in her hand exploded into yellow dust, making the Fey widen her eyes and almost take a step back.
"See? You didn’t predict that, right? Like I said, simple, common, but surprising," Alm commented, while everyone around was stunned.
Inside the stone was a talisman, something created by Yue to look small and without any fluctuation. It was so simple and powerless that the Fey didn’t even notice it was happening.
"Pff... another trick. You really are two peas in a pod, made for each other," the Fey murmured, brushing off her previous impression and now feeling manipulated by those two "half-humans" without shame.
Alm snorted internally, feeling wronged, while Ruri and Bruno wore sarcastic grins.
"Can we ask for our wishes now? Anything related to this test is fair game, right?" Ruri asked excitedly, breaking the silence.
"Right," the Fey answered with a nod.
Bruno smiled, thinking of something, Ruri looked into his eyes, understanding his intentions, and laughed in a knowing way.
***
The demoness was sweating cold as she tried to cross a strange vortex in front of her when a distortion in space suddenly appeared in the sky, and a suction force pulled her in.
"What is this?!" she roared, eyes wide. Even using her trump card, she found she couldn’t resist the pull.
*Buzz!*
The space twisted and spun, leaving her completely disoriented, until it finally stabilized. When she stopped spinning, the scene before her left her stunned: she was back in the second world, the same one she had been in just minutes before.
The spatial channel was in front of her, and that Fey was there too, as if everything that had happened before was just a dream.
The only difference was that the couple and their army were also standing in front of her, looking at her with disdain.
"You’re way too late, immature boy. Want to compete with me? Tch, you can only do something by using that useless butt of yours to gain favors. Now that no one’s interested in that anymore... you’ve lost your power."
After saying that, Ruri led her whole army through the spatial channel, disappearing as they were carried away by the power that guided them.