บท 38: Finally!

The tall and muscular man let out a brief sigh and, with agility, wielded his axe, extracting the thundercore from the fallen beast. He didn't have time to deal with the corpse that could be sold for a good price; he now needed to harvest the grass and take it as quickly as possible to the second group.

'The preparations of the second group must have been completed. They're just waiting for one of the pairs to find the grass to start taking action.' The man thought as he walked in search of a cave.

The battle took place at night, with no visibility in the surroundings, and they had no time to locate the cave. However, the appearance of a divine beast mastering the laws of thunder, away from the deeper areas of the forest, was the concrete evidence they needed.

Cultivating the laws of lightning was one of the most complex for any living being. Most people only dared to train them when they had high and solid cultivation, as they would have the conditions to survive a furious internal reversal. A beast still in the Qi Gathering Realm made it clear that it possessed a treasure to aid in cultivation. They knew the grass was nearby, as this was the only divine beast with this law found in several days.

He searched with the utmost attention, and the sky began to gradually brighten with the first rays of the sun. Still wearing his full armor, as he had almost no Qi left in his body, he felt the weight of the cultivation that had only reached the sixth level. His more talented brother was at the ninth level, but both had remained stuck in their realms for a long time.

"In the end, having more talent didn't help you. Intelligence is above all," he whispered with a sinister look. However, internally, his emotions were not as well regulated.

Minutes unfolded like an eternity, and colossal impatience sprouted in his chest. "Where the hell is that damn cave?" His eyes, once penetrating, now reflected a mix of frustration and despair.

An hour dragged on, and a vast area around him was shrouded in dust. The man, wielding his axe, turned everything over in an extremely furious and strange manner. His eyes had violet lines without him noticing. Each blow was a wild outburst against the earth that stubbornly hid what he desperately sought.

Two hours unfolded, and now he attacked the earth with his own bloodied fists, each punch resonating with growing madness. It was then that he knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, with no Qi or strength left to scream in frustration. It was then that a thread of sanity ran through his mind. "What... what the hell am I doing?"

Slash!

It was his last thought, and his vision darkened.

A few meters away, Ruri, who had her back turned to the scene, breathed heavily. Shortly after, Alm approached her, wiping the blood from the dagger and handing it back.

"Good job, you can rest now," said Alm, patting her back. In the next second, Ruri collapsed from Qi exhaustion.

'She managed to use a quite complex soul manipulation, even though it's not within the sealing technique we transmitted,' observed Bruno, placing her small body on his shoulders. 'We only gave her a few hints, but her talent is great. Too bad it only worked because he was almost out of Qi, and he was relatively mentally shaken. Had it not been the case, there was no way Ruri's skill would have worked with the difference in cultivation.'

"A pathetic bastard who kills an ally without hesitation to come out on top. He still had the audacity to be shaken due to his own actions? How ridiculous! Well, now we can have an overview of everything," commented Alm harshly.

They moved quickly through the forest, trying to escape the dangerous area where the divine beast dominated. A radius of about ten kilometers around was the territory of this colossal creature. No other beast dared to approach, explaining the man's lack of concern. However, the death of the divine beast would not go unnoticed for long, and they needed to take advantage of this window to flee.

Initially, the plan was to wait for the beast to return exhausted to its cave after killing the humans. Using all the Qi accumulated in the Yin and Yang runes and with a total mental attack from Ruri, the chance of killing it was very high. Alm was almost certain that that was how it was going to happen. However, to their surprise, they witnessed the muscular man acting and defeating the beast. A brilliant opportunity presented itself, and Ruri did not disappoint them.

After reaching a safe area, they entered a natural cave and sealed the entrance. Alm took the time to assess Ruri's condition, ensuring that she would wake up perfectly fine in a few hours. Then, they removed the body of the muscular man from the 'inventory' generated by the Spatial Technique, and Bruno focused on carefully analyzing the memories of that man.

Alm spent a considerable amount of time examining all the equipment and the spatial ring that the muscular man possessed. Unfortunately, they couldn't retrieve the body of the divine beast and the other man.

He exploded due to the sinister use of a Qi detonation amulet incorporated into the armor. It had its own internal Qi within runes focused on a purpose, and this was forcibly converted for attack, resulting in the death of the man and severe injuries to the divine beast.

The man had a large and heavy axe, which Alm and Bruno considered useful. However, what intrigued Alm the most was the silver armor. It could completely envelop the body, exposing only the eyes. Surprisingly, it wasn't designed for defense or attack; its runes were skillfully configured to prevent the user's Qi from escaping, making it quite resistant to slashing attacks.

In addition, the ring mainly contained many spiritual crystals and a thunder core. Alm eagerly waited as Bruno finished, anticipating the absorption of Qi to elevate his cultivation. However, when Bruno did finish, he radiated a strange and amused feeling.

***

That night, about ten kilometers away from where Alm and Bruno were previously, a group of twenty people gathered. All these cultivators wore complete silver armor, and their gazes seemed eager, waiting for something impatiently.

"It's been over seven days already. Where are those useless disciples? We should have sent more people for the job," inquired a male voice from inside the armor.

"Idiot. Sending too many people into a forest that could instantly kill with the slightest carelessness would be suicide. Not to mention, the cost of the flying formation is quite high, and it's impossible for many people to use it at the same time. They should be here soon," replied another voice from the back. The armor had a golden stripe on the helmet, differentiating it from the others. It was the group leader.

Suddenly, everyone heard heavy footsteps in the distance and stood up. Coming from the south, a silver hand opened a path through the dense bushes, revealing a towering figure of two meters in full armor. "Finally!"

The leader, who had been waiting, looked at the man seriously. Sensing that look, the man bowed politely and tossed a spatial ring in the direction of the leader.

After checking the contents, the leader nodded in satisfaction. "Great, one survived and brought the grass. Get ready; we'll advance immediately."

Everyone responded in unison and turned around. Suddenly, another man looked back and saw the newcomer standing, watching them. "Why are you standing there? Hurry up and join," he shouted at him rudely.

"Oh, OK," he quickly replied and started walking. However, the man failed to notice the sinister look of amusement emanating from the eyes behind that armor.