After the week passed, in the morning, everyone prepared to leave quickly. It was when the whale began to remove the earth runes covering the cave that one of the dwarves approached him calmly.
He was a figure shorter than Ruri, standing out with an imposing red beard. His appearance was robust and solid, carrying a distinctive aura that set him apart from the others; he was the leader of the dwarves.
"Sir, I talked to Brother Detue. Did you really forge that sinister furnace with divine tal?" The dwarf spoke lightly, with serious eyes.
The whale turned without much emotion and simply removed the furnace from the inventory, which floated in front of the dwarf. These small beings were honest and straightforward; showing was more efficient than words.
The dwarf didn’t touch or use Qi to analyze the silver furnace; only his eyes focused, and his aura changed as if he were an experienced, wise master. "I understand... this is above anything I, no, it’s even above what the dwarf king can do."
He said with a heavy sigh and turned to the whale with piercing eyes, speaking seriously. "I heard from the little d... from Ruri, that you own a city, and Detue is moving to it."
Alm and Bruno already knew what would co next and sighed ntally; they just wanted to do the side quest, but they always ended up attracting more attention than necessary—at least this dwarf didn’t know...
Their thoughts were cut off as the dwarf knelt. "We want to join the Disciple of the Forge God. We may be useful, even though our forging skills are pathetic; we are good at mining and finding materials." The dwarf spoke quickly, and the whale stood still for a mont in shock.
"Where did you get this Forge God?" The whale spoke after a few seconds.
The dwarf raised his eyes in his direction, nodding. "We saw your divine work on the giant woman’s great black iron sword. That runic seal is unmistakable, and we have seen them on the sacred monunts of our kingdom."
"You know runic seals... is there knowledge about them, and many other runic seals on those sacred monunts?" The whale asked, trying to stay calm.
"They are just sacred engravings on the walls around the Forge God’s temple. We have no real knowledge; there’s only a book that says a few words about the works of the divine god. In that book, it is said that he had many disciples and talks about the dwarves’ kingdom in the divine world." He replied.
The whale then sighed, speaking. "So they are just legends; you can’t go around calling ..."
"My eyes cannot be deceived; that runic seal is a real thing." The dwarf cut in, seriously, but maintained a respectful look. "Combined with the level of this furnace, it can only be the work of a disciple of our god... please, accept and my brothers into your city. Working for the sacred Disciple is an honor."
The whale snorted heavily, but this dwarf gave him new information. And now they would have to go south to visit the dwarves’ kingdom anyway; having a connection with them now would be useful.
They then stored the furnace and spoke. "Stand up, I don’t want anyone kneeling below . What’s your na?"
"Vuard, sir." He quickly spoke, standing up, laughing uncontrollably. For him, this was better; dwarves hated useless formalities.
***
The large entourage led by the whale once again entered the desert and walked towards the city, being careful not to be seen by any demonic cultivator. They avoided sandstorms, moving slowly as they were leading fifty dwarves and two extra mbers.
Ruri stayed closer to the whale than usual, drawing strange looks from everyone, but by this point, Alm and Bruno didn’t care anymore. Ruri was already showing signs of approaching puberty, and when that happens, she will change a lot, ceasing to be a child, and that will stop. Soon, without comnting anything between them, Alm and Bruno let her do as she pleased.
After another week of slow walking, they reached the region dominated by the bull-headed beast. The dwarves were all trembling; they were experts in the laws of the earth and could sense, through the earth, a terrifying presence watching them, waiting for them to take just a few steps into its domain.
The whale then just looked at Almin, who puffed up his chest in front of his master and Alnia, clearly wanting to impress them like a child. Well, his master was already hundreds of years old. Everyone looked at Almin in doubt as he smiled, taking a deep breath. The world around them was covered in red and brown runes, with Almin at the center. Soon, all the dwarves and Detue understood what those runes represented, but they didn’t understand what would co next.
"Co together," the whale said, and Ruri jumped off his shoulder, using her ntal power along with the whale’s earth laws to create a protection around everyone.
BOOM!
The bloodthirsty beast that watched everything just spat blood in extre fury and didn’t even move in pursuit after seeing them shoot off like a missile with high-speed lightning and fire.
***
In the second month away from the domains of evil cultivators, all the new city mbers were already settled. A new gigantic building was constructed by the whale, and it was now the specialized place for Alchemy, where any city resident could enter, study in the library with hundreds of Jade Slips about alchemy, and even practice with high-level furnaces. No one had any hindrance, and Detue could even teach soone who showed so talent.
Another more distant place was made for the dwarves. It was a true forge, and even the whale now used this forge to practice, no longer going to the lonely castle. Despite everything, the dwarves were much more experienced and were of great help to the whale in various aspects. Alm and Bruno then decided to leave all the materials they could find in the city, providing them for practice.
Detue, Almin, and Alnia focused completely on their studies. Detue was the most dedicated as if he were a child who got a new toy. He was fascinated by the divine nature of this city and quickly created a garden with all the herbs they brought from the city.
Then, the whale gave him the mithril furnace, and Detue, seeing the recently planted herbs growing even more stunning to the naked eye, finally believed that he had everything necessary to create the Five Rings Yang Pill.
The days passed with everyone studying and cultivating. Six months later, Almin and Langrum had already stabilized their realms and were officially in the first level of the Core Formation Realm. Loeus reached the eighth level of the Qi Gathering Realm, and Ruri was extrely frustrated at being surpassed and unable to elevate herself further due to her age.
On a sunny day, inside the alchemy building, the whale watched attentively as Almin, Alnia, and Detue worked completely focused using the mithril furnace. The old man tried to make the pill, but had failed three tis before. The whale was silent, holding his little lucky stone in his hand, hoping that it would affect the outco.
Everything seed to be following the sa script as the last three tis, and Alm was getting irritated with the delay. In these six months, they had only managed to go out for mining and then study forging with the dwarves, with no major advances in cultivation. This delay was a suffocating torture. It was in the midst of ntal curses that Alm felt a change in Bruno.
One must not forget that once Alm and Bruno reach the peak of a cultivation Realm, they can’t make breakthroughs like everyone else. They need to gain access to the Main Mission of the system. Only after the mission was concluded would they enter the next Realm. It had one advantage, though. They didn’t need to ’try to breakthrough’ like the others. As long as the mission was concluded, they would return to this planet already in the next Realm.
Bruno then commanded the whale and left the building, looking at the sky. The sunny day was gone, and everything was as dark as night, with a frenzied aura running through every corner. In the skies, a sea of black clouds covered everything that could be seen on the horizon.
"Divine tribulation!" Alm and Bruno said at the sa ti.
They rushed into the building, and it was in that second that the furnace was opened by Detue, with eyes full of hope. Then, the world changed color from dark to fiery red, and a suffocating Yang aura invaded everyone’s body.
It was a pill... and around the pill, five subtle rings could be seen.
BOOM!!
The heavens collapsed with a lightning bolt, striking the alchemy building. Everyone inside was paralyzed in the face of the heavens’ fury, but the whale was faster and, using his bloodline at an extre speed, ran. He didn’t have ti to be delicate. Alm and Bruno crashed against Almin, Detue, and Alnia, who were thrown away while spitting blood. Fortunately, that was all the damage, which was much better than dying to the Tribulation Bolt. They were saved at the last second. The whale then held the pill, and the lightning that was supposed to hit Almin, Detue, and Alnia struck Alm and Bruno’s body instead.
BOOM!!
The entire alchemy building crumbled into dust in the face of that lightning. All the city inhabitants ran towards the disaster with eyes full of fear. After silent minutes, three bodies moved among the debris. They were Almin, Alnia, and Detue, extrely injured.
They turned to the center of everything, tense. But it didn’t take long for the earth to open, and a large crack of several ters appeared. In it, slowly, the whale rose, and everyone was shocked by the shadow of a little girl running with a set of clothes in her hands.
The whale had only a few superficial wounds, but his clothes were pulverized again, and Ruri didn’t even need to wait to know that would happen. Detue, excited, saw the whale’s gaze, knowing that, inside their inventory was the successfully made Five Rings Pill.
***
Three days later, on an extrely symbolic full moon night, the city throbbed with a lively celebration, an event involving all its inhabitants. It wasn’t a celebration for the creation of the pill but a special day for two people.
The focal point of the festivity was Alnia, who stood out with a stunning appearance and contagious energy. Her impeccable attire accentuated her beauty, but in her eyes, despite the festive glow, a slight trace of nervousness could be perceived. After a few hours, the whale left the castle, and everyone saw him heading towards the lively party with soone by his side. Alnia and everyone observed every step of the two, and when they finally could see their complete figures, admiring sighs echoed.
The whale was still the sa fat creature as always. Next to him, however, a man who appeared to be in his thirties, if compared to a mortal, smiled awkwardly. He was thin like a scholar, but his face was serene and pleasant, and his gaze was deep, not hiding his real age. It was Detue, who, after three days with Bruno’s help, completely absorbed the Five Rings Yang Pill into his body.
Detue still had the sa age and vital energy, and with luck, he would live another two hundred years, but his body had now renewed itself to youth as if he had turned back in ti. Then, Alnia and Detue exchanged glances as he walked. It didn’t take long for Alnia to avert her gaze, her face turning completely red. Everyone smiled happily to see that.
On that day, they formally joined during the celebration, and the whale, who hated parties, spent the night rebuilding the alchemy building. When it was past midnight and the building was already ready, everyone together shooed Alnia and Detue into the building with light smiles, while the already drunk dwarves laughed loudly. Thus, Alnia and Detue were left alone to formalize their union.
The whale then turned and silently returned to his castle. Upon entering the central hall, he finally sat in ditation, preparing ntally. Then, he looked at the green screen in front of him; with a simple "Yes," he accepted the rewards from the side quest. As before, the world froze, and millions of celestial runes surrounded them; they were ready to face the main quest again.
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