In the center of the stage, the tournant organizer announced to all 25 youths who had advanced to the final stage, as well as to the entire arena:
"This generation participating in the sacred tournant will receive a unique opportunity in history. You will go to a special place, usually restricted only to heroes."
He continued: "This place is an imnse crater spanning thousands of miles, the epicenter of a past catastrophe, sothing powerful enough to kill thousands of immortals at once."
The words left everyone stunned. A place so vast and capable of causing such destruction could only be an extre danger zone, still surviving to this day.
The old man noticed their surprised expressions and nodded, confirming: "Indeed, it’s a place where even the immortals who govern the continents they live on would be at risk if they were careless. This region is covered by a dense mist where the purest Yin and Yang circulate. Just the mist, if anyone misjudges its concentration, will be fatal. Even for an immortal."
"However, with great danger also cos a great opportunity. The will and resentnt of the immortals who died there haven’t completely dissipated. In addition, the creatures responsible for all of this were two primordial beasts of a unique bloodline. Although they died, part of their blood remained. This special blood mixed with the mist and the resentnt of the dead, giving rise to sinister specters that roam the area."
"The closer you are to the center of the crater, the denser and more powerful these specters beco. In the central region, even immortals avoid fighting more than one at a ti. You will be sent to the peripheral zone, where, with caution, you can face them. The objective is simple: you will have one day to destroy as many of these specters as possible. As you destroy them, you will find remnants of blood inside them in the form of crystals. The more you collect, the more points you’ll have in the end, and the top ten will be selected."
After everyone processed this, he continued with the warnings: "The specters are divided into Yin and Yang types. If you attack one and others from the sa group are nearby, they will co to help. In that case, you will be dood."
"However, the greatest danger is still the mist. If you stay in one place too long, the concentration may suddenly increase and you will die with no chance to escape. The best strategy is to keep moving, not staying in one spot for more than a few minutes. Moving during this ti interval makes the changes more evident as you feel the flow. Stopping and getting caught in a fight makes it impossible, and you’ll only realize it when it’s too late."
"There’s no mystery. These are the two mortal dangers. Don’t approach the center of the crater if you want to live and destroy as many specters as possible... or find another way. Anyway, you will have twenty-four hours. I will send you now."
The old man finished, and the silence that followed was revealing. Everyone understood the implication: with only ten receiving the maximum rewards, if fewer than ten survived, the rewards would be divided among the remaining ones.
What was the "safest" way to earn points and increase the rewards? Eliminate other competitors. The third danger, therefore, was the participants themselves.
Without delay, spatial laws enveloped the youths. Alm and Bruno noticed that Caipora was sending hidden words to her allies, sothing only their souls could detect. Not even the other immortals felt anything.
In the next instant, the 25 disappeared from the arena.
Technically, they would all be randomly separated and distributed along the outer circumference of the location. But, as they left the planet and passed through the spatial channel, they no longer needed to hide so much. Ruri activated her divine soul and manipulated the spatial laws of the formation.
This way, she made the formation and the laws consider the couple as a single entity, sending them together to a random place.
Suddenly, space-ti unfolded, and the couple saw a new scene. In front of them, a mist of Yin and Yang alternated between white and black, so dense it felt like a dream.
Ahead, there was a pile of mountains, but they were shrouded in mist. The mountains seed to shift between being close and distant. At tis, they were clear; at others, nebulous, as if entering and exiting reality.
"Mountains?" Ruri murmured, but soon realized that wasn’t it. Suddenly, the ’mountains’ moved toward them, causing her to jump in surprise.
They had arrived. Imdiately, they found themselves surrounded by five specters, as massive as mountains. The creatures noticed them and quickly surrounded them from all directions.
Alm and Bruno, however, confird with their souls: no one was watching them. The formation had simply thrown them here and marked them. After one day, they would be brought back, and nothing more.
*ROAR!*
A roar reverberated, accompanied by dense and terrifying Yang waves that surrounded them fiercely. But their fists glowed, and the tattoos finally activated again.
The figures froze instantly. With a simple gesture, the furious, lingering will of the specters was scattered forever.
Those were wills left behind, ford by hatred and the refusal to die. The figure that generated this didn’t intend to leave its will, but likely died so abruptly that its anger remained.
Afterward, Alm and Bruno collected small fragnts that looked like crystals coming from them. But in reality, they were frozen primordial blood, mixed with sothing else.
"This... yeah, this ca from my sister." Huying’s voice sounded from within Ruri’s beastly world. "This is really the place where my sister and I did all that. I understand... how the two of us controlled the power to the end and didn’t die directly in the detonation. In the end, the primordial blood of our bodies scattered across this place."
Bruno nodded, reflecting. The power of the phoenix bloodline, combined with the resentnt of the dead, gave birth to the specters. These creatures used the spread blood to form partially solid bodies capable of fighting.
"That mist..." Bruno analyzed the environnt.
Huying responded: "Yeah, it ford from the use of that primordial chaos item. That mirror is the impossible fusion of Yin and Yang. Although, considering that you two can do that too, it’s no longer sothing exclusive to the mirror."
Alm and Bruno took a deep breath. According to the old man, that place was for heroes only. That ant the treasures there were extrely valuable. But why did they allow them to take this test inside?
They carefully examined the crystal while Ruri focused on feeling the formation that kept the place in place.
’It’s not just blood in these crystals; a third of them contains a strange Yang from the mirror. The specters absorb the mist and blood to form these crystals. But this Yang is unusual, so these crystals are unique across all universes,’ Bruno analyzed seriously.
Alm nodded. ’This has to do with them trying to control the mirror. Maybe they sent the young ones to collect a lot of these crystals, which might be useful later. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We have little ti to investigate in detail.’
At that mont, Ruri opened her eyes and spoke: "Master, the whole formation of this place is connected to five underground channels. They start at the five extremities of the crater, and there’s one near us. These channels connect to the center... it looks like they’re gathering the mist from all around and directing it there. But if that old man said it’s deadly even for immortals, why would they collect sothing they can’t use?"
Alm and Bruno reflected on that information. Only the two Phoenixes, being the purest manifestations of Yin and Yang, could partially control the power from that terrifying item. Also, the only thing...
"With the tattoos... Isla..." Bruno murmured, and Ruri’s eyes widened. (For those who don’t rember, the prelude to this event happened in Chapter 264)
She grabbed their hands and squeezed them tight. At that mont, they had no doubt. They imdiately turned towards the center of the colossal crater.
They took a deep breath and, using the tattoos, easily absorbed the Yin and Yang from the place, converting it into Qi. This mist was nothing more than an energy source for them.
They fully replenished their Qi and then put Ruri on their backs. She wrapped her arms around their necks, and then they began to sprint.
The place was vast, and they needed to be fast. Flying would only make all the specters turn against them. Although they could use the celestial soul to hide from their senses, they would still be seen, which would slow them down. Running straight, using the celestial soul to hide, was the best strategy.
They eventually crossed paths with specters, but with a movent of their tattoos and without stopping, they destroyed and collected the crystals. As they progressed, the level of the specters increased, and the density of the crystals beca greater.
Seven hours later, they stopped. Ruri got off their backs and extended her hand in front. There was a barrier preventing them from going forward.
They felt they were near the maximum epicenter. The level of enemies in that area was terrifying, and the whole place was covered in thick mist. There was no refuge or less dense area in the mist; it was deadly for any living being. Even an immortal would be in danger there.
The only way to reach the center was through the general formation, which led directly to that region. Therefore, it was likely that inside the epicenter, there wouldn’t be major dangers. It was the place where everything accumulated was being stored — and perhaps used by soone...
Ruri was strangely nervous as she analyzed the barrier. It took several minutes before she understood that layer of the formation. When she managed to move it slightly, she turned to them, looking directly into their eyes.
"Let’s go," Alm said, with no apparent emotion, though it was clear his and Bruno’s minds were in complete chaos.
Ruri took a deep breath, nodded, and opened a hole in the barrier. They jumped together, without hesitation, not knowing what they would find inside.
Upon crossing...
Everything was clear and sharp, with no trace of the thick mist. It was as if there was the warm light of the sun, giving the impression that they were in a calm, open place on so planet.
The ground was dry, and the couple found themselves in a silent area, about a kiloter in diater, in the shape of a circle. They could clearly see the other side, where the barrier surrounded them.
Then, their eyes were drawn to the center of the place. There, they saw a figure floating softly just a few centiters off the ground. It was a bit blurry, like a sacred silhouette with an aura that distorted the vision around it. However, in her fists, the Yin and Yang tattoos were shining like stars and perfectly visible.
As if to leave no doubt, as soon as Alm and Bruno focused on the sacred silhouette, their hearts and souls vibrated uncontrollably... it was her...
After countless years of pain... after losing her and becoming the most hated and evil figures possible... now... she was here again, before them.
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