Death... and me

3044  Problems

Finally, the formation stopped acting, giving the impression it finished off everyone who remained inside. The various elders and even Fausto looked at Kuslau with faint smiles. That meant Rean was dead, and that super genius would not grow in the Gondel Clan. That was just perfect.

Kuslau noticed all the eyes and simply ignored them. He turned around, returning to the Teleport Formation. He disappeared in it with several other members of the Gondel Clan. Foliana also saw everything that happened. However, she heard from Rean about how he could leave the Spiritual Canyon anytime he wanted, so she didn't seem to mind it that much. She, too, returned to the Royal Palace not long after with her protectors.

---

Back in the depths of the Spiritual Pond, Rean guided everyone through the labyrinth that were the caves. Thanks to Little Fisha, he also knew that the Swordhord Sea Race had a few places they usually didn't enter, one of them being the Inheritance from Foliana. As for the others, it seemed to be due to the harsh environment inside them.

'Sister Orb, how was it?' Rean asked.

[Everything worked as planned,] Sister Orb answered.

The plan earlier was quite simple. Sister Orb had hacked into the formation, and now they left the monitoring area. When the time was over and the Spiritual Canyon was closed, Sister Orb activated the Slaughtering Formation at some random deeper places. All she had to do was to make it look like the Slaughtering Formation killed something, and the elders outside would think it was them. Naturally, with her on the command, she made sure the Slaughtering Formation ignored their group.

Rean was happy to hear that and turned to everyone. "Seems like I was right. The Spiritual Canyon must be closed by now, but the Slaughtering Formation didn't kill us. That means it truly can't come this deep into the caves."

The cultivators sighed in relief, nodding. "Thank you for helping us come this deep. As long as the Slaughtering Formation doesn't kill us, we can think about to do next."

"Yes, that was the most important part. Okay, everyone," Rean spoke to the group following him while deactivating his Light and Divine Sense Bending skills. He was forced to knock down quite a few Swordhorn Fish who got too close to his Light Bending Skill, but that wasn't a big of an issue. Now, they arrived at another one of the caves that none of the Swordhorn Fish entered. "As you can feel, the temperature is increasing quite a bit. That's because we most likely have an underground magma going ahead."

He continued. "That makes a connection to the magma and spiritual energy of the planet itself, so you could say one of the reasons the Spiritual Pond exists is due to it. This is a good thing for us, though. The Swordhorn Fish won't come this deep."

"Now," Rean looked down, "we have two choices here. We can go a little bit deeper and then settle down. The Spiritual Energy in this place is very concentrated, and everyone here is at least in the Nascent Soul Realm except me. That means none of you needs to eat anymore. The second choice is to continue exploring these deeper caves and see if one of them leads to an exit."

Yuan understood the plan. "You are saying that we can stay down here and cultivate for the next ten years. When the Spiritual Canyon opens again, we can go out. Is that it?"

Rean nodded. "Pretty much. But, as I mentioned, that is only one of the options. Nonetheless, that is the safest one by far. We don't know what we could find in these caves that even the Swordhorn Fish doesn't enter. I wouldn't be surprised if we found some Spirits going further down that don't take our visit with good eyes."

Rean then moved to the front and brought Laica's group with him. "Now, I have made my part and guaranteed your survival. There is no need to pay me anything, though. You should all just settle down and be patient for the next ten years. This could also be considered an opportunity. Usually, you would never be allowed to stay in this place and use all the Spiritual Energy here. Take this chance and cultivate as much as possible."

"But we can't break through!" Someone else else, a cultivator at the Peak Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, complained. Let's not forget Stage Six and Nascent Soul Realm are the highest cultivation allowed in this place.

Rean shrugged. "And why exactly are you complaining to me? Do you think I can do anything about it?"

"I..." He immediately grew quiet. It was already good enough Rean's idea that the Slaughter Formation didn't get this deep worked. How could he help with blocked breakthroughs? "Perhaps now that we are this deep, the formation won't block us from breakthrough as well?"

Yuan snorted. "If you wanna die, then go ahead and try to enter the Soul Transformation Realm."

His words immediately caught everyone's attention. "What do you mean?"

Rean smiled. This Yuan piqued the clues pretty fast. "He is right. If I were at the Peak Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, I absolutely wouldn't try to break through."

Yuan continued from there. "Seems like we are of the same mind. Think about it, everyone. The Formation in the Spiritual Canyon prevents anyone from entering this place. Because we are too deep, the Slaughter Part doesn't reach this area. However, what if a Soul Transformation Realm expert suddenly appeared? Would the Slaughter Formation still not work against such a person?"

"This..." Those at the Peak Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm bitterly smiled. Breaking through could potentially mean the end of their lives. Was it worth the risk?

"That's not all," Rean added. "Let's pretend that the formation truly can't touch you guys down here. Then, you make your breakthroughs and enter the Soul Transformation Realm... Now, how exactly will you leave this place ten years from now?"

Once again, they all went silent. Yes, if they broke through and the formation didn't kill them, it would still prevent them from returning to the surface, just like it prevents everyone outside the Spiritual Canyon from entering it.

Amid their silence, Rean took the chance to speak again. "Alright, that's all I wanted to say. From now one, you are all on your own. I'm leaving with my friends."

And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ;)