A Physique Worth Taking

Chapter 122 — A Physique Worth Taking

The warehouse had been thoroughly searched by the time Aether and Vaelira finished eliminating the remaining Blackridge cultivators.

There were no survivors.

Aether had made certain of that.

He wasn't interested in leaving hostile enemies behind who could report their identities or regroup later.

Vaelira seemed to understand his approach.

She didn't question the bodies.

Instead, she searched the storage room.

Aether examined the documents scattered across the main table.

Most contained information about the six-key network.

Several pages described the Origin Heart.

But one document caught his attention.

It mentioned a project called the Origin Vessel.

Aether's eyes narrowed.

The document was incomplete.

Most of the important sections had been removed.

Only a few sentences remained.

The Origin Heart.

A suitable vessel.

Physique compatibility.

And something about "transcendent integration."

Aether folded the document.

Vaelira noticed.

"You recognize something?"

"No."

That answer was technically true.

He recognized the concepts, but he didn't know what Blackridge intended to do.

Vaelira walked toward him.

"They took something from my family."

Aether looked at her.

"What?"

"A fragment of a spatial relic."

"Why?"

"They wanted to combine it with a suitable physique."

Aether's gaze sharpened.

"The Voidmoon Physique."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Vaelira went silent.

"You know about it."

"I can sense it."

She stared at him for a moment.

"You aren't ordinary."

"Neither are you."

Vaelira smiled faintly.

"Fair."

Aether turned back toward the documents.

His System quietly opened.

[Voidmoon Physique detected.]

[Compatibility: 94%.]

[Origin Physique Integration available.]

[Integration condition: Complete physique analysis.]

[Current analysis: 17%.]

Aether understood immediately.

The System couldn't simply copy the physique from a distance.

He needed deeper contact with its Origin structure.

That was reasonable.

The Infinite Origin Physique wasn't supposed to steal everything instantly.

It would analyze.

Replicate.

Then refine.

Aether closed the interface.

Vaelira was watching him.

"You're hiding something."

"Everyone hides something."

"That's true."

She didn't push further.

That was another thing Aether noticed about her.

She was observant without being intrusive.

They left the warehouse before dawn.

Outside the city, they stopped near a quiet forest.

Vaelira looked toward the road.

"Where are you going now?"

"Back to my companions eventually."

"You have companions?"

"Several."

Aether didn't elaborate.

Vaelira looked at him curiously.

"Friends?"

"People I care about."

Her expression softened slightly.

"You speak about them differently."

"They matter to me."

The answer was simple.

But it told Vaelira more than a long explanation would have.

Aether looked at her.

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you planning to continue chasing Blackridge alone?"

Vaelira's expression became thoughtful.

"They have something I need."

"So do I."

She raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need?"

"Information."

"About Blackridge?"

"And the Origin Heart."

Vaelira considered this.

"I know some things."

Aether waited.

She eventually continued.

"My family studied spatial Origin Energy for generations. The Voidmoon Physique allows me to perceive certain distortions that ordinary cultivators can't. Blackridge discovered this and wanted to use me to locate hidden Origin pathways."

Aether understood.

That explained her unusual abilities.

"You refused."

"I escaped."

"How?"

Vaelira smiled.

"They underestimated me."

Aether's lips curved slightly.

"That happens."

She looked at him.

"You're not going to ask what happened to my family?"

"No."

Vaelira blinked.

"Why?"

"Because you haven't asked me to."

For several seconds, she simply stared at him.

Then she laughed quietly.

"You're strange."

"So I've been told."

The atmosphere between them became less tense.

Aether didn't know it yet, but that brief conversation had already changed something.

Vaelira had expected sympathy.

Instead, Aether had offered respect.

He hadn't treated her like a victim.

He hadn't demanded her story.

He had simply accepted that she was capable of dealing with her own problems.

For someone who had spent months being treated as a valuable resource rather than a person, that difference mattered.

Aether suddenly sensed something.

A powerful beast.

Stage 8.

He looked toward the forest.

Vaelira followed his gaze.

"You sensed it?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to hunt it?"

Aether smiled.

"Probably."

Vaelira looked amused.

"You really like fighting."

"I like getting stronger."

"Why?"

"Freedom."

She stared at him.

"That's your goal?"

"One of them."

Aether walked into the forest.

Vaelira followed.

Neither realized that the next few hours would change their relationship permanently.

The beast was a massive Stage 8 serpent.

Its body was covered with dark blue scales, and its Origin Energy was concentrated around its head.

Aether summoned Blackfang.

Vaelira drew her sword.

They fought together.

The serpent was powerful, but the battle wasn't difficult.

Blackfang harassed it from behind.

Vaelira used spatial movement to avoid its attacks.

Aether waited.

Then he struck the serpent's exposed core.

The beast collapsed.

[Stage 8 Origin Beast defeated.]

[Origin Points +80.]

[Origin Points: 110 / 1,600.]

[Origin Imprint detected.]

[Compatibility: 79%.]

[Imprint stored.]

Aether looked at the corpse.

Then at Vaelira.

"You fight well."

She smiled.

"So do you."

The two stood quietly for a moment.

Aether's System opened again.

[Voidmoon Physique analysis: 31%.]

Progress.

Slow, but no longer impossible.

Aether looked at Vaelira.

Perhaps bringing her along wasn't such a bad idea.