Death... and me

Their group continued to cultivate for a few more days before departing for another assault on one of the red crystals. However, there was a change this time. Roan expressed that they should aim to not kill anyone as much as possible. Naturally, it would make things even harder. However, with their recent breakthroughs, it shouldn't be impossible. Not to mention that this rule only applied as long as it didn't mean their own deaths.

Wano, Malaka, and Calina were obviously puzzled by that change, though.

"Why are you asking for something like this?"

Roan then explained without trying to hide anything.

"We met up with a few experts of the Lakure Race in the valley when we tried to investigate the place. It turned out that their ancestor ordered that their Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and above couldn't kill those at the Core and Soul Fusion realm and below. From the looks of it, that ancestor is planning something."

"The good thing is that they didn't seem to care about the ones we killed so far. In their race, if you die, that's because you were weaker. Well, most of the cultivation world isn't much different from that anyway. However, I would like to not give them a reason for their ancestor to change this rule."

"Don't forget, this time accelerating natural formation is an excellent opportunity. We should take advantage of it as much as possible. Besides, if we aim to do something even harder, which is not to kill anyone, that will undoubtedly help us much more. After all, I'm sure no one here has any problems with killing anymore, so it's pointless."

Rean couldn't help but ask.

"What do you mean by no one having problems with killing anymore? Sure, we'll kill when it's necessary, but don't put us in your shoes. I still hate the feeling of killing people, okay?"

Malaka and Calina nodded as they said.

"The same goes for us."

Roan narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. As long as they didn't hesitate when necessary, he didn't care if they didn't like it. Well, it's not like Roan liked to kill either. It's just that he didn't care whether he did it or not.

As for Wano, he was much older and had probably gone through much more dangerous situations. There was no need to talk about it with him.

Wano then asked something else.

"By the way, we already got used to the fake meridians. Aren't we going to use it to enter the valley and gather Masput Rocks?"

Roan shook his head as he said.

"There is no need for now. Just keep practicing its use for a few more weeks to be sure. Rean and I had just broken through the Late Stage, so we need battles to help stabilize our foundations."

Wano shrugged his shoulders in response, not minding too much. He didn't need the Masput Rocks anyway. He was just curious.

Rean used his camouflage skill together with the Light and Spiritual Sense bending skill as the group moved forward. However, way before they arrived at the red crystals' location, Rean's expression changed.

"Everyone, stop!"

In an instant, everyone followed Rean's words.

"What is it?"

Rean then looked in a certain direction before saying.

"There is a Nascent Soul Realm's Spiritual Sense ahead."

Wano couldn't help but ask after hearing that.

"Shouldn't we escape, then?"

Rean shook his head.

"Don't worry. We're at the very border of the enemy's Spiritual Sense range. It's too weak to pierce through my Spiritual Sense bending, so the enemy doesn't know we're here."

Wano was surprised to hear that. He couldn't help but feel even more interested in Rean's skill.

Roan, on the other hand, commented.

"It's most likely because of our escape last time. You can heal the poison in their bodies, so they just can't ignore your existence."

Wano and the others already heard about the poison a long time ago, so they knew why the Lakure Race would want to capture Rean.

"Most likely, they sent out a few of their Nascent Soul Realm experts to keep an eye out, trying to find us. What should we do?"

Roan lightly smiled in response, not mind it at all.

"There is a limit as to how far a Nascent Soul Realm's Spiritual Sense can cover. Unless they send out all their experts, there should be plenty of places where there are no Nascent Soul Realm enemies overseeing the red crystals' locations. Let's go around and look for a few free ones."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Through Rean's perception ability, they soon went in a different direction of that Nascent Soul Realm expert. However, they quickly noticed that getting close to the red crystals wasn't so easy anymore.

"There are more low-leveled cultivators of the Lakure Race patrolling outside the valley now. What should we do?"

Wano laughed at that and said.

"Why would it be a bad thing? At most, we won't get more of those red crystals. However, these new targets are still perfect for training. They are moving in groups, which is quite a good match for ourselves."

Roan agreed with Wano.

"Wano's right. Let's change our plans and leave the red crystals aside. If we have the chance to obtain a red crystal, then that's good. If not, so be it. Our objective is training, not the red crystals."

Rean smiled before pointing in a certain direction.

"The last group we passed by had two Core and Soul Fusion Realm Spiritual Senses and around six Core Formation Realm senses. That should be a good challenge for us."

Roan nodded, satisfied.

"That shall be the first one, then. Stay vigilant. Of course, remember to try and not kill anyone."

A few minutes later, another intense battle began in the middle of nowhere. With Rean's stealth skills, they were able to ambush the group as always, reducing their strength. After that, Rean, Roan, and Wano fought the Core and Soul Fusion Realm enemies while Malaka, Calina, and Kentucky fought the Core Formation ones. The enemies' advantage in numbers and the fact they should try their best to not kill made the battle even harder. Still, their breakthrough was not for naught.

In the end, they succeeded in taking their opponents down while a few decided to run away. Of course, Rean's group paid the price for not killing anyone. Even Kentucky had a deep gash in his wings. Let alone the others, who aren't even close to having Kentucky's defense.

Nonetheless, that helped everyone's training just as Roan wanted.