Death... and me

Roan was brought ahead and passed through many of those formations. Without a doubt, Roan was the oldest human there since he was the first adult human with high Soul Purity. That being said, he was brought to the very end of the tunnel, where one could see several free formations on the left side.

After some time, he looked at the Zasfin by his side before asking, "So, what do I do here? Spare me the pleasant bullshit, alright? Just be straight."

The Zasfin, who had been keeping the same fake smile as the others, suddenly changed his expression as he replied, "Hmph! At least you aren't an idiot. As a human, you probably heard about the Bloodline Trials before. We use humans with high Soul Purity to control the trials. You don't need to do anything. We will simply use your Soul as a way to connect the participant and the sacrifice. Now, get inside."

Roan snorted but went inside anyway. Soon after, some kind of ethereal power enveloped his body, locking it in place. The blue light in the formation then formed a stream that entered his forehead, connecting him to the formation below.

[Oh...so that's how it works. Hey, Rean. Can you see it?]

Rean nodded somewhere else, responding, 'Yes. I guess I kind of know now what the excavations those Zasfins are working on are for.'

Roan wasn't an idiot. Even though he didn't know much about formations, he could guess what was happening through Rean and Sister Orb's conversation. 'Simply put, the tunnels those Zasfins are excavating are what connects the Soul Rulers' headquarters to the Bloodline Trials around the world. Am I correct?'

[Exactly! No wonder they needed high-level Zasfins to do the job. After all, excavating tunnels deep enough to not be affected by what happens above all the way to the empires would take too long for humans to do. Only cultivators with high amounts of Spiritual Energy could make this project feasible.] Sister Orb then added, [I'll start working on the main formation that's controlling all of this. But I won't stop its process unless you tell me to do so.]

Rean was satisfied with that. After all, breaking the formation would only leave the Zasfins with no choice but to use the human kids to create Soul Stones. 'Good. I'll do my best here on my side.'

Roan then took that opportunity to talk about something else. 'We will spend a long time here, so let's use this opportunity to cultivate. I want to reach the Core and Soul Fusion Realm before we leave.'

Rean didn't mind, saying, 'Sounds good to me. I think I can use an excuse to see the Soul Stone Formation after I obtain enough trust from Palaris and the others.'

Rean and Roan discussed a little more before they went back to focus on their own things. Seven days later, Rean went out to talk with Clad after feeling the Light Energy coming from his collar. Sure enough, Clad confirmed to Rean that the excavation was extremely long. He couldn't even guess how many thousands of kilometers the tunnels extended.w

'The tunnels are all filled with a weird blue light that looks very much like the gem used to test Soul Purity. There are a lot of them with several divisions on the way. The only reason my group reached the excavation site faster was that there were a ton of teleport formations to jump all the way to the end. Even so, just the process of teleporting back and forth takes at least a day.'

Clad continued, 'However, those teleport formations have no need for Spirit Stones. Just the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the air far surpasses what is needed to teleport. I have to admit, I've been doing the excavation, but I don't feel the slightest bit of regret. The Spiritual Energy is just too dense that I can cultivate even if I sleep. I progressed more in cultivation this past week than I did in the past month. This is crazy!'

Rean wasn't surprised by that. He and Roan were having it even better since their dwelling places were considered important locations. They saved at least a month and a half in their past week of cultivation. 'I know. Anyway, that confirms my suspicions. Have you noticed anything different?'

Clad nodded with excitement as he replied, 'Yes. Once we go down, there are many paths to choose, as I've mentioned earlier. However, there's one special path that's being guarded by many Zasfins with very high cultivations. I might be wrong. However, I think that no one there is below the Saint Realm level.'

Rean was surprised to hear that, prompting him to ask, 'Why?'

'I think the source of all this Spiritual Energy that fills the tunnels is in that direction. That's because the Spiritual Energy is the thickest when we pass by there,' Clad responded with a serious expression. He couldn't help but imagine what was capable of generating so much Spiritual Energy.

Roan, who had been listening to everything, was very interested in whatever it was. 'Ask him the exact direction of that entrance. Perhaps we can try our luck with the Circuitry Teleport Formation to teleport right inside and take a look once we've finished everything here.'

Rean nodded and asked Clad that same question. Clad shooked his head in response, though. 'I don't know the exact direction. That's because we're heading down by using another teleport formation here on the surface. I don't know in which direction it's teleporting us to.'

Rean nodded in response before saying, 'It's fine. If you find anything else, let me know.' They would spend a very long time here, so Rean wasn't in a hurry. However, it was at that moment that Rean noticed an opportunity. 'Wait! Roan, we already know that these tunnels go all the way to the various empires to connect to the Bloodline Trials, right?'

Roan faintly smiled when he heard those words. 'I see...that's definitely a pretty good idea.'

Clad was confused, unlike those two. So, to clear up his confusion, he asked, 'What are you talking about?'

'Simple.' Rean almost laughed out loud as he replied. However, he had to restrain himself to not attract too much attention as he explained the things to Clad. 'It means we don't need to stay here to make use of the Spiritual Energy. All we need to know is where these tunnels are connected to. After that, we can sneak down and access the tunnels without anyone noticing. We can cultivate very quickly, go out to train, and then go down once again to cultivate. We just need to keep up this loop, and our cultivations will soar! Not to mention that we will be a lot safer than we are here.'

Clad's eyes widened from the idea. Though, he was quite pessimistic of its success as he said, 'Bu-But...those tunnels are heavily guarded. We see patrols coming and going all the time, and they don't use the teleport formations. They literally fly through it. What if they find us? Wouldn't that be dangerous?' Clad thought that since Rean and Roan could use that incredible Spatial Equipment (Well, it was the Soul Gem System Dimensional Realm, though), the Soul Rulers definitely had something similar or better. That being said, they definitely had a way to find them if they were found.

Rean and Roan nodded in response to Clad's woes as Rean said, 'Don't worry, we have our own tricks. In any case, this is a plan for the future, not now. We will spend a long time until we conclude our master's mission first.'

Clad then took a deep breath and nodded before saying, 'Alright. I need to go back now since they keep a close eye on all of us. I can already see a few Zasfins looking carefully at everyone here on the surface.' After that, Clad moved away, leaving the range of Rean's Spiritual Sense.

'Okay. My next step is to find the Soul Stone Formations...if they really exist,' Rean thought as he headed back to Sevinia's estate.

The days passed by in a flash as Rean kept working with Palaris and Ophele's team, building their trust in him. Roan also got used to controlling his formation and had helped many Zasfins go through their trials. To not raise suspicion, Roan even helped a few of them pass the test with Sister Orb's help. After all, if all the Zasfins that took the trial he was controlling failed, he would probably be discarded way earlier.

Soon, over a year had gone by. Roan had seen many kids being brought away as well as many others taking their places. Nevertheless, he was patient. Once the right time came, they would take everyone out. Today, however, Roan had another thing to do with Rean. 'Alright, this definitely was a lot faster than we expected. It's time to enter the Core and Soul Fusion Realm.'

Rean agreed with Roan. He, too, was at the peak of the Core Formation Realm. 'Indeed. However, won't the Zasfins on your side stop you from doing that?'

Roan shook his head, saying, 'They won't even see it. Next time they pay attention to my cultivation, I'll be in the next realm already.'

Suddenly, Roan's hair turned black and white as both Light and Dark Elements gathered around him.

'Death Style, Fifth Form, Mirage Assault!'

Sure enough, Roan used the same trick just like in the past and entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm straight away. Only his clone was left behind after that. 'I'll make my breakthrough here in the Dimensional Realm. No one will notice anything.'

Rean nodded in satisfaction. 'Cool. I don't need to do it since no one will try to stop me. Instead, Palaris is looking forward to me making a breakthrough so that I can help more with the formations. Anyway, we can start straight away.'

[Very well, you two. Access your cultivation manuals and follow my lead.]