Death... and me

Time passed as another day in the Natural Formation went by. Eventually, the Lakure Race cultivators who went to intercept Erbec's group had returned. Seeing the state they were in, Jana couldn't help but narrow her eyes.

"What happened, Cosko? Were there a lot of enemies?"

Cosko was the name of the Soul Forging Realm leader during the attack.

"At first, we were at a slight disadvantage in numbers compared to them. However, thanks to our race's special meridians, we took the upper hand after some time. We would most likely win that battle. Unfortunately, a new group of cultivators appeared at the last moment and joined the battle."

"Our brothers and sisters fought as hard as they possibly could. However, we couldn't make up for the gap in numbers, so I issued a retreat order when it had reached a critical point."

Jana couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt for the lives of the Lakure Race members who had died. They had been living in the sealed underground world for a very long time. Space wasn't exactly a privilege there. Because of that, they could only make do with what they had. That being said, the Lakure Race was very united.

"Their deaths won't be in vain. I promise you that."

Jana then changed the topic as she said.

"You said a new group appeared during the battle. Does that mean they still have a way to enter the formation?"

That was the most important thing to talk about. After all, they changed the formation to prevent just that.

Cosko pondered for a bit before replying.

"I don't think so. However, I also thought about this possibility, so I sent some of our members to check on the Natural Formation barrier for openings. I have their Thoughts Transmission Talismans with me, so it shouldn't take that long before we receive a report."

Sure enough, one of the Thoughts Transmission Talismans lit up as if it knew what they were thinking. Cosko quickly put it on his forehead and absorbed the thoughts inside.

Cosko's group had gone to intercept the Royal Family and the Sects' forces at full speed. Because of that, they were much closer to the Natural Formation border than they were to the valley. That being said, it was much faster for the scout group to arrive at the border than Cosko's group to get back to the valley. From there, they separated and followed the barrier, looking for an opening or anything of the sort.

"The first group reported that they followed the border of the barrier for an entire day, but no openings were found."

Sometime later, the second Thoughts Transmission Talisman lit up as well.

"The second group that checked the barrier in the opposite direction also reported that they couldn't find any entrance. Of course, we can't discard the possibility that they used other methods to enter the Natural Formation."

Jana nodded, letting out a sigh of relief in the process.

"I doubt someone else could pass through the formation's barrier that easily. After all, we changed it so that even Yulian would have a hard time breaking it. Most likely, the team that appeared later entered the barrier using the same method as the first one. However, they probably can't do that anymore now that we've changed the layout of the barrier."

Cosko nodded as he said.

"My thoughts are the same, Lady Jana. So, what should we do now? Gather our forces and look for those intruders?"

Jana pondered for a bit but shook her head in the end.

"No. We can't discard the possibility that this was all done to redirect our attention away from the valley. Remember, this valley has to be protected at all costs. Besides, we don't know if any other group had entered the formation before we changed it."

"If we receive a full-force attack while everyone is out looking for those enemies, there's nothing we can do against it. Leave them be! We already wiped out the seven cities we've enveloped and gathered the resources in the valley. Keep the high-level cultivators here to protect the valley and send the rest to protect the Life Absorbing Crystals. We don't have enough numbers to go look for them. "

Cosko nodded before asking.

"Understood. Talking about numbers, how's the portal?"

Jana looked back at the valley before saying.

"The same as always. We can only bring a few of our members out every day. It will take a very long time until we finish opening the passage. Until then, all we can do is wait. However, as long as the Ancestor breaks out of the seal, we shouldn't have anything to worry about anymore. For that, make sure that the Life Absorbing Crystals are working properly. Ancestor needs them to break the seal imprisoning him."

Jana then added.

"Talking about the Life Absorbing Crystals, one of the crystals was destroyed around a day ago. Send someone to replace that one to not delay the Energy Absorption. Also, make sure the teams are as prepared as possible in case one of the crystals is attacked again."

Cosko nodded.

"Don't worry. I'll also order several teams to patrol the area beyond the crystals' positions. Unless we're talking about Nascent Soul Realm cultivators or higher, they should be able to spot any enemy approaching."

As Jana and Cosko discussed a few more things, Calina's group finally left the valley's territory. They didn't know if they would be pursued, so they kept moving away. Right behind them, a black and white bird was carrying an enormous red crystal in his beak. Then again, it didn't matter what Calina and Malaka say. Kentucky simply didn't let it go.

'Perhaps it's similar to the Heaven-Level metals Rean gave us to feed him.'

Calina and Malaka were right. Kentucky found the crystal really good both in taste and benefits for its body. The Life Energy it gathered was similar to the Life Energy that Rean could feel with his Light Element. Kentucky was able to use Light Element as well, so it was beneficial to him.

Wano soon found a good spot for them to hide and gave the order to stop.

"Let's rest here for a while."

Kuana's group immediately dropped down after hearing that. They had been running for so long that those girls couldn't hold anymore. Even Spiritual Energy wasn't enough to keep up the pace anymore. However, Malaka and Calina, who were also in the Core Formation Realm, seemed to be completely fine.

"Oh! It seems like you received quite a good training. Usually, cultivators only think about their Spiritual Energy and things like that. It's quite rare to see cultivators with such physical health like you two, especially between women."

Wano could not help but say. However, the reaction he got from Calina and Malaka was vastly different from what he expected.

"Hehehe... Good physical health, huh? I don't even want to remember why..."

Malaka nodded vigorously.

"Just don't talk about it anymore, please. The memories are too painful."

Wano only became more puzzled, though.

"This... Did something happen?"

Calina and Malaka then began to remember all the 'special' training sessions they had with Rean and Roan. Of course, that could only be considered hell. It wasn't wrong to say that they almost died in some of them... Frightening. Well, at least it paid off right now. Calina and Malaka were an entire realm or more below Wano, but they could keep up at his pace without a problem. Kuana's group obviously wasn't doing as well.

*Bang!*

Suddenly, Kentucky dropped the Red Crystal and began to eat it once again.

*Crunch, crunch, crunch...*

Every time his beak moved, a big chunk of the crystal came out.

"I'm sorry but, just what kind of demon beast is that? I tried to cut this crystal with my sword, but it didn't even break the crystal, much less scratch it."

Calina and Malaka bitterly smiled. Sure enough, where would you find something like Kentucky? Nowhere is the obvious answer. Calina was told about Kentucky's race, so she also knew how rare it is.

"Ahem... This is a special demon bird bred by our Dalamu Sect. They have extremely hard beaks. That's why it can do such a thing."

Wano narrowed his eyes as he uttered.

"If it was just the beak, then I could accept it. However, that attack where it came crashing down from the sky like a meteor was completely different. It definitely reached the power of a Stage Four Demon Beast or a Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivator. Do you think I'll believe that it's just a special breed of a sect from the surrounding countries?"

Calina scratched the back of her head as she said.

"Well, that is up to you to believe or not."

However, Malaka suddenly smiled as she looked at Wano.

"As I expected. Wano, you're not from anywhere close to the surrounding countries, right? First of all, your strength far surpasses the Middle Stage of the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. Also, you can guarantee that none of the surrounding countries can breed a demon beast like Kentucky. Just who are you?"

Calina was taken aback by Malaka's words. The way she talked was utterly different from her normal happy-go-lucky behavior. She looked more like... like... Mia or Roan! However, she quickly put those thoughts behind. After all, Malaka's point was really important, so she focused on Wano first. Besides, she felt like his moves to be somewhat familiar as well.

Of course, Kuana was close to them, so their interest was immediately piqued as well.

Wano, on the other hand, sighed as he said.

"Why do I have such a big mouth? Well, forget it. Let's do it like this, then. I won't ask about your demon bird, and you won't ask me about my identity. How about that?"

Malaka showed a playful smile before nodding.

"Seems fair."