Death... and me

'If there's a formation responsible for creating the Soul Stones, it'll be up to you to get close to it, Rean. These guys seem to want to bring you into their group because of your expertise in formations. Perhaps you can use it to get you there as well.' Roan could only make do with that for the moment. 'As for me, I'll be sent to where the kids are...or so I think. That being said, we will operate in two different fronts.'

Rean agreed with Roan, saying, 'I understand.'

Rean then looked at Palaris and Ophele, who seemed to be discussing his current situation before asking, "Do you think I will also become another Soul Stone?"

"I'll try to prevent it. However, don't misunderstand. I'm not doing it because I feel bad for you or anything. You are, after all, just a human. The only thing that interests me is your knowledge in formations," Ophele replied, not showing a hint of respect for Rean. "Of course, you would first be sent to control the Bloodline Trials, so it wouldn't happen anytime soon to start with."

Well, it wasn't as if Rean wanted it anyway. "Fine by me. As long as I can survive, I don't care how it happens."

Palaris decided to change the topic after that. "Alright, that's enough. Rean, you'll have to earn the right for Ophele to go seek the help of her mother. That being said, let's go back to the formation runes you were talking about. Show the two of us that it wasn't a mistake going this far."

Rean faintly smiled before returning to his scribbles on the ground, returning to explaining his theories. As for Roan, he didn't find anything else of interest in the rest of the Airship, so he sat in a corner at some point and just cultivated.

The same way it took one day for the Soul Rulers to arrive in Vanesi, it also took another day for them to return. What surprised Rean was the speed at which the airship moved. He flew with Ancestor Zuan, who was a Saint Realm expert back in Sunkan Planet. However, Zuan simply couldn't compare to this airship's speed. They were in completely different leagues. That only piqued Rean's curiosity even more towards the formations of the airship, making sure to record everything about it with Sister Orb's help.

Eventually, they arrived back at the Soul Rulers' headquarters. It turns out that their headquarters was located at the extreme north of the planet, directly above the pole. If it was already cold everywhere before coming, then how cold would it be here.

Roan even went out to check the temperature and was surprised to see that the cold energy was able to pierce through his Spiritual Energy barrier as if it didn't even exist. He had to constantly use his Spiritual Energy to keep sending it out of his body. If it was anyone else at their level, escaping this place might really have been an impossible mission. After all, they would freeze to death since there would be no shelter for them to recover from the cold energy.

However, the headquarters had the same system as the cities they visited before, a giant protection formation covering everything. It kept both the strong weather and cold energy outside. Not only that, but Rean and Sister Orb could tell that it wasn't just good at protecting against those things. It was definitely very strong against preemptive attacks and...preventing others from leaving.

[Do you want me to try to take control over it?] Sister Orb asked as she looked at it.

Rean shook his head, replying, 'No, just focus on the Soul Stone Formation or the Bloodline Trial Control Formation.' Rean thought that he had no need to allocate the Soul Gem System's processing power on something that could be overcome by their Circuitry Teleport Formation.

The airship quickly descended to the ground as the twins were gathered on the deck. There, Gila, Ren, and Vio took the two and brought them inside the giant building in front. As the twins had expected, the area was simply too big, with security almost seen everywhere. There were cultivators flying in the skies, patrols in almost every corner, not to mention the hundreds of Spiritual Senses slamming against the Spiritual Sense Bending Skill.

However, what truly shocked the twins was the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the air.

'Terrifying! Spiritual Energy here is so condensed that I can even see it,' Roan said as he moved his hand on the air. Where his hand passed, a faint wave of brilliant power spread forward due to his actions.

Rean, of course, was just as impressed. 'Are Spirit Stones even necessary in a place like this? If I draw an Energy Gathering Formation, I can probably cultivate faster than when I use Rank Four Spirit Stones. No, maybe even Rank Five Stones can't hold a candle to this thing.'

Sure enough, Rean and Roan reached the same conclusion in the end. 'We were right. There's something very strange about the lack of Spiritual Energy on the entire planet. Perhaps...the world's main powers have found a way to take most of the planet's energy for their own use, leaving less than half of the natural amount outside.'

Along the way, Palaris and Ophele followed the twins. Before arriving at the headquarters, it seemed like Ophele had used a Thoughts Transmission Talisman to contact her mother ahead of time. She was expecting to meet her halfway to where the Bloodline Trial Control Formations were.

"Ophele." Sure enough, a woman appeared on their way there, stopping Gila, Ren, and Vio in their tracks. She then looked at the white-haired boy before asking, "Is this the human you talked about?"

Ophele quickly came forward and nodded, replying, "Yes, mother. Grandfather and I have already verified his talents. They're the real deal. We truly wish to keep him instead of using him as a simple core of a Bloodline Trial Control Formation. It'll be even more of a waste if he's turned into a Soul Stone."

Gila couldn't help but intervene as she said, "Lady Sevinia, these twins are a special case. We can't let you take any of them like that."

Sevinia was obviously the name of Ophele's mother. Nevertheless, she just smiled at Gila before taking a token out. As soon as Gila, Vio, and Ren saw that, they immediately went quiet.

"I already talked with the Head and got his permission to take this human here. As for the other one, you can do whatever you want with him." Sevinia then grabbed Rean's arm and pulled him aside, leaving the path open for Gila and the others to continue.

Gila, Ren, and Vio looked at each other and just nodded as one of them responded, "Since the Head has already agreed, we will leave him in your care, Lady Sevinia."

The Head's token was almost absolute inside the Soul Rulers. It could only be refused in case some of the ancestors came out to do it. However, that almost never happened.

"Great! Have a good day." Ophele, Palaris, and Rean then headed in a different direction with Sevinia as Roan proceeded forward with the others.