Death... and me

And Roan did exactly that. Sister Orb confirmed that the formation was gone for good, which allowed Roan to send it straight into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Well, at least the formation protecting the gate was, that is. The gate fell on the ground of the Dimensional Realm before Sister Orb sealed the Dark Element emanating from it. Its Dark Element wouldn’t cause any problem as long as it was in the Dimensional Realm.

The other Sacred Land members couldn’t help but look at Roan, moving as if nothing was happening at all. They all saw how he got rid of all Evil Path cultivators, leaving only the righteous ones alive. But it was just as Roan mentioned. They didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. They already had a hard time keeping the super-concentrated Dark Element and Yin Energy out.

One of them couldn’t help but ask as the twins’ group moved past them, “Can’t you give us a hand? I can see you only aimed at the Evil Path cultivators, so you might as well give us some help.”

Roan snorted when he heard that. “Help you? How? Do you want me to carry you on my back from here on out?”

“Of course not! Just do whatever you did to keep the Dark Element and Yin Energy away from your friends. You’re that Dark Element Affinity guy from the last recruitment, right?” one of the survivors asked. “Once we recover enough, you can just do whatever you want. Just help a fellow Sacred Land member.”

Rean then gave Roan an idea through their Soul Connection. ‘Well, I can at least drive the Dark Element in their bodies out. Of the four survivors, two of them are from our Sacred Land. That means they have some background behind them since they had the treasures to survive the exposure from Dark Element and Yin Energy. It wouldn’t be bad to have them owing us a favor.’

Roan pondered about it and nodded after a while. ‘Alright, we usually never use such favors, but it’s not a bad thing having such a card as a backup either.’

Rean nodded and approached the two cultivators of the Sacred Land. “What I can do is drive the Dark Element out of your bodies. However, you will have to recover by yourself after that. Besides, we can’t wait too long since we want to check what’s inside the gate.”

The two guys were delighted to hear that. The thing that bothered them the most was the Dark Element that entered their bodies when the gate opened. If that could be dealt with, they could recover much faster. Perhaps they can even recover fast enough to enter the gate as well. After all, they don’t want to give up on it either. “Thank you. That’s already a huge help.”

Rean then did exactly that. He didn’t heal their injuries or help them recover their depleted Divine Energy, though. “Alright, how do you feel?”

“Much better!” Those two sat down and immediately took some Divine Stones out of their spatial rings. Soon after, they took some healing pills and began to recover.

Rean nodded before he looked at the two other guys who weren’t part of the Sacred Land. “Well, since I’ve gone this far, I might as well help you two as well.”

Obviously, they were delighted to hear that as well. “Thank you.”

Rean nodded and completed the job very quickly. Only then did he get up and join Roan, Tiffany, and Liana that were waiting by the gate. “See, it was very fast. There’s no need to worry either. With their injuries, I don’t think they will get up for the next hour at the very least.”

Everyone nodded after hearing that. “Alright, let’s take a look inside.”

Rean’s group then passed through the gate and followed the path. Dark Element and Yin Energy continued to rush out, and it increased the further they went. However, it wasn’t a problem with the twins there.

To remind those that have forgotten, this place was called the Demising Catacombs. Rean’s group found quite a few of those on the way back and were finding even more now. Once Rean got far enough from the gate, he took the opportunity to bring Kentucky out of the Dimensional Realm. However, Tiffany didn’t know Kentucky could talk, so he used Divine Sense to communicate with Rean and Roan. ‘I’ve seen everything with Sister Orb’s help. However, only now that I’m outside can I feel the situation. Roan, look around. The entire place seems to be made of Life’s Nemesis Rocks.’

Roan nodded in agreement. ‘It definitely wasn’t like this before. The materials became like this for the same reason as the gate. It was the long exposure to the super-concentrated Yin Energy and Dark Element. However, just that gate alone is more than enough for my needs, so I don’t need to take more of these things.’

Rean couldn’t help but ask, ‘Now that I think about it, do we really need to go further? We already got what we wanted, no?’

Roan agreed with Rean, saying in response, ‘That’s true. However, would you actually leave without checking what we have here?’

Rean smiled in response. ‘Well, I do have to admit I’m curious.’

Suddenly, Kentucky pointed forward. ‘Rean, Roan, there are Golden Peak-level materials ahead. I can feel them now. I just can’t tell if they’re ores of refined metals. Perhaps they’re weapons.’

Rean already liked what he heard. ‘Great! That helps out a lot.’

Kentucky was right. They traveled in the direction he pointed for another thirty minutes or so. It was then that they arrived in a big mausoleum. Inside, there was only one single red sarcophagus in the center instead of several like on the outside. On the walls, Rean could see several weapons, which were obviously the Golden Peak-level metals Kentucky talked about.

“Are all of these Golden Peak-level weapons?” Liana and Tiffany asked.

“No, those weapons aren’t only at the Golden Peak-level,” Rean answered as he pointed at the back. “Can you see the spear, shield, and armor? Those three pieces are one level above that. They’re Divine Initial-level equipment. It’s quite unfortunate that our cultivation is too low to wield such things.”

Roan didn’t care about any of that, though. Once Rean reached the level to use that equipment, he would be able to create much better ones. Instead, he was interested in the sarcophagus itself. ‘It’s very small, but I can feel the power of the Underworld from within… No, that’s not right. If I were to guess, it’s more similar to my own Dark Element. It’s just that that’s not correct either.’