Rean and Roan looked at Kentucky after hearing that. After all, it was his decision on whether he wanted to do it or not. Of course, even if they wished to run away, that wouldn't be possible either. Nevertheless, they wouldn't force Kentucky to do it.
Kentucky could only sigh in the end and nod, though. "Alright, let's do this. What do I need to do? Just open a cut and let my blood flow out?"
Darian nodded, replying, "Yes. However, let me and Phex prepare the Spiritual Energy Field first." Darian then went to the center of the palace, which seemed to be the core of the vortex above it.
Phex was also there, just looking. "Oh, by the way, you'll get 400 Merit Points for this task."
This time, Rean's group had to admit that this wasn't a bad trip. 400 Merit Points was more than they would get in five or so missions. Before, they bought the airship. Perhaps there would be something much better this time. Besides, it also proved how important the Demon Beast Alliance considered these Spiritual Energy Fields to be.
In the center of the hall, the roof suddenly opened above Darian. Following that, the vortex that was above the palace began to descend in Darian's direction. Spiritual Energy raged as the water moved. Even for Rean's group, it was quite hard to stay close to it, let alone being inside it like Darian was doing.
At some point, the entire palace began to shine with a red light. Many different patterns appeared on the ground, which even Rean couldn't recognize. 'Sister Orb, are these things...formation runes?'
Sister Orb, who was always observing what was happening, immediately confirmed as she said, [Yes. There's definitely a formation enveloping the entire palace. No, to be more precise, the formation envelops the entire underwater city and its surrounding region.]
Rean couldn't help but ask, 'What level is this formation? Or is it possible that this is a natural formation like the one we saw in Sunkan?'
[It's not natural,] Sister Orb responded. [It's just that it surpasses the Heaven-level. Whoever did it was probably someone above the Transition Realm or Stage Nine.]
Rean felt a chill on his back when Sister Orb said the term 'Transition Realm.' However, contrary to what he thought, the Universe didn't try to get back at Sister Orb. 'Errrr, wasn't it supposed to attack anyone who mentioned it?'
[Uh? Are you an idiot? I have the protection of the Soul Gem System, you know? The Heavens of this half of the Universe can't detect me. Naturally, it can't hear me when I talk about the Transition Realm.] Sister Orb explained.
Rean's mouth twitched in response before asking, 'Why the hell didn't you say that earlier?'
[You never asked.]
Rean felt like crying after that. 'No, forget it. Nothing good will happen if I dwell on this topic. I just have to accept that you're useless.'
[Hmph! You guys don't know how to appreciate what you have.]
Sister Orb then continued, [Leaving that aside, it's a formation made by a Formation Master above the Heaven-level. It explains why it resisted the test of time as well. From what I can see, it's quite well made. As for what the Black Tortoise is doing, it's not really fixing it.]
'Not fixing it?' Rean was taken aback. 'Then...what is he doing?'
[No one in this world should have the necessary mastery to fix such a thing. I might be wrong since it's too complicated for me to analyze in a short span of time. However, I believe that this formation has a self-repairing system. What the Black Tortoise is doing is basically activating this system...though I'm not sure if Darian knows about it or not.] Sister Orb seemed quite impressed as she said those words.
Rean nodded in the end, responding, 'I see. Well, as long as they know how to control it, that should be okay. Sister Orb, save the properties of these runes in the Formation Repository System. Although you might not be able to analyze it, I can draw some ideas from it later.'
[Alright.]
The activation of the formation lasted over an hour. Phex stayed by the side, doing nothing whatsoever. However, it seemed like Darian was starting to feel tired. It was then that Rean's group understood that Phex was only there to protect Darian, not to help with the formation itself.
Suddenly, a gap appeared in the vortex surrounding Darian as he looked at Kentucky, telling him, "Come in. I need your blood now."
Kentucky nodded and went inside, albeit somewhat scared. The vortex was a lot stronger than he could resist, after all. If not for Darian's protection, he would definitely be mincemeat the very instant he entered.
Darian then pointed at a small hole on the ground before telling Kentucky, "Release your blood there. It will be absorbed so that it can be used to repair the Spiritual Energy Field."
*Chomp!*
Kentucky's beak then moved in a flash before it opened a small cut on his wings. He might have a strong defense, but his beak could definitely pierce through if he didn't harden it.
Kentucky's blood soon entered the hole and disappeared inside. Kentucky couldn't tell what was happening there since even his Spiritual Sense couldn't pierce through the ground. That was already considering that his Spiritual Sense and Soul Power were merged, which made them even stronger. 'Such a sturdy Anti-Spiritual Sense Formation,' Rean and Roan thought from the outside since they couldn't see through it either.
As Kentucky's blood entered the formation, the red light enveloping the entire underwater palace intensified. Soon, the formation turned the whole city a shade of red as well. After all, the formation wasn't just under the palace.
The vortex above the palace, which raged with Spiritual Energy and Water Element, suddenly reduced in speed. The frenzied energy also became smoother as the red light mixed with it.
Rean and Roan then noticed that a stream of Spiritual Energy began to descend and enter the ground at the very center of the vortex. That was the same Spiritual Energy that was raging in the whirlpool before. It wasn't heading to Kentucky, nor was it being used by Darian. It truly disappeared in the ground. 'It should be this way that the Spiritual Energy is being transported to the Bestial Sacred Ground,' Rean thought for a moment.
Kentucky and Darian seemed to be feeling very tired. However, everything was going smoothly, and it wouldn't take long for the process to be over. However, it was then that Rean and Roan's expressions changed.
Soon after, Rean, Roan, Phex, and Darian looked in a certain direction at the same time as Rean shouted, "Someone's coming!"
Phex and Darian looked at the twins with surprise in their eyes. That's because what they felt just now was the Spiritual Sense of someone at the same level as them. With the twins' cultivation, it shouldn't be possible for them to feel it. However, Phex and Darian put those thoughts away for now. What mattered now was who was coming.
Phex's body then disappeared from the hall before reappearing outside. At the same time, he sent a Spiritual Sense Message to everyone, telling them, 'Continue the process. I'll keep them occupied.'
Darian nodded as he took out a Thoughts Transmission Talisman. He put it on his forehead, and a second later, it burnt out. As one could imagine, Darian called out the other Stage Nine Demon Beasts.
Outside, five figures appeared before Phex in a flash. Before, Rean and Roan used the Spiritual Sense bending skill to tell that these guys were coming. But now, the enemy didn't seem to be bothered covering their cultivation. With that said, Rean, Roan, and even Red could see them with their Spiritual Senses.
Phex looked at the Zasfins in front of him and coldly smiled, saying, "Pankun, Suria, and even Kumo, huh? The other two seem to be new, so I don't know them. It seems like having control over the World Swallowing Tree all this time helped your Zasfin race raise quite a few experts."
They were some of the Transition Realm cultivators from the Zasfin race. Pankun, the first name Phex mentioned, just so happened to be the leader of this group. "Hehe. It has been a long, long time, Phex. To think I would encounter you in this place. I'm truly lucky."
Phex laughed in response, replying, "Lucky? Do you dare say such a thing in front of a Phoenix inside the Demon Beast Alliance's territory?"
Pankun didn't seem bothered, though. "So what if we're inside your territory? We have nothing to fear as long as you're not being helped by the Bestial Sacred Ground."
Phex's eyes narrowed, asking in response, "What do you mean?"
Suria, who was beside Pankun, answered that question. "Are you trying to play dumb? We already know that the Spiritual Energy Fields have problems. Without it to feed the Sacred Ground, you won't receive power from there."
Kumo then used his Spiritual Sense to verify the situation below, saying, "That's enough. They're already working on fixing the Spiritual Energy Fields. The more we talk, the worse it'll be."
Phex snorted when he heard that. Soon after, his body began to change as it soon took the form of an enormous phoenix, not any bit smaller than the palace below it. "Do you think you can cause any trouble to me?"
However, Pankun shook his head, replying, "That depends on you. Before we battle, we have an offer." Pankun smiled as he said that. "If you give the World Swallowing Tree back to us, we can pretend that nothing happened."
Phex 's suspicions were confirmed after hearing that. "Give it back, huh? As I thought, something did happen to Celis. But I didn't think you really lost him. That's a very good piece of information."
Back in the palace, Rean and Roan couldn't help but let out a bit of sweat...even though they were underwater.
