After the two were done with their greetings, Mira brought Dominique to the 'dungeon' where she extracted the Blood Essences. It was also where Hana was training diligently.
She made sure to conceal most of Dominique's beastly features with illusions. Not that there was anything wrong with her, but there was no need to garner any unnecessary attention at this time.
Mira was already unique enough, but if there were two of them? People would start asking questions. Questions she didn't feel like answering.
As they entered the large 'dungeon', which looked more or less like a slaughterhouse, Hana looked over and immediately stopped training.
"Dominique!"
"Hana!"
The two leaped at one another and embraced tightly, their bond evident to anyone watching. Although it had been a relatively short period, to the two of them, it felt like lifetimes had passed.
The sight of Hana, her azure eyes filled with tears of joy, her petite form rushing towards Dominique, and Dominique, with her transformed appearance, bending down to match Hana's height for a warm embrace, was an endearing spectacle. For a moment, the cold, clinical ambiance of the 'dungeon' melted away, replaced by an aura of warmth and genuine happiness.
"Look at you!" Hana exclaimed, stepping back to fully take in Dominique's transformation, "You've... changed."
Dominique laughed, her voice melodious with a touch of mischief, "I could say the same for you. Your aura... it's stronger now."
"Ugh! I don't wanna talk about it! Your demon mother keeps making me do weird exercises all day! I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks!"
"Only the weak need sleep." Mira chimed in, sending shivers down Hana's spine, but thankfully, Dominique came to the rescue.
"Don't be like that, Mother."
Hana's eyes lit up with happiness at Dominique's words, only to turn deadpan at her next.
"Although she's weak, she's just a mortal. She can't help it."
"Oi! I'm still a kid, you know? I'm not supposed to be strong yet! I don't want to look like a little girl all my life!"
Dominique stuck her tongue out at Hana playfully before joining her side once again. The two began chatting away, talking about all kinds of things.
Mira shook her head and walked over to a massive series of shelves that had thousands upon thousands of Blood Essences that she had extracted, waiting to be purified and enhanced.
Dominique, who was in the middle of talking with Hana, looked over, and her interest was immediately piqued.
Walking over to Mira, she asked, "What are you doing, Mother?"
"Purifying bloodlines and combining them with others to enhance them."
Dominique was stunned at first before a smile blossomed on her face. "Hehehe~ I think I might be able to help you, Mother!"
"Hm?" Mira raised an eyebrow, "How so?"
"Remember my race? I'm a Celestial Blood Fox! Purifying blood is literally what I do best! In fact, that's one of the ways I can grow stronger; by consuming the blood of other creatures."
"Really?" Mira asked, both surprised and skeptical, but she didn't think Dominique would lie to her.
"Mmhm~!" Dominique nodded but then assumed an awkward look, "However, I think I'll need to break through a few times, at least to the Qi Condensation Realm, perhaps the Foundation Realm, before I can help you deal with this many Blood Essences."
Mira contemplated Dominique's words, taking a moment to gauge the potential impact of this revelation. If what Dominique said was true, this could change the whole dynamic of the Blood Essence purification process. But it also raised concerns.
"I understand that you're willing to help," Mira began cautiously, "but I don't want you to rush through your breakthroughs. Pushing your limits without proper preparation could be detrimental."
Dominique waved her off, "I've been through a lot in the FLDIL, Mother. The time and challenges there made me more resilient than you think. I'm confident in my capabilities."
Hana, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Even so, Dominique, there's a difference between confidence and recklessness. Maybe start slow? Try purifying a few Blood Essences first before attempting to tackle thousands."
Dominique pouted, but she couldn't ignore the concern in her friend's voice. "Alright, alright. I'll take it slow. But once I get the hang of it, you'll see how efficient this method can be!"
Mira gently patted Dominique's shoulder, "We'll get to that point when we're ready. For now, let's focus on what's in front of us."
The duo then dove into the intricacies of Blood Essence purification, with Hana returning to her training. Mira shared her experiences, while Dominique provided insights from her Celestial Blood Fox perspective. The synergy between the two of them was palpable, and it was clear that their combined efforts could potentially lead to groundbreaking advancements.
However, Mira also didn't want to rush Dominique, so she made her join Hana in the training, which she advanced extremely quickly.
Not only had she already surpassed that realm, but her current physical body had long surpassed any Rank 1 beast or Body Tempering Realm cultivator.
Still, Mira had her take her time, as she realized she may have made some mistakes with Dominique in the past due to her ignorance.
***
Two more months went by.
Now, there were only two months remaining until the second phase of the Prime Disciple Competition began.
During this time, Dominique had successfully returned to the Foundation Realm with a much sturdier foundation than last time. Her current self and previous self couldn't even be compared, she was so different.
However, Mira made her slow down a bit once she reached that point, as she didn't want the girl to get ahead of herself.
On the other hand, Mira had also broken through to the 7th Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, now that she didn't have to bear Dominique's burden.
In her soul, above and outside the wind cyclone, there were now Yin Fire stars intermittent throughout the entire place, lighting up some of the darkness. Above that, the raindrops had turned into frozen crystals, which, when they fell, turned back into water, hitting the heightened ice mountain that had formed.
The nascent soul of herself had also aged, looking like a 14-year-old rather than a child.
Meanwhile, Hana had finally broken through from the Strength Training Stage to the Bone Forging Stage. It wasn't even because she wanted to, it just happened naturally, as if she had reached the peak of what her current physique could handle.
Both Mira and Hana were surprised to see that, but it also made them curious. Could they do the same for the Bone Forging Stage? What about when she reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm? Or when her body finally reached adulthood?
Could she continue improving her base physique to the max until she naturally broke through to the Qi Condensation Realm?
What would happen when her bloodline finally awakened and was added to the equation?
Neither of them was sure, but they were eager to find out. And since Hana was in no hurry to cultivate Qi, Mira bought a few more books, manuals, and manuscripts about the Bone Forming Stage from the FLDIL, compiled them into a comprehensive training routine, and handed them to Hana.
Thus, the poor girl entered a new hell, one that she would continue to experience for a while.
Lastly, Mira, with the help of Dominique, had enhanced and distributed tens of thousands of purified Blood Essences to the other disciples of the Sect.
Dominique truly did have a unique way of purifying a Blood Essence. Due to her amazing control over blood, she was actually able to target specific areas in the Bloodline.
She was even able to tamper with the Bloodline itself, extracting all the "lesser" genes while purifying and improving the "ancient" genes with the help of Mira.
Every day, the two of them learned more about Blood, Bloodlines, and Blood Essences, which helped further Mira's research, creating better products.
***
While all of this was happening within the Sect, Nova had finally returned to the Sect!
When she showed up at the dungeon, she was battered, bruised, and bloodied. Her clothes were torn, her hair was in a mess, and she looked like someone had grabbed her by the legs and slammed her on the ground many times.
But, her eyes were shining, her aura was stronger, and she had clearly learned a lot from her experiences.
"You're back," Mira gave Nova a nod.
The fiery woman grumbled but returned the nod. Tossing the Beast Pouch over to Mira, Nova turned around, almost dragging her feet, leaving her with these words.
"Let me know when you're done. I'm going to rest."
Mira didn't bother to say anything, as Nova had already disappeared.
Turning to Dominique, Mira saw her smile and smirked, "Want to help?"
"Of course!"
Mira made her way over to a secluded spot in the dungeon, where she could store live beasts, and dumped them all out into that area.
"Then, let's get to work!"
