The Shadow Puma was simply too scared to refuse immediately. The request itself was bizarre and outrageous, but the people that made it so were even more so.
Not only were they completely without any essence, they were also simply too powerful to refuse and most likely continue living.
"I…" the Shadow Puma started speaking, but it couldn't say anything. It wanted to refuse, but then it worried what that would mean, not just to her but also…
Her fear made her feel completely unable to move. She stood there, not knowing what to do at all.
"Come," Ning said, calling to Clara who finally got out of her stupor. She looked at Emma with fear in her eyes and then back at Ning who acted like nothing happened at all.
"Your daughter," she spoke, following Ning quickly. "How is she… so strong?"
"Reasons," Ning said. "I could try and explain, but that would be like explaining the concept of smartphones to a group of primitive folks."
"A smart… what?" Clara was confused.
"See? It's hard to explain," Ning said. "Let's just say that she is simply too strong for anyone in this world."
"Is everyone from your world like that?" Clara couldn't ask as they delved deeper into the cave and light started slowly dying.
A person at the Stellar Harmony realm like her was supposed to have a vision that could even see clearly in the dark with nothing much light from the stars and the moons.
However, in this instance, even when light came in through the cave's opening, the winding paths made it impossible to get all the way in. On top of that, it seemed to be naturally blocked off as well, causing the rest of the cave to forever remain in darkness.
'Shadow Essence,' Clara thought.
"Not everyone," Ning answered her question. "Only my family and friends. Rest are… strong, but not at the same level as us."
"I see," Clara said. She imagined how strong the rest of them would be.
"Don't mistake it though," Ning said. "Even amongst us all, I am at a realm beyond any of them are capable of reaching. Most of them can't even come close to my daughter in terms of strength, and I ma far beyond her."
"Sounds like all the same to me," Clara said and continued walking down the cave. She followed the Essence, now that she could sense it so much more clearly and ended up at the end of the tunnel where the Essence was at its highest.
Light appeared out of nowhere around her and she looked toward Ning who simply smiled at her, letting her know that it was his doing.
She turned around and finally went to the edge of the cave where the darkness was the thickest. She paused when she saw something in front of her that she hadn't expected to see there.
"Those are…"
"Her children," Ning said, looking at the small puma cubs that were barely a few months old.
He heard a swift rush as the puma ran back through the cave, coming back for her children. It seemed the threat of what would happen to her children had overshadowed the threat she felt for her own life.
She stood before Ning and Clara, growing at them with a stance that was ready to attack them.
Ning smiled and walked up to the puma.
The puma jumped, slamming Ning with her paws, but nothing happened. Instead, Ning simply rubbed her head lightly when she landed and spoke up.
"I'm not going to hurt your children. Don't worry," he said. "We're here for the Shadow Essence crystals that are hiding beneath this mountain.
The puma didn't believe him, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was try to fight him even more.
Emma walked in. "What happened? She just wal—"
She paused when she saw the puma's children.
"Wah!" she shrieked in surprised when she saw the cubs.
There were two of them, and both of whom were sleeping. They stirred awake hearing noise in the room. The made some cute noise that got Emma even more excited than she already was.
She walked up and went past the puma who couldn't move at all anymore. The puma growled but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't even see what was happening behind her.
Emma took the two cubs on her embrace and brought them to their mother. "Look, I'm not going to hurt your children," she said, caressing the two cubs. She let them go after a few seconds next to the puma, who could finally move.
Emma walked back up to her father.
Ning looked surprised. "What's wrong? Do you not want her anymore?" he asked.
"She is more scared of me than anything," Emma said. "I don't want to take her when she would probably hate me more than anything if I did so. I'll find something else I guess."
Even as she said so, her eyes were still on the pupa and the two cubs.
Ning sighed and looked at the beast. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave here now," he said. "We're going to take away all the Shadow Essence from here, so there won't be anything left for you at all."
The puma looked at them in confusion and a bit of curiosity. She slowly grabbed the cubs with her mouth and walked out with them.
Once she was completely out, Ning finally got to work.
He tore apart the ground with his energy, sending earthquakes around the location and made many weaker animals flee away.
Ning pushed the walls back, making everything bigger and then grabbed onto the crystal with his telekinesis powers.
He used the full brunt of his force and pulled out the black crystals as far as he could. Clara saw the crystals and showed a look of shock.
The Shadow Essence crystals she saw today were purer than anything her family could have ever mined. With such great crystals, anyone could reach the pinnacles of Essences without any worries.
