Veliona…
The first step was done successfully. The authority brought by the Natural Stigma allowed Veliona to harness the sixth Herrscher's Authority. A dark gray fog enveloped the tainted part of the soul.
I looked at Kiana before she nodded back.
Click.
The world turned light gray. The lack of Herrscher Authority did not hinder Kiana from pulling off her usual prowess. She managed to recreate [Global Time Fracture] using her supernatural power.
With the formation plate on the other hand, she briefly harnessed the power of a Nascent Soul Realm. The confinement zone she created evolved to the level of [Dharma Laws], the same as an awakened Herrscher's!
Although her face turned pale, she did not hesitate to deal the decisive blow.
A light blue blade flashed swiftly onto the soul. The tainted soul broke off from the whole. The light of the soul became extremely weak.
Swoosh-!
Veliona brought it back to the body. A jade bottle with a narrow neck appeared on my hand. Uncorking it caused a strong lotus-like fragrance to escape. A fourth grade pill rolled out of my hand. I placed the pill atop the girl's chest before it sank downwards. It is a middle fourth grade spiritual pill for treating soul injuries. A total of fifteen are present inside the jade bottle.
I made sure to place a trace of my spiritual consciousness to the pill, ensuring the girl won't implode due to the extremely potent medicinal effect.
Seeing her soul being repaired at a visible speed, my focus shifted back to the separated mental power. Kiana munched on some pills as her countenance turned better.
The light purple soul fragment reminded me of my time with Nihility. This can be considered as an experiment. If this succeeds, I will be able to rid myself of IX's influence—something on-par with Void Refinement Realm.
The [Beginningless Sword] came to my grasp. It is further strengthened by the fourth grade spiritual metals I received. After a major upgrade, it reached the high fourth grade.
A vague dark red light covered the entire blade. My thoughts are connected to it, feeding me back a chilly sensation. True to its name, it embodies the power of Netherworld—the Dao of Death.
A multi-colored light extended from my arm, staining the dark red light with vibrant colors.
Sou-!
The tip of my blade did not get past the purple light. I retracted it momentarily as honkai energy surged out of nowhere. My Herrscher Authority could not be used, but all the other honkai-related moves could be used.
My [Blade Mantra] began to work. Swathes of honkai energy are drawn out of nowhere. It continued to imbue the [Beginningless Sword] more power.
The mix of [Daluo Sword Art], [Sword Light Refraction], [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade], and [Blade Mantra] accumulated power until it reached its peak. My Golden Core level mind got worn down heavily. The concentration of honkai energy in my blade became comparable to my 100,000 HW attack.
In exchange…
Sou-!
Hum-!
…the destroyer of [Dharma Laws] emerged.
Crack-!
Shatter-!
The sword strike went past the ground, yet it did no damage. Only the floating purple light got shattered. The [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade] forcibly refines anything into the sword, and then to the person.
However, I am not limited to this. The purple light first entered my blade. It soon got converted into pure power. Then, I placed it inside the Chaos Furnace to further refine it.
I watched as it got broken down into pure essence.
"It worked."
The double refining created a batch of pure essence. It is easier to absorb, taking three years to fully absorb them. The double refining contributed a lot to its ease of absorption.
My exhausted mind acted fast. My spiritual qi reserves hit rock bottom. Extreme fatigue swept into my physical body.
Crunch-!
…
The pills solved all these problems.
I willed the shattered mental power to enter the Chaos Furnace. The [Great Accomplishment] mastery technique relies partly on my realm to refine things. As long as it does not exceed my tolerance limit, it will be refined.
Fortunately, I really could refine Nascent Soul level powers. The matter of efficiency can be ignored. Even if a fraction of its power dissipated, it is still capable of increasing one's cultivation.
Looking at the extremely pure essence, I chose to hold back ingesting them now. Unlike creation qi, I cannot ingest them in one go. I need to take them in smaller bites.
"Fu…"
All three of us calmed down. The integrated formation remains to be in high-alert under Kiana's grasp. After resting, we carried on with the remaining three Herrschers, removing the fragment of Honkai's will.
I took away their corresponding Herrscher Cores and confirmed they are not exactly the same as ours. They sported the same [Dharma Laws] level, but far stronger than the honkai's mental power. It lacked the high-level connection I see in our Herrscher Cores.
Pretty much everything in this Bubble World are lower-leveled copies of the original Herrscher Cores, making it suitable for cultivation consumption.
Unlike the Current Era, the Previous Era's Herrschers are "mindless". They could not retain their humanity, merely acting as mindless executioners for the source of honkai—the Cocoon of Finality. The Will of Honkai is not present yet, either.
In a daze, I stared at one of the Herrschers. She is none other than HIMEKO. She looks a bit younger than the Himeko of the Current Era. Her choice to retain her untied hair gave her a somewhat youthful look.
"You really like big breasts."
Kiana suddenly gave a perverted remark.
"Yeah, yeah."
I no longer became embarrassed when I admitted to those things. We went through a lot and… I do like them.
"...Huh."
Veliona's soft whisper came to my ears. Her eyes widened as she met mine. She could not say a word as she looked away from me.
…
This is Kiana's fault.
"Heh. Veliona has nice assets. I won't worry about it unless I am as flat as Shenzhou's Immortal."
"..!"
"..."
Kiana's mouth aside, for Fu Hua to be dragged into this conversation…
I am sorry, Class Rep.
"You are turning into a bigger pervert." I commented.
"Whose fault is it?"
Her eyes narrowed down as she looked at me.
…
This is on me.
I exhaled helplessly.
I felt the need to take a break on dual cultivation.
"Should we pause our dual cul…"
"No!"
Kiana did not let me finish my sentence when she disagreed. She buried her face on my chest, no longer attempting to let out any dirty jokes.
Seeing her like this made me feel guilty.
"Sorry."
"Hm."
Kiana's soft hum eased my mind.
Veliona quietly left from the sidelines. I could see the conflict in her eyes. The decades' worth of memories she intercepted from Seele affected her greatly. I could see that undisguised attachment—love and obsession—completely different from Kiana's love. The mental qualities of a hundred years old and twenty years old differ, more so when Seele experienced those time loops.
Only she and Veliona know the full picture. It is why Veliona chose to keep her distance during a year and four months. She never confronted me about it, choosing to wait until Seele returned.
"You are mine for now."
She looked up and declared.
"Okay?"
Kiana asked once more.
"Okay."
With my affirmation, her soft and sweet lips met mine.
*****
A/N: The bonus chapter will be uploaded tomorrow.