Tania used the soul-searching technique on the man. This technique was complex and demanding, but for Tania, it posed little challenge. The real difficulty lay in protecting the man's soul from destruction due to Anna's previous attack.
To facilitate her search, Tania also used her own primordial energy to create a memory projection screen that would display everything she observed through the man’s memories. There were numerous seals placed by the man himself to protect the information from techniques like this, but Tania's experience over thousands of years made undoing these seals a trivial task.
The results of the soul-searching technique were more astonishing and shocking than both Tania and Anna could have ever imagined. They uncovered a wealth of information regarding the missions of the primordial creatures as well as many truths about the world that neither of them had known.
There was also a self-destruction seal placed by the man's master that contained the most critical information, but unfortunately, it couldn’t be unsealed. Still, they gleaned valuable insights from what they could access.
"I don't think we need to do anything extreme to stop the plans of that man's master and the organization behind him." Anna, on the contrary, appeared very relaxed, as if the truth revealed by the man's memories was unrelated to her.
"This is not the time to be relaxed, Anna! Are you seriously considering fighting them head-on? The scale of the organization is beyond what we can confront with our current strength. This man was only one of their agents; what if an army of people like him comes here, or if someone with greater cultivation arrives? We won't stand a chance!" Tania's frustration was evident as she struggled to make Anna understand the gravity of the situation.
"What do you take me for? Do I look like someone who would do something reckless?" Anna replied, her expression suggesting that Tania had greatly wronged her. However, Tania's straight face seemed to say, "Yes, you are exactly that kind of person."
But this time, Anna genuinely felt wronged, so she hurriedly explained, "Hey, I'm not a troublemaker, okay? I have a foolproof plan this time."
"Oh? Is that so? Then why don't you explain your so-called plan?" Tania asked, her skepticism evident.
"As we now know what the mark is from this man's memory, we can simply hide it from people like him. Our enemies have no means to detect us directly unless they are right in front of us. The man's master used a divination technique to check our general location, but the backlash from using that technique on us is something he can't recover from quickly, so he won't be able to use it again anytime soon.
When the man arrived at this location predicted by his master, he came to this mortal world first among thousands of realms purely by coincidence. He then tracked us down because we stand out among billions of residents who use spiritual energy; we don’t emit the usual aura of spiritual energy. So, what if we start cultivating spiritual energy? We would be no different from the residents here."
Anna confidently outlined her plan to Tania. Honestly, it wasn’t even a complex strategy but a simple step that would effectively thwart their enemies' tracking efforts.
"Okay, I understand what you're trying to convey. According to the man's memory, we both bear the mark called the Mark of Fate, which signifies that we are destined to become the true gods of this world. The Heavenly Dao sensed the crisis posed by 'Them' and gave us this mark to protect us. Since the man's master and the organization behind him are minions of 'Them,' the world will also thwart their divination techniques by imposing a strong backlash." Tania grasped Anna's reasoning. This was a straightforward and useful approach that was characteristic of Anna, and it would work perfectly in their situation.
"Yes! The man's master gave him a time frame of about 1,000 years to search for us mark bearers among thousands of mortal worlds. We have plenty of time to cultivate and grow powerful, as he can't predict our location. Now, we just need to start cultivating spiritual energy and ensure this man's soul can't report back for a thousand years." Anna felt fully confident in her plan, empowered even in the face of potential challenges. With time on their side, they would become much more powerful than they were now.
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"This is a good step. We will follow your plan and address problems as they arise. Now, first, put this man's soul alongside the soul of the old man you captured from the ring. That gives us two organizations to destroy on our list," Tania said, visibly relaxed, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across her face as she cracked her knuckles.
Sometimes, a lack of experience can be advantageous. Anna had successfully devised a new plan despite knowing the power of the organization they faced. In contrast, Tania felt flustered, having experienced firsthand how it could be a life-and-death struggle against powerful opponents. This past experience clouded her judgment, causing her to overlook the need to assess their positions and strengths. However, Anna considered every aspect carefully.
Anna opened her black room once again and placed the man's soul inside. After a moment of contemplation, she looked at Tania and asked, "Hey, Tania, should we just destroy this continent and then travel to another continent or even a different mortal world? Someone might check the last location where the man was seen. But what about your revenge? Do you have any ideas?"
Although Tania had not been with Anna for long, she quickly figured out her personality and immediately knew what Anna was thinking. Instead of answering directly, she teased her, "Oh, are you really worried that someone might track the man? In that case, we should just destroy this continent. My revenge isn't that important anyway.
This was not the response Anna had expected, and she became flustered, hastily persuading Tania, "No, your revenge is very important! We should prioritize that before figuring out how to deal with the enemy."
"Hmph! You're just worried that your new toys will be destroyed along with the continent, so you're trying to divert my attention to my revenge, huh? You knew I was going to suggest destroying this continent, so you reminded me about it first to ignite my thirst for revenge and stop me," Tania exposed her friend's intentions directly. Now Anna was truly embarrassed, having her thoughts laid bare, and she began looking everywhere to avoid meeting Tania's eyes.
Tania enjoyed Anna's embarrassed expression for a moment before continuing, "But you don't have to worry. Based on my estimates, we will be on this continent for at least 50 to 80 years, so we don't have to worry about the man's organization. You can have your fun for a while, but we need to go to a sect to cultivate spiritual energy, so you don't have much time."
Anna felt a surge of happiness upon hearing Tania's answer. Although the time frame was short, it was enough for her to indulge and seek satisfying revenge for Tania.
"Thank you, Tania! And don't worry; I won't delay much. Let's go back to the Dark Forest to see the outcome of the battle." Anna said, but she had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. Unable to recall what it was, she asked Tania, "Hey, Tania, am I forgetting something here?"
Tania answered confidently, "No, you're not. Let's move on now." However, if Anna had noticed, she would have seen that Tania was looking sideways when she answered, having successfully hidden the location of the man's treasures even from the memory-sharing screen. Now, she would be able to tease Anna even more next time. Changing the topic, Tania asked with a serious expression, "Anna, do you remember the condition for us primordial creatures to advance to the Dao realm on our mission to become true gods?"
"Yes, of course, I remember. It is to integrate every Dao present in the world and then advance to the Dao realm. Why are you asking?" Anna replied.
"Look at this sub-dimension. It was created by a Dao realm cultivator of void and darkness. Although the man was a half-hearted Dao realm cultivator who used all kinds of treasures to advance, this sub-dimension is made from real Dao. So instead of destroying it, why don't we keep it? That way, we will have a lot of help when we advance," Tania explained.
Anna looked around the sub-dimension for a moment and then said, "Alright, let's collect it."
They both used their primordial energy to melt the sub-dimension, converting it directly into Dao energy. Tania collected the energy in a vial made of primordial energy. Following Anna's suggestion, they then teleported to the Dark Forest.