Morning arrived within the separate world of the evil cultivators. In that dark and gray place, there was no day or night in the skies, but when the sun was in the outer heavens, it discharged a large amount of Yang laws, and this could be sensed by everyone within the world, marking the beginning of the day.
Mira slowly opened her eyes, feeling much more energetic than usual. She had slept like a rock, something she rarely experienced in her life. Inside the Divinestone clan, insecurity and anguish were constant in her life, but now, every day seemed exciting despite being physically painful and challenging. After sitting up in bed and not seeing her master there, she immediately felt a fluctuation in a corner of the room.
Zane and Gael were seated on the floor in meditation, and a gentle, multicolored Qi surrounded them, creating a unique semblance. Soon, Mira realized that it wasn't pure Qi but thousands of small runes. She immediately connected it to something she had recently learned and was certain; it was a formation... but it seemed to be hundreds of times more complex than the one inside the Divinestone clan.
She watched them in awe for an hour, clearly seeing the runes forming around them, exploding, and others being created in their place. Her master's face was impassive and cold, but she could sense a subtle frustration from them. It was clear they were facing great difficulties, but she was confident they could overcome any obstacle... except their obesity...
After another hour, the natural Qi within the room suddenly changed. Mira was astonished to see all the multicolored runes filling with energy and condensing, accumulating at the head of the giant, round figure. A sacred light illuminated the entire space, and a mystical and ethereal crown briefly formed over their heads. For a moment, they looked like a whale with a crown, but it disappeared suddenly.
It was then that Zane and Gael opened their eyes, finding the little girl staring at them intently; only the sound of her heart pounding could be heard by them.
'We spent the whole night and only managed the basics of this peculiar Array. Really, we're not cut out for this kind of thing. Well, whatever. Since Mira is already awake, let's test the effect.' Zane commented without much emotion.
Mira calmed down a bit when they called her, then sat down next to them eagerly. Zane touched her forehead, and the phenomena happened again, but this time, Mira could feel the runes synchronizing with her entire body. Then, a small runic mark fixed itself on her forehead and disappeared into her body.
Seeing that, Gael commented softly, "You were added to the Array perfectly. Close your eyes and try to focus on us."
In a few seconds, they synchronized, and the effects became clearer. As long as they weren't separated between dimensions, they would be able to sense each other's existence even if they were far apart. They could easily communicate over great distances through this connection, and if Mira were in danger, they would feel it immediately. Naturally, the same could be said if Zane and Gael were in danger instead. These were just the basic effects of the Array.
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Zane and Gael felt like Mira was part of a network, with them being the core of everything. They then tested and triggered the runes. Quickly, their Qi moved through the network. Next, they tried the reverse, and the Qi in Mira's meridians seemed to move at their command.
In another test, they asked Mira to activate her mental power. To their shock, a gentle mental energy sprouted in their own meridians with just their will. Following that, they triggered their own laws of the earth, and the reverse also happened. Mira was astonished to see the laws of the earth in her body. Both could benefit mutually from this.
Zane and Gael had already grasped some understanding when they received the system's technique, but now, seeing it firsthand, the shock still lingered; they could transfer Qi and laws from anyone connected to the Array to any place they desired.
'This seems a bit too powerful; there must be something really bad tied to it,' Gael commented.
'Do you want something worse than having everything about you possibly controlled by someone else? It's almost like a slave seal, Zane answered sarcastically. 'It only works because we trust each other completely. If we add someone with malicious intentions, they could easily attack our bodies using this connection. Trust... that is definitely the biggest drawback in the cultivation world.'
Gael had to admit Zane's words made sense. 'Being the core allows us that whenever someone intends to use the Array, it has to be through us. Even someone weaker can cause some problems due to the direct connection with us; this might be problematic among normal cultivators, but it's not the case with Mira.'
Despite not being good at arrays, the system seemed to recognize this, and this Array was unlike anything they had seen in their universe. It wasn't controlled by laws or a complex manipulation of runes, like a gear. Instead, it was solely commanded by the direct soul command through simple runes. It was as if it had been designed for them.
Zane and Gael had divine souls, and after much effort, they successfully built the foundations of the Array. But now, after some tests, despite understanding very little, it seemed that their souls were much stronger than the original creator's. This could pose both problems and advantages.
'The more people are added, the larger the network created, and consequently, the greater the power of the Array. Simply put, it doesn't really make our individual power stronger. However, we are stronger while we are in the Array since we can use each other's advantages to cover for our weaknesses.' Gael found it quite convenient.
However, he also noticed that suddenly, a muffled sound echoed in the room. 'Something is not right...'
They looked forward, and their eyes found the source of the sound. It came from within Mira's body.
'Did she... break through?' Gael asked strangely. 'The near-death experience, followed by injecting a lot of Qi into her body, must have improved her physical condition a bit. This much was expected. However, there seems to be something else...'
Zane then noticed the reason. 'Our Qi is being transferred into her... and the energy of our souls, too!'
They were perplexed and calmly analyzed on the surface, while Mira was smiling without understanding much of their surprise. She felt her mind getting lighter, thinking that it was a consequence of cultivation. But her mortal soul was being fervently nourished.
'Our soul is at a level that the array can't maintain stability due to the amount of energy.' Gael spoke, trying to stay calm.
It was like an overflowing pool of water. All the excess was being taken by the runes and, consequently, going to Mira. They focused on cutting off this transfer, but it was unsuccessful, so both were incredulous at the consequences of this.
'We have to destroy the runes and the Array. Damn, it took so much effort,' Zane commented. Continuously losing Qi and power from their souls was something hard to accept.
But Gael took a deep breath and spoke. 'No, this will be good for her. Once her body is fully developed, the more we cultivate, the easier it will be for her to cultivate along...'
How could Zane accept such a thing? 'Are you crazy? It's going to be so much harder for us to cultivate because of this!' Zane might like the girl, but he wasn't anywhere as nice as Gael.