Everyone focused their eyes frenetically on the gigantic whale in a mixture of envy and admiration, except for Langrum and Zanou. Mira swelled her chest with pride at those looks; she contributed a bit to the numbers, and the counting array credited everything to the fabulous Goku.
'This shitty name, why did you come up with it?' Zane didn't forget to complain mentally.
Gael then sighed and said, 'Just accept it already. We were just walking, and we drew a lot of attention with this giant and noisy body. In the end, because you killed anything that came even a little close, we quickly lost track of the numbers without realizing.'
'And how is that bad? Here, the strongest one rules, I would have drawn even more attention.' Zane retorted.
The elder, after a few silent seconds, cut off their argument and announced the rewards. The first, second, and third places combined would take nearly a thousand abyss crystals, while everyone else received between twenty and fifty. After this announcement, their looks turned into deeper greed and hatred directed at them.
But Zane and Brunpo felt two very different looks and turned around. Zanou noticed their gaze on him, and his eyes trembled; shortly after, he turned and ran without looking back.
'Coward. He was honest and simple, but he wasn't cowardly before. It looks like I have to beat him more to remind him of the old times,' said Zane sinisterly, disappointed with his brother. Zanou was already fine, as Zane hadn't hurt him too deeply before.
Gael then commented, feeling the stares, 'Don't be so harsh; we'll have time to discipline him. Now, this Langrum seems to have no feeling of wanting to repay for our help. Well, at least she seems extremely irritated and doesn't have envy like everyone else.'
The elder continued to speak, not taking his eyes off Zane and Gael. He clearly was thinking of something not very good. Then, everyone was taken to a building in the center of Celestial Abyss City.
It was exactly the tallest and most magnificent building in the city. It wasn't hard to imagine that it was an extremely important place for the Vital Yin Sect. Inside, there was a reception with a giant counter in the background; as everyone approached the entrance, Zanou walked out the door with a sinister expression and hurriedly ran away.
'He... seemed very worried about something, didn't he?' Gael asked.
'We killed all his subordinates. He must have run into some trouble. No matter, if he's in real danger, we'll know because of the array.' Zane replied, unfazed.
All those who returned alive from the test would receive their rewards in that place. Zanou just ran ahead, took what belonged to him, and left. The others did the same quickly; as for the two newly arrived disciples, Goku and Langrum, they came to receive not only the reward but also additional bonuses related to a newcomer.
The two were soon left alone, and Langrum maintained a piercing aura toward them, but Zane and Gael simply ignored the sulky child. Soon, a new elder arrived, handing them spatial rings. Inside were the abyss crystals and some sets of clothes with the sect's symbol stamped on them.
"In this place is where we keep all the sacred techniques of our Vital Yin Sect," the elder began to talk about the building they were in.
"All members have the right to read the first volume of our clan-defining technique, the 'Extreme Double Yin Cultivation.' It has three volumes, and you can buy the rest with abyss crystals. In addition, there is a wide variety of techniques available for purchase."
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Gael then asked, "Where can I buy pills and order weapons from a blacksmith?"
The elder was surprised and laughed sadistically. "Hm? We don't waste our time on useless things that don't increase our strength. If we want something external, like pills, or need a new weapon, we simply go out to adventure and kill the pathetic cultivators outside, robbing everything from them."
Zane smiled inwardly, satisfied, and Gael felt a bit awkward. Then he spoke, "But you guys get ores from the desert or other abyss treasures here, right? What do you do with them?"
The elder didn't understand what this young disciple wanted, so he responded irritably, "Those things are all thrown into the storage and used by the patriarch in some way."
"Hopefully, by exterminating a city, we can find some idiot who wasted his time studying alchemy or making weapons. Then he is put to work until his last breath, and afterward, he is tortured, and his own blood and soul are used to give life to an evil weapon or pill." The elder finished with a malicious smile.
Gael nodded in understanding and asked, "But can I buy some of those ores with the crystals? Maybe I have a use for them."
"What? The patriarch is the only one who can touch the sect's storage. Even if he wants to use something for himself, taking it from there, he has to be accountable to the advisors. He uses the crystals he himself mined from the abyss to compensate the sect." The elder replied brusquely.
Gael nodded, seeming to understand. Both he and Zane shared the idea that studying a production dao was a waste of time on external matters. The time you would spend learning to forge a powerful weapon, for example, could be used to elevate your cultivation and personal power much faster. Of course, in their case, it was different; as the system gave them the forging dao, they could evolve a hundred times faster in it, and it would be worthwhile.
Gael then commented to Zane, 'This whole place is in a desert, with extremely dense earth laws. The number of precious ores that must exist here must be staggering. These idiots are wasting an extreme amount of resources. Not to mention the abyss, which should have other incredible things hidden.'
'This is a good opportunity for us,' Zane agreed mentally.
The entire expanse of the desert represented a constant danger for ordinary cultivators, and even the local residents avoided mining. It was reasonable to assume that this entire territory was full of resources for them to explore.
It was then that Gael seemed to have a sudden recollection and took a black emblem from his inventory. The sect symbol was engraved on the emblem, and the patriarch personally gifted it to them.
The elder received the emblem with a dubious look when suddenly he detected a subtle Qi emanating from it. Immediately, he froze in place and hastily returned the emblem, visibly breaking into a cold sweat.
"Uh... With his authorization, we can go to the storage. But you'll have to pay with crystals if you want to take anything." The elder said, noticeably nervous.
"Alright. Let's..." Gael was already moving when Mira squeezed his shoulder, and he turned to her.
"Master, I..." She seemed to carefully choose her words and then remembered something. "You can also buy sect clothes and other things here."
Gael was a bit confused but looked at her worn-out maid clothes and seemed to agree, even though he felt something was off. So, he put most of the crystals into his spatial inventory and handed the ring to her with a certain amount remaining.
They then followed the elder to an upper floor, leaving Mira behind. Langrum was also there but had already hurried off to read the sect's first book on dual cultivation techniques.
Using a transportation array, they arrived at an underground and dark place. Another responsible elder arrived, and Gael requested information about all the best ores available there.
In the end, they burned two-thirds of all the crystals they received, exchanging them for small pieces of nine different ores. While it wasn't enough to forge a weapon with any of these pieces, it was crucial for them to feel the energy and facilitate the search for more in the desert. It took almost an hour, and they returned to where they left Mira.
They walked silently, concealing their presence as they approached. In a distant corner, they saw the small figure of Mira, now properly dressed in black with the typical attire of an evil cultivator. These clothes contained runes carved with Qi, enhancing her defenses, available at various defensive levels and varied prices.
As they got closer, they noticed that Mira was near Langrum, engaged in a conversation... or rather, they seemed to be discussing something. So, they focused their attention on the conversation.
"Don't be ridiculous. A child like you barely has any Yin energy yet. You'll die training that," Langrum said indifferently.
"Master said that if I'm on the verge of death, it means I'm training it correctly! I won't back down!" Mira spoke determinedly. Neither Gael nor Zane could comprehend what they were talking about.
Mira then added, puffing out her chest, "Even if I don't have much, I'll overcome it with practice. I'll be able to do it dozens of times in a row with Master. Don't underestimate me."
Langrum seemed extremely shocked by those words. She looked at the little girl, and her aura of irritation flared up. But it wasn't directed at Mira.
"That bastard... how can he deceive and make this little one do that?" Langrum murmured, with Zane and Gael hearing it very well.
Gael almost ran when he felt Langrum's aura of anger. But he stopped abruptly when he saw something on the table between Mira and Langrum. It was a giant book, and there was something written on it.
"This... what the hell," exclaimed Zane.
Then Gael's heart almost stopped as he read the name on the open book and understood what they were talking about: Extreme Double Yin Dual Cultivation.