After beating down the one who covered the retreat, Rexford was still steaming with anger. Grabbing the practitioner by the head with one arm, the other arm stabbed into the chest coated in Gold & Black energy.
Using Soul Siphon was frowned upon by some but Rexford didn't care if they did find out or liked it for that matter. He needed answers and this was the best way to get them.
He was not gentle nor did he care about the lasting damage it would cause at all. The very life of tribesman was viewed completely and very forcefully that all secrets were made bare.
Rexford's eyes glowed as he took it all in. Seeing it all as if he was there at the same time it occurred. The Mental Technique Tortured Mind Refining Arts took it all and implanted it into his cerebral cortex for viewing later if he needed to refreshen the knowledge.
The Mini version of himself couldn't access it and had no idea what was just learned. In fact, besides sensing the surroundings the split of himself couldn't do a single thing else. Even the Black Gold Vortex was cut off from it thanks to this.
"Ahh!" The tribesman felt back like a burnt-out husk. Mana oozed from its mouth and life force faded away. "..." Inaduble words left his lips.
*Schup!* Rexford swiped him into his Internal Space and disposed of him into the Black Gold Vortex. Feeding its expansion in the process and causing fresh RichQi to drop from it for later.
"I know where they have taken the body, hire some people to get it back." He said to Prescott who looked a little worse for wear. "I am sure you have someone to take care of them or want to crush the Greenbear Tribe."
"I do..." Prescott reached for his phone but a wave of pain shot up his arm. "..just may take some time to do so. What about..." He stopped as a Pill was stuffed in his mouth. The powerful energy caused his wounds to heal with residual energy improving his entire cultivation.
Speaking with Cassandra and Luigi he was trying to get some detail on what they knew of the surrounding tribes or just plain old enemies looking for revenge.
"We have a big problem than them, screw the body!" Cassandra shouted agitated. Not only was she rattled still from the mine spirits and undead but she was also rattled by how Rexford acted a few minutes ago. It was almost obsessive trying to get back something that he consider his. "Spirits and the ill sort are rising up from the Mine, if we don't take care of it let alone your Mine, who knows what will happen to the area!"
"Grr..." Rexford didn't want to lose out on the mine and the mention of spirits sounded appealing. "...fine, back in the Mine I go. You two look pretty bad, take care of your wounds and rest up, then join Prescott in dealing with the Greenbear Tribe."
Luigi nodded as this was something he was better dealing with compared to ghosts.
Cassandra moved to make a call as she wanted to check with her family to see if they knew anything else about the Mine and the Tribes in the area. Someone had to know something about the situation.
With that Rexford walked off into the Mine. Going through the information obtained from the one he disposed of still. The integration of animals into the tribes' Bloodline and their particular use of Mana was combined into the Tortured Mind Refining Arts.
'I am not going to use animal blood to improve myself, that is just weird as shit right now. But to emulate with my mind does not sound bad at all. The Black Gold Sun Art can develop something to use physically with all the other information I know derived from the Butcher.' Popping a Vortex Spirit Enhancing Pill to replenish lost energy, his body screamed in pain but he felt better as he was improving his cultivation using the most effective methods he could. 'Maybe I can torture these spirits and gain more information as needed?'
A dark look flashed in his eyes as the need to do well in this venture was really needed.
The Nucleus inside pulsed as the silhouette became more defined. A face appeared as it then tried to leave the confines of the Internal Space. Unfortunately, it had nowhere near the power or authority to do so.
It did have enough power to reach out and speak to its captor. Rexford split some of his attention to speak with the creature in his Internal Space while going into the Mine and checking it over.
"You, I don't care what your goal is but let me out!" Frustrated that he could not escape it made demands immediately and tried to intimidate the captor. "I am First Man, a descendant of the Supreme Being!"
"That's nice, I am Rexford, the controller of the area you are in. I am also busy so shut your mouth before I feed you into the Black Gold Vortex!" Not liking the sass he was about to do just that but stopped remembering what this creature was. "You stole my Nucleus, you owe me, you thief."
"Humph! I am no thief! I can only assume the Nucleus you speak of was the prison I was in! Where are the rest, you foul creature!"
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"Ok, that is strike one, you will learn respect. Or else..." Rexford really didn't like its attitude and was beginning to get pissed off. "..I really will get rid of you."
Of course, that did not go over well as the one who called himself First Man shouted back at him again. True to his word Rexford pushed the Black Gold Vortex and tried to swallow the individual up.
"Unhand me!" The First Man shouted as he was pulled into the proverbial sky. Seeing the Black Gold Vortex a wave of fear burst forth. Instincts warning that it would end him if he was swallowed inside. "Stop! Don't you dare!"
The swirling of the Black Gold Vortex stobbed pulling the First Man in as Rexford made it to an area that needed his full attention. Dropped down, the First Man was face to face with an individual only three inches tall.
The Mini version of Rexford floated in front with a grin on its face. The two start trading information on what the First Man truly was and what was going to happen to it. With the information given by the Mini Rexford, its facial expression that grew more defined turned ugly.
Two words rattled it to the core. Unending Army, the natural enemy of Deities who step out of line. Which the First Man was more than guilty of several times over.
.
Spirits All Around-
.
Not just a couple of spirits walking about but several thousand in a sea of movements and struggling. Some were fixed in a state of screaming, some were in a state of begging, and some had looks of absolute defiance on their faces.
People from all different stages of life were present. Children, teenagers, middle-aged, old, and damn near ancient. Different nationalities and even a few animals were in the mix.
As Rexford walked through with Qi cloaking his body, the majority of the Spirits recoiled back in pain. Some were perfectly fine and started to follow him like a guiding beacon. They felt at peace and one or two actually nurst into light as they were untethered from the Earth.
"What an unusual thing, at least I can get my Mine back." Pushing his hands out, the silhouette of his hands appeared. Quite large they followed his movements and smashed into the Spirits that tried to run away. "You are trespassing and not paying rent!"
With each flick of the palm and smashing of the fist, they were swatted away like vermin. Some tried to lunge and attack him but burst into a black light and sucked inside of him after impact.
The Black Gold Vortex swallowed them up and refined them into Rich Energy like everything else. With each strike, Rexford was assaulted with various images. All that he ignored for now.
"I see how to do it now." Rexford had gotten pretty deep into the Mine and had tried a few methods to exercise his will using the Tortured Mind Refining Arts. "Come here!" A tendril like that of a fishing line shot out.
Snagging a spirit dressed in civil war clothing, he racked through its very being and injected some Qi into it. The spirit went turned solid and actually left an impression on the ground.
Seeing it work, Rexford started pushing his Qi into various spirits that looked somewhat whole. The ones with disfigured faces and hanging limbs tended to be the ones who died brutally and kept running when he came close.
It was about 20 minutes later when he had a few dozen under his control. The rest were crushed under his fists and palms or sucked in to be refined as more resources needed to be used.
"Now, what is in this Mine that allows you to even be able to exist this long?" Rexford was not an expert in Earthbound Spirits and Revanat Ghosts, but he had a little bit of information that let him know they were either trapped by something or they didn't want to go. Something said it was the former. "Of course, this information determines if you get to move on or die horribly."
He could only imagine that the Black Gold Vortex was a horrible experience to go through.
"Of course sir," A southern Belle Spirit spoke up immediately as she did not want to suffer. She also did not want to go to the other side for some reason. "inside the Mine.. deeper down a Warlock put up a shrine 200 years ago or so. I, like so many others were placed there to die."
"The warlock didn't care about what he threw into the Shrine, he even took my entire flock." A hummingbird landed on the Southern Belle's shoulder and spoke quickly. "I have been stuck here at least 2,342 Moons!"
Various spirits started to shout out immediately. Rexford couldn't move his eyes away from a Wolf that sat right in front and kept eye contact with him. Unlike the other Spirits, it was burning against the Qi he produced but could withstand it.
"Alright... settle down." Rexford got enough of it and found that the Shrine had at least a few guards at the Elemental Body I Stage.
And the Warlock was much stronger but injured heavily. He was using the various bodies to restore himself. The spirits were just leftovers from the process. The site was chosen due to the large number of people who died during various wars and the location was perfect from prying eyes.
"Well, they haven't dealt with you for some reason or another besides not caring really. Are they unable to hurt you?"
"The Warlock can hurt us but it causes him discomfort." The Wolf stated as a matter of fact. "As for the various Pages under him, they would not defy their master if they wished to live or get stronger."
The term Pages had Rexford interested. They were initiated in the ways of Mana study and application. Something he bypassed in the Path of that type of Cultivation. He would need to get involved with them to fill in the gaps if he was to be smart about it.
"Who are you exactly?"
"I am a member of the Wolf Tribe, an exile for joining the Warlock and giving him access to parts of the land he needed. I did not know he was going to do this, I just wanted to get stronger myself. My tribe has long since perished."
"Hmm, do you remember your name?" Rexford ignored the anger of the various Spirits. Information was more important than their feelings right now. "Also, any love for the local Tribe near by, the Greenbear Tribe?"
"I don't remember my name but I do not have any love for any Tribe." The Wolf looked somewhat sad at not remembering but none of the other Spirits remembered their own names either. "Something about what the Warlock has done robs us of a part of ourselves."
"Oh, that sounds good." Rexford waved his hands to stop the immediate protesting. In fact he swept them all into his Internal Space to keep from hearing major out speakers. "Alright then Wolf, you are gonna help me take down the Warlock. Whatever he is doing must have more locations tied into the Shrine here, so take me there."
Popping another Vortex Spirit Enhancing Pill into his mouth, Rexford adjusted his Qi and pushed it into the Wolf. Instead of the Warm Gold Qi, he used before he pushed Black Qi into the Wolf. This caused it to grow in size and actually affect the environment more.
Drawing a few Formations into the Mine itself, Rexford caused the place to become unstable with Warm Qi. He dropped a few Vortex Spirit Enhancing Pills to power the Formations while he and the wolf left.