Exchange fists and basic spells, Rexford kept the situation pressed. The wolf dealt with a flying skull that tried to devour the other spirits. Whatever it was it had the spirit wolf incensed with wanting to remove it or devour it.
"Humph! one of those cultivators lot, how foolish!" The Warlock kicked Rexford in the face and used him as a springboard to sail in the air. His hands and fingers moving in strange ways as the mana in the room converge around them. "You have such pure mana but don't even know how to use it!"
Rexford didn't regret his training for his body as he ran and dodged the fire of blasting spells. He made sure to move back and forth over the ritual spot and continue to disrupt it further. Taking not only fragments of the surface into himself but also the soil underneath to further cause issues.
Bits of dirt that didn't get taken in started to float around his body under the pull of unnoticeable force.
"Thanks for the help, It is working wonders for this thing!" Rexford was confident he could get out of this alive but not if the spell had been completed. Common sense said to keep messing it up to prevent a problem as well as sucking in the available energy. "Adding more spells would just make this situation worse don't you know?'
He took out the pistol he acquired from Cosimo before he opened fire at different intervals. Just a few to throw the Warlock off and to get rid of the feeling of not doing enough in combat.
They disintegrated before making contact at first but soon the amount of mana coating the gun had increased to the point the shots started to make it inches from the target.
"Damn you!" Enraged, the Warlock flew up high to create distance but that was a mistake that he did not know just yet. "Range is always an accurate problem for these modern weapons! That is why we practice such spells you fool!"
With a quick kick of his legs, a spell circle appeared. Two spectral heads smaller than the one attacking the spirits shot out. They burrowed into Rexford's body but didn't do anything. Well, they gave him a worse headache.
'The curse will make this a lot easier!' The Warlock looks ready to cackle madly at his win, A sense of dread causes him to redirect the protection spell around him to focus directly on himself. "Filthy weaklings!" Two spirits had taken swipes when dropping out of the ceiling but the blows were just too weak to matter.
*Pow! Pow!* Two charged shots went to the side of the Warlock's head into the mine ceiling. They were not missed shots but destabilizing ones to cause debris to fall from up top.
With a flick of the wrist moving a curtain of condensed mana, the debris was taken care of quickly. Spent the evil caster had no choice but to head towards the ground a little and take in more of the ritual energy.
*Crack!* Rexford had not stopped his demolition after firing those times. He knew his body would be fine against anything coming up top for a few strikes or shots by the enemy. Hands clasped together like a hammer, he slammed with all his might creating a crater in the remainder of the Ritual site.
"That should do it!" Pulling the broken part sin, he jumped out of the collapsing ground towards a more stable footing. Hand outstretched he was about to fire but the gun looked almost done with it still trying to cool down. "Tch! Have to work on this more!"
"You try well brat but I have won! All will remember the Great Warlock Cidolfus!" Shooting loudly he continued to channel the spell into himself and grew in power quickly. "Yes! Yes! The power is mine!"
It was just a brief sparkle that appeared on the crazed caster's belt but he recognized the Nature energy. The belt must have been something important at one point or might just be an artifact of that type that the man came across. Either way, the process of the ritual ran a number on it and it was deteriorating pretty fast.
Seeing an opening Rexford acted, the Ritual was truly messed up because of him and he had another chance to mess it up further. The containment and transfer part of the spell was not there. It was supposed to be enacted for the final phases of power and was broken by his efforts.
"Ugh!" Bloated with power, it pains the caster to concentrate. "get off me child! This is not how you treat your new god!" Rexford pumped some of his Mana into him along with some of his Qi that was refined while latching on like a koala.
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The Warlock was unable to contain it as it all pumped into his heart! The way of Qi was not something he studied and he couldn't just turn it into mana for use.
Sending his fist through the other's chest with a through and through, the Warlock pushed back with a chain spell that bombarded Rexford's body with unrestrained artillery fire. But he was not freed and had no choice but to try and contain the energy while still going the his ascension. It took all his focus just to have the energy go towards the Heart, Rexford really hoped this wouldn't turn into a Lich or something.
"To.. much!" The Warlock's mouth opened wide as a Golden light shot out illuminating the Mine. Despite him being human the path of study he embarked on was to much and the the energy he had taken all his career and what he just obtained did not react with what was put inside. "You.. can't be this strong! You are too young to have such pure energy!"
The body continued to crack and break apart from the heavy strain on it.
As the Warlock dissolved into nothing physically, Rexford didn't even attempt to try and take control of the Spirit of the cultivator. But he did use Soul Siphon just to take a peek at what was going on in the area before it was too late.
But that only sped up the damage to the physical body and threatened the likes of an explosion Rexford did not want to test just yet. It was bad enough the cave started warping and his spirits fled out.
"You.. will.. pay.." The floating skull was starting to dissolve as well. It tried to threaten him but a ray of light from its Follower falling part touched its remains. "..no!! You are no priest or shaman!!!"
Instead of the Floating Skull getting the chance to preserve itself, it faded into nothingness at first. No longer compact the remains of it were sucked into Rexford alongside its Follower the Warlock.
The Black & Gold Vortex churned like no other as it was taking in everything in the surroundings still that was a target. The Floating Skull didn't have a chance as it all disappeared.
Much to the fear of the Warlock who was attempting to absorb it to save them both.
"Curse you!" The Warlock didn't know something so frightening was inside of the mortal that defied him and ruined his plans. He needed assistance and assumed anyone else trapped inside would want to help. "You two, help me!"
The Mini Rexford and the First Man looked at the Warlock Spirit and turned the other way like they didn't see a thing. They did not want to go into the Black & Gold Vortex either and with how much momentum it had been building it would only take Rexford a change of mind to swallow them up as well.
The Warlock pleaded and cried for mercy but definitely received none as he went the same as his Master into the glowing ring of doom in the sky. That is what it looked like to him and despite all his power, he couldn't utilize it correctly in this form.
As his bones were realigning and the Spirits kept guard after coming back, Rexford sucked in everything within sight. If it wasn't jewels or metal he chucked it directly into the Vortex without a single care.
"Ugh!" A brutal dislocation hurt really bad and tore quite a few muscle fibers. Putting it correctly relieved a lot of his tension and pain. "Ah, some good money to be earned from this!"
Switching to some clothes he had in the Internal Space right quick, he focused on cleaning himself up quickly and fixing his mental state. Not liking the look of the surface around him from the destruction of the fight he released his Mana in precise control to make it smooth.
"That's better." Take a few quick looks around with his growing senses and the Spirits he only found a few busted-up statues. "Better than nothing and might be worth it to look into."
The items were placed into the Internal Space as well in a nice little spot for stuff he goes through in his downtime. Unknown to Rexford who was not paying much attention to them at this time, the Mini him and the First Man went to grab the statues.
They immediately tried to fix them and figure out who they were. The Mini tried to fix them and the First Man checked to see if it was his compatriots' vessels. Of course, to do either of those tasks quicker they would need Rexford's help to do so.
Providing some energy to the spirits for a job well done, he went about reflecting on the fight after messaging his people. The pain he felt from the attacks was up there and if not for his body he would have been in danger as time passed. If not for the disruption of the different shrines he also would have been in danger.
'Too many variables and I just started on this path. My cultivation is not the problem per se but the different techniques I need to go through deeper. Not to mention I am on my own for the most part in regards to the magical way.' Thinking about the brief memories taken from the Warlock in the Soul Siphon he needed to pick a Magic Schooling to push far in his spellcraft. 'I can ask the Bo people and I still have the good old internet too. Hmm, there must be something else in the Butcher's memory that I can mess around with right now that I may have missed.'
While he went through that once more, the Stage of his Internal Dimension grew. It was still in the Protostar Stage, but stretched further than before and was about the size of a small city. The Warlock and the parts of the Mine were something he truly needed and helped speed the process up further.
A few drops of Rich Qi were ready to be produced but Rexford stopped them from falling with his will. The mental parts of the attacks by the Warlock were negated by the Tortured Mind Refining Arts, yet he had no idea what level of attainment he was at.
Churning his powers at full he was at least able to break through into the second rank at the Elemental Body Realm. A few insights from that allowed him to push his senses better as well as the energy more. The circulating dirt was one thing that was affected as something that already belonged to Rexford increased and became more prominent.
The gold and black receded from Rexford sometime later. Right as he picked up some sounds in the mine.