When Eluraa had broken free from her soul imprisonment, she had completely used all of her cultivation base.
It took everything she had accumulated over years and years of suffering and torture to get out of that hell.
And now, she had to start from scratch in this newborn body of hers.
Cultivation techniques? Consolidation methods? Mana circulation techniques?
She didn't need any of it!
All she needed was time and she would be able to get to where she had been once, the pinnacle of the cultivation!
She had once attained the legendary mana core stage, in which her internal mana reserves were regularly cycling and regenerating, without any external intake.
This was the hive core stage.
This stage was the ultimate pinnacle every cultivator aimed for and yearned for.
But, they could only dream about it, no one in countless years had ever attained it.
Even the great demon king, the rumored badass of her era, had not attained it and at least was one step shy of it.
Though Eluraa was not at this level any longer, she already had the road map for it.
More importantly, she had the thirst and drive for it.
Having once experienced the plight of the helpless and the vulnerable, she never wanted to be in that spot again.
The raw memories of unending torture and hopelessness still lingered in her nightmares.
For fifteen years now, she had been slowly and steadily absorbing the mana and consolidating her cultivation base.
But... Things were never going to remain that simple...
As if reminding Eluraa about her still inconsequential strength, a flurry of footsteps assaulted the dark and deadly silence of the night.
Both Eluraa and her panther instantly noticed these unwelcomed strangers.
Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa
They cut through the forest and reached the small tribal settlement within minutes.
Three men, one tall and lanky, one tall and well built and another a bit short and sturdy, stood in front of her village entrance.
They seemed completely different from her village folk.
They were also humans like her, but everything else about them was different!
They had fancy clothes and other mysterious items on their body, while clearly emanating a strong and intimidating aura.
She could feel the power radiating from their body, all the way from her hiding place.
But, she couldn't make out what they were discussing.
The village elder walked out and instantly knelt down, submitting himself to the man in the center.
Hmm...
Eluraa's eyebrows raised and a shade of anger crept into her gorgeous face, hidden by her mask.
Were these strangers capturing her tribe? Will they push them into slavery or worse?
Several questions popped out and once again, she felt like a helpless and weak little girl.
Eluraa clenched her fist and patiently observed what was going on.
The only good thing was that there was no sign of violence until now.
Everything seemed very peaceful and amicable.
But still, something didn't quite sit right with her.
Why were they all vacating their huts, and bundling their belongings?
Just as she was deeply engrossed, suddenly a deep magnetic voice sounded in her ears.
"Why don't you come down and join the rest of your people?"
Eluraa stumbled in surprise and almost fell off the tree branch.
What the hell?
"Oops... Sorry about that. Nothing to worry. It's all good. It's all good."
The stranger waved his hand around like a mad man.
"Wow, you are already a tamer? How old are you?"
Eluraa instantly became defensive and dismissed her panther Blacky.
Chuckling, the man gave her a hand, and the next instant they had already appeared in front of everyone.
Teleportation? Eluraa wondered, still staring at the tall man who had grabbed her so unceremoniously.
"Eluraa come here quick."
Her parents called out to her, already carrying her bundled up belongings.
"Why do you look so gloomy!! Cheer up, darling. The people from the empire finally reached out to us!!"
"We don't have to suffer here alone anymore. We can join the rest of civilization."
"This is a good day, a day for celebrating. Don't look so down, darling." Eluraa's mother rubbed her head and Eluraa nodded, like a small child.
All these sudden drastic changes were making her uneasy.
The three men led them all to a humongous ship, which soon lifted off and set sail in the air.
Eluraa sighed and looked at the vast sky enclosing them...
This world... She really didn't know anything about it.
But this was a good chance!
These three looked like they knew a lot more about everything compared to her.
And that man!
Damn it. He still kept staring at her.
After a while, adding to her anxiety, he approached her parents.
"Excuse me, Mr. ?" the man asked.
"Oh! Haha, I am Barnowsky." Eluraa's father chugged his bottled drink and boisterously replied.
In fact, everybody aboard the ship, except for Eluraa were celebrating.