Chereads / Cultivator in the Beastworld / Chapter 29 - Spoils (Edited)

Chapter 29 - Spoils (Edited)

Looking at the empty shrine, Ember frowned. "So where is the artifact?"

Elder Nancy glanced at the dead Major Savage Brood Mother. "We were just about to cut open the Matriarch to see if it is inside, I called you over in case we found something suitable for whatever Noxtis needs."

"Very well, from what I know, he needs some metal or ore with the shadow or darkness attribute, preferably with a bit of wind qi as well."

"Ahh yes, that's right. I remember now. Captain, would you please do the honors?" Calling over the captain who was still in the room organizing the spider bodies, he gave out a few orders before coming over.

The soldier captain walked over to the side of the large spider matriarch and gripped two of the stubs leftover from where its legs had been cut off. Grunting slightly, the captain lifted the stubs and the force ripped off the appendages but did end up managing to flip the spider matriarch on its back.

Taking out his claymore once again, he carefully sliced off the outer layer of the spider matriarch's thorax. Thankfully the armor of the body was not as tough without the demonic beast actively reinforcing the hard exoskeleton and with some effort was able to be cut out without too much trouble.

As the sheet of hard chitin fell to the floor, with it fell a large pile of innards that steamed with a foul-smelling ichor. Creating a quick barrier to block the foul smell from reaching her nose and mouth, Elder Nancy took out a few instruments to detect any useful organs or artifacts.

After directing the captain to the source of the emanations, the captain cut out the large organ and cut open the organ to reveal a huge jagged chunk of inky black material and several pieces of glittering dark crystals. All of the items were covered in a pool of green-colored poison that the captain washed away with his satchel of water.

Astonished, the featureless Mirko fragment shouted out in Ember's mind space. 'How is something like that here?!'

Still a bit grossed out from the smell, Ember was caught off guard by the loud shout in her mind. 'What's wrong Master?'

'That large jagged material is something that shouldn't be able to exist in this world. Hell, my true body has only ever heard of such a thing before. And while the black crystals are also quite rare, I have seen them before on one of my missions.

The black crystals are called Demon Hearts, they are the crystallization of the Qi from high-ranking beings from the Demon World. Much like how you are currently building your Qi core, it is about the same concept for how demons cultivate.'

'Then these crystals came from the Demon World? Is that also true for the jagged lump? I do remember you saying that peak main world beings can travel between worlds.'

Shaking his head, the Mirko fragment continued. 'While that is still true, there is something that needs to be said in more context. The five main worlds of Humans, Elves, Angels, Demons, and Beastkin, and are powerful worlds with their own type of world qi and cultivation systems.

While they may be called differently, in a simple explanation, each world is powerful enough to produce a unique aura that the world's inhabitants utilize to become stronger. Once they become strong enough, they are able to travel to other main worlds or make the pilgrimage to the World of the Gods.

The World of the Gods is a paradise, or an infernal hell in some areas, to any being from the main worlds and are able to surpass the limits of their homeworld and become stronger. No one really understands what makes certain worlds produce such an environment, and even less know about how such a place like the World of the Gods was formed.

But regardless, when a being successfully makes the pilgrimage to the World of The Gods, it becomes incredibly difficult to travel back. There are two main ways that are known to travel back to a main world. One is to strip themselves of their cultivation till just under the peak level of that world, or return to a world that one was born into with restricted cultivation.

Some hermits at the end of their life can choose to do this to live out the rest of their lives in relative peace, others might do so to leave their legacy, and some out of desperation. Regardless, once one has gone to a main world, they no longer have a chance to go back to the World of the Gods.'

'While the world-building lesson is interesting and all, how does that information help me right now?' A bit irritated by her rambling Instructor, she wasn't as stressed as before when Noxtis was in danger.

'Oh right, sorry about that. I'll get straight to the point, the jagged lump of inky black material is something called the Heart of the World Serpent. An incredibly unique material born in the heart of mountain ranges that are at least 1 million years old, among other very specific conditions.

They are incredibly unique because they are a natural source of energy in the form of a metal that is completely attributeless and thus can be used by anyone for a multitude of uses. Other metals and ores are usually of the earth or metal attribute, but it isn't rare for material to be fused with other elements such as fire, wind, or water. However; to be completely untainted by any element and still be forged like an ore was thought to be impossible.

It seems like this Heart has been influenced by the surrounding Demon Hearts to turn into the shadow element and sealed for who knows how long.'

'So why is it so shocking that it's here? From what you've said, it most likely was sealed away here long ago by a peak cultivator from the Demon World or someone escaping from the World of the Gods. Also isn't your true body in this world right now?'

'That's the thing though, Heart of the World Serpents are only able to be born in the World of the Gods due to the amount of energy required to birth one. So how one ended up here and also why they ended up sealing such a precious resource with Demon Hearts of all things is a mystery.

As for my true body, this fragment was given a lot of information to better guide Noxtis until he reached the sword spirit stage. But that information is sealed from me so I have no idea either, not that I really care all too much anyway. I am still only just a memory fragment anyway.'

Sighing, the featureless swordsman wallowed in regret that his main body hadn't discovered this amazing treasure before. But who could blame him for not expecting something like this to even exist in the first place? 'Anyway, I can't imagine where this thing came from, but there is no better material in any world than this for Noxtis' sword spirit.

Do not let anyone know of its true value, even those of your tribe. Greed is a nasty trait in any living being. Just tell them about the demon hearts and I'm sure they'll be satisfied. I need to prepare Noxtis' forging ceremony as well as yours, I'll talk to you after the auction.' Quieting down, the featureless swordsman disappeared from Ember's mind vision.

Thankfully for Embervesent, the entire conversation lasted for only a few moments and Elder Nancy was still studying the curious materials while the captain had left to assist the soldiers.

Walking over to Elder Nancy, Ember bowed respectfully while addressing her. "Hello Elder. I hope you don't mind me taking the jagged metal piece for Noxtis' needs, it looks to be a suitable material for our needs. As for the black crystals, I heard that they are called Demon Hearts and are great sources of Dark Qi and can be used for a variety of different applications."

Having already registered the strong Dark Qi emanating from the crystals and the relatively weak signal from the jagged piece of metal, while her curiosity was a bit peaked, Elder Nancy allowed Ember to take it while she studied the crystal shards. "Is that so, very well you make take it as promised. These Demon Hearts that you called them are fascinating! I wonder if they would be useful reagents for inscription."

Retrieving the Shadow Heart of the World Serpent, Ember took Noxtis' from the soldier while thanking him for the assistance and carefully brought her master back to camp. On the way, she passed by a couple of soldiers who were carting out the huge spider carcasses and thanked them for their hard work.

Arriving at the camp, Ember carried Noxtis over to their tent and laid his body on the bed gently. Unwrapping the bandage on his head, Ember checked the location of the wound and was thankful that it had stopped bleeding at this point and was even showing signs of closing up. With the strength of the Blood Cleansing Pill and Noxtis' bone stage body, he should make a quick recovery.

With the tension from the situation as well as the multiple uses of Blazing Crescent, Ember felt a wave of exhaustion flow over her body. Kissing Noxtis and holding his body close, Ember fell asleep.

~ ~ ~

(In a small meeting room in an unknown location)

A gruff voice came from a hooded figure that spoke to the two other hooded figures in the room. "The Ratkin and a couple of other leaders are demanding compensation for their losses."

A cold and irate voice responded from one of the hooded figures with a soft white snout showing snorted. "Well if they did their job properly, they wouldn't have losses. They should be glad we paid them at all."

The third voice added in with a sultry tone and tapped her clawed fingernails on the table. "At least we achieved our goal, most of the caravans have been hit and while the Crimson Scale tribe may suspect foul play, they won't have the time to figure out who was behind it with the auction and the tourney coming soon."

The gruff voice spoke again. "I'll be sure to keep my end of the bargain, I just hope you two don't forget your side of the deal."

While the icy voice just glared under his hood, the sultry voice just chuckled. "Sure sure, you northern tribes are so pushy these days. No wonder you had to come to us for help."

Scowling, the gruff-voiced figure left the room.

Giggling, the sultry-voiced vixen rested her chin on her palm and looked over at the white-snouted figure. "To think that even you'd come to help such a plan? You still haven't gained complete control of your tribe?"

Growling, the icy voice threatened. "They are few but stubborn individuals left that still hold the true to the old ways, but they will bend their knees eventually."