'Don't think too much. He didn't pass you the entire core consciousness. Just a small part is enough to keep your energy core in control. It will also protect your core from external attack.'
Rihanna was still shocked. Little Purple sighed. There was more to it which he didn't want to share with her at the moment. At least not until he could be sure of the purpose of this man in helping her to such an extent.
For example.....an Aratyuusa would never even reveal his or her energy core consciousness, let alone going about sharing it with random people. In fact, they would reveal and share this energy with only one person in their life...their Mates.
Unlike humans, who had many relations with many people, and could mate freely with or without any emotional attachment, Aratyuusa's were extremely emotional beings. And they had too much pride and reserve to go about sharing their body and emotions with any and everyone. They mated for life, and were extremely attached, possessive and protective of their mates.
For an Aratyuusa, their mates were a half of themselves, and there was no barrier or lies between them. Thus, such a relation was as gratifying as it was dangerous. If the mate of an Aratyuusa was also an Aratyuusa, then both of them shared a perfect relation. They called this a Connection of the Souls.
However, surprisingly, the Aratyuusa was unable to decide who would become their mate. They were strictly guided by their highly sensitized emotions, and often fell in love with humans. And that was where their desperations began.
Most humans did not attach as much importance to their relation as an Aratyuusa, often falling in and out of love, and mating with other people even when already in a relation. Unlike the Aratyuusa, the human soul power was much weaker, and hence they could not connect as deeply. Some did, which made for legendary relations. But humans were much more scheming, and could lie without feeling conflicted. Unlike the Aratyuusa, whose higher cultivation made them more susceptible to flaws in their cultivation if they did anything against their conscience.
And thus, most inter relations between and Aratyuusa and a human were doomed to an ending full of grief, lies, treachery and pain.
He wasn't sure what had happened in the past million years. For some reason, the number of Aratyuusa had gone done sharply, and they no longer mingled freely with the humans, as they had once done. He was surprised to see them putting in so much efforts to hide their real selves from the humans. And it also felt that these new generations had developed more schemes and different faces that the original Aratyuusa's did not have.
It was obvious that they were changing themselves to merge with the human civilizations, so the humans would not be able to tell them apart. As if the best place to hide was always in the most dangerous places.
Also.....Aratyuusa's were well known for their love for remaining away from materialistic gains and abhorred rigid structures of society. They preferred being alone or in small groups, and living within the depths of forests, on top of mountains, and some even under the ground. To see so many Aratyuusa's grouping together, and that too in the middle of the human societies....he could feel something was not right.
As such he felt it was better for Rihanna to remain far away from these unknown troubles. Currently it was not even understood why this man had selected her as his mate. She was a human, and that too, she didn't even belong to this world in the first place. There were already too many dangers around her, and was also weighed down by a heavy destiny. If she could avoid extra baggage, then he would help her avoid it.
Rihanna stood lost in the same place, still staring in a daze at the place where the man had been standing. He had long disappeared, but she still hadn't come back to her senses. The new bits and pieces of information were still circling around her mind. Ad along with it her confusions from the past were also arising.
The sense of familiarity and comfort whenever she was with him, the way his eyes would turn soft when he faced her. And most importantly, she had not realized it before, but right now when he saw him with his back facing her, that back seemed all too familiar. It was the same back of the person she had been glimpsing in her dreams!
The dream of the strange lake with those strange creatures floating about in the air. And the sound of the low, soft flute.....and the man who was playing the flute. This back-facing figure was exactly the same as the back of that man in her dreams. Had this man been coming inside her dreams?.....Or were these dreams a part of some memories she had long forgotten?.....Why did she always feel as if she had known him before?
Rihanna spent a restless night, being snuggled on both sides by Fluffy and Phantasm. Ever since they left the dimension and their memories returned, these two beasts had been clinging onto her like children clinging to their mommy! Their entire experience inside the dimension, and then suddenly waking up to realize that their memories had been robbed, must have left a significant impact on their little brains. After all, Fluffy was still a child, and Phantasm had gone through too much trauma in her past and those insecurities were still apparent.
So she allowed them to cling onto her throughout the day, and snuggle into her body at night. As their master, it was also her responsibility to make them feel safe and secure. And thus she lay wide awake, with one ball of hairless fur digging into her waist, and another ball of hairless fur trying to crawl all over her face. She silently pitied herself.
Rihanna and Artreya, accompanied by Fluffy and Phantasm and the little boy who had followed them from the Lair of the Dorminions followed Wenzhaobei back to the Ancient Beast Aura Sect. The Ice faced Emperor had already left sometime in the night, and most of the guards had left with him. However, a few guards still followed behind them, making Rihanna wonder if they were about to face any dangers on their route.
This little boy was the most interesting thing to both Rihanna and Artreya. Apparently Wenzhaobei had wanted to dump him with Ye Luo. But he clung to Phantasm and just wouldn't let go. And since Phantasm was already clinging onto an unconscious Rihanna with a death-like grip, Wenzhaobei had to let go of the idea, and allow the boy to tag along.
She wasn't really sure what he had gone through inside the dimension space, but his cultivation level had risen a few levels. But he was mostly quiet around them, following orders and never talking back. However, in front of Phantasm he would turn into a chatterbox, always following her about, and she mostly ignored him except when he came to feed her.
Like right now. He was following her like a pet dog. Rihanna could almost see his invisible tail wagging in the air whenever Phantasm graced him with a look or growl!
It took them around ten days to reach the Sect. Not because it was very far, but rather because Rihanna and Artreya were both busy pestering Wenzhaobei to teach them Air Stepping. Especially once he carelessly mentioned that it was one of the very few flying movements a cultivator under the Sprouting steps had access to.
Air Stepping used wind element as the base, but also needed some grasp on earth element. Even if a person did not have earth elemental affinity, if one could control a limited amount of earth particles in the air with the help of wind pressure, they could move in the air for short distances.
It was definitely not as easy as it sounded. The user needed to accumulate hardened soil or rock particles together. Using air pressure, the earth particles had to be kept in a constant and compact position, while also using wind to move the layering of soil or rocks through the air.
The soil particles should be compact and heavy enough to be able to maintain the weight of at least one person on top of it. Once the wind element moved the soil or rock platform through the air, the person standing on top of it, would also automatically move through the air.
This was a type of pseudo flying movement. And this was especially great for low level cultivators who as yet could not control the wind element enough to be able to balance their body in the air without any support.
Of course, Wenzhaobei was not a part of this equation. Rihanna and Artreya couldn't stop twitching their mouth as Wenzhaobei created a solidified air platform below his feet, before stepping onto this platform and taking off gleefully before their eyes. He also didn't stop showing off as he made wind wings which could attach to his back and help him fly like a bird, vapor clouds, on which he could literally lie down and go off to sleep as it gently kept moving on its path. Rihanna really wanted to beat up this joker who was trying his best to gloat before their inconsequential cultivation levels!
And thus the entire team's itinerary was derailed, and took them more time than necessary to finally reach the Ancient Beast Aura Sect.