Since the elders arrived and secretly settled in the forest near the Divinestone clan, a week had passed.
On that day, finally, Innoa woke up from his deep, almost deadly coma. One of the petals of the pure Yang Lotus was used by the elder directly on his body, completely removing the poison that was rapidly consuming him.
This lotus had a terrifying capacity and purity far beyond the standards of this ascending world. Every few millennia, the planet could generate a single lotus, and the sect's alchemist advisor had been searching and researching this treasure for hundreds of years. When he finally found it, he couldn't harvest it alone as he was just an alchemist with no significant combat power. This was the reason why he offered an extravagant reward for this mission.
With this, Alm and Bruno's talk about the lotus having power at the level of the divine world, along with various other claims about the secrets of the Divinestone clan, were not entirely lies. The elders, even after a week of reflection, still had the conviction that everything Denil said was relatively plausible. A well-told lie must always have several points of truth mixed in, and Alm and Bruno were experienced in that.
When Innoa woke up, he immediately felt his whole body, not caring about anything else around him. It was at that moment that the patriarch rushed into the room and found him with a firm expression, recounting the entire situation.
The situation between them was quite strange due to how Innoa left the clan, threatening everyone. But the patriarch didn't really want to have any friction with him. And Innoa, in turn, simply pretended that nothing had happened, but inside, as he looked at the patriarch speaking, he imagined the day he would get revenge for the grievances before.
The patriarch, in turn, was experienced and could perfectly read the mind of a young man like him; he sighed internally, understanding that this spoiled young master would never forget anything. Even though he had personally gone to save him in the forest, Innoa didn't seem capable of repaying the kindness, as his large ego dominated his thoughts.
Innoa was still in recovery; his body was completely drained of Qi, and a significant part of his life essence was burned while he agonized before the elders arrived.
He quickly focused on his recovery; he couldn't replenish the energy of life yet, but he intended to be in the best possible shape to return to the sect. After all, he completely failed the mission... his prestige was utterly tarnished... and worst of all, he had no idea how things had come to this point.
Another day passed slowly. When it was almost dawn, Alm and Bruno opened their eyes and got up from the bed calmly.
'Well, today, the bastard should leave. Anyway, we slept for the last time in this shitty bed. Let's just get this over with.' Alm grumbled as they stretched that round whale-shaped body.
Bruno agreed, speaking a bit resentfully. 'He woke up yesterday, and the patriarch obviously must have sent Ruri as far away from him as possible. She should have come back to our side at least to say goodbye... well, it's better this way.'
Alm didn't respond, but Bruno could clearly feel the emptiness he felt; after all, they had spent quite some time together, and Alm practically adopted her as a disciple and almost like a daughter.
A minute later, as the first rays of sunlight appeared in the sky, they were moving silently through the corridors of the clan. However, they did this only as a precaution. On that day and at that moment, all the counselors and the patriarch were outside the main building, waiting for the sect elders and Innoa to leave.
The patriarch made a point of being as careful and polite as possible to all of them; after all, he had to find a way to deal with the young master's antipathy. Innoa could easily, with his influence, make the lives of the clan's youth in the sect bleak. The future of the clan depended on these young ones, and the patriarch had to do something.
Alm and Bruno arrived in front of the deepest and innermost door of the clan. There, the main secret of the clan was hidden. The formation protecting the entrance was of a high level. Even if one of the sect's elders were in front of that door, they wouldn't sense anything different or realize that something was hidden there. Invading it? That was impossible even for the sect's patriarch. Therefore, there was never anyone directly guarding it, but still, the counselors' quarters were close by, just as a precaution.
Alm, Bruno, and even Ruri could completely ignore the senses and perceptions of these nearby counselors. They were mediocre in every sense. Probably, not even their instincts served any purpose.
A bright glow emerged from their round and fat chests. Then, closing their eyes, they poured a significant amount of Qi, releasing the 'Lower-Level Spatial Storage Technique' they acquired in the system to the maximum.
The technique was simple and could only be used to place non-living things, but it was useful.
At that moment, Alm and Bruno opened their eyes firmly. No tremor or fluctuation was emitted. Everything was calm and silent, like a normal morning inside the building. 'Everything was perfectly sealed by Ruri. Let's rip off all the runes at once without any disturbance.' Bruno commented, taking a deep breath and focusing.
It was as he thought. All the runes were sealed in a subtle layer of soul Qi. The sealing technique was silent like poison and effective at the divine level. Everything inside the formation was stored in a few minutes; they didn't even take a look at everything. The focus was entirely on the last part, which began to be moved carefully.
It was the main reason for this formation to exist. Everything there was done to nurture and slowly create a fierce and furious Blood Rune. It was a dense power capable of frightening even a divine cultivator with its potential. Alm and Bruno moved it with all care into the space and arranged it around various earth runes that they themselves controlled.
'This has so much potential. So many things we can create... a weapon capable of painting the planet in red... bloodthirsty techniques...' Alm mused, almost drooling over the possibilities with this rune. Bruno just listened without responding; after all, he was excited too.
Far away, at the entrance gates of the clan. All the counselors and the patriarch were patiently waiting for some time. Finally, four figures in white attire appeared as if they had teleported from nowhere.
The counselors looked at the four in admiration. One of the sect elders had a cultivation very close to theirs, being in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Another, with a long beard, was at the level of the patriarch, in the Core Formation Realm. But the other two had a cultivation beyond their comprehension. Even for those whose cultivation they could discern, the level of pressure they emitted was clearly much higher than the patriarch's; they were frighteningly powerful and invincible.
The patriarch bowed in extreme courtesy, speaking a few calm words. But it didn't take long for a figure to jump from the depths of the clan and approach quickly. It was Innoa, who now appeared much healthier on the surface but was internally far from his peak.
Innoa didn't want to waste much time, so he just turned around and walked, completely ignoring the patriarch's kind words. This left the patriarch extremely bewildered.
Innoa passed by the sect elders, but he noticed that they didn't move. This created great doubts in his mind, 'What are they waiting for?'
It was then that the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the background.
It was a man... no, it was a giant fat whale approaching with heavy and noisy steps.
Innoa furrowed his brows tightly but didn't move. The clan counselors were incredulous, and the patriarch was irritated by that presence. 'What the hell is he doing here?'
So, when Denil finally arrived next to the group, he grinned sadistically and waved to the counselors, who conveyed a certain relief with their gaze.