As time seemed to slow down and the formation trembled while Raon looked at Lia drenched in blood holding their sleeping daughter.
Lia seemed to be on her last breath as she caressed Altair in her embrace while Raon sat next to her looking at her straight in the eyes.
The silence seemed to be deafening as even the three's breathing could be heard as loud as gasping.
Yet, the silence was not awkward at all as the two understood each other without speaking any words even in her impending doom.
In the end, Lia let Altair return to her place as she kissed her forehead for the last time and turned around to embrace Raon.
Raon, feeling her wounds gushing blood seemed to be conflicted but he lightly embraced her as she breathed her last...or at least that is what the two believed.
As soon as her breathing stopped, the formation trembled massively and time seemed to come to a halt while Raon was being forced away alongside Lia from Altair.
As Raon came to a stop, he felt Lia's body weaken in his final embrace and noticed the formation sucking her vitality through the ground.
He scooped her drying corpse in a princess-style carry yet it didn't stop her vitality from being drained until the formation touched one of his wounds.
The formation started sucking in his blood stopping Lia's vitality absorption for a second only yet that was all that Raon needed.
In that one second, Raon distanced himself from the range of the formation while keeping her body safe... or so he tried.
The formation seemed to tremble excitedly and stopped Raon while sucking his blood as the ground itself came open, sucking the two of them inside.
Raon's blood and vitality were being sucked but not as fast as Lia as her lifeless body had already turned into a dried shriveled corpse.
He had no other choice but to use both of their healing pills to keep himself alive for the next few hours.
It took 3 hours for the formation to calm down as all of the healing pills were finished leaving behind their pill poison.
It would dampen his cultivation unless he clears them out but surprisingly the formation cleansed his body of not only this but all accumulated wastes since his birth.
In the underground space, Raon was still holding onto her fragile body as he finally laid her down after confirming the formation had calmed down.
In the cultivation world, there is no concept of Gods or religions. There is no such thing as funeral rites as most people die in battles.
The dead can be buried or burnt or left to decay or become food to demon beasts or to become sacrifices.
Some sects raise the dead while some sacrifice the corpse or even live humans but so are there sects that are extreme opposites to it.
Gods are a concept like cultivators are to mortals who can't cultivate. Similarly, to weak cultivators, the stronger ones are akin to Gods.
Such is the reason no one was bothered concerning the dead as every corpse was looted for resources be it an ally or foe.
As Raon placed a chair in the underground chamber, he started adorning it with jewels, weapons, ores, and materials to make it look like a throne.
The throne emanated a cold yet sharp feeling as if a hidden blade while it looked regal containing several colors primarily ice-blue.
On the throne, he placed her fragile body as he fell to his knees looking at her closed eyes that seemed sunken deep in her skull.
Her skin was sticking to her bones as her hair had fallen leaving behind some white lifeless patches of long dry discolored hair.
As he set her on the throne, he put on a crown made up of white orilium on her head that was adorned with rare azurites, tanzanites, and similar gems that he had collected for her.
The central place on her crown was empty as he couldn't get the Mermaid's Eye, a cultivation treasure that could add water elemental affinity to weapons forged using it.
The Mermaid's Eye or Aquamarine Gem is too rare in their Empire yet common in their neighboring one.
As Raon was kneeling on the floor, he didn't weep a single tear or look sad. Instead, he had a smile as he remembered her previous look.
"You know you smiled at me for the first time that day"
"You know you were beautiful last year, you were beautiful before dying with the scars and you are still beautiful even now"
...
As Raon said the things deep in his heart for the first time, he was unaware that she would hear them even if her body died.
He was unaware that his words would do something that even her clan couldn't do...
...
...
...
Meanwhile in the hidden land where The Tenk Clan resided, one of their soul fires burnt out showcasing someone died.
Suddenly, the entire place went silent before going into an uproar followed by a gloomy atmosphere.
All the important clan members were gathered in the Ancestral hall unaware of the predicament they were about to be put in.
James, Lia's father, was there as well but his wife couldn't accompany him as this concerned one of their clan's top secrets.
Without anyone finding it suspicious, a few clan Elders appeared near James to be able to prevent him from going out of control but he was too anxious to detect it.
As soon as a heavy aura struck everyone, the hall turned even quieter than before, allowing one to hear their heart thumping in their chest.
Every single one of them wanted to kneel but they were held in place as the Ancestors arrived together while the same Ancestor who met James before came in front as a representative.
"The Princess of our clan Lia Ighost died. Her soul fire burned out today" she announced.
There was not much of a reaction except James almost going crazy but everyone was under suppression of their Ancestors being unable to even speak.
"James, calm down. Since you refused your position, you don't know a major secret of our bloodline" said another ancestor.
"She isn't dead. Her vessel burnt out but she will be reborn as a spirit" added another ancestor.
"Unfortunately, she was a bit too young but she'll be reborn in about a few centuries" added another ancestor.
"The problem is finding the place where she died as whenever someone in our clan dies, we always procure their body as their body is the one giving birth" finished the first ancestor.
As soon as James heard this, he calmed down a little bit but felt his worldview shattered because he wouldn't believe such a thing unless it was being spoken about this securely.
...
...
...
On one side, James was experiencing his biggest challenge ever, and; On the other hand, Raon was undergoing his own as he felt massive splitting headaches.
During the entire time he spoke about Lia, his body was asking him to get up and shatter the corpse in front of him to absorb what was remaining of her dantian.
He was barely able to control his body as he got splitting headaches when he finally finished and turned around to leave.
He had placed all her rank-1 energy stones around her creating an isolation formation that should work for a few years but he'll be back soon to recheck them.
As soon as he left the underground place and arrived in front of the brittle shack where their secret lay, he heard cackling sounds in his mind.
"Kekekekk....kekekeke...kekekek..."
"Kuhahahah...hahaha...kekekeke..."
As he heard those creepy peals of laughter, he felt like losing control over his body as well as his consciousness.
His body was emanating dark elemental energy akin to death which let the plant life around him shrivel up and die in seconds.
It didn't seem to stop but it stopped spreading further than 5 meters from him as his energy kept being consumed massively.
"Kekekkek..."
"Do you want to use this power?"
"Don't you want revenge?..."
Such sweet whispers started sounding in his mind as he was on the verge of corruption as the dark power being released increased before suddenly being receded.
The pendant given to him by his mother seemed to shine dimly for a second before the darkness almost overtook him and receded.
"Tsk tsk. Such pathetic offers..." Muttered Raon as he was finally able to relax but fell on the ground as all his energy was consumed.
The voice seemed surprised and curious at how a weakling like him could resist it, but it wouldn't accept defeat just like this.
"Kekekeke..."
"Do you think I am only able to do this?" The voice echoed inside his mind.
"Or what? If you could, you would've already done it. Better luck next time though" said Raon as he snorted at the voice.
"I can control you. I can feel your immense hatred for the world. Accept me and you'll be able to destroy the world..." The voice continued to try and seduce him.
"What a pathetic existence you are. You can control me already, so why does my acceptance matter"
"Only an idiot would fall for it. Feel my emotions huh? If I want to destroy the world, I'll be able to do it myself. I don't need a pathetic being's help" Raon coldly remarked.
"Huh. Too arrogant, are we? I'll wait and watch" said the voice as it dimmed before ending.
"Whatever. This was my lowest; if you couldn't get me now, you'll never get me, dumbass" Raon finished as he started to recover his energy.
It was true that he was feeling immense hatred for the whole world to the point of wanting to destroy it.
If it was anyone else, they would have been surely seduced by the voice yet it was Raon who was also feeling other different emotions.
He was feeling sad for Lia and pity for Altair but his responsibility towards her helped him suppress his immense hatred.
It wouldn't be a surprise for people like him to be seduced by such a promise that is clearly fake as no shortcut leads to strength.