Death… And Me

Chapter 4409: Question

Duze could immediately tell he had stepped onto some sort of landmine with the twins’ group... not that he particularly cared.

He rubbed the space between his eyebrows while looking at the four of them again. Everything he had assumed until now had been completely overturned. Not only were their foundations not a complete disaster, but they had actually surpassed his own. Even after cultivating for so many years, he wasn’t confident he could compare to what those little spirits had just evaluated. "Is this kind of thing normal in the Great Void you came from?"

Roan answered without hesitation. "Perhaps not quite at our level, but most cultivators there possess very solid foundations. Like I said before, the absolute supremacy of the soul is the primary cultivation path of our entire Great Void. Very few people choose otherwise."

Rean immediately continued. "If you want a soul capable of reaching those heights, your body and cultivation foundation have to keep up. Otherwise, they simply wouldn’t be able to support it. So... yes... there might not be many people exactly like us, but compared to most Great Voids, ours should be well above average... or so we believe. We’ve never seen another great void anyway."

Those were lies stacked on top of previous lies. Even so, there was absolutely no way for Duze to verify them. Unless someone actually descended into the Vinx Great Void and investigated personally, everything they said could only be accepted at face value.

More importantly, all four members of the twins’ group belonged to different races and yet possessed equally terrifying foundations. From Duze’s perspective, that only reinforced their explanation instead of making it suspicious.

"So..." Rean leaned forward again, his eyes sparkling with expectation. "Will you bring us with you now? We already proved we’re really good!"

"I don’t remember ever saying I’d do that simply because you’re talented," Duze replied, immediately pouring a bucket of cold water over Rean’s excitement. "I only wanted to prove that you weren’t anything special. Instead, you’ve managed to prove you’re... somewhat acceptable."

He sighed before continuing. "Unfortunately, that changes absolutely nothing. The real problem is still there. Since the Sacred Relic failed to erase your memories, that simply cannot be allowed to repeat itself."

Before Rean could open his mouth again, Duze raised a hand to stop him. "And before you suggest it, I also can’t simply take you with me. The requirements for bringing someone out of the grassroots lands are ridiculously strict. I’d receive a punishment severe enough that even I don’t want to experience it. Believe me, I actually tried something similar around thirty thousand years ago."

His expression turned bitter for a brief moment. "It didn’t end well."

Roan narrowed his eyes. "So you’re going to kill us instead?"

Duze had barely opened his mouth before the tiny pink spirits started flying around him in protest.

"Duze can’t!"

"They’re bright!"

"So shiny!"

"Duze isn’t bad!"

"It’d be a waste!"

"Too perfect!"

"Wrong decision!"

"So bad!"

The little creatures buzzed around his head while talking over one another until Duze looked ready to explode.

"Alright! Alright!" he shouted, waving both hands. "I get it already! Stop yelling!"

Only after they finally quieted down did he turn back toward the twins’ group. "I told you already. I can’t take you out of the grassroots lands. You’ll have to leave on your own. However..." He smiled faintly. "I can point you toward the fastest route. Normally, cultivators only leave these lands after reaching the Region God Realm, the realm above Law God. There is, however, another opportunity once you become Zone Gods."

The four immediately became serious.

"But before that, the Godly Pressure Control methods remain an issue," Duze continued. "Fortunately for you, I’m actually a pretty nice guy. Very selfish..." He nodded to himself. "...but still nice."

The twins’ group exchanged glances. Selfish... and nice... Those two descriptions didn’t seem to fit together at all. Naturally, none of them were foolish enough to point that out.

"What I need is your promise that none of you will spread any knowledge related to Godly Pressure Control while you’re still living in the grassroots lands." As he spoke, Duze glanced toward several of the tiny spirits. Four of them happily flew over before entering the bodies of Rean, Roan, Celis, and Kentucky.

Just like before, none of them felt anything. No pain, no discomfort, not even the slightest strange sensation. Had they not watched the little creatures enter with their own eyes, they would’ve never known anything had happened.

Duze nodded in satisfaction. "They’ll remain with the four of you from now on. If any of you attempts to spread those methods again..." He smiled casually. "...I doubt I need to explain what’ll happen."

Rean’s shoulders immediately drooped. "Then... my baby..."

Duze blinked. "...Your what?"

"My baby!" Rean repeated with a pitiful look. "Does that mean I can’t use it anymore?"

The confusion on Duze’s face only deepened. "What baby?"

Roan sighed helplessly. "The idiot built an airplane capable of manipulating Godly Pressure. He calls it his baby."

Duze stared at Rean for several long seconds before pinching the bridge of his nose. "I’ve met plenty of strange cultivators over the years, but you’re certainly among the strangest."

After giving it some thought, he finally shook his head. "Did you even listen to what I said? I prohibited you from spreading the knowledge, not from using it. If your airplane remains yours alone and no one else can copy the arrays inside it, then I have no problem with you continuing to use it. Just don’t parade it around for everyone to study."

"Great!" Rean instantly came back to life. Not being able to use the Godly Pressure Disguise would’ve rendered one of his proudest creations almost useless. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

Watching Rean celebrate over something that shouldn’t even be his greatest concern, Duze suddenly remembered another question. "By the way, how exactly did you come up with the idea behind those Godly Pressure Control Arrays? Like I mentioned before, you’re not the first person to reach such a result, but everyone I’ve seen before followed various paths. I’m curious about the path you found for yours."

Rean, Celis, and Kentucky instinctively looked toward Roan. Explaining it meant revealing their special cultivation technique.

Roan naturally understood their concern and remained silent for a few moments while weighing the advantages and disadvantages. Eventually, his gaze landed on the tiny spirits that hadn’t entered their bodies.

Those little things would apparently remain with them from now on. Whether they liked it or not, sooner or later they would witness the twins cultivating, and eventually they would discover the reversed circulation that generated Godly Pressure. Trying to hide it now would only make them seem suspicious later.

The Orb System, however, was another matter entirely.

That absolutely couldn’t be revealed.

The cultivation technique itself, on the other hand, was no longer impossible to explain.

"It started like this..."

Over the next several minutes, Roan carefully explained the theory behind their cultivation technique. He spoke about merging Celestial Energy with Godly Pressure to naturally produce Godly Energy, how the idea had originally come from their own cultivation experiences, and how Rean later realized that reversing the entire process allowed him to isolate Godly Pressure instead. From there, Rean transformed that principle into a complete set of arrays capable of reproducing the same phenomenon externally.

Duze listened from beginning to end without interrupting even once. Only after Roan finished did he slowly nod in understanding.

"So you first created a cultivation technique capable of producing your own Godly Energy. Later, by reversing that same process, you discovered a method of extracting Godly Pressure instead. Finally, Rean used that principle as the foundation for his Godly Pressure Manipulation Arrays."

The four nodded together.

What surprised them wasn’t Duze understanding the explanation.

It was how calm he remained afterward.

He looked impressed...

But not particularly shocked.

The twins immediately noticed that subtle difference.

"So..." Kentucky scratched his head. "Is this sort of cultivation technique common outside the grassroots lands?"

Duze considered the question for a moment before answering. "Since you’re determined to leave these lands eventually, there’s no harm in telling you now. Yes. Cultivation techniques capable of naturally producing Godly Energy are completely normal outside the grassroots lands. In fact, creating your own Godly Energy is one of the absolute requirements for reaching the Region God Realm. Without accomplishing that step, breaking into the fifth major realm of cultivation in the Celestial Plane is simply impossible."

"So that’s how it is..." Rean muttered.

The four finally understood why Duze hadn’t been particularly surprised. For them, it had been a revolutionary discovery born from their Orb System, thanks to Sister Orb. Outside the grassroots lands, however, it was nothing more than common knowledge.

Roan immediately noticed the contradiction.

"That raises another question." He looked directly into Duze’s eyes. "If techniques like these are considered normal outside the grassroots lands, why are they deliberately kept away from everyone living inside them? Is it just a coincidence that no one uses them?"