Cultivation Through Artifacts

Two days have passed in a blink of an eye and the time to start the Group Mission finally came. After spending the two days correcting his Secret Art and practicing it with Logan's help, Khal's expression looked exhausted; especially after he needed to forge for two days straight before this, so he was surprised how he was still alive.

"At least now I had time to rest, not like when I forged day and night..." yawned Khal as he stretched his arms and legs with a pleasant smile forming on his face.

"Junior Brother!!!"

As Khal was patiently waiting at Moon Academy's gate, suddenly a loud yell akin to thunder came from his side making his body flinch unwittingly.

"This guy..." shook his head Khal helplessly as he watched Marx robust figure wave toward his direction with a huge grin on his face.

"Finally, I almost thought you guys didn't get my message," exclaimed Khal as he lowered his waving hand to his side.

"Haha, sorry we were a bit late. We had to go and buy something." Merlyn talked as she stopped before Khal with Marx and Asur next to her.

"Buy something?"

"Yes. As we have already said, slaying the Ruby Beast won't be an easy feat particularly because of its swift movement speed," explained Merlyn as she took out a small item from her bag on her shoulder. 

"What is this?" Khal's brows knitted together as he examined the small translucent orb that was lying atop Merlyn's palm, it's interior sparkling with an azure hue from time to time.

"It's called Sea Dust Orb. It's an item that if you fuse with a bit of your Essence will fill your proximity with Sea Dust."

"What is a Sea Dust?"

"Sea Dust is a rare non-lethal material that can slow down enemy's movements after it gets into the lungs. Against swift enemies, exceptionally against the Blood Reaper, it is quite useful," explained Merlyn as she put the Sea Dust Orb away with careful movements.

"I see. Then? What is our plan?" asked Khal as he glanced at three before him, "I hope you don't plan to kill it without one and put all of your faith in that Sea Dust Core, right?"

"Of course not." shook his head Asur, "Maybe we have a horrible reputation amongst other Cultivators but we are not stupid. Recklessly attempting to kill a Ruby Beast is exactly what I call a suicidal move."

"Then how will we proceed?"

Asur hearing Khal's question walked behind Merlyn and took out a map from her bag.

"The Ruby Beast could be found a bit higher than Moon Mountain's foot and it loves to inhabit the east side, so we should search that region."

"Once we find it, the plan will be the following," said Asur and tilted his indifferent gaze at Khal, "With the help of your Diamond Skin and Secret Art you will attract the Ruby Beast's attention while Merlyn will use the Sea Dust Orb at the right moment. When its speed becomes slow, the three of you will attack it at the same time giving it no chance to escape."

"And what will be your role?" asked Khal but the very instant he asked the question he realized the answer.

"I am a healer, I can't fight. Or at least I can, but I would only end up dying while also dragging the three of you down. But don't worry, until you see me alive, you can't die."

Khal upon listening to this nodded but deep inside his heart he was crying. Use my Diamond Skin and Secret Art to attract the Ruby Beast's attention? What in the hell?! He literally said he will be a meat shield for them before they could kill it. And all of this without a flinch!

"Well, if we consider that the Ruby Beast is on the Fourth Cultivation Stage, defending against it shouldn't pose a problem for my Diamond Skin. Also, out of the four, only I can defend against attacks beyond the Fourth Stage." thought Khal with a shrug.

-

After setting off and arriving at the foot of Moon Mountain, the sun has already descended from the boundless sky and what replaced it instead was the beautiful moon.

The leaves of the trees fluttered to and fro because of the passing cold breeze that appeared from time to time, sending small shivers through Khal's body. 

"It's exceptionally cold tonight." Said Khal as he looked up at the mountain peak that was showered in the moon's white light.

"Moon Mountain is just like this. The temperature and the weather here are unpredictable. There are even times when strong blizzards appear out of nowhere, freezing and destroying everything on it." explained Asur from Khal's side calmly, his face as nonchalant as ever.

"He is right, but you don't need to be anxious." said Merlyn as she noticed Khal's worry in his eyes, "These kinds of strange phenomenon only appear from the slopes all the way to the peak. But we are currently at the bottom, so except for some slight visible changes such as this, you will be safe."

Khal nodded his head in silence but this didn't mean he will let his guard down. He already experienced what it felt like almost dying- which is in fact funny cause he already died once- so he didn't want to experience it again. No one really could predict the future and just like what happened in Shadow Woods, no one knew if they will encounter an even hazardous creature than the Ruby Beast; not even these three Fourth Stage Cultivators.

"We should be close so stay sharp. Inspect the skies especially, if the Beast will attack then 98% that it will appear from there." commanded surprisingly Asur after half an hour of silent walking, his face turning serious in a flash.

Marx, Merlyn, and Khal did exactly as they were told and began to walk forward slowly in silence. However, not even 5 minutes had passed when suddenly Merlyn frowned and asked, "Don't you find it strange?"

"What?" asked back Asur on the front in a low voice, but his gaze never leaving his surroundings.

"Well, I didn't notice this at first, but it's silent. Too silent and what is more we didn't meet any creatures on our way here."

"That is because we entered the Blood Reaper's territory. Any living lifeform must have been killed and consumed by it."

"But that won't answer why we can't see at least a few corpses. Like, why would a single Ruby Beast kill all the lifeforms in its habitat if it can't eat them all at once? Even if it can turn the victims' interior into a solid substance the carcasses would still rot away with time." spoken Merlyn her thoughts out loud, turning not only Asur but even the others confused too.

"She is right. Such a huge area must be filled with hundreds if not thousands of low Stage Beasts yet I can't see any. It is truly strange..." said Khal, wondering just why the whole area around them felt so eerie and silent.

"Get down!" hissed Asur in a low voice, making the three behind him lower their bodies in a flash and glance toward the direction where Asur stared at. 

But when they did, the sight before them left all of their mouths hanging wide open.

"That's... A nest?!"