Cultivation Through Artifacts

Right before the group, a bit less than a thousand feet high above the ground, a large rock with a size of a basketball court was sticking out from the mountain wall that looked as steep as a mirror.

Yet, even though the rock had such a humongous size, the thing built atop it was even larger. It was a bird's nest with a size twice as big as the rock, while its exterior shone with a crimson hue because of the red material that it was made out of; it looked like ruby, but at the same time not.

"What the hell is that huge thing? A nest of such size? Then just how big could the creature living in it be?" Marx let out a shocked sigh while his complexion held a mixture of great awe and fear.

Khal behind Marx nodded his head mildly because what he just said was true. If a Beast had such a huge nest, then how big could the Beast itself be? As big as a house or even bigger?

"That is no ordinary bird's nest indeed but look at the elements it was created from. It's the Blood Reaper's nest!" said Asur with a severe complexion, his right index finger pointing at the nest.

"What? That is impossible! The Blood Reaper's body is similar to that of a Gold Hawk's! There is no way in heaven that massive thing can be its home!" exclaimed Merlyn with shock, staring at Asur like a complete idiot.

"I know, even myself can't believe it but that's the truth. Blood Reapers love to build their nests from their victim's bones that had been turned into ruby. And that nest is exactly what it was made of, bones turned into solid ruby."

"He is right. And what's more, not only bones but even solid flesh was mixed into them! This is strange..." Marx looked rather troubled when suddenly his eyes widened and asked, "Don't tell me... Can it be that thing was built by an Alpha?"

"?!"

Everyone turned silent upon hearing that question which was simple but at the same time carried a heavy meaning. What Marx asked just now had a point; no ordinary Ruby Beast was capable to build such a massive nest, especially not alone!

Then the only explanation for this was...

"An Alpha? But How? The Cultivator's Organization already announced several years ago that they slew the Alpha of the Ruby Beasts on Moon Mountain!"

"Keep your voice down! We still don't know if it's up there or not. We can easily alert it with our voice and if it's truly an Alpha, then we are as good as dead." Asur turned his gaze at Merlyn, warning her with a gesture.

"Sorry..." Merlyn knew her mistake and instantly lowered her voice.

"What Stage was this Alpha on before it was 'killed'?" asked Khal curiously.

"Haha, what Stage?" chuckled Asur and turned his head back at the nest, "Three years ago, before it was killed, it was on the Sixth Cultivation Stage!"

"!?"

The Sixth Cultivation Stage or on its other name the Cultivator Stage. After one reached that Stage, let it be human or Beast, It earned the title of a real Cultivator while also obtaining a power that others below their Stage couldn't hope to try; to open up the sealed Essence Paths that were locked in their bodies all this time!

In the body, there were a total of 54 Essence Paths from which 24 were sealed away. Those 24 sealed Essence Paths could be opened with the help of enlightenment or special herbs or even ancient items. Once opened, Cultivators could wield extraordinary Secret Arts, many powerful and special abilities that they were unable to use until that moment while their Talent could achive tremendous growth too!

And now, there was the possibility that such a Beast was alive and waited for them up there in the nest.

For them to win, there was no chance not in a thousand years!

"Even if we were on the Fifth Cultivation Stage, we would still die. The disparity between each Stage after the Fifth Stage is as vast as all heaven. We can't kill it no matter what."

"Then what should we do? We still don't know if the Beast is up there or not, and who knows, maybe it's the nest that the Alpha left behind before it got killed from several years ago," exclaimed Marx in a low voice, making the three ponder.

"Marx has a point, but still it is quite strange." exclaimed Khal suddenly only to make the three next to him raise their brows, "Strange?"

Khal nodded and pointed at the nest then looked around, "What Marx said could be true, but then how can it be that we met with no creatures at all? If the rumors are really true and the Alpha had been killed three years ago, then this place should be filled with low Stage Beasts. But there is none!"

After staying silent for a while, Khal tilted his gaze at Asur and continued, "Right now, I can think of three explanations for this."

"One, the Alpha has not been killed and it's alive which I hope is not true. After three years who knows just hiw strong did it become. Two, the Alpha had been truly slain but its territory had been seized by another Beast which is just as scary as the Ruby Beast and kills even Low Stage Beasts."

"As for the third, that is the worst possibility I can think of." Said Khal calmly and went on, "The Alpha hadn't been killed, and what's more it even made offsprings! So the only reason why there are no Beasts here is that they have been eaten by the Alpha and its offsprings!"

'...' when Khal finished talking heavy silence descended upon the group; none of them knew what to say.

Only after a while later did Asur look at the mountain wall and say, "The wall is way too steep but as I can see, there are vines on its surface. If we can go up and check what is inside that nest, maybe we can find out the truth."

"Did you go crazy? Do you want to risk your life just for a stupid Essence Pill? It's not worth it at all!" grunted Merlyn angrily, barely holding back the urge to yell.

"Of course not, but this is also a chance!"

"A chance? How is this a chance for you? If what Khal said was true and the Alpha is up the-"

"Then how about this?" spoken Khal suddenly from the side, stopping Merlyn from shouting, "We will stay here, and once the sun rises we will go up and take a look. If we are lucky, the Beast will be already asleep so we can even kill it in its dream while also having the opportunity to safely retreat if we don't want to slay it."

Khal's idea made Asur ponder and nod slightly, "That can be feasible. We came here at night to locate the Beast with greater chance, but now that we seem to find it, killing it at daytime seems a better solution. Then I think it is settled."

Marx and Merlyn nodded in agreement and sat down while pushing their Cultivation Stage down to avoid unnecessary troubles.

Hours have passed in silence, while the four didn't dare to sleep even a single minute; just the possibility alone that the Alpha was still alive left them wide awake!

After 8 hours of waiting in silence, the moon finally started to descend and soon enough the sun finally arose from the east. Yet, strangely, even after an entire night, the four didn't notice even the slightest activity in or around the Ruby Nest.

"Let's go." said quietly Asur as he stood up, and walked toward the vines with the three following him closely behind.