Cultivation Through Artifacts

Neo waited patiently for Khal to answer, his eyes brimming with curiosity and hidden anger as he remembered their last conversation.

Ever since Khal told him what happened and what Alde tried and did with Liza and Miss Mary, his anger toward him was tremendous to the point if he could have the ability and leave this Soul Prison, he would have long ago gone and killed that bastard himself!

However, Khal still stared at Neo for quite a long time as he was still under the trauma he felt a few moments ago.

"Umm... Hello? You okay there?" Neo waved his hand before Khal's face, trying to see if he will react, but he didn't. Khal just simply stood in one place like a frozen statue.

"Okay...? This is kind of awkward." Neo mumbled, not knowing what he should do. He even pricked Khal's cheeks and chest with his fingers, but they seemed to be useless as he got no reaction at all.

And exactly after 5 minutes later...

"Eh?" suddenly Khal exclaimed out loud, his eyes looking around in confusion while his arms subconsciously raised to grab his chest as if he was still under pain.

But only after seeing the vast and infinite greyness around him did he realize that he was no longer feeling pain and torture-like suffering, but he was transported into Soul Prison!

"You... Okay? You were standing there in one place for several minutes straight without blinking or moving. You looked like a complete idiot, you know that, right?" Neo said to him, his brow slightly raised as he was still confused why Khal acted the way he did.

"Huh? Ah! Yeah, I am fine. Sorry..." Khal apologized to Neo, but still examined his body with an expression like he was shocked to see himself still alive.

Neo appeared to be even more confused by this but decided to ignore Khal and ask his question again, "So? Did you find his whereabouts or not?"

"Hmm? His?" 

"Oh, please, don't play dumb! You know clearly who I'm talking about! That fucker Alde. Did you discover his hideout?" Neo asked Khal with an itch of anger, feeling kind of irritated by Khal's inability to answer his simple question even after so long.

However, Khal didn't answer him because he didn't know the answer or felt like playing dumb before Neo, but because his brain and his whole body were still under the previous trauma so he was unable to reply. He had to wait a bit before he could think properly as even if they ask him how much two plus two was, he wouldn't know the right response.

Thus, Khal remained still with his eyes closed, and after taking several deep breaths to calm both his mind and body down, he opened his eyes, "Yeah, I did. I also found a way to examine the entirety of Moon City to find his clones."

"Oh? Tell me more." Neo felt intrigued, waiting for Khal to proceed on with his story.

Khal nodded and after taking another deep breath, he continued to tell everything including the Jade Tombstone he learned not long ago.

Once he finished talking, Khal however sighed and scratched his cheek with his finger, "Though, maybe I have found his hideout, it will be tricky for me to enter. Like, I can't just go and dig straight down, right? There must be a secret passage somewhere, but as to where I have no clue at all."

Neo nodded as he understood what Khal said was indeed a problem, and even he tried to think about something.

After a bit later, however, his brows lowered into a tight frown, and said, "I think you shouldn't look for that passage."

"Why?"

"You ask why? Are you a moron or what?" Neo stared at Khal as others would at a fool and then said, "I bet my life that the passage they enter and exit is under great surveillance. Also, considering that we are talking about the Ourvi Family, they definitely monitor the area around it if not the entire Shadow Woods. Maybe what you said about digging your way is not a bad idea."

"And how do should I do that? Grab a shovel and start digging and pray for god's help not to get caught or what? If I start digging on the surface, I am sure they will catch me in no time!" Khal sneered, as the idea was ridiculous.

Neo however shook his head and said, "You don't need to start digging from the surface if you can start from below it!"

Khal frowned once he heard this before he asked, "From below? What do yo-, oh? Do you mean from 'there'?"

Seeing that Khal finally realized what he meant to say, Neo nodded, but before he had a chance to say anything else, Nova's voice sounded in the surroundings.

[Recovery completed!]

[Pulling 'Owner' out of 'Soul Prison'!]

And just like that, Khal's figure flashed away with white light, leaving Neo alone once again, which now became the norm for him.

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Inside his room, Khal slowly opened his eyes that seemed heavy for some strange reason, and sat up.

However, when he did, he felt a slight and numbing pain not only in his chest but in his entire body, almost like he was just beaten up by hundreds of hammers during his sleep.

"Argh... My head... It hurts." Khal held his face with his palm for quite a while, waiting for the pain to get washed away by time.

Sometime later, he lowered his hand and looked around, but when he saw the surroundings around him, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

Decorations on the floor, the small carpet was ragged and wet from his previous sweating, chairs and tables flipped over and kicked away while a previously few fragile items now lay on the floor in nothing but pieces.

The whole room was in a mess, and its main cause was sitting right in the center, him. The only thing that seemed perfectly intact except for the few items in the very distance was Rubie, who stood at the edge of the bed.