Death... and me

Back in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, Rean and Roan looked as everyone left the place. What Xila and Jana didn't know was that Rean and Roan hadn't teleported away from that place yet. That being said, they could still hear what they were talking about.

"So, it was all because of this ancestor of them. No wonder we didn't find a single Nascent Soul during our attacks on their Red Crystals."

Roan nodded in response.

"Indeed. However, you heard them. They'll be sending a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators to search the area around the valley from now on, that also includes the Red Crystal areas."

Rean didn't mind it too much.

"It's fine. From the very start, we were already expecting to find Nascent Soul Realm cultivators or above there. As long as they're using Spiritual Sense, I can feel them. Besides, I doubt that the region where the Red Crystals are located has this same searching formation. The valley alone is already enormous. It would be a monumental task to expand this kind of formation up to where the Red Crystals were located."

Roan agreed with Rean.

"Indeed. Not to mention that every time the crystals finish absorbing an area's worth of energy, they're moved further away to repeat the same process. The formation area would keep increasing, which isn't good for a formation."

[Talking about formations, I just need a few more days to finish analyzing the natural formation. However, I don't think I can take control of it as fast as I analyzed it. Then again, it will still be a good thing since I'll be able to tell how long the formation's energy will last.]

"That's more than good enough. At least we'll know when the formation will lose its effect over the time flow. After all, we only stayed here because of the time difference related to the outside."

Roan then looked at the Circuitry Teleport Formation before saying.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

Rean and Roan stepped on the Circuitry Formation. Soon after, they were teleported back to the closest save point together with the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Following that, they left the Dimensional Realm and went back to the cave where Wano, Malaka, and Calina were waiting.

"Rean, Roan!"

Malaka and Calina were happy to see that they were fine. As for Wano, he wasn't that close to being 'happy' for them. Then again, it was a good thing, in his opinion.

"So, how was it? Are there any openings for us to go get the Masput Rocks?"

Roan shook his head as he replied.

"They aren't looking at the place with just their Spiritual Senses. They also have a formation covering the entire valley that can detect anyone's presence. Even Rean's skill can't fool it."

Wano couldn't help but ask.

"How do you know that? Did they discover you two out there?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Well, they did. Fortunately, we succeeded in escaping."

Calina and Malaka sighed in response.

"So we can't get any more of the Masput Rocks, huh? That's a shame."

Rean smiled after hearing that answer.

"That's not entirely true."

In an instant, everyone's attention was piqued. Even one of Roan's eyebrows was raised at that point. He didn't hear anything from Rean about this.

Wano finally lost his patience and asked.

"I'm not very interested in the Masput Rocks since I'm already in the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. However, I'm quite curious to hear as to how you intend to get the stones."

Rean laughed before Light Element began to gather around his body. Soon after, several veins began to bulge out of his skin and turn bright red. After a few seconds, Rean's body was full of what seemed to be the same red meridians of the Lakure Race. Calina, Roan, and Wano were taken aback. Even their Spiritual Senses told them that those were the Lakure Race's red meridians. They could totally feel the Spiritual Energy running through them.

"What?!"

"How did you do that?"

Roan narrowed his eyes in response.

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said.

"Because it's not that easy to get to this point. After all, these veins over my body are not true meridians like the Lakure Race's. I'm just driving my Spiritual Energy through these veins, which isn't a simple task. I only achieved it a few weeks ago."

It was more or less the same process as the body-changing skill that Rean used on Calina back in the profound abyss. That being said, it was only temporary. He would need to use more Light Element every now and then to keep that transformation. The good thing was that Rean's ability with the skill had improved many times since then. After all, he was only a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator during that time. Now he was almost in the Late Stage of the Core Formation Realm. He was pretty sure that even Nascent Soul Realm cultivators' Spiritual Senses wouldn't be able to see through it.

Malaka's eyes lit up as she asked immediately.

"Can you use it on me as well? You can, right? Just like what you did back then!"

Sure enough, she was excited to try entering the valley with a 'disguise.' She had never tried that before. Well, Roan and Wano were also curious if Rean could do that to others.

Rean laughed before nodding.

"I can make you look like me. However, you will need to learn how to drive your Spiritual Energy through these veins on your own. Also, you will need to keep it running all the time if you don't want the Lakure Race experts to find out."

Roan understood and asked in response.

"Simply put, we would need to train with it. Does it give any advantage in power?"

Rean shook his head as he said.

"No. It's purely decoration. If anything, it will make you weaker since you need to pay attention to the Spiritual Energy inside your body while driving some of it through those veins. Also, it doesn't hurt, but it isn't that comfortable either."

Wano couldn't help but ask.

"Is there anything you can't do with Light Element?"

Rean nodded as he replied.

"I can't make the ice block dance."

Roan's mouth twitched as he said.

"Why the hell would you want me to dance?"

Wano, Malaka, and Calina immediately laughed. Sure enough, that would be a hilarious situation.