Skully flew above the nearby regions, destroying any pack of magical beasts that she could find and feeding on them to satisfy her hunger. Yet, she avoided going for the specimen in the sixth rank since her situation was still unstable.
Noah followed closely behind her, together with a few rank 5 cultivators that wanted to follow his example. They knew that the miraculous events in the last period had happened because of him. They felt that imitating his behavior could make them as unique as him.
Skully had now become a portable training area for the seas of consciousness of various levels. It was too dangerous for weaker cultivators to stare at her due to her runes. Still, she was perfect for those in the fifth rank.
Noah and the others could train their minds while she was busy feeding herself. Her runes seemed to have a better effect too since they weren't copies placed on standard sheets.
The number of nutrients that a rank 6 body needed was immense, and the fact that she was injured didn't improve her situation.
Skully hunted rank 4 and 5 magical beasts of various species for an entire month before she could feel the slightest satisfaction. Her power didn't increase after those meals, but her existence solidified as she became used to her new body.
She had yet to walk, but she had started to move her fingers. The magical beasts' innate resilience was even pushing away Noah's higher energy to make room for a normal healing process.
Noah followed her closely while the other experts respectfully alternated turns to occupy the spots behind him. No one dared to complain about his favorable position, nor about the fact that he collected all the Kesier runes left behind.
Noah took the time to analyze the changes in Skully's body while his mind expanded at an incredible speed. She was a pool of information regarding the creation of hybrids in the heroic ranks, so he wanted to study her thoroughly.
The procedure had been relatively smooth, but Noah knew that he wouldn't find the same extraordinary conditions if he were to perform it again. Skully didn't have an individuality, and her personality was so fragmented that she suited the Kesier Apes perfectly.
'She still needs the higher energy to remain in one piece,' Noah thought as he followed the powerhouse. 'It's a pity for her dantian, but maybe I can fix that after a few breakthroughs.'
The hunting team didn't go easy on the rank 6 Ape. Its body had many injuries that would generally make it unable to function. Yet, Noah's higher energy was replacing some essential tissues until it healed.
As for the dantian, Noah could create weaker versions of that organ, but he couldn't link it properly to the rest of Skully's existence. Placing an improvised center of power in her would do more harm than good.
The rebels and Noah returned to the black palace after the hunting session was over. The mood among those forces had changed now that their leader could act again. The discussions concerning revolutions never stopped, and some even called for an all-out invasion of some regions.
Of course, most of those ideas were delusional dreams of cultivators that had yet to realize how untouchable a God was. Still, there were some approaches worthy of being considered.
The Ape God's behavior was predictable. Its summoning happened every fifty years, but it didn't manage its species as a proper army.
Most of the specimens of the Kesier species formed packs that had no role in the summoning. The God left them free to thrive and controlled only some of them when it needed to escort cultivators.
The only constant in their behavior was their hatred toward humans and their rule over them. Most heroic Apes ruled over tribes out of their own will and even clashed with preexistent packs to control those regions.
That layout gave the rebels many chances to strike back and free more tribes. Creating a good army didn't seem so unreal anymore. The only issue was that they didn't have a place to stay since the safe area was too small and deadly for weaker cultivators.
A couple of years passed, and the rebels had yet to come up with a proper strategy. They limited themselves to cultivate and prepare for any eventuality since their knowledge of the cultivation world was limited. They could only rely on Noah and Skully to find a solution.
"I have something," Skully suddenly said as she waved her right arm. She and Noah were alone in the throne hall, with the former busy gaining control of her body and the latter staring at the Sixth Kesier rune on her fur.
"About?" Noah asked with an uncaring tone. The way he saw it, it was better to free as many cultivators as they could and escape.
Everything would be more accessible if he had access to the separate dimension, but the layers of magma and metal that isolated that place were bound to affect its functioning. Also, Noah didn't want to return to the surface to ask Thirty-sever for fear of losing any access to that place.
There were almost thirty rank 5 cultivators among the rebels, and Skully was a hybrid powerhouse. The experts were weak, and Skully lacked a dantian, but they were still a force that could bring the Hive to the apex of those Mortal Lands.
When considering the amount of Kesier runes, Ape's corpses, and the Seventh Kesier rune, Noah didn't have any doubt that retreating was the best option.
However, Skully wanted to free the tribes and inflict a loss on the Ape God. She knew that her idea wasn't feasible, but she still wanted to achieve something similar.
She even had an iron will. The millennia spent as a skeleton made her lose any fear of death. Noah's threats to remove the higher energy from her body didn't faze her. He had tried to do that and failed already.
"I recalled a method to create a habitable area," Skully said as she tried to turn without any success. "But I need years and resources."
"Don't move!" Noah shouted as he stood up to move Skully back in place. The Sixth rune on her right shoulder had gone behind the throne during her failed attempt to turn, interrupting his training.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you are a cultivation maniac?" Skully said in an ancient but friendly voice. Even if he had threatened her and used her only to cultivate, Noah was still her savior.
Noah ignored her. His mind had never grown so quickly, and even his other centers of power were improving at an unbelievable speed. Only his body was a bit slower since he purposely suppressed his hunger.
The breakthroughs that appeared so far away had finally shown their presence. Noah's existence had been ready to advance for a while by then, but Noah had understood it only when his mind improved. Now he only needed to train for a few decades to reach them.