Since the Spirit Container had been fused with a mineral, it was pretty stable. That allowed Inala to use his Skill of Palm Stitch to pretty much stitch the Spirit Container onto his palm, using the tension to knead the Spirit Container like a dough and make it expand along the print on his palm.
Currently, it had overlaid perfectly, becoming one with the palm print. As long as Inala remains careful with his palms and doesn't slap them on rocks nonstop, the palm print won't be damaged.
It meant he could use the Vara Palm Stitch as if it were a Vara Human Avatar. That was possible. And if he so needed, he could instantly use Palm Stitch to stitch the Vara Palm Print onto any surface and make it emanate its respective power there.
Its uses would become apparent once the Vara concentration becomes potent enough to hold an Iron Grade Nature. For that, Inala would have to repeat the process multiple times and fill not only the palm print on his right but also his left.
This way, he could hold two Natures, which gave him more than enough foundation to enter the Varahan Empire and live there as one of its citizens.
For the next nine months, Inala focused on strengthening the palm print on his right, gradually increasing its Vara concentration.
"Sir Binala, you're relentless." Wepetay raised an eyebrow upon seeing Inala, "You've been using up a lot of resources without remorse. But more than the resources, I'm confused by your determination. How can you press forth after so many failures?"
"Failures?" Inala chuckled, "I've never failed, not a single time. I have simply been healing my Spirit Container over the past few months."
"Healing?" Wepetay tilted his head slightly, expressing his curiosity, "Has your Spirit Container been damaged or something?"
"Well, back in the days, when I was young and bold, I fought a Centinger." Inala scratched his cheek in embarrassment, "I paid the price for my arrogance as my Life Stage cultivation was destroyed. No matter what I did, I couldn't even progress through the Spirit Stage."
"But now," He grinned, "Gold Inheritance Art has been slowly, but surely healing me. Every time I touch the Body Stage, I can feel my Spirit Container healing before I drop to the Spirit Stage."
"That is…amazing!" Wepetay expressed in awe, "I never knew you were going through something so treacherous, Sir Binala. Please pardon my prior comments. I simply assumed you were wasting resources while being indignant about your potential."
"Haha, I'm not old enough to give up on life. So, I might as well give it a shot, since it will give me a few more centuries of lifespan." Inala said as he received a small packet of Vara alongside some medicines, "Thank you for this."
Just as he was about to leave, Inala thought a little and stared at Wepetay, "Do you wish to see my healing process?"
"I would love to, but unfortunately, I don't have the time." Wepetay smiled wryly as he pointed at the group of people from the Noikatol Kingdom staring at him from nearby, "I need to guide them all, work on scout reports of this region, and plan our expansion from here."
"You're too busy," Inala paused as he observed Wepetay's face, noticing the latter's exhaustion displayed vividly through his dark circles and puffy eyes, "Try to maintain a work-life balance."
His tone turned serious as he said, "You gained a lot of strength in recent times, which makes you think you're invincible. But remember that you are still a person. Hunger and exhaustion are both problems even if you're a Gold Grade Pranic Beast, not to mention your current self."
"I understand," His eyes widened a little before Wepetay nodded in realisation, "I'll try to rest whenever possible."
"Good," Inala nodded and began to walk away, "When I succeed, I'll give you an Information Slip recording my healing journey. That should help you learn a little."
"Thank you, Sir Binala." Wepetay nodded without a hint of arrogance. He was someone who tried his best to remain humble and interact with the people in the Noikatol Kingdom, all while keeping in mind his past as someone from a Kingdom too.
After so many months of remaining at the Petrichor Savanah, he had a decent relationship with Inala and tried to converse with the latter whenever possible. He liked to hear about Inala's survival exploits in the wilds while only possessing Spirit Stage cultivation.
Originally, he didn't think Inala was anyone special, for the latter didn't stand out from the crowd. However, the crowd in question here was the Noikatol Kingdom, who were all enamoured by Inala's tales.
As they praised his experience to Wepetay, the man got curious too, which prompted him to strike up a conversation with Inala. That was how the two came to know each other, unaware that Inala was subtly steering the people to mention him to Wepetay as casually as possible.
Using his unique experience as a chip to become a respected individual in the eyes of third parties was one of Inala's plans.
Carrying the bag of resources, he calmly walked to his tent when noticing the figure of Virala standing at its entrance, emitting Silver Grade strength.
"I'm done," Virala said with a determined expression as he turned the tip of his index finger into the Vara Human Avatar, "I'm at the Body Stage now."
"Guess this is where we part ways." Inala nodded as he watched Virala's face scowl in response.
"Are you not worried?" Virala glared at Inala, "I'm already at the lead, significantly so. At this rate…"
"Are you worried?" Inala chuckled as he slowly took a few steps forward, "If it helps you, think of it like this."
His eyes turned cold as he muttered, "I'm giving you a head start. Let's see if you're able to do anything worthwhile with it before I arrive there."
"Your arrogance is unnecessary," Virala snorted and walked away, pausing a little to utter, "I don't have a complete grasp of your plans, but I'm not concerned. I'm clear of what I want to achieve here and I'll be going ahead with it, whether or not you can keep up."
"Did entering the Body Stage ignite your confidence?" Inala taunted, "We can fight now if you want. You might finally be able to defeat me, since you now have Silver Grade strength."
"I would love to wipe the floor with your face, but I have my pride." Virala glared once before walking away, "I won't allow you to make any excuses when I defeat you at your own game."
His expression was serious as he muttered, "I'll wait until you're at the same level as me."
'You're speaking as if I'm inferior currently.' Inala chuckled with ridicule as he watched Virala walk away, thinking calmly, 'You're my plan, kid.'
'The Wean Clan will collapse because of you.' Inala let out a wide smile as he entered his tent, 'Well, that's what I want to achieve, anyway. It's the easiest way to get into Brangara's head, since he already is suffering from mental wounds because of Ruvva's birth.'
Though he tried his best to never display it, Brangara was hurt by the fact that Yarsha Zahara had given birth to a child that wasn't his. Irrespective of how much he tried to delude himself otherwise, Ruvva's existence was an undeniable fact.
And when the same nonsense happens with his Granddaughters, Brangara will become incensed, which would make him explode with the bottled-up emotions.
The best thing about this plan is that Inala didn't even have to do anything in response. Virala would do all that on his own and harness a large amount of Brangara's hatred. After all, no matter how much Virala tried to copy Inala, their strengths were different.
So, even the gains he got through observing Inala would eventually be applied to Virala's field of advantage, which was interpersonal relations. He could easily forge a relationship with another person, even if it wasn't long-lived.
Virala excelled in that field. Therefore, since Inala was constantly reminding Virala about their race, his pride, and ego would make him lean towards that field. The pressure he feels from Inala's plans would make Virala go all out with his attack, which was bound to mess up the family dynamics of the Wean Clan.
'Let's see what he can do.' Inala thought in interest, 'Even back at the Mammoth Clan, he endangered the 43rd Empyrean Tusk and its respective Settlement while merely being at the Spirit Stage.'
"He's a genius scum," Inala muttered a few days later as he watched Virala enter the Railway Station and board the railway to the Varahan Empire. Since he was at the Body Stage now and had a Vara Human Avatar, he gained eligibility to be a part of the Varahan Empire.
At the railway station, the duo silently eyed each other as the railway—that Virala had boarded—departed. They didn't have to exchange any words with each other, their intentions clearly relayed to the other party through gaze alone.
'Don't cry when I succeed!'
'My grandma said delusional idiots die a dog's death.'
'Your grandma was mute!'
'You should watch your mouth, kid. You'll give away your identity to Yarsha and die a dog poop's death!'
'Quote one more reference with a dog, and I'll pulverise you right here and now!'
'Come out if you dare! Oh, you can't alight from a moving train? Poor you!'
Veins popped on Virala's forehead as he began to curse from his seat adjacent to the window, flipping at Inala.
"These dog barks are annoying," Inala looked around as if he was irritated, trying to find where the dog was barking from before turning towards Virala, "Oh, there it is."
"I'll fucking punch you!" Virala bellowed with all his might as the railway left the station and sped through the long tunnel leading all the way to the Varahan Empire.
Insulting Virala was a peaceful activity for Inala, who now felt refreshed to resume his work. He glanced at the palm print on his right and resumed the process. Every time he reached the Body Stage, he extracted the Spirit Container that had fused with Vara and made it a part of his palm print.
A few months later, at one of the rocky hills of the Petrichor Savannah, Inala sprinted across the place and targeted a Balghat—that had already activated its Primary Nature—with shockwaves. Intense sounds rattled its ears, causing it to faint, following which Inala threw a yarn of wool at it after seeping a unit of Prana into it.
The yarn of wool expanded into a net and trapped the Balghat, preventing it from wrestling free. While it tried to break free with its limited flexibility, Inala took out a knife that he had been sharpening over the months and made an incision.
He seeped Prana into it, manoeuvring it as a Tangible Piezo Slip, and determined the accurate location of its Spirit Container in its heart. Following that, he activated Mystic Royal Art and extracted its Spirit Container.
Prime Skill—Spirit Container Extraction!
Upon grabbing the Balghat's Spirit Container, he didn't store it in a vial. Instead, he placed it on the palm of his right and activated the Skill of Palm Stitch.
His Vara Palm Print naturally took effect as the Balghat's Spirit Container was being stitched into it, absorbing the latter's Nature.
"Eww!" Inala commented as the remainder of the Balghat's Spirit Container turned into a murky paste once its Nature was absorbed into the Vara Palm Print. He cleaned his hand and stared at the palm print, noticing that its colour faintly resembled the wool of a Balghat, implying that it now held the Balghat's Nature.
'Indeed, Gracious Inheritance is an offshoot of Voracious Nature.' Inala thought as he noticed some changes happening to his body in response to the Nature's influence, 'As long as I stitch a Spirit Container onto my Vara Palm Print, it would be the same as having consumed the Spirit Container using Voracious Nature. So, I'll be getting that Nature.'
As he was only at the Spirit Stage, the influence generated by the Balghat's Primary Nature was extremely potent. His hair began to grow across his body at densities he had never seen before, almost making him resemble a monkey in a matter of hours.
He felt physically exhausted, as most of his reservoir of carbohydrates and fats had been consumed to satisfy the explosive hair growth. Inala dragged the Balghat to a safe spot and began to consume it, waiting patiently to see the extent of the Nature's influence before he'd activate it.
'If this works, I can start a tattoo business.' Multiple ideas bombarded him the moment he had the thought, causing him to frown for a couple of minutes, following which he ate in silence, 'Let's not get worked up too much.'
'There's still a lot of things to do.' He let out a soft sigh and tried his best to rein himself to reality and now allow his thoughts to wander off.