"Why is there an unguarded Parute Tree here?" Yennda pondered for only a moment before he shot a Lagrange Comet at the target, causing it to mutate immediately upon contact.
Spores bubbled across its surface, clumping together into a cluster that stabilised in a matter of seconds and sprouted a mouth upon detaching itself from the wilting Parute Tree. The mouth moved up and down, letting out a string of words as Yennda controlled it through psychokinesis, "I...am...watching."
"What are you watching for?" Yennda frowned as he asked, "Who are you? And how can you watch through a Parute Tree?"
"I...am always...watching..." The mouth muttered as its cancerous growth sprouted across its body, rapidly degrading itself.
'Always watching?' Yennda frowned in thought for a moment before staring at the Transcendent Worlds, 'I guess the fact that Parute Trees are extensions of the roots of a Transcendent Eater implies it can also watch everything through them. Does that mean unlike Blola, Sumatra's Transcendent Eater doesn't need to consume someone to revive them?'
'No, wait. The consumption is only the necessity for a being on a similar level. Blola is a cultivator, and so are the rest of the living beings on Sumatra. But as a Transcendent, the Sumatra's Transcendent Eater probably only needs to consume Transcendents in order to revive them. For regular cultivators like us, probably as long as a Parute Tree is in the vicinity of someone that dies, they could be revived by it.' Upon elevating himself to the Gold Grade, Yennda was able to rapidly analyse the facts.
'It's degrading too fast. Then,' He oriented his thoughts and asked while controlling the flesh ball through psychokinesis, "What compelled you to watch my movements specifically now?"
"...Gannala..." The mouth muttered before melting into a puddle. A faint deathly presence emanated from it, intending to corrupt the surroundings. However, Lagrange Comets slammed into the trees in the surroundings and mutated them all, immediately making them resistant to the corruption.
Similar to how white blood cells targeted invading bacteria in a body, the cells of these trees actively fought against the invading corruption and were winning steadily. Staring at the scene, Yennda hurriedly rowed the boat away and planted more Lagrange Comets in the region with the same purpose, "Stealing information from a Transcendent Eater comes at a steep price, huh?"
"It will take at least a year or two for these trees to purify the corruption." Yennda muttered, 'And it seems the Parute Trees only retain the information based on the purpose that Sumatra's Transcendent Eater has created them for. So, I can't find out anything beyond their immediately objective.'
"It'll take a year without me," Yahard Tusk released a wave of Prana upon activating Thought Condensation, swiftly converting the corruption into the regular air that was ambiently present in the region. It only took him a few seconds to do so.
"The powers of the Mystic Tentacle truly are the best of the bunch, huh?" Yennda muttered, "In every grade, they are on a class of their own."
"If only I could activate all three simultaneously and unleash effect at the Mystic Grade..." Yahard Tusk sighed in regret, "I am the least talented in comparison to those two."
His competitors were a Mystic Path with potential inferior only to Resha and the Mammoth Clan Chief with the greatest accomplishments in thwarting the hunts of the Empyrean Boar King, and also the only Chief to reach the 10-Life Stage with the Gold Empyrean Tentacle's power.
"There's no use commenting about something that has already happened." Yennda said as he brought the boar to the shore and alighted in a hurry, "I fear something dangerous will happen to Gannala."
"My daughter's right next to her." Yennda muttered as his armour compounded with Satellites and Comets with the Nature of Lagrange formed over his body, giving him a boost. His figure travelled in a hurry through the forest as Yahard Tusk kept pace through a series of springs condensed by Prana, catapulting him large distances every few seconds.
Thud!
As Yennda moved swiftly, Yahard Tusk landed beside him, stopping there as Yennda brushed past and travelled a long distance. A few seconds later, Yahard Tusk landed beside him once again, like a hopping frog.
The duo travelled in their respective manner and quickly returned to the grassland, racing towards were the two Empyrean Tusks lived in hiding.
"Hmm...I'm feeling hungry once again." Gannala muttered as she patted her stomach, following which she stared at Harrala, "What about you?"
"I do too," Harrala nodded, expressing hesitation, "But do I need to consume them? I feel guilty consuming sentient beings."
"Whether it has sentience or not doesn't matter. Every living being is a precious lifeform." Gannala said, "Whether it be a human, Pranic Beast, a tree, or..."
She pointed at a blade of grass next to her, "All of them have life. So, if you have to kill something to satiate your hunger, don't discriminate them. After all, every single one of them are capable of satiating your hunger."
"Besides," Gannala shrugged, "You have eaten plenty of Empyrean Boars. There's no point in expressing your guilt before every single meal."
"I am eating them all the time," Harrala nodded, her voice faint, "But that doesn't reduce my guilt in the slightest. I just...feel that I need to express my guilt. Otherwise, I'll become a monster."
'She has inherited most of Yennda's inhibitions.' Gannala let out a sigh, 'Though her strength has improved by leaps and bounds thanks to his assistance, she still acts like a sheltered
child.'
'Well, I'm the older one. So, it's my job to take care of her.' Gannala scratched her head, 'She is the only sister that has stayed behind for my sake, despite the dangers involved in doing so.'
"You need to eat more to grow stronger quickly." Gannala said as she sucked the air with her mouth, producing a powerful tornado that lifted two Empyrean Boars from the Empyrean Boar farm. Her figure flashed as she landed a punch on the foreheads of each, using the shockwaves to obliterate their brains.
As the two Empyrean Boars dropped dead, she dragged them to the platform where the feasting was done regularly. However, right as she and Harrala were about to assume Empyrean Tusk forms, the Empyrean Tusk data cluster in her mind space trumpeted all of a
sudden.
'This is?' Her expression hardened as Gannala assumed her Nature Weapon form and equipped herself onto a Spirit Stage Mammoth Clansmen. She took out a Mudropper Nature Weapon and equipped it onto the Mammoth Clansman's Secondary Nature slot.
When they were moving about as a group, Gannala had asked Maroppa to give birth to a Mudropper just so that she could turn it into a Nature Weapon. In that situation, Maroppa couldn't refuse, especially after gaining a lot of benefits in return.
Mudroppers were females, with each of them having all the genetic information of their ancestors, able to give birth on their own. So, Maroppa could repopulate the Mudropper Race on her own if she wanted to.
However, she had no intention for the time being, especially since doing so would only invite Brangara's attention. However, just in case something happens to her, she wanted a backup plan, which was what Gannala had promised her.
The Mudropper will live as a Nature Weapon. And after a certain time, unless Gannala uses Weaponisation on it once again, it'll revert to its original self and could live life as a Mudropper.
This was Gannala's promise, which she intended to follow, not because she had to, but because she had said to. It was just a matter of pride. And this pride was what Maroppa also banked upon to establish a semblance of trust in Gannala's promise.
Once the Mudropper Nature Weapon had been equipped, the Empyrean Tusk data cluster became more active, 'It's a warning from the Mammoth Ancestor's Dance of Annihilation. There's a Mudropper approaching us.'
Mahira Tusk spent her entire life fighting the Mudroppers, so she had made preparations to
combat this race, if they were to ever return to Sumatra. Her Dance of Annihilation and Dance of Recovery were specifically prepared to face the Mudroppers, even though the two abilities were effective against all other races.
'Is it Maroppa? No, she's left Sumatra. So, it's not her. Besides,' Gannala focused on the Empyrean Tusk data cluster's actions, 'It's pointing at a single direction all along. That means the Mudropper is making a beeline to my location.'
"Harrala, change of plans. Prepare to flee." Gannala stated solemnly and assumed Empyrean Tusk form. She consumed her Empyrean Boar while Harrala consumed the other.
Following that, Gannala assumed human form and jumped into the Empyrean Boar form, unleashing a wave of Prana as she fell.
Weaponisation-Dance of Annihilation!
All the Empyrean Boars turned into Nature Weapons as she sucked them into her mouth and
stored them in her stomach. She recorded a Bone Slip and also sent it to her mouth, which
contained instructions for her Mammoth Clansmen to follow and make necessary arrangements.
Boom!
The entire Empyrean Boar Nest was dug out and swallowed by her with difficulty upon
assuming Empyrean Tusk form once again. Once diced up into pieces and placed in safety in her stomach biome, her Mammoth Clansmen took charge in transporting the pieces to various biomes so lessen the space their occupied.
It took her a lot of effort and resources to create a robust nest, so she didn't wish to abandon
it. Besides, a Mudropper could easily turn it into grey sand and waste her efforts.
Upon storing the nest, Gannala sprinkled a bunch of seeds and water containing traces of her Prana into the crater where the nest once used to exist. The seeds germinated upon absorbing the Prana and quickly sprouted into grass, same as the ones covering the grassland.
In a matter of minutes, the grass had grown to full height, completely masking all traces of
her activity. Now, it only seemed like there was a hollowed-out portion of the grassland here,
nothing else.
While Gannala focused on the nest, Harrala did the same for their dining platform and the
region they battled upon for training, erasing all traces of their activity in the place.
"Ready?" Gannala asked as she stared at Harrala.
"Yes," Harrala nodded as she inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Major Treasure-Arsenal!
Gannala seeped a Nature of Internal Derivative Refiner into Harrala's body and targeted the
latter's Tertiary Nature.
Tertiary Nature-Cultivator!
Tertiary Nature-Weaponisation!
Following that, Gannala targeted Harrala's Primary Nature.
Primary Nature-Internal Inertial Gravity!
Primary Nature-Weaponisation!
Now, with both Primary and Tertiary Natures turned into Weaponisation, Harrala activated
them simultaneously and turned herself into a Nature Weapon. It was their contingency
measure.
After a series of experimentation, they had figured out this method. By having two Natures of Weaponisation, Harrala could assume Nature Weapon from similar to Gannala. Which meant that even while in her Nature Weapon form, she was fully conscious and could control the
body she had inhabited.
Of course, this wasn't meant for battles, for she was severely weakening herself by turning
two of her Natures into Weaponisation. It was only meant for fleeing.
Following that, Gannala took out an Empyrean Zinger that Inala had given her. This Empyrean
Zinger had a Primary Nature of Prana Bomb and a Secondary Nature of Subtle Terrain Domination.
Of course, using the same method that Ruvva had used against Virala, its Primary Nature had
been extracted out. This was possible since Gannala could equip herself onto the Empyrean Zinger's Nature slot, and unleash the effects of Cultivator to give them a human form.
In a human form, the Empyrean Zingers could mate, allowing the Skill of Primary Extortion to
work its magic. After a hundred mating sessions, the Empyrean Zinger's Primary Nature was extracted successfully.
Using this method, Gannala accumulated Natures Weapons of Mutated Pranic Beasts containing only their Secondary Natures. The Empyrean Zinger she had brought out only had
one Nature.
Secondary Nature-Subtle Terrain Domination!
Gannala equipped herself onto its Primary Nature slot while Harrala equipped herself onto its
Tertiary Nature slot. This way, the both of them could hide within one body and pour their
respective powers onto it.
Secondary Nature-Weaponisation!
Gannala targeted her Mystic Grade Secondary Nature with Internal Derivative Refiner.
Secondary Nature-Internal Inertial Gravity!
This was a Mystic Grade Nature, which was necessary for the greatest combat power. For the
time being, Gannala was stuck in her Nature Weapon form. However, if she wished to come
out, she only needed a fraction of a second to transform Internal Inertial Gravity into Weaponisation.
[Let's run!]
[Yes!]
As the two Natures Weapons controlled the Empyrean Zinger's body, its figure burst through the grassland at terrifying speeds. Two Internal Inertial Gravity kept its motion lithe and graceful, able to use even the blades of grass as steady platforms without even causing the
latter to bend in the slightest.
Subtle Terrain Domination existed to further mask the body's presence, dropping wind resistance to absolute zero. As a result, the figure was able to flee like a spectre.
[Shit!]
After a while, the figure turned around and noticed a faint golden dot high up in the sky, at an
altitude of 18 kilometres.
[Is a Brimgan Royal chasing after us?]
The body hurriedly crossed the grassland and rushed into a forest that stretched beyond,
making large detours. However, the golden dot was steadily tailing them.
[No, they're chasing after us. I fear it's him. Only he can do this.]
Both the Empyrean Tusks turned nervous once realisation set in.
[Brangara!]