Out of everyone who was supposed to hear the King of Heaven's announcement, the most important person was still oblivious to that fact. Xuefeng would be soon targeted by the most powerful individuals from all Realms yet he was sitting crossed-legged at the top of a mountain, completely relaxed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Another series of lightning struck him from the dark sky but he didn't even shiver, absorbing the Lightning Qi into his body. He was in his trance, cultivating his last remaining element without a break for the last week.
One would think his wives would be there to warn him about the future danger yet all of them paid even less attention to their surroundings than him. Xuefeng and his wives sat in a circular array, cultivating Lightning Element together. After he attracted the lightning, he would then split it into even portions and redistribute it between everyone.
"Mhmm…" His wives let out a moan each time lightning fell from the sky but no one complained. The lightning transferred to them was nothing compared to what Xuefeng experienced.
'I'm at my limits… My body is breaking…' Lisa reported, being the first to fill her soul to the full capacity. Xuefeng immediately cut the connection with her, splitting her share to the rest.
One by one, the girls stepped out with only Yiren and Nuwa left behind. Their souls were the strongest of all Xuefeng's wives, even more than his own.
"Oof… It's finally full…" Xuefeng muttered when his Soul was ripping in size. He felt so full as if his body would explode any minute.
It took them half a year of traveling from Land to Land to cultivate each element. Being at the border of Immortal Stage, Xuefeng's Soul was twenty-eight times bigger than his own body. If not for his sturdy constitution, he would already break.
"Now all that we have left is creating our own Nine-elemental Core," Xuefeng reminded, causing everyone to nod. They didn't move from their positions and instead closed their eyes again, beginning the compression.
To create an Elemental Core and thus break into the Immortal Stage, one had to compress all their Qi to the size smaller than their head. The more Elements one picked, the harder it was to compress it. There was a reason why Cultivators with Nine-Elemental Qi were considered geniuses.
"Ling, I will leave that to you."
While Xuefeng was following Ling's instructions, Ming decided to leave them for a moment. Compared to the rest, they heard King of Heaven's announcement clearly.
"Are you going to see Uncle?" Ling asked in wonder, causing Sena to brighten.
"Uncle? Is mom going to visit dad's older brother? Please take me with you!" Sena called out excitedly.
"I am but I can't take you," Ming replied as she patted her on the head. "Who is going to take care of Mona while we are gone?"
Mona was a beast so she didn't cultivate in the same way as humans did. While Drakos decided to roam freely, Mona ended up staying inside Ling's world to not disturb the group cultivation.
Sena hugged Mona and sighed, sitting back down. "Okay… I will stay."
"Good girl," Ming praised before she created a portal in front of her and disappeared inside. She was still the Queen of Heaven and even though Ming didn't have the same power, one couldn't underestimate her.
"I was waiting for you," Chaos called out the moment Ming stepped on the cloud-like ground. "You are my second visitor today."
"Huh, second?" Ming asked confused.
"Your ungrateful husband came here not too long ago," Chaos revealed. "Do you want to play?"
"He is not my husband anymore," Ming replied sternly as she walked up and sat by the board. She placed a black piece across his own and muttered, "I have a new husband and his name is Xuefeng."
"I know. I have been observing you all. I was treating him like a mere human but since he claimed your heart, maybe I should consider him part of our family now?" Chaos teased casually but Ming took it seriously.
"You should since he will become the next King of Heaven," Ming announced.
Chaos smiled, placing his own piece. "I guess I was right about your plans. I hope you know it won't be easy for you to take him down."
"I never said it will be easy," Ming shrugged while fixing her golden hair. "What did he want from you?"
"He was angry that I took away his control over half of Heaven," Chaos replied honestly, causing Ming's eyes to widen.
Ming burst out right after. "Hahaha! No wonder he didn't hunt us down himself and decided to use the people's help. So you took away all of his power. That should buy us some more time."
"I didn't do it for you," Chaos said calmly. "I did it because he broke the rules. Anyway, he should get his powers back sooner or later. I can't claim them forever. He and I each have half and nothing will change that. I can only hold onto it temporarily."
"It's fine. That's more than enough. Thank you, Uncle," Ming acknowledged happily as she stood up. "I wish I could finish the game but I need to go back to my husband."
"You feel different now that you found a new man," Chaos pointed out. "You are radiating with positive energy. Back then I rarely saw you smile."
"Is that so?" Ming asked back with a smile. "I think so too. Life has been more fun since I reunited with my daughter and found Xuefeng."
Ming waved with her hand and created another portal back to the mortal world.
"I will not meddle in between your confrontation so make sure you kill him before he recovers all his powers. Even with Ling's power, you can't win against him if he goes on the full offensive," Chaos suggested before she stepped in. "I will only interfere if your life is in danger but I will not save anyone else. Remember that."
Ming paused at the last moment. "Thank you but that won't be necessary. If Xuefeng dies, I will die with him."
Her surroundings changed after leaving those last words and she reappeared back in the Lighting Land. The familiar naked back of Xuefeng was right in front of her. He was sweating all over as he continued to compress the Qi with all his focus.
Ming couldn't help but smile and approached, sitting right behind him. She placed both of her hands on his back and they shone with gold, helping him from outside.
"You will be the King of Heaven and we will rule together…" Ming muttered to herself and kissed his tensed back. She rubbed each muscle and helped him relax.
Although Ming couldn't help him with the breakthrough, she still wanted to be as close as she could. She hugged him gently when his hand moved and wrapped around her own.
He knew she was there for him but that was all he could do to show it.
Swoosh!
Just as they shared their moment, Nuwa's eyes snapped open, sending a shockwave of pressure with just her presence alone. The strength of her Soul and her control over the elements was the best from their group, clearly showing by finishing first.
She looked around everyone and pulled her brand new core, shining with nine colors. Xuefeng was just a moment slower as his own core saw the light of day for the first time. He quickly kept it after a quick look as if afraid to disturb his wives.
"First~" Nuwa mouthed proudly, causing Xuefeng to chuckle. Ming liked she was even more competitive than him, pushing him to try harder every time.
"Thank you for the massage," Xuefeng whispered quietly as he pulled her closer to kiss her from behind. For some reason, his lips tasted so much better than usual and she felt excited kissing him.
Was she really that much happier with Xuefeng? She rubbed his cheek and didn't need to answer as her smile did it for her.
"I have something to tell you but let's wait for everyone," Ming reported as she moved to the front and sat down on his lap. Being hugged by his huge arms made her feel like a teen once again.
One by one the girls awakened as their cores shine with their own light until everyone broke through. All of them had Gold Cultivation talent, making the process much smoother.
Too bad, just as everyone wanted to celebrate, Ming revealed the good and bad news.
"So basically the whole cultivation world is after us? Is that any different compared to before?" Xuefeng asked casually with his chin on Ming's shoulder. "I don't think we are in any immediate danger."
"We should still be careful. Who knows what powerhouses will be tempted to target us this time," Tianshi commented as she looked at Xuefeng worriedly.
"Our target is the King of Heaven. Since he wants me killed so badly, we can only return the same. Now that he is weakened, it is our prime opportunity to strike," Xuefeng decided.
"He will stay in the Fate Kingdom where he is pretty much safe. Unless he leaves, we don't have enough power to kill him. Right now the Elemental Bracelet is still too weak to challenge Heavenly Power," Ming suggested. "Our only option is to continue getting stronger until we can finally contest him."
"So it is time," Xuefeng announced with a serious expression as he glanced at everyone.
"Let's find out why everyone is scared of this Hellhole."