Ignoring the shameless bird, Rean's group continued on their way after selecting another path. There were a few more difficulties here and there, but nothing that could really stop their group from moving forward. Around a day and a half later, they finally began to approach the Vermilion Pool.
It was just like Mia had informed them. At some point, the Decaying Fog began to disappear. It was hard to imagine that the Vermilion Pool was also the reason for the Decaying Fog. The one that felt the most intrigued was Rean.
"So much... Life Force..."
Roan looked at him, puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, this place is overflowing with Life Force. Not only that, the Light Element is abundant as well. We haven't seen the Vermilion Pool yet, but I can already tell that we are close. It's no more than two kilometers away."
Roan nodded.
Sure enough, a few turns later, they arrived at an enormous cave space. At the very center, everyone could see what seemed to be a lake. Or better, a red lake with steam coming out of it.
"Isn't that just a Hot Spring?"
"A Red Hot Spring?"
Rean looked at the lake and could tell that all the Life Force he could feel was precisely coming from there. He then looked behind from where they came and felt the surroundings with his Light Element manipulation. Only then he understood what was happening.
"I see..."
Roan, Malaka, and Calina looked at him.
Noticing their gazes, Rean then tried to explain what he was seeing.
"Well, how can I put it. There is no doubt that these Hot Springs are really the reason for the Decaying Fog. There is an enormous amount of Life Force and Yang Energy coming from it. However, all of this is connected to the Hot Spring somehow. As the Life Force and Yang Energy get further away from the Hot Spring, they begin to lose their connection."
"Because of that, the Life Force and Yang Energy start to change. Of course, just this isn't enough to create Decaying Fog. If I'm not wrong, what changes them, in the end, is the environment of the Profound Abyss. The Life Force and Yang Energy then begin to transform due to the impurities of the place itself. This mix of Profound Abyss and detached Life Force and Yang Energy creates the Decaying Fog and Energy."
"It's quite funny how if we have been absorbing almost the exact same type of energy that we sought all this time. It's not wrong to say that absorbing the Vermilion Pool's medicinal properties is the same as absorbing Decaying Energy, but in a different state."
Malaka and Calina didn't understand much of it. They were young and can't use Light Element to start with. But it was different for Roan. He understood that it might not be a good thing for himself.
'Sister Orb, will it be okay for me to enter the Vermilion Pool?'
[Oh, that's fine. In this Universe, there is no Yin without Yang. Obviously, the opposite is also applied. Usually, it would be extremely hard to mix them. But you just so happen to have the Soul Gem System and your Yin Yang Soul Connections. Thanks to Rean's existence, you can enjoy it as much as anyone else.]
Roan nodded. As long as it worked, then he didn't care.
*splash!*
While Roan was thinking, a certain plumpy bird jumped directly inside of the pool. Soon after, it began to swim around as if it was its private bath. That obviously irritated Roan quite a bit.
"Hot water and chicken. Seems like we can have Chicken Soup today."
*Vup!*
In a flash, Kentucky disappeared from the pool, appearing right behind Rean.
"Hahaha!"
Rean, Malaka, and Calina couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Well, whatever. Just go back inside. You had been absorbing the Yin Energy in the Decaying Fog all time along. This Vermilion Pool will probably be good for you to balance your powers."
*Splash!*
Kentucky immediately jumped back inside the pool as fast as it had run away from it.
"How can there be such a shameless bird in this universe?"
Rean just shrugged his shoulders.
"Leave Kentucky be. He did a pretty amazing job fighting the demon beasts while protecting Malaka and Calina. Think about it as his reward. Besides, I already felt the power accumulated in this Vermilion Pool. There is more than enough for everyone to use."
Malaka also couldn't wait anymore.
"Rean, can I go too?"
Rean nodded.
"Alright, go ahead. Don't forget to absorb the Pool's Energy into your meridians to strengthen them. The medicinal properties mixed into the Vermilion Pool seemed to be very beneficial for them. Otherwise, there would be no reason to come to this place in the first place. Also, once you feel that you reached your limit, come out. Too much will be no good for any of us."
"Great!"
Malaka immediately threw her clothes in the air and jumped straight inside, not minding the fact that Rean and Roan were there at all!
*Splash!*
Calina was shocked by that, though. Malaka completely ignored that Rean and Roan were there when she took off her clothes. Little did she know that back in the Varen Tribe, Rean and Roan would bring her to train outside against the Demon beasts. They would often wash in any nearby river or lake since it would be a waste of time to go all the way back to the tribe. They did it for years, too, since very young. So for Malaka, it made no difference whether Rean and Roan were there or not. She was simply too used to it. Of course, that only applied to the twins.
"Malaka! You're a girl! At least cover the important par-"
*Ban!*
*Splash!*
Unfortunately for her, Roan wasn't in the mood to hear all that bullshit. He couldn't care less whether they were wearing clothes or not. So he simply kicked Calina inside the pool and jumped inside with Rean too.
"Instead of wasting your time, just start absorbing the Vermilion Pool's Energy already."
Right after, he sat with only his head out of the water and closed his eyes. Rean wasn't surprised by that either. That guy never had the tolerance to start with. In his eyes, this was just like washing oneself anywhere else. Clothes? Embarrassment? Men and women? Ha! What a joke. The day Roan starts to care about such things, the Universe would collapse. Rean also entered and completely ignored the naked Malaka playing with Kentucky on one side of the pool. In his case, as long as she did what he said and absorbed the Vermilion Pool's medicinal properties, he didn't mind.
Calina rubbed her butt as she looked at Roan with an angry expression. Still, she wasn't idiotic enough to try to pick a fight against him. She then went close to where Malaka and Kentucky were staying while absorbing the energies into her meridians. As much as Malaka didn't care, she still did. She had to do something about it as her friend.
After complaining with Malaka for about ten minutes, she finally convinced the happy-go-lucky girl to put on some clothes. With that, they all continued to absorb the Vermilion's Pool Medicinal Properties. It was like the reports said precisely. The Vermilion Pool had the power to strengthen and enlarge the Meridians, allowing for a higher and more stable Spiritual Energy flow. Naturally, it would improve one's cultivation speed. Even Kentucky was no exception.
Just like that, they continued to enjoy the comfortable and highly nourishing Vermilion Pool.
Another good thing about the Vermilion Pool was the fact that no Decaying Demon Beasts would approach it. For them, the Life Force and Yang Energy acted more like poison, destroying their Demon Cores.
Last but not least, not everyone would be brave enough to venture into one of the caves with high concentrations of Decaying Fog. Because of that, their chances of really encountering another group here were minimal. Let alone during the Surge. In fact, Rean was still surprised that Weren and Tuve tried such a thing. Although he knew that there will definitely be other groups who have tried it, they were quite rare compared to the majority.
Soon, an entire day passed. What was first was a very comfortable sensation, had already become quite unbearable. That was to be expected, though. After all, the pool worked by absorbing its properties into one's body. Sooner or later, the ones absorbing those energies would reach their limit.
Finally, the first one to decide that it was time to come out was Roan. Nothing to be surprised about there. Although he could absorb the Vermilion Pool's Yang Energy, he was still what Sister Orb liked to call 'the epitome of Yin Energy.' Obviously, his body would be the first one to get out.
The next one was Malaka, quickly followed by Calina. The two girls came out while their entire bodies ached. As women, they were pretty much like Roan, having Yin Energy as their carrier force. They would need quite a few days for their meridians to finish fully processing all the Vermilion Pool's Medicinal Properties.
"Take it."
Suddenly, Roan threw two sets of clothes to Malaka and Calina. Malaka seemed to be used to that already. Still, Calina simply couldn't tell from where the hell Roan took those clothes from. Not only that, but they were pretty much of the right size. Without a doubt, women's clothes. Obviously, those clothes came from the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm.
It couldn't be helped. Calina would be surprised if she knew just how many sets of clothes Malaka destroyed while following Roan's hell-like training. The same was true for the twins themselves. They had several sets of spare clothes ready to be changed into. Calina was almost the same age and size as Malaka, so Malaka's clothes obviously fit her very well.
Malaka didn't notice Calina's surprise as she looked at the pool together with Roan.
"Rean and Kentucky don't seem to be having a hard time in there."
Roan nodded.
"Rean uses the Light Element, so his body is a lot more resistant to Yang Energy than anyone else. In Kentucky's case, he is a demon beast. His body's natural resilience is stronger than humans to start with. Not to mention that he can also use the Light Element. Those two being able to absorb more energy is well within expectations."
Roan then glanced at Malaka and Calina.
"You two should just sit down and focus on the Vermilion Pool's Medicinal Properties inside your bodies. The sooner you finish processing it, the better it will be for the meridians that were just expanded by it."
Malaka and Calina nodded and did as Roan said.
As for Rean and Kentucky, it wouldn't be before another entire day went by that the first one came out of it.