Meanwhile, Tiria and Juvian led the cultivators of the Dalamu Sect to investigate the valley's surroundings. Unfortunately, the defense there was really tight. Every time they got close, at least one Soul Forging Realm Lakure Race member would be there waiting for them.
Tiria and Juvian had to do their best to simply flee from those unfortunate situations. However, they soon noticed one thing. Every time they arrived at a certain distance from the valley, the Lakure Race experts would stop the pursuit and return. From the looks of it, they were a lot more worried about leaving the valley unprotected than killing the cultivators who entered the natural formation.
Tiria and Juvian couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not. After all, it all depended on what they were trying to do. They did succeed in capturing some low-level cultivators of the Lakure Race. Unfortunately, none of them knew much about the plans of the higher-ups. The higher-ups, obviously, had cultivations too high for them to succeed in capturing.
Without any other choice, they could only go back to the formation's border from where they entered to see if they had some way of communicating with the outside world. Too bad that the barrier was completely sealed. It wasn't possible to see the other side at all. Sound and Thoughts Transmission Talismans also didn't work.
Of course, the Dalamu Sect's group wasn't the only one. The other sects and the Royal Family soon understood the same principle. However, that wasn't too bad since they could use that opportunity to gather with a few of the other groups to discuss. Of course, they didn't stay together since they couldn't guarantee that the Lakure Race members won't come after them.
The problem was that they were all at a dead end. Attacking the valley was out of the question since their previous attempts to get close to it showed how many more experts the Lakure Race had. They simply lacked the number and the cultivation to do such a thing.
While they worried about it, Rean's group had completely given up on even thinking about it. They were too weak to make any difference in this situation, so why should they care? These six months of cultivation made a huge difference for them. The main figure in this meantime ended up being Calina. Her cultivation was ahead of the twins, and she was close to breaking through.
Deep in her cave room, Calina absorbed the Spirit Stones' energy without stopping as she attacked the bottleneck. Malaka, Rean, and Roan were also there, waiting to see if she would need any help. Finally, a burst of Spiritual Energy came from her body as her cultivation began to rise. The process ended up being very smooth, so Calina had entered the Late Stage of the Core Formation Realm without mishaps.
"Phew… I'm finally done with it."
Roan nodded and threw her a bottle with a few pills.
"Those are the same cultivation stabilizing pills. Swallow one of them every three days for the next month. It should help alleviate the chaotic energy in your foundation faster."
Calina smiled and immediately put one of them in her mouth. Following that, she concentrated on the pill's effect as she guided the energy into her dantian. She was already used to Roan's pills, so she was able to absorb it quickly. Sure enough, Roan's pill energy quickly mixed with her foundation's energy, helping in the calming process.
"Done. However, I would rather try battling to get it under control faster."
Rean and Roan nodded. They had been cultivating for quite a long time, so it was time to go out and test their improvements.
"By the way, Rean, Roan. How far are you from the Late Stage?"
Rean pondered for a bit before saying.
"At our current speed, we would probably need another half year to nine months. Don't forget that your cultivation is higher than ours."
Rean then looked at Malaka.
"What about you?"
Malaka had the weakest cultivation between them, which made her sigh.
"I'm still far from the Middle Stage. You were all in the Middle Stage for quite some time when I made my breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm. I'm pretty sure Rean and Roan will enter the Late Stage before I reach the Middle Stage."
Roan narrowed his eyes as he said.
"Stop complaining. That's more than good already."
Malaka already expected such words from Roan anyway.
Calina then patted Malaka's head with a smile.
"Alright, alright. There is no need to be sad. Don't forget that many cultivators out there would die of jealousy if they saw how young you are with your Core Formation Realm cultivation. You should be grateful for that."
Malaka couldn't help but hug Calina after that.
"Calina! You should marry me instead! Just forget the ice block. He doesn't deserve you."
Calina's face immediately went red. How the hell did she shift into that topic? However, Roan didn't seem to have any kind of reaction whatsoever.
"Are you two done with the play? If yes, then let's go."
Roan turned around and left the room. Seeing how clueless the ice block made them feel quite sad for Calina, though. They could only put their hand on her shoulder.
Rean then glanced at Malaka, who immediately noticed his eyes. Immediately, they reached a taciturn understanding.
Caline had a tinge of sadness on her face after seeing Roan ignoring Malaka's words. However, it was at this moment that Rean said.
"Calina, I have to say that I'm quite disappointed with you."
"Eh?! What are you talking about?"
Calina was taken aback by those words.
Malaka was then one to continue.
"Isn't that obvious? It has been around half a year since we entered this place. That means it has been six months since you got to stay together with Roan. However, you haven't tried anything until now."
Calina's face went red again.
"T-Try something?"
Rean nodded as he replied.
"Exactly! Six months without a single attack. Tell me, how do you expect to conquer my brother like that? Are you really going to let this chance slip? As far as we know, this natural formation might stay up for several years. Are you going to keep looking at Roan without doing anything?"
Calina didn't know what to say.
"I…"
*Pah!*
*Ouch!*
Suddenly, Malaka slapped Calina's butt with quite some strength.
"Why did you do that?"
"Why? To wake you up, of course! Every time Roan is clueless about your feelings, I can see how sad you get. However, you're destined to be like that forever if you keep waiting for him to answer back."
Rean and Malaka nodded at Calina.
"You need to attack!"
Calina felt helpless about that.
"But…"
"No 'buts!' You already went as far as getting naked in front of him, didn't you? So why would you care about anything else now?"
Calina's red face immediately became ten times hotter. However, she quickly noticed something.
"Wait! You two just want to see me try something crazy again so you can watch, right?"
Rean and Malaka's expressions instantly changed into that of dejection.
"How could you say something like that?"
"Do you think we would go this far just to have fun?"
Calina nodded without even thinking.
"Yes, I do."
Rean then shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, you're right. I wanted to watch the show. I'm really looking forward to what you will try next."
Malaka agreed with him.
"Exactly! Last time was so fun with you and Luina jumping in the river naked in front of Roan. I couldn't stop laughing for a long time."
"Fuck you! Who the hell will play the idiot role just for you?"
"Oh, is that so?"
Rean then got close to her.
"Let me tell you something very interesting, then."
Even Malaka didn't know what Rean wanted to say, so she got close as well.
"Back in the Capital, just before our mom and dad were about to leave…"
Rean then told Calina and Malaka about how Roan was put in a tight corner by their parents. Rean then saved him from the two by saying that he already had two girls interested in him. Obviously, Rean was mentioning Luina and Calina herself.
"He will be forced to bring someone home sooner or later, so shouldn't you take this opportunity even more seriously now?"
Calina narrowed her eyes.
"Is this true? No, you don't need to answer. There's someone else who can confirm it for me."
Calina then looked directly at Rean but not exactly at him.
"Sister Orb, did that really happen?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the three's heads.
[Yep. I was there too, after all. You should really grab this chance, girl.]
Rean couldn't help but mentally compliment.
'Well done, Sister Orb!'
Calina couldn't help but now consider that possibility. If Roan really had to bring someone back to show his parents, she definitely wanted to be the selected one!
"Then… Then, I will try."
"Great!"
"You can count on us!"
Calina narrowed her eyes after hearing Rean and Malaka's responses. Something told her that getting their help would only make things worse.
"Shut up! I don't want your help. I… I will think about something."
"Ehhhh? That's no fun."
Calina's mouth twitched.
"Fuck you! You just want to see me getting embarrassed in front of Roan again."
Rean and Malaka laughed as they nodded.
"Alright, alright. We won't intervene. Happy? Let's see what you will show us in the future."
Calina sighed in relief.
Suddenly, Roan's voice came from outside.
"Can you fucking come out already? How long will you make me wait?"
Rean and Malaka smiled and immediately left the room. Calina followed the two right behind. However, she also remembered something else, so she asked Rean through a Spiritual Sense message.
'By the way, how's Sana?'
Sana was the baby Rean rescued half a year ago.
