The Geared Immortal

…

The fight between the two powerful beings is something that Xin Ja could not intrude on because he knew that if he were to fight that guy then he would need to give it his all. And with the current situation, that would be detrimental to their mission.

After helping the others get out of the rubble, Xin Ja and those that are still conscious gather everyone, even the ants that have fallen unconscious, into one side of the cave.

He then walked towards the central point of the cave where a slightly glowing orb is situated.

"We should call the headquarters. They might know what to do with this thing…" Agatha who has already changed her clothes suggested as she approaches the glowing orb while standing behind Xin Ja.

"No… They would deactivate this if they are the ones who would work on this… I think it should be better if we study it more before leaving this place…" Xin Ja said while he began to set up a formation around the orb.

Several hours later…

Agatha has already left the cave along with a few soldiers to report their findings and take the wounded and the dead to the headquarters.

Meanwhile, Xin Ja and a few were left inside the cave as he finishes the array formation he is constructing.

Soon, he was able to finish setting up the protective formation that was put by the Shadow Beings in the cave.

"How they are able to set this up is a mystery…" he muttered while looking at the result of his work.

By this time, the effect of the dream stone has already been subdued and the slightly ruined cave went back to its tranquility.

"Sir… Commander Vale is arriving soon, he is asking if it is already fine to enter the cave?" a soldier suddenly interrupted his train of thought.

Xin Ja nodded his head.

After setting up the barrier, he then approaches an ant, which he requested to be left, that has regained consciousness.

"It seems that you guys have been busy… Tell me, how are you going to invade this world?" he asked while showing a faint smile on his face.

The humanoid ant looked at Xin Ja with a glare. If it could free itself then it would have already bitten Xin Ja with its powerful mandibles.

"You are all going to die… Hehehe… No one can stop the plan… No one can interfere!" it growled in a hoarse tone.

"Well, to tell you the truth. I have known your plans for a while now… I will kill that Yol-gar if it\'s the last thing I do…" Xin Ja said while showing a slight grin.

The ant creature suddenly showed an astonished expression on its face. It did not expect that the human before it would know the name of its master.

Then what baffled the ant creature is that the human suddenly began forming hand seals and then after a while several unknown words began to appear around him.

"It has been long since I have used this technique… You will be the first one to experience this in a long time…" Xin Ja said with a grin.

After he was done with the hand seals and the words finished forming, the ant creature suddenly began to tremble.

"You… how… how do you know that technique!" it growled as it began to move its body as if trying to get out of the bindings it is in.

"Hehe… I came from the other side. I know the purpose of the demons and the Shadow Beings… I\'ve known about the war and everything…" he said as he finished the formation.

Kwang!!!

A slight reverberation in the air made everything seem quiet.

The soldiers guarding the side quickly steps back as they could feel a strong force coming from Xin Ja.

Then they were all dumbfounded at what they saw.

A black gas-like object began to come out of the ant\'s body and slowly materializes in the air. That black thing began to writhe in pain but they could not hear any sound from it. They could not even hear the discussion between the two.

"I think you also know this ability… right?" Xin Ja activates his siphon technique in which the energy in his dantian began to revolve and a powerful suction force coming from his body was exerted.

That powerful force began to absorb the black thing that is floating in front of him.

"No! How could a… mere human know… this?" the shadow being who was extracted from inside the ant shell shrieked.

Soon, his dark energy body began to dissolve as Xin Ja absorbed him.

There are several kinds of Shadow Beings. Those that are very strong could not enter this world on their own as the world would try to destroy them. They can only possess the bodies of the beings from this world or the demons.

Though Shadow Beings do not have any physical bodies, their dark energy body could already turn solid if they so wished it be.

Outside this planet, he has encountered several shadow beings and has fought against them and lived.

As he absorbed the dark energy, Xin Ja began forming his dark essence as if by practice as he did when he was still Shin Jiao.

Soon, a dark energy ball formed inside his dantian as it began to revolve around it.

By this time, the little fiery bird and Xuanlong suddenly appear after feeling the presence of powerful energy.

"You two can absorb that thing…" Xin Ja pointed at the humanoid ant that has already slumped on the ground.

The two quickly grabbed that thing and once again enters his ring.

Those soldiers who saw this were all dumbfounded as they did not know where those two creatures that just appear came from.

They did not even know how those two suddenly disappears along with the ant creature.

But no one dares ask Xin Ja if they knew of the strange identity of the man.

This guy was able to save them in the battles plus he is also able to construct the array that is making them feel that the effect of the strange aura around them has suddenly dissipated.

After the two take the lifeless figure, Xin Ja sits on the ground and began refining the dark energy he just absorbed.

He could feel the strong energy coursing through his body as the dark energy pulsated like it wanted to escape from him in any way possible.

Feeling a slight bout of pain, Xin Ja slightly gritted his teeth and refines the dark energy little by little until he was able to absorb it into his dantian.

The dark energy contains a lot of chaotic Ki which he was really surprised by.

They are not like the ones he could get from the demons as he could quickly absorb those. The dark energy is something different, something abominable and more chaotic than the chaotic Ki he has been normally absorbing.

Soon, Xin Ja was a bit stunned to know that the dark energy he absorbed using the siphon technique is actually a lot more than he bargained for.

"That thing… is Rank B nearing Rank A…" he muttered with slight fear in his expression.

He did not expect that the random Shadow Being is actually this strong. If not for the restraint in this world, those things would have easily defeated everyone except for him and Agatha.

As Xin Ja absorbs the energy, he isolates his concentration and just sits there while trying to refine the dark energy.

His strength has been slowly growing since then and he could feel a sense of accomplishment at this time for being able to finally grow rapidly for the upcoming battle.

The way he is right now, he knew that he would not be of any help in fighting against Rank-A opponents. In fact, he would just be cannon fodder and would be sent to his death if ever he is to face Yol-gar at this time.

He has already decided that once this is over, he would begin to craft another gear just to balance the equation in fighting against Rank-A, or possibly higher, enemies.

He did not know how long it took him, but as he slowly opened his eyes, he noticed that the cave seemed a bit different.

But what made him happy at this time is the breakthrough that he just has.

With the help of that huge amount of energy he just ingested, he has finally reached the realm of the Shens. Well, not quite there yet actually.

According to what he knew, to reach the realm of the Shens one should be able to gain enlightenment on some aspect of things.

For example, Agatha. She is a Rank-A and her enlightenment while she was a Shen is that of brute force. She could use her own body to destroy her enemies.

Though she did not look the part, her Ki would actually form into fine muscles which would enhance her strength multiple times.

That is why, when fighting against the Arnas, she is not at a disadvantage even after taking those beatings. Instead, she was able to push her opponent into showing their real strength.

Hence, to reach the Shen level he needed to have enlightenment on something.