As the Gates of Purgatory sent energy into her body, she could feel herself changing. Her blood vessels expanded, allowing more blood to circulate in her body faster. It also slightly enhanced her bone and muscular structure and the quality of her Qi. Lastly, her body seemed more vigorous, increasing her regeneration.
Unlike the previous Hell, Mira could feel a difference in strength with these enhancements. While it still wasn't much, it was as if she had gained the strength of a Qi Condensation cultivator on top of her Core Formation cultivation.
To test out her new regeneration, Mira created a blade of Qi out of her fingers and slashed her arm.
*Puchi!*
Her arm began bleeding, but the amount that oozed out of the wound was about half of what it would usually be.
A few seconds later, the wound closed up, not leaving a scar or anything.
'Wow! That's some impressive healing powers. I wasn't even trying to heal myself there, either!' Mika was a bit shocked by how extraordinary her regeneration was but kept her composure.
She expected something like this.
Lastly, she inspected her Blood Essence and saw that the quantity had risen even more. It wasn't by much, but Mira didn't care. Just knowing that she could replenish it was enough for her.
'I guess I'll need to go on a killing spree soon.' Mira thought as the sooner her Blood Essence reached max capacity, the better.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Maria noticed that blood was no longer leaking out of her body and sighed in relief. However, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't shocked that Mira had to drink blood to stop bleeding!
'Seriously, what kind of Inner Body Cultivation is Mira doing? First, she suffered from something painful enough to make her grunt. Now, blood gushed out of her body! What's next? Will her bones be plucked out of her skin?!' Maria's hair stood on end at the thought of that.
'If Mira keeps cultivating, I'm leaving the room with Dominique.' Maria decided!
"Are you done, Mother? Are you all better now?" Dominique asked with shining eyes. Ever since she first laid eyes on Mira, she's always been invincible, and it wasn't any different this time.
Mira turned to Dominique and nodded, "Of course, I'm fine. How could I not be? I was just cultivating a unique technique that needed me to lose a bit of blood to get stronger."
"Then… are you stronger now?" Dominique asked hesitantly, as she knew it was taboo to talk about another cultivator's strength.
However, Mira didn't seem to care. She nodded indifferently and said, "I'm a bit stronger. Though, strength wasn't the main thing I gained from this cultivation session. It was my regeneration that took a huge leap."
"Really?! There's a technique that can do that?! Can you teach me?" Dominique asked, enlarging her big doe eyes.
"Sure, but like I told Maria. What you go through won't be the same as mine."
Dominique nodded excitedly and ran over to Mira.
"You promised! You can't go back on it now that you've said it!"
After spending some more time with the two of them, Mira cleaned up the room and went to sleep with Dominique. She wasn't ready to start the next Hell as the Guardian said she'd have a tough time with it.
She wasn't scared she would die from it, but Mira had to ensure she was in peak condition before doing it.
Significant undercurrents were making their way through the Western Continent, and she couldn't be holed up in her room trying to survive some bullshit. Doing that was akin to sentencing those close to her to death.
***
In a random location on the Western Continent, the undercurrents Mira was worried about were currently underway.
Maria's parents, Cole and Erika, were resting in a nearby city called Ariodon. They had just finished an extended mission, turned it in at the Mercenary Association, and were planning to take a little break.
"Hey, Honey, how do you think Maria's doing? Do you think Mira is taking good care of her?" Cole asked his wife as they sat inside an inn.
Erika nodded without hesitation and asked, "Do you really think if something did happen to Maria, Mira would've stayed silent? I'm pretty sure the whole continent would know of her if something like that happened!"
Cole thought for a second, but he had to agree with his wife. He couldn't imagine that bloodthirsty woman not going on a rampage, killing everything in sight if something happened to their baby girl.
"You're right. They are probably living it up, getting stronger in the Battle Maiden Sect!" Cole said proudly.
While they didn't know if she actually made it in, they were confident that with Mira by her side, she would.
Erika nodded, but a look of longing appeared in her eyes as she missed her daughter. It's been a while since they left the Zaria Family in Lunar Fox City to explore the world and get stronger.
The last time they saw them, Mira and Maria's strength inspired them to leave the house and pursue their dreams.
They were free to do whatever they wanted with Maria out of the house and without familial responsibilities. They were both Core Formation Realm experts and still had a long life ahead of them.
While they didn't have many dreams in this life, they at least wanted to live long enough to see Maria rise to the top and maybe give her a few more siblings.
"On another note, have you felt something strange lately? It almost feels like there are more eyes on us than usual." Erika asked, and Cole nodded.
"So, I'm not the only one, huh? I saw a few people glancing at us earlier, but I couldn't figure out why. I just played it off as my imagination, but it seems that's not the case," Cole said with a frown.
He thought back to all the missions they'd taken and everything they'd done ever since leaving the Zaria family, but he couldn't recall ever offending someone. At least, not enough to warrant this kind of attention.
A few people were annoyed that they had grabbed a mission before them, but that was all. Those people just grumbled for a moment before picking another one. It's not like the Mercenary Association lacks things for them to do.
Erika did the same but couldn't come up with any reasons why they were being watched.
"Do you think Maria got into some trouble, and now people are looking for us to get back at her?" She asked.
Cole opened his mouth to shut down that idea, but when he thought about it, that sounded plausible.
"I… Maybe? I don't know. Although that girl is a troublemaker, she's incredibly nice. I can't see anyone getting so mad at her that they'd want to hunt us down, but maybe she took advantage of the wrong person. It's impossible for us to know."
Erika agreed with his words as even though her daughter is a little… unique, she's not mean.
*Tap**Tap**Tap**Tap*
Suddenly, the two of them stopped talking as they heard footsteps in the hallway outside the room. Soon, the footsteps stopped right in front of their door, and then…
Silence!
No knock or anything! They just stood there. Cole and Erika could tell something was very wrong. They had just finished talking about how they felt they were being watched, and now this happens?
While there might be coincidences in this world, they refused to believe that the people on the other side of the door came with good intentions.
They both took out their weapons and prepared for battle.
However, their expressions changed when they felt someone approaching from outside the inn!
Cole turned to his wife, pointed to himself, and whispered, 'I'll cover the door.'
He then pointed at Erika and said, 'You cover the back.'
Erika nodded and prepared to strike as soon as the intruders busted into the room.
"..."
A palpable silence descended onto the room, causing cold sweat to drip down Cole and Erika's backs, but they were much more experienced now after they left the family and could stay calm.
However, time continued to pass, but nothing happened.
At some point, they even began to think they were crazy!
'What's going on? Were we really mistaken? Are they not here for us?'
Such thoughts entered their minds, but they stayed on high alert. If they've learned anything as cultivators, it's always to be aware of their surroundings, and right now, they can sense people all around them!
Although this was an inn, there was nobody in it except for them! For something like this to happen is extremely odd!
After a few minutes of waiting, the two grew restless and began contemplating attacking first…
*BANG!*
They didn't have to wait any longer as the intruders burst into the room!
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