Among other information Anton learned that those from the Exalted Archipelago- and anyone in the upper realms- would call the planet Ceretos. There were already other nas in use, of course, but knowing how outsiders referred to it was important. And Anton couldnt help but think of those from the Exalted Archipelago as outsiders regardless of them dwelling in the sa world for their entire lives. And the sentint seed to be shared to so extent. People who hoped they would leave the world behind never really considered themselves a part of the world, and the Exalted Archipelago had a greater portion of their cultivators ascend.
Not that the numbers were particularly high. They were quite satisfied if it happened every few years. At least, if he could trust the words of Naamah. There was certainly truth among them, and things she wanted him- and thus the rest of the continents- to believe. Those werent necessarily the sa, but Anton had determined at least so of their motives. As previously noted the Exalted Archipelago was much less unified than it put on- the two distinct continents were more united in certain matters- and so information was slipped in that would potentially be useful against so rivals of the Hardened Crown Sect.
Ultimately, Anton was glad for the information he received, and he believed most of it to be reliable. And the Hardened Crown Sect seed to be open to further communications, which helped open up their options in the Exalted Archipelago.
The most important piece of information hadnt directly been said, but Anton was certain that the current cycle of the tides of the world was shorter than normal. There was no confirmation if the approximately six hundred years of the previous ti was standard, but it was at least closer to the norm. Comparing what he and others felt- though they were certainly new to paying attention to such things and thus could be in error- they had beco more confident in the two hundred year tifra asured from the invasion. They could be off by a few decades in either direction, but when the ti got close it would likely beco obvious again.
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There was a sort of curse that ca with a very wide range of senses. It wasnt that Anton would get overwheld by the feedback- that would only happen if he pushed himself beyond his limits. Instead, sotis being aware of things was the problem. Private conversations of those he had no connection to were of little concern, and those of real importance were usually done indoors which he generally avoided intruding upon.
The biggest issue was when he noticed a conflict of so sort. There was always the desire to get involved, but he couldnt necessarily judge which side was right. And then there was the fact that adversity allowed cultivators to grow. He had to think about the line between what was his responsibility because of his power and what he should let others deal with.
But sotis he could determine a clear right and wrong, and assisting a losing righteous battle with an arrow or two certainly felt appropriate sotis. He was often tempted to go further, but he restrained himself.
He couldnt- and shouldnt- try to influence everything himself. Even if he was on so level responsible for those weaker than himself, hed learned many lessons from his ti with generations of family. He certainly wasnt a perfect father, grandfather, and so on, but he knew that sotis people needed to face so consequences for their actions even if they had so justification. Most people believed everything they did was justified regardless, but he could safely set certain boundaries. Killing people simply to take what was theirs was the most common among cultivators, followed by the slightly more justified conflict over resources neither had a true claim to.
Anton certainly didnt distance himself from the little things of the world. He just preferred to influence them through ways other than simply a high cultivation and violence. He wasnt sure what the advice of a passing old man would do for people long term, but so imdiate goals were easily accomplished. Making up after a fight as soon as possible was frequent advice, though it depended on whether certain individuals were still in a heightened state of emotion. Anton wasnt sure he always gave the right advice, but Insight wasnt perfect even at higher cultivations.
Sotis he would take ti to do small things like help soone harvest their fields. He had great compassion for places he passed by where soone was sick and unable to work. While the rise of cultivation ant farrs had sowhat wider margins, hiring an extra person to help could also be significantly more costly. So helping even with a few hours work- which was honestly more than most people could do in a day even with so level of cultivation- reminded him of the basic good things in the world. There wasnt just war, even if that was the biggest looming threat at all tis.
Working at many different scales put Anton in the right state for advancing his cultivation. It wasnt necessarily as rapid as it could have been, but continuous forward advancent was more than so could even wish for. With no roadblocks before the peak of Life Transformation, Anton imagined he could reach the ninety-ninth star in sothing like three decades. Hed be a bit over two hundred then- which would an he would have spent more ti as a cultivator than not. For most cultivators, that tipping point ca much more quickly since they started young.
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The pursuit of alternate thods of improving in power beyond Life Transformation brought Anton back to the Grasping Willow Sect. He didnt expect Lev to have clear answers for him, but he knew Lev was working on sothing different. He wasnt technically barred from ascension the sa way Anton was, but it would not fit his goals, nor be as beneficial as it might seem.
Anton looked at the young man- as if nearly a hundred were young nowadays. Which it was, since Lev still looked young for the most part. It was quite subtle, but his posture was off. Though that was to be expected, because he had no control of his limbs in the standard way. He had never really recovered after connecting to the Grandfather Willow, though Lev never made any complaints except that it was disappointing he was less useful if he ranged far from the sect. Though in truth he had access to power beyond Life Transformation while there- the simple issue being that it was not his own.
Im thinking of making my arrangent more permanent, Lev said. Not that I wish to embed myself in the Grandfather Willow again. I can, but that physical action is a bit away from the direction I intend.
Im intrigued, Anton admitted. What, then?
Its not that much different from Ascension, really. Integration, they call it. I would just not be integrating with upper energy, but that of the Grandfather Willow. More than just on a surface level like we are teaching all our disciples right now. Interestingly enough, it might expand my useful range sowhat. And if not I wouldnt mind being a guardian here.
Shouldnt I be the one saying such old man things? I have had similar thoughts, but theres nothing I have any sort of claim to that would be either strong enough or appropriate for the purpose. Anton looked up at the Grandfather Willow, specifically towards the main trunk since up in every direction was part of the willow. And though once I wouldnt have concerned myself with being tied down to a specific area, I would prefer to range much wider.
Maybe you could find yourself a great tortoise? Lev grinned, I know you and Paradise get along well.
Certainly, but I wouldnt wish to take sothing elses power. Either that requires constantly wrestling sothing unfriendly for control, or weakening sothing for no good reason. Anton thought for a mont, Also I feel like Paradise would change his mind about if I tried to take his power. He certainly didnt seem fond of the Ponderous Turtle Clan making the attempt.
Right, right. That was one of the deciding factors in the war, wasnt it?
Well, I cant imagine that losing most of a sects most powerful cultivators all at once was good for them, no.
Lev thought for so ti. Perhaps you could nurture a secret realm? Use all of the power there for yourself? I know the entrances are usually static but
Sounds expensive, Anton said. Like more wealth than the Order has ever possessed kind of expensive.
Bah, you could throw together a secret realm. The Luminous Ocean Society made one and they didnt make it past the invasion!
Perhaps this could work for so, but Im not a specialist in the formations required. And I doubt I could justify making soone else do all the work- or pay them sufficiently. I also have no intention to spend decades hoarding wealth, either.
Lev shrugged, It was just a suggestion. It was the only thing along the sa lines I could think of.
I appreciate it, Anton said. Ive had certain ideas in the past, but theyre likewise a bit extravagant. But about yourself, how certain are you that your plans might work?
Well, its a bit early to judge for sure. I still have to reach the peak of Life Transformation, after all. Otherwise, Id definitely not be able to handle the process. Could easily find myself drained of energy in return if I ss up. Or maybe if I do everything right.
Yes, attempting to skip steps in cultivation rarely goes well for anyone. The Orders technique makes that basically impossible since it involves forming stars. Just calling a star a different number doesnt make a difference. Though I heard of people trying to skip pri temperings.
And? Lev asked.
... It technically worked. In short, they continued advancing at a marginal rate of power increase without ever accelerating. No advancing between stages even if they had the right number of stars. Then they eventually hit a wall anyway, as they could only manage so many stars even with lesser power. I dont think anyone has tried that since I joined the Order, though its possible.
I hadnt expected much different. If you could skip steps and have the sa power, then it would actually be the correct thod instead, and those steps were simply extraneous and mistaken to consider all along.
After that they discussed other insights into cultivation, so quite technical while others were simple yet sotis profound. Perhaps neither of them would find the others insights of use, but the knowledge might find its way to the right person at the right ti if they had it available to share.
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With ascensions suddenly more commonplace on the continent- that is, more than one every few decades- the number of individuals reaching their limits in Life Transformation or before also increased. In a way this was good for the various factions. They were steadily growing in strength, and even those who could advance no further were valuable. It was also the case that with more people cultivating, there was an explosion in the lower ranks of cultivation- Body Tempering and Spirit Building.
At the current ti it was expected for people to reach Spirit Building at so point in their lives, though so found themselves limited by talent, free ti, or simply desire. So were content with reaching a certain level that allowed them to work as efficiently as they wished, allowing them so amount of free ti.
There was still a disparity between people, even with free access to certain basic knowledge. Those who had wealth had more ti to cultivate, pulling them further ahead. But the thods of cultivating while performing labor gave those lower on the ladder so chance.
Much of the world had adopted the policy of allowing energy to flow freely as well. Long term growth of a whole region worked best that way, even though an individual sect might see better payoff in the short term by gathering energy within their borders. In the long term, however, it would take more resources to improve every step, and better formations to resist an imbalance of energy. So found it worthwhile anyway, but energy flowed freely through the wilderness in most places, promoting growth of all kinds.
That also ca with so dangers, but having beasts that might attack people was also a benefit in a way. It allowed people a way to gain combat experience not against other humans, and to focus violence away from each other. And hunting beasts beca another job, one for which hunters were paid to then spend their money in nearby cities where the money returned to the sa hands once more. A prosperous cycle.
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