I just wish I had sothing I could use as a flying item that wont attract massive suspicion. Anything I make in Tree will stand out for a lot of reasons. Lola sniffs my left ear as I continue complaining. No, look here. My drones would be confiscated by the first true Heaven Realm practitioner Id co across! Theyll spot that the principles through which theyre flying are barely even known here, and imdiately kidnap or lock up or sothing stupid like that.
Lola once again looks at like Im crazy. But the jokes on her. Im not crazy. She is! Shes a totally crazy rabbit for even having this conversation with . Everyone knows rabbits cant talk, so that makes the fact that she is chatting with proof that she is actually insane!
I nod my head so more, astounded that nobody apart from can see this thing that is so clearly apparent. I decide that chatting with the rabbit is useless, as she is just a dumb animal anyway.
Looking around, I see more rice paddies, more cultivators sitting on mats and singing to their crops, and more pink unicorns. I always wondered why this stupid group of singing rice farrs never got invaded. Its because of all the pink elephants. Those majestic beasts just look fierce as heck!
I keep wanting to get in there and wrestle with them, but Lola keeps biting my earlobes whenever I go to confront one. Its a good thing that the fields of rice are coming to an end because the small pink rhinos I keep coming across keep taunting . I just glare at the latest group of line dancing tusked sea creatures when I fall into cold water.
I erge, the water in my ears blocking nearly all sound, and the mother of all headaches assaults .
Lola, I croak out when I regained my faculties, we will never talk of this again. If anyone who might have witnessed that entire trip ever wants to do anything for them ever again, including making them food, they will do well to forget about it.
My recovering mind is imnsely helped by the sudden hush that seems to fall over Tree. Instead of the constant murmur of voices coming from my core, just out of hearing range, there is a sudden silence, as if hundreds of voices suddenly shut their stupid mouths at once.
I rise, wiping the muddy water from my eyes as I gain my bearings. Mountains of terraced rice paddies stretch behind . The occasional hut, road, or tree interrupts the constant curving pattern of water dams and small waterways. The air is hazy as I look back, but not from the heat. No, the constant droning noise in that stupid sect causes a fog, the sheer volu of sound sohow visible.
Only now do I see that the rice is swaying as if its alive. Only now do I see that every single cultivator is wearing ear protection. I had heard so weird rumors about this sect, but this is the first ti I ever actually visited. Its super weird to see that most of the rumors turn out to be true.
Shaking the rest of the mud and water from my face, I decide to never co here again. The Divine Rice they make is delicious, though. Ive eaten it before, and even just a few grains of the specialty make for a tasty dish thats hard to put into words. It doesnt an I have to be near the place where that food is grown. Once again swearing I will never visit the Mongolian throat singing tree-hugging hippy crap mud snorting farrs and their pink narwhals ever again, I get going.
Instead of starting with a complex water-walking technique, or running so fast that the sheer pushback of my feet on the water keeps afloat, I simply grab one of the boats strewn around the coast. The transition from rice paddy to the endless lake is pretty gradual, leaving a wide stretch of sandy beach on which boats are scattered here and there. It takes a few minutes of jogging along the coastline - while ignoring the ominous and horrifyingly perfectly off-key humming coming from the rice paddies - before I find what Im looking for.
The narrow canoe might look unassuming, but it actually is very unassuming. That is a harder quality to find than one might think. Take my current gondoliers pole, for example. What at first appeared to be a very ordinary spear actually turned out to be a very wrong scam. A mortal iron speartip fastened to a super mysterious oversized arrow shaft is actually a weird thing to encounter. I really wonder how that elder got hold of that arrow disguised as a spear, but as Im currently using it as an oar to great effect, Im not complaining.
I do have to say that the spray coming from the bow is kind of annoying, as my face is continuously pressure washed. I want to be across this pond as fast as possible, and Im not planning on slowing down for anything but a massive parade, or sothing like that. I do have to say, for a couple of freaks that do nothing but stare at ripples all day, these Holy Water Inference sect guys do know how to make a pretty view.
I rember reading sowhere that a couple hundred thousand years ago, these mountains used to be just that, mountains. Then, slowly but surely, through this war or that natural or unnatural disaster, sects and organizations started moving this way while cultivating the land. One dude saw so ripples, started digging a pond to see more ripples, and now there is this massive artificial lake where mountains once scratched at the sky.
In a couple hundred thousand years, Im sure so earth cultivator will ascend here. They will cause so disastrous tectonic activity, or so other disaster will cause there to be mountains once more.
As I look at the flowing terraces behind shrinking, the white sails and dark boats clustering the horizon, or the natural mountains or towering buildings of so city far, far away, I wonder what its all for. All traces that I ever was here, speeding through the shallow water on a wooden canoe, will be gone within the hour. All traces of my passing through the mountain will be gone the mont an animal eats the last remains of the last remaining beast I killed. All my life will be abandoned to decay and oblivion when the last mory or written account of my life will turn to dust. Pushing off against the hard lake floor, I stare listlessly ahead, wondering what its all about.
ALL BOW FOR DAO CHILD SELIS FUUKYAA TEETCHUN
The fact that a massive parade is in the way, so random dude shouting his lungs out while standing on top of a massive boat shakes from my musings. A true behemoth of a boat, a thing so gaudy and impractical that it makes my eyes hurt is speeding towards . I just stare at the boat, wondering how that thing can even float in water this shallow. There is no normal hull in the world that will both fit in this superficial lake and support that superstructure. That ans that there is so kind of weight-reducing or buoyancy increasing formation running. This ans that moving the ship fast costs resources, which is usually not sothing they would do unless they were carrying sothing like a very important person.
My stomach drops through my stomach, into my shoes, through the bottom of the boat, and into the bowels of the earth. The faint suspicion I had upon hearing a certain divine soul fragnts words - which is currently inhabiting my bunny sword - cos true. Grinning down at , sitting at the place of highest honor, is Selis Bluesee, in all her blue glory.
The crown of water around her head still houses the transparent fish I made with my mana experints. Instead of the simple, brightly colored dresses she always wore, she is now decked out in one of the most ornate and impractical pieces of clothing I have ever seen. Her flowing blue hair is done up in intricate curls and loops, woven through a blue gem-encrusted golden phoenix crown that radiates power. The collar of her robe has at least six too many collars, and the actual fabric the thing is made from is nearly indistinguishable from all the embroidery.
Selis Fuck You Teach? Really? I ask, exasperated.
YOU WILL ONLY SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO! bellows the man with the mystical blue gaphone. The pressure coming from his command whips up a fierce wind, spraying even more water into my face and threatening to topple my boat. I imdiately impose a slight bit of my Will upon the wind. I let all the water spray through, but make sure to leave the remnants of my clothes unruffled.
Selis looks like she is regretting so things right about now. Surrounded by an entire cadre of blue-robed bald-headed mortal servants, blue-clad cultivator guards, and even a couple of bearded elders, she seems calm on the surface. From the various micro-expressions and ticks she is suppressing, I can tell that she is ntally going through a massive amount of scenarios.
There is a lot of water-intent qi in the air, and I feel it being disturbed by the sheer ntal turmoil that she is going through right about now. She must be crawling at least a hundred tis to cause this feeling.
We have long since established that braincores can feel other braincores using qi in ntal crawling - also known as slowing down ti by spinning qi through their cranium. And Selis is using up assloads of power right about now, the few blue shards of ice that she was using as additional decorations lting because of lost focus.
I decide to help her out and flash the white badge that the woman from the Elevated Children gave after losing our little drinking competition. I also pull another bottle from my ring, smiling softly while holding out the unassuming clay jar.
Imdiately, every single weapon is aid at . The entire boat switches from a pompous yet peacefull cruise ship into an ard-to-the-teeth heavy cruiser within seconds. The air grows chilly as more and more of the approaching fleet approaches , all of their swords, spears, bows, and other weapons trained at .
Then I break the seal of the jar with a slow yet casual flick of my wrist and use my air affinity to let the fragrance waft outwards. The sheer toxicity of the brew might not be imdiately apparent to these lightweights who have forsworn the pleasures of the flesh, but the sheer quality of the vintage can not be denied, even by these drinking layn.
Co. We will have a private chat and a drink. Selis actually sounds rather serene and peaceful as she says that. The coy smile on her lips doesnt fool , though. And from observing the rest of her retinue, the actual important people arent fooled either.
A few of the keener people must have seen that I wasnt phased by that sonic shockwave attack disguised as a bombastic announcent. Instead of reacting to her invitation, I stand up and slowly walk over to the hull of the large ship. Kicking the water into a massive, frothy spray, I use up a little more of my Will to gently land on the deck. The silence is deafening now, and Selis swallows audibly.
T-this way then honored guest of our Elevated Children of the Earthshaker God Beast Alliance allies.
There are at least a hundred people looking at us, from deckhand to bearded advisor looking guy, every single person present on the tiered and decorated deck is watching the eting between my long lost student and . They all keep staring, the frustration of so kind clear and obvious on their faces.
I ignore the peanut gallery and follow Selis as she enters the central deck hut. A dark and richly decorated interior is lit up by warmly glowing lighting formations, my eyes adjusting to taking in a lot of opulent and garishly embroidered furniture. Any sect that exists long enough will inevitably gather enough mortal treasure to rival a kingdom, but what I see here is a bit much, even for a sect as old as the Holy Water Inference sect.
No, is the first word coming out of Selis mouth the mont I sit down.
Alright then, I reply while smiling at her.
Her stern expression imdiately goes from brave and defiant to uncertain. W-what?
What what?.
Well
I first double-check the sound suppression qualities of the room once again. There is an assload of formations woven into the walls and furniture. The mont I start studying it, I notice a distinct uptick in Database request coming from Tree, all of them asking for detailed scans of the weave. I start weaving threads of qi through the air, embedding small probes of Will into them for the nexus points of the fabric that are extrely high in detail. The mont I sense that there are no active recording formations in the room, I smile and start talking.
Just make sure never to ntion my true na, or that you are associated with the Scheming Fox Demon in any way, shape, or form. Also, can I ask you if you have heard of the others? I have good beads on around half of them, but have very little idea where Vox or Ragni ended up. Also, have you seen a slimy dude from the Dark Moon sect sowhere? I think he has my sword. He definitely ca through here, as theres so of the bunny swords qi in the air.
The fact that she imdiately looks away from is alarming. Her wincing reactions at nearly every single one of my questions are even more worrying. Her imdiate nervousness is so palpable that I also start feeling anxious. If a few of those people find out that Im still alive Well, lets just say things could get complicated again.
Selis Bluesee, look in the eyes, I sternly tell her.
It just slipped out, alright? That dude ca along with your stupid sword, and he was just so Seeing soone like that having bested you, it was just so funny! Selis looks at with large teary eyes. I sternly ignore the crocodile tears and keep looking at the little brat. So it slipped out, okay? It was just the creepy guy. I gave him the sword back and a flying treasure so he would leave faster. Nobody except for him heard say Dre-
I have my hand over her mouth before she can finish the word. Im not sure what expression is on my face, but Selis is no longer looking any kind of happy. One thing. I rarely ask anything of anyone, right? I requested one thing. Just dont blab about my real na. I asked this a couple of tis, right? How many tis did I ask Re-Haan to call Teach? I did that often, a lot of the ti I did that in a public and vocal manner, right?
She nods, a single tear running down her cheek silently.
So yeah, thats the only thing. So please take note of that one thing. The rest of my rules are just rules pertaining to being a civilized person, like not murdering, Im heading north, as I suspect that Green is sowhere in the mountains and Ket is near the Dark Moon sect. You still have your Ligna Relaxantur ring, I see. The connection should be strong enough to transmit data now that youve been near . Yep, I just checked and the connection between the ring and Tree is nice and strong now.
I step back, only now noticing that Im right up in her face. Sitting down, I take a mont to collect myself and to regain my center. I look at Selis again, and the desire to explain to her in great detail how leaking my na will cause this entire region to descend into war and chaos lts away.
Im really happy to see that youre having fun here, I tell her while smiling. Im heading further north now. I would like to borrow a thod of flying if thats possible. Using one of the drones from Tree or similar items will cause a lot of problems down the line.
She nods and pulls a transparent blue sword from her ring. T-this is the best flying item I have.
She proffers a sword, but I am slow to grasp it. It seems to be a Heaven Realm item, if a low stage, but still not sothing she can just give away.
Can you miss this? Are you good with giving this away?
Yes, she answers, her eyes slowly getting so life back in them. Her expression changes then, in the telling way of soone having made up their mind for real this ti, and they are sticking to it. And I am staying here. They all love what I can do with water, and they recognize this cutie here for what he is!
Selis caresses the small transparent fish, still swimming through the water that is continuously floating around her. From the little I know about this sects cultivation abilities, is that controlling water through the use of vibrations is seen as the highest expression of skill. I assu that they wrongly concluded that Selis must have been so kind of savant genius, and thus must have done everything in their power to keep such a rare and talented cultivator in their ranks. So random mythical water beast seemingly acknowledging her, in the manner of becoming her companion or pet or whatever, must only have increased this weird twist of fate.
In that case, thanks for the sword, no ntioning of my na, and let know when I can help, I smile at her. Im glad to see youre doing fine.
I need to get going if I want to catch up with that Dark Moon idiot. I need to get my sword back and probably silence him. That said, I walk out the door, put so of my qi in the sword, toss it into the air, and speed off.
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