Ch 30: Centuries

Centuries later… yes, I’m time skipping centuries. This world is freaking boring! Cultivation is boring! I build communication devices capable of sending messages, and even after many decades there’s been almost no progress made on improving them. The tech advancement of this world is basically stagnant! No one is inventing anything! No one is improving anything! My hopes of future internet is basically shattered. If I want one, I’d have to build the entire thing myself.

The only explanation I can find for this is cultivation. All the smart people are cultivating, so they don’t have time for inventions and improvements. Bah! The few people who invent things just make high level stuff for their own personal use. Never anything of use to regular people. At least my books have spread so much that regular people are almost unheard of. Everyone is cultivating at least a little now. Most people manage to get some body refinement done by the time they reach 20, and this has greatly improved life for the poor. Well… most of them. Not everyone is lucky enough to be born in good health and live long enough to learn cultivation.

I suppose it’s not fair to say no innovation happens, it’s just that all the innovation seems to be in cultivation. I’m not the only one to develop new books, I’m just the only one to give them away freely. While I miss having a library of knowledge to study, I’ve been lucky in that Elder Darya has begun visiting after she found my home. Seems she’s from the Divine Sea sect and remembers me, though I don’t really remember her. 

We discuss cultivation ideas and I’ve learned a lot from her about how her sect teaches cultivation at the higher levels of it. Her explanation of the spark of divinity stage really helped me understand it better. I’m not too sure why she kept visiting, but every time she did, she seemed a bit stronger than the last time, so she’s clearly doing well in her advancement. Maybe she doesn’t have anyone else to talk freely to? I often read in stories that people in positions of power would lack friends they could casually talk with.

The thing I was most interested in experimenting with, was the trick of putting a piece of my soul in something else. This is normally done to create a personal soul weapon. A soul weapon can be upgraded indefinitely, so it never falls behind in power, and it can be stored inside one’s soul, making it easy to keep ahold of. 

I decided to try putting a piece of my soul into my tree (the one I’ve turned into my home). My curiosity demanded it. I was already putting a lot of effort into making my tree awesome, and this just seemed like a way to make it more awesome. It might even become a way to revive myself without relying upon that god. A way to cheat death.

Wait, to properly cheat death with the tree, the tree needs to be a part of me, not merely attached to me. It is also a living thing. Do trees have souls? Can I take a piece of it too? Hmmm… another thing to research later. 

… in the stories I read, soul bound items and creatures would end up in the main character’s divine sense (whatever that means) and could be summoned out. Will I somehow end up with a summonable giant tree? That could be funny.

Ch 31: Tessa’s power

Tessa’s view

When Anne died, Alice seemed to handle it better than I did for some reason. Her death wasn’t a surprise though. She’d started cultivation late, and never really dedicated herself to it, so even with Alice’s help, she only lived to be a little over 200 years old.

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Finally, after completing body reformation, I was ready. The technique I’d developed required a sturdy body. It wasn’t a combat technique. It was an annihilation technique. I call it: ‘Meteor’.

“If you do it at night, from high enough up, you’ll look like a falling star, as if the heavens themselves were casting judgement.”

Alice’s comment was interesting. Heaven’s Judgement? Had a nice ring to it. I didn’t want to claim that level of authority though. Such a name is too arrogant.

While the Demonic Blood Sect was already wiped out thanks to the efforts of Elder Darya and those she recruited, there were still more demonic sects out there. So, making use of my connections with wandering cultivators, and Elder Darya, I began hunting down and cratering all the demonic sects I could find. I struck during the middle of the night, following Alice’s idea. All witnesses would see is a bright falling star, a great thunderous impact, and a giant crater left behind.

God’s view 

YES! This is what I love to see! Power! Domination! Annihilation! Impact! Hahaha!

Elder Darya’s view

If not for Alice, I’d call Tessa the strangest cultivator I knew. Most women focus their reformation on beauty, and the ideal that almost all seem to strive for is fair skinned. Yet Tessa remains darkly tanned, like she’d always been from the time she spends in the sun. Instead, the most visible changes were her hair and eyes becoming a bright, fiery red. 

Most cultivators who see her would assume she’s a fire cultivator, but they’d be very wrong. Those who can tell she’s both fire and earth would still misjudge her fighting style. Earth cultivators are known for being slow and powerful. Fire cultivators are known for creating an inferno of fire, and employing ranged attacks. She is neither. 

Tessa’s style is explosive. More like what one would expect from a wind cultivator. Speed and power are her greatest strengths, and rather than wielding weapons, she simply fights unarmed. When she’s using her full power, her entire body turns red, as it glows with heat, as if she were iron in a forge. When my students spar with her, she usually dominates, just because her style is so unfamiliar to them. Useful for keeping their egos in check.

Ch 32: An unexpected visit

Eh? What’s this? A powerful beast is approaching? I don’t sense any hostile intent. Why would they come here?

“I seek an audience with the master of the great tree!”

Ah, that voice is so loud! I guess I better see what this great cat wants.

“What is it?” 

This cat was about two stories tall, covered in black fur.

“Wha? Y-you… just…”

“What?”

Lady Cathrine’s view

I can’t believe it! This woman just jumped on my back with no fear at all, and started petting me! If I didn’t need her help, I would… would… I don’t know, this kinda feels nice.

Alice’s view

“Oh, great! You shrank down! It’s much easier to pet you when you fit in my lap. So what did you come here for?”

Such wonderful purring!

“Oh, uh, right! I’d heard a powerful friend of beasts was here who might be able to save my child. So I came to check. Will you help?”

“Well, I don’t know what’s wrong, so I can’t say if I’ll be able to. I am willing to take a look though.”

“Thank you very much! I’ll bring her here right away!”

How in the heck did I become known as a friend of beasts?

View of a random beast in the crowd that hangs out at Alice’s tree all the time:

I can’t believe what I just saw. Not only does she let us enjoy the benefits of staying here under her tree, she even tamed the great Lord of the East in mere seconds! Is she a great god in disguise?

Ch 33: Saved and paid

Erica’s view:

Huh? Why do I see a human? Why is mother so small and sitting in their lap getting petted? Why is she purring so happily?

“Mom?”

“You’re awake! Oh thank you Alice!”

“You can pay right?”

“I offer myself as payment! I’ll be your beast companion, to summon at will!”

“No no, I don’t want that, I just want you to teach me about beast cultivation.”

Wtf? “What’s going on?”

“This woman saved your life, Erica. I thought I would lose you when you were poisoned. Feels like a miracle.”

Alice’s view

Apparently beasts just find a place with lots of ki and absorb it. They don’t really do anything special, and can absorb any type of ki. However, the type of ki will affect them, so some beasts will seek out specific types of ki for a desired outcome. A common example are the ones who seek out fire ki. It’s apparently common for a beast to either be fascinated with fire, or have a traumatic experience with it, and both can result in them seeking a fire based growth, as it can both grant the power to create fire, but also the power to resist fire.

The beasts like my tree, because it fills the surroundings with ki, and the ki it makes is full of vitality, granting regenerative type abilities and improved health. That was why the beasts around my tree had suggested it to Catherine when her daughter was poisoned. They thought that just resting by the tree would be of some help.

Of course, once I got a look at the younger cat I realized it was something my basic healing formations could help with. Poisons and injuries are pretty simple. It’s diseases and curses that are tricky. A basic vitality boost is usually enough as long as time isn’t a big concern.

Erica’s view

Mom and I are now staying with Alice and Tessa in this amazing tree. I shrank down too, so I’d take up less space. The ki here is wonderful. I don’t know why mom stares at Alice and Tessa when they play together in bed though. She looks like she’s seeing something shocking, but it’s just play wrestling right? 

I suppose they do sometimes sound like a cat in heat during it. There’s no guy though, so that doesn’t make any sense.

Ch 34: Failed Regicide

Prince Lou’s view

How can the Lord of the East just disappear? I’d gone to great pains to ensure that she’d be desperate for a cure. Then I’d go up and offer an antidote in exchange for a contract, and she’d be mine!

“Damn beast! Tell me where she went! I’ll kill you if you don’t!”

“She went to the great tree! I-I’ll show you!”

“Take me there!”

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Prince Lou’s view still

What? How can there be so many beasts here? Don’t they normally fight over territory like this?

“This is the bastard who poisoned the princess!”

“You traitor! I’ll kill you!”

I struck the traitorous beast down before the rest assailed me. At first I thought I could fight my way free, but then I noticed: “There’s a healing formation here?”

The beasts were healing and recovering, even from the most grievous wounds as they fought me. I couldn’t win this fight. I’d be lucky to even escape!

“No! This can’t be! I’m gonna overthrow that bastard King Yu! I can’t die here!”

Since when did beasts use defensive formations? Since when did beasts unite like this? I’ve never heard of anything like this before.

Ch 35: Beasts

I’m not sure who that idiot was, but it seemed using the beasts to defend my home worked well. That was my plan this time around. 

When I realized beasts were gathering around me, I figured I’d add formations to assist them when they came under attack. That way they’d become my guards without even needing to hire them. Beasts don’t generally like cultivators much anyway, and cultivators usually attack beasts on sight, so any cultivator that showed up with the intent of attacking me would almost certainly get into a fight with the beasties. Then if I place formations making the beasts stronger and more powerful than normal, and grant bonus stamina and healing, they’d be able to fight off almost anything.

After I’d placed the formations, I noticed the number of beasts seemed to increase. I’m not sure why.

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Lord of the North’s view

I’d been trying to woo the Lady Catherine for years now, after becoming the Lord of the North. I thought maybe I was making progress when disaster struck, and some evil cultivator poisoned her child. I searched far and wide for a solution, but found nothing, and when I return, I learn she’s already left for the west, where the Great Tree appeared. 

There has been no Lord of the West for a long time now, as every time one rose up, those horrid humans would hunt them down. Now though, there was a Great Tree there. A tree I’d heard became the home of many a beast, for the ki there was plentiful, and any who went would be healed.

Of course Catherine took her daughter there, and from what I hear, she hasn’t returned. I’d wanted to find a solution I could boast about. In my pride I’d never even visited the Great Tree, so if I suggested such a place, it’d be obvious it wasn’t I who saved her daughter. That’s why I’d gone searching for another solution. Even if I didn’t make it back before she’d gotten her daughter cured (I didn’t really think the Lord of the East would fail to save her own daughter) my dedication and success would prove my ability.

Instead I have nothing to show for my time, and I have to visit the Great Tree if I want to see Catherine again.

… I think I need to give up. This tree is too amazing. Great Tree. That name isn’t great enough. No lord has so many loyal followers. No lord is so generous as to allow so many to surround them like this. Such a thing can only happen if a lord discourages fighting among their followers, which is unheard of. Fighting for pride and status is always common, and fun to watch. Yet his new lord…

This new lord heals the injured. Even losers. So the losers don’t leave, and the victors don’t chase them out. So long as everyone shows proper respect to each other, they can live together. 

I cannot compete with this. Whomever the master of this tree is, is clearly a better mate for Catherine than I. I could never gather so many and keep it from falling apart from infighting, even if I tried. 

Ch 36: Failure

God’s view

This is too hard! I want to drag Alice into a great big battle, but I can’t figure out how. Tessa has destroyed all the demonic sects that would have any hope of causing trouble, and weakened the few that didn’t die. The Beast Lord of the Northern Tundra just gave up upon seeing Alice’s tree, without even issuing a challenge. If I try to convince the major sects to go after Alice, it’d just start a massive war between the major sects and the minor sects, as pretty much all minor sects now consider Alice a saint because of how much her freely distributed books have helped them, and there’s one major sect (the Divine Sea sect) that won’t turn against Alice and would fight on her side.

As much fun as it would be to watch such a large scale war, I don’t really want to do that. I’d lose too much progress on my bigger goals. Messing with Alice is fun, but she’s not that important.

At this point even killing Alice would be difficult without cheating, and her cultivation is going too smoothly for her to die of old age… wait, I think I have an idea.

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Damnit, she completely ignored that. Managed to get a fight between immortals of the upper realm to end in one dying in Alice’s realm instead of some other lower realm, but of course she completely ignored the big fight over treasure that erupted between all the other sects. Maybe if I’d had the immortal die in her back yard, she’d have gotten involved (unwillingly), but that would be too obvious a ploy. She’d realize what was up immediately and probably flee again, just to annoy me.