As the darkness of night came, Tundra stepped out of his room, clothed for combat and mobility. Out with the embroidered robes, and swapped for reinforced, threaded robes. Unnecessary rings and jewelry removed. 

“It must be tonight?” Celestia asked. She was awake. She liked to meditate at night, and she was already at the peak of the 4th realm, her need for sleep was less. Tundra nodded. 

“More time to prepare, if the threat is really what I think it is.” 

Celestia looked back at the bed. The other two wives looked like they were sleeping, but Tundra knew they were only pretending to sleep. They were too quiet, and their heartbeats too measured. There was a look of genuine concern from his 6th wife, and he smiled. She didn’t seem to accept it, and whispered softly. “Be safe, husband.”

Tundra nodded. “I will be.”

He wasn’t any cultivator, there were changes to his cultivation that cannot be easily measured by his realms. His comprehension of cultivation techniques, effects and structures are significantly more than the old him, and that meant he wasn’t just a 6th realm cultivator. He was more, and it gave him confidence. 

If he acted carefully, there should be very few things that could still harm him in these mountains. 

Celestia sat. “How long will you take?”

“A few hours. I will be back before dawn.” Tundra said, turned, and his flying sword appeared. He stepped on it, and then, a cloak of illusionary energy emerged from his body. 

Celestia’s eyes squinted, and Tundra smiled. His wife had never seen him use the [Myriad Appearances] before. He would teach them some other time, when they were in the 5th or 6th realm.

***

The Dragon’s Earthspine mountains was a long chain of mountains, and mostly uninhabited. Mostly, because from Tundra’s senses, he detected a few oddballs that somehow called the mountainous area itself home. In his experience, they could be hidden masters, or just strangely lucky mortals that lived in patches undesired by the spirit beasts and animals. 

It is uninhabited due to the natural earth-elemental energies, which attracted spirit beasts, and caused regular animals and plants to transform into spirit beasts. Coupled with the challenging terrain, it meant most of these lands did not appeal to regular mortals or low-realm cultivators. 

The land, unusually rich in earth energies did have benefits. The Easthearts practiced earth-element cultivation methods, and Marin herself had earth element spirit roots. 

Tundra continued to search the land.

If there were spirit beasts, they were usually found where these natural energies were strongest. Spirit beasts sought these elemental energies in nature, and lived near them to grow their strength. 

Therefore, following these energies was one way of narrowing down the search areas. But this only worked for normal spirit beasts who were still driven by their base instincts. Intelligent spirit beasts could be anywhere, because their past experiences often changed how they behaved. If the spirit beast here was somewhere in the 5th or 6th realm, it might be possible that they were dealing with an intelligent spirit beast, and that would make things a lot harder for everyone.

He hoped it wasn’t. It was a shame to slay an intelligent spirit beast. He personally preferred to domesticate or adopt them. Intelligent spirit beasts could even reshape and obtain a human form. 

His senses prowled the mountains from his flying sword, and honed in on the natural energy flows of the mountains. He recalled the location of the mines, as given by the patriarch’s assistant, and mentally overlaid them on the mountains. 

His attention was then drawn to a large, pooling swirl of earth energy. There was a group of spirit beasts there, all in the 3rd realm, and three larger ones in the 4th realm. These were the Earth-Elemental Rockphants, and were unlikely to be the ones that harassed the rest. 

It was not this group.

The dangerous ones were likely to be in the mines and valleys, were it is easier to hide their presence. He zoomed over the mines, and felt the energies emanating from them. 

The first fifteen mines were all filled with lesser spirit beasts, again, in the 3rd realm, and some in the 4th realm. These were irritating, and could be removed, but not the cause of the problem. 

His luck finally came on the sixteenth mine, located, predictably, next to what was once an old lake. The lake seemed to have dried up long ago, and Tundra’s senses immediately noticed something unusual about the location.

There were higher concentrates of fire-element energies in the air. The location had both earth and fire element energies in high quantities. The mine itself was also much bigger, much of the earlier tunnels have been widened, somehow. 

From high above, on his flying sword, his senses reached into the mine, and then found the target. 

There was a high fifth realm spirit beast, a mature Queen Scorchedstone Earthworm. There were multiple regular sized Scorchedstone Earthworms, all around the mid to peak 4th realm of strength. Further in,he felt the presence of a hatchery, filled with the infant and larval stage Scorchedstone Earthworms. 

Alright, at least he found one.

He continued to search the Dragon’s Earthspine mountain, and then to his horror, realized that it was not the only fifth realm spirit beast in the area. 

In another mine further away, there was a place where the earth energies were unusually strong, and somehow, bent by the yin energies. Yang, yin, and neutral or balanced are forms of the natural energies. All in, with the five primary elements, and the three forms, there are fifteen total combinations of energies-form states. 

This mine, located further away, had somehow turned muddy, soft. The Earth Yin energies turned the soil dark, fertile. 

“Strange.” Tundra sat. Earth Yin’s effects could be expressed in a few forms. Some earth-yin locations expressed themselves as sand and dust. This is when the yin aspects were strong, thus it reduced the qualities of the earth. But it is also seen that earth yin is sometimes in the form of dirt and soil, and rather than of sand, it took the shape of fertile soil. 

The line and balance between the earthiness of the elements, and the strength of the aspects, and the presence of other regulating elements, meant any robust analysis of the five elements and the three forms was, in many cases, a full time job requiring weeks of study and many unusual tools. 

Tundra could hazard an educated guess that there was likely some mild water or fire element energies present in the mines. 

That aside, his senses were then drawn to the mid-fifth realm spirit beasts. There were three of them, all in the fifth realm. Three mature Mudstone Gorillas. There were the younger Mudstone Gorillas sleeping in parts of the mine. 

They were drawn here by the Yin Earth, and he suspected that the Gorillas were thus female. 

His senses continued to expand. Mudstone Gorillas were nocturnal, so if there were three female mature Mudstone Gorillas in the mine, there should be a male mature Mudstone Gorilla somewhere nearby.

Was it out hunting? 

He searched and searched, but found nothing. If it was in the high fifth realm, a Mudstone Gorilla could travel quite far from its home nest. If they struck it now, it’s likely that the male Mudstone Gorilla would return for vengeance.

An angry fifth realm Mudstone Gorilla wouldn’t hurt him, but Tundra had family here.

Still, this was enough to mark the location, and time was almost up.

***

Celestia watched her husband leave for the scouting mission, and turned. She sighed, sat on the tea table, and began to brew a pot of tea for herself. 

“Is there something on your mind, Celestia?” Elly got up from the bed. None of them were asleep. 

“There may be fifth realm spirit beasts in the mountains. Does that not worry you?” Celestia countered. 

Elly looked around, and nodded a bit. “If we were back in Verdant Snow, no. But if you put it that way, yes. I should feel worried.” Elly stretched and sat on the seat next to Celestia. “Lemongrass? You like this flavor of tea?!”

Celestia nodded. 

Elly lips twisted in disgust. “Lemongrass tastes horrible. It always reminds me of the toilet back home.” Elly brewed herself another pot of tea. She picked another different flavor, an earthy, strong oolong from one of the famous tea mountains. 

Celestia merely smiled. “I’m rather fond of lemongrass. You couldn’t sleep, Lady Mistburn?”

“I couldn’t help but listen in. It’s- it’s a bad habit.” Elly said. The tea was still too hot to drink. The leaves should be allowed to simmer for a bit, its flavor needs time. 

“I believe all women are like that.” Celestia chuckled. Her tea was still hot, so she gently blew it. 

“I wish we were not so.” Elly countered, and then smiled. “But I believe this is the first time the three of us went on a trip together. And we all share the same gigantic bed.”

Celestia looked back at the bed, and then back at Elly. “It’s way too big.”

“My mother said I should try to get along with my fellow co-wives.” Elly stated as a matter of fact.

Celestia didn’t respond. She merely continued to sip her tea. Just a little bit because it’s still hot. 

“I think I can get along with the two of you.” Elly stated. “We are all here because of circumstances back home.”

The 6th wife said nothing. It was a complicated topic. Celestia gave pills back to her old sect, more as a form of personal insurance, and she didn’t want to correct Elly on this front. She did genuinely find Tundra trustworthy and capable, and she thought those two points were the most important qualities a partner should have. 

Elly continued. “We all want pretty much the same things. At least, I think we do.” 

“What do we want?” Celestia asked, just to be sure. 

“We were all political marriages. We’re originally here for the resources and benefits our husband can provide to our families. As long as the division of resources among us is fair to all of us, I do not think we will have much reason to conflict.” Elly said. “It is for that reason that I was not jealous of the affections he lavished on you, Celestia.” 

Celestia paused, and looked at Elly’s complicated expression. Celestia looked at the woman and wondered whether she truly meant what she said. 

The statement hung in the air for a while.

The two women sat there, and each sipped their own drink. Marin was probably listening as well. 

“Then, has that changed?” Then, Celestia decided to speak her mind.

The fourth wife sighed. “I don’t know. Emotions are such complicated things, and watching you send Tundra off made me feel-” Elly caught herself, and didn’t continue. “-never mind.”

Celestia understood. What was once a simple ‘business’ transaction, has been tainted. Tundra’s recent desire to form stronger, more intimate and personal connections with them made Elly feel torn. It changed what they were used to. What was ‘fake’ affection, suddenly didn’t seem so ‘fake’ anymore. 

Elly changed the topic. “I still hope we can get along.”

Celestia sighed. As cultivators, they don’t talk much to others. Cultivators focus their time studying the cultivation manuals, and cultivating. Both these activities are often measured in months and years. Even Celestia, who spent quite a few years as a wandering cultivator, wasn’t fond of speaking to others. 

Some cultivators like it, and Tundra seemed like the type that enjoyed speaking to others. At least, people that Tundra respected. 

Celestia nodded at Elly. “I certainly hope to get along, Lady Mistburn. I would not like to have conflict with my fellow family members.”

The fourth wife looked relieved. “Yeah. We’re family. It- it’s sometimes hard to remember that, when there’s so many branches and it often feels like we are all taking shots at each other.”

At this point, Marin got up. 

Celestia turned and smiled. She somewhat expected it, Marin wasn’t the type to let such things go, and the Lady of the Eastheart family was always a little guarded. “You couldn’t sleep too, Lady Eastheart?”

“The two of you have been talking for a while, how could i?”

Elly grinned. “You just wanted to eavesdrop.”

Marin stared. Glared. Her eyes frowned, as she processed her own response. “Yes. What of it?”

The fourth wife shrugged. “Come join us.” 

Marin walked over, and looked at the two different pots of tea. It was a good thing that the tea table was exceptionally large, and could accommodate a third. Marin picked a kind of grassy flower tea instead. 

“Do you disagree with me, Marin?” Elly asked. As Elly was the most senior of the three wives, she often referred to the other two by their given names.

Marin thought for a while. Elly and Celestia sipped their now gently warm tea. Marin then spoke, her eyes looked at Elly. “What got us here was the same, and yes, if the resources are fairly distributed, there is no reason to fight. But what is fair, Lady Mistburn?”

Elly nodded. “That is the crux of it, isn’t it? We two have children, and our family’s needs fluctuate. In times of need, if both sides are in need-”

Marin then dropped the bomb. “But what I desire isn’t the same, Lady Mistburn. I desire power. I always have, even if I didn’t admit it. Even if I previously accepted my fate to be a wife. Now that I’m in the 4th realm, I wonder whether I can reach the peak of the 4th. Not just that, Celestia’s already at the peak, and soon she will be in the 5th realm. I, too, want to reach the 5th realm. Once there, I will be stronger than my family. Then, why do I need to care about what they imposed on me?”

Elly and Celestia both looked at Marin. Celestia merely nodded. “If that’s the case, Lady Eastheart, I wish you all the best.”