Spotting stars in the night sky was simple for those with a properly trained eye, but determining which stars had planets around them was a somewhat more difficult endeavor. Or at least it had been at one point. Now there were many different detection methods, and even in the lower realms there was a very simple solution to uncertainty- simply visiting the stars themselves.

Obviously that only worked for the very near neighborhood in the small slice of the galaxy the Lower Realms Alliance called home, but people had been tirelessly cataloging the stars and planets around them for centuries. Learning deeper details such as the potential occupation of said planets was more difficult, and even the expansive Shining Cooperative had gone unnoticed- though not for lack of trying.

To Devon’s understanding, searching for fluctuations of energy that indicated cultivator life was only viable from near a particular system. So unless they built structures visible from other systems, they would generally go unnoticed without an actual visit of some sort.

While it was possible to send ships to every ‘nearby’ star- it was only a few thousands of them- doing so recklessly could be problematic when they were occupied. They’d found several systems less than ten steps away from the western border of the Lower Realms Alliance, but there were factors that indicated significant Exalted Quadrant presences among them.

Though many people considered it proper to free the lower realms of the corrupting influence of the upper realms juggernauts, there were also concerns about risk for their own alliance and even potentially making the lives of the locals worse. The Exalted Quadrant wasn’t completely terrible, after all. In most cases, they were able to be reasoned with and tolerable.

Yet even so, they didn’t have the best interests of the locals in mind, nor did they always consider the best interests of all of their members in the lower realms. They were a far cry from destroying one of their own systems like the Trigold Cluster but they still didn’t use their knowledge for building up the planets as a whole.

Then there were the political factors to consider. The Exalted Quadrant was already going to be cross with them for disrupting their operations on a few planets, and provoking greater wrath could be a mistake. On the other hand, the Exalted Quadrant would be growing stronger from what resources they extracted so in some ways they also couldn’t ignore their presence.

All in all, that was why people like Devon were necessary for exploration. Anton could manage as well, and if they simply needed mobile power then Ascension-class battleships would work too. But what they needed was a presence that was strong but not too threatening. Devon had great offensive capabilities, but he didn’t have a presence that was automatically threatening.

Perhaps that was to his disadvantage sometimes, as it meant some people were willing to act recklessly around him. That happened when he was visiting a particular system, shortly after they had approached closely enough to determine it was actually occupied.

The system would later be known to him as Turilia, but when the incident occurred it was just another number.

“Readings look promising, sir,” said the lead engineer, a woman by the name of Maryamu.

Aerona smiled, looking over at Devon. “Do you think we’ve finally found one?”

Devon nodded. After a few years of weaving back and forth and up and down to catch new systems they had finally come across a good candidate. “I can definitely-”

Before he even finished his sentence, and before the ship could raise alarms, he suddenly reacted. Invisible chains formed into a barrier around the ship, dampening the attack before it reached the ships barriers. Devon could have blocked all of it, but he left enough for a proper sample so the shields could gather sufficient information to adapt. Plus, there was only so much he could do in an instant.

As the first attack scattered, a second came shortly behind it. A beam of pure natural energy, seemingly unconnected to elements or concepts. Devon waved his hand, reshaping the barrier of chains and allowing the energy to flow through- but only as he tightened around the beam, siphoning from it instead of directly clashing against it.

“Does anyone recognize the energy signature?” Devon asked the bridge as a whole.

Maryamu was the first with a response. “It appears entirely new. It doesn’t match anything we have on record.”

“Can the barriers adapt?” Devon asked. Normally he wouldn’t have to, as they just did, but he felt them trembling.

“It’s going to require manual tuning, sir!” Maryamu replied.

“Very well,” Devon said. “Just get us out of here. I’ll keep us safe.”

As the pilot turned the ship, Devon spread his senses further to the source of the attack. To his surprise, it was not two powerful cultivators as he had imagined, but a great number of lesser cultivators. No, that wasn’t quite correct. There were two stronger cultivators guiding them, but they were only a small step beyond Life Transformation. At least, when considering them on their own.

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Chains extended outward, wrapping around the odd ships. They seemed to be made up of a large number of rectangular prisms connected together, but not in perfect alignment. Instead they stuck out at different angles, creating rather lumpy ships.

His first instincts were to crush the attackers, but as he was on a peaceful mission he decided against it. Besides, he could physically admonish them without actually killing anyone. His chains pulled tight around the ships, reinforced by dense energy as he twisted them around the ships, squeezing against their energy barriers. Spikes along his chains pierced through as he concentrated his energy into particular points, tearing away hunks of metal hull.

The damage he did was mostly cosmetic and it didn’t seem to dissuade them from attacking, so Devon changed his tactics. When they powered up their weapons once more, combining their two attacks onto the small ship he was in, Devon formed his chains into a bowl shape. His strides towards Enrichment had greatly increased his versatility, and upon his actual breakthrough his power had increased significantly. He could survey a whole planet, so catching and redirecting energy from two ships was easy enough.

The energy caught in his dish was redirected back towards the two ships, with Devon adding nothing to it. Aside from forcing it into position he hadn’t taken control of it, so they were able to disperse it relatively quickly as it battered against their barrier- however, that did force them to stop attacking. And they seemed to understand they weren’t going to be able to destroy the ship, ceasing their assault.

“It’s better to come back later,” Aerona advised. “If they have some time to calm down they’ll be more open to future conversation.”

“And if they attack again?” Devon asked.

“You’ll have to make the call.”

Devon nodded. “I understand. Some people only respond to force. Though I noticed something quite odd.” Devon described the ship to the bridge. “The energy of some thousands of individuals from Spirit Building to Life Transformation was fused together at the direction of one other. But… I sensed something else. While their assault was pure, their ships…” Devon shook his head. “I wasn’t able to determine it clearly, but I had the feeling those weaker cultivators were bound to the ship and the stronger cultivators… perhaps unwillingly.”

“That does make things more complicated,” Aerona said. “I don’t suppose you could target only the controller?”

“Not easily,” Devon said. “And I could be reading into the situation with my own bias. I would imagine for such a ship to work that people couldn’t just wander around freely anyway.”

“But you know what you felt,” Aerona said. “I think with your experience, you wouldn’t easily mistake that.”

“It’s certainly not a good first impression,” Devon said. “How long until we should return? A day, a week, a year…?”

Maryamu commented on that. “I’d give myself and the technicians at least a week to go over the numbers and run some simulations. Their weapons were quite abnormal, even considering the variety we’ve worked with.”

Devon nodded. “Then we’ll go with that. We can return to our previous system to replenish and assess the situation. We can also determine if they’ll be following after us. Clearly they’re protective of their territory, but their interstellar ability is currently unknown.”

-----

A fuzzy snout sniffed Chidi. “It’s still weird,” Aconite said. “You feel weaker, yet as strong as anything. But not like the smell of a void ant.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “I merely based my efforts off of what I wanted.”

“Who would win in a spar, you think?” Aconite asked.

“You. Or me, but only if you promise not to use undetectable, airborne poisons. I’d have to get lucky or catch you unaware to defeat you otherwise.” Chidi wasn’t concerned about his effective cultivation dropping. What did it mean if he could die to Integration cultivators but defeat Augmentation cultivators? It meant he was strong, in all the ways he needed to be.

“Alright, but what if we go to a poisonous planet? How will you fare?”

“If the poison has sufficient force behind it that I need an Integration or Augmentation cultivation to resist it, then I think its effectiveness as a poison is secondary. My energy control is still sufficient to prevent my body from being touched. I can block out anything I can detect. Though if we come across a sufficiently powerful opponent I would likely be unprotected against the environment for the duration of the battle.”

“Sounds awful,” Aconite said. “Buuut… that means if I can develop antidotes for you then you’ll be fine.”

“And it applies to enemies as well. If a human assassin comes, they’ll find themselve suddenly without energy defenses. Though I imagine local creatures might manage with just their body.”

Aconite nodded seriously. “I see, I see. And how do you feel about environmental suits? The technological kind.”

“They would have to be lightweight. Because if they require energy to move, I’d basically be trapped inside one.”

“Ah, right,” Aconite replied. “Well, I would suggest looking into that sort of thing. And maybe getting a new weapon.”

“What’s wrong with mine?” Chidi tilted his head. “Ah.” He could sense the crack in the blade. It would hold, as long as its enchantments were active. But when he was in a state of negation, it too would lose any extraordinary qualities. “I’m glad I have the luxury to commission such things. If I can find someone to do the work.”

“Trust me, someone out there will be glad for the challenge. Even if people don’t normally make things like that, now that you’ve actually advanced…”

Chidi nodded. “I had thought about equipment, but I hadn’t really been certain about what my advancement would actually look like. I’m going to need new equipment… but I can’t slack off on training either. If my body falls behind…” he shook his head. “Well, I just have to be able to outmatch my opponents. I don’t think I could manage proper body tempering with my internal formations…”

Chidi was just barely able to stand and walk around, still recovering from his injuries against the Dessicated Deep. He was also going to have to get used to how his body worked with energy negated. For most of his life even normal movements had subconscious additions of energy. He didn’t want to rely solely on surprising his opponents with their own sudden weakness.

That could work once, twice, maybe ten or a hundred times… but if he wanted to survive all of his battles from now on he would need to reach a level where even a lucky hit could not bring him down. It was an exciting prospect, heading into a new form of training. Yet in some ways, it was exactly what he was always going to do. He would still be using a sword, after all. That was something that was a core part of his cultivation, and not so easily changed.