While not dying to crushing pressure was obviously high on Chidi’s priority list for purposes of his training, it wasn’t as simple as just increasing his bodily durability. The chances of him directly resisting the pressure in the core of Apreact at any point in his future were so miniscule as to be ignorable. He would have to make a massive breakthrough body tempering, which might be as difficult as reaching Domination. While it was possible to cultivate both energy and body to some extent, it didn’t seem to be possible to maximize both- and he had a late start on the body front.

Aconite was performing much better than himself, and her durability might grow sufficiently on its own. That was good, because he couldn’t apply any other mitigating factors for her. Not in the same way he intended to use them for himself.

First, he needed to move with the flow of winds. It didn’t matter if the air was moving a thousand kilometers per hour relative to everything else if he was part of that motion. Obviously, that could be impractical in the middle of combat as his opponents wouldn’t necessarily be standing along a nice flow of gasses… but it wasn’t that much harder to also finagle that into place than them being in the center of an optimal flow of energy.

While Chidi had not been attacked by humans again in his early training- the concealment provided by the planet itself meant he’d have to get much closer to any theoretical enemies- there were some natural denizens that were aggressive.

They were kind of like sea jellies. Chidi had no way to tell if they were clear or blended in with the background, if that could even be relevant with opaque gasses everywhere. He wouldn’t be able to see them regardless. What he did discover was that their energy blended in with the surroundings quite well. If he hadn’t trained with Velvet, he would probably have found them impossible to deal with.

As it was, he’d been quite glad that Aconite had smelled them first- which was quite a feat given the circumstances. Smells didn’t nicely drift around on a gas giant.

“Beneath your feet!” she’d called out.

Chidi, without the relevant ability to take advantage of Negation, had slashed ‘downward’. He’d felt his blade barely touch something, and after determining its location he slashed several more times, extending his blade with energy. He felt his blade cutting through long tendrils and then finally a denser body.

He let himself be taken along with the winds, trying to learn more. The body of the creature didn’t last long, but he could sense its deception begin to fade which let him pick them out the next time.

They were excellent training partners, as Chidi could defeat them with his energy if he needed to. Life Transformation wasn’t too bad. However, he really wanted to use Negation. That was the whole point of everything.

That meant looking vulnerable enough for them to approach. They naturally sought out things within a certain range of energy, presumably where they were confident in their victory. They didn’t seem particularly intelligent, which meant he could often take his time to set up the flow properly, but that wasn’t going to be practical against others.

If everything was going right during Negation, Chidi couldn’t protect himself with upper energy- but he could sometimes influence motion before then. Negation was also extremely brief, so he could create a pressure wave expanding outward the instant before, and his energy defenses would return before the pressure. It was just one more thing that would be obvious to human opponents.

Obviously Chidi didn’t intend to fight most of his opponents in the depths of a gas giant, but he still needed to be good. If he was next to a star or in a pit of lava, he didn’t want to instantly be burnt to a crisp. Likewise, in a supernaturally cold lake he could end up frozen. Poison continued to be an issue, but most of the time it required longer exposure.

But Chidi was becoming ever more aware how each moment made his enemies more exposed to the environment as well. He still preferred to defeat them with sword strikes, but if things were that bad… setting things up and just letting them die while defending himself might be the optimal result. Chidi could cut away the flow of wind around him, if he wanted to. Slicing intangible things had been ingrained into him as important by his master.

“That’s about as good as I can expect for now,” Chidi declared to Aconite. “I don’t want to get too used to one type of enemy anyway. I’m faster now in practical situations, so that will have to be good enough. Now then… do you have any idea how to find our quarry?”

Aconite nodded. “I have heard descriptions of the flower. When it is blooming, it should smell like blood and souls. Potentially ozone, as well. Its energy will be strong, regardless. I have vaguely felt something we passed multiple times but… I have no idea if it maintained a position relative to the poles. There might be several.”

“Did you sense any enemies?”

“No, but they were likely less potent. Most likely, our targets have been harvested, but we might come across one that is unbloomed. They cannot be transferred, so we would have to defend the location for some time.”

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Chidi frowned. “Would you be able to tell how close it is?”

“Within a certain threshold,” Aconite confirmed. “I have learned about other plants aside from those that are toxic. Or at least, primarily toxic. Pretty much anything can be medicine or poison- it’s just one of those is easier to make use of.”

Chidi was going to assume she meant poisons. Because giving people too much poison usually still killed them, while too much medicine could be quite damaging. Even those specially refined by cultivators usually had side effects that would mount.

His sword vaguely gestured around them. “It’s too bad this thing only grows in… terrible environments,” Chidi commented. “If Dubet’s Heart could be farmed, it would help a lot of people.”

“I bet it could be,” Aconite said. “But I don’t think the Scarlet Alliance would approve.”

Chidi nodded. It required death. The Bloodsoaked Nebula had once contained innumerable lives, both locals and otherwise. It was one of the most concentrated battlegrounds between the two powers on either side, and it still remained untamed and lawless. At least as a general thing… his mother had been adding some formations that would make it problematic for enemy invaders to pass through. He’d not sensed most of those formations, but he wasn’t sure how far along the project was to begin with.

-----

Aconite caught a trail- or a potential trail, at least. Old smells would dissipate quickly, but the flowers would not be particularly potent before their short period of completion. Technically, they could remain open for a long time, as they were quite durable. They didn’t just rot away instantly- otherwise transporting one away would be pointless. It was just that others would find them and take them as quickly as possible.

“We should be catching up,” Aconite said. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to keep pushing through the winds instead of trying to catch it on a go around, because I can’t predict where it’ll end up.”

Chidi nodded. “I understand. Sometimes-”

The flow of energy shifted. He felt something coming. No, a number of them. Small pellets infused with energy. If he was a normal Life Transformation cultivator, they likely would have torn him apart. Instead, he twisted out of the way.

Aconite was already off, so he didn’t have to inform her of the enemies. Chidi also sped up, cutting his way through the thick gasses. The attacks had come from ‘upwind’, and there were more than a handful of cultivators there.

It made sense, as Chidi was slower in his approach and the speed of their attacks were boosted. However, relying on the flow was where the rock slingers had made a miscalculation. Chidi was extremely familiar with the planet’s flow, and once they entrusted their rocks to it it was difficult to pull them out of the general path.

After the initial attacks, Chidi soon got a good impression of the enemies. He felt how their energy spun before flinging the rocks at him. Definitely slings. Not a bad weapon for a cultivator as it let them use almost any level of strength, but the timing of attacks was somewhat predictable.

Chidi had no idea what sect this was, but that meant he had no reason not to take them out. If he recognized them as part of the Scarlet Alliance it would be different, but anyone else it was far too risky. And of course, they’d already tried to kill him.

Chidi was already aware that he was limited in how far he could use Negation. It was already further than the reach of his blade, but he never covered an area more than a hundred meters from him.

He cut apart some of the incoming projectiles when it was convenient, but he didn’t want to make it look too easy. Otherwise, his opponents would run. This was a good time to practice on a group with a similar style.

Rather than approaching directly, he spiraled inward towards them, appearing as if he was having trouble getting past their barrage. In actuality, he needed to alter the flow of energy, and his path was optimal for that.

His opponents didn’t panic when he drew close. Chidi could tell from the way they held their slings that they were prepared to use them in melee, which would make them fine enough bludgeoning instruments. However, they probably weren’t prepared for what actually happened.

Chidi’s sword sliced in the middle of a handful of them, nowhere close to threatening any of them. For a moment, rushing winds battering his ears and skin were all he could feel, as negating energy made him truly blind in that instant. Then everything returned, and his opponents were much less than whole. Not as dead as he might have wanted either, but they were easy enough to finish off with unexpected injuries.

If he were fighting enemies solely to take their loot, Chidi supposed his current style would be problematic as the environment could damage enchanted pieces. And some of their storage bags had broken open, spilling some of their contents. That’s what they got for being cheap… or assuming they’d always have their energy to defend them. Which was usually true up until death.

“What do you think?” Chidi asked as Aconite returned after finishing off several more of their foes. “Is it reasonable to go deeper?”

“We will survive the planet itself,” Aconite said. “Depending on how far.”

“Let’s see if we can catch this flower.”

-----

As it happened, they missed that opportunity. They did get attacked several times, mostly by humans but once or twice by strange local creatures. The latter were more interesting, ranging from tiny creatures that rode the winds to some that mimicked living clouds of gas. The jelly creatures didn’t seem to exist at their current depth, though perhaps they simply hadn’t seen any.

“Found another one,” Aconite said. “The smell is strong but…”

“It’s deep, right?” Chidi asked.

“Indeed. And we will likely have much competition.”

“As long as it’s not actually at the core, we’ll give it a go,” Chidi said. “How are your poisons working out?”

“I’m getting a feel for it. But I will be quite happy to contend with less volatile environments. It is too obvious when I carry powder through the air with my energy, as opposed to letting it settle naturally next to an enemy.”

“Let’s get this thing and get out. I’m tired of this planet. Plus, I want to experience how master fights with two flesh arms. I assume it has to be better or she wouldn’t want it, right?”