Chapter 30 - Preparations
The room was elegant but not pompous, books, scrolls and jades were placed on carved wooden shelves. A window allowed a proper illumination of the inside, where a woman was comfortably seating in a wooden throne while three disciples were attentively listening to her words.
“Huge benefits await the best teams. The Meditation Mountain Secret Realm is a realm separated from this world, it is only reachable by the hidden portal in our sect. You need a team of four disciples and all the members have to pass the trials to rip the rewards. The Meditation Mountain accepts only three teams, a total of 12 disciples, and the rewards they get are based on how they fare during the final trial on the mountain. The best team of the three will enjoy the most benefits, it’s an incredible opportunity. Needless to say, the competition is going to be fierce”.
“What are the trials about, are they dangerous?” Gentle Waters curiously asked. “They are, but thanks to the arrangements our sect has made, when a disciple meets fatal danger he’s teleported outside. In that case the entire team will leave the secret realm. Unfortunately near the Meditation Mountain the strong laws of that place prevent this safety mechanism to work, therefore you must be utterly careful there”.
The two youngsters had serious looks hearing these words, wondering about the perils they were going to face.
“I heard the Secret Realm hasn’t been opened in ages, is this because it costs much to open it or because the chi is too thin for allowing a quick replenishment?” Falven asked.
Elder Devil Destroyer was surprised by this question, after staring at the disciple she answered “You hit the mark, it’s both. The sect needs a significant amount of crystals to keep the portal open and because the trials consume huge amount of chi a long time is needed for its recovery. The separate realm absorb the chi from this world through the portal, which allows chi to flow inside even when it is closed. In accordance to our estimates the world doesn’t produce enough chi to regularly replenish the secret realm, thus it’s advised to open the portal only when needed”.
Falven didn’t seem surprised, he understood the implications of chi scarceness and he knew far better than the elders that the chi hadn’t always been so thin.
“Why is it needed now?” Roaring Lion voiced his thoughts. “The sect is rising and it will face great challenges. It’s time to groom the future heroes who’ll make the sect shine”.
The two youngsters were satisfied with this answer and left after having received the last recommendations relative to their training.
“Please take a look at this” Falven gave to the lady two scrolls. “These… how do you know?”. Seeing the youth wasn’t willing to explain she sighed “Never mind, if you don’t want to speak, do not. I do sign them, it will be beneficial to them. This is your plan, go tell them yourself”.
“Thank you elder, farewell” Falven politely saluted and reached the two youngsters.
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The Drakenhorse was running swiftly on the road, in the hot land of the South Region. The puissant horse had a small curved horn on the head, two small wings on each leg and a thin long tail.
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No matter how hot it was, the drakenhorse could run extremely fast for long distances. The drakenhorse was a half blood, originated from flood dragons and tribulation horses.
Flood dragons had looks similar to true dragons but they only had a tiny percentage of true dragon blood, while tribulation horses were the best horses in The Vastlands. This race developed in the Tribulation Desert, a place heavily bombarded by the Heavens Punishment. The Heavens laws kept permeating that place, drenching the DNA of the species that moved there. Many died, but some survived and evolved. Among these there was a race of horses which became the famous tribulation horse. They were known for their ability to persist in any condition.
The drakenhorse was a simbol of great prestige, a rare sight. The strongest among them could even fly, quickly crossing the sky, reaching anywhere. It was a fast mount with maximum fleeing potential.
A girl was riding the drakenhorse, her short hair weaving in the wind, her usually joyful look lost in thoughts. Years had passed since she left her family clan to join the sect, since then she never returned.
Many things had changed, she was excited to meet her family again, but also worried. She had this subtle fear that something was amiss, even though she couldn’t pinpoint the origin of her worries she couldn’t help but be a bit apprehensive.
Behind her sociable and talkative mask there was a strong commitment. Given her nature she was easily appreciated by others and able to build relationships, she easily gained trust and benevolence. But with that responsibility came, she felt the genuine need to help those who had ties with her and she was burdened by her inability to solve others problems.
Her strong will to help others and admitted incapacity allowed her to push the limits, working hard and diligently. Adding up her good talents, she kept rising in the sect, until elder Devil Destroyer recognised her as a direct disciple.
The drakenhorse reached the destination in less than a day: the Gentle Waters clan. This family clan was located in the Unbroken Country, since the past it had been a family clan which followed the guide of the Unbroken Country and the Devil Slaying Sect. Generations earlier it was common for the sect to have inner disciples joining the sect, but the flowing of time had gradually weakened the family clan, until no more disciples could join the Devil Slaying Sect to player important roles. Thus, Nuesa’s feat was tremendous for the clan, she had achieved great status and became the hope of the family. The revival of the clan was in her hands and she felt the pressure, although she tried to never stop smiling.
The majority of the young cultivators of Gentle Waters would stay in the clan, training with the family arts and just few of them would leave to join well reputed fourth rate sects of the Unbroken Cuntry, they were the most brilliant youngsters. Because it was an enlarged cultivator family, the disciples who would only find good opportunities in inferior sects would stay in the family clan, nor the provided resources niether the the family arts would be inferior.
The round hills had trees growing despite the hot climate, some little streams made the family land more fertile. Its prosperity was based on cultivating some herbs nearby the streams and the fruits of the trees, resources useful to cultivators were produced each year.
Gentle Waters felt her hart beating faster, she was finally at home. The drakenhorse stopped by an iron gate, where a wooden insignia had the characters “Gentle Waters”. On the sides of the gate a long wooden fence marked the borders of the family land, thick and short trees were growing until the eyes could see.
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A wind blew, a wind which wasn’t cold nor hot, which didn’t cause the ponytail hair to weave nor the cloak to move. The man stood still in the desolate land, where death was the queen.
When he felt his skin ageing and his vitality decaying, he activated slaying laws. Powerful chi enveloped his body, which became an unsheathed sword aiming to the sky. Moving his right hand would cut the air, advancing his left feet would crack the ground.
Chi and laws on his body slew the lethal properties of the incoming wind, stopping the degenerating process. The man with black hair and dark eyes started striding forward, careful steps in a lifeless land.
The more he advanced the more the wind blew, its decaying attributes got stronger and stronger. The man continued slaying these death laws with his slaying art, firm and resolute.
When the wind became tempest he wielded with both hands his long sword, arms straight ahead, the sword pointing to the sky, fierce and merciless slaying laws light up, annihilating death itself. His body was being attacked by the wind, by the cracks on the ground, by the air itself. The properties of this land caused anything to decay, but the man continued forward, proving his slaying Dao with his life at stake.