In the middle of the Golden Plaza stood 2 gentlemen looking at marble statues, suspended in mid-air. Behind the statues stood a massive building, twisting and turning in unnatural ways.

"How..."

With my mouth still wide open, I start walking closer towards the Flowing Brush Sect's embassy.

"Gerard, does that patch of grass seem ... strange, to you as well?"

"Yes, there are several illusions layered on top of each other, it's impressive honestly. I believe they've made it so the grass reacts to your imagination. For instance, you believe grass would look natural here, so that's what you see. For me it's red granite and cracked obsidian."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Thank you for the compliment," A very artsy looking person strolled out of a waterfall, which one can only assume also functions as a portal. Somehow he didn't get wet. His hair, mask, and clothes all so varied and yet perfect together. His robes and hair flow distinctly into each other, his entire body like a rainbow. The only exception is that his rainbow has 8 colors, all the traditional ones plus white. "and your partner is quite correct. Our Flowing Brush sect prides itself on the harmony we've achieved between physical art, and the subconscious perception of the mind of the beholder. We use illusions to stimulate the senses, and awaken the imagination. My name is Akiha, I am known as the Diurnal Dreamer."

He took off his mask, revealing a pale androgynous face and made a slight bow. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, yes, of course. I am Henry, and this is Gerard. We're 2 cultivators looking for a place to earn some money."

"Hmm, just here for money then? A shame, but that's my fault for hoping to meet a fellow artist who has elevated themselves above the needs of the mundane. One who can sustain himself on passion and the desire to create."

"Uhm, yeah. I'm sorry, we really just need money to afford an inn in Iroh."

"Oh, two well-dressed gentlemen casually strolling through Iroh without a tael in their purse? You sound like you have a story to tell."

"I'm afraid the story is much shorter than you think. Our teleportation technique misfired and took us out of the kingdom into Ansi territory. Now we're here without currency and without allies."

"You two are no longer simply well-dressed, you just became interesting. Your story is most intriguing! What could have caused the misfire - Incompetence perhaps? Political sabotage? Jealousy? Perhaps all of them! Ooh I can feel it, my Daos are dreaming up a new piece: Backstabbing, a rift through time and space, unrequited love resulting in tragic heartbreak and regret. A crime of passion, punished unjustly! I should leave before the muses leave me first, farewell my friends."

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And as soon as he came, Akiha left.

...

"I think we've made a new friend, Gerard."

"Exquisite social maneuvering, Henry."

"Is that a hint of sarcasm I'm sensing?" I said with a scoff.

"Preposterous, I would never. Sarcasm is the coward's lie."

"Let's just go in..."

On our way to the front desk, we saw many more impossible displays of art. There was an orb that contained 1.000 paintings, you could flick through them using your mind. Or the snake eating its own tail. It looked so realistic I thought it was a real snake, but I noticed the qi constantly moving from the tail to the rest of the body to create an illusion of motion, which makes it look the snake is actually eating itself. My favorite however, was a suit of armor on display. It was black and gold, with hints of red. A roaring lion as its crest, but not the symbol of a roaring lion. An actual miniature roaring lion, a qi construct kept alive by the monster core of a lion monster. The construct draws on the lion core's qi and projects it, aura and all. Very impressing considering the lion was strong enough to have its own realization of the Dao of strength.

There was one more thing which drew my attention. It was this little doll, carved out of wood. Sometimes it felt ominous, other times joyous. It was constantly switching moods like a teenager with a hormone overdose. The doll itself was nothing special, but the emotions it could display were so palpable and real. This piece really shows how intense qi-infused art can be.

But, after a while, we finally reached the reception.

"Hello, our names are Gerard and Henry. We are currently looking to offer our services to your sect."

"I hope your services include hunting for monster cores, because we're running low again."

"They sure do! What kind of cores would you need, and where would we find them?"

"Straight to the point, refreshing. Gerard and Henry you say? My name is Ten In. I can sense you are around the Nascent Soul stage, which is.. a shame. We desperately need cores of the Dao Crystal realm. I assume you've met Rai? He's the roaring Lion in the black suit of armor. To create an effect as intense as that, we need the core of a beast with a Dao concept. However, lesser cores are always welcome for our apprentices to practice with. We'll pay generously for every monster core you can bring us. The bigger the beast, the bigger the reward, you got it?"

"Understood, and where would we find the best hunting area around here?"

"There's a massive forest near here, can you show me your map? Of course, because of its proximity we have a good supply of monster cores from this region, which means less profit for you." I take out our map and she continues without missing a beat. "If you want to make some more money, you could go to this mountain range right here. I hear an Earth Drake was spotted recently, so do be careful. With your strength you wouldn't be able to cut its toenails."

"Scary, but I think it's a good idea. We have solid detection techniques. As long as we're careful and stay around the edges, we should be good."

"Good luck! And don't worry too much about that big beasty, there's a bounty on its head. It could already be dead long before you get there."

"That's certainly good to hear, we'll take our leave then. Hopefully we'll have our arms filled with spirit cores next time you see us!"

"Bye bye!"

...

"So, hunt spirit beasts, collect the cores, make tons of cash. Am I getting that right?"

"I believe so, yes. A fine plan."

"Thanks. We should probably go visit the others now. Sam won't be able to keep them under control for much longer."

Wait a minute.

"Gerard, if we can make money doing the sect's quests. Should we even still bother with the merchant's association?"

"Hmm, I believe there should be some kind of upside to the merchant's association, as they wouldn't be able to hand out requests if it weren't beneficial."

"You're right, maybe they have better rewards or something. We'll find out at some point, let's just go home first."