[The martial elder tells you to wait while he prepares for the trip.]

“How long will it take?” Lem’s simulated self asked.

An instant later, the elder faded from sight, and he realized he had briefly been looking at an afterimage.

A shiver ran down his spine when he thought of how easily Master Brightflame could have killed him. He could move so fast that Lem’s simulated self could not even see him.

[The elder disappears from sight. You wonder what technique he is using to move so quickly…]

Lem was curious. He had already been given the [Mountain Sitting Technique] by Master Brightflame. At the same time, he had seen the martial elder cause an explosion and move at impossible speeds.

He wondered how many techniques Master Brightflame knew, and whether he could extract them all in subsequent simulations.

Lem’s simulated self turned around.

In the martial elder’s presence, he did not dare let his attention wander, but he had yet to see the aftermath of the first attack that had been directed at him.

What he saw was stunning.

Charred wood, broken trees.

He turned back around numbly and waited for Master Brightflame to return.

Lem’s mind began to drift.

He thought about what the martial elder had told him of anomalous phenomena.

His mind went back to the evil flower.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Since Master Brightflame had called it an anomaly, did this mean that it was more powerful at night? It clearly did not fade away in the daytime, so it appeared that the rules were different for anomalous plants.

He also had noticed that the martial elder had used his words carefully.

Master Brightflame had only said that most anomalous phenomena faded away. Lem wondered how terrifying those that were powerful enough to persist into daytime were.

Lem’s mind drifted again.

He wondered again whether the spiritual lily was a mirage created by the evil flower. If it was, he assumed he would find out one way or the other by bringing the martial elder there.

If it was truly a mirage, then it would certainly be the end of his simulated self, whether it was by the hand of the evil flower or by Master Brightflame himself.

After hearing the martial elder’s thoughts, Lem suspected that the water lily was real.

He was also sure that his simulated self had calculated the risk beforehand.

Even with the evil flower as a concern, the spiritual lily had always been the best chance to entice the martial elder considering the uncertain attitude cultivators had towards beasts.

Of course, Lem did not want to employ such a strategy with his real body, as he was too afraid of the evil flower, but it was reasonable for his simulated self who was desperate to survive.

“Lead the way, young Lem. If your intuition warns you of anything, make certain that you tell me immediately.”

Lem’s simulated self shivered when he suddenly heard his name. He straightened up and turned around.

Master Brightflame had returned. He was now holding a large mysterious bag that was slung easily across his back.

Even though he was surprised, Lem’s simulated self did not gawk. He nodded quickly. “The first leg of the journey is along the river.”

As his simulated self spoke, Lem wondered what was inside of the bag. He knew so little of cultivators that nothing would surprise him.

He half expected that the martial elder was going to reach into it and take out some fantastic means of travel.

Would he take out a flying sword and jump on its blade?

Or would he pull out a flying boat that expanded in size?

Or would he-

“Starting moving, then,” Master Brightflame said. “Pay attention to your intuition.”

His hands did not move to the bag, and Lem felt vaguely disappointed.