Dave awoke to the sound of bells. He got dressed, threw on a robe and stepped outside. A young boy with a scroll stood in the middle of the plaza in the craftsman's district. He had commandeered a wooden box and stood on top of it. He hollered the same message again and again: “The Lone Mountain sect is now at war with the Deep Verdant. The conflict is over the village of Favored Tree.”
Dave heard a passerby talking: “Probably just another cold war, where the elders clash a few times and decide that it's better for everyone if it just devolves into a staring contest for a few hundred years.”
Dave had advanced in the middle of the night, he was now at the second level of core formation and his core had grown a little in size. He had yet to figure out how to create a domain, so that is what he was planning on learning today. He took a casual stroll towards the library, past a few town criers preaching the same message. The library was busier than the last time he visited. He gave the woman at the reception a nod and headed deeper inside to the books on core formation.
He found a few that were tangentially about domains, most of it was just baseless theorizing about how to strengthen a domain, by people who had never reached core formation. It was still interesting, especially the information about Laws that would help change a domain and let it grow in strength at later levels. He was however looking for a book that factually told him how to turn his domain on and off. Finer manipulation could come later when he had that part down. He had just instigated a war. The least he could do was to figure out his own abilities to help posture a little for the war effort.
Eventually he found a little paper that was named “On Domains”. Which gave him an intricate description on how to materialize his domain.
He borrowed the little paper that could hardly be classified as a book, for one spirit stone and left for the wilderness using his carpet.
He found an open spot free of any obstruction and got to work. The basic principle was to stop his core from drawing in the qi that was created by his core and instead let it freely exit his body. Then it all depended on how you utilized said qi. You could strengthen one type of elemental attack you have affinity for, by concentrating your qi in the surrounding area or you alter the battlefield on a grander scale by letting it diffuse into the environment like he had done when he arrived on this world with Lydia.
Dave tried the application method of concentrating his natural qi in the surrounding area. The sky grew dark and an illusion of a moon appeared in the sky. The air became ice-cold and crisp and a snowstorm formed at the border of his domain. The radius of his domain was around a hundred meters and a blizzard surrounded it. He had no idea why his domain turned day to night and created a fake moon, but the cold was expected since his physique seemed to be associated with it. After thirty seconds the cold became unbearable and he had to disengage his domain for fear of getting frostbite, even with his enhanced physique.
“I can only use it in short bursts, or over large areas, unless I find a technique that lets me heat myself. Meaning that I need to find a heating technique that works with ice qi, somehow.” He thought.
He walked out of his, still dissolving, domain and waited to heat back up. Then he recast his domain in an unfocused manner. This time it just began to snow in an enormous area, at least twenty kilometers across. With the snowfall it seemed to stretch on forever. He rose up on his carpet and tried to discover any abnormality from the air, the snowfall made that idea impossible.
“So my domain can either act as a deep freezer or it can be used to obscure vision. That doesn't seem all that powerful. I must be missing something. This was supposed to be an ability that lets me slaughter an unlimited number of lower-ranked cultivators.” He thought to himself, while floating back down to the ground on his carpet.
He tried casting a single icy shard from “Frozen Lotus”, he noticed a significant increase in size and speed. The shard made a loud cracking sound as it went supersonic. In his spiritual sense he noticed the qi in the air being attracted to the shard as it formed, it happened so quickly that he could not get a good enough look to tell anything conclusively. At least it seemed to strengthen his techniques, by simply adding additional qi to the technique in a sort of “shell” around the structure he formed manually. Forming a strengthening layer that he did not have enough control to mimic himself yet.
He recast the concentrated version of his domain and hurriedly cast another shard, while keeping watch using his spiritual sense. This time the “shell” snapped in place immediately and a different kind of energy flowed out of the air and reinforced the central part of the technique as he finished casting it. Instead of the jagged shard of dangerous-looking ice a drop-shaped shimmering ice bullet formed, which seemed to be illuminated from the inside by an eerie light. Before it could be studied further, it vanished with a supersonic crack.
Dave had seen enough and he was freezing again. He hoped he had not disrupted the natural climate too much by creating so much cold air near the ground. He thought about how his large domain could be used to ruin crops as he overflew them. Just something to keep in mind, if the war with the Deep Verdant escalated beyond any reason. Although it was currently harvest season anyway, so it would not be terribly effective for another half a year.
He took his time slowly flying back, before landing at the gate and getting in line. Since the war had started he had not seen any cultivators flying directly into the sect, only people leaving the sect seemed to be allowed to do that nowadays. The line moved quickly, so it was not too much of a hassle. When he reached the gate, the guard monotonously asked: “Name and reason for entry.”
“David Smith”, I live here.” Dave answered the guard.
The guard looked up and noticed his face. “Do you also go by the name Dai Fu?” The guard asked him. Dave answered him politely: “Yes, that would be me.”
“Dean Wen wants to talk with you about the incident that kicked off the conflict with the Depp verdant. He is waiting for you in the gatehouse.”
Dave sighed and walked around the corner to the gatehouse.
The inside looked exactly the same as he had seen it the last time. Spartan accommodations with the familiar table surrounded by chairs. Wen was already waiting on the chair across from him.
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“I have a few questions about your involvement in this conflict.” He said and laid his metaphorical cards on the table. Dave pulled out a chair and took a seat across from Wen, while the truth stone illuminated the side of their faces.
“Are you a spy who was sent to start this war?” Wen asked him with a stiff face. “No, I was even unaware of the dispute that caused my words to start a conflict.”
“Are you working with any third party to benefit from this war?” Wen asked him again, his stiff facade cracking a little. “Negative. I expect I will stand on the front line of this war, should it devolve to that. I have far more to lose, than I could ever possibly hope to gain.”
“How did you rise in rank so quickly? Last I saw you, you were in foundation establishment. Now you are already in the second level of core formation.” Wen asked while leaning over the table. His eyes showing a clear interest. Dave thought a bit before answering: “I have a special constitution that allows me cultivate at a rapid pace. I was only introduced to the world of cultivation, around a month ago. I've been playing catch-up since then.” Wen intently watched the truth stone, it stayed lit up. Wen sighed: “Darn it, I hoped we would be able to find something that would help us in the war effort.”
“I think I can still help. My domain is very... uh, intense, due to my physique. This domain in combination with the fire qi in the volcano should be able to help people advance very rapidly. At least if I understand it correctly. The fire qi should be able to counteract the ice qi from my domain and let someone cultivate at several times the normal speed.” Dean Wen sat and thought for a while, before saying: “We should go see the sect master.”
We left the gatehouse and headed for the administrative district. It was a small district with few buildings, yet it had been placed centrally in the sect, to seemingly have the least distance to every other district of major importance. We were heading for the largest building in the district, the main hall. A structure with a large plaza in front of it. Crossing the plaza, Dave noticed a few statues made from hardened clay depicting people in robes, standing and watching their surroundings. He did not get close enough to read what was written on the plaques below them, yet they still seemed like people of great importance to the sect.
They arrived at the gates of the large building and stepped inside. There was a network of hallways, some of them leading to a large Hall, others leading deeper into the building.
Wen headed deeper into the building and Dave followed him. They were heading for a large wooden door at the end of a long hallway. The hallway was so long that Dave doubted that it was still in the same building as before, and had instead crossed over into an adjacent building.
Dean Wen knocked on the door and a voice from the inside told them to come in. Wen opened the door and they stepped into a roomy office with a stained glass window. The glass was not entirely transparent, there were dark spots and it looked like frosted glass. It was the first glass window Dave had seen in this world.
A woman at the desk said: “The sect master is currently speaking with his granddaughter, if you want to talk to him you will have to wait. You can sit here and wait.”
So they sat down and waited.
Eventually the door behind her desk opened and Mo Xiuying stepped out. She gave Dave a friendly wave and left the room. Dave burst out: “Wait, that was his granddaughter?”
“Yes, that was young mistress Xiuying, she often comes to visit her grandfather.” The secretary said.
“I was just surprised, since I went on a mission with her yesterday.” Dave said, flustered.
“Yes we know. The one where you started a war. Trust us, we know. There is nobody who blames you since it was long overdue, but we were all briefed on every detail of your mission.” The secretary said, rolling her eyes. She stood up and walked to the door of the sect masters office. “Leader, Dean Wen is here to speak with you and he brought someone with him.” She spoke into the office.
“Let them in.” They heard from the open door.
They walked into the office. The entire back wall was taken up by a large glass window. It was not entirely transparent either, yet the light easily illuminated a low table surrounded by pillows, where the sect leader was sitting. He was an older gentleman with a long, thin beard. “So what brings you to me Dean Wen.” The sect leader put a little more empathizes on the “dean” than was really necessary. Presumably to remind him of his rank, so he would not be unduly disturbed. “I have found someone who could be of great help to our war effort and to the sect at large.” Wen said, while motioning towards Dave. The sect leader said: “While it is always great to see others advance to the core formation realm and we should have been introduced eventually. One more core formation expert will hardly save the sect from this slow decline.”
“He has a unique constitution that lets him use his domain to create a zone of high ice-qi. Which in combination with the volcano's fire-qi will create a perfect environment for cultivation.” Wen spoke with excitement in his voice.
“Oh ho, that does indeed sound like great news. I presume that you are here so we can verify the truth of the matter.” The sect leader started rummaging around in a drawer and pulled out a truthstone. “I already verified it using the truthstone at the gatehouse. He is, to his knowledge, telling the truth. We however still have to test it. Wen said.
“Then let's go and test it.” The sect master said. He opened a door and showed them into a small garden where they mounted their flying artifacts and took off. Even the sect master was using a generic flying sword, which seemed like the most common type of flying artifact.
They headed for the crater of the volcano. There was a constant stream of toxic vapors coming out of the crater itself and there was a lake of lava bubbling at the bottom. Further upwards in the crater, there were deposits of sulfur which Dave noted for future use.
They landed at the edge of the lava. The radiating heat was enormous. Dave could only endure it thanks to enhanced abilities from cultivation. It was still very uncomfortable.
The sect leader spoke with authority in his voice: “Show me the domain you're so confident in.”
Dave wasted little time and concentrated his domain to the maximum of his ability, before deploying it. The sun already had trouble reaching them in the crater. It went dark and the illusion of a moon rose in the sky. The heat and cold warred in the air until the cold won and covered, even the previously bubbling lava in a thin layer of frost. “Can you extend the range of your domain until it becomes comfortable to sit here in the crater, but not so far that it becomes dangerous for the mortals in the sect?” The sect master asked politely. Dave extended his domain slightly, the moon wavered but did not vanish yet. “Your domain is incredibly rich in yin energy. Women will benefit greatly from cultivating here, but men will have to make some concessions before coming here. Something we could rectify if we had a yang-element treasure.” The sect master again stated politely. “What problems will men run into?” Dave asked with great interest. “Well, they will become unable to grow beards and if the imbalance becomes great enough they will start resembling women. More damage than that will not occur.” The sect master explained. Dave exclaimed: “Ah, that's why I didn't have to cut my beard. I hope I don't end up looking female.”
“Your physique should somewhat counter the effects of your rich yin qi. At least in theory.” The sect master said. “You know what my physique is?” Dave said, overjoyed. “No, not for certain, but I suspect it is the Absolute Yin Physique of legend.” The sect master said, with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Dean Wen, can you find the other elders and tell them about this? Have them organize their foundation establishment disciple into groups and send them here to cultivate. With this enormous amount of neutral qi, we should have a few breakthroughs within the next month. I will also stay here to cultivate.” The sect leader decreed.
Dave sat down and tried to cultivate while holding his domain concentrated. It was tricky and it reduced his efficiency, but the mindless repetition of cultivation soon took over and he fell into a meditative state.