“Is everyone alright?” Qing Wu called out, having no idea how close he had come to death.

A panting Alex gazed up from the gory remains of his kill, lungs heaving as blood dripped off the head of his fangtian ji before spinning around, weapon held high for furious killing vengeance, should Dui Zhong have fallen to the third spirit puma that had thought to cloak itself behind the others.

But the crumpled form of the spirit beast, looking so much smaller than it had while full of life and killing fury, made it clear who had come out on top, for all that Dui Zhong was visibly panting, a trickle of blood running down his neck from the massive gash that had torn open his chin… and nothing else.

“Dui Zhong!” The bemused guard captain smiled at Reny’s alarm.

“It’s quite alright. Just a flesh wound. Fortunately, our wild card caught sight of them, just in time.”

Reny tutted, quickly putting a liniment soaked patched upon the man’s chin as Qing Wu glared all around him, now positively shimmering with the passive ward of Ice and Wind Alex sensed around the man.

He glared down at the trio of pumas, noted the remains of the other pair recently killed, before he turned his gaze Alex’s way. “How did you know they were coming?”

It was a simple enough question that to answer directly would only accentuate his differences. But since they were all under oath… “I have a knack for the woods,” he said honestly enough. “The important thing is that I think… yes. That was the last of them. I don’t see any more reds for at least half a mile in any direction.” He gave a satisfied nod. “They were clearly the local pact, and it should be at least a bit of time before any other group of spirit beasts makes inroads on their territory. So… yeah. Now’s the time to collect what prizes we can here, in the safest zone within this pocket realm of shadow and dream.”

He couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear as he said the last, truly delighting in the reemergence of one of his most treasured gifts. Forest Sense so damn useful at allowing him to both spot and avoid trouble from well over a mile away. Truly a blessing, considering the prizes they hoped to claim from these woodlands.

Ya Ling blinked, gazing at Alex strangely. “Alex, how is that even possible?”

Alex blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Ya Ling gave him a look, even as Reny grabbed Qing Wu and immediately headed in the direction that Alex sensed all sorts of delicious cultivation treasures could be found, while Dui Zhong spoke of making a base camp and a lookout for the tree above their head. Yet Ya Ling paid them all little heed, her eyes for Alex alone.

“We’re desert people. All of us. And have been for countless centuries, since the ancient woodlands that used to cover these lands were replaced by desert sands when Jade tier monsters and even worse battled for territories and treasures that no one claimed in the end. So how the hell could you instantly acclimatize to the forest so fast that you can instantly spot ambushers literally bred for the hunt, before declaring with such bloody certainty that there’s not a single man-eater anywhere in a half-mile radius?”

Alex froze, eyes widening with horror at words said so casually. Words that, for him, were a pronouncement of doom.

“Wait… wait, wait, wait! Are you saying centuries have past? Fucking centuries? I thought… I was prepared for the worst, but... Last time it was just ten years!”

All of them stepped back in sudden alarm, giving Alex the strangest of looks as he crashed to his knees, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps, his world shaken to its foundations with just a couple of casually thrown out declarations.

Centuries.

This land had been rich, fecund forestland until Jades and worse monsters still, monsters like himself, perhaps, had unleashed the unthinkable.

And this was the result.

His worst fears realized.

The people he had known, the places he had explored and grown to love, the girls who had all but claimed his heart. Forever lost, slipped away amongst time’s eternal sands, the one barrier not even the gods could traverse.

For if they could, they would have assured that Alex had never existed at all.

“Alex, are you alright?” Ya Ling’s gentle words of concern washed over him, and it took longer than he cared to admit to slam shut the doors of bitter regret of his psyche, sit up and breathe deep of rich forest air filled with so many tantalizing scents and promises of sweetest power before he opened eyes that stung only slightly and flashed his closest friend in this brave new world a thumbs up and a smile.

“Right as rain. Sorry, Ya Ling. It just… struck me hard, how much I missed, well, everything I was forced to leave behind.”

This declaration earned a sympathetic smile from Reny every bit as heartfelt as Ya Ling’s. Qing Wu gave Alex a surprisingly sympathetic pat on his shoulder. “There there, Alex. Sometimes the greatest challenges we’ll ever face is starting anew and finding our place in a brand new environment. But the life experience we gain, the potential it unlocks, can help a cultivator push past heretofore insurmountable roadblocks, and ascend far beyond what he might have otherwise hoped to, after a lifetime of study.”

Even Dui Zhong nodded at this. “It’s one reason why so many aspirants travel to the cultivation academies hosted by other cities. Or why cultivators like me choose to explore the world as caravan masters or simple travelers, experiencing life in its rawest form. Our experiences allow us to gain insights into the nature of the dao, and the world as a whole, that are far more precious and impactful than all the treaties we might otherwise diligently study for years. Especially after our formal masters swear that we have already reached our natural limits, that a Rank 1 Bronze is all we could ever hope for.” The man flashed a fierce, satisfied smile. “Certainly my old mentor never thought I’d hit Rank 4 in just 30 years.”

Ya Ling gave an enthusiastic nod. “Even us just being here, Alex, daring a realm so glorious and strange, compared to the comforting sands we left behind, especially after having had to fight for our very lives… fills our souls with such insights and inspiration that it will allow us to push farther than we could have otherwise hoped to, at Silver Sands Academy...” She gave a painful swallow. “Even if we can brew no magical tincture or miracle spirit fruit cure at all.”

“Which we will!” Qing Wu assured with a fatherly smile her way, before turning to his wife. “Isn’t that right, darling?”

But Reny was already scowling, peering into the leafy underbrush with a professional eye. “You all talk too much. Dui Zhong? Have the men keep a sharp eye out. They see prizes that entice them, tell me, don’t break formation. Ya Ling? Come by my side. Let’s see what I can teach you of my arts, for even if Sand is your element, Earth is your close cousin and the soil can teach you tricks about unveiling the forest’s secrets even if Wood itself slips through your fingers as pointlessly as the spear shaft thrust through your true form.”

An alarmed Ya Ling quickly glanced Alex’s way, as if wanting to let him to know that she was very much a flesh and blood girl who just happened to have an affinity for sand, and was more than eager to prove that to him over the sweetest school semester he could ever hope for. Alex’s smirk and Spirit Qi made it clear that yes, he was quite aware that she was a beautiful flesh and blood girl who could turn into sand, but not actually a sand elemental or the like.

And if the startled look she gave him was any indication, he had conveyed far too much with his teasing smile.

Reny gave an exasperated sigh. “If you two children are quite finished staring at each other and making your future intentions far too obvious to us all, let’s focus on the plants before us, or the danger potentially above us, if that’s your preference,” she said with a glare Alex’s way.

To which Alex answered with a cheeky grin, before slipping through the underbrush as effortlessly as Ya Ling flowed through the sands, then appearing moments later with a handful of softly glowing berries that had Reny’s eyes lighting up with wonder.

“Alex! Do you know what those are?”

Qi Perception check made.

You have begun to recall your own heritage. You sense a link with your ancient ally once more!

You have successfully detected: 23 Basic Treasures and 3 Well Kept Woodland Secrets within your proximity.

You have claimed: Silver Nectar Berries! Potency – Beyond what Yidushi could ever hope to bring to market! You intuitively sense how many you can claim without straining the plant and gather no more than that!

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Alex gave Reny a solemn nod. “Silver Nectar Berries. And should you actually manage to find the plant, please decline from taking any more. I’ve claimed the maximum bounty I can without affecting the local biosphere, or the plant itself.”

Reny gazed at Alex for a long pointed moment.

He winced and lowered his gaze, only in that moment realizing how arrogant and presumptuous he must have sounded. He, not even a student at her academy, daring to lecture a Deep Bronze healer with decades of apothecary experience. Even Qing Wu’s snort was that of a tolerant uncle who wanted to make it clear that his protege had just gone a bit too far.

Surprisingly to both Alex and her husband, she gave a thoughtful nod. “I will keep that in mind. And Alex?”

“Yes?” He braced himself for the inevitable warning.

“Do feel free to let me know the peculiarities of any other plants whose treasures you might claim. And I expect a complete and thorough breakdown of all the prizes you claim when our little foray is complete.” She flashed a smile both challenging and oddly approving. “To the best of your abilities, of course.”

Alex blinked, catching Qing Wu’s thoughtful gaze, before bowing his head. “Of course.”

He gave the small group of bemused-looking cultivators and wide-eyed caravan guards a formal bow before darting back into the underbrush and making a beeline for the prizes he could almost sense like the hypnotic ringing of his favorite glowing root in a game he had last savored a lifetime ago. Feeling the same giddy excitement as he once had while playing the forager and alchemist. For the woodland’s mystical treasures manifested before his senses as effortlessly as they once had upon a game screen where the creators went out of their way to make the herbs bright and colorful, popping out against the background.

Yet what was even better was that these spiritual treasures were real. He actually knew how to compound at least some of them into truly priceless creations, and he could intuitively sense the beneficial properties to come from eating them raw, without any special preparation at all.

Even if most of his finds were in the nature of exquisitely ripe apples and pears, rich in nutritional value and natural Qi, which he plucked countless dozens to fill his claimed storage bag full of delectable prizes, a good handful of the herbs he had gathered under the crowns of evergreens and the upper branches of towering monstrosities he could climb as effortlessly as a monkey returning to his favorite perch, shimmered with spiritual energy so potent that he could sense straight away that consuming those spiritual treasures right then and there would be life-changing.

But he resisted, instead carefully putting them inside Reny’s loaned pouch, having no doubt the cultivator would be able to create the most potent brews imaginable, once they were within her hands.

At first he stayed close to his companions, enjoying Reny’s wide-eyed looks and delighted smiles when he unveiled choice prizes to her. Even the comments echoing through the harsh murmurs of twigs and the gossipy rustle of countless leaves brought a smile to his features.

“Did you see those golden grapes? They were practically glowing with spiritual energy even I could see!” The newly forged cultivator Luo had shaken his head in disbelief. “All I found was a single apple on the forest floor, and Xiao snatched it before I could claim it!”

“That’s because you’re reflexes are still shit, even if you’re a single step above me,” teased Xiao, biting into his claimed apple at that very moment.

Yet the look Qing Wu gave him when Alex surrendered his latest pouch of prizes to an absolutely ecstatic Reny who actually gave him a hug just as tight as any of Ya Ling’s had been, said all that needed saying.

“You’ve sensed even greater prizes, deeper in the forest, haven’t you?”

Alex swore his eyes weren’t twinkling when he gave his mentor a nod, earning a soft chuckle from the man.

“Well then, why don’t you uncover what prizes you might, dear aspirant?”

Alex grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Qing Wu nodded, a faint look of concern straining his fatherly smile. “And have you sensed any predators at all, since those Shadow Puma?”

Alex blinked and gave a thoughtful shake of his head. “Save for several serpents with too knowing eyes whose nests and the sacred treasures they guard Reny agreed to avoid... No. Not a thing. At least not within a few hundred yards. So long as you don’t stray from this area I think… well, not to invite trouble, but I think you should all be find.”

Qing Wu snorted. “And yet you still orbit us. Constantly. A protective hound who should be out hunting prizes, not worrying the heels of those who can well fend for themselves. Do you truly think I’m such a crippled Silver that I can’t protect us from early Half-step Bronze?”

Alex chuckled and quickly shook his head, just as his mentor expected him to, both graceful enough not to mention those first precarious moments that Qing Wu had had no warding shield up at all, and had been momentarily vulnerable to at least one Spirit Cat to fall to Alex’s fangtian ji. “Not at all, master.”

“Good! Now go, lad. Go hunt treasures worthy of a Ruidian boy with a knack for the forest who would make a tale all his own! We’ll be fine. And if the look my wife is giving me is correct, our route back will be just the way we came, with an extra long stop by the wild apple grove. Prizes we can all spot and claim. Even if the spiritual boon within those prizes is minute, it bridges the gap between mortal and ascendant fruit so well that no tolerance or strain will develop. Their constitutional benefits won’t wane over time. In fact, both cultivators and rulers would benefit from daily consumption. Thus a spirit apple grove would be quite a prize for both academy and palace, if Reny can successfully set them up, which she’s willing to bet she can… if she gets enough apples and cuttings.”

Alex gave an approving nod. “That sounds like a fine idea, Master Wu.”

Ya Ling flashed him a glorious smile. “Alex, these prizes you’ve found… are you sure I can’t go with you?”

He reached down from his perch to gently squeeze her hand. “I’m sorry, Ya Ling. Earlier it was fine. Wonderful, even, when you helped me pick those peaches and pears.”

She blushed but didn’t lower her gaze. “It was,” she conceded.

“But right now I’m going to be traveling quite a bit faster than a sprint, high overhead. So unless you can keep up...”

This declaration earned multiple flat stares.

“You’re kidding.”

Alex smirked, allowing the branch he was crouched upon, having dipped quite low to hand over his latest prizes, to spring taught once more, slingshotting him in a high arc that was totally showing off and pointless, even foolish, if there were any predators about. But the guard’s awed curse, Qing Wu’s soft chuckle, and Reny’s exasperated head shake made it all worth it.

“How did he do that?” Ya Ling exclaimed.

Reny snorted. “He’s Ruidian. Everyone knows they had druidic ties to the forest, long before it became a desert.”

“But that was thousands of years ago!”

“You saw the tears in his eyes. Their tribal memories run deep.”

***

Alex blinked away fresh tears, ancient regrets replaced, at least temporarily, with the sweet joy of foraging for delicious wonders and juicy prizes in the deep wood. And the more he foraged, the harder he searched for elusive prizes hinting at such glorious and well hidden troves of carefully nurtured spiritual prizes. the greater his attunement became, until ancient skills were fully his once more, the entire forest lighting up in his mind’s eye in all directions to glorious, wonderful effect. His focus was, of course, on prizes, which he had to be close to, in order to sense with any degree of accuracy. Yet his ability to sense blinking reds was now so exquisite that he began to wonder if he’d actually dare the most foolish gambit of all.

Right now he sought to master Silver, both avoiding its predators and claiming its juiciest prizes, including over a dozen softly glowing peaches radiating a warm golden light screaming of Wood and Fire Qi and all but promising an effortless breakthrough to any Bronze with those two elemental affinities, and a path less weighty than his own. He even suspect that such prizes might instill a hint of Wood’s blessing to any pristine power that dared it’s touch, or send a Wood aligned cultivator along a path of glorious flame. The difference between these and the earlier peach he had so casually given Ya Ling was like comparing the painting of a golden apple to the real thing.

And this was just on the cusp of Silver. Just a few hundred yards further in, and the forest would be alive with jarring crimson lights promising a bitter end to any so foolish as to dare more than their allotment of treasures, greedy young upstarts who needed to be shown their place in this life, so that they might be wiser in the next.

Alex felt a cold chill, wondering if perhaps tragedy had already struck him once.

Yet he couldn’t escape the sudden certainty he had that he and his associates were catching this forest at an odd lull. A period of arboreal somnolence which it would soon be waking from.

For the moment, countless beasts, save the most desperate Bronze, were lost in torpor, it having been too many years since the pocket realm was blessed with the bittersweet struggle of mundus mingling and giving fresh potency to this pocket realm while claiming what prizes it could. Both realms profited from the struggle, and the boons of blood and spiritual treasures to be gained. But it had clearly been a long time since any cultivator had dared to test themselves against the spirit beasts that called these woods their home, or claim any of the priceless spirit herbs to be found within.

Which meant that for a few precious hours, days at most, there was an opportunity here, like no other.

Then he froze, eyes piercing the gloom, easily avoiding the gaze of the Silver Tier snake sleepily searching for prey.

Because he could sense it.

The true prizes of this realm, well past the shoals of Silver.

Into the realm of Gold.

Apples that shone like the sun upon branches that called out to him even from miles away.

So long as he avoided the sleeping dragon at the base of the tree…

The true prize of this realm awaited him.

All the leaves seemed to suddenly still, Alex sensing he was on the cusp of a truly profound choice that would send his life careening in two very different directions.

And whichever one he took… there would be no going back.

That, of course, was when he hard the scream.