The Aether God: Chapter 12 - Elixir Alliance Second Visit

A farmhouse kitchen is scarce the place

For knight or lady of courtly grace.

Elixir Alliance Market Pagoda

“Those two are also good kids… I’m glad I helped. Maybe they can be a part of something too… If the only two attributed artists in the Interscholastic Duels are Cedar and Reed… Maybe that’s too obvious.”

Cerulean had easily pranced into the Elixir Alliance’s pagoda, and began ascending the staircases. It had three large floors. The first floor was filled with crates of elixirs, stacked almost up to the ceiling. Attendants were running back and forth: up and down stairs, as well as in and outside. The second floor was filled with nearly every member of the guild, as they frantically brewed different elixirs. Under each of their cauldrons was a large circular stone, each inscribed with a unique sigil. He had inscribed them a couple of days prior. Using them to slowly draw in Ambient Ether and inject it into the brew was much more reliable than the manual methods they had been using earlier. They could additionally make brews of other attributes. The sigils also allowed for much, much larger brews. There was a concealment barrier over this floor, so nobody would be able to see them from outside. The third floor had a large number of desks and offices. The executive guildmates were scrambling to do paperwork. Now that they were so rich and made so many sales, they were required to do more filing than a large sect! However, as they were not accepting any of the thousands of new applicants, they did so with the small number of members they had. He walked towards Nora’s office. As he entered and closed the door behind himself, he saw a funny sight.

“Hehe Elizaaaaaa! Looky look! I’m doing my happy dance hehehe!” Nora was spinning in a circle near the center of the room while dancing in a most adorable and silly manner. Edith was standing coldly - expressionless as usual. She was looking out the large window at the crowd out front, ignoring Nora. However, one could feel that deep down she was truly getting annoyed.

“Eliza! Eliiiiza! Eliiiiiiiiizaaaaaaa! Heheheh! Look at me! Look at me!” For perhaps the first time in a very long time, Edith’s neck began to tilt. One would wonder if she was going to display anger. However, she just took in a deep breath, and resumed her gazing.

“Awee… Wah!!” Nora stopped her silly dancing, and sat down at a nearby couch, pretending to pout. She hoped so dearly to elicit an annoyed reaction of some sort. Soon afterward, Cerulean released his concealment technique, and appeared before Nora.

“CERULYYYY!!” To his surprise, Nora was not embarrassed, but rather darted toward him, scooping him off the ground and lifting him up like a baby. She began spinning him in circles. Edith turned around to look and then sighed.

“Heeheehee!” She kept spinning him around, even tossing him up and catching him a couple of times.

“This is… humiliating… I’ll need to return this favor.” Cerulean stared forward with a devious grin, waiting to be put down. When he finally was, he spoke over her laughter.

“Sooo I was busy yesterday and couldn’t visit the auctions. How did they go?”

Hearing this, Nora finally donned something of a more serious expression. She nodded and they walked toward her desk. She whispered a couple of orders to Edith, who nodded and ran out of the room. They sat down, and Nora began to speak.

“There were some interesting developments. Your guess was actually wrong.”

Cerulean raised his eyebrows. He had told Nora that the Legendary Sects would likely not be willing to send an elder or descendant to bid at the auctions, and would only send servants to watch. Bidding on an R5 elixir made by a guild would be showing humility before the valley.

“Only two sects made an appearance. Furthermore, the sectmasters themselves showed up.”

Cerulean was amazed.

“They were the sectmasters of the Frostbane, and Blackwood sects - Boreas and Osiris. Boreas purchased the elixir and artifact, while Osiris purchased the manuscript.” Nora smiled.

“They must all know that the guilds themselves are not behind all of this… perhaps they are showing that they want to be friendly with me… or they could be trying to lure me out?”

“I want to share something with you… Please do not tell anybody that I have done so.” Nora looked at Cerulean

“You have my word.” He nodded.

She continued.

“Of the seven sectmasters, five are Spirit Artists. Only Boreas and Osiris are saints. However, Osiris is known for being able to use three elements. Because of this, Boreas is quite old, and the weakest of them all. However, he is known for being something of a gentleman. Because of this, the other six rarely do business with him. Perhaps the only reason they do not fight with him, or one another, is because all seven sects have a number of spirit-rank ancestors. Nearly all of them are hermits though.”

Cerulean nodded. This confirmed many of his theories, particularly in that they were hiding the existence of the saint and spirit ranks. This sort of sect dynamic was also quite common in many of the planes.

“I believe Boreas is wise. I believe that he is likely reaching out to you. Osiris, though, I have no idea. He is the youngest of the bunch, and is probably the most impressionable and open. But he may likely have more aspirations because of this. I would exercise caution with him. I also would like to humbly ask about your plans… I am from the Meadow Sect after all.” Nora knew that Cerulean’s plans involved the seven, but not much more.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“First, I’m not planning anything grim. I just believe that the power structure of the city right now is annoying… I’m planning to leave in around a year, and I have nothing better to do while I cultivate, so by then I’d like to make a lot of changes. I was sort of planning to install a new sectmaster for all of the seven that have a huge problem with a little more equality.” Cerulean spoke nonchalantly.

Nora raised her eyebrows. “You’re planning that much? How powerful are you?”

Cerulean smiled. To this point, he had been using a technique to suppress his aura wherever he went. He released the technique.

Nora was immediately flabbergasted once again. “Y- You… Attributeless?!”

“It’s complicated…” Cerulean began to explain the void element to Nora as he had to the other disciples. While he was doing so, Edith was bringing in a number of large bags containing gold coins. Each of them was equivalent to 100,000 crystal shards. Bronze and silver coins could be traded for 1,000 or 10,000, respectively.

“But… If that’s the case… Why did I sense your aura immediately? I didn’t have to try.”

“Dammit! Why is she so observant?!”

An Aetherial Constitution was not a constitution of the seven attributes. There were many artists on the Divine Plane who could use all seven elements, and even seven-attribute techniques. However, though Cerulean could do so as well, there was something different about his own.

“Well… First… Have you heard of recessive genes?” Cerulean asked.

“Of course I have.” Nora nodded.

“Contrary to what you probably know about constitutions… The ethereal body of every human, unlike those of the other soul races, have things like genes for all of the seven elements. Some are dominant, some are recessive. That’s why, rarely, somebody will be born with three elements, even though both of their parents were Umbrous Artists… That’s also why only the union between two cultivators can birth a child with an ethereal body.”

Nora raised her eyebrows. She had never heard of other ‘soul races.’ Furthermore, while everybody knew of something akin to ‘Ethereal Genes,’ it was unheard of that every single human had genes of all seven elements.

“Would this… point to all humans coming from a single pair of cultivators?” Nora was extremely precise.

“Eh… I doubt it…”

In actuality, Cerulean was absolutely astounded by Nora’s second keen observation. He knew much more than he let on. The reason this fact was speculated, was because every human also contained within their ethereal body a gene that was entirely different. It was not simply for an element that was opposite to the void. It was so recessive that not a single living artist of the massive Divine Plane had it during his other life, nor in its history. It was a thing of legends… But he would not be sharing all of this, nor fairytales of humanity’s origin.

“Well… I’m not actually an abyssal artist. I seem to have lucked out, and gotten a constitution of all seven elements. when that happens, the void element sort of envelops them, and comes off the same way.”

“Wow! So… Wait…” Nora was amazed. Cerulean first told her of an entirely new element, then that he could control all seven. She sat pondering for a while before continuing.

“I know that you’re an apprentice now… but I still have no idea how powerful you are. Are you willing to share more?”

“I believe I should at least be a Saint, or maybe Spirit Artist by the end of the year. It is quite easy to do so, but my constitution requires more Ether to ascend ranks than everybody else. I furthermore don’t want to absorb more and cause another storm like that…”

“You even caused that?!” Nora was amazed once again.

“Yeah… R7 and below elixirs will probably only help me reach the middle of the master rank. Then I’m probably going to have to leave the city and absorb far away… Can I ask about your cultivation?” Cerulean looked Nora in the eyes, and she got a little embarrassed.

“Well… because of all the elixirs you’ve given us… I just reached the peak of the venerable rank. But I have yet to refine my Ether.” Nora knew that she was a strong artist, having even attended the Zapthrax School.

“Most people don’t know this, but using the low-grade and rank cultivation techniques you have been tends to clog your ethereal nexuses. They also ‘fog’ up your Ether so it travels far more slowly through your veins and arteries. You’d need a lumenous artist to purify all of the nexuses and veins throughout your body. I can do so for you if you’d like.” Cerulean responded.

“Really?! That would be amazing.” Nora stood up, extremely excited.

“Alrighty then.” Cerulean stood up and walked around the desk towards her.

“Wait, wha-”

Before she could speak, Cerulean had already firmly grabbed her forehead.

“Apprentice Purification Technique: Unclog - Art 1: Central Nexus!”

……………

Edith was almost shaking. She was trying to not smile or break out into laughter.

“Well, that should be all for now, but I’ll stop by again tomorrow. Remember to get me that list. Also, thanks for all of the elixirs and ingredients… Good luck!” Cerulean had just finished stashing the coins, as well as a massive number of ingredients in his Abyssal Vaults before concealing his presence and leaving.

As soon as the door slammed shut, the room became totally silent.

For almost two minutes, Edith stared at Nora, grinning deviously. Nora was sitting at her desk, blushing, but trying to keep a straight face. She would glance at Edith every few moments, making eye contact with her. Whenever she did so, Nora had to suppress a smile. Edith adjusted her glasses while trying not to laugh. After slowly licking her lips, she started to speak.

“So Gui-”

“SHUT UUUUUP WAHHH!!” Nora covered her face with both her hands. She was clearly embarrassed. For probably the first time in years, Edith broke out into totally unrestrained laughter. Soon afterward, Nora also started laughing, though it was muffled between her hands. They laughed together for many minutes. After it had calmed down, Nora rested her forehead on the edge of her desk. She started looking at her hand under it, and circulated her Ether. It moved throughout her body many times faster than ever could before.

“What the hell is Cerulean… He even refined my Ether to the master rank? In like, two minutes? How… I feel like I could even fight against a lord.”

She looked at a very large stack of terrestrial manuscripts on her desk, and started fumbling through them.

“Spirit, master, lord, lord, spirit, master, spirit… What the… Spirit Cultivation techniques and everything else master and above?! I won’t need to buy a manuscript ever again!” Nora was amazed and joyous, but after remembering what happened earlier, her face turned red. Edith noticed this and interjected.

“Will Ceru-”

“I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT!” Nora’s complexion became akin to a tomato, and she put her head down on the desk. Edith smiled. She would be holding this over Nora for a very long time.

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