Chapter 51

Onward

"Hm?" an old, withered man opened his eyes with great difficulty, seeming to glance southward for a moment. "What fool dared disturb the Forest?"

He sighed, closing his eyes as it was too much energy expenditure to keep them open. He had to conserve every last iota of Qi that he had, otherwise... it would not be enough. Though he stood vaunted in the palace of desire, and though he was known as the gilded Immortal to the outside world... all those things were long-brewed lies.

As he sat on the cold, stone throne, he pondered when he would finally be free. It wouldn't be today, however, for he felt them--extending his left arm weakly, a lithe, simple-seeming sword appeared in it.

"We must go again, my old friend," he said, standing up while his bones cracked as loudly as thunder. "To defend our home."

**

Leo descended the tree only to find the pair of his Disciples gasping for life, strewn on the floor, some four roots by their side. A strange expression fitted his face for a moment as he fancied the idea that he really was that strong--but he dismissed it rather quickly. After all, he had a system's weapon--the sword was carrying the brunt of his speed, and, without it, he'd likely be no better than the pair of kids, if not worse.

Turning back toward the tree, he nodded faintly with pride--they were just about 5% done. Beneath the outermost layer of roots and vines, there was another layer of the same. And then another. And then another. Rather than going wide, Leo went inward, discovering that the actual body was buried five layers deep.

There were no easy things in this world, but he didn't mind. Physical labor, thing he abhorred all his life, he now found soothing.

"M-Master... what is this tree?!" Yue yelled out, causing Leo to flinch. "How can roots be so damn hard?! They're harder than any sword or shield I've ever held in my life!"

"Then you simply haven't held enough shields and swords," Leo replied vaguely. What was this tree? He would only know after he completed the quest. Until then, his guess would probably be worse than kids'. "It's a good exercise for you two."

"Haah, it actually is, which is the most frustrating part," though Leo merely mentioned it offhand as he didn't even know what a good exercise in this world constituted, it seemed that he was blindly right, again. "Even this blockhead had managed to improve his Qi control slightly in this short period of time. How much further?"

"..." Leo grew a bit awkward, scratching the top of his head.

"Just tell us, Master..."

"Uh, we, we're almost there. Khm. Just a bit more."

"You're an awful liar."

"What a mean thing to say."

"It was a compliment, though."

"Still," Leo reached into his inner robes and took out some juice, taking a few sips.

"Master, I've been meaning to ask--do you not have a spatial artifact?" Yue queried. Unbeknownst to her, it was a sore spot for Leo--if he had a ring or a necklace or anything to store things in, he wouldn't have to become a walking trinket shop with everything that he was housing in his robes. There were pills, there was a feather, there were those Seeds he was supposed to be studying but never got around to, there were fruits, there was the juice... he legitimately felt he could have opened a shop just based on things he had on him.

"All I need, I can carry," he replied, hiding his pain.

"Ah, forgive me," she said. "I wanted to buy you one when I was outside, but they are rather expensive. Even the cheapest ones go for at least 5,000 Spirit Stones. Liang, do you have a ring?"

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"No," Liang replied. "All I need is my body and nothing else."

"How are you possibly still alive?!"

"Healthy body, Senior Sister."

"Ugh."

"He is partially right, Yue," Leo said. "All else aside, healthy body is one prerequisite to a healthy mind. Even if your, khm, Junior Brother is a bit... eh, you know, a vessel that is as close to indestructible as possible can also unleash the greatest potential."

"Master, please don't--"

"--Liang, exercise with your Senior Sister every morning for about an hour."

"Yes, Master!!" Leo looked away from Yue's aggrieved expression. He didn't know anything about cultivation in this world, but it stood to reason that the place where Qi was housed and used from ought to have a remarkably strong container, that is the body.

"Alright, we have rested enough," Leo said. "We'll focus on the outermost layer for now and slowly move deeper."

"Outermost layer? Move deeper? What do you mean, Master?!" Yue asked.

"Chop chop." Leo ignored her and swiftly climbed the tree.

"Master!"

**

The news that the Holy Blade Sect was attacked directly had spread out throughout the entire Lower Ashlands like wildfire. At first, few believed it--even if it was considered the weakest Tier IV Sect, it was still a Tier IV Sect. However, as more and more accounts of what transpired began to spread out, acceptance came--somebody had not only attacked the Holy Blade Sect, but they also inflicted massive damage.

Secondary news, however, was even more thunderous--Shen Yu, Sect Master of the Bloodmoon Sect... was felled. Nobody knew by who or how, but his death was confirmed. Not only that, the only other Soul Ascendance Realm cultivation of the Bloodmoon Sect, Elder Shen Rong, had lost both his legs, effectively becoming crippled.

This sent the entire Sect spiraling--after all, there were quite a few hounds hiding in the shadow, just waiting for an opportunity to take a bite out of the Tier IV Sect. Even if they technically had a Soul Ascendance Realm cultivator, he was a cripple.

Just as it seemed that the world would converge to take a bite out of the wounded beast, another bit of news spread: Holy Blade proclaimed publicly that any affront to the Bloodmoon Sect would be an affront to the Holy Blade Sect. In effect, he took the weakened Sect under his protection.

Nobody could quite understand why--it wasn't as though the two Sects had pleasant or friendly relationship. Rather, it was the direct opposite of that--they'd been engaged in wars and skirmishes for as long as they've existed. In fact, their last outright war ended just about fifty years ago, where Holy Blade Sect lost two precious Spirit Stone Mines, and where both Sects lost at least five thousand Disciples each.

Thus, Holy Blade protecting them didn't quite make sense--if anything, he should have been leading the charge to ransack the Bloodmoon's treasuries.

Shen Tao sat in a corner of an inn in Yuvel Town.

He'd donned a mask--literal and figurative--blending in with the world and pretending to be at Peak Foundation Establishment. It was one of the treasures that he'd discovered in his Father's spatial ring that he'd given to him. It made sure that nobody, not even those at Nascent Soul Realm, could divine his true identity.

Shen Tao was officially proclaimed as one of those who died during the invasion of the Holy Blade Sect--not only did the Bloodmoon Sect lose its Sect Master, they also lost their prodigal son.

He spent the last five days recovering in silence and slowly wandering through the few towns in the vicinity, gathering information. Even he was shocked when he heard that the Holy Blade decided to protect his Sect. A pang of shame echoed in his heart, as a complete stranger (one with great interest in seeing the Bloodmoon Sect fall) had stepped forward while he had 'died' in order to escape the crutches.

Holy Blade had always been an enigmatic figure, and now he was even more so in Shen Tao's eyes. Why was it that the 'child' said they could not kill 'Minge', while they were able to kill his Father? They were both at Mid Soul Ascendance Realm, and though they fought within the valley of the Holy Blade Sect, that didn't seem to have been the reason.

Shen Tao grew curious--it displaced, however little, the eternal burning flame of loathing rage within him. There was so much of it that he feared any more would cause him to self-implode.

"Did you hear? Holy Blade Sect is holding Trials earlier this year! They just announced it!" his ears perked up to the conversation happening at the next table over among a group of young cultivators that had just sat down.

"Makes sense. I hear they lost a lot of Disciples during the invasion."

"Would it mean that their requirements are a bit more lax?"

"Possibly?"

"Should we give it a try?"

"May as well. Now that the Bloodmoon Sect fell, Holy Blade Sect is the true hegemon of the area. If we can somehow become Disciples--no, even just servants, our future would be boundless!"

Shen Tao held his tongue.

All of them seemed to be around twenty and still at the peak of Qi Condensation. Forget servants, they wouldn't even be allowed to become Medicinal Bodies. But... it wasn't his place to say anything.

A thought festered inside of him, however--if he was to learn what made Holy Blade more special than his Father... wasn't this a perfect opportunity? He could reveal just the right amount of talent, and become Holy Blade Sect Disciple. He might even learn the secrets of the Forest from those who'd returned from there.

Gleeful with his plan, he downed the remainder of his drink, left a copper coin on the table, and disappeared, heading north-east toward the Holy Blade Sect, his future slowly becoming clearer in his mind.