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The Yellow River Saga [ Epic Cultivation Fantasy Series]
Tributary: Chapter 49 - A Brief Reprieve

Tributary: Chapter 49 - A Brief Reprieve

Yu Chen was in no hurry to leave after breaking through.

With no quick way home he decided to stay for some time. There were no pressing issues waiting for him, and no threats he needed to be wary of, so he spent the next few weeks solidifying his realm and getting a handle on his new power.

He also took the time to explore the ruins, looking for anything of value.

Despite being a broken husk of its former glory there were still numerous benefits waiting to be seized. He’d begin every day by meditating in front of the giant palmprint for a few hours, drawn to the profound attack and trying to reason out the secrets behind it. It had been generations since the outpost had fallen, so long ago that the place had been forgotten in the mists of antiquity, but after all this time the attack still radiated a deep sense of intent, a testament to the unyielding will of the cultivator that had left it behind.

He didn’t know what benefits might be gained from it, but his attempts to glean something did bear fruit. Just being in the presence of that formidable strike was a test of his will, honing his own intent into something formidable.

In the afternoon he practiced his Martial Forms, and found he was now able to imbue his attacks with a hint of his own martial will. It was only a tiny seed, but planting it now would allow it to one day grow to powerful heights, if the palmprint was anything to judge by.

He practiced his new forms as well, quickly memorizing the movements, but he couldn’t fully utilize them, unfamiliar as he was with whatever Concepts gave them power. Still, he kept at it, knowing how beneficial they’d one day prove.

At night he would meditate, utilizing his new breathing technique to absorb as much of the dense spiritual energy as he could, filling and emptying his dantian over and over as he expanded it. In the span of a few short weeks he’d accomplished what would have taken him months, perhaps even half a year, to have accomplished outside.

The thick spiritual energy was a factor, but it was the new technique that truly pushed it over the edge, allowing him to cultivate at a speed that astounded him. The combination of the two was truly a blessing.

It was no wonder cultivation was such a time consuming process, and heavenly treasures were in such high demand. Cultivators would fight and die over this place if given the opportunity, and Yu Chen took full advantage, progressing his cultivation by leaps and bounds.

During the middle of the day he’d explore the outpost, completing his routine.

The first thing he noticed was how there were no living beings to be found, outside or inside the buildings. There wasn’t even a houseplant, or a bit of shrubbery to be seen. How it came to be was still a mystery, and Yu Chen had no easy answers as to why. Thankfully his spatial pouch was stuffed full of meat from the various spirit beasts he’d killed, alongside a wide variety of spiritual fruits and herbs he’d found in his week exploring the secret realm.

He’d spent months in the wilderness before, learning to live off the land and was thus always prepared, eating like a king even in an area devoid of life.

The living might have left, but the trappings of their life still existed, and he looted what he could with a reckless abandon.

A number of the buildings appeared to be residential, containing nothing much of value. Many of them were ruined as well, crushed beneath the massive palm. Still, he’d managed to find some nice robes hanging in the cupboard of one such place. They didn’t appear fancy, being rather simple, and a plain white in color, but they were still many times better than his own.

He’d given them a simple tug, and when nothing happened, he’d frowned, pulling harder. No matter how he tried, he’d found them impossible to tear, even with his formidable strength. Amazed, he’d hurriedly put them on, replacing his own ruined robes.

There were numerous halls as well, and it seemed the outpost did, in many ways, function as a smaller extension of the sect. One place he’d recognized as a sort of Treasure Pavilion, but unfortunately it had been wiped clean, doubtlessly cleared out when whoever had been here fled.

There’d also been a small training ground, large enough for perhaps fifty people at most, although it’d be tight to fit them all in. Yu Chen judged the outpost had been home to no more than a hundred people at any one time, give or take a few. That was probably all it took to manage the outer areas.

There was a large meeting hall and various cultivation rooms, as well as a place he assumed was used for alchemy, although it was many times smaller than the one he’d seen in the Golden Mist Sect. The refinery was easier to spot, placed as it was near a series of forges, now cold and dark, that lay against the far edge of the outpost. A small room nearby appeared to have been used for talismans, as it contained numerous inkwells that sat on a shelf, alongside a fine quill, which he pocketed. He didn’t know if it had any worth, but there was no reason to leave it behind.

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His two most important discoveries came elsewhere however. The largest building still intact had been close to the wall where he’d entered, and furthest from the palm print that had destroyed so much else. He’d known what it was the second he’d stepped inside, recognizing the low counters and the boards hammered to the wall, from which ancient, yellowed scraps of paper still hung.

The place was a mission hall, doubtless used by the sect to incentivize whatever poor bastards ended up on duty out here. He explored it, but it was as empty as the treasure pavilion, wiped clean apart from a small steel ring that looked remarkably similar to the one worn by Cang Wuji that he’d found on a dusty shelf in one of the offices.

It appeared mundane, and he had thought it to be nothing more than another mortal object, like so many of the other items he’d encountered in the outpost. He picked it up anyways, almost dropping it when he felt a faint sense of static run through him.

Despite its appearance it contained some mystical property, and Yu Chen’s gaze sharpened, activating his spiritual vision as he stared at it intensely. Even to his other senses it appeared entirely mortal, nothing more than a band of plain steel. He pondered the mysterious object, but he had no idea what purpose it might serve.

With nothing else to do he attempted to shove it into his spatial pouch, but to his surprise it refused to enter, some mysterious force repelling it. It was as if he were trying to force two identical poles together, and the magnets refused to touch.

He contemplated the item for a moment before sliding it onto his finger with a shrug. It wasn’t that he was unaware of the possibility that it might be cursed or somehow detrimental, but he thought it worth the risk. He’d be more upset if it slipped out of his pocket while he was running, or fighting, or doing any number of other improbable acrobatic stunts.

Even this wasn’t the largest benefit. That had to be the small manual pavilion he’d found, tucked away in a remote corner of the outpost. Through sheer luck it’d somehow managed to avoid the palm strike, precariously perched on a thin sliver of land between two fingerprints. Yu Chen had to utilize his movement technique and leap across a yawning chasm to reach it, but the place was too intriguing not to.

Entering, he was ecstatic at what he found. To his surprise there were still numerous books on the shelves, and he greedily took them all, filling his spatial pouch with a small library consisting of a mess of leatherbound books, paper scrolls and jade slips.

He spent many hours pouring over them, organizing what he’d found and learning what he could. Of course, there was nothing of any particular value among them, if there ever had been. There were a few techniques - A variety of martial forms, a few movement techniques, and even a couple for breathing, but each and every one were many times worse than what he already possessed.

There was nothing among them that could compare to the Diamond Forms he’d been given at the Golden Mist Sect. He had to admit, the technique he’d been given wasn’t half bad. Even Xiao Huang had called it serviceable, which was practically a compliment coming from him.

Even if there was nothing awe inspiring, knowledge had a value all its own, and Yu Chen greedily absorbed what he could from the new books, and they provided him with some ancillary information regarding cultivation he’d never had the opportunity to learn.

He didn’t know it, but in some ways he was receiving the sort of education a young scion might, one whose parents had reached a profound level and were providing him with the sort of education a young master deserved. Many of the texts were considered fundamental in the world, teachings from renowned scholars who’d studied for centuries, or even millenia, passing down their knowledge for others to purview.

This was the level of the Flowing Eternity Sect after all. These treatises might be considered invaluable if returned to the Golden Mist Sect but they weren’t worth much around here.

The Treasure Pavilion, residences and refineries, alchemy and refinement halls? Wiped clean. The Manual Pavilion? They hadn’t even bothered to grab these items when fleeing.

Still, they were invaluable to Yu Chen. In those few weeks he found himself acquiring an education he’d scarcely realized he’d needed, and many of the things that he’d once found obscure were now revealed.

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Yu Chen breathed out, before standing up and taking one last look around the ruined outpost that had provided him with so much over the last few weeks. The sun was setting over the ruined and crumbling buildings, casting the entire area ablaze in a glory of orange, yellow and red highlights.

He was atop the crushed ziggurat, a place he’d often returned to during these last few weeks, and he’d come to know every ruined stone and broken building, and indeed, every inch of the gigantic palm print, as he did the back of his own hand.

But his time here had come to an end. He’d felt it coming for a while now; he’d found everything worth finding, and collected a great deal of knowledge. He’d advanced his cultivation even further, and solidified it a fair bit, already well on his way towards the next realm. He’d explored a secret realm, gathered many treasures, and even passed a series of excruciating trials that had earned him admittance into a hidden sect, removed from the world.

He’d surpassed his limits, and expanded his vision to a point where others could scarcely see.

And so it was time to leave. There was still plenty of spiritual energy in the atmosphere, and if he wished he could safely cultivate here for a good deal of time to come. However, that wasn’t what he needed anymore.

He’d need more experience to take the next step and so he finally left, using the hidden exit the voice had told him about.

A section of the wall peeled back, and Yu Chen stepped outside, before coming to a sudden halt, surprised at the scene of devastation that greeted him.