The battle against the local birds of prey, beasts wielding the power of the air element to create miniature vacuums as part of their assault, ended with no major injuries on the part of the travelers. They weren’t completely uninjured, and even John had a small wound to remember the battle by, but everything was the sort that competent cultivators could recover from without specialized medicines.
In some part that was due to their strength, but it also required effective coordination and trust. If the disciples had been unwilling to accept the protection of their fellow cultivators, standing on their own, they could have reasonably been taken down.
Fortunately, they didn’t need to correct anyone on those particular issues. Any other deficiencies were a matter of training and experience, so while John might direct his disciples towards certain issues in the near future there wasn’t anything particularly wrong.
Now that they knew the suddenness that enemies could appear, they would be prepared. Though it would take somewhat desperate beasts to attack a group as strong as theirs. It was quite possible they had not felt John to be as strong as he actually was, but even then Deirdre should have been a deterrent. Not that they could ask what the reason was, as the beasts involved weren’t intelligent enough to speak… and were for the most part dead. Usually the instincts of beasts kept them from battling opponents that would outmatch them too severely, but mistakes were always possible.
They continued onward through the Breathless Plains, keeping their senses open for nearby rifts out of which beasts might fly. Or crawl, as the case may be. Various sorts of snakes were also known to live in the cliffs the local gorges made. Anything that could survive in a vertically oriented environment, really.
Silver Breeze Gorge was reached without further incident, no doubt in part because the closer they were to a sect the better patrolled an area was. They came across several groups of disciples along the road before they came to their turn. Silver Breeze Gorge was not precisely along the main road through the Breathless Plains, but was instead a short hour away from the road, at least at a cultivator’s pace.
The road seemed to wind oddly, no doubt in part to avoid any stray ravines. There was one more reason, however, as they approached their ultimate destination. The tall grasses of the plains did their best to conceal the drop off until they were right upon it, but John felt the open area far sooner. After all, it was quite trivial to detect the difference between dense air element and neighboring dirt and stone.
In the space of a few steps, they went from the gorge being completely concealed to its entire length visible before them. Sunlight glittered off the walls, as a long path sloped downward towards one end of the gorge. The gorge curved slightly, the walls blocking only the far end from view. It was the largest by far that John had laid his eyes on, a dozen meters wide at the thin end ranging to perhaps a hundred meters wide at the curve, which was most likely its widest point.
Carved into the walls were the buildings of the sect, leaving the majority of the gorge open, including the path along the bottom which was only marred by side trails leading to stairs zig-zagging up the cliffs.
As John took his first step into the gorge, he felt a powerful gust of wind threatening to topple him backwards. Not that it actually could, of course. It was a natural phenomenon that was far weaker than the concentrated gusts Abritt employed. It was, however, sufficient to make many of the lesser disciples stumble.
It was possible for John to insulate all of his disciples from the gusts, but he determined it was better to let them handle the issue of whether or not they looked foolish on their own. Though the slope was steep, the winds gusted out of the gorge so there was no chance of the disciples being knocked downhill. If it suddenly reversed direction, John would be prepared. Though if that were likely, Deirdre would have probably warned him of it.
There was no gate barring their path at the bottom of the gorge. Perhaps it was deemed pointless when there were limitless places where it was possible to drop into the gorge along its length. Or maybe the ridge was otherwise defended. Either way, they were met by only a modest complement of defenders. One Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, and about a dozen others.
“Greetings,” Deirdre said. “The Golden Tomb Guardians visit once more, with one of our allies.”
The man leading the group bowed slightly in acknowledgement. “Welcome,” he said. His senses flickered over the group. “A rare cultivation style. I must presume I look upon the Six Elements Crossroads.”
John stepped forward, next to Deidre. “Indeed you do. We thank you for your hospitality.”
“My apologies. I must remain here. These two will direct you towards the quarters we have prepared for you.”
John’s political training told him that could be taken as a slight, treating him as not important enough for a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator to escort. The key, of course, was that it could be that. Conversely, it could be a sign of trust to send only lower ranking cultivators with them.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
There were some who could not stand even minor perceived insults but John did his best to remain above that. Even if he had detected a negative tone to the man’s words- which he did not- he would do nothing. If someone meant him ill, they would grow more bold… and then he would make them regret it. Otherwise, overreactions would most likely just taint their early relationship.
Being too accepting could have its own flaws, but John knew he was still far from that threshold.
He had thought that the gusts might minimize once they were at the bottom of the gorge, but they actually seemed to increase somewhat. The Soul Expansion Phase disciples that walked ahead of them caught some of the winds for the group, keeping things at much the same level as they were on the path down.
John noted a few oddities. Obviously the air element was denser here, but the breathable air was as well. Normally that wouldn’t seem a surprise, but it seemed that up above the powerful air element was actually responsible for the thin atmosphere. Furthermore, though the winds should have carried some of the more breathable air up above… it had been practically the same as elsewhere even at the edge of the gorge.
Though it had not been particularly apparent from the top of the trail, the Silver Breeze Gorge was bustling. It was simply that most of the activity was within the walls of the gorge itself, instead of following along the floor of the gorge. There were still a number of disciples moving from one section to another, though most of them stuck to the walls.
John had a better view of the stairs, and he had a clear thought that OSHA would not approve. He chuckled at that internally, noting the way the carved stairs crossed back and forth, alternating further in and on the edge of the gorge wall. One could easily fall off the outer side, and even a fall on the inner side could send one tumbling down the stairs. He wondered if the gusts of wind did not affect such areas, or if that was merely deemed part of the training. He just hoped new disciples lived on the lower levels, for their sake.
The full extent of the gorge was revealed as something of a boomerang shape, with the Golden Tomb Guardians being placed on the outer edge of the curve, on the north face of the gorge there. The Six Elements Crossroads were placed across from them in one vertical slice, having easy access to their various rooms. The best room was at the very top, nearly at the lip of the gorge, so that answered one question at least.
Climbing the stairs to his room, John determined that the gusts were indeed a relevant factor even off to the side, though certainly much reduced from the floor of the gorge. He didn’t actually have much to drop off, and it wasn’t like he was going to fill the provided armoire with clothes. He could carry everything he needed on him, though it was still nice to have a place of his own he could set up during his stay. John expected his privacy would be respected, but he wouldn’t be leaving anything valuable laying around to tempt fate.
-----
The sectmaster did not make them wait long, the delay most likely being a politeness to let people get settled in and cleaned up after their journey. Unsurprisingly, Presha’s residence was at the far end of the gorge.
It was a grand palace, carved nearly to the top of the ridge and extending deep into the stone. Wind whistled through the various openings therein.
Presha was waiting in a round chamber, kneeling on a pillow placed at a low table. Two more were placed around the table, each a third of the way around. John and Deidred took their places, able to look towards either of the other occupants fairly easily.
The sectmaster had a fairly young appearance, though John didn’t find that surprising. Quite a few of the younger generation had risen to great heights. Deirdre had previously mentioned suspicions that Presha might be in the Ascending Soul Phase, and John was able to confirm it easily enough. Either he was better at discerning such things, or perhaps she was not trying too hard to hide it.
Even without probing to determine what her totems were, it was easy enough for John to pick out the signs that marked an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Presha appeared to be at the thirty-seventh rank, which would mean she only recently advanced. Though as far as advancements at such a stage went, that could have been five or ten years prior and it would not be terribly odd to remain at the first rank of her new Phase.
“Greetings,” Presha inclined her head. “Deidre spoke highly of you. It seems you have even advanced your cultivation since that time, if I am not mistaken.
John nodded. “I was able to recently advance to the thirty-eighth rank. I was quite fortunate to be able to make a visit to the Sky Islands.”
“Truly?” Presha looked quite interested at that. “I had considered making the attempt but…”
“They aren’t particularly friendly towards continentals like us,” John confirmed her thoughts. “It helped that I had previous encounters with one of their Island Masters. One of their ruling sects, so to speak. You might even be able to see them at the upcoming tournament. They have been invited, and I have high hopes.”
For multiple reasons, really. Because if they refused to associate in any way, it would make the certainty of stability difficult. Better to deal with any potential trouble as soon as possible.
Presha nodded. “I imagine that will be quite the experience.”
“Indeed,” John replied. “I was even fortunate enough to face off against the Island Master of the First Peak. Though… I can’t say it was much of a fight. She was in the late Ascending Soul Phase and hardly even needed to launch a real attack to send me flying.”
“That is… somewhat concerning,” Presha said seriously. “We are far from them here, but not so far as to be comfortable with such power.”
John didn’t immediately say that was why she and through her the Breathless Plains should join their alliance. But he strongly implied it. He also made sure to invite her formally to participate in the tournament- it was open to all, but a direct invitation was better and more difficult to refuse. He wanted to at least be on good terms with their neighbors, since the various elemental regions had been so isolated for a long time.