@HousePet
@wrecksalot
The disciples head into the woods once more to begin gathering firewood for the coming winter. Winter is still some time away so for now this is just a preliminary expedition. Rather than a full logging convoy the disciples move fast scouting for larger spirit trees that are both danger and fuel for the longer cold days ahead.
The forest is just starting to recover from the beast tide, but it is also simultaneously getting ready for winter itself. So without the threat of a full logging expedition the disciples can travel relatively freely. But that does not mean the forest is without its dangers. Jian Ke is still a little sluggish from his injury and fails to note a nest of iridescent hornets as he is passing through the trees. As he steps past the warding lines the hornets boil out of their nest in a cloud of flashing light and esoteric concepts.
They pour down on him, but even as he readies his sort Pan Tingfeng is there. The larger disciple interposes himself bodily and grunts as the swarm impacts on his chest. He promptly swings his sturdy wok around and squishes them between the metal of his wok and armor. Giving Jian Ke a quick nod the disciples scoop up the dead wasps that haven't dissipated into light and quickly hurry on before something is drawn by the smell of blood and sound of fighting.
Pan Tingfeng: 180 Spirit Stones
Jian Ke: 45 Spirit Stones
@CedeTheBees
Gan Jia quickly realizes that when the Elders said to train the new disciples what they actually meant was "babysit" the new disciples. Some of the new disciples are adults, but the vast majority are young children below the age of fourteen.
Not terrible from a cultivation perspective by any means. The problem is that there are thousands of them, and they've been left to roam free for the last few months. The result is that they've formed roving child gangs and have staked out territory in the dormitories for each small clan.
Gan Jia is attacked no less than five times on their way to find the juniors they have been assigned by the mission hall. None of which did anything of course, but the paint bombs nearly ruined some of the herbs. Annoying.
Fortunately after the first few days Gan Jia is able to restore order by dint of superior strength and the lure of their "special" herbs. Honestly leaving out herb laced dumplings around the dormitories brings back fond memories of catching pheasants.
Gan Jia: 165 Spirit Stones
@alexthealright
@Abensur
@1Arthas1
Realizing that he has not spent enough time on his tactician technique Cai Delan spends the month studying the tattered manual that he has kept with him from before he was even part of the Red Dew Sect. With his greater understanding he quickly comprehends the first few chapters and moves on to the more advanced material.
Meanwhile Wan Tian fights all comers He beats up all the outer disciples who volunteer and even manages to convince a few senior disciples to spar. It quickly becomes clear that Wan Tian is not up to fighting across a major realm, but he valiantly continues to throw himself at the unbeatable cliff in hopes of tempering his body.
Lucky Dong does have a particular skill to train so he just joins the regular red dew classes. He works on comprehending the new beast taming principles that the elders developed, and although he does not manage fully he makes very good progress.
Cai Delan: Learned Tactician (Jade Peasant), Tactician 2/3 (Clay Soldier)
Wan Tian: Learned Erratic Celestial Body 2/3 (Copper)
Lucky Dong: Learned Red Dew School 2/3 (Copper)
@Expecting Me
Most of the disciples are occupied with sect affairs, but a few have enough free time to socialize with the various loose cultivators in the province. Some of them, like Tan Bo, go a step farther however. He manages to get a mission from the sect to act as patroller around Roaring Furnace City to keep the loose cultivators from getting out of hand.
He does patrol of course, but a lot of those patrols are also spent chatting with the various visitors and engaging in some exchanges of pointers that are actually sparring instead of the more common beatdowns. He learns that most of the cultivators are older than him. It isn't common for any without at least forty years of experience to be strong enough to venture out of their home provinces.
The few who do are either traveling with much more powerful seniors or are the arrogant young masters of infamy. A few of these try to make trouble for Tan Bo, but he gives them a sound thrashing. When his new friends learn that he is a peak peasant at such a tender age they toast his good health and say he himself must be the young master of the Red Dew sect.
Tan Bo: 165 Spirit Stones
@Shadowolf235
@fluxeal
@Worm_that_Walks
@Poofs
Most disciples who hear of Elder Nianzu's isolation array think little of it. Of those who investigate more closely most immediately drop any plans to subject themselves to it after learning what exactly it does. Only a tiny handful of disciples actually agree to go through the process of isolating themselves completely.
And of that tiny handful of a tiny handful only four disciples last more than four hours before the array automatically disables itself to prevent the shattering of the disciple's souls. The main torment is not the lack of sight or sound or even touch. It's that the formation also completely prevents the disciples from feeling their own cultivation.
All of a sudden the disciples are trapped in a perfect void with nothing but their thoughts. Daiki Inoue is well suited to this. His scholarly endeavors give him plenty of material to sort through as he endures the isolation. Xìngyùn Xīng simply endures the long silence. His thoughts go in circles considering the failures and suffering he has endured recently. This is simply another example, and one his spirit is fortified against.
Much like Daiki Inoue, Cheng Nan spends their time considering all their plans for flesh crafting. They have many things they want to try as the tournament approaches and the time in isolation lets them put their thoughts in order for their approaching breakthrough.
Finally there is June Peng. He is not scholarly or tortured. His interests lay in adventuring through the land rather than aspects of the mind. But he volunteered for this and he won't drop out. His will is as unyielding as stone.
He makes it a day before the formation detects that he is starting to go insane and releases him. Daiki and Cheng follow the next day. Wincing at the sudden onslaught of their senses the disciples are led through calming meditations while they wait for the last disciple. And wait and wait. A full week passed before the last formation breaks and releases Xìngyùn. His face is pale, but he otherwise seems intact.
The disciples are physically unaffected, but in the coming weeks they keep falling out into reveries remembering the void and fearing that they have returned their.
Daiki Inoue: 4 Insights Path of Void, Injured
Xìngyùn xīng: Enlightenment of the Void, Injured
Cheng Nan: 4 Insights Path of Void, Injured, Fleshwarping Enlightenment
June Peng: 2 Insights Path of Void, Injured
@LordEdric
Elder Nianzu's boat has been languishing for many months, and it is time to finally complete it. There aren't many disciples who choose to take the mission, but those who do are all from the artifice hall, and none is more skilled than Ding Dong.
They work diligently carving wood, installing fittings, and carving Elder Nianzu's formations into the structure of the vessel. They have to work through the night several times, but by the end of the month the boat is finally ready to be launched.
Ding Dong has to admit that it is a boat. It is definitely boat shaped. And every part of it is immaculately made. But somehow he has doubts about the efficacy of the boat on Lake Tawei. Possibly because it's having trouble actually leaving the artificial lagoon where it was built.
Ding Dong: 135 Spirit Stones
@Oseanman
There are no disciples more devoted to Elder Smiling Vulture's mission than Bái Yǔ. He ventures through the blighted hills to the bandit camp that the elders commanded be destroyed and fends off numerous restless dead in order to collect the bones he needs.
Admittedly his payments of hard won spirit stones to his peers and the orphans of Roaring Furnace city in order to gather enough cicada shells and spirit herbs aren't quite as dangerous, but this is more than made up for by his journey to the shores of Lake Tawei where he dares to venture close to the lapping waves in order to collect not just enough driftwood for a mask, but enough to build an actual raft.
Bái Yǔ: 120 Spirit Stones
@Guest99
@Jaguar2234
@Joker13
@_Plague Doctor_
@Ghost in the sun
@SteelWriter77
@DiscordOxymoron
@AmeliaNyoom
@SootCube
@Epic Bygones
@Zedalb
@Abyssius
@rush99999
Nearly a third of the disciples take up Elder Nianzu on his offer to help find spirit beast companions. The woods echo with the sounds of disciples as hundreds of aspiring cultivators search through the woods for appropriate companion beasts.
This of course riles up the forest and soon the search is an ongoing battle as the forest fights back. This of course plays right into Elder Nianzu's plans as prime specimens are captured in the midst of the battle and evaluated for suitability as matches to various disciples.
Most of the disciples end up with relatively common beasts such as pheasants, llamas, wolves, and deer. However even among these groups there are some stand outs. Jiang Chen receives a blue and white pheasant that radiates disdain even from inside its cage. Sun Won's regal orange pheasant keeps trying to fight the twin sleek silver pheasants that the Changjian twins found. And Liang Xinyue's pheasant looks like someone set it on fire and only belatedly changed their mind.
Bingxi picks her shadow panther cub out from a litter after it evades a score of other outer disciples in an attempt to escape. Liu Jin's ice fox is a magnificent specimen nearly as tall as a man and with three fluffy tails that glow with ice qi. Do Mwin finds a wolf whose muscles ripple with power. Zao Zao's squirrel seems unassuming, but it kept setting disciples on fire until Zao Zao was able to get it into a stone cage. Though not without a few burns of his own.
And then there are more exotic creatures. Stan Li's tortoise has herbs growing on it and constantly chews them to create primitive elixirs. Riyadh finds what looks like a normal cat wandering in the forest. However it somehow manages to avoid all the disciples and other spirit beasts that try to catch it. He is only able to finally catch it using most of his stored time to slow it down as it seems to leap from time to time.
Gu Jin's small shrew like creature doesn't seem to be native to the forest. It looks harmless, but the disciples note that all the other spirit beasts seem to be avoiding it. Wu Ji Nin finds a llama hound that seems to have wandered into the forest. Normally they're steadfast guardians of the province's llama herds, but this one seems to have become a spirit beast somehow. It joins Wu Ji Nin after he saves some junior disciples from a pack of spirit wolves.
And finally there is Hanyi Huoshui's baboon. Elder Nianzu finds the duo under a tree sharing liquor from Hanyi's gourd. Hanyi can't explain where it come from, but it seems perfectly content to drink with him. Elder Nianzu isn't actually sure if the vivid red face is the baboon's natural coloration or just a result of its drunkenness.
Jiang Chen: Azure Snow Pheasant (0/10)
Sun Won: Radiant Solar Pheasant (0/10)
Changjian Meinu: Shadowed Lunar Pheasant (0/10)
Liang Xinyue: White Ash Pheasant (0/10)
Liu Jin: Tri Tailed Ice Fox (0/10)
Bingxi: Shadow Panther (0/10)
Do Mwin: Tempered Bronze Wolf (0/10)
Zao Zao: Blazing Paw Squirrel (0/10), Injured
Stan Li: Five Herb Tortoise (0/10)
Riyadh: Nine Shadows Cat (0/10), Injured
Gu Jin: Skull Maple Sengi (0/10)
Wu Ji Nin: Steadfast Llama Hound (0/10), Injured
Hanyi Huoshui: Red Faced??? Baboon (0/10)
@szymonmolitoris2
@BadAtScreenNames
@LinkOnScepter
Hawk, Li, and Lin meet up for a private training session. They find a secluded glade where a ruined pagoda sits and ruined trees twist around giant blocks of stone. Away from elders, senior disciples, and onlookers they chat for a bit before getting down to the serious business of beating the shit out of each other.
The three don't fight with any rules or structure, simply leaping on each other with fists and feet. Hawk and Li will exchange blows before Lin jumps in to sweep their feet out from under them. Lin launches a blistering volley of fists at Lin that Hawk interrupts with some choice rock throws. And on and on they fight, training their bodies and learning from each other's techniques.
By the end of the month they have developed a synthesis of styles that revolves on fluid movements and the ability to easily switch from opponent to opponent in a chaotic melee.
Li: The Monkey Dance 2/3
Lín Guǐ: The Monkey Dance 2/3
Hawk "Primal Monkey" Cyr: The Monkey Dance 2/3
@Floom
It's a rare disciple that is able to call in a personal favor from an elder, but Wuyin has long since separated herself from the common masses. With his assistance she searches the towering stacks of scrolls and manuscripts for what she is looking for.
She finds lots of recipes that purport to do what she is looking for. But they either require heinously rare ingredients or are simply ineffective. Some of these look good enough to fool Wuyin, but Elder Nianzu is able to determine at what point they would fail.
Finally however, Wuyin is able to find a pill capable of doing what she wants. Potentially. It will require a number of rare ingredients from the Ancient Devil Forest. The rarest of which is the tongue of a Albino Devil Toad. But it should create an elixir that will concentrate a cultivator's essence and push them to their most ideal state.
Wuyin: The Purification of Self Elixir
@moon-llama
Foxy is still highly suspicious of the disciple who smells like a llama. Her instincts tell her that this is someone to be avoided lest she be kicked. However the two legged llama is providing her with lots of meat. Lots and lots of meat. Enough that Foxy is assuming a spherical state. She supposes she can tolerate the llama.
Foxy is now content to follow Luòtuó around without mauling anyone. Which is fortunate as given her ample diet and winter fur she looks like quite the fluffy fox, and many an errant disciple attempts to pet her. A few gashes on their limbs teach them their places.
Luòtuó: Foxy Reputation (10/10)
Quest Note: I think I got everyone, but let me know if I missed you. Also I am going to do Insights and Breakthroughs in a separate post. I think I'll probably open an interlude post at the same time.
Official Turn 16 Cultivation
| Peasants | Cultivation |
| Hawk "Primal Monkey" Cyr | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Lung Doji | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Hanyi Huoshui | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Wu Ji Nin | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Li | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Riyadh | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Changjian Meinu | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Wuyin | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Hong Xing | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Luòtuó | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Liao Chuanli | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Pan Tingfeng | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Daiki Inoue | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Gan Jia | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Liang Xinyue | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Ding Dong | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Jang Hui | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Yu Siyuan | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Jian Ke | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Jiang Chen | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| June Peng | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Tan Bo | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Cheng Nan | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Zao Zao | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 8/10 |
| Lucky Dong | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 5/10 |
| Do Mwin | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 1/10 |
| Bingxi | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 4/10 |
| Stan Li | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 4/10 |
| Sun Won | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 5/10 |
| Lín Guǐ | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 1/10 |
| Bái Yǔ | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: Done |
| Wan Tian | Tempered Heart: Done, Tempered Stomach: 0/10 |
| |
| Soldiers | Cultivation |
| Liu Jin | Forged Spine:27/40 |
| Cai Delan | Forged Spine:27/40 |
| Gu Jin | Forged Spine:41/40 |
| Xìngyùn xīng | Forged Spine:30/40 |
And yeah, I think I have an inkling on the remaining Enlightenments the twins should have in preparation to breaking through to Soldier...)
