All good things must come to an end--and while her adventures with the other members of the Five were a grand change of pace, exploring the limits of Turtlebone Mountain and discovering all manner of treasures, defeating all manner of foes, and generally making a name for themselves, Rina ultimately had to make her excuses and return home for her final preparations.
Because the twenty year grace period had concluded, and her Cultivation hadn't advanced much at all with the rationing on Spirit Stones she had to work with to keep up with the pace of the adventure. It was disappointing but she had gained greatly in treasures, fighting experience, and mental state--and she made some good friends too!
Her return back home to hear of the events of the past twenty years though was of moderate concern. Child Corpse Gulper being slain by the Grand Elder was a great thing! And apparently they even used much of his remains to fund the establishment of a great fortress to ward off the incursions of the Devil Bees! All good! Word of the beginning of another Demon Suppressing War in the Great Battlefield? Less so--most of her friends lived there! She hoped they'd all be okay!
Then there's the Jingshen jockeying for position, and the Hundred Year Trials looming further onward--and Rina couldn't help but feel that even
with her gains, it wasn't enough yet. Her Hundred League Boots still hadn't discharged their enchantment--which was good!
She absently rubbed the bracer she had picked up--a gift from Millet before they all departed--it served as a containment treasure for the drop of blood she recovered from the borders of the fortress. (Which had been dutifully recorded in the logs of the Clan's knowledge and a promise she would hear about it when the time came to investigate it)
Two great treasures--one to avoid an unwinnable battle, the other to take a battle that was just out of reach and turn it into one she could win. That was two emergency treasures, right?
"You seem troubled" A voice spoke up, Rina shifting from her seat with a start, looking up from the pond of the Callista Manor she had been staring into. Tall, barely touched by the Tarnish, more on the lanky side than anything else.
"Is it that obvious, Father?" Rina asked, shaking her head and looking back. "I just feel that events are getting out of control faster than I had feared. I don't regret the path I've taken--it's been rewarding so far…"
"But you're dissatisfied with how you can't participate more than this, hmm?" Jovi Callista mused, sitting down beside her. Middle of Foundation Establishment before he stalled out--a weaver of modest skill but no particular skill in combat save for the basic training expected of every cultivating adult of the Clan. "That's normal, for all that you've grown--you're still years away from even achieving the expected standard of anyone who reaches the next step"
"it almost feels like
cheating." Rina shakes her head. "I've not found a match within Essence Gathering since I set down the Keystone of Physique." She raised her hands before her and clenched them tightly. "For goodness sake, I drew blood from a Foundation Establishment fighter with a single blow! My body has become a thing that can crush anyone in my own age group…. And yet there's still that
wall standing before me."
"It's the fundamental failing of this world." Jovi mused. "You can be the most talented, the strongest of your generation, with skill that dwarfs anyone of your level." He snorts. "Then some snot-nosed kid half of your age finds the shopping list of some old monster, rises to Foundation Establishment, and cuts a swath before something puts him down.
Effort is never rewarded as much as simple dumb luck is."
"That doesn't feel right." Rina disagrees, biting her lower lip as she chews through it. "I've seen all matter of other techniques in my travels--I've seen people invoke the Five Elements to bind, burn, and heal alike. I've seen people with superlative skill that can summon forth trees and meadows where their arrow lands. I've even seen insight so clever that simply gazing upon a possibility causes it to become real." She sets her hands down to her sides, and sighs.
"And yet, all of this effort, all of this skill--and how many of the Blood Path have I clashed with? Not even the disciples of one of the great Sects--simply rogue cultivators who found some piecemeal legacy somewhere! Cultivation is supposed to be
hard!"
Jovi listens to Rina's remarks quietly, and takes a moment to think. "It is strange, is it not?"
"You know something?" Rina asked, turning her attention back to her father. He frowned. "I…
speculate something. Just the talk around the scholae when we're throwing ideas around." He waits for Rina to gesture for him to continue.
"It's just from the pieces of lore we've picked up and analyzed over the years of our clashes against the Devil Bees and the Blood Cannibals, plus all of the other Rogue Cultivators who keep springing up like weeds." He wiggles his hand. "Fundamentally, when we compare their techniques with our own, and those of the other great powers we have insight upon, their Paths and approaches are as varied as any other. Most great powers favor a Source of Essence, and an
approach."
"I've heard of this" Rina nods, following along. "Breath, Beasts, and Stone as the conventional sources, with Blood as the unorthodox."
"Yes, unorthodox." Jovi nods, getting into the lecture. "Breath, Beasts, and Stones are essentially interchangable, there is no great loss from switching from one to another--and so most organizations focus on the method that best suits the resources they have access to and adjust as matters change. Blood stands out, because once you begin employing it beyond the most superficial mechanisms--all other methods of accumulating Essence become useless. So one who begins on the Blood Path is forced to
remain on the Blood Path forevermore. But many of us have been wondering
why this is the case--because Essence is ultimately Essence--the source of it matters, but generally speaking, once ingested--one form of Essence is no different from the others."
"Isn't it supposed to be some kind of heavenly punishment?" Rina raises an eyebrow. "That they… 'Cast aside their humanity and are thus accursed?'"
"That's the answer most Righteous powers spit out, and I think that's a
part of it--ancestors know that we certainly know that the Heavens can warp natural law to punish one group or another… But the Heavens tend to make their genuine displeasure
very clear, as we know better than any others. it would be easier for the Heavens to simply restrict the effect of Blood Path once one is committed to it if the Heavens
genuinely were offended by its presence. This does not happen."
"...' Rina furrowed her brow and tapped her chin. "Are you advocating that the Heavens encourage monsters to
remain monsters by taking away all possible routes to veer off that path?"
"Not directly." Jovi shook his head. "What we know of the Heavens thus far--of the lore we have saved and found since--is that the Heavens seek
bloodshed above all else."
Rina's mouth hung open for a moment at that as the implications dawned on her. "It needs a punishment for any who seek peace." She turns red. "A very easy method to create villains, that rapidly outscales any other cultivation method in perversity and power, and can be set upon with the smallest scrap of legacy that was missed."
"And the only solution to this is vicious suppression of the people to keep population numbers down, and constant military patrols and executions of any Blood Cults that begin to develop." Jovi concluded. "Our thoughts are that the Blood Path exists in order to ensure that any stable society that sees no need for war is turned into kindling for a new fire, that justifies the violence and oppression of the other Powers. It is a constant temptation whispering in the ears of all powers, that you can raise your fortunes by devouring those neighbours who are weaker than you. That most powers develop grand codes of conduct in order to limit this impulse is to their credit--even if we do not have the luxury of being able to abide by those codes ourselves."
"So…" Rina started. "There's basically nothing that can be done? We just have to accept that we're never going to be free of the monsters?"
"Not anytime soon" Jovi shrugged, then poked Rina's forehead. "That's for the likes of
you to deal with. Ordinary people can't change the world--it's too well made and too comfortable in its status quo to change. It takes someone who has the will to push beyond the 'Obvious' path. There's too many cheats and legacies out there that will punish anyone who operates within the limits of this world."
"I'm not really the best choice for this, am I?" Rina whispered after a moment. But finds herself pulled into a hug. "You're Rina Callista, Cultivator of the Golden Devils and one of the most promising members of our generation. You have a very real chance of achieving the Four Olympian Keystones and rising to levels we've not seen before. As long as you don't lose that heart and compassion of yours on the way, you'll have a shot at it." He patted her on the back and broke it off. "On that note…" He reaches into the satchel at his side, and withdraws a coil of braided rope, tossing it towards the flummoxed and flushed Rina. "Your mother and I have been working on that the past twenty years. Empower it with your Essence and throw it at your problem, as long as they're not at Core Formation, it'll bind them for at least a minute. More than enough time to make good your escape. Those boots are pretty good but more safety nets are always for the best when you're going into a Secret Realm."
"Thanks?" Rina mumbled. "I'll try not to need it though!" She takes a deep breath, holds it for a moment, and lets it out, before slapping her cheeks. "Right! Thanks for the talk Dad! I'll be in there and out in a jiffy! I'll be ready for those trials before anyone knows it!"
"That's my girl!" Jovi smiled. "We'll be waiting for you on the other side!"
"Just try not to get into any trouble before I get back!" Rina hopped up to her feet. "If I'm going to do this champion of the clan thing, I'll need a Clan to come home to in the first place!"
She was as ready as she'd ever be for the next leg of her adventure! The Qiguai Secret Realm was a dangerous place, in a piece of space well beyond the Third Sea and its environs. Many had explored it in the past, few had plumbed the depths of its secrets. Many had been slain in their attempts to seek lucky chances outside the Third Sea, but others actually
succeeded.
She had the training, she had the strength, and she had the tools to excel. If she couldn't make a killing here, who could?
Nobody, that was who!
She still held those thoughts in mind in the days ahead, as she travelled the desert roads to the Hard Shell Mountains, climbing the many peaks, and facing many a mighty beast on the journey to the Qiguai Clan's lands.
Of course, arrival turned out to be less… Full of gravitas than expected.
"Rules are simple" The bored guide claimed, yawning. "The Secret Realm opens for one year--Qi Condensation can enter once every twenty years, and one third of your material findings are to be remanded to the Qiguai Clan on departure if you want to have any hopes of coming back again. To compensate for immaterial gains, there is a list of treasures and contribution point values on one of those Jade Slips there." He gestured to a tray with several planted there.
"Long as you've got enough treasures to exchange a value of one third of your overall gains? We're happy, you'll be happy, and we'll welcome you back if you decide to return for the Foundation Establishment bracket--presuming you survive your Tribulation at any rate." He lowered the book he was reading, and raised an eyebrow.
"Golden Devil, huh?" He shrugs. "Most of the tribulation-effecting stuff has been cleaned out for this last little bit if that's what you're looking for."
"It'd be nice to have, but I'm just here to try my luck and see what happens" Rina smiles and bows her head. "Thank you for your assistance." She reaches into her satchel and counts out a few spirit stones, passing them over. "Huh, a courteous girl" He smiles and accepts the spirit stones. "I'll give you a little tip for what it's worth." He gestures up to a symbol on the top of the portal. "People tend to have better luck on arrival when the symbol there is pointing to the right. It's still up to luck for the most part--but most peopel don't end up getting spat out inside a beast's den at the very least. Be boring if your trip ended that soon, wouldn't it?" He grinned and sat back again. "Best of luck!"
"I don't need luck" Rina looked up at the doorway to the Secret Realm. "I'll make my own, with my own hands and my own preparations." She took a deep breath, steadied herself--and waited for the symbol to shift to the correct direction.
Then she flung herself into the gateway, and found herself in another world entire.
[
Rina Callista has entered the Qiguai Clan Secret Realm.
Results have been rolled and provided to me already, further installments in this series will provide a dramatization of the events that unfold.
Please wait warmly until it's ready!]
