That sounds disturbingly... not really plausible, but almost. As if he could help big E and/or got confused when the other overpowered human showed upWhat are you guys talking about? Adam already visited Warhammer.
It's canonical even. After all, isn't one of Big E's names... Adam?
I know theoretically WH doesn't specify his name, after all he was already ancient when the Roman Empire was forming... but it's fun to imagine Adam living for over 40k years and slipping up due to getting bored. After all, the Golden Age of Technology sounds like Adam's thing, no?
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
Jordisk
<Unverified N00B>
- Location
- Blind Eternities
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
But the whole "Sons" thing doesn't. Plus Adam is really big into augmentation. Basically the only thing that fits is the name and general power level. Adam of the Blue Flame is not Adam Kadmon.What are you guys talking about? Adam already visited Warhammer.
It's canonical even. After all, isn't one of Big E's names... Adam?
I know theoretically WH doesn't specify his name, after all he was already ancient when the Roman Empire was forming... but it's fun to imagine Adam living for over 40k years and slipping up due to getting bored. After all, the Golden Age of Technology sounds like Adam's thing, no?
Arc 2: Can we move on yet?
- Location
- Here
There were too many seeds.
Adam knew, intellectually, that he couldn't dedicate all seven gardens to just research. But emotionally, he wanted to science so hard! All that raw, juicy science, right THERE!
With a sigh, he moved on to gathering a preliminary overview.
The concept was simple: Staged testing. Get SOME data to drastically reduce the testing requirements, maybe allow Rockette to test two or more seeds at a time on one field.
First test: Which Soil Grids can make these seeds germinate.
These things are fickle, but it was easy to determine whether or not a seed was TRYING to grow within an hour or less. Visually, not much changes... but the seed's attempts at absorbing spirit energy was obvious.
There were 131 seeds Adam got from trade, and most only could grow on less than five Soil Grid garden plots on the whole, massive grid. Rockette could match up seeds with vastly different requirements so that one Soil Grid Garden cave could test several at once.
It helped a little... so far the best combination was a group of really fickle seedlings, eight of which could be tested at one time on one Grid without conflict.
Still... the next stage would require time, no matter HOW optimized the growing environments were. He could get SOMETHING within a day or so, but since he had already promised Sister Quan to give the crops a bit of time... best let Rockette determine when to harvest.
Currently, he was able to detect around four harvesting phases using spiritual sensing: Initial budding, when the seed stops sprouting; initial growth, when the plant first matures but before fruit or seeds are prepared; initial production, the first time the plant produces fruits or seeds or edible leaves/roots (Sometimes more special than following harvests); and final production, the harvest just before the plant dies or goes into hibernation for winter.
Each of these stages could be detected because the plants suddenly absorb more or less spiritual energy, which was child's play for Rockette to track. Sadly, she had learned these tricks not by watching Adam's garden, but by watching the Pasture Caves.
Because the flame plants THERE were not being sanitized by Adam's paranoia every day or so.
Oops.
Anyway, it would take time to build up some base statistics on each seed, which growth periods to focus on, and how those stages of growth affect the harvested results. Once the data was gathered, it would take LONGER tests to find out what spiritual energies would produce what changes over which length of time... though 'Research' would make some useful estimated guesses to start with.
Adam frowned.
Now that he thought about it, even the original seeds and stuff from the old Soil Grid gardens could use these tests.
Rockette: Use two Grids to gather base data from our old plants, four for the new stuff, and one for the most promising results we stumble upon. When the old plant's data gathering catches up to the new stuff, dedicate all six fields to experimentation.
Ding!
Good.
Eventually, the Soil Grids would finish copying over and he could begin making more safely... Well, mostly safely.
For now, it shouldn't be an issue. Rockette took the emergency growth caves Adam had made back when he planned on building dozens of Soil Grids, moved them down to the Second Floor of the Crystal Caverns, and replaced the former location of those Soil Grid Caves with two new caverns: Food Caverns and Material Caverns.
Food Caverns had plots of land dedicated to each combination of plant, soil, and spiritual energy mixes that produced edible products determined to be 'successes'.
Material Caverns had the various trees (for lumber), cultivation enhancing resources (Don't add to your meatloaf! Not normal seasoning!), and odd, hopefully useful plants that produce tradable goods. Like the berries that light up when exposed to poison... could be useful to detect invisible attacks or someone trying to 'enhance' your food.
So now, after some shifting, the Crystal Caverns were now a bit different.
First level, the observation floor and/or the relaxation deck. Lots of seating, with a central spiral staircase/ramp when done with watching the outside world. Has some decorative plants and Soul Water fountains, pools, and other such features.
Second level, the production floor. Pastures for the Four Eye Flame Bull (Chickens?), with side caves attached for future farm animals. The Food Caverns and Material Caverns, set opposite to each other so no one makes a dumb mistake when going to collect something personally rather than have Rockette do the harvesting. And something that... well Adam hadn't asked for.
Apparently, Sister Quan and a few guards asked Rockette to make a Garden Cavern on this floor. Purely for relaxation and viewing nature, it was a shifting network of Soil samples, plants, and more that were determined not to produce anything interesting as far as food or materials for construction were concerned... but that looked pretty and smelled nice.
You know, without also attacking the mind or whatever.
Adam felt his focus wander the new cavern. Most of it had interesting flowers, some trees with pretty leaf colorings or the more odd wood bark patterns (Glowing, shaped like stars, etc). The cavern was large, Rockette was doing some energy manipulation to make the roof look like sky, the dirt paths and gravel trails meandered without point through the greenery.
...It was kind of nice.
Meh, it can stay.
Third level, the Habitation Floor. Cultivation Caves, the Yin Yang Cavern (With Yin Pool, Yang Platform, and Yin Yang Cycle Pond within!), Housing and Communal Areas (embedded into the circular walls of the main chambers), Workshops, and Storage (Food, trade stock, traveling supplies, etc).
Little Tianshi's 'Tree House' took up the ceiling of the Third Level, and expanded upward in strange directions since Rockette expanded the space as the little girl built up her plant based housing. The Martial Spirit was doing quite a bit of background work to make sure Adam's disciple didn't accidentally break through to the Second Level in her house expansion... some spatial manipulation might be involved.
The Soul Water river was moved like the Soil Grid Garden test caves and the Asura Eye Cave... no longer available to anyone inside the Martial Spirit, caves detached from the floors themselves, only reachable by Adam or Rockette. Same for the Energy Cavern Network, where purified Spiritual Energy was being harvested, gathered, cleansed, and increased.
His plan? Anything too dangerous would not be part of the official 'Caverns', so to speak.
Just... hidden away in crystal caves, only himself and his Martial Spirit at theoretical risk.
Shifting the caves around a little, Adam realized that the Asura Eye seemed... lonely. The black stone with its white eye was... just sort of drooping in the cave of pulsing poison and power.
Aww.
Alright.
Bouncing with eagerness, the eye blinked... and appeared on Adam's forehead.
Everything shifted.
Just... not in one of the normal directions... it all drifted... inward? No, he had just traveled to... uh. Not North, South, nor Southwest? More Dennis, or Denniswest?
No, that didn't seem right.
Anyway, the world was different now. His mind was easily connected to the small, fist sized stone relaxing on his forehead, the object itself rotating around and looking at... Oh.
Right, he was sitting in a wagon.
Because they had joined a caravan, his guards were fighting that interesting Vine Lion, and he MIGHT have gotten too excited about the new seed supply.
Adam stood slowly, stretching his muscles. Right.
Let's catch up with everyone.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sister Quan turned to the volunteer merchant group. "This is batch NC1v4! Please write down your thoughts, but eat slowly... sometimes the taste changes if you finish too soon!"
NC1v4 was part of the NC, or Non-Cultivator Series of produce. They may have low level spiritual energy within, but not enough to damage a healthy person with no cultivation base.
This was from batch 1, a vine like plant that no one could easily identify, and this was variant four, grown with a higher clay content in the soul and with strong earth aligned spiritual energy. Hopefully, the berries produced would taste more interesting.
Each time a batch was selected, she tried to process it several ways for the testing. Raw of course, boiled, steamed, juiced (In this case), fried, baked, grilled, and dried.
They already had a few good results from this level of thoroughness! One of the root plants that had previously been considered worthless gained a strong, nutty flavor when baked or grilled, Sister Quan had Rockette add it to the production caves almost instantly after taking a bite of it! The stuff made an amazing crumble topping for pastries!
A glance to the right however made her want to groan.
These Frosted Tiger Sect cultivators were... far less useful.
Another wave of 'Ooh!' showed that the C2v14 fruit was being distributed.
Their opinions were just... useless.
It didn't matter what the plant tasted like, or what the texture changed to, or how large or small the product was... to the cultivators, they only cared about one thing.
Spiritual Energy Density.
Which, while important, wasn't what they were testing for right now.
After all, Adam could easily determine the best, optimized ratio of energy mixes to ensure healthy and rapid plant growth FULL of useful power for a cultivator to advance with.
That wasn't the point, as strange as that concept was.
No, they were trying to find the best tasting, easiest to absorb, least dangerous Spiritual Herbs possible so it could be introduced to the Burning Sword Sect for mass production. Eventually.
So getting a dozen cultivators saying how awesome everything is? Not that useful.
She held back a grumble as she reached the first tasting station, belonging to a nice young lady. "This root is primarily plant and earth aligned, with minor amounts of colder spiritual energies. How was it?"
The girl looked up with wide eyes. "It is amazing! WAY better than the cultivation pills I get per month, and easier to absorb energy from!"
She nodded. "And what about the raw version? Or the juiced root?"
The child seemed far more hesitant now. "It was... nice?" She looked a little green. "Yeah, it was fine."
Sister Quan wanted to grab the kids shoulders and shake her. "You don't HAVE to say that for all of them. Just because you didn't like one method of spiritual root preparation does NOT mean that we will make you leave the taste testing."
The child seemed to hold back something, looking sick. "NO NO! I love the... juiced... root."
Oh god, she was trying to force herself to drink it, even looking like that.
Sister Quan gently took the samples away. "I am working with Sister Dian, and neither she NOR I wish you to force yourself to consume something you do not like."
Damn, she looked like she was going to cry. "But... but it is the best cultivation resource I've ever had! I need to be a good cultivator, I can't say no just because it tastes like... like that!"
She winced. Bad memories from living in the orphanage, where even in the good years getting a powerful cultivation pill or herb meant suffering through hardship for even the chance of improving one's advancement.
Sister Quan gently hugged the girl. "Don't worry, we have LOADS more herbs and spiritual plants that need testing... this isn't even a fraction of the stuff to be tried, don't force yourself to suffer like this."
She quietly tried to settle the emotional child. "Right now, you are helping out your Sect AND our own by letting us know which methods these new, never previously discovered resources should use when during preparation. If you force yourself to accept a terrible method, it may force your future friends and Sect members to use those preparation styles as well."
Seeing the horror, Sister Quan chuckled. "Now, please document truthfully which methods made C2v14 taste good, and which ones should be avoided. You won't be punished."
Getting the far less stressed child to nod, she moved on to the next tasting station.
...The boy was turning red.
Sister Quan wanted to scream. "Are you allergic to root vegetables?"
He looked shifty. "Mrnooo?"
She glared. "Are you sure?"
The boy drooped. "Mraybe."
Damn it.
~~~Broken Addventure~~~
Sister Dian felt the young man from the Burning Sword Sect move up next to her. "Done with your meditation?"
They watched the guards continue to fight the Vine Lion in the distance as he responded. "Yeah, for now. Managed to find one of your caravan merchants with a personal seed collection! What are the odds?"
Considering that merchants were weird people, pretty high actually. It was almost a requirement that the ones she got to know had SOME sort of odd collection. That one guy with the rock collection went bankrupt because he didn't have room for more merchandise since his wagon was full of gravel. "Anything neat?"
Brother Adam sighed. "Maybe? I gave Rockette the samples, but it will take time for them to grow."
She blinked. "Rockette?" Sounded like a stripper. In the distance, a guard managed to grab a vine before the beast disconnected it... yeah, the monster was being worn down pretty badly at this point.
Adam held out his hand... and that strange crystal Spirit Beast appeared in his hand. "My Martial Spirit. She's like a storage ring, so I get her to hold my stuff."
Her brain stumbled.
What?
She looked closer at the... happy looking rock. "What the hell!?"
Adam bounced the rock on his palm, her happy 'Ding!' ringing in the air. "Yeah, it's super useful when traveling." He pointed at his guards. "How long have they been fighting?"
Just... let it go. Powerful Sects had bullshit treasures anyway, how was this any more bizarre than that one girl who had a talking sword? THAT wasn't even a Martial Spirit, just some heavenly treasure that wouldn't shut up about stabbing people.
She focused on the fight. "At this point, the five are doing shift work. Every hour, the fifth one replaces the most tired member of the assault... been going on for a day or so."
Adam frowned. "That... that is too long."
He snapped his fingers, the resting guard appearing knelt before him. "Report."
The woman nodded. "Sir, the Spirit Beast has a stamina recovery ability and medium level regeneration. At the current rate of Qi depletion, we will successfully restrain the beast within two days, seven hours."
Glancing at the nearby former battle ground, still covered with blood despite attempts to cleanse the area... his frown didn't change. "We won't be able to travel for that long... won't the smell attract more monsters?"
A nod. "Two unrelated Spirit Beasts have already attacked since the battle has started, we have managed to handle both additional assaults... but the delay in the main offensive allowed the Target to recover significantly and slowed our progress."
He sighed. "Look, your main task was to delay the beasts until the caravan could recover and the defenders were healed." He waved at her. "Sister Dian is recovered, your job is done. Let me help."
The woman frowned. "But sir! Just... just another day or so!"
Adam sighed again. "If you FORCE yourself to decrease your time estimates, would it also increase the chance of injury? Or even death?"
A reluctant nod.
Adam walked forward. "Tell the others that I will provide an opening, nothing more. Then they can capture the beast."
She seemed relieved! "Thank you, young master!"
Sister Dian followed along curiously. "What are you going to do? The creature has strong skin and fierce attacks."
Adam grinned. "Between you and me? I have a little friend I am taking for a walk, and she wants to help out a bit." He hummed. "Poor thing was pretty lonely before we met, and really wants to make herself useful."
As they neared the conflict, one of the other guards appeared next to the boy. "Sir! We are prepared to assist!"
He nodded. "Right." And... then he paused. "Oh... new order, don't tell Sister Quan what I am about to do, don't want her freaking out about this."
The guard paused, her stance weary. "...About what?"
Adam glared at the still attacking beast... and then everything went quiet.
She couldn't move.
The guard couldn't move.
The massive lion was frozen in mid attack, its sharp claws mid air and tentacles mid swipe.
The strange boy grinned... "Asura Eye: Inner Conflict."
Something she couldn't quite see on his forehead pulsed...
And the massive Spirit Beast collapsed to the torn soil, quivering.
...No one moved.
Adam blinked. "Right! That should do it." He turned his normal looking face and blinked at everyone else. "Well? Capture it, please!"
Five shaken 'Yes Sir!' later and the monster was moved to Adam... and swallowed by a ghost like clone of his supposed Martial Spirit.
...What. The. Hell.
Adam clapped. "Good job everyone! Now, guard squad: Are you rested enough to continue or do you need to change shifts?"
The five knelt. "Sir, no Sir! We can continue duties!"
He nodded, turning and walking back to the camp, Sister Dian absently following. "New orders are to guard the perimeter, one to continue protection detail for Sister Quan, and another to interview the merchants AND the Sect disciples. I want a full list of merchandise for sale, NON merchandise that MIGHT be for sale, and any treasures the cultivators may be willing to trade for techniques, resources, or cultivation guidance."
"SIR!" And they were off.
Adam sighed. "Now... now I have a limited amount of time before Sister Quan returns to the others and either my darling little Tianshi spills the beans or the Head Guard reports on my actions. That is going to suck."
...Somehow, Sister Dian felt he deserved everything the other nice lady would be ranting about.
Adam knew, intellectually, that he couldn't dedicate all seven gardens to just research. But emotionally, he wanted to science so hard! All that raw, juicy science, right THERE!
With a sigh, he moved on to gathering a preliminary overview.
The concept was simple: Staged testing. Get SOME data to drastically reduce the testing requirements, maybe allow Rockette to test two or more seeds at a time on one field.
First test: Which Soil Grids can make these seeds germinate.
These things are fickle, but it was easy to determine whether or not a seed was TRYING to grow within an hour or less. Visually, not much changes... but the seed's attempts at absorbing spirit energy was obvious.
There were 131 seeds Adam got from trade, and most only could grow on less than five Soil Grid garden plots on the whole, massive grid. Rockette could match up seeds with vastly different requirements so that one Soil Grid Garden cave could test several at once.
It helped a little... so far the best combination was a group of really fickle seedlings, eight of which could be tested at one time on one Grid without conflict.
Still... the next stage would require time, no matter HOW optimized the growing environments were. He could get SOMETHING within a day or so, but since he had already promised Sister Quan to give the crops a bit of time... best let Rockette determine when to harvest.
Currently, he was able to detect around four harvesting phases using spiritual sensing: Initial budding, when the seed stops sprouting; initial growth, when the plant first matures but before fruit or seeds are prepared; initial production, the first time the plant produces fruits or seeds or edible leaves/roots (Sometimes more special than following harvests); and final production, the harvest just before the plant dies or goes into hibernation for winter.
Each of these stages could be detected because the plants suddenly absorb more or less spiritual energy, which was child's play for Rockette to track. Sadly, she had learned these tricks not by watching Adam's garden, but by watching the Pasture Caves.
Because the flame plants THERE were not being sanitized by Adam's paranoia every day or so.
Oops.
Anyway, it would take time to build up some base statistics on each seed, which growth periods to focus on, and how those stages of growth affect the harvested results. Once the data was gathered, it would take LONGER tests to find out what spiritual energies would produce what changes over which length of time... though 'Research' would make some useful estimated guesses to start with.
Adam frowned.
Now that he thought about it, even the original seeds and stuff from the old Soil Grid gardens could use these tests.
Rockette: Use two Grids to gather base data from our old plants, four for the new stuff, and one for the most promising results we stumble upon. When the old plant's data gathering catches up to the new stuff, dedicate all six fields to experimentation.
Ding!
Good.
Eventually, the Soil Grids would finish copying over and he could begin making more safely... Well, mostly safely.
For now, it shouldn't be an issue. Rockette took the emergency growth caves Adam had made back when he planned on building dozens of Soil Grids, moved them down to the Second Floor of the Crystal Caverns, and replaced the former location of those Soil Grid Caves with two new caverns: Food Caverns and Material Caverns.
Food Caverns had plots of land dedicated to each combination of plant, soil, and spiritual energy mixes that produced edible products determined to be 'successes'.
Material Caverns had the various trees (for lumber), cultivation enhancing resources (Don't add to your meatloaf! Not normal seasoning!), and odd, hopefully useful plants that produce tradable goods. Like the berries that light up when exposed to poison... could be useful to detect invisible attacks or someone trying to 'enhance' your food.
So now, after some shifting, the Crystal Caverns were now a bit different.
First level, the observation floor and/or the relaxation deck. Lots of seating, with a central spiral staircase/ramp when done with watching the outside world. Has some decorative plants and Soul Water fountains, pools, and other such features.
Second level, the production floor. Pastures for the Four Eye Flame Bull (Chickens?), with side caves attached for future farm animals. The Food Caverns and Material Caverns, set opposite to each other so no one makes a dumb mistake when going to collect something personally rather than have Rockette do the harvesting. And something that... well Adam hadn't asked for.
Apparently, Sister Quan and a few guards asked Rockette to make a Garden Cavern on this floor. Purely for relaxation and viewing nature, it was a shifting network of Soil samples, plants, and more that were determined not to produce anything interesting as far as food or materials for construction were concerned... but that looked pretty and smelled nice.
You know, without also attacking the mind or whatever.
Adam felt his focus wander the new cavern. Most of it had interesting flowers, some trees with pretty leaf colorings or the more odd wood bark patterns (Glowing, shaped like stars, etc). The cavern was large, Rockette was doing some energy manipulation to make the roof look like sky, the dirt paths and gravel trails meandered without point through the greenery.
...It was kind of nice.
Meh, it can stay.
Third level, the Habitation Floor. Cultivation Caves, the Yin Yang Cavern (With Yin Pool, Yang Platform, and Yin Yang Cycle Pond within!), Housing and Communal Areas (embedded into the circular walls of the main chambers), Workshops, and Storage (Food, trade stock, traveling supplies, etc).
Little Tianshi's 'Tree House' took up the ceiling of the Third Level, and expanded upward in strange directions since Rockette expanded the space as the little girl built up her plant based housing. The Martial Spirit was doing quite a bit of background work to make sure Adam's disciple didn't accidentally break through to the Second Level in her house expansion... some spatial manipulation might be involved.
The Soul Water river was moved like the Soil Grid Garden test caves and the Asura Eye Cave... no longer available to anyone inside the Martial Spirit, caves detached from the floors themselves, only reachable by Adam or Rockette. Same for the Energy Cavern Network, where purified Spiritual Energy was being harvested, gathered, cleansed, and increased.
His plan? Anything too dangerous would not be part of the official 'Caverns', so to speak.
Just... hidden away in crystal caves, only himself and his Martial Spirit at theoretical risk.
Shifting the caves around a little, Adam realized that the Asura Eye seemed... lonely. The black stone with its white eye was... just sort of drooping in the cave of pulsing poison and power.
Aww.
Alright.
Bouncing with eagerness, the eye blinked... and appeared on Adam's forehead.
Everything shifted.
Just... not in one of the normal directions... it all drifted... inward? No, he had just traveled to... uh. Not North, South, nor Southwest? More Dennis, or Denniswest?
No, that didn't seem right.
Anyway, the world was different now. His mind was easily connected to the small, fist sized stone relaxing on his forehead, the object itself rotating around and looking at... Oh.
Right, he was sitting in a wagon.
Because they had joined a caravan, his guards were fighting that interesting Vine Lion, and he MIGHT have gotten too excited about the new seed supply.
Adam stood slowly, stretching his muscles. Right.
Let's catch up with everyone.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sister Quan turned to the volunteer merchant group. "This is batch NC1v4! Please write down your thoughts, but eat slowly... sometimes the taste changes if you finish too soon!"
NC1v4 was part of the NC, or Non-Cultivator Series of produce. They may have low level spiritual energy within, but not enough to damage a healthy person with no cultivation base.
This was from batch 1, a vine like plant that no one could easily identify, and this was variant four, grown with a higher clay content in the soul and with strong earth aligned spiritual energy. Hopefully, the berries produced would taste more interesting.
Each time a batch was selected, she tried to process it several ways for the testing. Raw of course, boiled, steamed, juiced (In this case), fried, baked, grilled, and dried.
They already had a few good results from this level of thoroughness! One of the root plants that had previously been considered worthless gained a strong, nutty flavor when baked or grilled, Sister Quan had Rockette add it to the production caves almost instantly after taking a bite of it! The stuff made an amazing crumble topping for pastries!
A glance to the right however made her want to groan.
These Frosted Tiger Sect cultivators were... far less useful.
Another wave of 'Ooh!' showed that the C2v14 fruit was being distributed.
Their opinions were just... useless.
It didn't matter what the plant tasted like, or what the texture changed to, or how large or small the product was... to the cultivators, they only cared about one thing.
Spiritual Energy Density.
Which, while important, wasn't what they were testing for right now.
After all, Adam could easily determine the best, optimized ratio of energy mixes to ensure healthy and rapid plant growth FULL of useful power for a cultivator to advance with.
That wasn't the point, as strange as that concept was.
No, they were trying to find the best tasting, easiest to absorb, least dangerous Spiritual Herbs possible so it could be introduced to the Burning Sword Sect for mass production. Eventually.
So getting a dozen cultivators saying how awesome everything is? Not that useful.
She held back a grumble as she reached the first tasting station, belonging to a nice young lady. "This root is primarily plant and earth aligned, with minor amounts of colder spiritual energies. How was it?"
The girl looked up with wide eyes. "It is amazing! WAY better than the cultivation pills I get per month, and easier to absorb energy from!"
She nodded. "And what about the raw version? Or the juiced root?"
The child seemed far more hesitant now. "It was... nice?" She looked a little green. "Yeah, it was fine."
Sister Quan wanted to grab the kids shoulders and shake her. "You don't HAVE to say that for all of them. Just because you didn't like one method of spiritual root preparation does NOT mean that we will make you leave the taste testing."
The child seemed to hold back something, looking sick. "NO NO! I love the... juiced... root."
Oh god, she was trying to force herself to drink it, even looking like that.
Sister Quan gently took the samples away. "I am working with Sister Dian, and neither she NOR I wish you to force yourself to consume something you do not like."
Damn, she looked like she was going to cry. "But... but it is the best cultivation resource I've ever had! I need to be a good cultivator, I can't say no just because it tastes like... like that!"
She winced. Bad memories from living in the orphanage, where even in the good years getting a powerful cultivation pill or herb meant suffering through hardship for even the chance of improving one's advancement.
Sister Quan gently hugged the girl. "Don't worry, we have LOADS more herbs and spiritual plants that need testing... this isn't even a fraction of the stuff to be tried, don't force yourself to suffer like this."
She quietly tried to settle the emotional child. "Right now, you are helping out your Sect AND our own by letting us know which methods these new, never previously discovered resources should use when during preparation. If you force yourself to accept a terrible method, it may force your future friends and Sect members to use those preparation styles as well."
Seeing the horror, Sister Quan chuckled. "Now, please document truthfully which methods made C2v14 taste good, and which ones should be avoided. You won't be punished."
Getting the far less stressed child to nod, she moved on to the next tasting station.
...The boy was turning red.
Sister Quan wanted to scream. "Are you allergic to root vegetables?"
He looked shifty. "Mrnooo?"
She glared. "Are you sure?"
The boy drooped. "Mraybe."
Damn it.
~~~Broken Addventure~~~
Sister Dian felt the young man from the Burning Sword Sect move up next to her. "Done with your meditation?"
They watched the guards continue to fight the Vine Lion in the distance as he responded. "Yeah, for now. Managed to find one of your caravan merchants with a personal seed collection! What are the odds?"
Considering that merchants were weird people, pretty high actually. It was almost a requirement that the ones she got to know had SOME sort of odd collection. That one guy with the rock collection went bankrupt because he didn't have room for more merchandise since his wagon was full of gravel. "Anything neat?"
Brother Adam sighed. "Maybe? I gave Rockette the samples, but it will take time for them to grow."
She blinked. "Rockette?" Sounded like a stripper. In the distance, a guard managed to grab a vine before the beast disconnected it... yeah, the monster was being worn down pretty badly at this point.
Adam held out his hand... and that strange crystal Spirit Beast appeared in his hand. "My Martial Spirit. She's like a storage ring, so I get her to hold my stuff."
Her brain stumbled.
What?
She looked closer at the... happy looking rock. "What the hell!?"
Adam bounced the rock on his palm, her happy 'Ding!' ringing in the air. "Yeah, it's super useful when traveling." He pointed at his guards. "How long have they been fighting?"
Just... let it go. Powerful Sects had bullshit treasures anyway, how was this any more bizarre than that one girl who had a talking sword? THAT wasn't even a Martial Spirit, just some heavenly treasure that wouldn't shut up about stabbing people.
She focused on the fight. "At this point, the five are doing shift work. Every hour, the fifth one replaces the most tired member of the assault... been going on for a day or so."
Adam frowned. "That... that is too long."
He snapped his fingers, the resting guard appearing knelt before him. "Report."
The woman nodded. "Sir, the Spirit Beast has a stamina recovery ability and medium level regeneration. At the current rate of Qi depletion, we will successfully restrain the beast within two days, seven hours."
Glancing at the nearby former battle ground, still covered with blood despite attempts to cleanse the area... his frown didn't change. "We won't be able to travel for that long... won't the smell attract more monsters?"
A nod. "Two unrelated Spirit Beasts have already attacked since the battle has started, we have managed to handle both additional assaults... but the delay in the main offensive allowed the Target to recover significantly and slowed our progress."
He sighed. "Look, your main task was to delay the beasts until the caravan could recover and the defenders were healed." He waved at her. "Sister Dian is recovered, your job is done. Let me help."
The woman frowned. "But sir! Just... just another day or so!"
Adam sighed again. "If you FORCE yourself to decrease your time estimates, would it also increase the chance of injury? Or even death?"
A reluctant nod.
Adam walked forward. "Tell the others that I will provide an opening, nothing more. Then they can capture the beast."
She seemed relieved! "Thank you, young master!"
Sister Dian followed along curiously. "What are you going to do? The creature has strong skin and fierce attacks."
Adam grinned. "Between you and me? I have a little friend I am taking for a walk, and she wants to help out a bit." He hummed. "Poor thing was pretty lonely before we met, and really wants to make herself useful."
As they neared the conflict, one of the other guards appeared next to the boy. "Sir! We are prepared to assist!"
He nodded. "Right." And... then he paused. "Oh... new order, don't tell Sister Quan what I am about to do, don't want her freaking out about this."
The guard paused, her stance weary. "...About what?"
Adam glared at the still attacking beast... and then everything went quiet.
She couldn't move.
The guard couldn't move.
The massive lion was frozen in mid attack, its sharp claws mid air and tentacles mid swipe.
The strange boy grinned... "Asura Eye: Inner Conflict."
Something she couldn't quite see on his forehead pulsed...
And the massive Spirit Beast collapsed to the torn soil, quivering.
...No one moved.
Adam blinked. "Right! That should do it." He turned his normal looking face and blinked at everyone else. "Well? Capture it, please!"
Five shaken 'Yes Sir!' later and the monster was moved to Adam... and swallowed by a ghost like clone of his supposed Martial Spirit.
...What. The. Hell.
Adam clapped. "Good job everyone! Now, guard squad: Are you rested enough to continue or do you need to change shifts?"
The five knelt. "Sir, no Sir! We can continue duties!"
He nodded, turning and walking back to the camp, Sister Dian absently following. "New orders are to guard the perimeter, one to continue protection detail for Sister Quan, and another to interview the merchants AND the Sect disciples. I want a full list of merchandise for sale, NON merchandise that MIGHT be for sale, and any treasures the cultivators may be willing to trade for techniques, resources, or cultivation guidance."
"SIR!" And they were off.
Adam sighed. "Now... now I have a limited amount of time before Sister Quan returns to the others and either my darling little Tianshi spills the beans or the Head Guard reports on my actions. That is going to suck."
...Somehow, Sister Dian felt he deserved everything the other nice lady would be ranting about.
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...The Asura Stone is supposed to be Yin related, right? And the Bone Walker Eye came from the Yin half, right?
So why is the attack called Inner Conflict instead of Outer Conflict? I thought Yang was inner, and Yin was outer?
So why is the attack called Inner Conflict instead of Outer Conflict? I thought Yang was inner, and Yin was outer?
- Location
- The Void
it's adam , i'm pretty sure he is naming things wrong for LoL'S and the enemy can't prepare if u say the opposite of what ya doing.
Asura eye?
- Location
- Here
The Stone and the Eye both mutated pretty heavily when the poison chamber became balanced with the yin and yang poison. Technically it could be considered a yin yang eye of conceptual poison at this point I think, even if it's still pretty heavily influenced by the undead nature of the energies involved.
As for the attack itself, it isn't attacking the body... But the mind. Just on an informational side note: there is an " outer conflict" version of the attack... But that one does some pretty horrific things to the body.
- Location
- Canada
I'm a tad confused by something. How did he turn one seed into multiple? Up until now I had thought he was collecting seeds/samples as they went, but it sounds like he's duplicating them somehow.
- Location
- Here
He has a sample to build high quality spirit sense scans from. Then he simply manipulates excessive plant matter into a duplicate pattern, forces the spiritual energies within to match, and it is conceptually identical. Good enough for this reality to fix any small differences.
This is how he is able to have so many duplicate plants starting material in the previous soil grid gardens despite killing the things every day to ensure nothing mutates into sentient life-forms.
To be fair he doesn't even consider that particularly interesting...it's just something he does so he doesn't have to keep looking for seeds and plant saplings out in the wilderness.
You know, boring everyday stuff.
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Not turning one seed into multiple, just able to pay close enough attention during testing to instantly stop any tests that would destroy the seed, and able to determine the positive outcomes almost as soon as they begin. This means each test doesn't really change a seed and he can use it in multiple tests.
- Location
- Israel
Yep, the way I see it is that he basically puts the seed into a neutral test bed, and actively monitors every nutrient in the ground and all the energies to see which are being absorbed\emitted and at what rates.
Barbaric Bob
The Barbaric One
- Location
- Soon to be plundering a village near you
o no
adam learned the most frightening of all techniques
the disappointed dad stare™
once you've been caught in his gaze you'll just be so ashamed of yourself that you can't move on without his reassurance that you aren't a disappointment!
adam learned the most frightening of all techniques
the disappointed dad stare™
once you've been caught in his gaze you'll just be so ashamed of yourself that you can't move on without his reassurance that you aren't a disappointment!
I was assuming he was turning something into a pile of Cultivation Cells with his healing or "Flesh of the avatar" technique, and then instead of turning it back to what it was, he instead turns it into a pile of seeds of whatever type. I hadn't considered the spiritual energy component, but that has an answer from the author. Essentially Adam just shoved the correct energy mix into the newly produced seed.
- Location
- Brazil, Minas gerais
Finish speed reading. What a wonderful trip^^. now before re-reading some chapter with more focus.
In another note. Yeah the MC has a way of having all the unique plants/animals clones^^... and probably metal too if he can copy the energy and put it back
It will be hilarious when the 'higher realm/heaven' try to look around. something like:
'For 1000 Generations We waited for your complete trash self to create something significant, wait, in this a 100.000 years old yin yang tree?!' before 'mysteriously' exploding.
And I remember that the MC have some bloodlines/unique auras in his mental library from the days that he was 'mortal' before even leaving that medical bed^^.
So I expect him to have some very unique godlike amostres even without the Asuras^^. well going back to read.
In another note. Yeah the MC has a way of having all the unique plants/animals clones^^... and probably metal too if he can copy the energy and put it back
It will be hilarious when the 'higher realm/heaven' try to look around. something like:
'For 1000 Generations We waited for your complete trash self to create something significant, wait, in this a 100.000 years old yin yang tree?!' before 'mysteriously' exploding.
And I remember that the MC have some bloodlines/unique auras in his mental library from the days that he was 'mortal' before even leaving that medical bed^^.
So I expect him to have some very unique godlike amostres even without the Asuras^^. well going back to read.
- Location
- Israel
The technique described in the final quote will let him copy material as it WAS, not as it will BE.
All he needs is to duplicate seeds as they are, so he can then plant them.
Barbaric Bob
The Barbaric One
- Location
- Soon to be plundering a village near you
I really hope Adam goes to the darksouls world some time in the future.
I can imagine it now, the lord of embers vs the R.O.B. on fire
Soilar basking in his radiance
Best doggo getting adopted
Narwhal drooling at the sight of Gwynevere
I can imagine it now, the lord of embers vs the R.O.B. on fire
Soilar basking in his radiance
Best doggo getting adopted
Narwhal drooling at the sight of Gwynevere
- Location
- Canada
Hmm what other setting can we send Adam or at least a fragment of him too?
First, select universes / settings dangerous enough to force Adam into sending a shard of Adam instead of the whole Adam!
- Location
- Canada
Probably one where he gets something out of it instead of just being a fix it sorta thing. Fate may be interesting if he could observe the kaleidoscope.
Arc 2: Cause? It was planted!
- Location
- Here
Sister Quan tapped her feet. "Again."
Adam stayed knelt on his knees. "I will ask others when purchasing large amounts of materials when the amount spent is above 10% of our total funds BEFORE spending all that money."
She nods. "Why?"
He winced. "Because spending too much can cause us to be targeted by others, can cause the merchant to be attacked later by unscrupulous people, can damage future negotiations for other products. Because there is a difference between 'generous' and 'wasteful'."
The guards were keeping perimeter, only the leader and the two on protection duty watching nearby. Little Tianshi was chewing on one of the more interesting food results, a pinecone formed mostly of hardened tree sap that acted like sweet candy when chewed.
Sister Quan began pacing. "I'm not actually angry that you spent so much, especially as 'rare seeds' are not only more valuable in your hands but were on the approved purchasing list we talked about a few days ago." She paused. "Why am I annoyed?"
He sighed. "Because I didn't mention it to anyone."
She shook her head. "No."
A pause. "Because... uh. Because I reshaped my Martial Spirit's Crystal Caverns without warning people?"
Another shake. "No, it is your Martial Spirit, you can change it as you like as long as you don't inconvenience the people inside. Rockette was very polite about warning us when the caves moved around, it wasn't a problem."
Adam struggled... "I got nothing."
She groaned. "You decided to make a big purchase... then ACTIVELY DECIDED to turn around and LIE to me!" She gently smacked his bowed head. "That. Isn't. Right! I try to be very understanding, and I always point out things I think will help you... I can't do EITHER of those things if you act as if I am an enemy!"
Little Tianshi nodded. "It isn't mature to run away from your obligations."
He glanced at her. "You are like, eight years old. I'm like... super mature."
Sister Quan gave him a head pat. "Of course you are." She gently turned his head to look at her. "Now, when were you going to tell us that you were going to let that scary eyeball grow itself on your face?"
Oops. "FIRST of all, I just let it hop on for walkies. Because she looked all sad and lonely in her poison cave, and SHE isn't the one who poisoned my body, mind and Soul."
The woman had a dry expression. "Walkies."
He paused. "Yes? I mean, she gave me the puppy eye look! It was like... half effective, but it was there!"
Little Tianshi stopped licking her sugar-pinecone. "That 'Asura Eye' sort of broke the Vine Lion... what did you do with it?"
Sister Quan pointed at the girl. "GOOD POINT." The finger moved to poke at Adam. "What did you do with the scary, house size cat plant thing." She paused. "You aren't trying to breed it with our Four Eye Bull Cow/Chickens or something, right?"
He huffed. "No! The bulls are a couple, that would be cheating their relationship. Plus, I think the female Bull's fire would burn him if they tried."
Adam shrugged. "Since his mind fractured from the Asura Eye's attack, and we don't have a mating pair... Rockette is trying to plant him."
Everyone else paused for a moment. The lead guard raised her hand to gain attention. "Is the Vine Lion going to show up in the cave gardens? Brain dead or not, I do NOT want to leave it somewhere it can wander away from."
Sister Quan interrupted first. "No. First of all." She frowned. "WHY are you trying to plant the massive cat?"
Adam shrugged. "Well, 'Research' says genetically... the thing is over 70% plant material to begin with. The guy can live on water and sunlight with only minor issues, so... it might procreate through budding rather than intercourse."
Tianshi's guard hummed. "Should keep the guy fresh at least. If it doesn't work out, we can just butcher him for parts when the Sage gets bored of it."
Tianshi blinked. "Mr. Whiskers says your best bet is to cut off the largest vine hidden under the Vine Lion's spinal cord. That is the former plant stem it grew from, so if you can get clippings to grow from that you should be able to begin raising more of them. Well, more of the plant, not more Vine Lions."
Another moment as the group considered a garden harvest full of baby lions tethered to base plants. Adam grinned. "Rockette?"
Ding!
He smiled at the little girl. "Thank you, my little one."
She blushed. "Mr. Whiskers doesn't think there will be a huge success rate... it is rare when a plant based creature can grow long enough to become mobile like that big lion was. And when they DO manage it, they tend to eat all their brother and sister plants to get stronger first."
Adam grinned. "Easy enough for Rockette to handle." A plant that can produce animal meat? Sounded like a meat tree or meat vine to him!
Wait. "Hey... if the monster didn't need to eat us, why dominate that wolf pack and try to kill us all?"
The little one paused, Mr. Whisker's head emerging from her hand as they mentally talked. She nodded. "He says it was probably that wiggly seed you got from the oven seller. It's not the same species, but it has a low level psychic field that encourages other people to plant them, to help them grow, and to eventually submit to their will."
She looked confused, unlike the guards. "Not sure what that means?"
Sister Quan looked confused... before the lead guard whispered. She jerked back. "Tentacles!?" And... the two began whispering furiously.
Adam ignored everyone. Wasn't HIS fault the thing grew so quickly. Or that the guards in his Martial Spirit found it so hilarious.
At least he got Rockette to censor that video feed before Tianshi saw too much.
Her guard patted Tianshi's head. "I'll tell you when your older." Seeing Sister Quan glare, she coughed. "Much older."
Adam coughed as well. "So, that same mental field attracted the Vine Lion? Even as a seed? Scary."
Sister Quan had a pretty big blush but looked serious. "Warn the seller, I do NOT want to continue attracting every plant creature looking for a mate as we travel." She saw Adam's expression. "NO Adam."
Oh well, so much for a bunch of free garden samples. "Fine."
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Xe Dian just... stared at the guard. "You are kidding me."
The other woman shook her head.
She had nearly died... no, her whole team and ALL her clients had almost died... because one guy somehow got ahold of some vine rape seeds for his personal collection.
Deep. Calm. Breath.
Killing the client is wrong.
Calm. Center.
Killing the client is almost ALWAYS wrong.
Peace.
...Maybe maim him?
She gave a crisp nod and turned in place to find the bastard. Barely willing to say anything, she pulled the man away from the others along with his wife, who had been part of the taste testing group.
A glare. "You have a seed collection."
The couple looked... concerned at her attitude. But he nodded. "Yes? I just sold part of it to the cultivators who saved us."
She nodded. "And you have, IN that collection, some 'wiggly seeds'."
His face lit up. "Ah! The 'Haunted Vines of Mystic Wood Paradise'! They were a... " He winced. "A bit expensive, and I had to trade several other things at a discount..."
His wife snorted. "Nearly made him throw everything out. Spending such a massive part of our budget on 'wiggly seeds' like that. Honestly."
Sister Dian nodded. "Good news! You get to either destroy all of those seeds or sell them today to Brother Adam. I vote for burning them."
His wife clearly didn't care, but HE did. "WHAT! WHY!?"
RAGE. "Two reasons. First? Those are rape seeds. They rape men or women to mentally dominate them. Then? They use their new slaves to spread seeds further, care for their new masters, or, and this is the fun part... To call potential Spirit Beast Mates, allow the hosts to die and be consumed, and allow the processed corpse left after digestion to act as fertilizer."
They both blinked. "What?"
She pointed. "Did you notice? You are carrying your seed collection. On your body. All the time."
He looked down at the leather strip holding a wooden case to his back. "What? Of course I am! What if I need a seed really suddenly?"
His wife took a step back. "Honey?"
He waved her off. "No, this is all silly. I just really enjoy my collection and like to keep it nearby. So it is safe."
His wife seemed hesitant. "You... you normally leave it at home though." She blinked. "Why... why didn't I notice how unusual this was?"
Sister Dian glared. "The longer you are in proximity without being aware of the danger, the stronger the mental hold it gets on you. Now that I know, I can resist it easy enough... but I think we have been encountering so many monsters on this trip because I have been 'encouraged' to head off trail so often."
God she felt humiliated.
The man's wife blanched. "Dear, put it down."
He... was hesitant. "Really? Are... are you sure?"
She touched his shoulder. "Love?"
Looking physically pained, he slowly placed the case down. "I... I can get the rest of my seeds back, right?"
Fuck no. "Maybe. If getting rid of that one sample gets rid of the mental effects."
...Even then, she was tempted to burn it all. Nearly killed her and everyone else because two plants wanted to get it on. God damn it.
She glared at the case as she carefully picked it up. "Where did you even FIND something this dangerous!?"
The couple were hugging each other, looking with fear at the innocent looking container. He gulped. "I... I thought I was pretty lucky. I had never seen something like that being sold at the Frosted Tiger Sect before... the seller seemed a bit sketchy, but I didn't distrust your Sect when our caravan had just applied for an escort mission."
She blinked... and glared. "Tell me more."
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam watched the new Pasture cave, this one a garden with some massive green vines wiggling about slowly.
Rockette had found the optimal growing combination of soil, spiritual energies, and conditions... now there were dozens of Vine Lion spinal plant fragments being slowly grown in the area.
The women (And by force, little Tianshi) were avoiding the area.
Thankfully, unlike the rape seeds, these vines just wiggled. As far as their research could tell, growing a massive fighting Spirit Beast like the Vine Lion was actually an unintended side effect. In fact, two of the guards recognized the plant once Adam started some sprouts growing over here.
It was commonly known as the Steak Shrub. A rare bush, one that grew meat like fruit to attract carnivores to the area. The beasts would fight over the fruits, leaving blood and corpses from the conflict as fertilizer... all for the cheep price of a few delicious smelling growths.
The problem? If a monster fell ONTO the Steak Shrub while near death... There was a small chance that, if it should recover, the plant and the animal would combine and grow stronger. Basically, mutate into a new monster.
The resulting creature, in this case the Vine Lion, would eat the other predators, would (since it is now part plant) eat the other Steak Shrubs in the area... and then generally be an issue to the creatures in the area.
They could live longer with less food, they were less driven by animal instincts, their life span increased... these various 'Plant Beasts' caused more than a little local havoc on the wildlife.
It was for this reason that the Steak Shrub, while well known, was fairly uncommon to see or find in the wild... Even when disastrous 'Plant Beasts' DIDN'T spawn from them, animals and cultivators would hunt them down for their fruits or destroy them to protect the locals.
Considering how odd the spirit energy combination was to GROW these things were, Adam wasn't surprised that normal Cultivators were unable to move the things locally and raise them, no matter how appreciated they were.
Also, wiggly plants creeped people out. Didn't help that it was mentally associated with the rape plants in everyone's mind right now, either.
Seriously, Adam wished he had been warned better before sending that through the Soil Grid garden testing caves. God damn memories. And a few of the more socially experimental guards had seemed far too interested about Rockette trying to find a non-mind-whammy version of the 'BDSM Bush' as they called it.
...As long as he wasn't involved, whatever.
Seriously, he knew Sects did stuff that was embarrassing for outsiders to know about, some of the 'Dual Cultivation' methods listed in the knowledge pagoda seemed more like fetish material rather than actual cultivation techniques after all, but honestly.
He did NOT want to be known as the 'Burning Sage who brought Perverted Plants' to the Sect.
That kind of crap got you labels.
What was the phrase? Save a million people, that is great and all... but you have sex with ONE goat? BAM, nickname.
Adam, the guy who reconstructed all our cultivation methods. Neat.
The Burning Sage, created the Four Eye Flame Bull Chickens. Strange, but cool.
Vine Sucker: The dude who redesigned those rape vines. Nope. Nope nope nope.
With a wince, he mentally acknowledged that one day in the future, Narwhal would LOVE to have a small room with a 'safe' BDSM Bush. And that, him being the pushover he was, he would eventually genetically modify the desired plant from these horrible source materials.
But damn it, so embarrassing. And it was corrupting little Tianshi too! His little girl was sweet and innocent, and she wasn't even going to hold hands with anyone until she was over a century old and he approved of the other guy/girl/sentient radish FIRST.
Maybe not even then!
...His disciple might have a bit of an overprotective father figure.
He glanced at the wiggling tentacles. Each one had green bulges, like beads, growing along the length. Which wasn't helping the girls accept them as 'safe for work', honestly.
The bulges started off green, over time turned white and the size of tennis balls, then eventually (theoretically) became a bright red football sized meat lump. At some point.
Unlike normal plants, these thick tentacles grew up from the base, from the soil. The fruits produced were thus less mature the closer they were to the ground. Initially, these meat pods were also very sour, a defensive mechanism to encourage predators to only consume the mature tips of the 'lure'.
The majority of the actual plant was below ground, ready to consume any conflict generated gains gathered. Even if the whole vine is torn off, the plant would recover.
Thankfully, with the correct ratio and levels of spirit energy, these vines only really required Soul Water and sunlight. Though 'Research' DID find that providing some Fire Salt or other seasoning could affect the tastes of the resulting meat. Theoretically.
Something to test later.
Right now, there were only sour immature meat pods with wiggling tentacle 'lures' waving around in here. It was strange to think that a rare situation could cause these innocent plants to almost act like a necromancer, transforming near corpse meat puppets into powerful plant predators.
...Hopefully these things would taste good. The girls really didn't seem eager to butcher the (future) baby Four Eye Flame Bullchickens. Cowkens? Chickbulls?
Damn it, he was terri-bull with names.
Adam stayed knelt on his knees. "I will ask others when purchasing large amounts of materials when the amount spent is above 10% of our total funds BEFORE spending all that money."
She nods. "Why?"
He winced. "Because spending too much can cause us to be targeted by others, can cause the merchant to be attacked later by unscrupulous people, can damage future negotiations for other products. Because there is a difference between 'generous' and 'wasteful'."
The guards were keeping perimeter, only the leader and the two on protection duty watching nearby. Little Tianshi was chewing on one of the more interesting food results, a pinecone formed mostly of hardened tree sap that acted like sweet candy when chewed.
Sister Quan began pacing. "I'm not actually angry that you spent so much, especially as 'rare seeds' are not only more valuable in your hands but were on the approved purchasing list we talked about a few days ago." She paused. "Why am I annoyed?"
He sighed. "Because I didn't mention it to anyone."
She shook her head. "No."
A pause. "Because... uh. Because I reshaped my Martial Spirit's Crystal Caverns without warning people?"
Another shake. "No, it is your Martial Spirit, you can change it as you like as long as you don't inconvenience the people inside. Rockette was very polite about warning us when the caves moved around, it wasn't a problem."
Adam struggled... "I got nothing."
She groaned. "You decided to make a big purchase... then ACTIVELY DECIDED to turn around and LIE to me!" She gently smacked his bowed head. "That. Isn't. Right! I try to be very understanding, and I always point out things I think will help you... I can't do EITHER of those things if you act as if I am an enemy!"
Little Tianshi nodded. "It isn't mature to run away from your obligations."
He glanced at her. "You are like, eight years old. I'm like... super mature."
Sister Quan gave him a head pat. "Of course you are." She gently turned his head to look at her. "Now, when were you going to tell us that you were going to let that scary eyeball grow itself on your face?"
Oops. "FIRST of all, I just let it hop on for walkies. Because she looked all sad and lonely in her poison cave, and SHE isn't the one who poisoned my body, mind and Soul."
The woman had a dry expression. "Walkies."
He paused. "Yes? I mean, she gave me the puppy eye look! It was like... half effective, but it was there!"
Little Tianshi stopped licking her sugar-pinecone. "That 'Asura Eye' sort of broke the Vine Lion... what did you do with it?"
Sister Quan pointed at the girl. "GOOD POINT." The finger moved to poke at Adam. "What did you do with the scary, house size cat plant thing." She paused. "You aren't trying to breed it with our Four Eye Bull Cow/Chickens or something, right?"
He huffed. "No! The bulls are a couple, that would be cheating their relationship. Plus, I think the female Bull's fire would burn him if they tried."
Adam shrugged. "Since his mind fractured from the Asura Eye's attack, and we don't have a mating pair... Rockette is trying to plant him."
Everyone else paused for a moment. The lead guard raised her hand to gain attention. "Is the Vine Lion going to show up in the cave gardens? Brain dead or not, I do NOT want to leave it somewhere it can wander away from."
Sister Quan interrupted first. "No. First of all." She frowned. "WHY are you trying to plant the massive cat?"
Adam shrugged. "Well, 'Research' says genetically... the thing is over 70% plant material to begin with. The guy can live on water and sunlight with only minor issues, so... it might procreate through budding rather than intercourse."
Tianshi's guard hummed. "Should keep the guy fresh at least. If it doesn't work out, we can just butcher him for parts when the Sage gets bored of it."
Tianshi blinked. "Mr. Whiskers says your best bet is to cut off the largest vine hidden under the Vine Lion's spinal cord. That is the former plant stem it grew from, so if you can get clippings to grow from that you should be able to begin raising more of them. Well, more of the plant, not more Vine Lions."
Another moment as the group considered a garden harvest full of baby lions tethered to base plants. Adam grinned. "Rockette?"
Ding!
He smiled at the little girl. "Thank you, my little one."
She blushed. "Mr. Whiskers doesn't think there will be a huge success rate... it is rare when a plant based creature can grow long enough to become mobile like that big lion was. And when they DO manage it, they tend to eat all their brother and sister plants to get stronger first."
Adam grinned. "Easy enough for Rockette to handle." A plant that can produce animal meat? Sounded like a meat tree or meat vine to him!
Wait. "Hey... if the monster didn't need to eat us, why dominate that wolf pack and try to kill us all?"
The little one paused, Mr. Whisker's head emerging from her hand as they mentally talked. She nodded. "He says it was probably that wiggly seed you got from the oven seller. It's not the same species, but it has a low level psychic field that encourages other people to plant them, to help them grow, and to eventually submit to their will."
She looked confused, unlike the guards. "Not sure what that means?"
Sister Quan looked confused... before the lead guard whispered. She jerked back. "Tentacles!?" And... the two began whispering furiously.
Adam ignored everyone. Wasn't HIS fault the thing grew so quickly. Or that the guards in his Martial Spirit found it so hilarious.
At least he got Rockette to censor that video feed before Tianshi saw too much.
Her guard patted Tianshi's head. "I'll tell you when your older." Seeing Sister Quan glare, she coughed. "Much older."
Adam coughed as well. "So, that same mental field attracted the Vine Lion? Even as a seed? Scary."
Sister Quan had a pretty big blush but looked serious. "Warn the seller, I do NOT want to continue attracting every plant creature looking for a mate as we travel." She saw Adam's expression. "NO Adam."
Oh well, so much for a bunch of free garden samples. "Fine."
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Xe Dian just... stared at the guard. "You are kidding me."
The other woman shook her head.
She had nearly died... no, her whole team and ALL her clients had almost died... because one guy somehow got ahold of some vine rape seeds for his personal collection.
Deep. Calm. Breath.
Killing the client is wrong.
Calm. Center.
Killing the client is almost ALWAYS wrong.
Peace.
...Maybe maim him?
She gave a crisp nod and turned in place to find the bastard. Barely willing to say anything, she pulled the man away from the others along with his wife, who had been part of the taste testing group.
A glare. "You have a seed collection."
The couple looked... concerned at her attitude. But he nodded. "Yes? I just sold part of it to the cultivators who saved us."
She nodded. "And you have, IN that collection, some 'wiggly seeds'."
His face lit up. "Ah! The 'Haunted Vines of Mystic Wood Paradise'! They were a... " He winced. "A bit expensive, and I had to trade several other things at a discount..."
His wife snorted. "Nearly made him throw everything out. Spending such a massive part of our budget on 'wiggly seeds' like that. Honestly."
Sister Dian nodded. "Good news! You get to either destroy all of those seeds or sell them today to Brother Adam. I vote for burning them."
His wife clearly didn't care, but HE did. "WHAT! WHY!?"
RAGE. "Two reasons. First? Those are rape seeds. They rape men or women to mentally dominate them. Then? They use their new slaves to spread seeds further, care for their new masters, or, and this is the fun part... To call potential Spirit Beast Mates, allow the hosts to die and be consumed, and allow the processed corpse left after digestion to act as fertilizer."
They both blinked. "What?"
She pointed. "Did you notice? You are carrying your seed collection. On your body. All the time."
He looked down at the leather strip holding a wooden case to his back. "What? Of course I am! What if I need a seed really suddenly?"
His wife took a step back. "Honey?"
He waved her off. "No, this is all silly. I just really enjoy my collection and like to keep it nearby. So it is safe."
His wife seemed hesitant. "You... you normally leave it at home though." She blinked. "Why... why didn't I notice how unusual this was?"
Sister Dian glared. "The longer you are in proximity without being aware of the danger, the stronger the mental hold it gets on you. Now that I know, I can resist it easy enough... but I think we have been encountering so many monsters on this trip because I have been 'encouraged' to head off trail so often."
God she felt humiliated.
The man's wife blanched. "Dear, put it down."
He... was hesitant. "Really? Are... are you sure?"
She touched his shoulder. "Love?"
Looking physically pained, he slowly placed the case down. "I... I can get the rest of my seeds back, right?"
Fuck no. "Maybe. If getting rid of that one sample gets rid of the mental effects."
...Even then, she was tempted to burn it all. Nearly killed her and everyone else because two plants wanted to get it on. God damn it.
She glared at the case as she carefully picked it up. "Where did you even FIND something this dangerous!?"
The couple were hugging each other, looking with fear at the innocent looking container. He gulped. "I... I thought I was pretty lucky. I had never seen something like that being sold at the Frosted Tiger Sect before... the seller seemed a bit sketchy, but I didn't distrust your Sect when our caravan had just applied for an escort mission."
She blinked... and glared. "Tell me more."
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam watched the new Pasture cave, this one a garden with some massive green vines wiggling about slowly.
Rockette had found the optimal growing combination of soil, spiritual energies, and conditions... now there were dozens of Vine Lion spinal plant fragments being slowly grown in the area.
The women (And by force, little Tianshi) were avoiding the area.
Thankfully, unlike the rape seeds, these vines just wiggled. As far as their research could tell, growing a massive fighting Spirit Beast like the Vine Lion was actually an unintended side effect. In fact, two of the guards recognized the plant once Adam started some sprouts growing over here.
It was commonly known as the Steak Shrub. A rare bush, one that grew meat like fruit to attract carnivores to the area. The beasts would fight over the fruits, leaving blood and corpses from the conflict as fertilizer... all for the cheep price of a few delicious smelling growths.
The problem? If a monster fell ONTO the Steak Shrub while near death... There was a small chance that, if it should recover, the plant and the animal would combine and grow stronger. Basically, mutate into a new monster.
The resulting creature, in this case the Vine Lion, would eat the other predators, would (since it is now part plant) eat the other Steak Shrubs in the area... and then generally be an issue to the creatures in the area.
They could live longer with less food, they were less driven by animal instincts, their life span increased... these various 'Plant Beasts' caused more than a little local havoc on the wildlife.
It was for this reason that the Steak Shrub, while well known, was fairly uncommon to see or find in the wild... Even when disastrous 'Plant Beasts' DIDN'T spawn from them, animals and cultivators would hunt them down for their fruits or destroy them to protect the locals.
Considering how odd the spirit energy combination was to GROW these things were, Adam wasn't surprised that normal Cultivators were unable to move the things locally and raise them, no matter how appreciated they were.
Also, wiggly plants creeped people out. Didn't help that it was mentally associated with the rape plants in everyone's mind right now, either.
Seriously, Adam wished he had been warned better before sending that through the Soil Grid garden testing caves. God damn memories. And a few of the more socially experimental guards had seemed far too interested about Rockette trying to find a non-mind-whammy version of the 'BDSM Bush' as they called it.
...As long as he wasn't involved, whatever.
Seriously, he knew Sects did stuff that was embarrassing for outsiders to know about, some of the 'Dual Cultivation' methods listed in the knowledge pagoda seemed more like fetish material rather than actual cultivation techniques after all, but honestly.
He did NOT want to be known as the 'Burning Sage who brought Perverted Plants' to the Sect.
That kind of crap got you labels.
What was the phrase? Save a million people, that is great and all... but you have sex with ONE goat? BAM, nickname.
Adam, the guy who reconstructed all our cultivation methods. Neat.
The Burning Sage, created the Four Eye Flame Bull Chickens. Strange, but cool.
Vine Sucker: The dude who redesigned those rape vines. Nope. Nope nope nope.
With a wince, he mentally acknowledged that one day in the future, Narwhal would LOVE to have a small room with a 'safe' BDSM Bush. And that, him being the pushover he was, he would eventually genetically modify the desired plant from these horrible source materials.
But damn it, so embarrassing. And it was corrupting little Tianshi too! His little girl was sweet and innocent, and she wasn't even going to hold hands with anyone until she was over a century old and he approved of the other guy/girl/sentient radish FIRST.
Maybe not even then!
...His disciple might have a bit of an overprotective father figure.
He glanced at the wiggling tentacles. Each one had green bulges, like beads, growing along the length. Which wasn't helping the girls accept them as 'safe for work', honestly.
The bulges started off green, over time turned white and the size of tennis balls, then eventually (theoretically) became a bright red football sized meat lump. At some point.
Unlike normal plants, these thick tentacles grew up from the base, from the soil. The fruits produced were thus less mature the closer they were to the ground. Initially, these meat pods were also very sour, a defensive mechanism to encourage predators to only consume the mature tips of the 'lure'.
The majority of the actual plant was below ground, ready to consume any conflict generated gains gathered. Even if the whole vine is torn off, the plant would recover.
Thankfully, with the correct ratio and levels of spirit energy, these vines only really required Soul Water and sunlight. Though 'Research' DID find that providing some Fire Salt or other seasoning could affect the tastes of the resulting meat. Theoretically.
Something to test later.
Right now, there were only sour immature meat pods with wiggling tentacle 'lures' waving around in here. It was strange to think that a rare situation could cause these innocent plants to almost act like a necromancer, transforming near corpse meat puppets into powerful plant predators.
...Hopefully these things would taste good. The girls really didn't seem eager to butcher the (future) baby Four Eye Flame Bullchickens. Cowkens? Chickbulls?
Damn it, he was terri-bull with names.
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Tisaku
Head Chief Thinkomancer
hardened
Brain
-bondage bush would be more accurate-
- Location
- From the moon
... I wonder if Adam feels a bit of kinship with the vine and rape plant due to his stint as a giant plant tentacle monster. That also did have a mental effect to encourage sex and Orgies.
No Adam you are the rape bush... in the hentai sense of the word not the irl and skeevy sense of the word.
No Adam you are the rape bush... in the hentai sense of the word not the irl and skeevy sense of the word.
Jordisk
<Unverified N00B>
- Location
- Blind Eternities
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
There was no rape when Adam was a animal bush thing. Just hyper-pure mana leading to enhanced libidos and CONSENSUAL interactions between mature stallions and mares. No Fillies were harmed by Adam the Timberwolf/Forest Turtle/Clubhouse.
- Status