Adam grinned at the last jade slip.
Finally!
Rockette was floating on his shoulder, tiny hands playing with his blue hair, but he would not be distracted!
...Actually, how long had he been at this?
"Ding!"
Huh. Wonder why no one came in to tell us it was time to get moving.
Adam frowned. Unless... unless they HAD moved on. Leaving him behind. Not like he would notice while behind these spirit energy barriers.
It wouldn't be a HUGE issue, little Tianshi and five of the guards were still in Rockette after all... And thankfully, the breakthrough process to Seventh Order was focused on the massive areas WITHOUT passengers, even if Rockette was now shifting stuff around a little.
So they were fine, if likely confused about why Adam hadn't gotten the gang together for breakfast like usual. Or more reasonably at this hour, lunch.
A pulse had the formations drop... and energy RUSHED inward.
...That shouldn't have happened.
If anything, his area should have been ignored. Like a ghost or something. He began examining the situation with 'Research'... and blinked.
Huh.
Imagine the world like a flat bottom pool.
Imagine ten meters of water, the spiritual energy filling said pool.
Adam had TRIED to create a column of space, from bottom to top, that would just... exist. Like a pillar. When a wave hit it (searching techniques, etc), it would create ripples... but not much else.
Rockette's cloaking technique was designed to examine the waves coming in, match them, then push the same thing back out. Hopefully preventing ripples, making their power harder to 'see' or notice. That was the goal.
...Looks like that didn't work as intended. Instead, Rockette was examining the waves... then pushing out matching ones. EQUALLY matching ones, not just the top parts that go up and down, she also was pumping out the ten meters of water below as well.
So... instead of 'no ripples' because his Martial Spirit was becoming talented at 'blending in'... she was instead making a 'Normal Spiritual Energy Field' and DOUBLING power in the local area like a pump.
There were no ripples because she was pushing them all away by sheer volume. Creating a permanent dome of 'water', all of it flowing away from Adam but 'feeling' like 'natural' energy.
On the plus side, Spirit Beasts couldn't detect her presence, and thus didn't flee in terror.
On the minus side, Spirit Beasts felt a swelling of power... and were more likely to drift in Adam's direction to find this 'richer land' to then conquer.
All that aside, the important bit? Adam was acting like a neutral spirit energy spring while just walking around.
And when one of THOSE suddenly vanishes, THAT becomes noticeable. VERY noticeable, even to the cultivators with weak spiritual senses.
He opened the tent flap.
And closed it.
Yeah, they were all out there staring his way. Damn it.
With a weak grin, he walked outside. "Afternoon! Good news: I finished ALL the training slips for the kids!"
The guards just seemed relieved. One guy nearly bounced with joy. "The mouth is gone, the mouth is gone!" Weirdo.
Sister Quan gave a nod. "And... what was with the feeling of doom and such in your tent?"
He winced. "Yeah, that's my bad. Rockette's 'Cloaking' technique acts more like an area wide spiritual chaff ability. Can't detect where we are, but everyone CAN detect that we ARE in the splash zone. When I hid in a formation, it instantly cut off her effect... I'm sure it felt strange."
The lead guard however hummed, her face reserved. "And why, exactly, did you set up such a formation to begin with? Your cultivation circles don't cause this type of feeling."
Adam shrugged. "While trying to redesign some stuff for the kids, I felt like I didn't have enough information to safely plan out stuff far enough out. I won't be here, after all, if something goes wrong later in their lives... I needed to make sure the information would result in safe and stable cultivation."
Sister Quan and the others nodded... it seemed reasonable enough. Though there was still an atmosphere of suspicion for some reason. Why?
Meh. He waved at the tent. "Anyway, after the mess I made back in the Sect when breaking through to Fourth Order, I thought it would be best to hide any odd reactions in the tent when I reached Seventh."
Adam paused. "Also, I reached Seventh Order, just in case I forget to mention that later on. Went a bit odd, but I'm not sure why. Good odd, but still odd..."
He walked passed the group, whom seemed slightly disconnected from reality as they thought about that. Hmm. Yeah, it was lunch time. "Personally I think it has to do with me cultivating seven optimized paths simultaneously through conceptually important areas. I'll know more once I get my Disciple to break through herself." Eventually.
As he went looking for where the caravan had set up lunch (They HADN'T left him behind, Yay!), a guard mumbled behind him. "He's not allowed to do that, right? It took me two years to... The breakthrough required me to eat this rotten... and the smell..."
Meh, they would be fine.
Thankfully, his body advancement didn't come with the expected annoyances. Now that each limb had its own reservoir of Battle Qi for reinforcement and enhancement, he had been a bit concerned that it would mess him up.
Things like launching himself when trying to stand up, or accidentally snapping his clothes off or whatever.
As far as he could tell, that wouldn't be a problem! Well... not for now.
That said, he was going to practice his martial arts privately FIRST. Because the first attempt at 'strengthening' himself was likely to be embarrassing, and most likely painful. He had a bit of history at that.
~~~
The Burning Sword Sect Patriarch frowned, his meditation disturbed by the hidden signal in the walls.
That... that was a priority one signal. Such things were one of the few, VERY few priority signals allowed to actually interrupt his cultivation sessions... especially considering that life and death can be decided by a single mistake while progressing.
Settling himself, he allowed his spiritual pressure to activate the encoded message unsealing his cultivation chambers... his personal aid bowing at his feet. "Yes?"
The man silently passed a note, the Sect Leader raising an eyebrow.
So... not an invasion, not a revolt, not a local calamity. Even more unusual.
He didn't bother reading the paper, his senses ignoring the false surface data to decode the hidden patterns within the material itself.
He felt an eyebrow raise... the lack of detail THERE implied that this was beyond secret in nature. And vital to the Sect of course. "Clear the area, bring her in. Secure pattern G3 as well."
The entire facility went dead silent as the grave as Third Elder Cho arrived. Thousands of formations sealed the two cultivators away from the world as she knelt. "Patriarch, I bring impossible news."
She had better, this level of security not only cost expensive resources but would heavily disturb Sect security for days. Still, little Cho had always been a favorite of his. "Take your time."
A nod. "I received the emergency message from the Burning Sage's escort team."
He blinked, settling back in surprise.
Every high status guard team was allotted one of the very few 'Transfer Cubes', passed down by the Sect from one of their most powerful Elders, long sense passed on or transcended to another plane.
The items were beyond amazing, each pair able to transfer their contents to each other... once. Then they would become too unstable and decay away, forever lost.
Valuable? Yes. So costly that many guard details would be nearly exterminated before attempting to use them, so impossible to replace that wasting one on a non emergency was actually a criminal offense within the Sect... not that many knew they existed. Too risky.
He frowned. "Is the boy alive?"
A nod. So at least it wasn't a frantic plea for survival or a ransom demand, or a notification of failure.
Little Cho, not even a hundred years yet already a respected Elder, continued. "Young Burning Sage, Brother Chongsheng Adam, has..."
Her eyes glanced at the sealed room.
...Curious.
She pulled forth a pair of jade slips, pushing them forward. "He had thoughts about the ongoing experiment, ones that may require some minor change to our procedures. The consequences could be dire."
Her eyes spoke of deception as she gestured subtly to the two slips.
...Even now she couldn't trust their security?
Well, his curiosity was certainly sparked.
His hand gestured, the slips pulled to his possession as she continued. "I thought it best for you to decide how to handle the situation."
...How curious.
His spiritual senses examined the jade slip... and paused.
A short message, describing two massive data structures. 'Healing Techniques for Cultivators', and 'Healing Techniques for Civilians'... and both were enormous in information.
Each detailed scanning methods, examination tricks, medicine alternatives, Qi applications... a medical treasure trove, obliterating the treasured knowledge of their Sect by offering easier to use, less difficult, and more effective abilities.
More than that, the 'Healing Techniques for Civilians' had a massive amount of techniques designed to allow cultivators to heal those without a cultivation base, without poisoning the flesh or causing their bodies to collapse.
His hand didn't shake, but that was only due to his years of willpower strengthening. "I... see. Indeed, I understand why this would need to be considered."
To his surprise, Third Elder Cho shook her head. "That slip just has a few suggestions, it is the other that needs your consideration."
He couldn't hold back his expression, though it was limited to widened eyes. What... what could be more sensitive than enough medical knowledge to revolutionise the Sect, easily returning thousands of his best people to fighting condition? With impossible techniques that would allow the Burning Sword Sect to heal the masses of common people that supported them from behind?
The Patriarch turned to the second slip with slight concern.
And blinked.
...Soul Techniques? No... Not just the twisted abilities those demonic cultivators used to corrupt the innocent or defile the dead, these were... Soul medication techniques!?
His internal energies flexed accidentally, his mind racing.
Soul damage was currently a secret burden on every Sect.
The more powerful cultivators become, the more common the Battle Qi faced in battle would be laced with conceptual and Soul targeting energies. That alone, ignoring the many possible ways to hurt oneself while training, created untreatable damage over time.
A wounded Soul could both cause harm to the body and prevent harm from being healed. It reduced recovery rate, restrained the ability to understand the unseen, slowed spiritual energy absorption, and opened flaws in other attacks and techniques during a fight.
Some of the most vile evil cultivators could even rip open the flesh of a healthy person if untreated, and sometimes even use taboo methods to allow Soul attacks to infect others.
Powerful cultivators did what they always did: They adapted. Learning how to shift their meridian paths to avoid blocked areas, altering attack patterns to put less strain on various wounds, sometimes learning new body refinement methods in an attempt to cover the many issues... Committing suicide if they discovered themselves to be infectious carriers of tainted Soul attacks.
But in the end, it was a major reason why the older a cultivator got without advancing their power base, the harder it became to advance or break through cultivation barriers. It was the primary cause of older people slowly losing the power of their youth, as workarounds failed to address the problems and damage built up.
This was why Adam's jade slip, filled with his 'useless' Soul analysis and treatment options, were so deadly and vital. Forget wars, if information was unwisely distributed entire other PLANETS and REALMS would invade this one... A wave of blood to acquire what was sitting in such an innocent data tool.
Adam's note complained that even 'minor' injuries could take 'years' to recover from, when using these 'wasteful and useless' tricks. He only included them so that the new medical trainees could learn how to detect the Soul, how to analyze it, how to contact the thing.
The Patriarch felt even more shock as he realized that each of these impossible abilities were only training exercises to eventually learn and apply the abilities listed at the END of the jade slip. Abilities that made his blood chill.
Soul transference. Soul dispersal. Soul conversion. Soul reunification. Soul consumption. Soul duplication. Soul decay.
And most horrifying of all, the complex, impossible, ultimate skill listed as 'Adequate'?
Soul Manipulation.
The ability to rearrange yourself or others on an untouchable level.
His eyes flashed towards Third Elder Cho. "Who else?"
The woman grimaced. "Aside from myself, he shared it with Sister Quan and the leader of his team. The lead guard managed to prevent the others from being shown, and convince him to keep this topic... private. His disciple is thankfully unaware."
Some would say both jade slips were equally world shattering in importance.
She knew better.
A scratch on the Soul smaller than a paper cut could destroy your ability to advance to the next Order, if one was unlucky. It wasn't uncommon for major battles to take decades to recover even partially the power lost in combat. Healing even the tiny wounds that built up after decades of training might vastly improve every aspect of a Sect Disciple's life... Doing so in only a few years? Impossible. That would be the works of miracles.
When she had received the emergency transfer, she had felt fear that her worst concerns had materialized, then relief when it was simply cultivation technique and ability slips.
Even a bit of anger that such a valuable resource had been lost.
All those thoughts had vanished when she examined the second jade slip.
The lead guard had been RIGHT to use emergency protocols. The included written report just emphasized HOW right to a greater degree.
Quietly, the Patriarch gently turned the jade slips in his fingers, spiritual senses still reading impossible things. "I will summon the ancestors after this. They can secure it properly. Can the medical department learn these skills?"
She sighed. "No. The medical ones, maybe half... eventually all of them, though we would need to raise a few dedicated cultivators to train their life in pursuit of individual advanced methods. If lucky, we will have twelve Disciples able to use the twelve most advanced medical abilities in only twenty years or so."
A glance. "As for the... other... I dare not let anyone even try. Not without your direct oversight."
He nodded, thoughts moving. "The lowest tier methods would theoretically allow the so called 'Minor ..." He glanced meaningfully, unwilling to even say 'Soul' out loud. "... Recovery' technique to be learned. But we would need a treasure, something that we can have stolen or traded for... an excuse for why our people can eventually recover from incurable wounds."
She nodded. "Brother Adam may have a solution. His guards report that he is gathering and growing an entire wilderness worth of amazing plants and cultivation resources, ones never seen before and with unusual effects." She passed the paper reports, now (for safety) the only copy, to her leader. "He is attempting to find beneficial products for our people... we can choose one of the odder, harder to grow ones and claim it is the cause for..." She glanced at the second jade slip.
The man blinked. "He's... doing what now?"
Sister Cho sighed. "Yes, it might save some time to finish reading those guard reports first."
The two looked at the several inch thick stack of documents.
The man sighed. Well. Best get started.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam winced. "But it helped me out a lot! Look, I even improved little Tianshi's Houtian Realm Essential Cultivation Method! Now she doesn't have to change methods just to break through that Seven Order barrier."
Sister Quan glared. "That girl isn't even Third Order yet."
Well, yeah. But eventually, right?
She sighed. "And what if something went wrong? Even if we can't help you, which... well, I'll admit you are cutting new paths in the world of cultivation..." She frowned. "We wouldn't even know if your progression was dangerous to US. To the kids."
They both glanced at the Frozen Tiger Sect's disciples. They were marching alongside the slowly moving caravan, with little Rockette waving her tiny arms in encouragement from the lead wagon, her cute 'Ding!' echoing in the air.
Adam frowned. "I... I see the point. Though my formation would have prevented almost any results as far as 'Research' could tell."
She sighed. "You said you had issues? Problems getting through the Seventh Order barrier?"
He shook his head. "The opposite. I didn't even feel restrictions before reaching the next level of cultivation. It went FAR too smoothly... Not sure why."
A shrug. "Your Martial Spirit controls all energy, and energy is a major part of advancing. Even without your strange methods and techniques, I didn't expect many issues to crop up when you progress. It is why I feel so frustrated that you are so quickly improving... I know I will be left behind, and I don't want to be useless."
He snorted. "I can destroy a few cities or build a forest no problem, but I need you for something harder and more difficult." He pointed at the guards and the caravan. "Understanding people, translating 'common sense' into something I can try to work with, interfacing between me and 'normal people'."
Adam chuckled. "I never needed help getting power or treasure, I've always needed help getting friends and companionship."
They fell into a friendly silence, Sister Quan with a soft smile and Adam wondering if he could enhance his limbs enough to do a flip without standing up now.
" at the end there...
Also, hot diggity damn Adam has continued to find things that people find valuable and make them... well, as the patriarch says, seas of blood would drown galaxies to try and get that sort of thing... and any bets on if Adam is going to somehow make a treasure that helps fix soul damage on its own?
