Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

[occipitallobe]

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Omake Writer Instructions:

There are four fields you need to fill out.

Omake Link, which is just a link to your first omake for the turn. This makes it easier for me to read them as I do the update - without this it's tough to know off the bat which omake were written this turn, and to properly

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Cultivation Aims. For those following unorthodox paths - higher than 9th Heavenstage or later than 7th Dao Pillar paths. Please put in what you are aiming for before you break through. I have left it as 'default'. If you do not edit it, I'll go with that.

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All other fields are for QM use to record character information to properly run the flow of the game.

 

[no.]

Gaius Antonius Omake #33: The Cursed Legacy, Part 2: Squirming Shadows

The first four days of Gaius and Bai Xuefeng's journey were about as boring as one could expect any trek through the mountains to be. Qi Condensation level spirit beasts occasionally got involved, only to be struck down by the Bai scion with contemptuous ease. Luckily, none in the higher levels seemed to take notice of the duo.

And so, with relatively little to do, Gaius soon found himself getting over his initial veiled hostlity and speaking to his captor about all sorts of things, simply to stave off boredom. The two spoke at length about their lives, about the things expected of them and the things they had achieved thus far in the early stages of their careers. They also discussed matters of philosophy, as most Cultivators inevitably do, but Xuefeng seemed unwilling to dig too deep into questions of things like metaphysics and oblivion. Gaius wondered if perhaps she wished to keep her Dao close to her chest for some reason.

Whatever her motivation, Xuefeng prefered to discuss more worldly matters, such as local economics, tax routes, historic battles and so on. All well and good, but after a the first hour such talk began to grate at Gaius' ears, and so he would inevitably turn the tone back toward the spiritual.

Not only was the journey dull, but even worse, it was a deeply inefficient use of time. Time which would be better spent honing his fundamentals, or cultivating, or drinking good liquor if his schedule would allow. Any number of things would be more enriching than this plodding. He couldn't even practice walking-cultivation, not in this terrain.

The art of cultivating while walking is one that pretty much anyone who walks the path of immortality attempts to master at some point in their life. Most fail - it's not just a matter of hard work, talent is also involved, as the more easily cultivation comes to you, the more it's possible to do other things at the same time. Even for those who successfully master this practice, it is far from perfect; cultivating while moving is inherently less efficient than doing it while stationary, as some of the qi will leak into the muscles, as they reflexively draw upon the vital force of creation for energy. For someone who truly mastered walking-cultivation, they could perhaps make half as much progress as they would if they had meditated instead.

It didn't just stop there: much of the time, the terrain was simply too treacherous to let cultivation consume most of one's focus. This wasn't a problem for Gaius back home; if the desert was good for one thing and one thing only, it was being flat and mostly free of things to step on. But in the mountains, a traveler had to be much more mindful of where they placed their feet. Loose stones were common, as were suddenl changes in elevation, and without some small degree of care, twisted ankles or worse could easily occur.

What this unfortunately added up to was that until Gaius freed himself from this magically-enforced slavery and got back into the desert, he would be behind schedule on his cultivation - yet another thorn in his side. Still, at the very least his 'master' was not cruel enough to steal his spirit stones. She simply cultivated from her own supply of stones and cores right alongside him each time the two made camp for the night.

The cultivation of a Foundation expert was a fascinating thing to observe in close proximity. When a Qi Condensation Cultivator gathered qi into themself, it was a simple and unsophisticated thing. They seemed to inhale the vital energy inward and then swirl it around inside themselves until it settled. But Bai Xuefeng's system felt unusually empty, aside from two bright points of intense pressure. She circulated the qi far more than someone in the first great realm would need to. Again and again it cycled through her circulatory system, gradually building up a third point through sheer pressure and repetition. It seemed agonizingly slow compared to Qi Condensation, and Gaius in that time came to understand why only 1% of Foundation experts ever built a golden core.

There was food, of course. In any journey, there will be food. Gaius continued to eat through his standard legion rations, consisting of hard tack, small amounts of pickled fruits and vegetables, and a single hunk of dried meat - typically pork, beef or goat meat(if you were lucky, it was a flank or haunch. Unlucky, and you wouldn't want to ask what it was). Though seemingly meagre, each one actually weighed four pounds, having been compressed down into a miniscule tin box through the arcane works of those most fearsome and terrible beasts: Golden Devil line cooks. Thus, each ration could in theory feed a soldier of average size for a day, though under heavy march it could prove slightly insufficient. Gaius, being larger than most, ate one and a half rations per day, and thus made sure to always back more than he thought he would need.

His companion, on the other hand, carried more appetizing fare, personally cooked for her in preparation for the long journey. Her foor was ealed within a specially-treated storage array which had the bonus features of freezing mundane objects in time. She would reach into that infuriating little jad slip and retrieve all manner of delicious meals, ranging from roast duck to salmon fillet. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, Bai Xuefeng's meals, more than any other one thing, made Gaius yearn for freedom.

The first of what Gaius would call notable events happened on the seventh day of the journey, when they accidentally passed through the garden of an old Three Eyed Hill Giant. Thankfully, that name referred to a type of giant that lived on a hill, rather than the Two Eyed Hill Giant, which was a kind of giant big enough to be mistaken for one. A bit confusing, that nomenclature.

The twenty-five foot brute, though fearsome-looking and hovering somewhere in Late Foundation Building, was reasonable enough once her initial irritation quickly wore off. She offered to let the two travelers stay in her home until morning, but they declined, not completely trustful of the beast. She took their refusal with good humor, and let them go without any fuss.

With that dangerous business safely defused, the two descended into a valley where little of consequence happened, and moved onto the next mountain, with Gaius making a note to say hello to the kindly spinster on the way back.

----

Finally, after eleven days, it was time. For an entire day the pair were stalked by a presence too hazy to exactly place. It seemed to move in equal parts below and above the ground, often switching between one and the other, and stayed at sufficient distance that exact position could not be determined. Gaius and Xuefeng didn't exchange any words about it, but both could tell that they were now being hunted by The Deep. Rather than betray their awareness, the duo continued on the same route they had already been treading, hoping to bait out an attack.

Eventually, the two descended down into a deep, forested valley, creeks and rivers running through it like veins and arteries. This would in theory be the perfect place to build farmland and a city, but Gaius figured it was undeveloped for a reason. Said reason, in fact, was probably what was stalking the two of them, methodically keeping an even distance and waiting for an opportunity. Xuefeng soon led Gaius into a grassy clearing within the forest - a sensible choice, as this would seem like a disadventage for them, with plenty of room to be surrounded and mobbed and nothing to hide behind.

It wasn't long before, with a great commotion of sound and flying dirt, large dark shapes burst from the ground around the pair one after another. The Deep were perhaps not as grotesque as Gaius had envisioned, but they looked fearsome nonetheless. With a build and gait somewhere between a bear and a mole, each of them was perhaps the size of a man. They were covered head to toe in sleek midnight blue fur, and their forelegs were tipped with huge curved claws, each the length of a short sword. They seemed for be for digging, but Gaius had no doubt they could cleave people in two as easily as they parted the earth. Beneath their strangely-flaring noses, each Deep also bore a maw filled with two rows of sharp fangs, ideal for shredding apart even the toughest of flesh. Their beady, useless eyes glinted with murderous intent, only amplified by their near-mindlessness.

The beasts paced around Gaius at a languid pace, some growling aggressively, others merely watching and waiting. Behind him and to the right, the first of them attacked, and Gaius cut it down in a single fluid motion. Like a dam breaking, the rest of the horde pounced upon this opening in his stance.

Combat commenced, and it was a simple kind of combat too. Somewhere behind him, Gaius could hear the sounds of explosions and howling wind, as well as the ominous cracking sounds of rapidly-freezing air and earth. Xuefeng's work, obviously; Gaius had his own business to focus on. Snicker-snack, and two Deep died, cleanly impaled. With his opening move decided, the game began:

Dash through the newly-created opening, get a few feet of space. Sway through the storm of claws, don't let any get behind you. Strike back, but don't overextend - Gaius was completely untouched, while several Deep forelimbs were removed or destroyed, with surgical precision. Two steps back, turn, reverse grip, rising vertical slash - another Deep died, split in two down the middle.

They were getting cautious now, fanning out and filling the broad arc of Gaius' vision. Each time one was overcome with bloodlust and broke ranks, he cut it down instantly, making them more cautious still. Twice more they tried to surround him, and twice more he outmaneuvered the beasts. Finally out of patience, they rushed him as one in an incomplete, 270-degree encirclement. Sloppy.

Just as his companion had told him, The Deep were not particularly strong. They all hovered at the middle of Qi Condensation, very few of them getting past Sixth Heavenstage and not a single one in this group surpassing the Seventh. Their claws were powerful but crude weapons, and in order to use them they had to toddle around on two legs, which made them not very mobile. The teeth were another big concern, but avoiding the gnashing jaws of an animal is fundamentally no different than deflecting an attempt to grapple one's limbs.

And so Gaius carved his way through the throng, starting from the left flank and moving inwards. In this chaotic melee, being surrounded was far less of a hassle; each time it happened he would dive under them and emerge a few feet away, as this group no longer had the cohesion to adapt to his Earth-Gliding. When they tried to kite him, he simply submerged his feet one inch into the earth to zip around at twice his running speed without breaking his stance. He slashed their throats and bellies, stabbed their chests and heads and hacked off their limbs until all he saw before him was corpses and those smart enough to run away.

With half their number wiped out in a flash, the remaining Deep retreated perhaps sixty feet, clumping up together as qi began to flare and swirl around them in large amounts. It took a tangible shape with unbelievable rapidity, prompting both warriors to cease their advance and prepare to defend against the attack. A massive projection of a claw-tipped arm emerged, attempting to slam down on them both.

Gaius dodged to one side and Xuefeng to the other, and with a loud crash, the projection impacted the ground, liquefying the dirt instantly and sending a wave of thick mud billowing out like a piece of dough being stretched out. It sought out both of them with unerring precicious, prompting Gaius to summon an Aegis to clash against the powerful elemental attack. Superior in raw power but inferior in concentration of force, it parted around Gaius' defense and tried to crash into his flanks instead. The Seeker wrapped the Aegis around himself in a ring to prevent this, and prepared to dive once Xuefeng bought him an opening.

Xuefeng, more effectively, drew a strange-looking wand and froze the entire wave in place with a burst of incredibly potent cold. Then, which a big and vigorous swinging motion, she caused the frozen mud to shatter, clearing the way between her and the gnashing gang of monsters. Xuefeng then drew an array and called upon its power, summoning a burning, shining orb which resembled a sun. Naturally, this burned and terrified The Deep, who lost all sense of cohesion and scattered every which way as their flesh smoldered beneath the heat. This made them easy pickings for Gaius, who emerged from the ground and hacked apart several more Deep as they fled.

For a moment the two remained still, watching and waiting a for any trickery or ambush. Thankfully, it seemed that none was coming; the simple-minded creatures withdrew in a manner just as uncomplicated as they attacked, simply running away in a straight line, sticking close together so that none could be picked off from the herd.

Gaius flicked his sword, splattering most of the blood upon the ground, then retrieved a cloth and began to clean it more thoroughly. He looked around at the Deep corpses and clicked his tongue in disappointment; none of them had enough of a cultivation base to build a real beast core. That was what made monster hordes like this so troublesome; not only could they cause great damage, but even when they were put down, you didn't get much for the effort you put in.

"For them to attack us unprovoked in the day, we're definitely moving in the right direction." Bai Xuefeng explained. "If we change course about seven degrees westward, that should take us right into the Dusty Basin. Perhaps that's where the bastards are hiding."

Gaius squatted down and briefly shut off everything but his smell and hearing, getting a few big whiffs from the footprints like a bloodhound. "They sure left us some nice big tracks; how considerate."

----

Their new course decided, the pair set off in the direction their would-be assassings had fled in. They were quiet and deadly serious at first, but after the first hour without any sign of combat, the two began to loosen up again, and soon a casual dialogue once more began.

"That freezing weapon is very interesting, especially the shape. It looks as if it were grown and then chiseled." Gaius leaned in closer, focusing the scope of his vision to analyze the hundreds of fine facets.

"This old thing? It's a Life-Stealing Prism, a family secret. It's forbidden to tell outsiders how it's made, but we're quite good at it." His captor permitted herseld a bit of preening over the praise.

"Is that the legacy your ancestors fought over, then?"

"Not really, the inheritance wasn't one special thing, just a huge amount of resources. Making Life-Draining Prisms is just one of many things you could do with it." She gave the wand a playful little shake before banishing it to a small storage ring on her pinkie.

"So you could support one Nascent Soul with everything from both mountains; peace really isn't an option when conquest gets you a prize like that..." Gaius sighed wearily, lighting up a cigarette.

Xuefeng raised a tightly clenched fist to her chest. "We were never supposed to be like this; from the start, Bai Hong wanted his strongest heir to take control. One the last things he said was 'If you honor me by fighting for this great power, I will always stand behind you.' But the pathetic Wen faction knew they could never fairly overcome the true heir, so they used trickery instead."

"And so it hasn't worked out yet."

"Obviously. Power only goes so far if you don't have wealth." Xuefeng chided in irritation. "The Bai family would have absorbed the Wen long ago if we weren't subordinate to different Sects. We have to outperform them so much that the Yuan Clan writes them off as a lost cause and gives up their mountain to us."

"That's quite complicated - this kind of stuff is why I'm not fond of politics" Gaius replied, pausing for a moment to think about something. "But speaking of resources... it seems strange that we were attacked by such a small group. Maybe those Deep were thrown away to guage our strength, but when I think of a horde, I think of small strike forces numbering in the hundreds, not a group small enough that two Contubernia could have taken care of them."

Xuefeng nodded. "That's what The Deep are usually like. They rarely travel far in such small numbers; they stockpile food underground, and when they need more they consume entire forests and villages."

"Do you figure someone had already cut that group's numbers down before it locked onto us?" Gaius wondered, exhaling a small cloud of gray smoke.

Xuefeng's steps slowed for a moment as the surprising thought hit her, but she regained her previous speed quickly. "It's quite possible. Individual Deep don't value their lives, they simply complete the tasts doled out to them through pheromones, like ants. So if that used to be a larger attack force and still acted like one, that behavior would make more sense."

"But if that's the case, then who did the deed?"

"Impossible to say," the Bai scion shrugged. "Anyone strong enough to handle themselves. Actually, it was probably a stronger spirit beast, out hunting." She said with an unusual degree of certainty. Gaius couldn't help but feel his 'master' wasn't sharing everything on her mind, but considering his position, he would rather not push his luck.

----

Another two days passed, in which there was not another Deep attack. At one point, Gaius felt an uneasiness, a pooling of dread centered in the soles of his feet, and stopped to direct his senses into the ground. He found nothing, and after several minutes the two continued their long trek. Already they could feel the air growing drier as they approached the edge of the Dusty Basin.

Named for its more striking characteristic, the Dusty Basin was a huge area encircled by tall mountains on every side. Due to the local geography, no rainclouds ever got through to the Basin, resulting in a different sort of desent than the one Gaius called home. Looking down from high above, he could see that the ground was like one big bleeding scab, bone-dry and marked by an endless spiderweb of cracks and craters. Nothing at all grew. If The Deep were hiding under here, that would explain why they hadn't been found and flushed out yet; why would anyone come to this shithole?

Looking down into the bowl-shaped wasteland, Gaius soon spotted a disturbance amidst the ruined ground at its western edge. The choked uniformity of this blasted land lent it another quality - it was easy to spot anything that stuck out, especially something that wasn't bothering with camoflague. Most Qi Condensation Cultivators would be fooled by that cheap field, but Gaius' eyes could outperform most in Foundation Building - his sight pierced through and caught the dark outline of the large tent underneath.

"You seeing this?" he asked, shading his eyes from the sun to get a clearer view.

"Yup, nice and vivid." The Bai scion replied with a venomous scowl, no doubt immune to the cloaking entirely. "Those are the Wen family's colors."

I have no idea why I had such strong writer's block for a pretty simple chapter. The fight scene in this chapter wasn't particularly intense, but that was the point; to illustrate that The Deep aren't normally that strong, and the current state of affairs with a ridiculously huge horde building up is unusual.

 

[Quest]

Just one more with Yahwen's POV and maybe another aftermath, then I'm done with turn 6! This was interesting to write. I'd first written these scenes from Xiao Yingzi's POV and since I decided she'd probably leave, I re-wrote it from Corvina's. Then I considered Yahwen's POV and it was fun to think how different the same event was when seen through a different character.

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 55
[Turn 6]
[Qiguai 4: Rescue]​

Entering the Qiguai Secret Realm for the second time was far simpler than the first time. There was no storm of ripping and tearing space, no forces of nascent strength. Still, Corvina found it terrifying in it's own right. The Nascent Soul Realm was utterly horrifying because there was absolutely nothing she could have done about it. Some ill curse had gotten them in and an unreliable stroke of luck had gotten them out.

It was the kind of thing that was a nightmare for her - the edges of possibility that were impossible to account for. The dangers of the Qi Condensation Realm were closer to her conception, dangers she could understand, dangers that she had read about and the anxiety that came from the thought of whether she was prepared enough… she wasn't certain which was worse after experiencing both. She needed to be perfect, or they could all die.

As they walked through the world of twisting oceans for a second time, Corvina tracked Antonius using the arm she had managed to save. Her wires of bronze wrapped around it, forming a pouch that kept both blood and qi inside it and hid its presence from others. It had been in her hands for nearly an hour now but those of their bloodline were sturdy and Antonius especially so. All she could do was hope that he'd survived and that he hadn't lost his hand due to some flaw in her treatment.

She could almost feel the shadow of a pulse through her strings and she dearly wished that it was her intuition and not just wishful thinking. At the very least, she knew that his body still existed and wasn't devoured by some realm beast or otherwise transformed beyond recognition. She could feel the sympathetic link between the two and that was what they followed.

Yahwen walked behind her with light steps, staff in hand gripped tightly. Corvina wondered what she was going through. She had taken Xiao Yingzi leaving very badly and that made sense given her culture. While the seer wasn't happy about the girl leaving, she understood why. The clan would greatly look down on one who abandoned their comrade, but at the same time there were limits to that.

Those limits were risks like that of Old Alexios dying in a futile attempt to protect his grandson. Xiao Yingzi was well within her rights to step back but whether Corvina was wrong to choose to go back in was yet to be decided. If she succeeded, she would be an insightful woman who had recovered a comrade where others could not. If she failed, she would be a fool who couldn't see the bigger picture.

Corvina dearly hoped she was the former.

As they walked, the ground gave way to shallow water that rose up to their knees and small coral mounds began to rise as well, creating a watery maze they had to traverse. Some mounds were chest height and others went above their heads and blocked their view. They were small enough and close enough together that they formed thin paths where every turn led only to several other turns.

Corvina had to make the choice of which paths to take. Certainly, she had a sense of where Antonius lay but they couldn't move in a straight line, having to avoid the creatures of the realm as well as the cultivators who had invaded it. She had hoped that the Way-finding Compass of her ancestor would be some help but she had too little experience with it. Though the needle pointed out a path to her, a slightest doubt in her mind would cause it to change target. She was beginning to understand that it depended upon her own abilities somehow and it wouldn't magically solve their problems.

They walked carefully, suppressing their auras. Some aura-dulling pills she had prepared helped them hide better and some will-sharpening pills helped them sense their surroundings better. Several times they passed by beasts or other cultivators, only saved because they could sense them first and hide behind one of the coral mounds. The closest they came to discovery was when they hid from a shimmer-bug.

It was a thin, stretched stick like insect that used it's long legs to walk on water. It's body glittered as it turned in the light, likely capable of entrancing creatures with weak minds long enough that it could leap towards them and slay them. It was not what discovered them. As they hid, a pink tongue struck like lightning and grabbed the insect, pulling it into the mouth of a Giant Horned Toad. It sat on a coral mound, nearly the same color and released it's aura showing the incredible power of one in Foundation Establishment.

That gave Corvina pause. She considered whether to wait it out or to try to run from it as it chewed it's meal, when it casually turned an eye towards her and Yahwen. A chill ran down her spine and she felt Yahwen tense, ready to run. Corvina gently pulled the bronze string between them to get her attention and slowly, very slowly so as to not startle the toad, she shook her head.

Then as the toad chewed and stared, Corvina held both hands to show that she wasn't armed and began to walk away. Then as the toad stared at them, they slowly moved out of its field of vision. It's eyes followed them the entire time and she couldn't for the life of her tell what it was thinking. Despite that, she felt like the only reason it hadn't eaten them too was because it was already preoccupied in eating a meal. Once they moved out of direct line of sight, they picked up speed until she was confident they were out of the way.

As soon as they were a good distance away, they slowed down and looked around warily for anything else that might approach them. When no one appeared, they began to move again hoping to avoid any more notice. They ran into a group of cultivators as well but they were embroiled in a battle with a beast allowing Yahwen and Corvina to walk past before they could finish.

As they headed deeper into the realm, almost everyone else they encountered were otherwise involved until the cultivators abruptly stopped and there were only the beasts and spirits about. This was likely due to them heading deeper into the realm and it made the journey incredibly tense. It took them several hours to see the first signs of Antonius' presence. Though he wasn't there, a pool of blood had formed on the water and it was undeniably Antonius'.

The pool hadn't been pulled by the current, though the water pushed against it. Instead it calcified into bronze, taking root into the ground beneath the waves. "Why did that happen?" Yahwen whispered quietly, trying not to attract the attention of the powerful spotted vole feasting on water worms that had been attracted by the blood. "I've seen him spill blood before, but I've never seen his blood change like that."

"It's not something we hadn't expected possible," Corvina replied equally quietly. "It could be because of the quantity, because of something in this Realm's environment or… it could be because he's close to death."

Yahwen took in a slow breath. "He's not here at least." She said, causing Corvina to think of all the reasons that might be why. "So that means he's strong enough to move."

Corvina nodded in reply and focused on the hand she had close to her. She could still sense the telltale pulse and she could sense the sympathetic connection pointing somewhere else. She took a deep breath and let it out. "This way, come on."

They skirted around the whole area, trying to avoid anything else that might have shown up and then they moved towards the direction Corvina could feel they needed to go. There were no other signs of Antonius on the way, the flow of the water likely wiping away any lesser amount of blood and any lingering qi.

They moved until the coral gave way to islands connected by bridges of stone and the water began to smell of salt and sea. Slowly the water began to rise and they began to see various creatures moving under the water. They continued in the same manner until they found themselves in front of a cave with sea-water rising to chest height. Only the top of the cave opening was above the water.

"Are we sure that he's in there?" Yahwen asked, her voice grim. "Most people wouldn't retreat to a cave this deep. There is no telling what might be in there."

"Antonius has a degree of familiarity with seawater and caves," Corvina replied, recalling his experiences in Yuan. "It's not too far-fetched for him to retreat here if he was hurt and possibly half-conscious. He could even conceivable be safer here with his ability to sense and manipulate water."

She focused and extended her senses through the water, trying to feel what was inside of the cave. To her surprise, she almost immediately encountered a mass of some sort - many small things gathering in a swarm inside it. "Some creatures in the water there - small but many," She whispered urgently and Yahwen leapt to the rocks above the cave, gripping it with qi. Then she pulled Corvina up.

As she was pulled up, Corvina saw a star-shaped eel biting into her lower leg and already beginning to draw blood. "Yahwen, don't move." Corvina whispered, causing the former swordswoman to freeze. She slowly extended her wires around the creature and wrapped it in a pouch before it could even begin to struggle.

"Ugh! I don't even feel it on my skin. Take it off!" Yahwen cursed and Corvina nodded, slowly cut it with a knife finally forcing it to let go. The wound wasn't very deep but as she studied the struggling eel, she couldn't help but frown.

She handed Yahwen a bandage to tie around the wound and stuck to the rock with her own strings. "It's teeth are like saws." She said, grimacing. "They could even chew through Antonius' bronze skin I'd bet if they had enough time.. What did you mean when you said you didn't feel it?"

"I don't know." Yahwen replied, as she struggled to lean in and tie the bleeding wound while trying not to drop her staff. "It's still numb?"

Corvina's eyes widened. "Do you feel woozy? Losing consciousness or concentration?" She asked quietly and urgently.

Yahwen shook her head. "No, just the wound." She replied, then her eyes widened as she realised what Corvina was getting at.

"A local anesthetic agent." Corvina concluded with a grimace. "They might be eating him alive and he'd thank them for it, since they'd be eating away his pain too."

Yahwen flinched and her head immediately turned to the cave mouth. "We have to get him out," She said, her voice filled with horror.

Corvina nodded and extended her bronze threads through the water, relying upon her senses to feel inside. "I sense him," She said, but her voice wasn't filled with joy. His spirit was incredibly dim. She summoned her threads and focused on them completely, leaving Corvina to hold her body and prevent it from falling.

Then she slowly began wrapping her threads around him, ignoring the feedback of the eels trying to bite into his body and reinforcing the threads the few times the eels eyed them as a new meal. The base threads weren't strong enough and she needed to wrap a few of them together to bear their teeth.

Antonius wasn't very deep inside. The mouth of the cave continued and quickly ended at an angled wall where Antonius was leaning. The eels were likely attracted there by his presence here. She took a moment to chart the way he would move, and then she opened her eyes and pulled.

All of the eels went into a frenzy as Antonius was pulled out and then with Yahwen's help, she pulled his body up. Two star-eels had gripped his left foot and she quickly removed as she had with Corvina. She winced as she realised they had eaten away half his foot from the heel and even chewed two of his toes.

Then she saw the rest of the body and shuddered. He was dying. His wounds were horrific. She knew that he should have already been dead. That he was still breathing and only his arm was torn off by shearing space instead of his whole body was another unreliable twist of fate. But saving his life well to her.

Corvina steeled herself.

Yahwen's urgent voice interrupted her thoughts. "Corvina, the eels are starting to attack us. Any plans?" She asked, her aura controlled but on the edge of panic. This must have been the first time she had seen such injury, Corvina realised distantly. Yahwen was older than her and certainly more skilled at combat but she hadn't fought the blood path. She'd never been in a war.

She glanced at her. Yahwen wasn't looking at her, focused on hitting away the eels as they jumped from the water. Corvina could see the tension in the way she held herself and she could sense the rest of eels gathering underneath the surface of the water as they collectively began to realise they were on the rock. When did I take command? She wondered to herself.

"I need to heal him," She said, looking down at Antonius' beeding form. He only had so long to live if he kept losing blood like that. It was up to her. She wasn't even sure she could move him without patching up first. "Guard me?"

For a moment, there wasn't any reply. Then Yahwen's voice came filled with steel. "I'll need a weapon," Yahwen said to her. It didn't click at first. "Something sharp." Corvina resisted looking up at her, instead pulling out her sword from her side and then throwing it up to her. She heard Yahwen catch it.

Corvina took a deep breath and focused upon Antonius. Yahwen was doing her job to the best of her ability and Corvina had no choice to reciprocate. With her protection secured, she turned to Antonius' body which she only knew was still alive because of his still-present and rapidly deteriorating qi.

She took a deep breath and nodded to herself. First, she needed to stop the bleeding. She looked over his injuries. There were several that were several rips and cuts that were dangerous but not life-threatening. The first thing she had to look at was his torn left arm. She then opened her equipment pouch in search of what she needed.

She had the emergency healing pills that she had rationed. A blood pill, a qi-restoration pill and a basic recovery pill should be able to replenish his blood and restore his body to some semblance of its former self. As he was in no shape to take them normally, she crushed them together and mixed it with water to pour it down his throat. He gave a cough and some of it spilled out, but she could already see him beginning to heal.

A bandage on the foot to stop it from bleeding out. It wouldn't heal with those basic pills and Antonius needed professional help as soon as he could get it, not just what she had learned on the battlefield. But it would do for now. Then she turned to his hand, which needed the most work.

She had his hand close by and she took out the other items she needed from her storage ring. A sewing needle for the body and a bronze thread made from Antonius' own body as part of his bloodline testing. The last thing she needed was for his body to reject her qi or any thread she used when it was already so heavily damaged. This would let her work without any issues.

She took a deep breath and began to sew.

 

[Olivebirdy]

This is my argument on who we should focus on next, assuming we don't take Altar Lord's offer. Warning, it's long.

There are three sides in the Abyssal Bee civil war right now. There's an Early Nascent Bee Dominator, who specializes in controlling huge armies of bees, there's an Early Nascent Poison cultivator, whose poison can affect even Old Cannibal, and there's Old Cannibal.

Apparently their old Nascent Soul was killed, though I'm not sure how. It was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who consumed the old Nascent's body and rose to Nascent Soul herself.

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Which one of them is the newcomer, @occipitallobe?

There's a WoG about the ongoing civil war:

Occipitallobe: Whether the Hateful Twins can outmatch Old Cannibal is another thing.
Occipitallobe: They're not even twins, poor murderous Nascents.
Occipitallobe: And they hate each other massively.
Occipitallobe: Xia Xinyue wants to use her swarms to grind down Lin Gengxin, who wants to get in close and use poison.
Occipitallobe: so they've kept apart, the Devil Bees are currently split in two
Occipitallobe: the most likely outcome is they betray each other hard to Old Cannibal
Occipitallobe: from Manuel's point of view, he'd assume Old Cannibal would kill Lin Gengxin because who wants to keep a poison mistress around?
Occipitallobe: And keep Xia Xinyue because massive swarms of bees just aren't that impactful when you're at Mid Nascent, but they're great against your enemies.
Occipitallobe: It's the problem of being untrustworthy. Manuel would keep Lin Gengxin because she can threaten Mid Nascents effectively and that's a huge trump card.
Occipitallobe: But anything that can threaten Mid Nascents can threaten Old Cannibal, so he's got no real choice.
Occipitallobe: the main problem of course is Old Cannibal absolutely does not want to fight Lin Gengxin
Occipitallobe: Poison cultivators are the almost literal definitions of glass cannons.

Click to shrink...

There's an argument that we should be trying to prolong the Devil Bee Civil War by taking out the Bee Dominator. Since she can't win against Old Cannibal and Old Cannibal wants to have her as her subordinate, they're likely to team up against the Poison cultivator and handily win the civil war, leaving the Abyssal Bees with two Nascents, Old Cannibal in charge.

The two Early Nascents are stuck in a bind, as they can't trust each other to work together. If they got together in the same room to create a binding contract, Poison could just kill the Beast Mistress and eat her cultivation, rising to Mid-Nascent to rival Old Cannibal, and the Beast Mistress knows it, so she won't put herself in that position. Any alliance between them to take on Old Cannibal is doomed before it starts, meaning that Old Cannibal is most likely to win against a divided front. Beest Mistress has no path to victory, as she can't defeat Old Cannibal and can't ally with Poison. Poison has no path to victory, as she can't defeat Beest Mistress and Old Cannibal at the same time.

The idea is to take out the Beast Mistress, ruling out the option of Old Cannibal subordinating her, which will force him to fight the poison cultivator alone, which is a fight either of them could win. This is considered a more balanced situation than the original. Then, once our flank is secure, we can work on defeating Jingshen.

So, having laid out the argument, here's my counterargument.

There's no evidence that simplifying the Bee Civil War by taking out one of the sides would make it last longer. If we reduced it to Poison vs Old Cannibal, they can each put all their effort into defeating the other without worrying about being blindsided by the third side. There is no need for a formal agreement in order to attack one of the sides stuck in a furball. Three-sided wars are more complex than two-sided ones, just look at how we're dealing with Jingshen. The moment we simplified the equation by taking out the Cannibals, taking on Jingshen became much simpler once we no longer needed to worry about being hit on two fronts.

While unlikely, it is possible for Poison and the Beest Mistress to create a soul-binding contract that rules out betrayal. If they had a Noble Knowledge (who specialize in poisons) Elder mediate, the Elder could protect the Bee Dominator from Poison's poisons, while also allowing Poison to defend herself from treachery.

Beast Mistress and Poison do have paths to victory. Each of them can reach towards victory by defeating and consuming the soul of the other, or catching Old Cannibal between them and consuming his soul before the other can. This is Bee Dominator's path to victory in particular, as she likely can't beat Old Cannibal without a powerup. However, even if she can't win, she can still retreat with her incredibly mobile army and wait for Poison and Old Cannibal to soften each other up.

Bee Dominator did not fight a bloody civil war for decades to knuckle under and bend over for Old Cannibal as soon as he reaches her turf. While Nascent Souls are not as bound to their Dao as Core cultivators are, her Dao is still Domination. The fact that it will be hard for her to win and the fact that Old Cannibal would like her as a subordinate does not mean that she's willing to give up. I doubt she'll even pretend to give up and wait for her chance to take out and eat Old Cannibal, Blood Path are not known for their patience.

Working our way up the mountains and assaulting the Bees will be possibly our hardest fight. We're a defense-specialized sect, they are both incredibly mobile and have well-defended mountain fortresses. Ours would not be the first assault they fend off. The last Six-Power Pact of all powers against it failed abysmally. Depending on whatever is happening in the civil war on any given day, we may have our assault force attacked by one of three Nascent Souls in an attempt to drink us like Power-Up! Juice Boxes. If we want to defend our forces from such a fate, we'll need Manuel nearby and able to intervene.

This means leaving our East open for the Jingshen to do whatever they want. This may be smuggling, raids, attempts to take territory, or even war if they are desperate enough. They are aware they are being boxed in, they are aware that without the Cannibals present, they are the last ones remaining between us and desert hegemony. They know that we know that they're stockpiling wealth and spirit stones for either a mercenary army to take the Scorpion Road or a third Nascent Soul that they can use to defeat Manuel and our Nascent Will. They know that we know that we need to stop their wealth acquisition. They know that we got a windfall of wealth with the Cannibal lands we just got. They may suspect that it's enough to create our own new Nascent, which will be our own win condition. Things are coming to a head, and we don't even know how close they are to their win condition or exactly how desperate they are. A fight with the Jingshen while we're stuck up on the mountains fending off Bees is not a fun time.

We have very little information on the Devil Bee Civil war. We don't have an array tower set up there, we're not going to have real-time information. This will make our meddling less likely to have the desired effect.

The Verdant South and Demonic Altar are likely also going to be meddling in the civil war at cross-purposes. The Verdant South wants the civil war extended, or at least have the Bee Dominator lose, the Demon Altar wants the Verdant South ransacked to further occupy the Righteous Sects. This may have them specifically supporting/undermining the Bee Dominator, as she's best for that cause, or supporting either of the other two if they promise to/not to cause havoc. This will not make our work in surgically extending the civil war any simpler.

We don't actually need to attack the Devil Bees, despite their hatred for us. They are busy with their civil war. We are only one among a wide array of possible targets. Old Cannibal, the favorite, is barred from the desert for two hundred years. We have fortified our flank specifically against them at the start of the quest. We are better at defense than attack.

Back to Jingshen. Things are coming to a head. We don't know how close they are to their win condition. We just know that they're trying to make as much money as possible. We know that Old Jingshen wanted us to believe that there was a chance of them getting their win condition with an extra 60 Wealth over six turns. We have little to no intelligence on them and we're their only enemy.

Altar Lord has just stirred up suspicions against us, the Righteous Sects will be incredibly leery of us making a move towards monopoly of spirit stones, but at the moment, they're very busy with their entire North wrecked. That makes right about now the best time to mess with Jingshen.

"The Great Battlefield saw Strength Purity march into Demonic Altar territory. I'm not sure what happened, as Strength Purity won't speak of what they did, but they smashed aside the defense and marched right up to the Demonic Altar. Two weeks later their main army was scattered, and their Nascents were in retreat. As they did, they fought against a group of Demonic Nascents - from almost every power in the Battlefield. The Heavenly Time Shatter Sect invoked some sort of artifact, and eight allied Nascent Souls were trapped inside a time-field of some sort of two years. The Thousand Arrows and Flower Sect is extinct - both their Nascents are dead, and the Demonic Altar have killed almost every last mortal in their territory. Noble Knowledge, Heavenly Time, and even the Gao Clan have risen up together in an attempt to conquer the Great Battlefield for themselves. Gemstone Justice is holding with their Nascents in a fortress, the Ma Clan has been retreating for almost two years, and Mountain Bell have pulled entirely into their great defenses and refuse to come out. Bear Enslavement and the Saber Palace have sent their own troops north, but even now Strength Purity isn't winning. The reports from them say almost two hundred million mortals have died in the last eight years alone."

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Here is a map of the situation. The borders remain as they were, though additional lines have been added to show the shape of the warfronts.

Strength Purity have been driven back after an assault on the Demonic Altar itself, and what is now coming into shape as the Noble Devil Alliance rose to push them back.

Every single Demonic power in the Plains inexplicably united, and a trap by the Heavenly Time Shatter Sect allowed the Nascents of the Devil Alliance to run rampant. The end of the Thousand Arrow and Flower Sect has left them without any Nascent Souls, and most of their mortals are dead. The surviving Core Formation cultivators and their juniors of all people in the region have formed the Broken Arrow Bandits, swearing to fight the Devil Alliance wherever they can. Gemstone Justice lost many of its core territories, but activated some sort of great silver shield over the Thrice-Faceted Citadel, capable of holding against even eight enemy Nascent Souls working in unity.

From there, the Ma Clan lost most of its territory, but is mobile enough to hold out without being forced to engage, their Grand Elder able to quit unfavorable engagements and make it difficult for the Devil Alliance to seize his lands. Lastly, the Great Mountain Bell Sect used the selfsame Bell, and held all of its core territory easily enough, though the outlying areas have all fallen to the Blood Path.

The Song Empire in the north of Strength Purity Lands is once again a major front, as are parts of the Bear Enslavement Sect. There was a major push towards the Colossus Footstep Pass, and six Demonic Nascent Souls engaged there against the Strength Purity Sect. They lost handily, and have retreated into the north, licking their wounds as the juniors once again do the fighting.

Click to shrink...

I am in quite desperate straits. I know that the expedition north must not be recalled, and the other fronts are at risk of collapsing as well, so I will not request reinforcements. Do as you think best, but know I can maintain this situation for another two to three years at best, perhaps five at the outside.

Click to shrink...

There's an assumption that Strength Purity Sect has a superweapon that can take on the Altar and destroy it, and that once it's destroyed, the whole Demonic Path is fucked, which is why Gao and Time Shatter joined the war. So all that has to happen before the Righteous Sects stop being distracted by the war is one good hit at the Altar.

There's some evidence for this, Gao and Time Shatter joined in "inexplicably", and there was some reason that Strength Purity Sect braved the Altar after Soup Chef's Will killed the last four Nascent Souls to attack it.

However. Before the assault on the Altar, Demonic Altar Sect sent their cultivators up in force to Thousand Arrows, clearing the way for Strength Purity Sect to attack. This turned out to be a trap after they reached the Altar. That is, Demonic Altar Sect allowed them in. Allowed them access to the Altar. If they had been aware enough of the superweapon and incoming attack to lay an absolutely devastating trap and counterattack, and they knew that it would be an Altar-ender, they wouldn't have allowed Strength Purity Sect to approach it in the first place. Second, despite having access to the Altar, Strength Purity Sect were incapable of toppling it. They were forced to retreat. This is a much better result than the fatal last time, but it's not a 1-hit KO.

I don't think that if the Altar were toppled, it would be a war-ender. Gao, Time Shatter and Noble Knowledge are doing fine without it, and they have much of the North now. Arrow, Gemstone and Bell are very much on the backfoot, unable to properly counterattack. Ma is still kicking, though, despite being on the retreat. It would be painful, they'd have a rough time of it without Demonic Altar Sect's full, unbroken power, but the Righteous Sects would still have a lot to clean up before they could come down South to clean things up here.

I think Demonic Path simply seized the opportunity with incredibly good bait. Altar Lord got Gao and Time Shatter to join with promises of pretty much what just happened, rather than out of fear. This is a really good result for them.

There's an argument that we shouldn't bother Jingshen to the point that they cut off Spirit Stones until Righteous Sects come South to save them. That we should stick to the Bees, who are acceptable targets. I think that as the Righteous Sects are busy now and will be for the forseeable future, it's fine if we risk it.

I'd rather not directly attack Jingshen until we have no other choice, but we need to get information about them to know how close we are to having no other choice. We chose to be blind to Jingshen, and it's quite worrying.

In the meantime, while we're getting the information as to what Jingshen are up to, I'd like to work on cutting off their wealth and territory, as that's the next best thing we can do to slow down their war chest growth or their acquisition of another Nascent.

Cutting off their Spirit Stones, or raising tariffs enough that they can't profit off of them which would make them just keep their stones, would be considered a declaration of war against the Righteous Sects. Spirit Oasis is a fortified Jingshen position with visiting Righteous Sect cultivators, it would be hard to take and diplomatically dangerous as well.

What I'd like to do is: On the map, there's the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms and the Grand Scorpion Sect. They're both labeled as enemies of the Jingshen Clan. If we befriended and fortified them, they'd be able to cut Jingshen off of their new land acquisitions. This move, if successful, would take off about half of Jingshen's land. It would be an indirect attack and Jingshen would still be able to send their stones to the front. But they'd be made weaker and smaller. And if we did manage to nab the two countries as our own vassals and take the New Jingshen Territories... well, that's wealth we could use ourselves. It doesn't stop their clock entirely, but it's a pretty good move. Better than leaving them alone. And if it's unsuccessful, at least it's time and money spent on reining in their rebellious vassals that they otherwise could have used saving up for their win.

Now, the Righteous Sects may object to this, seeing it as a dangerous move in monopolizing Spirit Stones, but after Altar Lord muddying the water, they'd object to any move we made with regards to Jingshen, so it might as well be done now while they're busy.

I wrote a lot more than I meant to, but I've been thinking about this a lot. Hope this isn't too much to read.

 

[TehChron]

There's no evidence that simplifying the Bee Civil War by taking out one of the sides would make it last longer.

Click to shrink...

That really doesnt matter. But I do respect the preempting attempt

Once I get to my laptop after errands I'll show my respect with a breakdown and my own Nascent proposal for after we see how things fall out post-trials

 

[fictionfan]

This is my argument on who we should focus on next, assuming we don't take Altar Lord's offer. Warning, it's long.

Click to shrink...

Write this into a dialog and it would be a Omake.

 

[Sparsebeard]

I have to ask since I can't get this idea out of my head :

Would it be possible to integrate / assimilate one of our vassal diplomaticly though intermarriage?

I ask because I fail to find a solution to our lack of Core Formation and above cultivators that seems to be impossible to resolve in the medium term.

We are talking about expanding into Jingshen or the Bees, but we are already extremely strained in terms of cultivators. And any conflict, even successful, is bound to incur at least some attrition (maybe a lot of attrition if rolls don't go our way).

We have plenty of low level cultivators, but it's bound to take 10s of turns before it starts to trickle into the upper end of Core Cultivators.

Looking at the spreadsheet, I can't help but notice that the Hong Xuan and the Simmering Soup both would be a great short term boon if we could somehow reach an agrement with them and merge with either of those clans. Now, I get that it's a great risk of hurting clan cohesion and other vassals' warriness of us but I fear that if we don't go for such drastic move, we are bound to see opportunities pass us by due to mere overextension.

Losing bloodline purity is also a concern, but on the other hand both of the Hong Xuan and Soup Sect have a much higher cultivator to mortal ratio so it might balance out in the end? And thinning blood is a problem for later which we'll have to address some day either way, it's not like the clan forbids marriage outside the clan and neither of the other sects have incredible mortal population numbers so I think the impact would be bearable?

Is there any WOG on the subject?

 

[Alectai]

Not really worth it because our vassals are too weak. Pound for pound, they're significantly weaker than Golden Devil cultivators.

 

[TehChron]

Would it be possible to integrate / assimilate one of our vassal diplomaticly though intermarriage?

Click to shrink...

That's not how the vassalhood relationship works

They're already tied to us, intermarriage wont provide anything unless you're proposing selling off one of our Core Formations elders which doesn't exactly help

And we've given the Hong.Xuan enough already

 

[Nordlending]

I have to ask since I can't get this idea out of my head :

Would it be possible to integrate / assimilate one of our vassal diplomaticly though intermarriage?

I ask because I fail to find a solution to our lack of Core Formation and above cultivators that seems to be impossible to resolve in the medium term.

We are talking about expanding into Jingshen or the Bees, but we are already extremely strained in terms of cultivators. And any conflict, even successful, is bound to incur at least some attrition (maybe a lot of attrition if rolls don't go our way).

We have plenty of low level cultivators, but it's bound to take 10s of turns before it starts to trickle into the upper end of Core Cultivators.

Looking at the spreadsheet, I can't help but notice that the Hong Xuan and the Simmering Soup both would be a great short term boon if we could somehow reach an agrement with them and merge with either of those clans. Now, I get that it's a great risk of hurting clan cohesion and other vassals' warriness of us but I fear that if we don't go for such drastic move, we are bound to see opportunities pass us by due to mere overextension.

Losing bloodline purity is also a concern, but on the other hand both of the Hong Xuan and Soup Sect have a much higher cultivator to mortal ratio so it might balance out in the end? And thinning blood is a problem for later which we'll have to address some day either way, it's not like the clan forbids marriage outside the clan and neither of the other sects have incredible mortal population numbers so I think the impact would be bearable?

Is there any WOG on the subject?

Click to shrink...

The main problem with this ldea would be the 100 years trial.

The clan is doing "ok" because they are really good at defending against this scheduled attack. Centuries of practice and all..

Our vassals would get wrecked.

 

[Sparsebeard]

Not really worth it because our vassals are too weak. Pound for pound, they're significantly weaker than Golden Devil cultivators.

Click to shrink...

Sure, but what they are now is different than what they could be if we integrated them :
- They could man formations
- We could train them in warfare, discipline and such (also it would undoubtedly take time)
- In the long run, they'd get Golden blood through intermarriage.

And we woud gain :
- Full access to their cool clan specialties and infrastructure
- Their existing lands, which are non negligable
- A relatively short term boost in numbers (integration might take SOME time, but still a LOT less than replenishing our numbers internally).

All in all, it's a lot to gain considerring our tenuous (possibly untenable if we continue to incur Core Formation losses) our current position currently is.

 

[TehChron]

Sure, but what they are now is different than what they could be if we integrated them :
- They could man formations
- We could train them in warfare, discipline and such (also it would undoubtedly take time)
- In the long run, they'd get Golden blood through intermarriage.

Click to shrink...

The scale you're imagining is outright assimilation

They cease to be "our vassals" and become just "Golden Devils"

Not one of them would ever ever agree to that

Not willingly

 

[Sparsebeard]

That's not how the vassalhood relationship works

They're already tied to us, intermarriage wont provide anything unless you're proposing selling off one of our Core Formations elders which doesn't exactly help

And we've given the Hong.Xuan enough already

Click to shrink...

No, I meant to truly integrate / merge with them. Kind of like nations in the real world did in the medieval / renaissance era.

 

[TehChron]

No, I meant to truly integrate / merge with them. Kind of like nations in the real world did in the medieval / renaissance era.

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And you think that this is an option we could feasibly afford to do on the timescale that your stated concerns affect us for?

 

[Juugo]

That would mean we culturally assimilate them and that ain´t happening within the time of the quest

 

[Sparsebeard]

The scale you're imagining is outright assimilation

They cease to be "our vassals" and become just "Golden Devils"

Not one of them would ever ever agree to that

Not willingly

Click to shrink...

I mean, it happened plenty of times in history. In the best of case it's a huge win for both parties.

The possibility of such a thing in the setting is my main query. I wonder if there is any WOG on the subject?

 

[Alectai]

I mean, it happened plenty of times in history. In the best of case it's a huge win for both parties.

The possibility of such a thing in the setting is my main query. I wonder if there is any WOG on the subject?

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On the contrary, it almost always sucks for the weaker party? Hence why it generally only happens when one side has a ginormous amount of force and an interest in culturally assimilating people in their power?

 

[TehChron]

I mean, it happened plenty of times in

Click to shrink...

At the literal or proverbial point of a gun most of the time, the rest came from people willingly joining with a blatantly superior option and integrating over the course of several generations

That's not happening on a relevant timescale for the types of cultivators you want from it, not before we replace those gaps you wanted to address naturally

 

[Sparsebeard]

That would mean we culturally assimilate them and that ain´t happening within the time of the quest

Click to shrink...

In the long run... more or less? There are many scenarios possible but in the end I expect to resulting clan to have a huge Golden Devils influence, but still a huge Hong Xuan or Soup sect influence too considering their numbers.

But the mingling of culture would probably take a long time and might never be total. Just look at the UK for exemple.

 

[TehChron]

Just look at the UK for exemple.

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...Which example, specifically

I'm not interested in dealing with a Hong Xuan style IRA

 

[Sparsebeard]

On the contrary, it almost always sucks for the weaker party? Hence why it generally only happens when one side has a ginormous amount of force and an interest in culturally assimilating people in their power?

Click to shrink...

...Which example, specifically

I'm not interested in dealing with a Hong Xuan style IRA

Click to shrink...

I was thinking more of Scotland / England. The Commonwealth (Lithuania) might also be an exemple I'm not sure. But even France and other medieval countries centralised power slowly through the integration of vassals.

I'm pretty sure centralisation of state through royal marriages was a pretty common thing but I might be mistaken due to too much Europa Universalis?

 

[Alectai]

I was thinking more of Scotland / England. The Commonwealth (Lithuania) might also be an exemple I'm not sure. But even France and other medieval countries centralised power slowly through the integration of vassals.

I'm pretty sure centralisation of state through royal marriages was a pretty common thing but I might be mistaken due to too much Europa Universalis?

Click to shrink...

The point is, if we could culturally assimilate them, we'd have done it by now. There's enough reasons to resist us inherently that they'd never do it unless we coerced them with force, and at that point we've lost a lot of our internal cohesion to get a result we'd have normally gotten through just regular growth.

 

[Simon_Jester]

That really doesnt matter. But I do respect the preempting attempt

Click to shrink...

What do you mean by that?

 

[Sparsebeard]

At the literal or proverbial point of a gun most of the time, the rest came from people willingly joining with a blatantly superior option and integrating over the course of several generations.

Click to shrink...

That's what I was thinking about. Sure full cultural integration would take time. But most of the advantages I listed could be implemented pretty fast should the heads of both clans agree.

 

[Alectai]

That's what I was thinking about. Sure full cultural integration would take time. But most of the advantages I listed could be implemented pretty fast should the heads of both clans agree.

Click to shrink...

Therein lies the problem.

The Golden Devils are losers, and joining them makes you a Target for the many calamities they experience.

It's just a losing prospect across the board. You get a little stronger and in exchange your tribulations become twice as hard, your treasures evaporate, and you get invaded every hundred years by seemingly unbeatable assholes.

 

[Sparsebeard]

The point is, if we could culturally assimilate them, we'd have done it by now. There's enough reasons to resist us inherently that they'd never do it unless we coerced them with force, and at that point we've lost a lot of our internal cohesion to get a result we'd have normally gotten through just regular growth.

Click to shrink...

Regular growth might just be too slow. I mean, the cultivation time from Early to even just Late Core Formation is 260 year (13 turns) and about 2/3 our our Core Elders are at the Early stage.

And there can be many reasons why we didn't integrate them in the past. They have many reason to disagree with integrating with us, but there are also plenty of reasons to join us :
- The heritage they would gain access too
- Access to our ressources and secret realms
- Most importantly, the possibility of having a Nascent Soul of their heritage (with both our and their bloodlines mixed) in the long run.

Therein lies the problem.

The Golden Devils are losers, and joining them makes you a Target for the many calamities they experience.

It's just a losing prospect across the board. You get a little stronger and in exchange your tribulations become twice as hard, your treasures evaporate, and you get invaded every hundred years by seemingly unbeatable assholes.

Click to shrink...

Do they really see us this way? Our good relations with them should impact their view of us and our current ascendency might make them see this for the opportunity that it is. Sure it won't be clear if it's a good deal or bad deal before long but the Golden Devils DO have a glorious history and while the risk is big it's also a huge opportunity to rise in stature and one day have Nascent Soul of their (our) own.

There won't be many opportunities like that where we are desperate for elites and also having a surplus of cultivating ressources. There won't be a better time for them to get a good deal from it and they know we are thrustworthy enough to keep to it.