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.

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[Chronic]

Even assuming that Manuel going ham to clear the field doesnt invite the Devil Bee's own nascent souls to dick around and interfere during the Trials themselves.

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Is this a realistic worry? I would assume that our attackers from across the sea would not like someone local interfering with their trial. Otherwise it seems weird that our Clan still exists - the Righteous Pact dogpiling on us with Nascent Souls while our own are forbidden on threat of annihilation from interfering would have seen the Golden Devils wiped out long ago.

 

[Marlin]

Is this a realistic worry? I would assume that our attackers from across the sea would not like someone local interfering with their trial. Otherwise it seems weird that our Clan still exists - the Righteous Pact dogpiling on us with Nascent Souls while our own are forbidden on threat of annihilation from interfering would have seen the Golden Devils wiped out long ago.

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It is a concern. Now I am making assumptions from this point. The Devil Bees were hired by a third party to attack our clan. The Devil bees are taking our attention. Any Nascent Soul response on our part can involve a Nascent Soul response, we know this from the descriptions of the actions. The Devil Bees should have a Nascent Soul response because they are being pressured to attack our clan and have had success already. The Trial is coming up, so all they need to do is delay the Clan with a Nascent soul, or two. They could have two nascent Souls.

As long as we do not send a Nascent Soul, they should keep a Nascent Soul away. OR a Nascent Soul cultivator will throw the Devil Bees back because of the presence of one. The QM did confirm that if the players had sent Manuel when we were first aware of the Devil Bee invasion, a roll could determine if the Devil Bees responded to Manuel with a Nascent Soul, or not.

 

[TehChron]

Is this a realistic worry? I would assume that our attackers from across the sea would not like someone local interfering with their trial. Otherwise it seems weird that our Clan still exists - the Righteous Pact dogpiling on us with Nascent Souls while our own are forbidden on threat of annihilation from interfering would have seen the Golden Devils wiped out long ago.

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It'd be a concern for a Righteous Power probably.since its heaven-ordained

But a Demonic Sect?

Significantly less so

 

[Alectai]

Yeah, my feeling here is that this is twice we've nearly gotten fucked by a surprise Formation from something that isn't known for their Formations.

This time came a lot closer than the last one to fucking us up. It did fuck us up in fact.

It does feel like someone's using our enemies as a proxy to cripple us. The question is who the fuck has the ability to influence that many Sects and still gain a strong degree of loyalty from them?

Saber Palace isn't exactly known for their Formations either, so while they might be involved in this, I don't think they're the ringleader. Someone empowered the Devil Bees with that super formation in the first place to let them lean on the Saber Palace, and I don't think they're willing to intentionally fuck themselves to set up a proxy war, so much as they redirected the Bees onto us.

 

[Humbaba]

Yeah, my feeling here is that this is twice we've nearly gotten fucked by a surprise Formation from something that isn't known for their Formations.

This time came a lot closer than the last one to fucking us up. It did fuck us up in fact.

It does feel like someone's using our enemies as a proxy to cripple us. The question is who the fuck has the ability to influence that many Sects and still gain a strong degree of loyalty from them?

Saber Palace isn't exactly known for their Formations either, so while they might be involved in this, I don't think they're the ringleader. Someone empowered the Devil Bees with that super formation in the first place to let them lean on the Saber Palace, and I don't think they're willing to intentionally fuck themselves to set up a proxy war, so much as they redirected the Bees onto us.

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I may be getting things confused, but didn't the Saber palace profit massively in formations knowledge from overrunning our previous stronghold and being able to study their loot?

 

[Faraway-R]

Yeah, my feeling here is that this is twice we've nearly gotten fucked by a surprise Formation from something that isn't known for their Formations.

This time came a lot closer than the last one to fucking us up. It did fuck us up in fact.

It does feel like someone's using our enemies as a proxy to cripple us. The question is who the fuck has the ability to influence that many Sects and still gain a strong degree of loyalty from them?

Saber Palace isn't exactly known for their Formations either, so while they might be involved in this, I don't think they're the ringleader. Someone empowered the Devil Bees with that super formation in the first place to let them lean on the Saber Palace, and I don't think they're willing to intentionally fuck themselves to set up a proxy war, so much as they redirected the Bees onto us.

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That is very concerning. Especially since I don't think any regional rivals we have contact with, are specialized in Formations.

In fact... In fact the only group that comes to mind that should have this much competence in Arrays and Formations... Is our own.

Do we have a traitor to the Clan in our midst? EDIT: Or Humbaba has a point and it is pilfered knowledge used against us.

 

[Chronic]

It'd be a concern for a Righteous Power probably.since its heaven-ordained

But a Demonic Sect?

Significantly less so

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I dunno. Being annihilated by a bunch of Soul Severing Experts for sticking their nose into their trial would hit Righteous Powers as hard as Demonic ones. But this seems like something Manuel should know for certain, so hopefully we'll get more details on how the Trial works exactly soon.

 

[RebelYell]

I think the sorrowful blacksmith's are who gave the array to the devil bee's, it's a deliberately crude array plus their very defense oriented so it wouldn't be that worrying for them if they're confident it wont harm them that much.

 

[Gore17]

Yeah, my feeling here is that this is twice we've nearly gotten fucked by a surprise Formation from something that isn't known for their Formations.

This time came a lot closer than the last one to fucking us up. It did fuck us up in fact.

It does feel like someone's using our enemies as a proxy to cripple us. The question is who the fuck has the ability to influence that many Sects and still gain a strong degree of loyalty from them?

Saber Palace isn't exactly known for their Formations either, so while they might be involved in this, I don't think they're the ringleader. Someone empowered the Devil Bees with that super formation in the first place to let them lean on the Saber Palace, and I don't think they're willing to intentionally fuck themselves to set up a proxy war, so much as they redirected the Bees onto us.

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On page 90, I speculated that it might be the Demonic Altar Sect.

The Saber Palace is subordinate to the Strength Purity Sect, the Sorrowful Blacksmiths are right to the north of the Devil Bees, while the Battle Blood Cannibal Sect is right below the Jingshen Clan.

Both are next to us, who safeguard the Scorpion Road.

 

[uri]

Yeah, my feeling here is that this is twice we've nearly gotten fucked by a surprise Formation from something that isn't known for their Formations.

This time came a lot closer than the last one to fucking us up. It did fuck us up in fact.

It does feel like someone's using our enemies as a proxy to cripple us. The question is who the fuck has the ability to influence that many Sects and still gain a strong degree of loyalty from them?

Click to shrink...

The question we need to ask is who benefits from child corps gulper rampage and from strengthening the devil bees sect, and who had access to the techniques and expertise needed.

We can assume that both of the moves against us were opportunistic and so we should look at both of them separately.

The first incident is child corps gulper, he tried to eat one of our cities and we took a leg from him, the backer probably saw that as an opretunaty to empower someone with a recant grudge against us that was still raw thinking that either child corps gulper attacks us and wins or he will die after wakening the golden devils and expending the recourses of the battel cannibals sect.

And so we need to ask ourselves who has access to techniques from the saber palace and benefits from us and the battel blood cannibal's sect?

We have four suspects: the devil bees (they could steal the technique in one of their raids), the saber palace, Strength Purity Sect (they have the influence to request or take the technique and having weaker demonic paths in the desert is beneficial to them) and the Jingshen Clan (they benefit from their direct neighbor wakening and are rich enough to buy those techniques).

The second incident is strengthening the devil bees with a formation, an act that wakens both us and the verdant south causing indirectly for the righteous paths of the great battlefield to weaken (the verdant south supply's a big amount of the finances and manpower for the big wars) and as such have the current demon annihilating war last longer (weakening the verdant south wouldn't cause a big enough shortage for the righteous powers to lose the war).

We have two suspect that benefit from such a thing the Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect weaker righteous powers in the great battlefield and verdant south will allow them to raise their tolls and they weaken rival to their lands (they were previously ours) but to do that they will need to allow a demonic sect to rise in power and get confident after successful raiding right next to them.

The second suspect is the Jingshen Clan, a weekend righteous block will allow them to raise their influence with the righteous powers and weakening us (their main rival for region domination) is helpful for their plans to dominate the region and they are rich enough to hire someone to make formations for them.

In the end my money is on the Jingshen Clan they have the means and the motive, and are also one of the only powers that aren't hurt by the strengthening of the devil bees sect.

 

[TehChron]

I dunno. Being annihilated by a bunch of Soul Severing Experts for sticking their nose into their trial would hit Righteous Powers as hard as Demonic ones. But this seems like something Manuel should know for certain, so hopefully we'll get more details on how the Trial works exactly soon.

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No I mean that Righteous Powers would have the necessary sense of self preservation

Child corpse Gulper has shown us that that is significantly less so with Blood Path aligned organizations

 

[Kaboomatic]

No I mean that Righteous Powers would have the necessary sense of self preservation

Child corpse Gulper has shown us that that is significantly less so with Blood Path aligned organizations

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I think that particular trait is more a 'heaven defying talent' thing that a blood path thing. Old Cannibal was pretty cautious

 

[TehChron]

I think that particular trait is more a 'heaven defying talent' thing that a blood path thing. Old Cannibal was pretty cautious

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That just means that he survived where more reckless individuals did not. It's less "this is a standard to hold Blood Path to" and more "the exception are the ones who manage to last to become old men in a young fools environment"

 

[Random12345]

[X] Take Command

 

[FixerUpper]

Keiros Cole Emendator - Challenge II

An array was always simple.

No matter how complex the array, no matter how awe-inspiring the result, arrays, like people, could only stray so far from their most basic design.

Any array consisted of three parts. The physical structure, also known as the medium or the housing; a power source, be it human or spirit or something more exotic; and the pattern, occasionally referred to as the formula, through which an idea given shape and form could manifest itself in the physical world.

Take the animating arrays for the circular doors permitting egress and ingress into the Third Workshop. The medium was a simple iron block with a hole in the center where a beast core was bound. The formula carved around the array dictated the conditions necessary to open and close the doors, which was accomplished through a simple mechanism, not unlike a small, folding arm which could push or pull. The beast core, made of a locally sourced hyena offshoot, was easy enough to come by and played well with the sensory aspects of the detection mechanisms.

Generally, it functioned quite well. People who needed in, got in; and people who needed out, got out.

After Keiros had broken one or half a dozen, an addendum to the instructions had been carved, a pattern representing one specific exception that would overrule the usually more sedate pace the doors opened, permiting them to open with far more vigor. Anger, in the form of detectable pheromones and psychic emanations from a specific soul signature would trip this new exception and force the doors open in a burst of energy.

Keiros, being closer to the doors, exited first.

The doors fled from him, as they had to.

When Tavi followed, Keiros turned half a step around, reactivating the array which forced the doors to swing wildly in the opposite direction. A mortal would have been tossed back into the workshop on their ass and lucky to escape with no more than a broken bone or three.

Tavi narrowly avoided the doors slamming into his face, his timing and judgment, as expected, perfect.

"Petty cuz, real-"

But people, like arrays, were simple. Understand how they worked and you could take them apart. Tavi was an idiot, lacking the ability to think more than a single step into the future. As such, he believed any opponents he had thought but a single step into the future themselves.

This was arrogance.

Keiros stepped forward and punched.

It was a serviceable punch, the maximum possible force for the least possible motion - textbook and clean, without the frills or risks of a secret technique.

Tavi accepted the punch, as he had to.

At first it merely turned his head slightly, forcing it to pivot.

Then, in a blaze of bright qi, it exploded.

Metal plates had been sewn into Keiros' gloves, each etched with a specific array. Acid had done the bulk of the work when it came to etching, but even so, they lacked long-term viability and any scratches marring the surface would increasingly degrade their capabilities.

In the meantime, they multiplied the strength of his first blow fivefold.

Tavi's head flew back, as if kicked by a horse, blood fountaining out of his nose.

"You-" he snarled, his qi beginning to circulate, coloring the air around him in soft blue whorls.

"Shut up," Keiros advised dispassionately. His follow-up was an open-palmed strike that slammed into the nerve cluster below the sternum, a blow that staggered but did not activate the array - and as Tavi hissed out a ragged breath and stumbled backward, his qi stuttered, interrupting the technique. More waste.

"You-"

Keiros felt Tavi's cheekbone cry out in distress as another array-assisted blow caught it, whipping his entire head sideways in an explosion of light and fury, slamming and cracking the unforgiving basalt walls.

Dust drifted down from the ceiling.

Wide-eyed, Keiros saw the moment Tavi first realized he might lose. And in that moment, he saw his cousin fall apart.

Satisfying, slightly.

Like a butcher expertly rendering down a carcass, it took just three more punches and a single kick, each reducing Tavi's handsome face to something more and more pathetic.

The blow which would have declared the winner was itself interrupted as Octavian Atticus Emendator cried out: "Foul! I cry foul!"

Fist an inch afore his opponent's eye, Keiros stopped, stock still.

Beyond them, the doors to the Third Workshop still swung wildly on their hinges, inertia a force not so easily overcome. Eyes as curious as they were predatory peeked out.

"The grounds for the foul?" Keiros asked softly.

Tavi sucked in a deep breath. "W - weapons! It was a three fold challenge and as challenged I have the right to choose the weapons!"

"You chose whatever you had on hand when you attacked without giving me a chance to retrieve any weapons of my own," Keiros said. "This was made clear in the case of Regulus and Maximus, as well as-"

"I - I did not realize."

Keiros shrugged and drew his arm back, as if drawing on a bow, his fist glinting with metallic arrays.

"Wait!'" Tavi said desperately. "I cede to you time and place - allow me to choose the weapon. We will do it again properly, this time."

Like the jaws of some mighty beast, the trap sprung shut.

A smile ghosted Keiros' lips.

"You so swear?" he asked.

"I, Octavius Atticus Emendator, do solemnly swear," he said from between rapidly swelling lips. His head would more closely resemble a ball than a human visage for the next three days, he estimated.

Keiros dropped his fist and turned to leave.

"A week hence, at midday, in the dueling arena. Be there or be foresworn, cuz."

And then he left.

 

[Kingmally]

[X] Draft a new Protostrator

 

[occipitallobe]

@occipitallobe Can we do what I purposed? Try to make righteous powers spies in the saber palace believe the saber palace are using the fact they are paying the devil bees to attack us as cover for paying them to attack their fellow righteous powers?

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You can attempt it, and sowing dissension among the Verdant South would certainly distract the Saber Palace. It wouldn't lead to war, and without sufficient proof they'd likely pay an expensive penalty and the matter would be settled.

@occipitallobe quick question about the Secret Realm, maybe my interpretation is wrong but since Rina got out without using a Life-saving Treasure, is it right to assume that the rolls will go until either they need to use that treasure or the roll is so average that nothing happens ?

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Up to four rolls, essentially. Lifesaving treasures take you out if you're going to die, otherwise you stay in. Our two contestants so far have been very lucky, but the chances of being wounded or crippled are also very high. The chances of being at least wounded per roll in a Secret Realm is 50%. Fate is magnified for these four rolls, so you can get some amazing stuff - if you're lucky.

Of course if you're not, coming out crippled is not a small possibility. This would require turns of recovery or omake treasures to be healed. Without a lifesaving treasure, your chance of death is above 50%.

I trust Manuel to not have seriously contemplated drafting a Protostrator this very moment in the first place, had the demerits of it been too high.

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Essentially. The problem is 'do I try and throw someone in and get them experience to get superior command during the Trials, or do I settle the matter here myself and hope the superior resources allow better performance during the Trials?'. Both options have merits and demerits.

I dunno. Being annihilated by a bunch of Soul Severing Experts for sticking their nose into their trial would hit Righteous Powers as hard as Demonic ones. But this seems like something Manuel should know for certain, so hopefully we'll get more details on how the Trial works exactly soon.

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Yes - other Righteous powers don't intefere, and Demonic ones... well, let's just say the Trial participants are perfectly happy to slaughter Demonic Path cultivators that won't throw them out of the world if they're threatening to encroach on their prey.

More importantly, a Demonic Nascent Soul who showed up during the Trial would be a piece of delicious meat for the Spirit Severing cultivators, who could kill them (as they were in Clan territory and as such valid targets, but also would not remove them from defending their juniors not being a Trial target as such) and use their immortal aperture as a storage item for a family member or friend.

Consequently while the Trials are ongoing other Nascent Souls can't show their faces in Clan territory, and any invasion or raid from outside leaves Manuel completely able to respond with maximum force.

That just means that he survived where more reckless individuals did not. It's less "this is a standard to hold Blood Path to" and more "the exception are the ones who manage to last to become old men in a young fools environment"

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Yes, Blood Path tends to reward the insane and reckless and promotes heavy infighting. If it didn't, the whole Sea would be Blood Path, it's too powerful compared to other cultivation methods.

 

[veekie]

It does feel like someone's using our enemies as a proxy to cripple us. The question is who the fuck has the ability to influence that many Sects and still gain a strong degree of loyalty from them?

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They don't need loyalty if they're pretty sure we'd also fuck the proxy up - just give them a "fortunate encounter" with rare loots.

 

[Gore17]

Yes, Blood Path tends to reward the insane and reckless and promotes heavy infighting. If it didn't, the whole Sea would be Blood Path, it's too powerful compared to other cultivation methods.

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I imagine a Blood Path Sect/Clan that didn't follow such tendencies is a nightmare scenario for everyone?

 

[Aabcehmu]

I imagine a Blood Path Sect/Clan that didn't follow such tendencies is a nightmare scenario for everyone?

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It's possible that without that level of in-fighting, the blooflow wouldn't be sufficient and the highest level cultivators' foundations would begin to destabilize. At least, it seems to me like blood path cultivation has a sort of upkeep.

 

[occipitallobe]

I imagine a Blood Path Sect/Clan that didn't follow such tendencies is a nightmare scenario for everyone?

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Part of the problem is that treachery is built in.

In our Clan, if a Core Formation Elder on the verge of Nascent Soul kills Manuel, he gets a cool storage item and some good forging materials. Nice, but nothing earthshattering.

On Blood Path, if you're on the verge of Nascent Soul and you poison/sell out/arrange to kill one of your Nascent Souls, you can consume them and jump straight into Nascent Soul. Betrayal benefits you incredibly unless you're caught and killed for doing so, and maintaining a culture of no murder in a high-stakes situation where not murdering makes you weak and pathetic and murdering empowers you massively means just a few defectors can remake a whole Sect in their image.

Blood Sects have tried to do this (and Old Cannibal maintains a remarkable level of order - the Devil Bees are practically in a constant civil war by comparison), but it only lasts for awhile. Expansion tends to empower the most ruthless and vicious, so if a Blood Sect manages to shake its natural tendencies and work in unison it'll expand very quickly... a state of affairs which massively promotes internal disharmony as the most treacherous disciples rise.

 

[Gore17]

It's possible that without that level of in-fighting, the blooflow wouldn't be sufficient and the highest level cultivators' foundations would begin to destabilize. At least, it seems to me like blood path cultivation has a sort of upkeep.

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Oh, it definitely does have upkeep, but I imagine an organised, non-infighting group would be better able to keep things stable, and properly manage "people farms". If they were really organised, loyal and self-sacrificing, members near death would feed themselves to their fellows.

Now, this sort of thing would be easier on the Plains, as Blood Path cultivators can still absorb energy from the air, but it can happen elsewhere, they just need to take additional steps. Have groups of indoctrinated cultivators under them that use the non-Blood Path method predominant to the region, and you've got a steady supply of both subordinate mooks and resources.

Part of the problem is that treachery is built in.

In our Clan, if a Core Formation Elder on the verge of Nascent Soul kills Manuel, he gets a cool storage item and some good forging materials. Nice, but nothing earthshattering.

On Blood Path, if you're on the verge of Nascent Soul and you poison/sell out/arrange to kill one of your Nascent Souls, you can consume them and jump straight into Nascent Soul. Betrayal benefits you incredibly unless you're caught and killed for doing so, and maintaining a culture of no murder in a high-stakes situation where not murdering makes you weak and pathetic and murdering empowers you massively means just a few defectors can remake a whole Sect in their image.

Blood Sects have tried to do this (and Old Cannibal maintains a remarkable level of order - the Devil Bees are practically in a constant civil war by comparison), but it only lasts for awhile. Expansion tends to empower the most ruthless and vicious, so if a Blood Sect manages to shake its natural tendencies and work in unison it'll expand very quickly... a state of affairs which massively promotes internal disharmony as the most treacherous disciples rise.

Click to shrink...

Also fair, though I imagine there might be a ways around that. Such as the Blood Path being restricted to only the leaders, or perhaps their particular variation comes with either something inbuilt or a supplementary technique that renders their blood unusable for absorption for anyone at or below their level.

I definitely don't think it's likely, but I imagine there's at least one setup that would allow stability.

 

[cheesyme]

Hmm, @occipitallobe, that almost sounds like a Blood Sect basically can't accomplish it, but a Blood Clan with unifying structures/beliefs could.

 

[occipitallobe]

As an aside, I've been trying to do 2-3 wiki edits per update.

The wiki is here for those who haven't seen the post.

I've added four new categories. Good Seeds, for those who want to wikify their Good Seed information (absolutely not mandatory). Other Clans and Sects (I intend to move more information over there, away from the current infopost system), Spirit Beasts and Places.

The last one is perhaps the most interesting and one I'd ask every omake writer to throw an edit or two in at some point if they have time. Absolutely non-mandatory, but I think it's a really great way to help out new writers.

If you create a new city, town, cave, whatever, throw it in there. To me, the most rewarding part of establishing a shared universe is being able to walk through the same streets and places as other characters, to say 'hey, I went where my seniors went and can remember their stories and form my own.' I think that's 100% the coolest thing, and so if you write about a new place, please, jump on the wiki and create a page under Places - maybe just one or two paragraphs with a link to your post so people can read more about it if they want.

I wrote an example - the Fields of Rain here. Super short with a link, but enough to let someone figure out what the place is and how to learn more about it.

There's a bunch of useful possibilities in a wiki, but what I absolutely want most out of it is to make the basic information about the Clan and the setting accessible to new omake writers - if you enter this quest and see two hundred and sixty thousand words of omake and think 'man, I don't want to step on any toes, and reading all that before doing something sounds impossible', I would personally find that sad.

 

[Mochinator]

"Grand cultivators, welcome to the 235th decennial auction of the Tzinshi. In addition to our regular rules of the auction, I would like to remind fellow cultivators that any release of Qi in a hostile manner shall be met with appropriate measures taken against the perpetrator. Outright hostility shall be met with even harsher sanctions. I hope you all respect the rules so that any unfortunate accidents could be avoided." Both his and the women cultivation flares as they speak, and Chrysanthos freezes from all the Qi radiated. Foundation Establishment. Considering their cultivation and the restraining formations, not even a Core Formation cultivator could walk away unscathed.

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Oh my, our first Xianxia Auction scene! Minus points for there not being a battle over the goods or smacking each other with money

Up to four rolls, essentially. Lifesaving treasures take you out if you're going to die, otherwise you stay in. Our two contestants so far have been very lucky, but the chances of being wounded or crippled are also very high. The chances of being at least wounded per roll in a Secret Realm is 50%. Fate is magnified for these four rolls, so you can get some amazing stuff - if you're lucky.

Of course if you're not, coming out crippled is not a small possibility. This would require turns of recovery or omake treasures to be healed. Without a lifesaving treasure, your chance of death is above 50%.

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Oh wow. That's riskier then i thought given the past 2 example. Still, that risk makes Xiao Yi's decision more weighty. For the Healing, will it be covered as a Cool Thing Bonus and be a instant heal ?

Oh and just to raise my own hopes slightly, are the Fate bonuses from Omakes taken into account during the Secret Realm rolls ?

Also fair, though I imagine there might be a ways around that. Such as the Blood Path being restricted to only the leaders, or perhaps their particular variation comes with either something inbuilt or a supplementary technique that renders their blood unusable for absorption for anyone at or below their level.

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Personally, the easiest way i see the Blood Path can do for that is using Poison or Arrays ala Hyuuga seals to force obedience. The backstabbing will still be present, but harder since they need to make sure they got the " key "