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

[occipitallobe]

Hu Ai gulped.

Oh, she was technically a Nascent Soul. Her body burned with power, and she could pulp a Core Formation enemy in a moment with a glancing blow. Her rise to power had let her reshape her body, becoming eerily beautiful. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, her eyes limpid pools that drew those who looked at them in. Her long, coal-black hair ran down to her waist, and a pair of overly red lips drew attention as well. If not for the mouth of overly pointed, gnashing teeth designed to tear through flesh, she would have been considered perfect.

This hadn't been her choice, she thought. It had been something about how her ancestor's will had manifested as her teeth had torn into him, her teeth becoming more and more perfect, more suited for the job.

Not to mention that now she was always hungry. She restrained herself to enemies, or those who were vile enough in the Altar Sect to merit her displeasure, but no matter how much she ate, no matter what she ate, she was hungry. One particularly... unrestrained incident had given her the nickname of "Corpse-Devouring Fairy", a horror she had been unable to control.

It had been a few weeks ago that the Thirty-Second Generation Altar King had come to her, in all his unassuming majesty. Other Nascent Souls she felt, like pyres burning in the night. Fonts of power she could challenge in terms of strength, but not in subtlety or experience. The Altar Lord was... different. She could not feel him, if he did not allow her to do so. Rather, he often felt like he was in many different places, yet never truly at the place she saw him. To all her senses he was merely a mortal. Sometimes he walked among the Altar Sect as such, butchering any Blood Path cultivators who were foolish enough to target him.

He had come to her, and smiled. He always smiled gently at her.

"Hu Ai, I am sending you south."

She froze.

"Have I offended you, Lord?"

He sighed.

"No. You restrain yourself as best you can, and I cannot fault you for consuming our enemies. It is a necessity, and to destroy the worst among us is a service. You have done as best as a young girl could have been expected to. Yet things are falling apart, and if measures are not taken we will not reach the end."

She looked at him.

"The end?"

He smiled.

"I am threading the eye of a needle, Ai'er. I am standing on a sinking ship aflame, standing in the last place of safety as I attempt to finish a great work left before me. But the ship is sinking, and time is rapidly running out. We must buy a little more time and space."

He sighed, and Ai looked merely confused.

"I do not understand."

"You will, in time. For now, there are two fronts that must be properly opened, at the risk of losing all else. Firstly, the Noble Knowledge Sect. Only a great fool would empower them to take all the territory they desire, yet I must be a great fool. We will aim to allow them to consume the Flowers and Arrows entirely, doubling their territory in a stroke. With the growth of the Maze, many Righteous resources must be poured in to prevent their growth, removing pressure from our front which is mostly denuded of mortals in any case. Secondly, Sun Diaxing."

She raised an eyebrow at that.

"The south must be harried and raised up under the banner of the Blood Path. If Sun Diaxing can achieve his goals, a power far worse than the Blood Altar can be raised up to consume the Verdant South."

Ai frowned, her perfect lips turning downwards as her forehead creased.

"I don't understand. I know you hate him, and hate his philosophy. Is counterbalancing the Righteous Path so important that we would empower a creature like that?"

Altar Lord shook his head.

"I would torture every man, woman and child in the Verdant South to death myself if it were necessary. I would spare every single one of them if it were possible. But we are rapidly approaching the limits of what we can do. I have released caches, opened up cities of mortals myself, enforced infighting, and cracked open as many fortifications in the war as possible. The collapse of the war should have come two decades ago, but I have sustained it a little longer. We are at all moments a heartbeat away from losing, and we cannot afford to lose yet. By distracting and forcing the Righteous Path into various other fronts, we can buy more time. After that, there is only one card to play, but..."

His voice trailed off.

"Well. When it is played, you will know. In the meantime, the front here can collapse for all I care. If you assist Sun Diaxing in the south, he will achieve his goals more quickly and allow us to force our enemies into a state of disarray. If they are constantly confused and redeploying, they cannot know how weak we truly are."

He looked her in the eyes, his face serious.

She still hated him, a little. He had made her... eat her ancestor, the man's grin at being torn apart and eaten still etched into her brain. She saw it when she went to sleep. Couldn't stop seeing it. Yet he had given her power, power enough to prevent injustices she hated, to keep the people she loved alive.

"I... will do this for you."

His shoulders sagged a little bit as tension went out of his body.

"I know you will, Ai. You are the only trustworthy one. If you can do this... I'm sorry for not telling you the plan, the truth of things. Trust me, though. You will know in time, and I hope you will understand."

She shrugged in turn.

"I hope so. I'd hate for all this.."

She gestured feebly, at the horror her life had always been, but the worse horror it had become.

"To be in vain."

 

[occipitallobe]

There are just a few Fates remaining - I've handed some off, and once they're done the Fate update will come. Until then, I thought I'd outline some new changes coming through.

(1) Teaching Juniors. This is very simple. New Seeds are going to find it incredibly hard to even halfway catchup or become more relevant, so this is the first mechanic (maybe more in future) to help them make ground. By doing a joint omake with someone in Foundation Establishment, Qi Condensation seeds can get an absolutely free 20 cultivation-years. As you might imagine, the omake needs to be written about the senior cultivator teaching/helping the junior one. The only limitation that applies is you cannot do this once you're at or above 9th Heavenstage, sorry.

(2) Wealth is now being changed into Purchases. Purchases will be sorted into Minor (5 Wealth worth), Major (10 Wealth worth), and probably two other classes (15 and 20, no names yet). This is to make keeping track of Wealth easier. Likewise, Wealth Actions will no longer offer random variability, I think the mechanic has proven to be unfun. However, Nascent Wealth actions and Clan Wealth focuses will offer a reliable 1 Minor Purchase, no matter what. Hopefully this Action change should make planning more interesting going forward.

(3) Consuming Impact. You will now be able to consume Impact, as obviously it has lost the... impact it should have on gaining it. The first functionality will be spending 10 Impact to gain an Impactful Action. The tentative name here is 'Defying the Heavens'. You can do this provided you have the Impact to spend, and it will be available for anyone in Foundation Establishment up who has enough Impact to spend. It lets you do something that impacts the main quest, which will be discussed on a case-by-case basis for those looking to do it. It will be equally effective to use in Foundation as Core - so waiting won't make it 'better'. Expect interludes and screen time for using this, as well as a meaningful outcome of some sort.

(4) Aid the Clan Changes. Formerly Aid the Clan meant giving up your Fate goodies to win. Now, it'll be simpler. You get a malus to your roll for Aiding the Clan, and you'll be able to take it up to X times (I'm still workshopping X). The more you Aid the Clan, the worse your roll suffers, but the more Aid you can give. I'm thinking roughly a -5 or -10 malus per Aid, applied before Fate multipliers. This means you can determine how much you want to sacrifice for the Clan, rather than it being up to random chance.

 

[occipitallobe]

Konstantinos Papadopoulos
Bonus: LST
Fate: Konstantinos was one of the more effective recruiters for the new Heavenly Flood Bandits, his flyers found across the lands. Hunted by three furious Jingshen detectives aiming to stop this new threat before it arrived, they hunted him for years, and he eluded them each time, delivering subversive messages of recruitment to many, many towns and cities. They eventually managed to chase him down only to find an empty, ruined press - and type set to a simple message "You lose.". He left, triumphant.
Impact: 10 (+0)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage (3 turns to FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 135 (+0)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Healthy

Matthaias Outi
Bonus: LST
Fate: Matthaias entered the Yuan Realm, entering a trial of cultivation. Showing talent and managing to gathering Qi from spirit stones with sufficient speed, he was rewarded with a High-Grade Spirit Stone. While potentially useful for him, he traded it at a later date with a Core Formation Elder for a Fifty Years of Qi Pill, a pill that did exactly as it said, advancing his cultivation (+60 years) - though he got a little more out of it than expected. Hunted for his Spirit Stone before leaving the Array, he almost died, and barely managed to escape. His loss allowed him to snatch a Face-Slapping Corpse Hand Tracker (+3 Impact), a powerful hand that could slap almost any face no matter the enemy's attempt to block, infusing it with corpse qi - qi he could track anywhere it went. It was used on him first, so without seizing it he would have died. During his time as a bandit, he used this hand to slap and track several prominent bandits, insulting them into coming to crucial meetings to plot against the Jingshen. However, during this time he was caught and beaten to near-death by a Jingshen Core Elder, who saw him merely as an upstart bandit - torturing him over several days to find the location of other bandits. He managed to escape through use of a treasure, but bore significant scars from the treatment.
Impact: 12 (+3)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 178 (+60)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded

Choíros Pentekonter
Bonus: LST
Fate: Choiros entered the Man-As-Mountain Array. Unfortunately for him, the defenses of the Trials there did not recognise him as human - rather as a Spirit Beast servant of those who founded the Array. This was actually to his advantage, however. He was taken away by a set of Core Formation guardian golems, and infused with the blood of an ancient Spirit Boar, gaining the Greatboar Transformation Blood (+6 Impact). He can now transform into a massive, powerful boar for nearly an hour a day, becoming much more powerful and faster. Such a transformation leaves him massively more powerful than most in Qi Condensation, despite being in only the 1st Heavenstage. He was taught the Eat-All Art (+3 Impact), an art that allowed him to consume items and attacks made of Qi, though only to a certain power level. He could easily consume any attack made by those a Heavenstage or two above him. Lastly, he was given the Access Token (+1 Impact), a token designed to open any door or lock - though it took inordinate amounts of Qi, making it useless in most scenarios, allowing him to assist Trial-takers. He was then left outside to work as a Trial assistant, though without any instructions or aid, so he eventually left. He managed to meet up with the clan of pigmen in the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms later on, and impressed them with his powers, recruiting a large number of their mortals to Lady Yao's banner.
Impact: 10 (+10)
Cultivation: 1st Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 21 (+0)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded

Janus
Bonus: LST
Fate: Once a thief, always a thief. Once a swindler, always a swindler. Where others dived into desperate danger to try and seize the goods of the Yuan Man-As-Mountain Array, Janus took a more elegant approach. Take the treasures from those who already had them. A string of thefts, muggings, and one incidence of pure regular banditry were the cherries atop a sundae of crime. Janus never entered a single Trial. He considered it, and then ambushed a near-dead Jingshen scion returning from a powerful Trial, knocking him unconscious and taking his Thirty Ancient One-Year Ginseng plants, (+30 cultivation). This inspired him, and he created a series of traps that managed to separate a number of Yuan scions directly, disgusing himself and faking a presence as a powerful Core Formation entrant through the use of some trickery, scaring the cultivators into leaving their loot. From them, he gained four Revolution Lotus Petals (+60 cultivation), each enough to supercharge his dantian with masses of Qi, advancing him ever-further. Using his new, massively advanced cultivation, he robbed a weaker junior from the Sorrowful Blacksmiths, taking a rather peculiar Illusion Gudi (+3 Impact), the bone flute allowing the wielder to construct illusory landscapes and scenes that were paper-thin, but were otherwise incredibly difficult to see through. With this, he led three forces looking for revenge - Yuan, Jingshen, and the Blacksmiths to face one another, illusions causing them to fight one another. As the battle wound down, he filched a Jingshen Spirit Firework (+3 Impact), a firework capable of emptying a battlefield of Qi entirely, dismissing illusions and most area techniques and formations - and keeping them suppressed for fifteen minutes or so. It could be reused many times, merely needing Spirit Stones to power it. He managed to steal it before it could be used to fully dismiss his illusions and left, unharmed. He also raised a number of bandit cells in the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, meeting a group of bandits in the ruins of the Gotun Kingdom, and turning them into a useful, semi-loyal cell to the Golden Devils.
Impact: 8 (+8)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 117 (+96)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy

Liu Mang
Bonus: LST
Fate: Liu Mang entered the Yuan Realm tailed by a band of angry Jingshen scions, seeking to exact vengeance for the rumors he spread about one of their Princes. He hoped to shake them off in the chaos, but they were surprisingly persistent about the matter, and as skilled as he was, he only had the speed of the First Heavenstage. While he had managed to eke out a gap between himself and his pursuers with a fortuitous encounter with an angry Water Spirit hitting the area with a tide a while back, the gap was quickly closing. Liu Mang estimated that at best, there'd be a few minutes before he'd be caught and inevitably killed in the scuffle.
This was unacceptable. He hadn't gotten this far just to die like this. Forget becoming Yao's lieutenant, he hadn't even gotten into the Flood Dragon Gang yet!
Heart resolved, he stood his ground, twin axes in hand as the group of Jingshen surrounded him. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to do it lying down. A fourth Heavenstage cultivator contemptuously flicked a flashily jeweled sword in hand, slashing down at blindingly quick speed. By dint of instinct, he managed to mostly dodge the arc of iridescent sword Qi that shot out towards him, but he still took a glancing hit. It should've knocked him down and it definitely should've wounded him, but Liu Mang simply endured. Enraged, the sword swung with greater and greater force. Liu Mang managed to dodge some of the flurry but many still landed. He endured nonetheless.
At the time, he was puzzled, but later testing revealed that his stubborn will to move forward resonated with the lingering Will within the blood of the former Protostrator, catalyzing the awakening of the Body of the Bronze Bull (+6 Impact). Wielders of this Constitution could withstand damage far beyond the normal resilience of Bronze, attacks several small realms ahead of them simply breaking against their skin.
As the Jingshen scion kept firing, Liu Mang steadily advanced further, holding his axes in a guard position. The rest of the group had joined in now, gouts of flame and thunderous bolts of lightning amongst a variety of other techniques headed straight towards his position. Spirit stones were spent like water to maintain the harsh tempo, and as a cloud of dust rose from the spot where he was, it seemed like he was done for.
The blasts were clearly fired with people with much more money than sense, or so he thought, for Liu Mang found that he could absorb the Qi and cultivate in the process. (+20 cultivation years). In truth, absorbing the wild Qi would've shattered the meridians of anyone else. This catapulted him to the Fifth Heavenstage, after which he cleaved the sword wielder in two with a brutal slash of his left axe in a strike that crunched through a sack of spirit stones in the process. Qi rushed into the weapon, empowering the Intent of the strike, turning it into a Slaughter-Demon Axe (+2 Impact), a weapon that filled its wielder with bloodlust in exchange for cleaving through most defenses. Many a tragedy began with an axe like this, but it hardly mattered at the moment.
Now visibly worried, a Ninth and an Eighth Heavenstage cultivator charged in at the same time, one stabbing a Ji at him, crackling and filling the air with ozone, and the other right behind him, flinging a frost-covered meteor-hammer at at Liu Mang's skull. At this point, he had gotten used to their attacks, so even despite their speed he could easily anticipate their moves. (+1 Impact). With a step to the side, the meteor-hammer missed, and a strike from his right axe was able to turn aside the other strike in a contest that would have shattered his bones an hour ago. Lightning Qi wicked onto the metal of the blade, searing his hands in the process, but empowered his Axe Intent enough to send a cutting blast to take out another of his pursuers. As the Meteor-Hammer swung at him once more, Liu Mang decided to put this to the test and attempted to strike it directly with the same axe. Ice Qi bled off from the metal, which proceeded to break in half. His other weapon had become a Qi-Soaking Axe (+2 Impact), something that could soak up the Qi of artifacts in order to release powerful attacks.
At that point, they had no hope against him, and the rest of the battle was assured. Most of them ended up dying, but one of the Jingshen was impressed enough by his prowess that they decided to join his band of bandits.
In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, Liu Mang cultivated up to the Eighth Heavenstage and managed to recruit many members to his fledgling group, who were drawn to him by his charismatic speeches and reputation of success. No one could say that the legendary Twin-Axe Demon wasn't someone to watch, after all.
Impact: 11 (+11)
Cultivation: 9th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 64 (+43)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy

Pleuron
Bonus: LST
Fate: After being nearly destroyed by tribulation lightning during the last Trials, Waycastle Pleuron appears to have gained sentience. In centuries past, this may have been considered strange, but the Great Era appears to produce all manners of oddities. It proceeded to send its avatar spirit over to the Yuan Secret Realm, reportedly to study the Qi flows of the region, but a massive Nascent Beetle took umbrage at it prying into the secrets of the Array, and would have crushed Pleuron's soul if it wasn't for the use of a treasure to flee. Damaged and hiding in a cave, the spirit had a stroke of inspiration, and found that the remnants of Heavenly Will that still remained on it could be transferred to small array-inscribed cannons it created from the scraps available in the area and attached to its fingers, granting it the capability to use the captured lightning as a weapon. (+6 Impact). While it wouldn't be enough to deal with the Beetle, Pleuron managed to use the new treasure in order to accelerate its escape by shooting lightning bolts backwards for thrust.
In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, Pleuron used its newfound control of lightning to impress many of the pigmen in the place they call the Village Hidden in the Mesa, who were astounded to see such a master of the Lightning Style. One particularly poetic pigman compared the sound of the technique to the chirping of a thousand birds. Despite their usual secrecy, a few, disguised as humans, decided to join into one of the Devil-sponsored bandit cells.
Impact: 6 (+6)
Cultivation: 1st Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 21 (+0)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded

Samson Murus
Bonus: LST
Fate: Samson had always been something of a headache to his superiors for one reason - stubbornness. He did things in the most straightforward manner possible, even if it got him hurt, driven by a simple desire to protect others from death. But sometimes simplicty can be a source of strength.
Entering the Yuan Realm as a mere First Heavenstage, Samson found himself repeatedly taking trials meant for those multiple small realms higher than him, able to take just enough abuse that he could get through and claim the rewards. It was by this method that he advanced quickly over the year - as a Second Heavenstage, he consumed a reward suitable for a Fifth, as a Fifth, he consumed something meant for an Eighth, and so on(+40 Cultivation Years)
Samson's luck finally ran out when he found himself attacked by a Ten-Horned Demon Toad, a venomous Qi Condensation beast infamous for its ability to consistently injure or even kill Foundation-level cultivators. It struck him with a spray of dense, toxic bile, and a miracle occured.
Samson had always been able to individually control the segments of his plated skin, so instinctualy, he concentrated the toxins into a few plates and shed them like a bird shedding feathers. This was the Corruption-Purging Art, and it rendered him all but immune to curse and poison arts of the same small realm, and heavily resistant to those above him(+3 impact).
The venom was purged, leaving much of the qi from the attack, now purified, in Samson's system. Cleverly, he followed the toad back to its nest and leapt in, where dozens of Demon Toads sprayed him with venom. While the strain of shedding and growing plates so fast ruptured a few of the Legionnaire's meridians, he had already brought a powerful treasure which could regenerate such wounds. He was able to rapidly absorb the qi of the toads from their hundreds of attacks, pushing his advancement even further(+20 Cultivation Years).
With the Man-As-Mountain array winding down, Samson headed to Jingshen to assist in the mission there, and found himself among the Ghost Tree Forest Kings, as his newfound resistance to curses ensured his safety against the occasional ghost attack. Though the ghosts provide plentiful cultivation materials there, they lack in all other resources, and so he sold them his own shed segments as Qi Condensation-tier Gravebronze, buttering them up for negotiation and alliance. Soon enough, a small bandit cell had been raised amongst the ranks of the strange necromancers, and Samson quietly pushed into the Tenth Heavenstage to cap off a very eventful pair of decades.
Impact: 3 (+3)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 116 (+95)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)

Kakos Alexikeravno
Bonus: LST
Fate: Kakos Alexikaravno entered the Yuan Clan secret realm, and immediately, the stories of his family's heritage had proven themselves to be true.
Scarcely a moment had passed after his first steps into the Man-As-Mountain Array when he heard the rumbling of lightning in the distance.
A stray bolt of heavenly lightning, a meager probing blow in a Cultivator's tribulation to Foundation Establishment, had gone off target, flying wildly in a random direction, and, through a stroke of unfathomably bad luck, was locked straight onto Kakos.
Thinking fast, Kakos sprinted away from the mass of people surrounding him, and, boosted by quite a few movement enhancing techniques from those around him who didn't want to be caught in the crossfire, arrived at a small isolated patch of forest.
With barely minutes left before the heavenly tribulation lightning reached him, Kakos quickly grabbed his tools and perfectly drew a Heaven's Eye Blinded Array, succeeding on his first try and barely managing to save himself from certain death.
But the Array, while expertly crafted, was a basic one, and some of the tribulation lightning buried its way into Kakos' bones, badly wounding him, forcing him to leave the Yuan Clan Secret Realm for immediate treatment.
Still, Kakos' time in the Secret Realm was not a complete waste. The lightning within his body was no mortal force or even an attack. No, this was tribulation lightning, the lightning of the heavens which held within it great amounts of Qi.
Kakos took advantage of this property during his time within the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, purifying some of his wounds and turning the lightning within into a bounty of Qi that skyrocketed him to the Ninth Heavenstage. (+50 Cultivation Years).
The remainder of the tribulation lightning that Kakos purified, the part that was only used to damage prospective ascendants, was not put to waste either, bottled and used as components in a great blasting array, an array that Kakos spent his entire deployment creating, an array that was put to devastating effect protecting a small village from an equally small band of raiders.
Impact: 0 (+0)
Cultivation: 9th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 71 (+50)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded

Tolis Athanotis
Bonus: LST
Fate: Tolis entered the Yuan Secret Realm and was immediately struck by errant Dao Emanations from a powerful Nascent-level Spirit Beast. They had considerably weakened by the time they hit Tolis, but it'd still have been a crippling blow if it wasn't for a strange glow that suddenly emanated from her bow, Nanaam, that blunted the hit. Even so, Tolis was wounded enough that she had to leave for immediate medical assistance.
Another cultivator may have despaired and given up on pushing their cultivation forward much in their current state.
Not Tolis.
In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, by dint of her understated charisma, Tolis managed to recruit so many bandits to Lady Yao's banner that she had enough sect points to afford to the cultivation resources to make good progress despite her wounds, making it to the Fifth Heavenstage.
Impact: 0 (+0)
Cultivation: 5th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 40 (+19)
Health: Healthy --> Crippled -> Wounded (LST) -> Lightly Wounded

Yang Fangxu
Bonus: Healing Treasure
Fate: Fangxu was nearly badly wounded in a Trial, and used a treasure to escape and recuperate. During this time she set up a small stall to sell food - a single Yuan Clan Scion offered her a portion of a Grand Gold Stallion's meat if she could cook it well. She managed to do so, and cooked a fantastic immortal dish, something that would advance the Yuan Clan scion massively. Her portion managed to advance her cultivation by 20 years, however. Later on, she became a source of food and aid to many in the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, serving as an intermediary for information for many rebelling bandits, connecting bandit cells together and to the Clan.
Impact: 6 (+0)
Cultivation: 9th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 81 (+24)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)

David Pupillus
Bonus: LST
Fate: David managed to enter a trial successfully, seizing a Ten-Year Pill from a Trial Pill Dispenser. He took the dispenser from the wall, which contained one more pill (+20 cult years). The dispenser itself could transform any assembly of herbs into a moderately useful pill, though far less effective than a true alchemist (+3 impact). Still, in a pinch it could be exceptionally useful. However, he was immediately attacked by a furious group - Jingshen, Yuan, and Blacksmiths, all together looking furiously for Golden Devils to beat and kill. He used two treasures, barely escaping with his life, and even so was badly wounded by a large group of furious seniors. This made it difficult for him to accomplish much in the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, spending most of his time disguised as a tavernkeep, directing bandits to other cultivators for recruitment.
Impact: 3 (+3)
Cultivation: 9th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 96 (+30)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded

Ulysses
Bonus: LST
Fate: Ulysses entered the Yuan realm, and on failing a Trial saw David Pupillus assaulted. Going to help his fellow Golden Devil, he was likely badly beaten and left for dead, only a treasure preventing permanent damage. He served as a physician for ten years for the Riverlord Sect, hired on to help protect their boats. In this time he made contacts within the Sect, using them as transport to help move illicit goods and bandits who sought to fight the Jingshen.
Impact: 0 (+0)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 115 (+13)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Crippled -> Wounded (LST) -> Lightly Wounded

Cao Wei
Bonus: LST
Fate: Cao Wei helped the badly wounded David out of the Yuan Realm, and was nonetheless caught by the selfsame party of avenging, angry Jingshen scions. Almost caught, he used a treasure to assist the two of them to escape. His time was spent studying among the monks of the Sunset Gardens, kindly but powerful monks who could strike well above their own level of cultivation. His connections made were few, but he managed to convince several of them to shelter some of the more righteous bandits when they came ot Seven Temples to sell their ill-gotten gains, allowing them to serve as fences for the bandits that were being cultivated as Clan allies.
Impact: 0 (+0)
Cultivation: 9th Heavenstage (1 turns to FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 104 (+30)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)

Jiang Chrysanthos/Chrys
Bonus: Impact
Fate: Recovering from his wounds, Jiang Chrysanthos dedicated himself to the Clan's cause--one of the first to enter the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, he bore witness to their harsh lifestyle, and Jingshen's neglect of their vassals--content to use them as a mere tripwire and source of free beast cores. He made many friends in his early wanderings, and while his cultivation did not advance much--when the full force of the Clan's disciples entered the territory, they benefited from the safe-houses and connections he had gathered, easing all of their efforts.
Impact: 2 (+1)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 102 (+2)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Healthy

Juturna Cerintha
Bonus: nan
Fate: Juturna entered the Man-as-World Array as many other Good Seeds of the Region did, all preparing themselves to match their rivals in the oncoming of the Great Era. Compared to some, her gains were merely modest, collecting a vial full of Qi-Gathering Spring Water (+20 Years) in the aftermath of a great battle, waged by an ad-hoc coalition of other powers chasing after someone who offended them. She made modest gains drinking it, but a fluctuation of her Qi was noticed by one of the coalition's stragglers, and they drove her off with what would have been terrible wounds if she hadn't used a treasure to ablate the worst of it. She still reopened her wounds from the Trials, but will heal given time. Her adventures in the Secret Realm complete, she turned her attentions to the recruitment operation in the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, coming to the attention of the eccentric hermit King Kai and his three great trials, capturing his monkey, his cricket, and taking a slice of the Gourmet Rat's tail to cook. In thanks, he gave a token of his favor to her, able to call on himself or his beasts for aid anywhere within the Kingdom's borders.
Impact: 1 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 123 (+20)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> Lightly Wounded

Lihua Kokkinos
Bonus: LST
Fate: Lihua's own successes in the Yuan Clan's Secret Realm were not to be dismissed, for all that they were not the stuff of legends as some achieved. In the aftermath of the Three Powers Alliance, many areas of the Array that had once been monopolized by individual clans were ripe for the taking--their distraction leaving openings for an enterprising and ambitious junior to enrich themselves--at their expense. She successfully managed to secure a Pillar-Forging Bamboo Shoot (+30 Years)--a rare thousand year wood that--when cut into pieces and eaten, can immediately forge a Foundation Pillar. Not one to simply rest on her laurels, Lihua did a close examination of the location she found the shoot in, and found three saplings still growing, adding them together to make a Pillar Raising Ceremony Salad--which was an excellent followup dish. Content in her new power, Lihua turned her gaze to the Heavenly Bandit Kingdom, serving as a defender against an unexpected Beast Wave and protecting an otherwise undefended village. Given how it was where the child of Bandit Prince Shun was being raised, when he rode for ruin with his subordinates behind him, he found them preserved by the efforts of a Golden Devil. She spent much of the next years serving as a contact between the Clan's intelligencers and Shun's warband.
Impact: 6 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 3-Pillar (Mid)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 163 (+63)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Healthy

Achille Adephos
Bonus: LST
Fate: Not one to hold back simply because of his injuries, the Heavenly Fishing King of the younger generation saw the great rivers and lakes in the heart of the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, and his purpose was clear. He took his spear and his fishing rod and travelled up the rivers, fishing many dangerous beasts out and gifting what he could not eat to the commonfolk. When he reached the spirit lake though, he caught a Waterfall Defying Carp, which saw his lure as another challenge to endure, and took hold of it with its mighty jaws. The duel between man and fish was the stuff of legends--water spraying into the skies and ground shattering from the Foundation Expert's perch on the shore. In the end, the result was unsurprising--as with a mighty sound, the line snapped, whipping back with the energized qi and reopening his wounds from the Trial. For all that he failed to catch that dragon among carp, Achille became something of a folk hero--and many commoners would tell him tall tales of their own in turn--providing clues to the residences of several hermit experts in the region that other juniors could supplicate.
Impact: 6 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 2-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 151 (+11)
Health: Wounded --> Badly Wounded --> Wounded (End of turn)

Savvas Nicolidis
Bonus: Healing Treasure
Fate: In the Yuan Secret Realm, Savvas proved himself to be mercilessly effective. The Qiguai Secret Realm is a half-real place of dreams, of ideas. Yuan is simply a physical place, and though it is dangerous, it is far more familiar.
Hiding himself amongst trees, in mud-holes and caves, and by the entrances of trials, Savvas laid masterful traps which incapacitated other trial-goers, and stole their possessions. Unfortunately, none of his marks seemed to have found anything of note when he caught them - failure beget more failure.
Still, this was no all for naught, as he eventually stole a pair of Transmutation Gloves(+4 impact). Worn over the hands, these allow the bearer to change any type of qi they touch into another aspect, be it the traditional elements or something more esotetic, like ghost or blood qi. With these, Savvas can ruin enemy arrays with a touch, perform techniques he has no affinity for or even cause internal injuries to enemies by turning their qi into poison.
Unfortunately, the gloves proved to be a bit too potent, as while practicing with them, Savvas nearly killed himself by turning his own qi into ghost qi, which he did not know how to purge. Without the use of a precious treasure, he would have rotted horribly, perhaps even to death.
In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, Savvas taught the ruffians how to perform operations on their own or in small groups, so that they would be effective even without the immediate support of a large gang. He also spread poisonous plagues through nearby Jingshen lands in secret, using the chaos to both con the Jingshen out of money to cure his own poisons, and to distract their officials from noticing the increasing bandit activity. Occasionally this ruse was not enough, which led him to assassinate several Jingshen Experts to keep the operation under wraps.
Impact: 9 (+4)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 2-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 147 (+0)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LST) --> Healthy

Xiao Yingzi
Bonus: LST
Fate: Yingzi entered the Yuan Man-As-Mountain Array, beggaring herself to buy a hundred places. However, what she found in there was worth it. A supreme-grade Spirit Stone, sufficient for the use of a Nascent Soul, won by the Trial of Brotherhood - a trial testing the loyalty and faith of companions. She did not use it, of course, but returned it to the Clan for a tremendous wealth of items and Contribution Points. Such stones were rare, and this one was given to the Second Elder. Kleisthenes herself thanked her, and used her new Dao-effects to develop the techniques of the Art of the Undying Hero further. An art and an item were developed, each given to Yingzi. The art was powerful, a sutra that grew and strengthened with those who used it. Named the Heroes Strike As One Mantra (+4 Impact), it allowed individuals who chanted it together to sacrifice their own growth, their own strength, and their own lifespan to the Mantra, but in return when it was chanted in battle, all those who had sacrificed into it would suddenly find their strength growing, their stamina unflagging, their courage indomitable. Over time, the power of a group of mantra-users would grow as they poured more and more of themselves into such. A group of mantra-chanters who kept a lineage of thousands of years might become absurdly powerful for their realm, or even strike beyond it. However, it could only be used by one group at a time, and rapidly lost effectiveness with numbers. A hundred would be near the maximum of those who could chant it together. Secondly, the Blood Fusion Scalpel (+8 Impact). Using it to blend the blood of one willing dying man and one living, the living one could absorb the bloodline, arts, and combat knowledge of the dying, though not the cultivation. This was best only done once per man - twice might see the Blood Path curse begin to rise, but it would allow her to transfer knowledge and bloodline strength between her picked hundred, forming a legion that would become absurdly talented experts - and with the power of the Mantra to back their skills.
Impact: 33 (+14)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 4-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 205 (+11)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST Interrupt) --> Wounded

Ninth Prince
Bonus: LST
Fate: Without speaking overmuch of the Ninth Prince's true form at this point, the simple report he sent to the Clan listed this. He was alive, and had managed somehow to find a massive funnel of Qi, seemingly leaving some central node in the Yuan Realm as pure waste. He managed to get himself inside it, gaining (+80 cultivation-years). However, this was where his luck ended. Firstly, a massive Nascent Beetle of sorts hunted him for the violation - he had gone where he was not supposed to, and consequently only survived because the Beetle constantly returned to somewhere else for some reason, muttering about its duty, unable to leave for more than a few minutes at best at time, unable to properly pin down the Ninth Prince or even find him, limited to using various esoteric arts to try and kill him. He was badly wounded at the end of it, but his gain of cultivation was no small things, making more ground in twenty years than he had made for a long time before that.
Impact: 18 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 7-Pillar (Pillar Alignment)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 320 (+80)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST Interrupt) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST Interrupt) --> Wounded

Magnus Centenius
Bonus: LST
Fate: Magnus entered the Yuan Realm, and found himself in an unfortunate series of circumstances. He stole two knives from a powerful Core Jingshen Elder, the Clock-Dagger (+4 Impact) and the Sharpened Ruler (+4 Impact). One could speed up time temporarily for the user, or slow down an enemy - buying almost fifteen seconds of doubled or halved time a day. The Ruler, on the other hand, let one shift distances, allowing the user to move through almost one li of space a day - or lengthening distances by that much. Incredibly valuable treasures, he tried to escape with them, but was almost killed twice, using treasures to save himself once, and finding his dantian shattered and useless despite the use of a treasure the second time. He used the Sharpened Ruler to dive into a Trial that was closing, sitting there for nearly ten years until he was able to leave, sneaking out with the use of the Ruler. Now-crippled, he returned to the Clan, taking a mission as a merchant in the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, recruiting bandits to revolt against that same Jingshen Elder. He managed to meet with and recruit the Tao Heavenly Bandit King to stand on the Clan's side in the case of war, bringing a Core Formation elder into the fold.
Impact: 13 (+8)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 6-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 311 (+0)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST Interrupt) --> Wounded --> Dead --> Crippled (LST Interrupt)

Minervina Barda
Bonus: LST
Fate: Minervina entered the Yuan Realm, finding herself in a place not at all amenable to poison. The first Trial she sought only yielded to raw strength, being a place of fire and purity. She escaped with a treasure, unable to pass. Secondly came her rescue of Magnus - she saw a Core Formation Jingshen Elder chase him into a Trial, setting up a formation there to trap and kill him when he emerged. Using an array of poisons herself, she managed to lure the Elder away, but was chased down and wounded quite badly, her poisons unable to do any more than slow the Elder enough to allow her to escape. In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, she brewed many poisons, bribing the Gaohao bandits to her side with the promise of more and more useful poisons, eventually bringing them over to the side of the Clan itself.
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 7 Pillar (Great Circle)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 465 (+4)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LST) --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LST) --> Healthy

Chrysanthos Krimta
Bonus: LST
Fate: Chrysanthos did not take big risks in the Yuan Realm - why would he need to, when selling supplies to desperate adventurers at an 800% markup was possible? The fortune he spent on Compression Pouches to haul ten stalls' worth of supplies into the realm were paid back a half-dozen times over, and with these resources the Centurion advanced his cultivation well(+20 Cultivation Years).
Tragedy nearly struck, however, when one of the people he had ripped off returned four pillars stronger and bearing a massive artifact sword. Rather than let himself get turned into a smear on the ground, Chrysanthos used a Life-Saving Treasure to whisk himself far away.
In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, Chrysanthos did the opposite of what he did in the Yuan Realm, buying supplies and cultivation materials from Jingshen officials en masse and selling them to prospective bandits at incredibly cheap prices, or even giving them away to those who were especially poor but showed immense talent for cultivation. Though he was selling at a huge loss, he was subsidized by the Clan, and so was able to continue this scheme for over a decade, acting as the link through which a massive supply chain of resources were funneled to the bandits.
Indeed, it could perhaps be said that Chrysanthos' contribution was the greatest of all, providing those bandits the raw economic power needed to capitalize on every other piece of aid the Clan gave them.
Impact: 7 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 2-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 154 (+23)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)

Mildgyð Galene
Bonus: LST
Fate: Mildgyo worked closely with Chrysanthos, often brewing the raw materials the other Centurion bought in bulk into a wide variety of potent brews. Compared to a sect or clan it is more difficult for a criminal organization, who must always be ready to move, to set up effective alchemy workshops, and so Mildgyo worked round the clock to create a supply of effective, nonperishable pills and elixirs which would last for years to come. Like Chrysanthos, he was selling at a loss, but the Clan's generous subsidies allowed him to speed up his advancement(+10 Cultivation Years).
Impact: 5 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 2-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 158 (+31)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora
Bonus: LST
Fate: Antonius entered the Yuan Realm, and simply had many fortuitous encounters. His first Trial saw him pass with ease, seizing the Egg of Fate (+3 Impact), a peculiar egg that when shaken would display a series of words on its surface. While vague, it was a truly useful oracle for foretelling events in the next few days, though the vagueness meant it was hard to pin down anything more than 'increased danger', 'no, there is no issue', and 'unclear, try again later'. Secondly he encountered a powerful Trial, where one was forced to tend mushrooms, and assist in their growth or fail. He failed, and mushrooms exploded, poisoning him badly and leaving him close to death but for the use of a treasure. He succeeded on his second try, however, seizing a Towering Mushroom Spore (+3 Impact), a spore that could grow into a massive hundred-metre tall mushroom in a few mere minutes, drawing Qi from the ground to fortify itself. It was difficult to damage even to Core Formation enemies, and would serve as an excellent fort against any who could not fly. Once damaged sufficiently it would shrink back down into the original spore, though it would take years to recover. From the selfsame trial he managed to find a pill a dead Trial-participant had made from various mushrooms before they had died. The New Realms Pill (40 cultivation-years) allowed one to experience strange and bizarre realities, cultivating within them as it contained an immense amount of Qi. In the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms, he sparred twice with a Jingshen Core Formation elder who had come to hunt down and destroy bandit rebels, managing to save several large groups of recruited bandits.
Impact: 21 (+12)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 2 of ??
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 350 (+50)
Health: Healthy --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> Lightly Wounded

Auspicious Nine
Bonus: LST
Fate: Auspicious Nine continued his absurd run of bad luck. Almost slain by a rampaging Revolting Vilefart Boar in the Foundation stage as he attempted to recover a herb, he survived with the use of a treasure alone, and despite that managed to cultivate to the 6th Heavenstage.
Impact: 0 (+0)
Cultivation: 6th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 47 (+14)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded

Anastasia Outi
Bonus: LST
Fate: Anastasia was lucky, no second way to put it. Who else would stumble into a giant trap, at the bottom of which was a long-dead carnivorous Man-Eating Qi Seed Plant? Its massive and deadly jaws had dried out, leaving a simple seed, which Anastasia took. The Man-Eating Qi Seed Plant Seed (a mouthful!) was able to be attached to a cultivator's flesh, drawing on their Qi and growing, but in return would fight autonomously in their defense, striking at their foes and consuming them whole, able to eat one's enemies to restore itself without falling afoul of the Blood Path curse (+4 Impact), meaning it could be used in combat for a tremendously long time, allowing the bearer to fight with immense endurance.
Impact: 5 (+4)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1-Pillar (Early)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 111 (+11)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Healthy

 

[occipitallobe]

Lady Yao kicked a rock, sending it through a nearby tree.

It splintered and fell over.

She smiled, turning around.

"So, old man. What brings you here today."

Manuel sighed.

"I gave you many of the best Foundation Experts in the entire Clan for your little... escapade into the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms. Did you want me to ask nicely, or pluck it from your mind?"

She waggled her eyebrows at him, the snake in one of her eyes hissing as she did so. She reached up, and stroked along one of them, a thick layer of grease coming off and onto her finger and she did so.

Manuel couldn't help but cringe as she ate it.

"Well, as with everything I do, Yao Zhihao stands triumphant. Obviously I couldn't go over there myself, but I have to admit your proteges made good on many of the promises I wanted to make. I ended up talking to the two... the wife and husband?"

Manuel froze. Who... who on earth was she talking about?

"You know, the two poison cultivators. They both use poison, look weird, smell funny... I'm not judging, but obviously they're married. There's no other reason for the man to be a drunkard, after all, unless he's married to some absurdly powerful harridan who poisons him every time he tries to sleep around! He smells more strongly of liquor than anyone I've met in that realm!"

"Did.. did you mean Minervina and Magnus?"

She waved a hand idly.

"Probably."

Manuel thought for a moment about telling her they weren't married, and then decided against it. He wouldn't put it past her to force them to get married so that the world better suited her conception of it. Changing things to suit her was core to who she was, after all.

"Well, they used poison and trickery and the like to get me some new... subordinates. Allies. Bandits. The Tao and Gaohao Bandits are aligning with me, and will come out into the open and help us if we move through those lands. The Qi Condensation disciples of yours, they did okay. Moderately successful, I suppose. A few caches, minor allies, things like that. Nothing worth speaking of. The main thing are those two bandit clans. With them, we can move through the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms at will, and if it should come to blows, I think we'd have a much easier time of securing supply lines there. If not, I'll be able to recruit new Flood Dragons from there for quite some time."

She grinned.

"You can't tell me you don't want to try and take them over, eh?"

Manuel started to speak, but she spoke over him.

"Give me some land, make me a vassal... you haven't seen me on my knees, old man.", she said breathily.

He smiled.

"Why, Lady Zhihao. Whatever do you mean?"

Her face quirked and she frowned.

"Kneeling down... in front of you, all vulnerable and weak and womanly..."

Her voice trailed off, and the snake in her eye hissed at the same pitch. It was unnerving.

Manuel shook his head.

"My lady, I'm but a poor old man. Please, have some respect for the elderly, and explain yourself more clearly. I can barely hear you, after all."

She hmmphed.

"I'm talking about fucking. Sex, old man! Sex!"

He laughed, and she pouted.

A few moments into the pout she bored of it, and spat out a gobbet of... something, a squealing little mass of legs that rapidly collapsed and died next to them.

"Damn fleas", she muttered.

Manuel spat himself, though the spit was tar-black and rapidly dissipated into nothing. One of the peculiar consequences of the advancements of Heaven's Shadow was how poorly his bodily material sustained itself once it left him - flesh and blood alike simply evaporated unless he took particular precautions to keep it intact.

"You think we should invade, Zhihao?"

She shrugged.

"I was humiliated, but that just means I want to stab that arrogant princess and her old man a few times myself to feel better. I don't know how the whole thing might play out, but while I'm still on this side of the mountains, I'll help you out if you want."

There was nothing to be said to that immediately, and so they sat in silence for awhile, until Lady Yao found need to speak again.

"Do you think that poison girl would mind if I screwed her husband? He looks like he can take a beating, and he smells so much like liquor I could get as drunk as I wanted and he wouldn't even notice!"

 

[occipitallobe]

Jin Muyi enters the Cloud Demon Caves, the most powerful of the Clan to do so yet.

For the first 13 floors, Jin Muyi was fled. He faced his first battle on the 14th floor of the Cloud Demon Caves. Jin Muyi faces off against a gibbering creature made of faces and hands, but dispatches it with relative ease. From its corpse he finds a peculiar beast-core, consuming it to gain +15 cultivation-years.

On the 15th Floor, he faces the Burning Clouds here, clouds of fire and misery that consume Qi, but manages to evade them, moving through the deadly floor and gaining +1 Impact and the ability to resist fire somewhat.

The 16th floor is a series of golems, but he is simply too strong. While he cannot absorb their life, and they seem to come back to life relentlessly, he smashes them quickly enough to ascend through, gaining a single Golem-Core (+2 Impact) there that allows him to create and command golems at a low Foundation Establishment level himself, though he can wield a maximum of ten at any time, and create one per decade.

The 17th floor proves no more an obstacle than any other, the deadly jungle of the floor a mere entertainment to him. Drinking in Qi, he gains 15 cultivation-years in a single stride.

The 18th floor is almost tiresome, enduring poisons designed to kill the strongest men alive. They barely effect him, and his nature makes him immune, though he gains the ability to poison his vine-ji, (+2 Impact).

The 19th is a series of puzzles, each yielding only when solved. Unfortunately, they have barriers that block one from jumping, climbing, or flying across, but the switches to disable them are easily reached by putting his vines through cracks in the walls. At the end, he is rewarded with a Healing Treasure, though he is not wounded.

On the 20th floor, a creature of immense power faces him, a reflection of himself made of fire and wrath and light. He kills it, as much as it can be said to be slain, but is crippled, his plant-meridians burned and disabled from the combat. The earlier treasure seemed perfectly designed to heal him, however, and so he consumed it. From its corpse he gains an insight into himself, some peculiar knowledge that will allow him to more easily form his Core. (+1 Tribulation Treasure)

The next floor is fire incarnate, the heart of wrath and misery itself. Only by using a treasure does he manage to move unscathed (Wounded --> Healthy). Regular fire will no longer harm him, despite his wood-aspected nature. (+3 Impact)

The 22nd floor is worse. He finds himself trapped within a maze he cannot navigate, designed to drain the Qi of whoever is in there, opening to various human tocuhes. He spends years trapped there, slowly dying as he does not sufficiently count as human to be able to open the doors. He nearly dies, but uses the energy from a treasure to be merely Badly Wounded. He manages to find his way out, however, seizing on a Qi Seed built from his own Qi and that of others, gaining +20 cultivation-years.

The 23rd floor is by comparison absurdly simple. A thousand angry foes at his own level are a simple enough thing, as he drinks his fill of his enemies, and from them forms a Blood Shield Pill, a Lifesaving Treasure usable by him alone.

He moves onto the 24th floor, and here he faces a giant, a creature larger than most mountains. It is slow and easily provoked, and he drains it of Qi time and time again, descending past it to move into a peculiar seal which gives him the feeling of bonds being loosened, a fate escaped (1 reroll)

At the end of the 25th floor stands a monster, a jungle made of madness and blood. Muyi can tell it was once a man, a creature like him. It forsook the bounds of mortality, becoming a beast, a plant without sentience. Muyi grapples with it, becoming it briefly, fighting it, and eventually coming back to himself, the jungle consumed. He relives his life and the life of Ji Shin, living his own life and also the life of the man who chose to become a monster, choosing to throw everything away for power. He leaves with the memories of a man's life from ten thousand years ago, a man who descended down the worst part of a path he himself could easily take. In those memories is a secret, a secret he can only speak once and then it will be forgotten. A secret he now knows is worth the trouble of descending.

Wearily he moves on to the 26th Floor, and finds the challenges there to be far greater. A Core Formation owl has made its roost here, and he fights it for a day and a night, succeeding in the end. It is a dumb beast, and slowly put down. From this, he gains +20 cultivation-years.

The 27th floor is another beast, and Muyi finds himself struck again and again by an invisible creature, something he cannot detect or hit. A lethal blow that would have carved his own internals to pieces is avoided, and he feels Fate wrapping itself around him once more. He wearily tries to kill it, and is brought from Badly Wounded to Crippled, the creature injuring him badly. Another attempt, and he manages to strike it through pure luck, drinking deeply from its core and gaining +15 cultivation-years.

Injured and losing control of himself here and there, he manages to stride through another floor, not noticing the flames and attacks that come at him, avoiding them through instinct, seizing a Space-Warping Jade (+3 Impact) from an altar there, allowing him to strike at distance as though he were close.

On the 29th Floor, he manages to stride through with ease, the enemies there not noticing him, seemingly only striking at human beings. He drinks deeply from a foundation there, and is completely healed.

On the 30th floor, he faces another fragment of Ji Shin, far more powerful and deadly. He is nearly wounded, but uses a treasure to avoid his strikes. He continues to fight Ji Shin, but the Core Formation creature, the dark mirror of himself is simply too powerful, and he finds himself Wounded again, using his last treasure to stay afloat. With a herculean effort, Jin Muyi consumes Ji Shin. This time Ji Shin relives another live - for Ji Shin, as it seems, is the name of many who came together to form a single being, Blood Path cultivators who gave up their humanity fused together into a monstrosity that lives only to eat. Jin Muyi consumes him, living years of his lives, living the lives of men who sought to be good and step by step became less than that, killing their own to grow, to achieve some goal that is painfully missing from the memories, entire portions excised. He gains +40 cultivation-years of energy.

Jin Muyi burns his lifeforce as he ascends into Core Formation, some of his fundamental power drawn down to create temporary healing items, an art taught by the memories of Ji Shin. He uses much of the Qi absorbed by Ji Shin to do this, leaving him weaker than he would've otherwise been. (-10 Impact)

The 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 34th floors are all trivial. They are nothing before him, and he gains a total of 40 cultivation-years and 4 Impact, slaughtering creatures that just moments ago would've been nigh-impossible for him to face. None of them even merit a mention, as a plague of beasts becomes a mere pleasant dinner. On the 35th Floor, he finds a riddle, and solves it over the course of nearly two years, being forced to use up one of his treasures as he is wounded by the qi-draining atmosphere. He manages to solve the riddle, eventually - it is a clever puzzle with many possible answers, and after attempting it 11,036,800 times, he manages to discover the answer. The 36th floor is easily faced, winning him +2 Impact, and the 37th wins him +10 cultivation-years. More plagues of monsters, but these are nothing before him.

The 38th floor is a massive sentient flame-spirit, which nearly kills him, but fate twists away. Despite that, he is still burnt badly, suffering what would've been death even for him, but the use of one of the seeds he created manages to preserve his life. (Dead --> Badly Wounded).

Unable to make his way past, he retreats.

We all know of the incredible feats of Jin Muyi. Heading to the Hong Xuan lands, the now Core Formation tree-man could have easily defeated that fire spirit. If only its movements were so predictable. Rather than hunt the spirit down, Muyi protected Pyre City directly for several years, singlehandedly ensuring the safety of its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. The spirit kept its distance from that place, perhaps knowing it would die if it got too close.

Jin Muyi finishes with a Early Core Formation (Misty Core) cultivation, and 37 Impact.

 

[occipitallobe]

The final result of the Cloud Demon Cave:

Jin Muyi sees through the eyes of Ji Shin, a disciple of Demonic Soup Chef. A single memory of the Soup Chef advising him where a single weapon is left, a spear he hid in the depths of Turtlebone Mountain. It would take a Nascent to retrieve it, and even Nascents can only try to do so once. The fated Nascent, however, would find themselves drastically empowered, for the Stone Spear was carved by Soup Chef himself as a weapon, and used in three battles. It is infused with enough power to let a Nascent battle at the very top of their small realm.

Click to shrink...

Drawing back from the Fire Spirit Muyi took stock of himself. The wounds once healed by the secret technique he had learned from Ji Shin were once more set aflame by the Spirit's wrath.

Left with naught but his wounds and a secret that burned in the depths of his mind, Muyi chose to leave the Caves. By all accounts his gamble had succeeded, not only had he gained great strength he had also obtained the key to a legacy that would benefit the Clan.

Yet stumbling out of the Caves and seeing the wizened face of the Grand Elder, Muyi found himself unable to speak the SECRET. The words remained burned into his mind and by all rights should be spoken to the Grand Elder who had the highest chance of obtaining the Legacy. But all that came out of his mouth was the trials and tribulations he underwent in the depths of the Caves, the adventures that lead to his current cultivation.

It was in this dazed state that Muyi accepted the congratulation of his peers and attended the childish celebration Gui Hua had put together for him. Still in a muddled state, he found himself dispatched to the mission to aid the Hong Xuan, his new resistance to fire and cultivation increasing the odds of the mission's success.

Deep in the recess of Muyi's Mind, Xin let a cruel smile rest on his lips. Muyi might have gained much from the Caves, but so did he. The consumption of Ji Shin and the usage of the Secret Technique obtained from the depths of the Caves had paid dividends to Xin.

The barriers Muyi had unconsciously put up between the two of them had started to crack with Xin's sudden increase in strength, allowing to sent tendrils writhing through to manipulate Muyi directly.

No more was there a need to convince Muyi to take a certain action via sophistry. Now, as long as he made decisions that could be rationalized away, Muyi would follow through without a doubt. Looking once more at the vines manipulating Muyi's mind, Xin focused on the blood red Orb pulsing in his right hand, the source of his new confidence and his new partner.

"Yes, It's only a matter of time before we obtain that spear your Master left behind… Don't you think so....Mr Ji Shin?"
------------------------------------------

"Diomedes Cestus has engaged the Fire Spirit! He managed to drive it away from the major population areas in the prefecture he was stationed in. He reports that despite his best efforts it was all he could do to keep it away from the areas he was assigned, the Spirit is still heading to Pyre City!"

The latest news regarding the Fire Spirit movements were not good. They had underestimated or been told the wrong information about the Fire Spirit's Strength. This was no mere Fire Spirit newly grown from an excess of Yang Qi, this was a nurtured Fire Spirit cultivated to assist in the forgoing of the Hong Xuan's arsenal. A Fire Spirit that had been nurtured to burn long and hot to ensure the fires of their forge will never dim.

By the time the seriousness of the situation was understood, it was too late for the Clan to make any changes to the agreed upon tactical plan. The members of the subjection team had been assigned to the positions based on the original information, one meant to ensure those that stand the highest chance against a Fire Spirit stood ready at the cities bordering Hong Xuan lands ready to stop the Fire Spirit from invading.

This leads to a reverse effect. With the Fire Spirit being a threat already present within the heartlands of the Hong Xuan Clan, it ensured that those who stood the greatest chance against it now found themselves stationed far away from the threat. Forcing the less prepared juniors to face the angered Fire Spirit and put their life and limbs at stake to repay the debt owed to the Hong Xuan.

Muyi found himself stuck. No matter how much he desired to face the Fire Spirit and bring it to bay, the fact of the matter was that he was still badly wounded from his adventure in the Caves. There was no way he could move fast enough to get to where the Spirit was reported to be at and still make it back to his assigned location if the news proved to be false.

Leaving him with no other choice but to wait and hope that the Clan will triumph as it did before, that not too many of his juniors would be lost due to the Hong Xuan's lies and most importantly to his own weakness and lack of strength.

You know Master, there is an option to fix that. I just need blood and Qi to heal you, and there are so many mortals here we could just nibble away at a few to obtain what we need….

No. I refused to walk down this path. I need Power, but i do not need to walk the Blood Path to do so! Never suggest this to me again Xin!.

As you wish… I hope you don't regret this Master….

[][][]​

"The Fire Spirit is predicted to hit Pyre City within the next day! We have no cultivators nearby to assist beyond Amaranth Castellanos, Xiuying Ten Jiang and Demetrius Ceres, all new Centurions for all that they're some of the named talents of the Clan.

The Hong Xuan refused to send any of their cultivators to help, claiming that the Clan had to fully resolve this issue to their satisfaction with the Clan's Legions for the Debt to be fully counted as paid."

The sheer obstinacy of the Hong Xuan Clan and their insistence on treating the matter as a debt owed to them by the Golden Devils drove Muyi into a rage. Letting the full might of his newly forged Core radiate from within, Muyi moved to a isolated mountain and channeled his anxiety, his anger and his frustration into his blows as he let the full breadth of his newly gained skills turned the Mountain into a inhospitable jungle filled with ravenous plants and poisonous air.

If only he had the strength to force the Hong Xuan Clan to act as vassals should! If only he was strong enough to move and stop the Fire Spirit. If only he had a weapon that allowed him to enforce the Clan's will through the threat of violence!

Yes! As long as he had the strength, would the Hong Xuan or even the Trial Hunters be able to stop him with their pitiful attempts?

"If only you have Soup Chef's Spear Master! Won't that grant you all the strength you need to ensure this would never happen again?"

"That's impossible, it's meant for a Nascent Soul and the trials protecting it require someone at the strength of a Nascent Soul to break through. I'm still far from that stage… even with your assistance, we're far from that stage."

"That...might not be the case Master. Remember, we consumed Ji Shin and so we do have access to all his memories of the trials and traps set up by him in accordance to Soup Chef's Will. Most importantly, we have access to the paths he set up to maintain said trials and traps.

In addition, remember how your encounter with Ji Shin was as if you were looking into a mirror? Both your body and your Qi are so similar to his that i'm positive we'll be able to trick the defenses into thinking you are him here for a long overdue checkup on them.. The main thing is if you're willing to try it...Master…"

"I.."

"UPDATE!!!! NEWS UPDATE ON THE FIRE SPIRIT DISASTER! It took the combined efforts of Amaranth Castellanos, Xiuying Ten Jiang and Demetrius Ceres to drive the Fire Spirit away from Pyre City! The majority of the casualties from their clash come from the mortals residing nearby! Estimated deaths of 15 to 20 thousand of them! The Hong Xuan blames us for not sending them Core Cultivators to stop the Fire Spirit! All Clan members are to withdraw from the Hong Xuan Lands until the Council negotiates with the Hong Xuan!!"

"Yes. I think I'm willing to try it. I hope you're right Xin."

"Trust me...Master. Have I ever let you down since we struck our deal?"

---------------------
Despite Muyi's decision to attempt to find the Spear, there was a part of him waiting to be proven wrong. To be shown that Xin's optimism was false and that the defenses guarding the spear had taken into account the failure of Ji Shin as a guardian, and were ready to stop any non-fated cultivator from even approaching the site mentioned in the imparted memories.

Yet, to his great surprise, it seemed that Xin was right. Muyi found himself strolling past what half-remembered memories from Ji Shin indicated were deadly trials and tribulations with ease, any activation of arrays and traps halted with a simple flash of his Qi or by using a vine to pull a hidden lever.

The journey through a minefield that would have taken a Nascent Soul years to work their way through was done in a matter of months and in a manner that was as if Muyi was out for a stroll in his garden.

As he made his way towards the temple buried deep within the maze of traps, Muyi came to a halt just before the doors barring it shut. Instead of opening them and allowing himself to be judged by the splinter of will Soup Chef had left to guard his weapon, Muyi made his way to one of the pillars holding up the building.

Using the information provided by Ji Shin's memories, Muyi moved a vine so that it touched certain parts of the pillar before channeling Qi in a sequence that Ji Shin had last used millenia ago.

With the faintest of creaks, a crack appeared in the pillar allowing Muyi to squeeze himself through and gaining admittance to the inner hall of the temple. The interior of the temple was empty with naught but a plain spear resting on the altar, Ji Shin memories telling Muyi that within the temple itself, no traps were set and all that needed to be done was to grasp the weapon laid out before him.

Even as he reached his hand out to it, the seriousness of the moment hit Muyi.

There could be one last trap laid on the weapon itself that would consume those that did not pass the trials in the manner planned for by Soup Chef. Leading to his death in a place not known to anyone, leaving Gui Hua an orphan with a Father labeled as a deserter.

There could be no trap laid on the weapon and grabbing it could grant him enough power to raise him to Early Nascent Soul. Making him be a peer to Lady Yao, one of the old monsters whose every action would determine the life and death of millions.

There could be no weapon. Soup Chef had lied to Ji Shin for reasons of his own and for his own plans. Luring Nascent Soul Cultivators here was to achieve a goal as heaven shaking as when he killed the Third Sea.

The weapon would grant him Power, power to fulfill his goals and more. But power that came at a cost he might not be willing to pay but had to.

All this and more flowed through Muyi's head, causing his outstretched arm to tremble as it came closer and closer to the spear. Yet despite his trembling, Muyi did not stop. He could not stop. Each second stretched to infinity as he got closer and closer to the shaft of the spear until finally his hand closed around it with an impossibly tight grip.

-----------------

Manuel spat up a mouthful of blood. How? How had the spear struck him?

He spoke again.

"Jin Muyi. Stand down, and this can be forgiven."

He struck then, with enough force behind his blow to level mountains, to burn cities to cinders. The force raised up a massive cloud of dust and rock, carving through a hill behind him. The top of the hill simply fell backwards, leaving a massive flat-topped plateau. The blow should have split Jin Muyi neatly in half.

Instead, the tree-man was sitting there, spear held aloft. He had blocked Manuel's blow.

Manuel cursed. How had it come to this? He thought back to just a few weeks earlier...

"Kleisthenes", Manuel had said.

She looked over at him.

"Yes?"

He bit his lip thoughtfully.

"Jin Muyi returned from the Cloud Caves six days ago. He set off towards Turtlebone Mountain, saying he would bring back something of immense value. I questioned him, and he said it was something important, but he couldn't tell me. Not that he wouldn't, he couldn't. I…"

His voice trailed off.

"I bent my will upon him, and everything seemed fine. More than fine, in fact. The Shadow seemed most jubilant, saying that letting him go would be a boon of incredible worth. It had never felt such certainty in these matters. It feels strange, like a shadow of itself, even. I..."

He felt unease, perpetually on edge.

"Can it be wrong? Or perhaps more importantly, can it be tricked?"

He stood up, and looked at Kleisthenes.

"Guard the Dawn Fortress. I'll take Yao, and we'll go to find Jin Muyi."

He shook his head, the memory leaving him...

Jin Muyi had come out of Turtlebone Mountain with a spear. To the eye, it was an ordinary spear, carved from stone. A single piece, a few irregularities, bumps and scratches, and the spearpoint itself was old, though still sharp. Carved from a brownish-grey rock, it looked like a tool made quickly to use once and cast aside. No proper handle, no polishing, just a long lump of sharpened stone.

The tree-man jabbed again, and despite being nearly three li away, despite being in the air, despite being guarded by a force strong enough to tear Jin Muyi's body apart, the spear struck him. A light wound, but the notion of being wounded like this was unthinkable.

Manuel considered his cleaver, but no. Jin Muyi was known for his peculiar physiology, his endless swarm of vines. Cut off one, and ten more could easily take its place. It would offer him no succour here.

He flew down, hiding behind a hill, feeling ahead of him with his will, his soul peeping over the top of the hill, watching Muyi's actions. The implacable tree-man advanced slowly, walking towards Manuel as though he had not a care in the world. Suddenly Jin Muyi struck, and Manuel felt his soul recoil.

The injury was… impossible. He felt his soul grip more tightly to his body, and in fear wrapped himself in ever-more power,

He had not prepared for this.

Who could have prepared for this? For Jin Muyi to come out of the Cloud Demon Caves a monster, he had anticipated and prepared for. Even as he had come out, consuming beasts and enemies and compromising what little was left of his humanity, Manuel had even planned for him rising into the early ranks of a Nascent Soul, and putting him down if necessary. This, though? Heaven's Shadow had been fooled, how could he do any better?

"Jin Muyi, please. Listen to reason. Do you not know who I am?"

For the first time, Muyi spoke.

"Ji Shin."

Manuel froze.

"My name is Ji Shin. I come bearing liberation for all who exist."

The voice sounded like tongues slapping the inside of a jar, thousands of pieces of flesh slamming themselves again and again against the walls of a prison, seeking to get out. It rippled through the air and made him feel nauseous, as though those same tongues had wormed into his stomach and were poking and prodding at the edges, trying to find an exit.

It was moments later that Yao Zhihao arrived. She looked down at Jin Muyi, and spoke quickly.

"Situation, old man?"

"Some… sort of weapon. Every time he strikes at me, he hits. And it wounds me. It blocks anything I throw at him. His soul can't be crushed, he simply deflects even the mightiest blows."

Yao frowned.

"Let me take a shot."

Her snake-eye grew massive, the serpent rising to over a li in height. It swept down with immense power, ready to gulp Muyi in a single bite. As it did, he smoothly stepped out of the way, evading the massive serpent, and jabbed the spear at the great snake's eye.

It hit, and in a moment it evaporated, and Yao screamed.

The snake shrunk to almost nothing, and retreated into her eyesocket. As did so, it left an empty socket weeping tears of blood. She recoiled with fear, and they both flew backwards, fleeing Jin Muyi.

No, Manuel thought. Fleeing Ji Shin.

This continued. Manuel brought out a talisman of fire, capable of burning a city to nothing. Ji Shin walked through it like it was merely a pleasant breeze, another stab wounding his arm. Manuel raised up a shard of mysterious ice, capable of freezing all flesh near it, but the spear blocked it once more. He exerted the will of Shadow itself upon it, seeking the threads of Fate he could now follow ever-so-slightly, but found in fear there were no threads leading to Muyi. No threads leading away. A simple hole in the world.

Yao struck with lightning accompanied by a swarm of great creatures, a horde of Core Formation fleas that died moments after being used, raised up and eaten as they did so. It merely fed the creature's hunger, and it advanced.

Further and further they fled, and while they could fly away… Manuel knew somehow that would not be wise. If Ji Shin could not be stopped here, creature of consumption he was, it would be the end of the Clan.

He stopped for a moment. Perhaps not only the Clan. Whatever this thing was, he was not capable of putting it down. If that was the case… who was? If it reached the power of a Nascent Soul, was anybody capable of doing so?

Yao sprouted massive pillars of earth, brought cycles of fire and ice to bury Ji Shin, covered him with rains of acid and poison, and none of it did a thing. Any wounds they gave the creature were regenerated in instants, and any true Nascent strike was blocked by that damnable spear.

Over the course of a day, and then two, and then five, they were driven back. Ji Shin was inexhaustible, never sleeping, never tiring. It struck with unerring accuracy, though a barrier of earth was sufficient to prevent the blows, Manuel and Yao hiding behind hills and pillars and piles of dirt they made themselves, seeking to hit Ji Shin indirectly time after time. The blows of the creature were not enough to kill, but they could not be blocked, and each of them felt Manuel and Yao leaking Qi, weakening with each moment.

Talismans and treasures and weapons all proved insufficient, until finally they had been driven to Waycastle Thrake. Eager, Ji Shin moved forward, finding them less interesting as it saw a city to consume.

Manuel bit his lip. This was a fool's errand, but he did not see any other way.

"Yao, return to the Dawn Fortress. If this doesn't work, take Kleisthenes and as many of the Clan and your bandits as you can. Find a way out of the region."

She nodded silently, and flew off, close to the ground.

He leapt into the air, and spoke.

"Muyi… Jin Muyi of the Clan. You have given much to the Clan. You are a hero of the Clan, a hero of cities. Will you let Ji Shin consume you? Will your final legacy be that of betrayal?"

The spear struck him, leaving a gash in his arm. There, though. A small movement in the flesh. Or was it merely his imagination?

He continued on.

"Jin Muyi! This is a waycastle. You defended them once, defended Pleuron, defended the Clan with high honours. Children cheered your name, mortals blessed you, even the weakest juniors hoped for you to protect them. If you are-"

The spear struck him directly in the chest, and he gurgled.

That was rather deeper than he had thought was possible.

In moments Ji Shin strode towards him, swallowing up tens of li in seconds, vines surrounding him as he prepared to consume Manuel.

Manuel grabbed at the spear in vain. He couldn't move, treasures that should have activated simply failed to do so - reaching into his soul aperture, he found he couldn't access it. Had this all been a trick, to lure him in? He… was he going to die here?

He spoke, forcing air out of his lungs.

"Gui Hua."

The vines stopped, tensing, one wrapping around another, those that aimed for him fighting one another, saving his life for precious moments more.

"Will you… once you're done killing me. And everyone else. What… about… Gui… Hua?"

An orgy of violence, as vine turned upon vine, the vines hacking and slashing at one another, and the spear fell to the ground. Ji Shin - or Jin Muyi - separated in two, two halves, one grasping for the spear, one trying to prevent the other from reaching it.

Manuel knew which was which. He drew deeply on his will, and struck.

Moments later, Ji Shin fell to the ground, his soul shattered, the vines writhing and dying under every last piece of energy Manuel could bring to bear.

The few remaining vines wrapped around themselves, forming a facsimile of a man, constantly wavering in form and shape. Manuel spat out blood, but felt his wounds begin to heal. Without the bearer of the spear's will, it seemed, they were not so dangerous.

He could feel the remaining force of life in the few vines that remained dying. Manuel looked down at the dying vines and shook his head. There would be no coming back from this. Perhaps Muyi could live a little longer, but it would be for hours - days at best.

"I am sorry I let you do this, Jin Muyi."

Another hero of the Clan dead because he had simply trusted what the Shadow had told him, had not used his own mind.

"I am sorry."

Spoiler: How did this happen?

This post comes to you courtesy of two things. Firstly, the Stone Spear that Jin Muyi discovered in the Cloud Demon Caves. Secondly, 30 Impact expended by Jin Muyi, as well as his life. Apologies for delaying the next turn by a week - I was working this out with Mochi and wanted to get it done before then as it changed the calculus of things quite significantly.

 

[occipitallobe]

Manuel stood before his Council, spear in hand. A terrible price, but the power was immense. The Stone Spear was imbued with some sort of Law, the sort the Shadow of Heaven had shown him. It could not be dodged - when he struck at an enemy they were hit, though it could be blocked. Likewise it blocked anything he aimed to block, though he had to be conscious of the attack. The power was obscene, and he suspected he was more than the equal of anyone in the region now, excluding those two Late Nascent cultivators. Jin Muyi had died, and he as ever was still alive. Twisting himself into a horror and almost dying... Manuel knew he could not blame himself, but still. If their situation had not always been so desperate, would Muyi have needed to do what he did?

He snorted. He couldn't blame himself for powerlessness. Failure to act, sometimes, but if he could have somehow chosen to have more power he would have.

They were in possession of much of the desert. Their population swelled, and the natural growth of cultivators over the last twenty years had been obscene! The Clan had done well. More wealth, more tariffs, more cultivators. More power, more Nascent power. Two Nascent Souls, and a Stone Spear. Where he once feared the Jingshen he now considered hunting them down.

The Council were all confident,. Paperwork was ferried in and out by Foundation Experts, each one a trained bureaucrat, all of them wearing peculiar headdresses with pink mohawks atop them. Some sort of bizarre fashion that had come in the last few decades, apparently. Sheng Yu was new, but he would soon find his place with the others.

There are basically four main Mechanics in this quest.

(1) Choices. Your Clan Council will ask you to make a call on something. Mostly they won't do this - they're competent enough to handle things on their own, but sometimes they will. You'll see 0-2 of these per turn, on average. They're usually pretty straight-up binary choices.

(2) Focuses. You choose in general what the Clan should focus on for the next 20 years. Building up for war? Training new disciples? Carving more arrays? More trade? Focuses don't prevent you from doing everything else, it's more 'here's the one thing we should really get done'. Focuses are mainly mediated by the Clan's various skill levels and specialities.

(3) Actions. What the two Nascent Souls of the Clan do. Usually mediated by skills, but often by Cultivation level - especially when it comes to combat. You can always Write In Actions. In fact, writing in more complex and well-thought out Actions will positively increase your chances of success. There are two of these - bear in mind Manuel is going to better than Kleisthenes at almost everything, so these two actions are not of equal worth.

(4) Purchases. What wealth the Clan has, and what your Council want you to spend it on. They'll usually come to you with the thing they want most. No micromanagement, just 'here is the big-ticket item I want'. These will often (but not always) persist between turns. Purchases is expressed in terms of Number of Purchases available. You can save them for future turns, or spend them all now. Bear in mind loans are usually impossible - the Clan cannot run deficit spending!

All voting is Plan Voting. Make a Plan if you want, or just vote on someone else's! You can vote on as many Plans as you like! Approval Voting, baby!

--------------------------------

There is a 36 hour voting moriatorum! I'll post a threadmark when the vote opens!

---------------------------------

Manuel had returned to the Dawn Fortress. Yao Zhihao was sleeping outside, farting repeatedly. He had asked her to move, but she had been lying down with a mirror trying to peer up under his robes for almost a week now, an activity she seemed to be enthusiastic about. She refused to say why. She had no desire to return to the Great Battlefield, after all. He was surrounded by thousand-year old arrays in a room with more paperwork than space, the hundred-year old tables they'd brought back to the main Council chambers starting to fade in power, new arrays carved in them over time. Somehow Destasia's erotic fiction had been the basis of powerful arrays, arrays that communicated said fiction to anyone who tried to spy on the room. He had wanted to removed them all at first, but then realised it was an effective method of counterintelligence. He'd left it, which she had taken as tacit approval of her... works. Though thankfully she'd left him, and had moved onto the dramatic romance between Minervina and Magnus, a love story she had been discussing with Zhihao for some time now. Zhihao had demanded to be written in as the steamy lover of both of the poison cultivators. The Yao Zhihao of the stories was a beautiful, cold, tall woman, a true jade beauty.

He had no idea where her self-image came from.

It was of course paramount that he hid the scenes containing him using his Dao from the eyes of those not on the Council. After all, the dignity of the Grand Elder was important for the Clan's morale! As for Minervina and Magnus, well, they could surely use the popularity.

"Report."

Manuel's voice was quiet, heard only by his Council. As it left his lips, a billowing shape of shadows rose and surrounded them, spinning and expanding as it painted itself onto the walls, seeping into the floor and the ceiling. The same trick as decades before, only now it obscured them from a number of useful tricks, including the ability to peer into the past at their council session. He needed to renew it now - hiding those erotic pieces written between him and Heraclius would shame the dead man's family, and so keeping that information barrier up was crucial. Crucial!

First was Casia Zimisce, a Great Circle Core Formation cultivator. Rail-thin and severe-faced, she looked as though she had perpetually swallowed a lemon. Her intimidating posture and expression aside, once she spoke one wouldn't pay attention to them, as she set everyone around her at ease. Casia was Stratopedarches, or in more common terms, the Elder of Administration. To her fell the duties of managing mines, herbs, cities, camps - all manner of resources flowed through her hands. In the last twenty years she had largely organised the construction of new cities and the like in the new lands, raising new mines, new gardens, and all sorts of things.

"Archegetes. In terms of wealth things have gone reasonably well. We have fifteen million Spirit stavraton saved, though I could easily spend every single one of them. The amount of construction work, road construction, array expenditure, fortifications and so on..."

Her voice trailed off.

"I must raise the matter of Jin Muyi. I am not his friend, nor did I know him, but there must be a reckoning. You have told us the tale of the Stone Spear, and the creature that consumed him."

She tapped her fingers on her knees anxiously.

"To present him as a hero would cause others to follow in his footsteps cultivation-wise. To cover over his heroics and present him as a flawed fool who became a monster due to his own willingness to seek power would be unfair, but would also assist in keeping the Clan's standard cultivation methods pre-eminent, as well as promulgating more loyalty. Stepping as close to Blood Path as he did... lionizing him will have negative consequences. There are other cultivators we can present as heroes and role models that would serve us better."

[ ] Jin Muyi was a hero of the Clan to the very last

[ ] Jin Muyi was a fallen hero of the Clan, a victim of his own techniques

-------------

Second was Kleisthenes Sarantapechos, an Early Nascent Soul Elder. Dead Euphrosyne's twin sister, though less talented in cultivation. She cultivated a rare Yang attribute technique, and went by a male name, and had previously worn a male body to aid in her cultivation. For her, if she had not cultivated her Yang technique - she never would have risen into Core Formation. Such a thing was uncommon among your Clan, but not unknown. With the gift of Heaven's Shadow she rose into Nascent Soul, become ever-more severe in looks. Her face was sharp, now, and her eyebrows had grown curiously thicker over the last few decades. Perhaps another woman would've returned to the beauty she had apparently been, but Kleisthenes maintained broad shoulders and large muscles, and had refused to give up a single inch of height, though her lips had become less pursed and strained.

She is the Hetaireiarches, or in common terms, the Elder of Diplomacy. To her fell the duties of managing external powers and other Nascent Souls. She often complained about her lack of talent, and she and Manuel were reasonable friends. She had come to terms with her sister's death, and the two were closer, closer than ever. Close as perhaps only equals could be.

"Archegetes. The Noble Devil Alliance is in full retreat. The Wei Princess stirred herself into action once more, facing the Altar Lord in open battle. He was beaten soundly and the Song Empire has been entirely recovered. The Great Battlefield was struck with a victory on the part of Strength Purity. Gemstone Justice, Mountain Bell, and the Ma Clan now have a corridor leading to them, forming a sort of triangular-shaped safe territory with a safe 'road' south. The Devil Twins and the Demon Grandfather were joined by the Corpse-Devouring Fairy in the south, however."

Her voice was like water running down a stream, like chimes in the wind, light and fair and free. He wondered if it had been her original voice before she began to cultivate. Since she had reached Nascent Soul it pulsed, demanding attention, each word one seemingly given up to the world to despoil.

"The Noble Knowledge Sect has subsumed almost all of the Broken Arrow Bandit territory. The forces sent north are now forced to reinstate the Poison-Crushing Siege, and the armies that were to be diverted to destroy the Demonic Altar are holding the ruined lands around Ma Clan and Gemstone Justice to stymie the growth of the Maze. What was meant to be a quick victory has become a grinding siege once more, though the Altar armies are mostly shattered and ruined at this point. The Altar forces were stretched to their breaking point and then broke - they consumed themselves in part, and were slain in other parts. While their Nascent and Core strengths remain intact, I do not foresee any major offensives coming out of the north any time soon."

She shook her head ruefully.

"In the south, Eagle Lord of the Yu Clan has been laid low by some deadly poison. Not dead, but either badly wounded or crippled. The Great Drunkards have been savaged, and the entire Verdant South seems to lie open to the depredations of the Three Devil Sisters and the Demon Grandfather. Tallies from Strength Purity spies estimate that perhaps one hundred million mortals have been killed over the last forty or so years, perhaps more. As many as have died in the entire war in the Great Battlefield so far, in truth. The Verdant South is verdant, but ill-protected."

She sighed.

"Strength Purity are once again offering diplomatic concessions, though this time to send our array masters south to the Joyful Blacksmith Sect. They are offering us an observer seat on the Council of Righteous Elders, an ancient council that was once a mere formality. Currently it serves as a tool for the Righteous Path to debate and vote on their war strategies that are brought to their Nascent Souls for approval, but even a seat as an observer will grant us considerable legitimacy."

[ ] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South.

Gain a seat on the Council of Righteous Elders, increasing your legitimacy among the Righteous Path. Several of your best Legions who have recently fought in large-scale war will be unavailable for any war you wish to personally prosecute for the next twenty years.

[ ] Don't

Strength Purity will have to do without you. Bringing your strength together matters more than the war in the Plains.

-----------

Third was Xie Xinya, a Great Circle Core Formation Elder. She is beautiful, long black hair framing an oval face. Her lips glossy and eyes rouged, she was certainly the cultivator on the Council who cared most about her appearance. Since her ascension into the Great Circle she had grown more alluring, and had offered to marry Manuel no less than six times, and two of those offers had come after he had obtained the Spear. She grew more beautiful with each passing year, somehow, an effect Manuel found peculiar. He had raised it with Kleisthenes - despite being unattracted to women, she reported the same thing. Spiritual Jades proven she looked exactly the same physically, so some Dao-effect was causing her to become ever-more alluring and enticing. She is the Parakoimomenos, or in common terms, the Elder of Intrigue. Previously Manuel held her position. To her falls the duties of espionage, sabotage, and assassination.

"Archegetes. I have gained some information of use. The Poison Maze is growing, at immense pace. Some sort of tremendous secret was uncovered in the far west, something sufficient to make it grow and grow beyond all reasonable measure. I do not know what the secret is - my personal suspicion is that is something to do with their founder, or perhaps Soup Chef - but with the maze's growth they are preventing the Righteous Powers bringing their forces to the Demonic Altar to end the current War. With the massive slaughter in the south, many of my spies were killed. It seems your old friend hunts them down personally - sending in spies directly from the Clan in any of the Chuan or Yu territories has become an impossibility."

Fourth came Destasia Duca, an Early Core Formation Elder. She is Chartoularios Tou Kanikleiou, or in simpler terms, the Master of Disciples. She picks out good seeds, gives training and assistance, and manages the core of the Clan Contribution Board for Qi Condensation and Foundation Building disciples in times of peace. She is flighty, friendly, and happy, and is well-known for her eyes she can use to befuddle or poison her enemies with, as well as her... unique approach to both life and cultivation.

"Archegetes.", she spoke.

"New legionnaires are doing well! Aspirants, doing well! I threw one of them down a well."

She chuckled.

"A joke, a joke. I threw twenty or so down a well."

Manuel frowned at her.

"For training purposes?"

She shook her head.

"I needed someone to clean my well."

"And what purpose was this all for? What project did you have ongoing?"

She cocked her head, and looked at him as though he were stupid.

"I do still need to drink water, Archegetes."

"And your projects? Anything of interest?"

"Not especially. Oh, I have an idea, but it needs funding!"

------------------

Lastly was Sheng Yu a Mid Core Formation Elder. He is Protostrator, leader of your armies. Young and untested in his role, Sheng Yu is nonetheless ready for action.

He speaks, a high-pitched voice with a peculiar waver to it.

"Archegetes. I have largely focused my efforts on organising those Legions that can perform offensively. My ability to conduct a defensive war is low, and has largely been left to individual Legates. I hope to slowly build my competency up there, but I have seven Legions prepared for a proper offensive at almost any time, totalling seventy-three thousand Qi Condensation cultivators, eight hundred and ninety-two Foundation experts, and of course seven Legates. Bringing new Legions into this arrangement is taking time, and we should expect a large loss of capability in the Legions, mainly due to cohesion loss while this organisational change takes place."

He smiles wanly.

"I have managed to rework various invasion plans. It is my belief that we could nonetheless fight the Jingshen in an invasion if you wished, but it would need to be a specific one. We would take specific hardpoints, invest them, and move our offensive Legions onwards, but this would be a grinding set of sieges lasting decades on decades if conducted conventionally. Such a war would ultimately rest on the Nascent superiority I understand we have recently obtained."

Manuel frowns thoughtfully...

-----------
The Clan currently has 4 Purchases worth of wealth.

The Clan will gain 3 Purchases next turn.
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What should the Clan focus on? (Outside of the war, which is of course your primary focus)

[ ] Building Bridges (Write-in target) - You should make more allies. Choose a target on the map and aim to have their relations with you increased. Give gifts, exchange assistance, aim for strategic marriages.

[ ] Intrigue (Write-in target) - You should learn about another clan entirely. Spend Spirit Stones like water in the plains and find out everything you can. Strengths. Weaknesses, places to strike, rebels, and so on and so forth.

[ ] Raiding (Write-in target) - Better to weaken an enemy. Send teams of cultivators to go raid an enemy for resources and to kill them where possible. Minor conflicts, with minor rewards. At best, you can seize minor territorial gains. This will worsen your relations, of course. Gains between 0-3 Purchases. May seize territory in extreme cases. Loses Cultivators - around 5,000 Qi Condensation cultivators, 50 Foundation Establishment cultivators, and potentially 1 Core Formation Elder.

[ ] War (Write-in target) - Simply invade. Strike with all your might and seize territory. Kill cultivators. Requires your personal attention to prevent Nascent Souls simply obliterating your forces. Uses your personal Action for the turn. War will open a set of new sub-turns.

[ ] Increasing Wealth - More trade, more mines, more growth. Aim to find more Spirit Stones, tax more from traders, whatever works to increase your Clan Wealth. This earns you one purchase.

[ ] Training Soldiers - Raising Disciples to higher Realms is all well and good, but training them to be perfect members of Formations is better. Ensure your Clan is trained and ready for war. Your readiness to go to war will increase significantly, though this fades over time.

[ ] Fortifying (Write-in territory, ally or vassal) - Spend Clan manpower and soldiers to build new fortifications against outside enemies. New Arrays, help train new cultivators in lesser Formations to defend their lands, and so on. Will also strengthen a vassal or ally if chosen, and increase relations with them. Increases defenses in the chosen territory, ally, or vassal.

[ ] Write-in
-------------------
Nascent Soul actions have been upped to two!

Please format votes like so:

[x] Training Soldiers
[x] Manuel - Hunt an Enemy (Altar Lord)
[x] Kleisthenes - Economic Activity

------------------
What will Manuel do?

[ ] Hunt An Enemy (Write-In) - Why not? Hunt down enemies, see if you can kill someone. Usually used against an opposing Nascent Soul. Potentially very dangerous.

[ ] Weaken An Enemy (Write-In Faction) - Choose a faction, and use your Nascent Soul strength to simply sneak in and do damage. A little underhanded and shameful, but what do you care for the views of the Righteous Path? Potentially dangerous.

[ ] Assist A Faction (Write-in Faction) - Use your personal strength to assist an ally of some kind. Potentially dangerous.

[ ] Economic Activity - Carve arrays, scribe useful cultivation techniques onto scrolls, hunt down useful opportunities that might be dangerous to a Core Formation Elder. Make some money for the Clan. This earns you one purchase.

[ ] Lecturing - You can simply lecture your many juniors on cultivation. Spend your time helping them grow, using less resources and ensuring better growth for the Clan.

[ ] Write-in

What will Kleisthenes do?

[ ] Hunt An Enemy (Write-In) - Why not? Hunt down enemies, see if you can kill someone. Usually used against an opposing Nascent Soul. Potentially very dangerous.

[ ] Weaken An Enemy (Write-In Faction) - Choose a faction, and use your Nascent Soul strength to simply sneak in and do damage. A little underhanded and shameful, but what do you care for the views of the Righteous Path? Potentially dangerous.

[ ] Assist A Faction (Write-in Faction) - Use your personal strength to assist an ally of some kind. Potentially dangerous.

[ ] Economic Activity - Carve arrays, scribe useful cultivation techniques onto scrolls, hunt down useful opportunities that might be dangerous to a Core Formation Elder. Make some money for the Clan. This earns you one purchase.

[ ] Tend to Diplomacy - Kleisthenes will spend all her spare time working on her general diplomatic outreaches. This will apply a considerable bonus to any diplomatic actions this turn, as well as any diplomatic rolls that crop up naturally.

[ ] Write-in

Purchases:

We have 4 Purchases available. Any Economic actions can be spent this turn, and unspent Purchases carry over to new turns.

Casia Zimisce wants to...

[ ] The Hong Xuan Division (1 Purchase)

"Archegetes, our current discord with the Hong Xuan Clan is costly. With some wealth, I believe I can raise a division of Hong Xuan cultivators to be sent to the Great Battlefield, to fight alongside our Legions there. Giving their Foundation experts friendships with our own Legionnaires will buy us loyalty, and spending our money in this way will buy us more gratitude from the Righteous Sects."

Kleisthenes Sarantapechos wants to...

[ ] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)

"Archegetes, I know it is a great deal of money, but my life has become tremendously more useful to the Clan. I am in negotiations with the Strength Purity Sect to potentially purchase their Hateful Mirror. It twists time and fate momentarily, allowing the user to choose from a slightly better set of outcomes, though it makes them permanently repugnant to the eye as a cost when used. While it can only be used once, I am compatible with it, and it would serve as an excellent backup to preserve my life."

Xie Xinya wants to...

[ ] A Thousand Spies, Ten Thousand Eyes on the Blood Oak (1 Purchase)

"Archegetes, the Jingshen are the only true traders with the Blood Oak Sect. I would know more about their stance and any possible support. Infiltrating them is incredibly difficult and expensive, and largely has been left to what minor scraps of information we can raise from our own travellers, traders, and occasional spies. To properly understand them in the short-term would require an immense expenditure."

Destasia Duca wants to...

[ ] Grow a Shambler Legion (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)

"So, when Jin Muyi died, I started thinking. Why not grow plants that can eat and inhabit corpses? Sensible. I managed to breed a strain that consume the Blood of Bronze and take it into themselves. They're not very smart, and their formation-skills are weak, but they don't tire and they can consume the enemy as well! They're pretty slow, to be fair, but they can even replicate themselves by seeding dying enemies and subsuming their cultivation! Since they're plants they're not technically blood path, and once they got going they could wipe out endless numbers of enemies! I mean, there might be some problems and to be honest I don't see the Righteous Path loving them, but I for one feel like striking fear into our enemies is better than striking love into them. Plus it'd be nice, we could send them over to visit his family and friends to help them get over the loss."

Sheng Yu wants to...

[ ] Raise Two Scorpion Legions (1 Purchase)

"Archegetes, we have a tremendous number of scorpion cavalry, and Legions that are difficult to transport. Mounted infantry are expensive but to properly operate offensively I need something more than what I have. Currently any war-plans are essentially a few mobile legions deep-striking into enemy hardpoints, seizing them, and ferrying Legions in to hold those points so this pattern of raiding and holding can continue. Any proper broad-front offensive is incredibly difficult, and mobility is hard to come by. The Scorpion Cavalry are not so incredible in combat, but in terms of strategic mobility they offer much, especially when travelling through hostile territory."

 

[occipitallobe]

Adhoc vote count started by Insane-Not-Crazy on Aug 16, 2021 at 2:53 PM, finished with 120 posts and 44 votes.

• ---

  21 people have voted

  [x] Plan For Forgiveness, Not Permission
  -[x] Jin Muyi was a hero of the Clan to the very last
  -[X] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South
  -[x] War against the Jingshen Clan- Simply invade. Strike with all your might and seize territory. Kill cultivators. Requires your personal attention to prevent Nascent Souls simply obliterating your forces. Uses your personal Action for the turn. War will open a set of new sub-turns.
  -[x] Manuel - Hunt An Enemy (Old Jingshen) - Why not? Hunt down enemies, see if you can kill someone. Usually used against an opposing Nascent Soul. Potentially very dangerous.
  -[x] Kleisthenes - War - Work with Lady Yao to Assassinate or Subvert the Jingshen Nascent Soul candidates and steal their Nascent Soul Tribulation treasures. Ensure that a third Jingshen Nascent Soul does not arise, let alone a fourth.
  -[x] The Hong Xuan Division (1 Purchase)
  -[x] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)
  -[X] Raise Two Scorpion Legions (1 Purchase)

  • Insane-Not-Crazy
  • Alectai
  • Halliax
  • Shard
  • Juugo
  • Taut_Templar
  • AlphaDelta
  • ReaderOfFate
  • adamashield
  • kitsune9
  • Kaboomatic
  • Resonant
  • The Fourth Monado
  • Random12345
  • Swordomatic
  • tenchifew
  • Garlak
  • Mellowfellow
  • TheCount
  • GardenerBriareus
  • Seventeen

  11 people have voted

  [X]Plan: Destasia Unleashed
  -[x] Jin Muyi was a hero of the Clan to the very last
  -[X] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South
  -[X] War (Jingshen) - Simply invade. Strike with all your might and seize territory. Kill cultivators. Requires your personal attention to prevent Nascent Souls from simply obliterating your forces. Uses your personal Action for the turn. War will open a set of new sub-turns.
  -[x] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)
  -[X] Grow a Shambler Legion (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)

  • Katana1515
  • Catpetter1981
  • no.
  • Lo_and
  • LordEdric
  • Unstorpable
  • Mochinator
  • Shaper47
  • GardenerBriareus
  • Gajoti
  • Siual

  8 people have voted

  [X] Plan: Altar Lord's Last Chance
  -[X]-"I am threading the eye of a needle, Ai'er. I am standing on a sinking ship aflame, standing in the last place of safety as I attempt to finish a great work left before me. But the ship is sinking, and time is rapidly running out. We must buy a little more time and space."
  -[X] Manuel has divined that The Last Altar Lord is planning something big. He's desperately scrabbling for just a little more time to play his final card. The crowning achievement of his entire life. Altar Lord does not care for power, he simply took it because it was necessary for this very blow against Heaven, this final act. While we abhor his methods, we have a mutual enemy. We will not help the Righteous Path gain enough slack to crush the culmination of his dream that we share.
  -[X] Jin Muyi was a fallen hero of the Clan, a victim of his own techniques
  -[X] A tragic man with a tragic fate and a tragic ending will leave a tragic memory.
  -[x] Don't
  -[X] We will not give Heaven the slack required to remove the rebellion. We will not assist the Righteous Path to end the war that protects us.
  -[X] War (Jingshen) - Simply invade. Strike with all your might and seize territory. Kill cultivators. Requires your personal attention to prevent Nascent Souls simply obliterating your forces. Uses your personal Action for the turn.
  -[X] Manuel - War
  -[X] It is time.
  -[X] Kleisthenes - Work with Lady Yao to assassinate or subvert the Jingshen Nascent Soul candidates and steal their Nascent Soul Tribulation treasures.
  -[X] The treasures Jingshen hold could catapult us to among the strongest powers immediately, protecting us from easy retaliation. We cannot allow Jingshen to user them first.
  -[X] Raise Two Scorpion Legions (1 Purchase)
  -[X] A Thousand Spies, Ten Thousand Eyes on the Blood Oak (1 Purchase)
  -[x] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)

  • Olivebirdy
  • Ptolemy
  • gigantisrex
  • Alratan
  • GlassOlive
  • pblur
  • Gajoti
  • Siual

  5 people have voted

  [X] Plan Conventional War
  -[X] Jin Muyi was a fallen hero of the Clan, a victim of his own techniques
  -[x] Don't
  -[X] War (Jingshen) - You are as ever a loyal ally. The Flood Dragon Gang has called upon you to help them repay the insult made by Jingshen personally to Lady Yao. You march with the Gang to demand a reckoning and force out the Jingshen Nascents.
  -[x] (War) Manuel
  -[x] (War) Kleisthenes
  -[x] The Hong Xuan Division
  -[x] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror
  -[x] Raise Two Scorpion Legions

  • Insane-Not-Crazy
  • kalugin
  • Olivebirdy
  • Ptolemy
  • Seventeen

  4 people have voted

  [X] Plan: The most important part of any summary execution is to remember to have fun and be yourself
  -[X] Jin Muyi was a fallen hero of the Clan, a victim of his own techniques
  --[X] Alas, for Jin Muyi a beloved hero of the Clan has fallen to the blood path in his lust for power and had to be struck down, he was tricked into being overcome by a blood path legacy by the scheming Jingshen who have been revealed to be blood path users
  -[X] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South
  --[X] Given how we and the Strength Purity Sect have such an eternal friendship we will of course aid them against the vile blood path. Though times may be hard, together we stand against the demonic forces of the blood path.
  -[X] War - Jingshen
  --[X] The foul Jingshen have gone too far, they have assaulted the beautiful righteous Yao Zhihao with intent to murder her and consume her flesh using the vile blood path, they even used one of their secret blood path legacies to corrupt our beloved hero Jin Muyi. In hindsight we should have know that the Jingshen were blood path users from how they go about slaughtering mortals. Still it is to late to change the past all that remains in front of us in justice found in their summary execution.
  -[X] Manuel - War on Jingshen
  -[X] Kleisthenes - War on Jingshen
  -[X] Grow a Shambler Legion (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)
  -[X] Raise Two Scorpion Legions (1 Purchase)

  • Shaper47
  • Killer_Whale
  • No7sHere
  • RyubosJ

  2 people have voted

  [X] Your sacrifices will not be wasted!

  • Mellowfellow
  • TheCount

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Ok These Guys are Tough
  -[x] Jin Muyi was a hero of the Clan to the very last
  -[x] Don't
  -[X] War (Jingshen) - You are as ever a loyal ally. The Flood Dragon Gang has called upon you to help them repay the insult made by Jingshen personally to Lady Yao. You march with the Gang to demand a reckoning and force out the Jingshen Nascents.
  -[x] (War) Manuel
  -[x] (War) Kleisthenes
  -[x] The Hong Xuan Division
  -[x] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror
  -[x] Raise Two Scorpion Legions

  • Insane-Not-Crazy

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan : Honorable and Steadfast Golden Devils
  -[X] Jin Muyi was a fallen hero of the Clan, a victim of his own techniques
  -[X] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South
  -[X] War (Jingshen) - Help the Flood Dragons
  -[X] Kleisthenes and Lady Lao - Raiding (Jingshen)
  -[X] Manuel - Hunt An Enemy (Old Jingshen)
  -[x] The Hong Xuan Division
  -[x] Raise Two Scorpion Legions

  • Sparsebeard

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Bait
  -[x] Jin Muyi was a hero of the Clan to the very last
  -[X] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South
  -[X] Muster troops on the Jingshen border, find a suitable stronghold and charge Destasia with the highest of heresy: the construction of a mind-tunnelling array, with the objective to help Manuel focus the shadow of heaven's will through OJ's hat and pull secrets straight out of his head. We will then spread the details of this top secret project to literally anyone who will listen.
  -[X] While they wait for a response, Manuel will teach Yao and Klei the advanced topics of NS combat after that poor performance against Jiao.
  -[X] A Thousand Spies, Ten Thousand Eyes on the Blood Oak (1 Purchase)
  -[X] Grow a Shambler Legion (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)
  -[X] Raise Two Scorpion Legions (1 Purchase)

  • Lampshade

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan: Victory comes to those who wait.
  -[X] Jin Muyi was a fallen hero of the Clan, a victim of his own techniques
  -[X] Send the Clan's best Array-Engineers as well as several Legions south from the Great Battlefield to the Verdant South
  -[X] Training Soldiers - Raising Disciples to higher Realms is all well and good, but training them to be perfect members of Formations is better. Ensure your Clan is trained and ready for war. Your readiness to go to war will increase significantly, though this fades over time.
  -[X] Manuel - Economic Activity
  -[X] Kleisthenes - Tend to Diplomacy
  -[x] Purchase a Nascent Treasure - The Hateful Mirror (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)
  -[X] Grow a Shambler Legion (Major Purchase - costs 2 Purchases)
  -[X] Raise Two Scorpion Legions (1 Purchase)

  • nothingtoseehere

 

[occipitallobe]

Hu Ai frowned, perfect lips dipping downwards.

She did not care for Sun Diaxing.

He had looked at her when they first met, eyes appraising. Some men had looked at her like a side of meat - for more than one reason in her life, others had attempted to appraise her as you would a worthy servant. All of them looking for something.

Sun Diaxing was appraising, but she could not tell what for.

After a few moments he grunted, seemingly satisfied.

"You'll do."

With that, he gestured her to follow, flying off to the south.

As they flew, he spoke.

"Girl, do you know why you were sent south?"

She shook her head mutely, thinking. Did he want to eat her? No, why bother sending her south then.

"Neither do I, and it bothers me. The most powerful Blood Path Nascent wants to send his apprentice to me, well, that's another Nascent Soul and a favor, I'd be a fool to refuse. Why, though? I've never been able to fully fathom him. I have my notions, but would you care to tell me what you think?"

She shook her head again.

"I'd prefer not to give information on him to you."

He grinned, then, a plain facing lighting up.

"At least you know how to show loyalty. You probably have it, too, though who knows if it'll last. Let me tell you what I think. He's losing his war up there, so he's doing the smart thing. The Demonic Altar probably still possesses all of its core strength - most of its Elders, a good chunk of the Experts, and all the Nascent Souls. It can still fight for a time, and realistically as long as they continue raiding and seizing Righteous Elders they can sustain themselves for sixty or seventy years while the mortal population replenishes itself. Provided they're not under a siege they can't escape, of course. So if there's one more Nascent to feed, that's a disadvantage. One more Nascent in the south wreaking havoc and forcing the Righteous Path to focus here, that's an advantage. Still, both my students are in the north right now as it so happens, using their knowledge to expand the Poison Maze. That distraction alone will permanently reduce the Nascent Souls who can strike at us by three or four despite the risks."

She had thought as much herself, though she didn't say so.

"Still, I think the other truth is this. Altar Lord is some inscrutable old monster who is notorious only for the fact that his subordinates tend to die much more commonly than mine ever did. He doesn't know how to teach you. Oh, he can probably enlighten you on the Dao, but on survival? On growth? I am far better placed to teach you."

He looked over at her, coming to stop mid-air.

"If you bow and acknowledge me as your teacher, girl, I'll teach you something of worth right now."

She hesitated.

"But-"

"Teacher, not master. I'm not asking you to be my direct disciple. A single kowtow is all I ask."

She bowed midair, and stood rapidly.

He smiled, the grin growing wider. His teeth, she noted, were filed down to points.

"Good. Call me Sun Laoshi from now on. As for the lesson... War is a complicated matter. There are three sets of relationships to consider. The power differential between you and your enemies. The bonds between your enemies. And the bonds between you and your allies and vassals. The first can be overcome by manipulating the latter two in many cases. Some decades ago, I promised my two students I'd help them rise to Mid Nascent Soul."

Her eyes flickered in surprise. But that would mean-

"Yes," he said, having somehow heard her reply before she spoke it.

"That would mean they would have a fair chance of killing me."

"Then why...", her voice trailed off.

"As quiet as you are girl, I thought you might have understood it already. I never said I'd let them be equal in power to me. I merely said I'd let them rise into Mid Nascent Soul."

She stopped, surprised.

"Over the past twenty years I have personally killed perhaps twenty or thirty million mortals. My own Blood Clones, reduced to mere Qi Condensation strength, played the part of inscribing the... results."

They flew further south.

"Old Fish was in the north, previously. Two years ago I struck into the Noble Koi Palace with a clone who took the form of one of their Elders. Delightful moment, though it only lasted a little longer than that, laced with Xinyue's poisons as it was. Eighteen Core Formation elders dead, and Old Fish was forced to return here. I then sent a messenger north to Altar Lord, stating that the favor had been paid. The poor boy was captured and killed by the Strength Purity Sect, and so they assumed I was repaying some favour from your master, drawing Old Fish back."

Diaxing sighed.

"The problem with being invincible and unchallenged most of the time is that it is so difficult to change your frame of mind. Especially for Nascent Souls of the Righteous Path - they've won their battles for so long that they didn't really consider if loss was an option. Consequentially they squabbled with one another, forcing losses on their rivals to jockey for position in their long-anticipated victory. They couldn't possibly lose, so why not force your rivals into weakness in a way you could not in peacetime?"

He pointed to the west.

"Heavenly Pearl City was home to thirteen million people. I killed them all, and etched the first part of an array in their blood there. Even now, the raw power restrained there is sufficient to kill a Nascent Soul outright."

Hu Ai felt horror rise in her. Thirteen million dead to win a battle. Not even to survive, just as a tool. A weapon. She shook her head. Her master would have done such a thing if it were necessary.

"Old- Sun Laoshi, you are aiming to kill a Nascent Soul?"

His smile stopped.

"Think. I have given you all the clues needed to solve this. I understand you are far less experienced than others, but you must reason this out for yourself. Sit and watch."

He clicked his fingers, and threw a massive wave of force to the south, the city surrounding the Koi Palace shuddering. Again, and again, and again he struck at it. For twenty minutes, then an hour, then twelve. As time ran on, Hu Ai had realised what he was doing. But how?

Old Fish stood in the sky before them suddenly, faster than Hu Ai could follow. Behind him stood a fierce-faced man wielding a massive saber, almost twice the length of his own body.

He snarled.

"Sun Diaxing, you'll pay for this monstrosity. All the people you've killed... all the horror you've wrought. You'll pay for every bit of it. If you wanted me to return from the north, so be it. Die."

The saber-wielding man struck, and the sun that had set blazed brightly in the sky, fire and majesty boiling forth towards Old Cannibal. It scorched through his arm, burning it off. Old Fish sliced down with an axe studded with peculiar blue crystals, and Old Cannibal barely avoided it. A moment after losing his arm he turned and fled, running towards Heavenly Pearl City.

They both ignored her, curiously enough. They seemed to wonder if she would interfere, but as she failed to give chase, they did not bother to turn around.

She followed along from a distance, close enough to watch, close enough to use her arts to hear the words. Not close enough to fight easily.

Sun Diaxing had lost another arm, and a foot besides. He flew desperately, ungainly, into the city, plummeting down to hide.

Old Fish spat.

"You think I wouldn't find out your two whores were in the north? You think you can simply send them to expand the Poison Maze without retribution? The Righteous Path will not be played for fools. Your little... rampage ends here."

He brought the axe down. As Sun Diaxing's neck was sliced off, the body simply dissolved, a Blood Clone disappearing into nothingness.

Another Sun Diaxing stood in the sky above them, a pulsing blood-red saber in his hand.

"Yes", he said. "Let's speak on retribution."

He smiled, and whispered a phrase, barely audible.

""Seven cities become seven sabers, seven sabers in the service of blood, hating all else. Let the saber drink its fill. Divine Qi-Crushing Blood Saber."

The saber in his hand shattered into seven, and the air filled with misty blood.

The two other Nascent Souls hung there like wasps in amber, and Sun Diaxing moved along with ease. After a moment, Old Fish struggled and his eyes bulged, and a scale on his face appeared and shattered instantly. With it, he disappeared, teleported away. The fierce-looking man had a smaller saber on his waist the size of a token glow with bright white for a moment, and do nothing.

Diaxing flew down to the fierce-looking man.

"Ah, Elder Zhao. Did you know we've never met face to face before this?"

The Grand Elder of Sun simply struggled, unable to move more than an inch.

Old Cannibal chuckled.

"One hundred and fifty years ago, you corrupted my beloved apprentice. Almost a son, really. Gave him the tools to rise against me and then turned him against me. When I killed him and gave his corpse to my worst enemy, I honestly considered ending my own life. Consuming myself into nothingness, as it were."

He tapped his fingers on his cheek.

"I should kill you now to prevent you escaping, but I think the satisfaction is worth the risk."

His hand shot forward, and fingernails sharpened to talons tore a chunk of skin off the fierce-looking man's face. Old Cannibal bit into it, swallowing it down and smacking his lips together before continuing.

"But I did not. There was still Konstantinos, and his death I desired more than anything. More than the pain, more than the misery of losing the boy who had meant everything to me. I failed in that, as I failed in everything I had done in my life. My Sect, my beloved disciple, my enemy. All my tasks left undone. But then I saw new purpose as a teacher, to grow each sapling as high as it could, to consume more of the world alongside me as I sought divinity."

His fingernail jabbed at Elder Zhao's face, and pulled out an eyeball. He put it before his lips, his tongue darting out to pull it into his mouth. He bit down until he felt a pop, smiling with satisfaction as he swallowed.

"Ten years ago I raided your Saber Palace. And I found the most absurd thing. All of your treasures... all of them, as far as I could tell, link to the Saber Qi of your Divine Saber. Part of how you establish your tombs. An incredibly powerful treasure, true, but it can be... interfered with if you know how. You would of course need an array designed by one of the great masters of the Saber Qi of the Divine Saber, as well as a spy on the inside attuned to said Qi to let my array work at the opportune moment. Each of these sabers drastically weakens the use of all non-Blood Qi within its radius, and more importantly prevents any fragment of the Divine Saber's power leaking through here."

He chuckled.

"I never used to make plans like this. They failed in humiliating fashion every time. You cannot imagine how gratifying this is for me."

He brought his hand up to cup Elder Zhao's face. The other Mid Nascent Soul squirmed and struggled a little, but was barely able to move at all. A tiny saber-token at his waist constantly pulsed with white light, but did nothing.

"The idiocy of your defensive measures aside, let this serve as a lesson. You killed my boy. I will butcher every single Saber Palace disciple until your name is nothing more than words on the wind spoken by those who fear me hearing them. Retribution has come for you."

He turned his head and spoke.

"Do you see the lesson, student?"

Hu Ai saw it.

"I never said I'd let them be equal in power to me. I merely said I'd let them rise into Mid Nascent Soul"

Old Cannibal begun to eat.

Hours later, the power pulsed from him - massive, overbearing, terrifying.

Old Cannibal walked towards her cheerfully, the Virtuous Flipper Region's third Late Nascent Soul smiling all the while.

 

[occipitallobe]

"...and so I must again urge in the possible strongest sense that the Century Oasis Formation be reconsidered for greater adoption among formation-masters, and brought into higher levels of cultivator usability. I have seen its effectiveness during the Scorpion Jingshen Campaign, and the increase in strategic speed is more important than ever in a time when the Clan is seeking to move proactively."

Tisamenos signed the letter with a flourish. It would be his fourteenth over the last two decades, but the point wasn't to actually get the Formation properly adopted and studied. The costs would be immense, and the Archegetes himself would likely need to sign off on them. No, the point was to continually lodge evidences of it working well and getting other cultivators to sign on, so that when the time came for him to try and convince Sheng Yu to use his incredibly precious once-every-two-decade chance to ask the Grand Elder for a major expenditure at the cost of the other Council Elders, he would bring the Century Oasis Formation forward.

Building a strong base of evidence was crucial, and he'd been doing so for nearly sixty years - ever since he had risen into Foundation Establishment. With that much evidence worth citing and the fading name of one of the Indomitable Thirteen behind it, he felt he had a good chance for Sheng Yu to do so.

It didn't hurt that he'd first taught it to Sheng Yu's personal Scorpion Legion, which had proven crucial in recovering from the raids in the Jingshen lands. Squeezing out a slightly quicker operational tempo had from what the Elder had told him saved his life. A little bit slower, and perhaps the Legions would have been caught before the Grand Elder arrived to save them.

He sat, rocking back on his fine bronze chair. His office was splendid - red-dyed silks marked him as one of the Second Elder's diplomatic attaches, and a fairly famous scribe among the Optimatoi - his Memo on Nascent Soul Negotiations was considered required reading for new diplomats, and his other works didn't disgrace him much either. A string of Spirit Stones carved into glimmering faceted jewels hung from his roof, each glowing with a gentle light. His desk was real wood, carved from the trunk of a great tree, and he didn't even have to share his office!

He was technically the second-in-command of the Scriptorium, though in practice he had little to do with the storage and requisition of documents for other departments and Legions. Rather, he had a small group of scribes underneath him who specialized in recording various scenes and then condensing down their impressions to either text, or the most relevant visions on a spiritual jade. Their duty was largely to record what was useful to the Clan, from foreign affairs to internal ones. Anything that needed to be preserved for posterity but was not within the direct remit of the Clan itself was his to deal with.

He had written many works since then, many minor histories. He was left to write mostly at his own discretion - even his current superior Mylanas Ephirotes did not manage him overmuch. He had not written on the remainder of the Indomitable Thirteen, he had to admit. It had been bitterness that had prevented him writing about the remainder of the Thirteen. Why did they deserve so much, when Ferenike had been given so little? He clenched his fist, and slowly relaxed it. He still remembered being so young, so convinced he was going to die. And yet here he was, and she-

He let his hand relax fully, breathing in deeply. He didn't hate the others, it was just... he felt he couldn't do them justice. Couldn't write about them without the bitterness slipping in.

A few moments later a knock came at the door.

"Enter."

Second Elder Sarantapechos walked in.

She looked him up and down and he stood hastily, saluting.

"What can I do for you, Elder?"

She smiled.

"Pack your things, Second Chronicler. I'm sending you to the Strength Purity Sect."

His eyebrows shot up.

"What am I to do?"

"The Council of Righteous Elders is getting an observer. I'm sending you."

"Me? Isn't the Council largely Core Formation Elders meeting?"

She nodded.

"I'm not sending a Legate on the eve of war with the Jingshen. They have better things to do. You'll be a nice non-threatening stand in, and if we offend them enough that they decide to kill our representative, we don't lose anyone too crucial."

Tisamenos bit his lip at that, and Kleisthenes chuckled.

"Also you're one of the best at distilling what people are saying and bringing back the useful parts. If a bunch of old women and men want to sit around complaining about things for months straight on end, I trust you to bring me back what I need to know. Now, you'll leave in six hours, express. We've just gotten the seat and I want every scrap of information you can get."

-------------

It was months before he reached the Strength Purity Sect, even travelling at top speed.

The Council of Righteous Elders was not as impressive as it sounded. There was an old odeon - what looked like a Clan one, if Tisamenos was being honest - sitting in the ground. A number of Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators sat around it, one of them in the middle, speaking. He was ushered in by a Strength Purity cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and warned not to speak or interfere.

Tisamenos took a seat at the very outskirts, aiming to sit apart from everyone else. A few foul looks came from a few of them - Tisamenos identified Saber Palace cultivators right away,

"The proposal we aim to bring before the Righteous Powers is a new emergency alliance. The Forged Purity Alliance, in honour of the two powers who have given so much in this war."

A wave of angry murmuring carried across the seated Elders, and Tisamenos began to write.

Another Elder stood, this one intensely hairy, with a mouth that looked almost like a muzzle.

"You would decry the sacrifices made by my Bear Enslavement Sect so your Sorrowful Blacksmiths can be honoured? The Demon Enslavement Alliance is a better name."

Another woman stood, her hair falling down to her knees, and as she spoke her voice tolled like a bell. Tisamenos was reminded of Aretaphilia, in truth.

"What have you given that we have not? The Mountain Bells have fought defensives for nigh on a century, an endless siege of blood and misery we have endured. Why not the Pure Justice Bell Alliance?"

She in turn was interrupted by a man with long braided hair.

"The Ma Clan will not tolerate such a-"

"Sit down!"

"Shut your mouth, Ma scum!"

"Silence your mouth, horse-slave!"

As soon as he begun speaking the other elders began to throw insults at him, jeering and shouting until the braided man of the Ma Clan sat down, shame in his eyes.

Tisamenos met his eyes for a moment and gave a tiny shrug, as if to offer the smallest amount of commiseration.

Another woman stood, fat, with a belly that made her almost entirely round, legs looking as though there was no way they could bear her weight. Her voice was sweet and honeyed, and Tisamenos found himself nodding along as soon as she spoke.

"The Gemstone Justice Sect finds the prior name to be a good one. Yet we cannot forget our allies in the Bear Enslavement Sect. Perhaps the Demon-Enslaving and Devil-Purifying Justice Coalition?"

A few claps rang out, and an archer stood, bow unstrung on his back.

"How quickly we forget the losses taken by the Thousand Arrows and Flowers. Sister Jue, can you not reconsider?"

She smiled at him, her cheeks reddening as she did so.

"The Demon-Enslaving and Devil-Purifying Fallen Flower Alliance. Does this not suit?"

The woman with the voice of a bell rose again, and was about to speak when a Core Formation Elder strode in, wearing the sash marking them as an inner Elder of the Strength Purity Sect.

"Enough debate. Elder Scarletglyph brought word this morning. The Elder of Day fell to the Ancient Blood Devil."

Tisamenos looked about, confused. Who was the Ancient Blood Devil? He hadn't heard that name at all.

The fat woman - Jue - gasped.

"You mean Sun Dixiang has killed the Elder of Day? Sister Baozhai, tell me it isn't so!"

Baozhai - the Strength Purity Elder - nodded.

"I have reports that he's risen into Late Nascent Soul. The Fish King escaped, but was almost hunted down by him even so and was forced to flee to the north and give us this information. I appreciate that we jockey for position, but things are dire. Has the Council considered bringing my proposal before a grouping of allied Nascent Souls?"

Jue began to prevaricate.

"Sister Baozhai, it's not so simple as that. We need to agree on many, many things before we can even consider bringing such a proposal forward. It's very daring, and if we-"

Baozhai cut her off.

"I am aware that the agreement is all such proposals need to be considered by the Council of Righteous Elders before being presented as to avoid wasting our time. Let me speak frankly. The Noble Devil Alliance rapidly approaches parity in strength with us, and the Yuan and Qiguai Clans can hardly be relied upon, nor can the Jingshen. The Sorrowful Blacksmiths are members in name only, and speak of protecting their mountains. We are ten Nascent powers against what is in truth six, and perhaps eight in terms of strength. The balance of power is no longer so great that we can afford to simply argue with one another on irrelevant terms."

Jue smiled, and it reached her eyes. Her face was angelic, and she spoke with sincerity.

"Nonetheless, what is one or two years to reach a proper conclusion? We are hardly going to lose the war-"

Baozhai cursed.

"With all your Gemstone Justice Sect has suffered, still you're a merchant seeking advantage? I have come bearing word from Scarletglyph and the Wei Princess. If the north will not fall in line on these matters, Strength Purity will no longer have an interest in defending you."

Jue turned white.

"But if we lose, and our Nascent Souls are taken, then what will you do?"

Baozhai scoffed.

"An ally who won't help? You can defend yourselves - or not, I don't care."

She turned, speaking more loudly.

"Three powers have fought this war truly and well from its onset, committing all their forces - forces they were not required to in order to survive. They did so solely to maintain the Righteous Path's integrity as a path that protects mortals and is worthy of respect. The Strength Purity Sect, the Bear Enslavement Sect, and the Thousand Arrows and Flowers. One has fallen, and we expended ourselves on the Altar, our noble Bear allies on the Poison-Crushing Siege."

She looked over at a man wearing the mark of a blacksmith.

"The smiths have given little, the Drunkards less. When I speak now, I am speaking plainly. Strength Purity is making an offer. We come together under one banner, contribution points issued by one source, Spirit Stones paid into one treasury, safeguarded by the Strength Purity Sect. We divide the resources up by those who accomplish the most, missions given their value beforehand by an impartial council of elders from the Strength Purity Sect. Any found to be shirking their duties will be fined into oblivion, and traitors will be killed."

A great hubbub of voices arose - complaints, curses, and oaths that this would never pass.

Baozhai waited for it to die down. First five, then ten minutes. As the last voices stopped, she spoke once more.

"Any who join this new Pact of the Righteous will be our ally. Any who do not..."

Her voice trailed off.

"We will be making it known publicly to all and sundry that any powers not part of the Pact will not have the protection of the Wei Princess even if Late Nascent Souls such as Sun Dixiang seek your destruction."

Her gaze travelled over to a Saber Palace representative.

"I would advise you all vote in favour so this matter may be brought before the next Nascent meeting. If I do not have an answer by the end of the week, Strength Purity will admit those powers who agree individually. Those who do not will pay a forfeit of ten years income for every year they delay if they wish to enter after that time. Those who are destroyed by our enemies in the meantime will serve as salutary warnings to the rest."

Her lips thinned and she opened her mouth to say something, but abruptly closed it, waiting a few moments before speaking again.

"The Wei Princess is done treating you like recalcitrant children. We no longer have the strength to safeguard you all equally and to let you do as you please. Sacrifice for the common good or be considered outside of it."

She strode out, leaving a buzz of noise and anger behind her.