Anastasia Outi
Fate: Anastasia is not an exceptional Expert. She is above-average in combat ability, but still just one Centurion among many; the Outi have always produced such products. This is how she has always been known, but such labels may no longer apply.
In the Qiguai Realm, Anastadia encountered danger after danger, failure after failure, each one taking a greater toll on her body, yet still she preserved(Dead->Badly Wounded(LST)->Wounded). At the end of it all, the Devil found herself in a peaceful forest glade, with no idea of how she arrived. 'Rest a while.' It seemed to say. 'Lay your weary head; you have earned it.'
Anastasia knew better; she had experience with man-eating plants. Instead of resting, Anastasia sat down and cultivated. In a grueling battle of wills that took eight months, she took in every scrap of qi the glade had to offer; a mind-boggling bounty(+120 Cultivation Years). By the time she was finished, she had fully formed her fifth and sixth pillars, and her seventh was well underway. In truth, the entire place was one interconnected organism, and she had tamed it.
Anastasia is now the master of the Harmonious Wood Body. It grants her an exceptional, instinctual comprehension of Wood Qi, be it for healing, growing plants of all kinds, or creating poisons. Her Spirit Elk, a creature of the forest, is now more obedient, and her Man-Eating Plant has grown more powerful, as Anastasia's body is more suitable soil for it than before. As a minor drawback, her affinity towards other elements has modestly decreased. Though no one aspect of the Harmonious Wood Body is exceptional, it is so broadly useful as to be an asset in any situation(+3 Impact).
Not exceptional, but always useful. There could be no better weapon for an Outi.
Impact: 8 (3)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 6-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 302 (+120)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Flavius Eirenikos
Fate: When Flavius entered the Qiguai Realm, his first goal was the reach the castle in the sky, but before he could make much progress there, he was stopped by a young prodigy of the Qiguai Clan. Going by the name of Li Liqiu, this woman asked Flavius to assist her and her small group of friends in gathering cultivation materials to fuel her ascension. With the war against the Blood Path raging on, Li Liqiu needed to ascend as soon as possible in order to contribute, and as she had heard there was a Single Pillar King on the enemy's side, she needed to ascend from the Twelfth Heavenstage.
This was no mere begging for charity, of course. As a granddaughter of the Qiguai Grand Elder, Li Liqiu possessed knowledge of many secret pathways and safe routes through the realm. Though not without danger, these routes brought the group major and consistent results at lessened risk. Li Liqiu took the lion's share, promising to let the others coast on her power and earn far more once she ascended. Even so, the 12% Flavius negotiated for added up substantially(+20 Cultivation Years).
These months of companionship and success were, perhaps, too good to be true. Despite all of the Qiguai Clan's security measures, agents of the Blood Path had already slipped into the Secret Realm, seeking only to rob and consume the many promising talents visiting it. As Li Liqiu was her group's leader and their most powerful member, it only made sense to strike during her tribulation. A delayed-action poison slipped into her food took effect shortly after the lightning began falling, and as the Dao Protectors moved in to help, they were ambushed in the confusion.
Horror and pain ensued. The battle was fast and brutal, with death coming quickly on both sides. With her companions killed and no hope of escape in sight, Li Liqiu sought to save Flavius by charging into the fray and calling down the lightning with as much force as possible. She died, as did the remaining assassins, but Li Liqiu had made an error: the wrath of Heaven would seek out a Devil with just as much aggression as it would a cannibal.
Flavius was struck by tribulation lightning that his body and Dao-Heart had not yet been tempered for; a trial meant for the Twelfth Heavenstage, if only a fragment of it. It scorched him to the core, and so Flavius, with no other options, cycled the lightning through his channels to survive. If not for his protective treasure, an agonizing death would have befallen him, or at the very least a decisive end to his cultivation career(Badly Wounded->Lightly Wounded(LST)->Healthy(Turn End)). With its help, he managed to eventually tame the celestial force, which violently scoured his meridians of almost all remaining impurity(+50 Cultivation Years).
When the ordeal was over, Flavius stood alone, having attained the Dragon Spring Dantian(+6 Impact). His dantian now naturally produces lightning, lacing it into his qi. Of course, lightning does not mix well with the Blood of Bronze, and so Flavius' Dantian must be contained by a coating of Earth Qi to remove the lightning from his qi as he draws it. By undoing the Earth coating and instead coating his meridians in Water Qi to channel the lightning efficiently, he can imbue his reinforcement and his techniques with it. In this state, Flavius' physical capabilities are elevated to a higher level, and all of his techniques hit harder and carry electrical properties. However, the longer he channels the lightning, the more internal damage he takes.
Nothing much else of note happened to Flavius in the Qiguai Realm, and soon enough it was time to return home.
Impact: 12 (6)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 181 (+70)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LST) -- Healthy (EoT)
Xiao Yingzi
Fate: Xiao Yingzi and her companions entered the Core Formation section of the Qiguai Realm. As three Experts at the top of their game, working together with well-practiced teamwork, they smashed through all opposition they encountered. Before long, they had reached the center of the realm, the Time-Twisting Plains. Here, the spirits within Yingzi's banner-spear resonated with this place, connecting with their own past selves.
A well of energy, belonging not to one person but to the collective consciousness of the Golden Devil Clan, and the Sea-Conquering army before them, flowed through the spear and into the three Elders(+80 Cultivation Years). With it came thoughts and emotions: a desire for revenge, a desire to go home, disdain for this place where they found themselves, and the mutual hatred held between them and Heaven, between Man and Beast. An ancient war with neither past nor future in sight, driven by resources, by the laws of nature, and by primordial loathing. Beast strikes Man. Man Strikes Beast.
As she came to understand this two-way relationship, Xiao Yingzi's Gathering Storm Clouds evolved, gaining a sub-technique called Holy Grounding(+2 Impact). By performing the infamously difficult maneuver of Technique Reversal, Yingzi can invert the technique, making it absorb lightning instead of emitting it. This grants her resistance to heat, electric shocks and Heavenly influence, as well as other forms of Law, and any lightning she absorbs is converted into strength. By performing the technique normally, then reversing it, she can even absorb her own lightning, surpassing the normal limits of her physical reinforcement. The only problem is actually performing Technique Reversal, which is much easier said than done.
As Yingzi and her companions cultivated, a more individual consciousness emerged from that temporal soup: Jovi Callista. When he looked at this woman, he saw a foreigner, a barbarian who had willingly cast off their Clan's bloodline. Even worse, he saw possible futures in which this barbarian ruled the Clan. Unacceptable.
With a single blow across time and space, her core was shattered, and Jovi returned to his own time, this window into the future closing. The lives of thousands were spent to partially reverse this fatal injury(Dead -> Badly Wounded(LST) -> Wounded). Even so, the Elder has many years of agonizing recovery ahead of her before her core fully recovers. She returned home to heal, and to ruminate on these new insights.
Impact: 53 (2)
Cultivation: Core Formation Solid Core (Late)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 669 (+87)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Aliki Floros
Fate: Aliki went to Yuan not seeking personal strength, but to apprehend a great enemy. Following hot on the trail of Elder Brain-Taker and his followers, who had amassed a stash of stolen Yuan tokens, her Legion sought to interrupt the thieves at the gates of the Secret Realm. However, they were a bit too late, and while over one thousand of his followers were killed or captured, the rest had dispersed and entered the realm.
Aliki entered, pulling double-duty hunting down Foundatuon-level Noble Knowledge cultivators and trying her hand at the Secret Realm's trials. Her gains were plentiful - in a place like this, teeming with powerful life, she could advance at an amazing pace by simply leaving her tendrils behind as she traveled and sucking dry anything nearby(+70 Cultivation Years).
This string of successes was not to continue, however. Soon enough, she came into contact with a mighty young genius of the Noble Knowledge Sect, Vicious Fang. Brain-Taker's second-strongest student, the Expert was a formidable opponent, engaging Aliki in a brutal battle that took several days. Her deadly venoms, physical prowess and confusing illusions allowed her to tear through the regenerating Aliki, even as she was worn down in turn. In the end, the two exchanged lethal blows, destroying each other's protective treasures(Dead -> Badly Wounded(LST)).
Before the battle could continue, Brain-Taker's #1 student, Bright-Eyes ambushed them both. Exhausted as they were, both were quickly defeated with the aid of an incredibly powerful spear that he had obtained in the Secret Realm(Dead-> Badly Wounded(LST). Finishing his so-called comrade off, Bright-Eyes stole Vicious Fang's equipment, treasures and cultivation materials, then turned to do the same with Aliki… only to find her gone. By drawing in all of her discarded tendrils, she had gained just enough strength back to disperse her body into small chunks and slither away.
Impact: 14 (0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 6-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 299 (+70)
Health: Healthy --> Dead -> Badly Wounded(LST) --> Dead -> Badly Wounded(LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Amaranth Castellanos
Fate: Amaranth visited the Yuan Realm to challenge the ancient Two Hundred Critics Test, a massive test-array in which one would have to choose to cook to satisfy two hundred critics with a dizzying range of tastes, but with one single meal. From here, however, he satisfied the minimum one hundred to pass the trial, being given a bowl of Qi-Infusion Ramen (+10 CY). Again he tried, knowing failure to improve to one-twenty five would have consequences. He passed, however, being given the Grand Stirring Gravity Technique (+2 Impact). With this he could perfectly stir soups and the innards of his opponents alike.
A third time he tried, passing the more profound one-seventy five mark. Here he was given the Admixture Technique (+4 Impact), a technique used to fuse things together, from ingredients to improve one's cooking, to life itself with nonliving or living objects. A chair might be combined with a horse, or a bird with a man, or a sword with the aforementioned chair, each combination taking on unusual unique characteristics of both progenitors. If Amaranth could break a thing, he could likely fuse it with another thing.
Lastly, he tried to satisfy all two hundred.
Here, he failed. The penalty was severe, and the poisons spat by the critics ought to have killed him, yet he survived with the use of a treasure.
Impact: 12 (7)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 3 (Earth Below)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 450 (+22)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Aretaphila Myia
Fate: Aretaphilia sought much in her adventures in the Yuan Realm, with a puzzle set for seemingly her alone. The great hammer of the Myia, Grond, had been hidden there from ages past, a hammer fit for a Spirit Severing cultivator. A true relic. She believed she knew where to find it. Ignoring the traditional traps and puzzles, she delved deeply into the grounds underneath the Yuan Realm, delving perhaps too deep. In those benighted caves she found many strange creatures, almost-men who scrabbled in the dark with green skins and pointed ears, all of them desiring to eat the flesh of human beings. Far stronger than they should be, she threaded and fought her way through them until she reached a gate. Behind that gate lay the hammer of the Myia. She opened it easily, and it closed behind her. There she found the hammer rose easily into her hand, but the gate itself was barred shut, with many skeletons lying in the room aroudn her.
The next step was obvious. To prove her worth, she needed to force her way out through the gate. The greathammer sung dark songs to her as she held it, and its head was shaped in the likeness of a ravening wolf. A thousand thousand arrays were shaped there, all turned to ruin. Grond it had been named, in memory of a greater Hammer held by the Myia in a world before this one.
Yet such a weapon was not easily mastered. The first stroke turned back at her, the ruin it sought being her own. She was nearly crippled entirely, only the clever use of a treasure saving her to mere terrible wounds (Crippled --> Wounded due to LST). Her next three strokes were better. From the first, she understood the Ruinstroke (+1 Impact), the hammer allowing her to shatter anything material it touched, from armor to flesh. However, the Ruinstroke was easily parried with a lesser blade, or dodged entirely. So it was the gate shifted and rippled to avoid her strikes, and so she was forced to comprehend the Inevitable Stroke (+2 impact), a strike with the hammer that permitted her to strike anything with utter precision, though it lacked the power of the Ruinstroke.
Yet she had merely the barest use of these techniques. It was her comprehension of the two at once that allowed her to escape with the barest mastery over the malevolent weapon. The Inevitable Stroke of Ruin (+3 Impact) was more difficult to use and burnt more Qi, but in melee combat very little was its greater. With this she left, for at every moment Grond sought to overwhelm her and she had no time or energy for other pursuits.
Impact: 12 (6)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 4 (Human Between)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 572 (+0)
Health: Healthy --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> LW (EoT)
Cao Wei
Fate: It is often said of the Goatmen of the Southern Desert are a uniquely hobbled, cursed, perhaps even blasphemous existence. Indeed, how else would you define such an eclecticly born hybridization of Man and Beast in a world where snakes and fish and even bears freely intermingle with humanity without even a fraction of the physical deformities endemic to the Goatmen themselves? A sign from Heaven that such things are unnatural. Cursed.
Forever stunted.
So it was inevitable that upon entering the Qiguai Secret Realm - the purest bastion of the Sea-That-Was in the Region - that the impossibility that Cao Wei represented seemed to strike the Secret Realm dumb, as if in collective raw shock at his own very presence. A Goatmen of the Foundation Establishment level, a truly blasphemous existence, if one that had done no harm. The Man-Beast Reunion Art had done its work: Cao Wei retained his unique properties as both a Man and Beast, and thus the Blasphemy-Punishing subroutines embedded within the very Qi of the Secret Realm did not - COULD not - punish a Beast as going against Heaven. Yet Cao Wei was a Man as well, and thus he wandered for many years, watching others be swept up and swarmed by creatures which seemed to ignore his very presence. Interact with brilliantly shining arrays that appeared to grow dim at his approach.
Frustrated, he eventually left, and took his complaints to the Qiguai Administrators themselves, complaining about the Realm CLEARLY running out of energy - an accusation which scared a Peak Expert Assistance Representative into offering a humble bribe of cultivation materials to try and appease the enraged Goatman (+10 CY). However, Cao Wei cared little for his own direct advancement. The years lost here were ones he could have spent preparing a treatise for Breakthroughs to Expert level! Thus he escalated his complaints to an Early Core Shift Elder, who haughtily reviewed the hidden observation arrays to disprove the clear fraud. But inevitably, the evidence supported Cao Wei's own accusations, and in a panic he offered an additional bribe on top of the first! (+10 CY) But Cai Wei was not deterred, a mere refund for time lost in Qiguai?! Absurd! He escalated once again, this time to a Peak Core Supervising Elder, who looked upon the Beastman with a scoff, and threw another pittance at the Expert (+10 CY) before telling him to leave those lands if he valued his life.
In a huff, Cao Wei departed, but not before spreading rumors (with evidence taken unawares from the Shift Elder) of the failing systems of the Qiguai Secret Realm. But the Qiguai Patriarch heard of these stories as they caught on, and in a rush to preserve the value of the Secret Realm even as he negotiated to try and receive aid from any power willing to hear his plea he spent moments of precious time with the Goatman Expert, offering him an additional pittance of resources and his sincere apologies for his experience (+10 CY).
Face restored, Cao Wei thanked the Patriarch for his time, and continued on his way back home.
Impact: 0 (0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 4-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 196 (+60)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy
Gabriel Pompeius
Fate: Gabriel and Iskander ventured deep into the Yuan Realm together, seeking not the structured trials on the outer edges, but an ominous zone deeper in where secrets of enlightenment were rumored to lie. There, Gabriel was ensnared by an ancient chamber, one which killed most entrants, but promised true understanding at the other side of its torment.
Gabriel was ensnared by chains and torn to pieces, his soul stripped of the flesh it inhabited and laid held within a vessel of glass and white jade(Crippled->Wounded(LST)->Dead->Badly Wounded(LST)->Wounded). The vessel was placed before an ancient skull with an inexplicably intact left eye. It observed, and it spoke, and even though Gabriel has no ears to hear its words with, nor brain to think with, nor eyes to see, a vision played out before the Devil.
He saw a vision of a grassy plain on the bank of a river. People came together to drink of the water, and soon began to build things. First farmland, then a town hall, a dozen homes, a granary and a palisade. Steadily, it grew. A typhoon came. The village stayed. An army came. The village stayed. A famine came. The village stayed. It became a town. A city. A kingdom. Within it, a castle was constructed, tall spires reaching towards the heavens. He blinked. The castle was his body.
Now emblazoned within Gabriel's mind are seven letters — M A L K U T H, a word, a Truth, that reinforces the state of his existence, having reforged and purified his body to receive the Light of Heaven, and in turn, release it into this False Heaven's Creation(+7 Impact). Gabriel's inner, mental world is easier to emanate into the outer, physical world. Techniques are more qi-efficient and easier to perform, enchanted items are easier to construct, and, though this is of no use to him yet, one day the same will be true of any abilities which use Dao or Law. All mystical things flow more elegantly - for Gabriel's draws them from a better Foundation than this or any Sea.
Near the end of the year, Gabriel awoke in a padded chair, naked as the day he was born. His body was segmented into pieces by scar tissue, but he otherwise felt normal. No, better than normal, his cultivation felt further along(+30 Cultivation Years). With the year coming to a close, he met back up with Iskander and the two went on their way.
Impact: 7 (7)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 182 (+56)
Health: Healthy --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (Eo)T
Gaius Antonius
Fate: Gaius went to the Yuan Realm, finding himself briefly on the tail of one of the Favored. This was when he discovered something that others were discovering the same year: the Yuan Realm was not named such simply because it was a series of interesting puzzles fed by a stream of sky-Qi that eventually allowed them to function.
As it was fed by more and more Qi, it became a truly liminal space, phasing in and out of existence and becoming ever-harder to enter across much of it, and Gaius was at the centre of it all. No doubt this did not strike him as strange - for when had it ever been otherwise? Yet while young Hector had adventures many, Gaius was swept into a place in which he was a mere plaything for a being from the past, a Silver-Blooded Centurion by the name of Herakles. One of the strongest men who was fighting in the invasion of the Turtle World, he saw the fault-line in time itself, and followed it down, thinking it an attack from an enemy. Instead, he was struck as time shattered, the deep fault-lines created throughout all of history leaving him dying with but a few minutes to spare - from his perspective.
It was at this point he saw Gaius, far in the future. Isolated from the past for what remained of his life, Herakles was able to learn a little of the future from Gaius.
Noting him as a descendent of the Sea-Conquering Army, he spat out a droplet of his refined heartsblood, purest silver. The power it bore was enough to raise Gaius's own power up, purifying his blood and beginning to forge the Blood of Silver in his veins (+11 Impact). It contained enough Qi to push him to the next stage of the Single-Pillar Kings (+70 CY), the Breath of the Dao.
It was here that the space collapsed, and Gaius found there had been no true provision for his escape. Had it not been for his newfound level of power, he surely would've died, but as it stood he escaped into the time he belonged, merely Badly Wounded.
While relating no unspeakable deep truths, he talked to Gaius for a short time. In his dying breath he asked Gaius to avenge the Army 'completely, to the last wretched native of this benighted world'.
Impact: 41 (11)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 5 (Breath of the Dao)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 655 (+72)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Wounded (EoT)
Hector Vatatzes
Fate: Hector Vatatzes stood in the middle of a great plain, gazing into the swirling mists of the Yuan Realm. Where everyone else had a simple experience, Hector had followed a man - Fei Xian, who claimed to be Favored by Heaven itself. While Hector had prepared, Fei Xian had done more. Maps, ancient artifacts, enchanted weapons, and protective talismans. Fei Xian was prepared for a challenge well beyond his abilities.
Slipping through a hidden portal concealed within an ancient puzzle, Fei Xian made sure he wasn't followed. Yet Hector was weak enough to slip by the many magical pieces of equipment he had - pieces of equipment that seemed only to detect true threats to Xian.
Hector trailed the Favored for many days, sneaking after him as they went through a peculiar liminal space made of light and shadow, where the light threatened to burn Hector and the shadow seemed to nurture and heal him. A swarm of ghostly guardians attacked, and Fei Xian used treasure after treasure to ward them off - Hector did not know much of what happened, yet he could not even follow the battle with his eyes.
He used Xian's own solutions time after time, before finding a peculiar portal made out of pure light. Xian stepped through, and the portal disappeared, leaving Hector in the realm alone. A few minutes later, a shadowy version of the original portal opened, teleporting Hector to where Xian was.
Xian was fighting a beast that moved with speed beyond what Hector could see, and he was forced into lying amidst some rocks, his bones creaking as the two cultivators fought. Xian with his treasures, the beast slowly weakening. Treasure after treasure was used, and eventually Xian was victorious.
Weakened and bleeding, the other man limped over the corpse of the beast, a creature seemingly formed from pure shadows that flickered and changed as you looked at it, and behind it found a small orb. Instilling it with a burst of Qi, it opened, and a tremendous array of Heavenly Treasures flew out.
It was at this moment Hector, himself battered by the battle, hacked off Xian's head. The other man despite his higher cultivation had used his treasures and was weak beyond measure. In his moment of victory he found it replaced with bitter defeat.
Hector claimed the treasures Heaven itself seemed to give to the Chosen. An Elixir of Turtleblood (+40 XY), rocketing his cultivation instantaneously. Next was a ball of pure light, which the shadow that had followed him corroded and corrupted into one of flickering shade, transforming into a Shadow-Blessed Pearl (+40 CY), the Qi not even needing proper alignment to push his cultivation forward. There were also an array of pills and herbs (+20 CY), and finally a banner.
The banner was half-unfurled, with Tiāntáng written upon it. The characters flared and faded, becoming unreadable, and it burst into dark flame. A great rush of Qi fled from it, enough to overwhelm someone stages above him in cultivation, yet the tiniest stream of it entered his meridians and condensed in his dantian, pushing his cultivation further ahead than he could've even imagined (+110 CY).
Impact: 0 (0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 284 (+263)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy
Iskander Pallikari
Fate: Iskander's venture in the Yuan Realm was a foolish one at first. He travelled into a dangerous region, a place where enlightement was rumored to lie. There he found what others had been calling the Cycle of Reincarnation. He was reborn as a mere mortal woman, trying time and time again to preserve that woman's family against grievous odds. Each time Iskander failed, his memories of who he had been faded a little more, and he failed many times. Yet in the end, she became that woman from many millennia ago failing, but the method by which the puzzle aimed to destroy his memories was vulnerable to a life-saving treasure, keeping his personality somewhat intact as he remembered being a peasant woman and a cultivator of the Clan in equal measure. While he was not wounded in body, his spirit was sorely tested. His combat skills were badly weakened, and his emotions and desires were constantly in flux (Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST used)
Yet from here he turned to easier options, finding a simple puzzle: to properly honor an ancient beetle-god within some ruins. His mortal memories came in use, and he was able to propitiate the god. From it came a single piece of shell arrayed in runes, the Reversion Carapace (+4 Impact). It would allow him to revert injuries and the like provided they were inflicted within the last few seconds... but it would make him vulnerable, rewinding time on him at one second per second while it worked.
Secondly came a trap of fire and gas, this he navigated with ease. From it he obtained the Imbued Gloves of Grandfather Volcano (+3 Impact), powerful gloves that would impart the very essence of boiling lava onto his enemies either through his fists, or even melee or ranged weapons - though the further from his hands the strike, the weaker it would be.
Lastly was a rather clever puzzle, requiring one to figure out which accountant was corrupt. From it he gained the Good-Faith Candle (+2 Impact), a candle that could be lit, and the two nearest its light would be struck powerfully each time they told a lie. It could be fooled, but for one below the user's cultivation this would be exceedingly difficult.
Impact: 9 (9)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 135 (+27)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Janus
Fate: Janus found himself at the heart of a library-labyrinth, and upon him came a massive beetle-grub. Exhausted and frustrated, it struck at him but failed, and then offered to barter with him in return for his aid in repairing the library. Three creatures who were used to power the formation had broken free due to a foolish act of one his fellows, and required re-imprisoning. Even a weak cultivator could do it, and indeed, too powerful a cultivator would awaken them prematurely and prevent them from being resealed.
With but a thought the creature taught him the Time-Slowing Net (+6 Impact), one of the core pieces he would need to reseal the beasts at the heart of this formation-library. The Net was a rather difficult technique, but would slow down both the space encased non-uniformly, the heart of the space encased moving not at all while the edges moved nearly at normal time. Somehow this had no negative effects on the creatures held within, but the Net would be required to repair the first broken prison. It was difficult to use and lasted only a minute or two in the external world at best, but it would somehow fuse with the formation and all would be well.
Janus faced down the Lord of Moles, a False Nascent sleeper who's prison had been broken. His dreams were visible in the very world, such was his power. This way and that the dreams moved, and the creatures that sprung from his nightmares nearly slew Janus a handful of times, but he made it close enough to The Time-Slowing Net was cast, and with it the formation could be repaired, keeping the creature in a moment of near-frozen time to be drawn upon when it was necessary.
Janus returned, and the grub rewarded him with a shower of vomit containing a piece of jade. Sealed within the jade was the Edge of Madness (+6 Impact), a dagger capable of reshaping itself to any edged weapon the wielder desired. Upon drawing blood, it would taint the blood of the wounded, sending the victim into a killing frenzy for nearly an hour if the user and victim were of equal cultivation. A double-edged weapon, but used correctly could turn an enemy's power against their own allies.
Janus was then sent into the library depths, and there faced the guardians of the Worm of Thoughts. Another imprisoned False Nascent used to power the Yuan Realm, he was forced to turn the guardian creatures against one another in order to bypass them and use the Time-Slowing Net to repair the second prison.
On his return the grub rewarded him once more, with the Pipe of Domination (+7 Impact). The brother-weapon to the Edge of Madness, the Instrument was a small vial set as a crossbar to a peculiar flute-like instrument, fashioned from raw wood. The flute itself when played would permit anyone who's blood sat in the vial to be controlled by the player to be dominated, as though they were merely a prisoner in their own body.
With this, Janus found his way to the prison of the False Nascent Fiendlord, a half-man who had long since fused himself with bizarre creatures to attempt to prolong his life. Apparently when all had failed he had agreed to be imprisoned in the Yuan Realm, hoping for time to find him a cure for his malady. Here Janus was cautious, and forced to dominate one of the jailors, a fat, short little creature who was well-loved by the Fiendlord. For while the others slept, Janus was forced to talk the madman back into his cage before sealing it.
Having done so, he returned to the grub, which rewarded him with another shower of vomit rich with Qi. Bottling it to consume (or perhaps forge into a pill before consuming), Janus found himself eventually pushed forward in his cultivation (+40 CY).
Impact: 31 (19)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 4-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 193 (+53)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy
Kainos Yuan
Fate: Kainos entered the Yuan Secret Realm seeking rare and volatile ingredients for his alchemical brewing. Specifically, he was looking for the types of plants that can only grow in large quantities under the extreme qi density of the Yuan Man-As-Mountain array.
First, he found a bushel of Five-Leaf Clover, a plant which senses perception itself and sinks into the ground to avoid notice. It is said that only those with truly blessed luck can catch a glimpse and know to dig it up. This was a key ingredient in brewing the World-Seducing Draught(+5 Impact). This drink realigns the body's internal organs and accupoints to achieve perfect internal Feng Shui, making the world treat one mercifully and thus granting resistance to misfortune and curses. The effects are not flashy, or even visible, but it reduces the chance of things going wrong no matter the situation; most cultivators would kill a whole town for such a thing.
This power saved him almost immediately when he entered his next Trial Chamber, alerting him to a punji pit that would have skewered him. Passing through a dozen devious traps, Kainos discovered something many might find underwhelming, but which he found incredible: the Infinite Barrel(+4 Impact). So long as it was supplied with qi, this barrel would endlessly produce spiritually-dense barley, allowing the one who owned it to brew an unending supply of Spirit Beer. A vast array of body-enhancing concoctions can now be mass-produced for Kainos' use, letting him brew whatever supplements he may need for the task at hand.
Near the end of the year, Kainos snuck around a horde of reanimated corpses and found a vineyard full of eternally frozen grapes, tended to by a ghost. Eating just one of these grapes raw can kill a Fifth Heavenstage from hypothermia, so after leaving the Secret Realm, he spent six years brewing them into a wine that was safe to drink. This produced the Eternal Winter Ice Wine(+2 Impact), which induced in his body an unnatural chill. His baseline body temperature is now 50 degrees Fahrenheit, he is resistant to heat, and cold-based techniques are more powerful in his hands. On the flipside, fire and heat-based techniques Kainos uses will be weakened.
All in all, a truly auspicious year.
Impact: 11 (11)
Cultivation: 9th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 88 (+67)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy
Katha Theodoros
Fate: Katha re-entered the Yuan Realm, having reached Foundation Establishment. Here, things did not quite go as they have done previously. Where previously she had simply swung through and gained everything she wanted and more, this time the realm seemed to abhor her very existence.
Katha found herself meeting with her Beetle mentor again - a meeting that left her nearly dead. It attempted to teach her a concept with a massive and powerful attack, which she could not comprehend. The attack failed to convey the lesson and merely resulted in her being Badly Wounded.
She continued deeper into the Yuan Realm, where she would face off against a peculiar dream—a trap made of the memories of those long dead. To gain their powers, she needed to carefully outwit these departed souls. However, she failed entirely, becoming even more wounded. She should have died, but she used her treasure to escape from the trap of the dream (LST used. Dead --> Badly Wounded)
After encountering failure after failure, she moved deeper into the Yuan Realm, seeking a rather unusual puzzle made of rust, seemingly designed to kill her. Despite facing death at every turn, she managed to navigate through it. In this realm, there was a concept of refinement: making what was once weak stronger by cutting away the extraneous. By the end of this ordeal, she successfully made her way through the rust trap and rust puzzle, massively advancing her own cultivation (+80 CY)
At the last, she found a most peculiar puzzle, in a part of the Yuan Realm that had never been explored before - at least not in living memory. She was forced to open a path for others to follow, but being the first would no doubt yield greater prizes in any case.
As Qi came from the skies, spacetime itself twisted, and Katha found herself in a realm in which she would live the same day over and over again as a mere mortal woman, trying time and time again to preserve that woman's family against grievous odds. Each time she failed, her memories of who she had been faded a little more, and she failed many times. Yet in the end, as she almost became that woman from many millennia ago, she succeeded, saving her family to live but one more day. Her memories returned to her, along with a burst of Qi so perfectly delivered that her cultivation sped forward in leaps and bounds (+50 CY)
Impact: 26 (0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 5-Pillar (Late)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 235 (+135)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST used) --> Wounded (EoT)
Lihua Kokkinos
Fate: Lihua Kokkinos fought her way into the Yuan Realm, and found herself within a great library-labyrinth. There she was pursued without end by a vastly powerful Core Formation larva for reasons beyond her. Once it badly wounded her, and only a treasure saved her life. Seeking to flee the Yuan Realm it nearly slew her, and a second treasure saved her life. Yet as she fled she found an ancient scroll on the wall, written by apparently a scholar who lived thousands of lives. At each life he wrote upon the scroll a Will was formed there, and upon her theft of the scroll the Will slipped into her dantian, forcing her cultivation forward massively (+80 CY).
Mostly exhausted, it taught her the Librarian's Eye (+1 Impact), a technique allowing her to peruse and learn from books at a great distance without even seeing them, allowing her to multitask her paperwork - or become a superb spy.
Impact: 17 (1)
Cultivation: Core Formation Misty Core (Early)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 480 (+80)
Health: Healthy --> Lightly Wounded
Xiuying Ten Jiang
Fate: Xiuying came to the land of Yuan looking to test her luck, and so she headed right to the place that, to her veteran instincts, seemed the most dangerous. She came upon a great mountain, and felt a tremendous presence within. As she knew not where the entrance lay, Xiuying simply cut her way in.
Within, she found a giant beetle, a Nascent Soul beast that was the greatest secret of the Yuan Realm. Disappointed as it was with the failure of another student, the beetle decided to humor this promising Junior, asking if she might like a sword chipped off from its horn - a perfect implement for a swordswoman like her. Xiuying replied that a true professional does not need the fanciest tools around to succeed, and that she wanted not a weapon, but greater understanding.
Finding her response immensely amusing, the beetle took Xiuying in. Through the whole year, it stuffed her body full of qi and her mind full of knowledge. The sword was not its specialty, but it could speak to no end about the secrets of the Dao. How to purify it, how to channel it, how to hone it, how to project and shape it. It was relieved that this time, it had a student who could somewhat comprehend the lesson.
The energies stirred up by the Yuan Man-As-Mountain Array were funneled into Xiuying's core, increasing its density throughout the year (+70 Cultivation Years). The beetle took its time across almost the entire year, wanting to ensure that this student was ready for its lesson. On the 363rd day of the Secret Realm's activation, Xiuying faced her final exam.
The beetle struck Xiuying with a massive, invisible attack. Most would be unable to comprehend it, but Xiuying had grown aware enough to defend herself. It was not a perfect defense, but a protective treasure she had on her person was able to ward off the traces she missed(Wounded->Healthy(LST)). In fending off this danger, she gleaned some of the understanding she had asked for: the Blade Of Self(+2 Impact)
Representing the division between Xiuying and the rest of the universe, the Blade of Self is a series of short-range Dao Emanations that can be wrapped around any blade, or swung by themself as an invisible sword whose shape can change at its master's whim. With this power active, all Sword Arts used by Xiuying become more qi-efficient and gain additional cutting power.
With the year up, Xiuying went home, much stronger than before.
Impact: 25 (2)
Cultivation: Core Formation Liquid Core(Mid)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 506 (+79)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)
yan
Fate: Yan's passage into the Yuan Realm was not without its perils. He sought great treasure, but found only a library-labyrinth of shadowed valleys and hidden threats. Deep within, he encountered the Mocking Grail an artifact that promised power and wisdom but came with a steep price—Yan was reborn into the form of an elderly blind scholar to navigate the labyrinth, trapped in the endless cycle of his pursuit for knowledge. Each time Yan's efforts to traverse the labyrinth faltered, his memory of his former self dimmed, becoming more and more the elderly mortal. He failed often, haunted by the memoriesof forgotten friends and the burden of his new mortal age.
At the last, he died of old age, having forgotten who he truly was (Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST)). Yet a charm he carried warded him against such peculiar effects only once, and so he remembered just the tiniest piece of who he was. It was enough for him to find his way to the exit, and thereby conquer the test. The damage to his body and spirit was severe, for the test did not regenerate the damage taken in this way.
For his victory he gained the Silvered Memory (+6 Impact), a thin strand forged from potent blood. When he carried the Memory attacks on his mind would simply fail, for within it was carried all the arrogance of a Clan Silver-Blood from ages past at their height. When Yan used it activately, it would form an intimidating aura capable of forcing even Core Formation elders to stagger briefly, and those beneath Core Formation would be forced into whimpering terror unless their wills were great indeed.
The Library offered another puzzle, but Yan poured his Qi into the Memory and it yielded before it. Another treasure arose, as did a powerful Core Formation guardian to slay the interloper for using the Memory against it. The first was the Guiding Silvered Needle (+3 Impact), an artifact designed to be used with the Memory, allowing its force to be briefly concentrated against a single enemy. Qi Condensation enemies would die with a glance, and Foundation Experts would find themselves struggling to fight at all while his will remained upon them. Even Core Formation enemies could be persistently slowed, though the cost in Qi was not small.
The weakness of the Memory and Needle of course was that the strongest-willed would find it little challenge.
Lastly, Yan used the Needle to strike at the great Core Formation larva chasing him, and chipped off a tiny piece of its grublike flesh. Eating it gave him the Porcelain Beetle-Flesh (+2 Impact), making him far more resistant to blows from hands, feet, clubs, and other bludgeoning weapons.
Impact: 13 (11)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 3 (Earth Below)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 403 (+12)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> BW (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
