I still think the potential spirit stone gains would be massive for us, and help us focus on internal reforms without having to worry about external conflict for a while
[X] Plan Very Violating the Law
[X] Plan Very Violating the Law
Medicinal Crucible: A Xianxia Planquest
- Thread starter Blackstar
- Start date
- Original
If we cultivate even two turns this decade that's over half of those 100k Spirit Stones spent right there. Add to that Inner Disciple actions passively costing us more Stones (currently 4k this turn but could easily swing much higher if they independently decide to go for one of the pricey options costing 5-10k Spirit Stones each, and there are actually a good number of those). If we want to direct those actions ourselves, there's the additional 5k Spirit Stone fee on top. Don't forget the other ways the Spirit Stones can find their way out of our vaults too, like 5k for each Sect greeting, 5k for the Torment Nexus option, Expedition costs, or that time we just dropped 20k stones at once buying out the gold mine our disciple set up by themselves. And then finally on top of trying to fit all that into our budget, Only Technically Illegal is taking 3 Purchase Option actions to tempt us with even more shines to spend our Stones on.
I was hoping to try to get in a schedule along the line of: Turn 1 Closed Door, Turn 2 Sect Business, Turn 3 Closed Door, Turn 4+5 Sect Business and making sure everything's in line for the auction. I figured that would strike an okay balance between keeping our current leader happy cultivating, working away at the Golden Core dead end while taking advantage of whatever rare resources we grab at the auction, and messing around with the sect as needed to whip it in shape and make sure we've got goods for the auction.
100k Spirit Stones feels like it would be scraping the barrel. In the sense that we probably could just barely get by to the next auction, at the cost of not really being able to do aquire that many big or important things. I feel like that could be okay is our goal is just base survival, but not if we're looking for growth, or trying to make the sect as a whole much stronger.
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- Location
- England
[X] Plan Only Technically Violating the Law
I am against the Sect Leader getting executed by the Imperial poison-hunters, even if it's a relatively remote possibility.
I am against the Sect Leader getting executed by the Imperial poison-hunters, even if it's a relatively remote possibility.
The Phoenixian
The Glacier Witch
- Location
- My own little world
... It is fascinating to check in on this quest and see these arguments for being the dashing rouge who decided to sell poison by engaging with the criminal underworld for what appears to be the very first time on the very same turn that a crackdown starts on poisoners.
I will, however, offer for consideration that perhaps some of the reason for the extreme price difference is that those who might normally sell marked poisons and know the usual market are laying low for a bit.
And I'd also remark that, if this were a more modern setting, someone getting into a criminal network at the exact moment that the crime they're dealing is in the public eye sounds like a good way to wander into a sting operation. Exactly how likely such a thing is in this day and age though... who knows.
In other news, the mid option somehow makes me think of the potions seller meme. "Pill seller, I require your STRONGEST pills!" Alas, I suspect that potion seller probably had more care to discern and warn his clientele than this protagonist.
I will, however, offer for consideration that perhaps some of the reason for the extreme price difference is that those who might normally sell marked poisons and know the usual market are laying low for a bit.
And I'd also remark that, if this were a more modern setting, someone getting into a criminal network at the exact moment that the crime they're dealing is in the public eye sounds like a good way to wander into a sting operation. Exactly how likely such a thing is in this day and age though... who knows.
In other news, the mid option somehow makes me think of the potions seller meme. "Pill seller, I require your STRONGEST pills!" Alas, I suspect that potion seller probably had more care to discern and warn his clientele than this protagonist.
So, since some people in the discord were wondering why others are thinking that the extra Spirit Stones is worth the poison risk, I've put together a list of likely expenses to try and illustrate just why I feel only going for 100k will leave us stretched too thin.
Lets start with that: 100k
-30k=70k: and assume that we're only going to cultivate once this entire decade, likely closed door cultivation to get the most out of it.
-10k-60k: and lets say that 2 of the 4 turns we aren't doing that we'll want to direct the Inner Disciples our selves to get them to do what we want.
-15k=45k: then finally put aside 15k for personal actions that cost Stones and random events (while we don't have enough data to know whether it was an outlier, please take into consideration that we spent double that much in this category over the last decade).
-30k=15k: This is probably the hardest to calc given the randomness of it, but with the end of herb gardens two action sets I could see our Inners gravitating to would be something like 2x Train 1x Hunt, or Small Cultivation, Train, Hunt for 5-6k Stones for 3 of the Inner Disciple actions per turn. I feel safe leaning towards 6k given the chance on one of them picking up Teach Pills or Fix Equipment for a turn, and we'll probably be making them plant those Small Scale Cultivations anyway since we'll want them for pill ingredients.
-5k=10k: And since this is a Xianxia world I expect we're going to find our selves in one larger conflict, so lets say we spend one of the extra actions given by directing personally on having them make war pills. The other extra action from the second personal direction can just be amortized over the cost the line above to better justify estimating it at 6k per turn too.
10k+16.1k=26.1k: Adding that last to 10k to the remaining amount we've got in the vaults still, we've got only 26k as a buffer for any unexpected expenses or bribes before we run out of money. Being unable to pay our Inner Disciples enough to keep the sect functional is not going to be good. Anything rare the auction that we want to buy right now and can't get somewhere else is just going to cut into that buffer even more, but even then with just a single one of our legitimate pills costing 5k I doubt we'd have the Stones to get anything superb in the first place.
Lets start with that: 100k
-30k=70k: and assume that we're only going to cultivate once this entire decade, likely closed door cultivation to get the most out of it.
-10k-60k: and lets say that 2 of the 4 turns we aren't doing that we'll want to direct the Inner Disciples our selves to get them to do what we want.
-15k=45k: then finally put aside 15k for personal actions that cost Stones and random events (while we don't have enough data to know whether it was an outlier, please take into consideration that we spent double that much in this category over the last decade).
-30k=15k: This is probably the hardest to calc given the randomness of it, but with the end of herb gardens two action sets I could see our Inners gravitating to would be something like 2x Train 1x Hunt, or Small Cultivation, Train, Hunt for 5-6k Stones for 3 of the Inner Disciple actions per turn. I feel safe leaning towards 6k given the chance on one of them picking up Teach Pills or Fix Equipment for a turn, and we'll probably be making them plant those Small Scale Cultivations anyway since we'll want them for pill ingredients.
-5k=10k: And since this is a Xianxia world I expect we're going to find our selves in one larger conflict, so lets say we spend one of the extra actions given by directing personally on having them make war pills. The other extra action from the second personal direction can just be amortized over the cost the line above to better justify estimating it at 6k per turn too.
10k+16.1k=26.1k: Adding that last to 10k to the remaining amount we've got in the vaults still, we've got only 26k as a buffer for any unexpected expenses or bribes before we run out of money. Being unable to pay our Inner Disciples enough to keep the sect functional is not going to be good. Anything rare the auction that we want to buy right now and can't get somewhere else is just going to cut into that buffer even more, but even then with just a single one of our legitimate pills costing 5k I doubt we'd have the Stones to get anything superb in the first place.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Given that these are nearly 100% likely to cause a guy to just straight-up explode into a mass of uncontrolled Qi phenomena like the shit we just saw when the neighbors attempted and failed a breakthrough...
Well, there probably is some dumbass taking something even worse than our pills, granted. It's xianxia. Some cultivators are morons.
But it's genuinely challenging to think of anything they could be taking that's MUCH worse than our explosively lethal 'breakthrough pills,'
was that our neighbors fault, actually? i was under the impression that was a carp that managed to swim up the river and up a waterfall and become a dragon, what with all the mention of the unrefinment of the techniques and the complete lack of skill of the qi and the conspicuous mention of a carp being spotted swimming upriver right before hand, and that our neighbors are just claiming it was one of theirs failing to break through to save face from the fact that the let a carp get past them and ascend and then failed to kill it for so long that its ascension did so much damage
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Specifically, according to word from Blackstar on Discord, what happened is that a really low roll for the Pearl Ferrets caused a (second, because this happened last turn to) Carp to swim up the river and become a dragon.
However, this time around, the Carp became a dragon in a circumstance where it got to ambush one of the Pearl Ferrets' Golden Cores and eat them. This in turn gave it enough of a power boost that it had the potential to break through to Domain Foundation, except it failed to pass the Tribulation.
The Dragon's still around, by the way. So another event on the Random Event Table is now that the Late Golden Core Dragon manages to finish ascending to Domain Foundation.
However, this time around, the Carp became a dragon in a circumstance where it got to ambush one of the Pearl Ferrets' Golden Cores and eat them. This in turn gave it enough of a power boost that it had the potential to break through to Domain Foundation, except it failed to pass the Tribulation.
The Dragon's still around, by the way. So another event on the Random Event Table is now that the Late Golden Core Dragon manages to finish ascending to Domain Foundation.
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- Location
- parker colorado
[X] Plan: It's not Technically Illegal
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- She/Her
With the dominant lead and because I want to start writing this Vote Called for:
[X] Plan Very Violating the Law
-[X] Converse with Sect Leaders
-[X] Browse Legitimate Wares
-[X] Night Auctions
-[X] Night Auctions
-[X] Sell them as Poison Pills
Edit: Combat Rolls Inbound
Edit 2: Double Combat Rolls
[X] Plan Very Violating the Law
-[X] Converse with Sect Leaders
-[X] Browse Legitimate Wares
-[X] Night Auctions
-[X] Night Auctions
-[X] Sell them as Poison Pills
Edit: Combat Rolls Inbound
Edit 2: Double Combat Rolls
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- Location
- Italy
Spoilers for the coming update:
Good news!
we're still alive!
Bad news!
The city is not, and we're banned from the next auction and the next few sect leader meetings!
Good news!
we got money!
Bad News!
it's kind of on the low end of what we could have gotten. It's still a very decent sum though
Good news!
we're still alive!
Bad news!
The city is not, and we're banned from the next auction and the next few sect leader meetings!
Good news!
we got money!
Bad News!
it's kind of on the low end of what we could have gotten. It's still a very decent sum though
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
A complete and total success on our end, though one not appreciated by our foolish rivals who have declared a blood feud on us due to lacking our higher state of enlightenment.
- Location
- [REDACTED]
Yeah, this seems about right. No worries, our leader can hide in a cave can do some closed door cultivation until this blows over.
Turn 5.5: The First Auction
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Turn 5.5: The First Auction
AA550 Dong Liang
The Opening Ceremony:
Coming to the grand city of Zhangzhou with the rest of the sect has always been a grand ceremony even when not an official sect. Thousands of mortals celebrated on the streets for the victorious cultivators with even a local triumph called for the final defeat of the Northern Nomads and the great fortune the province has been blessed with as the floodwaters have brought an excellent harvest. Some fool in Jewel Blossom decided to decorate the city in a gaudy color reminiscent of a mixture of white and green jade, leaving thousands of banners cluttering the entire palace district as some strange form of decoration. Worse, the thousands of mortals who were presented as entertainment and forced to cheer showed a clear lack of enthusiasm and signs of starvation, ruining much of the presentation to anyone with a keen eye.
Meeting the other sect leaders progressed in the most perfunctory of introductions when all of a sudden an up-jumped elder not even into her late golden core stage from the Great Pearl Ferret took great offense at a joke on the diet of dragons. At length, she pontificated about strange positions and how much of a clear offense it was to talk about the feeding habits of dragons in the province. Continuing from the joke about dragon pearls and how they're clear natural evidence of how golden cores are formed by even sub-sentient spirit beasts caused her to fly even more into a rage as the others observed the incident with light laughter. In a clear violation of the neutrality of guests and as a means to save face the challenge to a duel was immediate after only two breaths of laughter, with it organized in the fields outside the city.
Once it was organized the only rational thing to do was show up personally to the duel as it would be shameful to use a second as a sect leader despite fighting an elder but a bit of cheating with a Steel Heart pill was still in order. In the immediate opening of the duel, the elder left a clear opening allowing a quick Jian strike to take off her left arm that she put up in an improvized guard right as the fight started, turning the tide. She was not remotely idle though, gaining altitude using some forbidden heavens navigating technique, ascending above the bare ground and striking down again and again. On any attempt to climb or jump up to her, she would simply punch down driving me into the dirt, but as that caused few injuries the fight continued for several moments more. Only when she grabbed my leg did things go poorly, the grip allowed the elder to obtain leverage breaking it at several points and using it until a judge called the duel in her favor all because she had an absolute advantage.
Healing a broken leg as a wood cultivator was still not an easy feat, requiring several more minor medicinal pills but compared to the damage inflicted, that was still coming out ahead. A fire cultivator of a martial sect, even an elder, would have little access to healing resources or even the most basic of pills. Worse, most martial sects would have poorly compounded pills, leaving them vulnerable to an injury that could otherwise be regenerated in short order without issue. To some extent, there would still be a loss of face from loosing in a duel to someone half a stage lower but a severe injury was still inflicted, leveling the scales and avoiding showing the sect as weak for its elder's inability to bring down a weaker cultivatior.
First Night Auction:
Coming to the first night auction was a questionable and filthy affair talking with several of the more questionable personalities still left drinking and enjoying themselves after the opening events closed. Several of the mortals attempted the bare essentials of drunk rabble-rousing, but they were easily pushed away and placed into compromising positions secured by trees without issue or fuss. After a healing pill, my right leg was healed enough anyway to walk on, avoiding any impression of weakness from suspect cultivators. The first lead of a night auction came from the mention of special goods and overhearing a discussion on the nature of a golden core. After talking over some theory on how to best render one down in a clear bastardization of a legitimate refining technique, the two cultivators were interested enough to share an invitation, especially once a mention of pills was made.
The implicit bargain of the information in exchange for an invitation was accepted in a half dozen heartbeats with a slip of jade and an address provided in exchange for one of the cultivators of ill repute being allowed to take notes. Coming to the chamber of the auction itself has seen a massive degradation from any other auction place ever seen. Over forty cultivators in robes and several with clear evident bestial deviations coming from incautious cultivation were placed in a great underground rostrum all while a clear elder in domain foundation asked for goods any wished to sell. Almost every cultivator present offered up a bounty of goods to the elder, with the poison pills handed over in sets of five to be sold and a respective nod given in response.
The pills themselves were raised first in the auction apparently as a tradition with any newcomers to the Black Jade Circle, with several bidding strongly for the first few. But enthusiasm dropped as more and more were put out on offer for sale. A respectable price of almost one hundred thousand was given for the first five pills but the rest were practically sold for a pittance with ten not even being bought as the cultivators' will to buy poison was expended and everyone else was committed to spending their spirit stones elsewhere. A bounty of almost three hundred and seventy thousand spirit stones was provided with a special cauldron used to measure them that the elder declared honest and one that would later hold up to the scrutiny of the scholars. This has brought the sect immense wealth, but the problem of ten poison pills remained. (+370k Spirit Stones)
Wares to Buy: (How auction mechanics will work is that you select how strongly you want to bid for something and its estimated price. You can choose to low-ball, go for its value, or highball the item with different odds of being able to buy it. DCs and prices will be given in a low-ball/value/highball.) (You can overspend, but your money will be spent night auction first, then the normal auction, and follow down the order of options as listed)
[]Sundering Blade of Tribulation: A crescent blade mounted to a spear that has been made of condensed and forged tribulation lightning and consecrated by what the seller has declared a great sacrifice. The blade itself passes harmlessly through mortals outside of causing some temporary confusion but when striking a cultivator it goes through any toughness and attacks the spirit directly, cleaving it apart and ripping up the cultivation base. The treasure is only of the golden core stage, but there is little doubt that such a mighty weapon can allow even an incompetent to kill an elder. (+5 to All Combat Rolls, Disallows Survival Rolls) (100k DC 90/140k DC 50/180k DC 20)
[]Eternal Pure Heaven-Light: A great vase that releases five different types of Qi in a perfectly balanced Dao of Qi through an array made of five great orbs harnessed to produce Qi eternally. Outside of the subtle sense of disquiet, the perfectly balanced Qi is a massive asset for the cultivation of any who are dependent on environmental Qi. The vase can be immediately moved into the great cave of contemplation and used to provide perfectly pure and balanced Qi to elucidate the exact path to a breakthrough. (40k DC 90/75k DC 60/120k DC 5) (+5 to Personal Cultivation Attempts)
[]Armor of Thirty Mirrors: The armor of Thirty Mirrors is guaranteed to reflect the first thirty attacks in a fight with each mirror breaking in response to an attack. The inscriptions and talismans on the back of each of the mirrors glow an ominous red but when shown off they were able to stop and reflect an attack almost in the domain foundation stage. The armor itself is further unlikely to be noticed as something demonic as it is an enhanced scale-mail made of flexible mirrors. (25k DC 70/40k DC 40/70k DC 1) (+5 to All Combat Rolls for 1-3 Fights)
[]Manual on the Adamant Fist Style: The adamant fist style is a pure earth aspected physical cultivation style focused on the constant reforging of every muscle and tendon in the body. The manual itself contains the total writings of the style to the equivalent of the effective immortality brought on at an equivalent stage of a golden core. Overall the methodology depicted is mostly useless for a pill-making sect but some of the techniques can be adapted to more common use. Body reinforcement has been looked down upon but according to the Black Jade Circle, the current emperor used similar tricks to unseat the old emperor. (120k DC 80/150k DC 60/200k DC 30) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Manual on Lesser Summoning: Working on the formation of heart demons and similar maladies is normally a parlor trick reserved for incapable cultivators who are closer to peasant mystics. By concentrating these heart demons and various conflagrations of maladies and hatred and amplifying them with the right techniques powerful spirits equivalent to core formation cultivators can be birthed. Even better they become stronger in greater concentrations of malice and hatred, allowing them to rapidly grow to the point that it could match a golden core cultivator blow for blow. (80k DC 75/125k DC 40/160k DC 5) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Manual on the Creation of Servants: A manual that describes the correct incisions to the meridians along with the talismans needed for the creation of eternal servants that can help with mundane and complicated tasks. The seller doesn't promise that any of the servants will have any intelligence but outside a few resets every few centuries an effective golem can be made at almost no effort. The gains to tending the fields promise to be immense to say less of mundane tasks or even providing every higher level cultivator a set of reliable strong and immortal companions until they are annihilated to dust. (90k DC 80/120k DC 50/150k DC 10) (Removes Garden Personnel Cost) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Blood-Curdling Hellwart Seeds: A small bag of seeds that are a strange mixture of several crops. Outside of their need to be watered with fresh blood every full moon, the stalks can be processed into a potent elemental shift preparation of the metal element while the roots can be processed into a potent elemental shift preparation of the earth element. The herb itself is comparatively conventional to grow and only requires some mild preparation to handle the burning hot and toxic stalks when it is processed down to make pills. (100k DC 75/125k DC 30/150k DC 1)
[]Shundao of the Beneficent Harvest: A shundao inscribed in crimson and made of black obsidian, it is the most ominous and auspicious artifact that has been presented personally by the elder. It is for the performing of ceremonies where another cultivator's power and meridians can be added to one's own with a series of precise incisions. Unlike more traditional approaches towards beast cores, the blade itself offers an absolute transfer of spirit, meridians, and essence from any beast that walks on the land or sea. (150k DC 80/180k DC 60/240k DC 30) (Hunting Actions add +20 to Cultivation)
Browse Wares:
After a stressful night and the application of another Four Element Pill of Steel Heart to accelerate healing and stay in a state ready for conducting business the legitimate auction has begun with a massive procession of wares. It would be impractical for the auction to have all of the goods presented there was only the time to show up to the golden core level auction for the absolute rarest and most desired items. The sects selling them have been mostly a variety of craftsman and talisman makers, carving armor and making fine goods for sale. The Peral Ferret elder for her part was not there as she was likely too busy getting a new arm and lacked the correct amount of medicinal pills to recover from such an injury and hiding in fear of the inevitable retaliation for such an embarrassing duel.
[]Resplendent Heavenmoth Robes: The most comfortable robes made of the finest cloth and weaved by hundred-year experienced weavers are on offer for a small sum but would improve the perception of the sect and more importantly be far more comfortable. The robes would offer some protection against lesser attacks but more importantly, would enhance one's cultivation by being the most comfortable allowing for an unparalleled focus on cultivation. (35k DC 85/45k DC 50/60k DC 5) (+1 to Personal Cultivation Attempts)
[]Manual of The Divine Guided Way: A partial manual detailing the divine way that is rumored to have been practiced by a great celestial spirit that ascended out of the realm in ages past. The book itself is deeply incomplete and only has a few sections that would be relevant but the presence of such an important manuscript can lead to revelations. The other golden cores are of course aware of this and will bid strongly for it on the assumption that a heaven-blessed can finish the manual or that an especially prodigious cultivator can complete the work. (190k DC 90/250k DC 50/320k DC 20) (Old Imperial Sect Manual)
[]Manual of Twelvefold Earthly Fortification: What seems to be a simple but comprehensive earth manual into the core formation stage with great visual detailing of dozens of protective techniques. There are almost no sensory or transformation techniques in the manual but the earth techniques alone promise to remove significant weaknesses in the manuals available to the sect. They are all martial techniques but some applications can almost certainly be derived for pills with enough ambition and enough ambitious disciples. (40k DC 70/60k DC 40/100k DC 1) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Spear of Cleansing Heavenly Fires: A charmed spear made of celestial bronze with inlays of the finest white jade that help it adapt its element of fire. The spear itself serves to convert techniques into fire techniques, allowing an otherwise wood-natured cultivator to attack with mighty fire techniques. The competition for the item seems fairly weak as outside of the sect there are few wood-natured sect leaders present at the auction and they are all of minor unofficial sects. (+3 to All Combat Rolls) (50k DC 90/75k DC 50/95k DC 20)
[]Enchanted Cloud in a Gourd: Flight has been the long-time dream of many a cultivator even if it is typically only achieved in the domain foundation stage. By charming a cloud and confining it to a gourd an implement of comfortable and fast flight can be made allowing any cultivator, even those without a golden core, to fly unrestricted. The Gourd itself is being strongly pushed by several smaller sects including ones that specialize in making pills for the rapid gathering of ingredients but they can theoretically be out-bid. (+5 to Pill Making Rolls) (80k DC 90/100k DC 60/140k DC 10)
[]Quicksilver Smokeleaf Seeds: Metal-aspected Qi hardening herbs that have a dangerous physical poison that must be carefully refined to avoid any accidental poisonings. The herb itself has traditionally been used as a low-potency poison amongst lesser cultivators but at the level of many of the people involved that is an irrelevant concern. As there is now a major pill-making sect involved in the bidding it's almost certain that any offended sect will ensure the price is as high as it can be, but that is to be expected from the ungrateful neighbors. (100k DC 75/110k DC 30/125k DC 1)
Second Night Auction:
Attempting to find another night auction in the same way as the first proved to be far more challenging as there were far fewer groups discussing forbidden topics. The pre-emptive consumption of some Four Element Pill of Steel Heart to avoid showing any weakness did not help but eventually, several lower-level demonic cultivators were located with obvious bestial features from poor cultivation practices. Following them around for almost two hours had them all gather up at a gambling establishment of poor repute with several higher-stage cultivators and even a golden core that seemed to be comparatively unmutated and almost certainly more competent. Security for the event was only conducted by a small band of core formation cultivators, taking positions at the exits of the establishment.
To avoid any connection to the last outing and more importantly avoid appearing as a sect leader who was at a critical meeting the disguise of Qiao Jiafu had to be used. The disguise was already prepared and extra copies of the pills involved were already made, though in case of previously breaking the disguise rather than to get into a hidden auction. After a tense few breaths of discussion, the offer to sell some goods to the others seemed to have reduced the tensions especially once a discussion of all the correct ways to prepare a sacrificial ritual were mentioned and discussed to ensure that all present were demonic cultivators or at least sympathetic. The leading golden core had a few strange reactions almost certainly due to a lack of knowledge of the topic or an incomplete education. Still, even she held her nerve when presented with a superior comprehensive technique.
Everything changed seconds after placing ten poison pills onto the table with the golden core pausing in her motions, frozen in place for ten breaths as the pill's effects were described. Instead of the normal mutual offer of exchange she declared herself an imperial inspector standing on the bar table and ordering all involved to be under arrest for immediate hanging. If this was legitimate, then any interrogation afterward would show a respected sect leader striking an imperial official, thus she could not be an imperial official. Since this "inspector" was clearly a demonic cultivator it was only righteous that she be struck down for both plotting the murder of her fellow cultivators, no matter how demonic they were, and for the clear impersonation and lack of respect for imperial law. In the breaths that followed a pulse of Qi was sent out by her, almost certainly to notify the other cultivators working with her to storm the building.
A single strong pulse of Wood Qi and taking control of the very walls of the bar solved the issue in rapid order, beheading the incompetents before they could react or do anything too alarming bypassing the use of any of their likely manually activated lifesaving treasures. The supposed imperial inspector did not react to her demonic collaborators staying still and confident from her declaration of misbegotten authority over the meeting. Fully letting any semblance of controlling Qi go and focusing on the strong amplifying effect of the Steel Heart pill took less than a single heartbeat, rushing the demonic golden core with a mighty blow and an improvised spear fashioned from the table. She reacted well for her stage, but not well enough, losing a hand and taking a mighty gash before attempting to gain distance.
To ensure that no demonic cultivators would survive the night the lesser ones that were not yet accomplices were brought down with the building they were contained within. As it became a mass of moving wooden shrapnel lighting up the sky in flying fragments all guided towards them and into the sky to keep the balance of momentum. To try and gain distance, the demonic cultivator moved to break contact with a great conflagration brought on by the shattering of a jade talisman, but even this was not enough. The fire burned, but only mildly as the distance was once again closed, trading a fury of desperate blows as she attempted to run through the town, throwing painful but resistible explosions of fire in between getting thrown into buildings. With a proper jian and technique befitting of an elder, I closed the distance with few issues losing two fingers from her going around the guard but removing her leg for the insult.
After that, she tried to reach for a type of charm likely to warn even more important demonic cultivators but my Jian was faster than her hand, cutting off her arm and cutting the charm in half. It still activated despite the heartbeat-long pause of looking at each other, taking her head with the activating charm and sending it as a warning to her demonic masters. To ensure that the taint of demonic cultivation was burned away though, the great conflagration had to be fed, concentrating Wood Qi on the Jian I stabbed at her golden core and the massive amount of fire qi gathered within. The resulting detonation was glorious, with two layers of buildings blown clean and much of the hand-holding the jian gone along with the Jian, but the demonic cultivators were scattered, dead, and left unable to corrupt the city.
In only two dozen breaths the other cultivators in the city were rapidly on the scene with the wood Qi involved in the Qiao Jiafu disguise cleanly burned off. Almost immediately an entire group of golden core elders was on the scene, seeing the great conflagration with disciples stemming in. As the clear demonic sect remnants were defeated an interrogation followed by several truth pills produced from some idiot's pocket. Despite the great dishonor of forcing a sect elder to take truth-telling pills, the number of weapons and treasures at the scene was a strong encouragement. Telling a tale of an arduous infiltration, following the demonic cultivators to track them down and find the sight of their main gathering. From this, some form of internal demonic cultivator struggle happened, with an order given for the immediate execution of all at the meeting.
The fight against the golden core cultivator demonic cultivator was discussed as a blow-for-blow focusing on how much fire she used to break the chase and report back to her demonic master. Regrettably, the demonic cultivator managed to escape with her escape treasure if only partially sending out a warning to her wicked elder. After this and a few less relevant details, the rest of the sect started appearing to see what the commotion was, with the other elders pulling aside and ensuring the prompt application of several medical pills. Noting the inability for any accurate information to come from someone under the effects of a Steel Heart pill, an incorrect argument was made that led to the other sects banishing the sect from the official auction as punishment for damage to the city but few other penalties.
12 Hour Moratorium
AA550 Dong Liang
The Opening Ceremony:
Coming to the grand city of Zhangzhou with the rest of the sect has always been a grand ceremony even when not an official sect. Thousands of mortals celebrated on the streets for the victorious cultivators with even a local triumph called for the final defeat of the Northern Nomads and the great fortune the province has been blessed with as the floodwaters have brought an excellent harvest. Some fool in Jewel Blossom decided to decorate the city in a gaudy color reminiscent of a mixture of white and green jade, leaving thousands of banners cluttering the entire palace district as some strange form of decoration. Worse, the thousands of mortals who were presented as entertainment and forced to cheer showed a clear lack of enthusiasm and signs of starvation, ruining much of the presentation to anyone with a keen eye.
Meeting the other sect leaders progressed in the most perfunctory of introductions when all of a sudden an up-jumped elder not even into her late golden core stage from the Great Pearl Ferret took great offense at a joke on the diet of dragons. At length, she pontificated about strange positions and how much of a clear offense it was to talk about the feeding habits of dragons in the province. Continuing from the joke about dragon pearls and how they're clear natural evidence of how golden cores are formed by even sub-sentient spirit beasts caused her to fly even more into a rage as the others observed the incident with light laughter. In a clear violation of the neutrality of guests and as a means to save face the challenge to a duel was immediate after only two breaths of laughter, with it organized in the fields outside the city.
Once it was organized the only rational thing to do was show up personally to the duel as it would be shameful to use a second as a sect leader despite fighting an elder but a bit of cheating with a Steel Heart pill was still in order. In the immediate opening of the duel, the elder left a clear opening allowing a quick Jian strike to take off her left arm that she put up in an improvized guard right as the fight started, turning the tide. She was not remotely idle though, gaining altitude using some forbidden heavens navigating technique, ascending above the bare ground and striking down again and again. On any attempt to climb or jump up to her, she would simply punch down driving me into the dirt, but as that caused few injuries the fight continued for several moments more. Only when she grabbed my leg did things go poorly, the grip allowed the elder to obtain leverage breaking it at several points and using it until a judge called the duel in her favor all because she had an absolute advantage.
Healing a broken leg as a wood cultivator was still not an easy feat, requiring several more minor medicinal pills but compared to the damage inflicted, that was still coming out ahead. A fire cultivator of a martial sect, even an elder, would have little access to healing resources or even the most basic of pills. Worse, most martial sects would have poorly compounded pills, leaving them vulnerable to an injury that could otherwise be regenerated in short order without issue. To some extent, there would still be a loss of face from loosing in a duel to someone half a stage lower but a severe injury was still inflicted, leveling the scales and avoiding showing the sect as weak for its elder's inability to bring down a weaker cultivatior.
First Night Auction:
Coming to the first night auction was a questionable and filthy affair talking with several of the more questionable personalities still left drinking and enjoying themselves after the opening events closed. Several of the mortals attempted the bare essentials of drunk rabble-rousing, but they were easily pushed away and placed into compromising positions secured by trees without issue or fuss. After a healing pill, my right leg was healed enough anyway to walk on, avoiding any impression of weakness from suspect cultivators. The first lead of a night auction came from the mention of special goods and overhearing a discussion on the nature of a golden core. After talking over some theory on how to best render one down in a clear bastardization of a legitimate refining technique, the two cultivators were interested enough to share an invitation, especially once a mention of pills was made.
The implicit bargain of the information in exchange for an invitation was accepted in a half dozen heartbeats with a slip of jade and an address provided in exchange for one of the cultivators of ill repute being allowed to take notes. Coming to the chamber of the auction itself has seen a massive degradation from any other auction place ever seen. Over forty cultivators in robes and several with clear evident bestial deviations coming from incautious cultivation were placed in a great underground rostrum all while a clear elder in domain foundation asked for goods any wished to sell. Almost every cultivator present offered up a bounty of goods to the elder, with the poison pills handed over in sets of five to be sold and a respective nod given in response.
The pills themselves were raised first in the auction apparently as a tradition with any newcomers to the Black Jade Circle, with several bidding strongly for the first few. But enthusiasm dropped as more and more were put out on offer for sale. A respectable price of almost one hundred thousand was given for the first five pills but the rest were practically sold for a pittance with ten not even being bought as the cultivators' will to buy poison was expended and everyone else was committed to spending their spirit stones elsewhere. A bounty of almost three hundred and seventy thousand spirit stones was provided with a special cauldron used to measure them that the elder declared honest and one that would later hold up to the scrutiny of the scholars. This has brought the sect immense wealth, but the problem of ten poison pills remained. (+370k Spirit Stones)
Wares to Buy: (How auction mechanics will work is that you select how strongly you want to bid for something and its estimated price. You can choose to low-ball, go for its value, or highball the item with different odds of being able to buy it. DCs and prices will be given in a low-ball/value/highball.) (You can overspend, but your money will be spent night auction first, then the normal auction, and follow down the order of options as listed)
[]Sundering Blade of Tribulation: A crescent blade mounted to a spear that has been made of condensed and forged tribulation lightning and consecrated by what the seller has declared a great sacrifice. The blade itself passes harmlessly through mortals outside of causing some temporary confusion but when striking a cultivator it goes through any toughness and attacks the spirit directly, cleaving it apart and ripping up the cultivation base. The treasure is only of the golden core stage, but there is little doubt that such a mighty weapon can allow even an incompetent to kill an elder. (+5 to All Combat Rolls, Disallows Survival Rolls) (100k DC 90/140k DC 50/180k DC 20)
[]Eternal Pure Heaven-Light: A great vase that releases five different types of Qi in a perfectly balanced Dao of Qi through an array made of five great orbs harnessed to produce Qi eternally. Outside of the subtle sense of disquiet, the perfectly balanced Qi is a massive asset for the cultivation of any who are dependent on environmental Qi. The vase can be immediately moved into the great cave of contemplation and used to provide perfectly pure and balanced Qi to elucidate the exact path to a breakthrough. (40k DC 90/75k DC 60/120k DC 5) (+5 to Personal Cultivation Attempts)
[]Armor of Thirty Mirrors: The armor of Thirty Mirrors is guaranteed to reflect the first thirty attacks in a fight with each mirror breaking in response to an attack. The inscriptions and talismans on the back of each of the mirrors glow an ominous red but when shown off they were able to stop and reflect an attack almost in the domain foundation stage. The armor itself is further unlikely to be noticed as something demonic as it is an enhanced scale-mail made of flexible mirrors. (25k DC 70/40k DC 40/70k DC 1) (+5 to All Combat Rolls for 1-3 Fights)
[]Manual on the Adamant Fist Style: The adamant fist style is a pure earth aspected physical cultivation style focused on the constant reforging of every muscle and tendon in the body. The manual itself contains the total writings of the style to the equivalent of the effective immortality brought on at an equivalent stage of a golden core. Overall the methodology depicted is mostly useless for a pill-making sect but some of the techniques can be adapted to more common use. Body reinforcement has been looked down upon but according to the Black Jade Circle, the current emperor used similar tricks to unseat the old emperor. (120k DC 80/150k DC 60/200k DC 30) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Manual on Lesser Summoning: Working on the formation of heart demons and similar maladies is normally a parlor trick reserved for incapable cultivators who are closer to peasant mystics. By concentrating these heart demons and various conflagrations of maladies and hatred and amplifying them with the right techniques powerful spirits equivalent to core formation cultivators can be birthed. Even better they become stronger in greater concentrations of malice and hatred, allowing them to rapidly grow to the point that it could match a golden core cultivator blow for blow. (80k DC 75/125k DC 40/160k DC 5) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Manual on the Creation of Servants: A manual that describes the correct incisions to the meridians along with the talismans needed for the creation of eternal servants that can help with mundane and complicated tasks. The seller doesn't promise that any of the servants will have any intelligence but outside a few resets every few centuries an effective golem can be made at almost no effort. The gains to tending the fields promise to be immense to say less of mundane tasks or even providing every higher level cultivator a set of reliable strong and immortal companions until they are annihilated to dust. (90k DC 80/120k DC 50/150k DC 10) (Removes Garden Personnel Cost) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Blood-Curdling Hellwart Seeds: A small bag of seeds that are a strange mixture of several crops. Outside of their need to be watered with fresh blood every full moon, the stalks can be processed into a potent elemental shift preparation of the metal element while the roots can be processed into a potent elemental shift preparation of the earth element. The herb itself is comparatively conventional to grow and only requires some mild preparation to handle the burning hot and toxic stalks when it is processed down to make pills. (100k DC 75/125k DC 30/150k DC 1)
[]Shundao of the Beneficent Harvest: A shundao inscribed in crimson and made of black obsidian, it is the most ominous and auspicious artifact that has been presented personally by the elder. It is for the performing of ceremonies where another cultivator's power and meridians can be added to one's own with a series of precise incisions. Unlike more traditional approaches towards beast cores, the blade itself offers an absolute transfer of spirit, meridians, and essence from any beast that walks on the land or sea. (150k DC 80/180k DC 60/240k DC 30) (Hunting Actions add +20 to Cultivation)
Browse Wares:
After a stressful night and the application of another Four Element Pill of Steel Heart to accelerate healing and stay in a state ready for conducting business the legitimate auction has begun with a massive procession of wares. It would be impractical for the auction to have all of the goods presented there was only the time to show up to the golden core level auction for the absolute rarest and most desired items. The sects selling them have been mostly a variety of craftsman and talisman makers, carving armor and making fine goods for sale. The Peral Ferret elder for her part was not there as she was likely too busy getting a new arm and lacked the correct amount of medicinal pills to recover from such an injury and hiding in fear of the inevitable retaliation for such an embarrassing duel.
[]Resplendent Heavenmoth Robes: The most comfortable robes made of the finest cloth and weaved by hundred-year experienced weavers are on offer for a small sum but would improve the perception of the sect and more importantly be far more comfortable. The robes would offer some protection against lesser attacks but more importantly, would enhance one's cultivation by being the most comfortable allowing for an unparalleled focus on cultivation. (35k DC 85/45k DC 50/60k DC 5) (+1 to Personal Cultivation Attempts)
[]Manual of The Divine Guided Way: A partial manual detailing the divine way that is rumored to have been practiced by a great celestial spirit that ascended out of the realm in ages past. The book itself is deeply incomplete and only has a few sections that would be relevant but the presence of such an important manuscript can lead to revelations. The other golden cores are of course aware of this and will bid strongly for it on the assumption that a heaven-blessed can finish the manual or that an especially prodigious cultivator can complete the work. (190k DC 90/250k DC 50/320k DC 20) (Old Imperial Sect Manual)
[]Manual of Twelvefold Earthly Fortification: What seems to be a simple but comprehensive earth manual into the core formation stage with great visual detailing of dozens of protective techniques. There are almost no sensory or transformation techniques in the manual but the earth techniques alone promise to remove significant weaknesses in the manuals available to the sect. They are all martial techniques but some applications can almost certainly be derived for pills with enough ambition and enough ambitious disciples. (40k DC 70/60k DC 40/100k DC 1) (Mild Sect-Wide Combat Improvement)
[]Spear of Cleansing Heavenly Fires: A charmed spear made of celestial bronze with inlays of the finest white jade that help it adapt its element of fire. The spear itself serves to convert techniques into fire techniques, allowing an otherwise wood-natured cultivator to attack with mighty fire techniques. The competition for the item seems fairly weak as outside of the sect there are few wood-natured sect leaders present at the auction and they are all of minor unofficial sects. (+3 to All Combat Rolls) (50k DC 90/75k DC 50/95k DC 20)
[]Enchanted Cloud in a Gourd: Flight has been the long-time dream of many a cultivator even if it is typically only achieved in the domain foundation stage. By charming a cloud and confining it to a gourd an implement of comfortable and fast flight can be made allowing any cultivator, even those without a golden core, to fly unrestricted. The Gourd itself is being strongly pushed by several smaller sects including ones that specialize in making pills for the rapid gathering of ingredients but they can theoretically be out-bid. (+5 to Pill Making Rolls) (80k DC 90/100k DC 60/140k DC 10)
[]Quicksilver Smokeleaf Seeds: Metal-aspected Qi hardening herbs that have a dangerous physical poison that must be carefully refined to avoid any accidental poisonings. The herb itself has traditionally been used as a low-potency poison amongst lesser cultivators but at the level of many of the people involved that is an irrelevant concern. As there is now a major pill-making sect involved in the bidding it's almost certain that any offended sect will ensure the price is as high as it can be, but that is to be expected from the ungrateful neighbors. (100k DC 75/110k DC 30/125k DC 1)
Second Night Auction:
Attempting to find another night auction in the same way as the first proved to be far more challenging as there were far fewer groups discussing forbidden topics. The pre-emptive consumption of some Four Element Pill of Steel Heart to avoid showing any weakness did not help but eventually, several lower-level demonic cultivators were located with obvious bestial features from poor cultivation practices. Following them around for almost two hours had them all gather up at a gambling establishment of poor repute with several higher-stage cultivators and even a golden core that seemed to be comparatively unmutated and almost certainly more competent. Security for the event was only conducted by a small band of core formation cultivators, taking positions at the exits of the establishment.
To avoid any connection to the last outing and more importantly avoid appearing as a sect leader who was at a critical meeting the disguise of Qiao Jiafu had to be used. The disguise was already prepared and extra copies of the pills involved were already made, though in case of previously breaking the disguise rather than to get into a hidden auction. After a tense few breaths of discussion, the offer to sell some goods to the others seemed to have reduced the tensions especially once a discussion of all the correct ways to prepare a sacrificial ritual were mentioned and discussed to ensure that all present were demonic cultivators or at least sympathetic. The leading golden core had a few strange reactions almost certainly due to a lack of knowledge of the topic or an incomplete education. Still, even she held her nerve when presented with a superior comprehensive technique.
Everything changed seconds after placing ten poison pills onto the table with the golden core pausing in her motions, frozen in place for ten breaths as the pill's effects were described. Instead of the normal mutual offer of exchange she declared herself an imperial inspector standing on the bar table and ordering all involved to be under arrest for immediate hanging. If this was legitimate, then any interrogation afterward would show a respected sect leader striking an imperial official, thus she could not be an imperial official. Since this "inspector" was clearly a demonic cultivator it was only righteous that she be struck down for both plotting the murder of her fellow cultivators, no matter how demonic they were, and for the clear impersonation and lack of respect for imperial law. In the breaths that followed a pulse of Qi was sent out by her, almost certainly to notify the other cultivators working with her to storm the building.
A single strong pulse of Wood Qi and taking control of the very walls of the bar solved the issue in rapid order, beheading the incompetents before they could react or do anything too alarming bypassing the use of any of their likely manually activated lifesaving treasures. The supposed imperial inspector did not react to her demonic collaborators staying still and confident from her declaration of misbegotten authority over the meeting. Fully letting any semblance of controlling Qi go and focusing on the strong amplifying effect of the Steel Heart pill took less than a single heartbeat, rushing the demonic golden core with a mighty blow and an improvised spear fashioned from the table. She reacted well for her stage, but not well enough, losing a hand and taking a mighty gash before attempting to gain distance.
To ensure that no demonic cultivators would survive the night the lesser ones that were not yet accomplices were brought down with the building they were contained within. As it became a mass of moving wooden shrapnel lighting up the sky in flying fragments all guided towards them and into the sky to keep the balance of momentum. To try and gain distance, the demonic cultivator moved to break contact with a great conflagration brought on by the shattering of a jade talisman, but even this was not enough. The fire burned, but only mildly as the distance was once again closed, trading a fury of desperate blows as she attempted to run through the town, throwing painful but resistible explosions of fire in between getting thrown into buildings. With a proper jian and technique befitting of an elder, I closed the distance with few issues losing two fingers from her going around the guard but removing her leg for the insult.
After that, she tried to reach for a type of charm likely to warn even more important demonic cultivators but my Jian was faster than her hand, cutting off her arm and cutting the charm in half. It still activated despite the heartbeat-long pause of looking at each other, taking her head with the activating charm and sending it as a warning to her demonic masters. To ensure that the taint of demonic cultivation was burned away though, the great conflagration had to be fed, concentrating Wood Qi on the Jian I stabbed at her golden core and the massive amount of fire qi gathered within. The resulting detonation was glorious, with two layers of buildings blown clean and much of the hand-holding the jian gone along with the Jian, but the demonic cultivators were scattered, dead, and left unable to corrupt the city.
In only two dozen breaths the other cultivators in the city were rapidly on the scene with the wood Qi involved in the Qiao Jiafu disguise cleanly burned off. Almost immediately an entire group of golden core elders was on the scene, seeing the great conflagration with disciples stemming in. As the clear demonic sect remnants were defeated an interrogation followed by several truth pills produced from some idiot's pocket. Despite the great dishonor of forcing a sect elder to take truth-telling pills, the number of weapons and treasures at the scene was a strong encouragement. Telling a tale of an arduous infiltration, following the demonic cultivators to track them down and find the sight of their main gathering. From this, some form of internal demonic cultivator struggle happened, with an order given for the immediate execution of all at the meeting.
The fight against the golden core cultivator demonic cultivator was discussed as a blow-for-blow focusing on how much fire she used to break the chase and report back to her demonic master. Regrettably, the demonic cultivator managed to escape with her escape treasure if only partially sending out a warning to her wicked elder. After this and a few less relevant details, the rest of the sect started appearing to see what the commotion was, with the other elders pulling aside and ensuring the prompt application of several medical pills. Noting the inability for any accurate information to come from someone under the effects of a Steel Heart pill, an incorrect argument was made that led to the other sects banishing the sect from the official auction as punishment for damage to the city but few other penalties.
12 Hour Moratorium
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Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Okay then, 370,000 Spirit Stones from the pill sale, 16.1k from our existing bank. 381.1k in total. And we probably want to make sure we have around 125-150k to keep us supplied for the decade. So, we have around 230-250k of disposable income.
But Elemental Shift is always synergistic. And that's not getting into potential secondary or tertiary effects.
Other things of interest are the Mirror Armor, one of the Cultivation aids, the Spear, and the Manual of Earthly Fortification for bolstering Sect combat capabilities in a way that might actually be useful for Refining.
Trying for one of the Cultivation Aids I think is quite important, as part of reminding our Sect Leader why being and staying as Sect Leader is worth it, because then they get cool toys like these to help with Cultivation.
Funny enough, I don't want the Quicksilver Smoke Leaves. They'd let us make a more efficient Steel Heart pill, but I don't think much else. Besides, right now we have hostile Sects setting it up for a high bidding war. But if we don't buy it, then according to Blackstar, they're left holding the bag of a pill ingredient that they can't use.
Okay so, I really want this. This is basically two elements in one, and Earth/Metal are the elements we have the least seeds of. Furthermore, this is a Primary Effect of Elemental Shift, which is incredibly versatile. Most of the time when you make a pill, you need to make sure all of the effects line up and synergize, with disharmonious effects on either pill quality or ease of creation if they don't.
But Elemental Shift is always synergistic. And that's not getting into potential secondary or tertiary effects.
Other things of interest are the Mirror Armor, one of the Cultivation aids, the Spear, and the Manual of Earthly Fortification for bolstering Sect combat capabilities in a way that might actually be useful for Refining.
Trying for one of the Cultivation Aids I think is quite important, as part of reminding our Sect Leader why being and staying as Sect Leader is worth it, because then they get cool toys like these to help with Cultivation.
Funny enough, I don't want the Quicksilver Smoke Leaves. They'd let us make a more efficient Steel Heart pill, but I don't think much else. Besides, right now we have hostile Sects setting it up for a high bidding war. But if we don't buy it, then according to Blackstar, they're left holding the bag of a pill ingredient that they can't use.
150k is what I would like to aim for in terms of keeping a reserve after doing some expense estimations earlier on this page. If we go for a medium bid on both Hellwart and Heaven-Light that's 200k right there leaving us like 160k left over from selling poison.
If we high bid Hellwart and then medium bid on Heaven-Light that's only 135k if we can get the latter, a bit under that mark. But if we don't make that DC we aren't spending that money so it should be fine, and I think we have just a little bit left in the vaults to make it a bit easier to stretch that 135k.
An alternative could be to high bid the Hellwart, and then instead of the Heaven-Light hail mary low bid both the robes and earth manual, or maybe medium bid on both of them with the hope that since we only have like a 25% chance to win both that we don't end up spending on both.
If we high bid Hellwart and then medium bid on Heaven-Light that's only 135k if we can get the latter, a bit under that mark. But if we don't make that DC we aren't spending that money so it should be fine, and I think we have just a little bit left in the vaults to make it a bit easier to stretch that 135k.
An alternative could be to high bid the Hellwart, and then instead of the Heaven-Light hail mary low bid both the robes and earth manual, or maybe medium bid on both of them with the hope that since we only have like a 25% chance to win both that we don't end up spending on both.