Yang Chen pulled back on his horse's reigns, signaling it to stop. He held up his right fist, signaling everyone behind him to stop as well. They'd arrived at the king's castle.
It was a marvelous sight. Out of all the red-orange brick buildings that made up the Kingdom of Alverus, the white castle belonging to the king clearly stood out with its grand presence. A wide moat of water separated the trail from the entrance.
The turning of gears could be heard as the metal chains loosened on the wooden drawbridge.
Galand Northwind came out to welcome them. He bowed with respect. "Yang Chen of the Morning Lotus Family I presume?"
Chen came down from his horse, as did his brother. He gave Galand a respectful bow in return. "Yes."
Chen held a hand up towards his brother. "This here is my baby brother, Yang Ju."
Ju bowed. Galand returned the gesture. "It's a pleasure."
Chen looked behind him and introduced his fiancée. "This beautiful lady is my fiancée, Xiao Yun of the Emperor Jade Sect."
Yun took a courteous and lady-like bow. "Hello."
Galand nodded his head. "A beauty indeed." He turned around and proceeded to walk. "Well then, come, follow me. Do not hesitate."
Yun had an air of dignity about her. Her gaze was cold as ice, and her facial expression rarely wavered. She followed behind Chen and Ju with silent, gracious footsteps.
Two knights in silver armor stood erect near the entrance to the King's Chamber. "Sir." they both said in unison.
Galand nodded. "Keep up the good work men."
When Yun entered the room, the first thing she noticed was the throne.
The King of Alverus, old and wizened in all his glory, sat on a solid gold throne that was decorated with expensive animal fur coats and jewelry. Several fair maidens lined both sides of the king, waiting on his hand and foot. On all sides of the room were knights in golden armor, stiff as a board and staying alert, not even daring to blink once.
Chen, Ju, and Yun all bowed deeply to the king. "Your Majesty." Chen said.
Galand stood next to the king.
"You may rise, Yang Chen." said the king.
They stood back up.
"I must say, you and your family has truly been a wonderful help to this kingdom, and I wish to express my gratitude."
Chen smiled. "Please, our Morning Lotus Sect is more then willing to continue helping our brother kingdom with our resources. No gratitude is needed Your Highness."
The king slowly nodded. "Chen, I understand the situation concerning your fiancée there. Xiao Yun, your sacrifice will be forever remembered. I hope you understand the importance of your role in this life."
Xiao Yun bowed. "I do, Your Highness. It is an honor to be of use to my people and yours."
The doors to the King's Chambers opened. Munan calmly entered and walked up to the king's side. "Your Highness, I have some news of the utmost importance that you need to hear."
The king looked at him. "What is it Munan?"
Munan nodded. "Yes, well, there is a youth in your kingdom that is selling saint-realm elixirs by the hundreds at the auction house."
Everyone was greatly surprised at the news.
The king sat up. "Munan, is this true? Saint-realm?!"
Munan nodded. "I believe that there is more to him than meets the eye. He is also rather skilled as a cultivator. I am sure that he has broken through to the Master Profound Realm at the lowest."
Galand's expression was serious. "Munan. You do realize that there are no recognized saint-realm alchemists in the Kingdom of Alverus. This is truly a one in a million prodigy!"
Munan nodded. "Well... yes, but see, he told me his name was Oh Yasuo... and I am a hundred percent sure that the Oh Family is nonexistent..."
Yun's eyes widened. "Yasuo... he's the boy from earlier..." she thought to herself. She noticed Chen's fists clench. He'd realized it too.
The king stroked his beard. "The Oh Family... indeed that is not a real family. Could he be from enemy territory?"
Galand frowned. "Oh Yasuo... I know that kid. He was the one who defeated the Uwibami some while ago. He didn't seem like much of a threat. However, as I remember it, he was a new visitor of our kingdom."
The king looked at Munan. "Munan. Have you already met this boy with hostile intentions?"
Munan bowed slightly. "Yes, though it was barely a challenge for him. I believe that he is quite the threat to our safety."
Chen spoke up with a smirk on his face. "Your Highness. Excuse my interrupting, but surely if this... Oh Yasuo... is not from your kingdom, then as powerful as he is, he surely poses a threat to Alverus."
The king looked down, still stroking his lengthy goatee. "Yes... you are right..."
Chen held his hands out. "Then allow the Morning Lotus Sect to take care of him! Surely if he has as many of these saint-realm elixirs as Brother Munan says, then it can't be through normal means, after all he is still a mere boy! If you allow my family to take care of this matter, we will be willing to split our finds, with Alverus keeping ninety percent!!"
Everyone looked at Chen.
Munan was grinning.
The king closed his eyes. "Hmm... ninety percent you say? That is almost too good an offer to pass up... However I am afraid that I will be unable to return such a favor Yang Chen."
Chen took a step forward. "Your Highness! I assure you that no compensation is needed for such a mundane task! This matter must absolutely be dealt with!"
Munan turned to the king. "Your Majesty, as your humble advisor, I do believe that Yang Chen has a point. This could in fact benefit us tremendously, both financially and in strengthening the power of your forces."
The king nodded. "Very well Yang Chen. I leave the matter relating to Oh Yasuo in your capable hands."
Chen immediately knelt on one knee. "You will not regret this, Your Highness." He had a sly grin on his face while looking at the floor.
Yun frowned. She wanted to say something but instead remained silent. It wasn't her business.
—
Instead of heading back to the inn, Yasuo left Alverus to find some rare herbs.
He walked for some hours in the open grass plains until he got to a cliff.
Yasuo looked below him. So did Pixie.
The sound of rushing water could be heard from far below.
"Think there's something down there?" Pixie asked.
"Dunno. On the other side is a forest though..."
Pixie pointed across. "You said you wanted herbs right? So a forest makes the most sense."
Yasuo put his hand to his chin in thought. "We're a few miles out from Alverus. There had to be other adventurers that've been through here... on the other hand..." He looked down again.
Even though it was broad daylight, Yasuo could only see pitch blackness further down.
"I'm gonna jump." he said.
Pixie shrugged. "Your call."
"Alright, let's go!"
fwoosh!
Yasuo jumped straight down the chasm. Wind rushed past his ears as he reached high speeds on his descent.
A thin line of aura coated him. With this coating, Yasuo could feel his surroundings without needing to see. That way he was able react to any sharp rocks or dangerous objects in his path.
The sound of water was getting closer and closer. "Is there a river or something here?" Yasuo asked himself.
Then as it felt like the water was right below him, Yasuo heard the sound pass him by, going upward.
"There was no river?!" he exclaimed. It was a waterfall in the side of the cliff.
Yasuo immediately struck the side of the rock wall with his foot to slow himself down, using a hand to hold on. He slid to a stop.
It was pitch black. There was no light to be found anywhere.
Yasuo held out a finger. "Status: Illumina!"
White light emitted from Yasuo's finger and caused a bright wave of light to spread from wall to wall in pulses.
Yasuo squinted. There was a portion of the wall further down on the opposite side that seemed like it wasn't reflecting the light.
Yasuo jumped to the other wall and slid down diagonally to the left.
"So it wasn't the wall. It was a cave!" Yasuo swung into the opening. The portion of the wall that wasn't reflecting light was actually just a cave entrance. The shadows caused by the bright light made it seem like the wall was dark in one spot.
Pixie caught up eventually. "So you found a cave."
Yasuo nodded.
Pixie was giving off a soft glow of light, so Yasuo didn't need to activate another spell.
After a long while walking in the dark and moist cave, a faint blue glow could be seen in the distance.
Yasuo started running in its direction.
As he got closer, the light grew brighter and brighter until he came to a room.
"Woah!" Yasuo was hit with wonder. The cave walls were lit up with large blue crystals embedded in the rock.
Pixie flew around. "Finally some room to fly!"
Yasuo inspected the crystals. "These are...!" He pulled on a big one, snapping it off before holding it up to the light. "Hydro Crystal Ore!! And the purest kind too!!"
Pixie looked at the crystal. "You've seen these before?"
Yasuo put the crystal in his storage ring. "No, but I learned everything about alchemy all at once, so I know just about every kind of ore, herb, and medicine there is!"
Yasuo started mining.
After roughly two hours, Yasuo wiped the room completely clean of Hydro Crystal Ore.
Pixie trailed behind. "So what do those crystals do?"
Yasuo looked at her. "I can make high-grade sage-realm elixirs with them!"
"That's great!"
Yasuo nodded. "If I sold even one of these, I'd probably get 10 million back in Alverus!"
"So will you sell them?"
"Are you insane?!" Yasuo wiped his nose and grinned evilly. "I have the duplication spell."
"Isn't that cheating?"
"I'm a god. I am a cheat!" Yasuo laughed to himself, basking in all his glory.
Pixie shook her head and flew in front.
Yasuo was trailing from behind. They explored the cave even further, finding all sorts of cave herbs, and various crystal ores.
At this point Yasuo and Pixie had been in the cave for a total of eight hours.
"See anything?" Yasuo called out.
Pixie continued looking. "No, not yet! Maybe we've found everything that this cave has to offer— ouch!"
Pixie rubbed her head.
Yasuo caught up. "Something wrong?"
Pixie pointed ahead. "There's a barrier right here, I can't get through."
Yasuo held both of his hands out, wary of the barrier. When he made contact, a purple glow came from underneath his hands, refusing to let him through.
Yasuo slammed his fist into it a few times. But he couldn't get inside. "Tch! My rank probably isn't high enough to pass through yet."
"So what'll we do?" Pixie asked.
Yasuo stood in thought for a moment, then his face lit up with mischief.
"Oh boy..."
Yasuo twirled around. "Oh Jishi~" he sung.
A chime sounded. < "Yes Yasuo?" >
Yasuo twirled again. "You remember that time you told me that you could make any Status spell or Martial Skill that I asked for?"
< "I do recall saying something of that nature, yes." >
Yasuo playfully knocked on the barrier. "Can you make me a barrier negation skill?"
Pixie was taken aback. She gasped. "You wouldn't?!"
Yasuo laughed mischievously. He put a hand to his mouth. "Oh but I would."
< *sighs* "Yes, I can do that for you." >
A chime sounded.
Yasuo snickered with enjoyment. "I love being a god."
Yasuo outreached his hand and touched the barrier. Instead of repelling him, it bent like jelly, allowing him to go inside and out.
Yasuo couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I'm just amazing!!"
Pixie crossed her arms. "Well could you see what's over there already?"
Yasuo regained his composure. "Oh right. Be right back!" He ran off.
Waves of deep purple and pink soul force was filling the air.
"Whatever's giving off this wavelength must be a really high rank..." Yasuo said. He continued running. As he ran down the cave tunnel, Yasuo's running speed got slower and slower until he could only walk, and then until he could barely move.
"What the hell?! I'm not even close yet!" he exclaimed. "The path is a straight line, and I don't see anything! What rank is this soul?!"
< "Yasuo, while I am omniscient, that is only to an extent." >
"Jishi, what are you talking about?!"
< "Whatever this soul force is, it is above my capacity as a spirit. Which... theoretically is possible, but that would make this soul superior to the Divine Profound Realm." >
Yasuo's eyes widened. "There's something higher than that?!" Yasuo could no longer progress forward. "Jishi! Make a soul force negation skill for this!"
< "I can still make you a negation skill, but it wouldn't work on powers of this magnitude. I can not grasp this power. Your negation would depend on your own cultivation rank."
Yasuo was starting to slide backwards. "My... soul force... is draining!"
He was sliding back even faster now. "Jishi!! Make a skill that will make me invulnerable!!"
< "It would only work for two minutes. Are you sure?" >
"Yes! Just do it!!"
A chime sounded.
Yasuo's body glowed with white soul force. The purple wavelength stopped suppressing him.
"Alright, I've got less than two minutes, let's do this!!"
VOOSH!!
Yasuo made a mad dash through the tunnel, using his soul force as a boost. He had four kilometers of path left, and Yasuo sped through it in merely twenty seconds flat.
-
Yasuo came out into another open room like the one he found the Hydro Crystal Ore in, but this time there was a massive stone tablet on the far northern side wall. It had inscriptions on it that glowed black. A language he didn't recognize.
"Jishi, make a skill that lets me decipher all languages and inscriptions."
A chime sounded.
Yasuo read the stone. It read:
"To travel so far in life that one has reached this point, signifies a truly resourceful individual of the Third Tier Divine Profound Realm. Whether your journey is coming to an end, or just beginning, the Dao Emperors have left great wisdom for those who seek it. The soul cultivation of mere mortals begins at the Basic Earthly Realm and ends at the Divine Profound Realm, but if only they were aware of what comes after."
Yasuo felt so much information enter his head at once.
Jishi let out a pained scream from inside his head.
Yasuo's body suddenly split from Jishi, as they became two separate beings.
Yasuo's eyes widened at the sight of a Great Spirit in front of him, dressed in a white gown with all white features down to the eyelashes.
"Jishi?"
< "Yasuo? I've... gained new heights of knowledge." >
Jishi started to fade away. She outstretched her hand. "Quickly! Yasuo, grab my hand!"
Yasuo reached out to grab it, and the moment their hands touched, Jishi re-entered Yasuo's body.
Yasuo fell to his knees, catching his breath in a cold sweat.
Glowing black words wrote themselves in the air.
Yasuo looked up and read as the lines of text came one after another:
BASIC EARTHLY REALM 1 2 3
LOWER EARTHLY REALM 1 2 3
HIGHER EARTHLY REALM 1 2 3
MASTER PROFOUND REALM 1 2 3
SAINT PROFOUND REALM 1 2 3
GRANDMASTER PROFOUND REALM 1 2 3
SAGE PROFOUND REALM 1 2 3
DIVINE SAGE PROFOUND REALM 1 2 3
HEAVENLY SAGE REALM 1 2 3 4 5
GRAND HEAVENLY SAGE REALM 1 2 3 4 5
KING HEAVENLY SAGE REALM 1 2 3 4 5
EMPEROR HEAVENLY SAGE REALM 1 2 3 4 5
HEAVENLY GOD REALM 1 2 3 4 5
HEAVENLY DAO REALM 1
Yasuo's eyes lit up. "There's so much more..."
< "Yasuo, your time limit! You have less than a minute remaining!" >
The cave walls shook violently. A stone pillar came out of the center of the room that held a mysterious black glass orb.
< "Yasuo, get out of there!" >
"Yeah, I know, I know!!"
Yasuo struggled to stand during all the shaking, but he managed to grab the black orb and put it in his storage ring before hightailing it out of that room.
-
With all the shaking, it was hard to run. "Jishi, make a flight skill!"
A chime sounded once again.
woosh!!
Yasuo whipped past Pixie, causing her to spin out of control. "Wah!! Watch where you're going!"
There was a thunderous crashing noise, as the tunnel collapsed, destroying everything beyond it.
Yasuo skidded to a stop. He was out of breath.
Pixie flew towards him. "Yasuo? You okay? What happened in there?"
Yasuo caught his breath. "That... was... awesome!!!"
A big smile was on his face. "That was the most exhilarating experience of my two lives!!"