Lind was sweating buckets in the crafting room in the Stone Ward shop. Young Twin had been pushing Lind to reach peak grade 2 consistently but he was stuck at mid grade 2 assuming he could even succeed. The essence of herbs were slippery at grade 1 but manageable to Lind's World Touch.
It was such delicate work but also in need of strength unlike the protections Lind had worked out for his meridians and dantian. Regulating the flow of Qi to keep his foundation stable and from progressing explosively was relatively simple. Lind essentially made a filter and throttled the Qi to the point it was a trickle.
The strands of essence were like eels or oiled up pigs running around. He had personally done such work when he was a teenager on Earth for a few summers on a farm for the pigs and they were slippery little annoyances! If that was all, however, Lind would have mastered it after working out the differences between grade 1 and 2.
Unfortunately, essence was not limited to herbs. Herbs were the sole ingredient for grade 1 pills and elixirs shared this with simple water that is purified of contaminants. Grade 2, however, introduced other cultivation resources like aether beast cores, blood, and so forth. An elixir master would extract the essence of these materials as well but of course they were vastly different behavior to just herbs.
If herbs were an eel, cores were a bucking bronco, and even something inanimate like soul stones would have high resistance to extraction for an elixir. Cultivating such materials raw into meridians was far easier with a cultivation technique.
"Peak mid-grade 2, an improvement but only 1 thus far. You have to keep practicing your control." Lind felt a strong urge to curse at the merciless words of the Immortal Will. He swallowed them as he resumed a lotus position to recover himself but was stunned to feel higher quality Qi flow into him. Lind recovered almost instantly and digested the higher elemental Qi to temper his elements incrementally.
"Why did you do that, Master?" Lind was honestly confused but grateful. The smirk on that ethereal face made Lind think about what could be going on. If Lind had pushed himself too far, the Immortal Will had helped him recover, but he had only been exhausted. The swirl of amber in the vial resonated with earth with no issue, so Lind did not think he missed anything.
"You forgot what day it was, didn't you?" Lind was even more confused now. Time flowed differently inside the shop. A night inside was not even a stick of incense outside, but Lind's time during creation of elixirs could slip away. He had spent days during the creation of each attempt to make various elixirs, and now he did the math.
"Blast!" LInd whipped up, bowed to Younger Twin, and flew out the door. The feeling of disorientation barely registered as Lind hit the sunlit streets. He was pleased to see it was still early morning. His stomach growled as the smells of meat and bread filled the air. Lind desperately wished to know how that time dilation worked in the shop.
Despite the difference in what happened inside, Lind never felt hunger for the difference. In other words, the 3 meals he ate outside were the same inside, but many days could pass between meals inside the shop. Lind pushed the distraction aside and pelted out of the Stone Ward into the Iron Ward.
The early morning traffic was light, thank God, spirits, or whatever was giving him that much of a break. Lind felt at his pouches and was reassured that he remembered to bring his VIP token. Advanced Alchemist Ye had issued it as part of the negotiations over the elixirs.
All of them were going to be sold in today's auction and Lind would be allowed to extend some credit if he found something he wanted. The odds were against it as 6 elemental treasures and resources were rare. The condensed staff at his hip was unheard of by anyone that Sapphire Auction House knew. The tempering technique was equally unheard of. The Academy had offered up a copy to the auction to inspire future 6 elementals to improve their fate.
Lind set some kind of record for crossing 2 wards in less than half a morning. As he approached the Gold Ward, however, a line began to appear. Lind's dark robes would not get him much, but a few people moved out of his way due to that alone. Core Students were well respected without any verification of his identity. Unless Lind tried to do something excessive or someone recognized him, moving through a crowd was doable.
Lind saw the line firm up and wondered if he would even make it when his pouch suddenly began to glow. People suddenly parted from in front of him like Lind had given a command.
"Sir, please follow me." Lind nearly jumped out of his skin as a slim man seemed to appear. A Sand Tier World Realm! Lind only nodded and quickly entered the Gold Ward. Lind quickly saw others like him were being guided by other Sand Tiers. What gave them authority was the pale blue robes with a white star on their right breast. A similar golden glow came from some of the people following them, but not all.
Lind only had the puzzle boxes for his storage treasures and they barely were a square half meter in size. A pouch was possible to obtain at 1 to 2 square meters in the Academy, but the contribution points were far from Lind's reach at his current accumulation. The streets were no obstruction to Lind's guide until he was once more in front of the towering structure of the Sapphire Auction House.
Last week had been the submission of items and gathering of resources from a caravan that had arrived on the last day. Lind had learned that the owners themselves carted materials to some of the powers that held this special auction. The Ruins in the Lotus Empire were rich sources of unusual items, but it was not the only one in the world.
"Honored guest, welcome!" Lind was handed off to a smiling young girl that was also in the Sand Tier from what Lind could tell. She was swirling with wind Qi of a quality LInd guessed to be mid tier. Her brunette hair almost seemed to shine as it was curling down her back. The bright blue robe hugged her body and was no doubt enticing to many.
Lind was too winded and nervous to notice much at the moment but he would have to be 3 days dead not to notice the intent behind her being assigned to him. He noticed others that had been guided to the auction house were handed off to mostly Soul Realms. Only 2 others were like Lind with World Realm attendants.
"Thank you, this is my first auction so any advice will be welcome, senior." Lind cupped his hands and bowed. None of the others did so, even if their realm was lower than their partner. Most were of higher tier but Lind noticed they seemed to treat the attendant as a nuisance.
More than a few stared at Lind, but it was not unusual for a Core Student to come to this auction nor to be a VIP. It was unusual for a 5th tier Soul Realm to warrant a World Realm attendant. The question was clear in all their eyes of what Lind had brought to warrant that kind of treatment.
The beaming smile of the girl actually became warm and motioned for LInd to follow her. The entrance way was a grand place of gilded chairs and rich drapes in all shades of blue. Lind could instantly feel a presence observing him but it was clearly watching the room. Lind also realized he could not hear footsteps at all and the flow of Qi was more tranquil than any place Lind had ever seen.
Lind simply followed the back of his partner and found himself in front of something remarkably familiar. There was a set of doors and a formation panel set between each set. A flow of wind Qi entered the panel she stopped at and the doors slid open like an elevator.
Unlike its Earth counterpart, it was not a steel chamber with glass windows looking out, but a crystal chamber that was beautiful to see Qi flow through it. Lind was fascinated to see the flow of earth and darkness of World Realm quality begin to flow in the veins of the chamber as it began to ascend.
His World Eyes allowed him to see beyond the walls but only to survey the surface of neighboring chambers. Lind realized part of the formation blocked beings like him, or the senses of powerful cultivators. He focused on the intricate patterns glowing in front of him in awe but resisted touching it.
Lind had no desire to learn what it was like to crash an elevator made by cultivators.
The chamber finally stopped and Lind was nearly bowled over by the quality of materials in the plush carpeted hallway. Blue was the common wall decoration but there were small tables of dark wood with a couple of chairs set outside solid doorways.
Lind could not even scratch the protections here, but he only found the patterns intriguing. They were too high of a realm to understand for him, but he still loved to try! Lind suddenly noticed he was hearing stifled giggling. It was light hearted and joyful.
Lind blushed as he turned to find his attendant was trying hard not to laugh at him. He only had himself to blame.
"I like puzzles and cultivation is the ultimate puzzle. Sorry for being odd." Lind's bashful apology actually centered the girl and she bowed to him seriously .
"Honored guest, you have no need to apologize. You reminded me of my younger sister when she first started formations and it tickled me." Lind waved it off and held out his arm to let her guide him to their final destination.
She led him to a suite far from the elevators and Lind wondered if that was intentional but he saw her produce a key that was stronger than her cultivation from what he could sense. A solid thunk in the dark wood of the door revealed a flash of formations that disappeared too quickly to make out. Lind concentrated, but he could not see anything within the door.
A massive set of rooms lay beyond it. The depth was big enough in the main room to hold his Academy quarters twice over and there were 2 more rooms beyond that! Lind noticed a bed off to the right in one room and was stunned to realize the auction could go that long! The left room had a fully stocked kitchen and Lind's stomach returned in full force.
Before she could say a word, Lind flew across the room and quickly began to cook. He felt his nerves fall away as meat sizzled on a pan as Lind expertely controlled the fire to not over do it. There were eggs he did not recognize, but Lind began to fry those on a separate burner while he cut up some bread.
Lind expanded the 2 plates to some fruit and sandwiches. It was probably the fanciest food Lind had ever seen, but his long single life had given him a lot of practice to make food great. Humming an old theme song from the 1980s cartoons he used to watch, Lind bright out both plates and set them on the table in front of a couch facing a draped window.
Lind only then froze and looked bashfully at his attendant who was looking amused once again. Lind felt a flush fill his face before he bowed once more.
"I am sorry, senior, I have not eaten since last night. I did not know if you would like to join me for breakfast?" Lind saw a large smile spread over her face as she nodded and joined him on the couch. A light hearted conversation on what he made and seasonings ensued that was quite enjoyable.
Lind missed this. He missed talking to people. Younger Twin was training him, but only in the Sapphire Auction House did Lind reconnect with people after a year of isolation. Even if it was the lowest room, this was worth all the hassle in his mind.
"You are not as I expected, but in a good way." Irene was her name and Lind was confused. What had the rumors become about him to warrant those words? Lind felt a slight twitch in his forehead but nodded for her to continue. "You are a minor celebrity in the Lotus Empire, or perhaps an infamous person would be more accurate."
Lind tilted his head back to exhale but it was still refreshing to have someone to talk to on this subject as well.
"What did you think I was like?" Lind suddenly saw reticence on her face. Irene had been bubbly and happily chatting, but now she was hesitant. Lind instantly remembered what old Ye had said about information. "You know my history?"
The question prompted a quick nod and Lind felt a coldness enter his chest but he pushed it away. It was impossible to escape it and Irene obviously would be apprised of who she would be overseeing.
"I do not agree with how you have been treated, especially the tragic sacrifice to keep you in the Empire–" Lind exploded to his feet. Emerald flames instantly shot out as his staff extended to its full length. Rage was blooming nearly out of control in his heart but Lind saw the fear on Irene's face. It was like a bucket of cold water that extinguished everything.
"I apologize. I do not have a good memory of that." Lind saw Irene swallow and a tremor of a smile returned to her face. The closeness they had enjoyed was completely destroyed now.
"It was my fault, honored guest. The auction will start soon. Please let me know if you have any questions." Irene moved to the doorway and stood beside it. Clearly, the conversation was now over and Lind felt hollow inside. He was stunned at how easily his temper had been unleashed. Where had that come from? What happened to him exactly?
Lind grew concerned. His life on Earth easily gave him ideas that he was traumatized but what happened to make him nearly lose control of his Qi like that? He had been in excruciating pain and never let it slip like that. He had been lucky not to jump tiers just now. Lind contemplated the episode and waited for the curtain to rise on the auction.