"Kai, barrier!" Aina shouted.
I immediately rushed towards the breach. The air whistled in my ears from the speed of my run—the highest level of concentration combined with the acceleration technique worked wonders! And why does everyone say it's trash? Because of the huge Qi losses? That's not a problem for me. A swing of the blade and another portion of Qi flows into me. Aina just nods gratefully and hurriedly begins to patch up the formation.
There were surprisingly many monsters here, and our druid still can't subdue the blood tree after half an hour. I was starting to worry about him, but Tia Lin assured me with full confidence that he was fine, while not being distracted from creating another swarm of moths. I'll need to find out what these Dao-partners are. Another item on the long list of things I need to learn about.
Fighting the creatures wasn't difficult, especially with such support. Yes, they were fast, strong, and could easily tear apart most practitioners, but our team's abilities complemented each other too well for this to be too dangerous. So it all turned into a routine. I couldn't help but smile at this thought. The usual routine of a cultivator—fighting terrible monsters under the canopy of a sentient blood tree. I seem to be getting used to the new life.
At some point, the creatures howled particularly horribly. Dozens of shadows flickered among the trees, and they all rushed forward simultaneously. Apparently, Maple decided to throw all his remaining forces at us at once. I was about to fend off new breakthroughs when something unexpected happened. Suddenly, blood-red roots started crawling out from under the ground, but instead of attacking us, they grabbed the cerberus and pulled them down. Moreover, the creatures weren't killed, just immobilized. Looking towards the tree practitioner, I confirmed my guess. The cocoon had disintegrated, and Ark Lin, pale as death, was looking at the monsters.
"Decided to contribute," he shrugged.
"Did it work?" Aina asked.
"Of course. Now we just need to fill the vessel," he took out a small flask from his belt. And we risked our lives for this? I thought it would be a huge jug. Maybe the flask has a spatial pocket? But watching the practitioner, I realized that wasn't the case. The flask was the same inside and out. A thick red liquid was slowly dripping into it from a crack that opened in the tree trunk. Very slowly, and the flow was only weakening with each second. I hope it was worth it.
"And the cerberus?" the girl glanced at the creatures. "Kai, finish them off, please."
"No need!" the cultivator suddenly exclaimed. "We've already thinned their population too much, these are the last ones. Without symbiosis with them, Maple might suffer."
"Alright," Aina narrowed her eyes.
She clearly didn't like how easily the monsters broke through her vaunted protective barrier. What can you do? Their claws were literally natural anti-magic weapons. I grabbed a couple for myself while no one was looking. I hope they don't lose their properties. The roots were already starting to drag the lifeless bodies of the monsters deep into the earth.
"Done, we can go," he cheered us up after half an hour of waiting.
And again, the road through the forest. It's beautiful here, no matter how you look at it. Or maybe I just like the feeling that no one wants to kill me? No one rational, I corrected myself when some creature that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a hedgehog flew at us. I mean, ears from one and rows of ice needles on the back from the other.
"Don't kill it," the cultivator suddenly said. "It's not dangerous."
I just smirked, but the rabbit-hedgehog did indeed run away after studying us intently with its red eyes.
"What, have you learned some heavenly law and now can't kill anyone?" Aina hissed.
"What? No, these creatures just stink terribly, we wouldn't be able to wash it off for a week," he explained.
So it was a rabbit-hedgehog-skunk? What nonsense sometimes comes to mind. Although the local nature doesn't cease to amaze either. We continued without incident. Along the way, I managed to get the guy to talk about how he mastered two elements at once. It turns out he's not unique. There are many sects practicing this direction, but everywhere there's a nuance. The more elements, the harder it is for the practitioner to move to the next level. They conflict inside, strive to get out of control. They require many times more Qi for development, and techniques for such a double element are hard to find. In short, it's difficult for a practitioner to comprehend the dao of two elements. Without the support of a strong clan or sect behind your back, it's better not to step on this path.
The arrival at the Grove happened rather routinely. No one rushed to meet us with joyful embraces, and even the boat wasn't lying in burning debris. The disciples continued to collect plums into baskets and for some reason glared angrily at us. Well, not at us. At me. Wait, I didn't understand, what evil did I manage to do to them again?
"You've finally returned," So Yun met us on the flying ship. "I assume successfully?"
"The essence of the Blood Maple, Lady So," he handed her the flask.
"Wonderful, my dears, you've worked well. You may go. I would advise you to start cultivating while you have the opportunity. This place has simply unique Qi," with a bow, my companions hurried to leave the ship. I was about to follow them when a voice with notes of steel sounded behind me. "And you, Kai, I'll ask to stay."
"Was the plum delicious?" she asked as soon as we were alone. And there was such sarcasm in her voice that I realized—I was in trouble.
"Poisonous?" I immediately assumed the worst.
"No," she snorted.
"Then alright. The plum was very tasty," I remembered the original question.
"It's just too expensive for all students to eat it in a row. And so openly," she added more quietly. "By all rights, I should take away a couple hundred points from you for wasting sect property..."
"But?"
"But I just can't be angry at my little Kai," she laughed. It sounded somewhat ambiguous, but I didn't clarify. Since the boss's anger had passed, everything was fine. Or not everything?
"And you didn't happen to take points from other students?" I inquired cautiously.
"Only from a couple of particularly gluttonous ones," she giggled. "Now to serious matters. I couldn't help but notice that your spiritual power seems to have become more ordered. May I?"
Without waiting for my permission, structured Qi flows flew into me again. I was enveloped by a wave of coolness, and the next moment I saw So Yun's thoughtful face.
"Curious," she drawled. "Do you know that your probable healing has suddenly come much closer?"
"I suspected something like that," I nodded in response. So my inner feelings were confirmed by the words of a competent specialist. It means that the heavenly rank technique has not only the declared properties. A chill ran down my spine at this thought. The mountain plateau and the vision of an unfamiliar practitioner immediately came to mind. What if, in addition to everything else, there's something harmful or even dangerous hidden in the technique? Quickly scrolling through all the knowledge about it in my head, I didn't find anything like that. Only the possibility of energy absorption, but is that really it? There's not a word about healing either. What can I say, I don't even know half of everything about the features of local techniques.
"Any guesses why?" she looked me in the eyes. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I'll understand."
"Possibly it's due to my cultivation technique," I sighed, summoning Pure Fire. I didn't want to lie or refuse, so I'll make do with a half-truth.
A tiny flame danced in my palm. The Flame of Life, as the system proudly called it. And I couldn't disagree with it. This flame made my pain recede and healed spiritual wounds. I fairly assumed that it would work the same on others.
"This... What kind of technique is this? Even in the Phoenix sect, I haven't heard of anything like it," she stared at the fire, enchanted. "Where did you get it? This technique is a true heavenly treasure!"
"Princess Lin helped," I averted my gaze. I could proudly declare that I invented this technique myself, but... That was the old Kai. A boy genius capable of creating a spiritual rank miracle from scratch. I was just gathering crumbs from his table. I don't want to take credit for someone else's achievements. Maybe locals would consider me a fool, but it seems to me that Heaven, whatever that means, wouldn't approve of such a thing.
"Princess Lin? I don't know any Princess Lin. In my memories, there's only a little girl with that name. Surely you're not talking about her? Lin, who was bullied even by her own family? The girl Lin who couldn't master even the simplest techniques? The girl who was hated in the Shen clan even more than you?" from her gaze, my heart sank somewhere into my heels, and my chest tightened. Some strange feeling settled in my soul. As if belonging to the old Kai, but now a little bit to me too. And I already knew what to answer.