Chapter 75: A Kind Invitation to the Sacred Land
"Bok-bok..."
"Hehe! And you acted like you could down a whole bottle! Lightweight! Urp~" Setting the bottle on the ground, An sat down beside the sleeping Baldi.
'Oh... Looks like because of the enriched alcohol from the fruits with their numbing and drowsy effects, the wine turned out stronger than I expected... Even though the alcohol content didn't change, its quality improved thanks to several modifications with Qi that I monitored while the wine was steeping... To be honest, I didn't expect to actually succeed in creating alcohol that could affect me.' In a state very similar to alcohol intoxication, he held the bottle before him and concentrated on the Qi flows emanating from it.
"Hic!" An tilted the bottle, barely holding it in his hands, and took a few more small sips.
'Hoo... This effect doesn't affect mental clarity at all, it just makes thoughts more fluid and sluggish... and my body feels like I'm floating on clouds.' Setting the bottle down beside him, keeping one hand on the neck, he turned to Baldi and shook one of his wings with his free hand.
'The effect... on the physical body is much more pronounced than on the mind... I don't just feel lightness, but also sluggishness and confusion... As if my body really is drunk.' He fell back onto the ground and, with a smile on his face, began examining the night sky.
"Strange... All three moons are aligning in a single line... And the stars in the sky seem to be growing fewer... I hope this means nothing and is just my imagination..." Lying on his back, he raised his hand before his face and caught the three moons between his thumb and forefinger.
With a silly grin on his face, he noticed another strangeness in himself. Recently, he had begun to feel something strange deep within his soul, as if his intuition was trying to whisper something to him, but not a single sound ever reached him.
'This batch of wine turned out excellent, even though the time it sat wasn't all that long. Still, it turned out great, almost perfect, you could say. Mutating the fruits by enriching them with my Qi through the Dao of Wood was a great idea... Even though it was tedious, especially the constant strain on my mind.' Sitting up, he glanced at the lake and the mountains beyond.
"I'll enjoy the view a little longer and then continue cultivating." Exhaling, he muttered under his breath.
A few weeks later.
'Hmm, I've finally filled my dantian to 97%... Even though I tried, I still couldn't reach the very peak of Qi Condensation...' Raising his head, An watched as a massive ship slowly sailed through the air.
'But this is better than nothing. Besides, if I understand correctly, the concentration of Qi inside this Sacred Land should be even higher than here. So I don't think it'll be a problem for me to reach the peak state there...'
Standing up, he waved his hand, and several pills flew out of the vials he had arranged on the shelves of the pavilion. He waved again, and the pills shattered into small piles.
Walking to the edge of the pavilion, he scattered the powder across the water's surface, and immediately fish of various sizes began fighting each other for a chance to snatch even a tiny particle, 'I still can't shake this strange feeling of unease. The closer the departure day gets, the stronger I feel that something is wrong...'
Turning around and surveying the area, he exhaled and, activating his Qi, began digging up the spirit plants he had previously planted, carefully placing them into his pouch.
After collecting everything, he turned and headed toward the two storage sheds, 'My spatial pouch can hold both sheds completely, but I'm not sure that's the right move... It would take up too much space.'
Examining both sheds, he ultimately decided to take everything out and store it in different corners of the pouch to avoid any issues.
After dismantling and storing everything, he looked around and spotted Baldi running along the shore. He called out. "Hey! Chicken! Come here!"
Baldi initially looked annoyed, but seeing the serious expression on An's face, he dropped everything and quickly ran over.
"I already told you I'm heading off to who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long... And if it weren't for this strange feeling of unease, I would have just inscribed your mark into the formation so you could come and go freely, so you wouldn't be trapped here like in a prison..." Exhaling, An patted his head.
"I'm giving you two choices. First: I buy a beast pouch and take you with me. Second: as I said before, I inscribe you into the formation, and you stay here alone." Saying this a little more slowly so the bird would fully understand, An fell silent and carefully observed how the gears were turning inside this feathered head.
The rooster pondered, rubbing his chin with his wing, imitating An when he usually thought. He made low sounds, as if weighing which option was better for him.
"Bok!" Baldi raised one wing up and looked at the man with a confident expression.
"The first one? Are you absolutely sure?" Raising an eyebrow, An asked again to make sure the bird had understood correctly.
In response, the rooster began nodding his head and clucking.
"Alright... Just don't complain when it's too late.." An grinned and patted his head.
Straightening up, he turned and walked toward the exit of the area.
"I'm going to get some provisions. I'll be back in a few hours." Waving his hand, he activated his Qi, took off, and flew toward the exit, deciding not to walk.
"Cluck!" Baldi nodded and, turning around, ran back to the shore to continue his business.
A few days later.
"Hmm?" Feeling a vibration in his pocket, An opened his eyes and pulled out the plaque.
'Inner Disciple An. You are ordered to appear at the Main Platform of the Outer Floating Island within two hours. Failure to appear is not permitted. In case of lateness, your case will be automatically transferred to the Hall of Justice for immediate resolution... Additionally...'
'Whoa, is it really that serious?' Reading the message, he was even slightly surprised. Only a small portion of the message was about what was required of him, the rest was filled with threats about what would happen if he didn't show up on time.
Putting the plaque back in his pocket, he stood up. "Time to go, Baldi." Turning to the rooster, he called him over.
Baldi hopped off his spot and ran over.
Whoosh!
The small pouch tied to his belt opened, and with a stream of air, it sucked Baldi inside, shrinking him hundreds of times in the process.
Sending a particle of Qi into the pouch, An sensed Baldi running around and exploring his new, temporary domain, a large meadow, even bigger than his own area, with a small lake in the center stocked with fish he had taken from the pond.
'I don't think he'll get too bored in there. Besides, I've prepared everything he might need.' He glanced at the fishing rod lying inside the pouch next to the lake, and several small bags of fruits and various feed he had bought on the main street of the Abodes.
After confirming everything was in order, he closed the beast pouch and, looking around one last time to make sure he had taken everything, he turned and headed toward the exit of his area.
Even a few kilometers from the Main Platform, he could already see the massive ship hovering in the distance, partially hidden by clouds.
Finally arriving, the ship was positioned right in the middle of the plaza, hovering about thirty meters above the ground.
The ship was made of a material very similar to metal. The hull was completely black, with a few red patterns near the bow and closer to the stern. This massive structure floated in the air with billowing white sails, looking both imposing and intricate.
Approaching closer, he saw a huge crowd of disciples. Among them were many he already knew, and quite a few from the same year as him.
Moving toward the disciples, he noticed many eyes on him. Though he didn't understand why so many were looking his way, he decided not to pay it any attention.
'Hmm, better find a spot at the very edge... They're already boring holes into the back of my head with their stares. Is it because of my alchemist status? But then how did they get my portrait?' As usual, he decided to stop only at the edge of the crowd to attract as little unwanted attention as possible.
Stepping away from the crowd, he simply sat down on the ground and pulled out a few first-rank fruits. Wiping them on his sleeve, he began eating them, savoring every bite.
About an hour into the wait, two figures appeared above the ship. Slowly descending from the clouds, they landed on the ship's deck.
"I greet every one of you! I'm sure you already know what lies ahead and the great hopes we place upon you! Such an opportunity usually comes only once in a lifetime! And you must understand that!" The woman in white robes with red patterns activated a technique to amplify her voice and began speaking, nearly deafening those below on the plaza.
"This trial will be the line that separates you from the majority, provided, of course, your will and character can cross it! Glory! Resources! Opportunities! A bright future!" She pressed her fist to her chest, and a slightly wild smile began creeping across her face.
Standing beside her, a young woman in similar robes hid her mouth behind her hand and giggled softly, watching her and the bewildered disciples below.
"...To achieve results, you must not forget that you are brothers and sisters of one Sect, a Righteous Sect! If you realize you lack strength, don't be afraid to ask your neighbor for help! Only unity will allow you to go further than anyone else!" Her eyes began to burn, and her smile grew stranger. Even the disciples below had started to notice, and they were growing uneasy.
'Is she the Peak Head of Dragon's Breath Peak? It's her and her nearly identical speech that I heard before being thrown into the Beast Lands...' Watching from the side, An slowly ate another fruit, not listening too closely to her speech.
"...Your opponents, the Demonic Path cultivators! They will show you no mercy! They will not pity you!.."
'Hmm... And beside her, if I'm not mistaken, is the Vice Peak Head, Lua Mou? I think that's right... Strange that they decided to send this particular pair.' Pulling out another fruit, An added a particle of Death Qi into it and destroyed it, turning it first into black ash, then simply into nothing.
"...At such a time, you must understand who your enemy is and who your friend is! Not a drop of trust to those demonic bastards! Not a drop of compassion!"
"Yes!"
"Elder Li Deng's words are true!"
"Woo!"
"That's right, those demonic freaks!"
After such an encouraging speech, the disciples' blood began to boil. Hatred for the demonic bastards began to spill out, and everyone started shouting at the top of their lungs, raising their hands and weapons in the air with hungry eyes.
'Most of the disciples have only reached the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.' An, resting his chin on his hand, began looking around, reading the energy of the disciples around him.
'Is it just me, or is this intentional? A large number of disciples are practically old-timers... Do they intend to use all of them as meat shields for the core disciples and their groups?' He noticed the groups of disciples standing at the center of the crowd. Most of them had ninth-layer cultivation, and several were dressed in robes distinct from the inner disciples. Instead of blue, they wore red-white and blue-white robes with unique patterns.
'So those are the core disciples? But why only four? And the rest, swarming around like flies, are their support groups?' Examining the four, he read the information from their Qi.
'Oh? Mo Fan only just broke through to the eighth layer... Isn't he a bit too confident? Or is this the confidence of this world's protagonist?' Among the four, one stood out, one quite familiar to him.
'Man... His entire group is basically his harem, isn't it? Why are the only ones standing near him all girls?' An grinned and even shook his head. Beside Mo Fan stood five people, four of them girls, and only one guy, also familiar to him: Shepor Dunt. Their group stood out significantly from the others. Everyone around them, when glancing either at the girls or at Mo Fan himself, immediately looked away, as if afraid of something.
'Even the icy Lin Xue is standing beside him... Seems I missed something interesting.' One of the four girls was Lin Xue. A girl with first-rank spiritual roots and a perpetually cold gaze, perfectly fitting the role of the protagonist's main love interest.
Lin Xue stood within the group but kept slightly more distance than the other three girls. With her blue eyes, deep and cold as the ocean, she carefully observed Mo Fan, watching how warmly and openly he conversed with the other girls beside him.
'The second one is Mi Mili, I think that's what she's calling herself now... The third is Xia Ji. What is she doing here? How did she end up in this group?' An immediately recognized Mi Mili, standing closest to Mo Fan. But seeing Xia Ji, he was greatly surprised.
'I'm certain this is Elder Shoa's doing, I just don't see how else it could have happened... Especially considering her vile temperament.'
Looking at her more closely, he even frowned, 'Seventh layer of cultivation, but the accumulation of poison is clearly taking its toll. Despite that, she's still forcing down cultivation pills.' Reading the information from her, he simply shook his head, not fully understanding this absurd situation she had gotten herself into.
'If she keeps this up, she probably won't live more than a few years... Her Qi is already beginning to slowly but steadily transform into Death Qi... Is that why she's here with such low cultivation? A chance to find a cure inside the Sacred Land?'
Suddenly, he noticed a tall girl with beige hair pushing through the crowd toward Mo Fan's group. With her warm blue eyes, she spotted Mo Fan, smiled, and waved.
'Ru Meng...' Seeing her face and remembering everything that had passed between them, his imprisonment twice, An was about to feel anger, but alas, he simply didn't care. His newly acquired calm wouldn't even let those thoughts ignite in relation to her.
'Though I've made peace with it and no longer feel any real negativity toward her... if she does something a third time, inside the Sacred Land, it'll be the last thing she ever does.' He watched as she rejoined Mo’s group, and they all began chatting amiably, trying to do so quietly because of the two elders, one of whom was still delivering her prepared speech.
"...And don't forget, don't take unnecessary risks! The Sect values your lives above all else!" Smiling, Li Deng waved her hand. And from the ship's side, a staircase began extending, descending closer and closer to the platform with the disciples.
"And now! Everyone aboard! The Sacred Land awaits us!"