Vessel of Worlds

The portly artifact master produced twelve low-grade spirit stones and tossed them to Andy. "Junior Nephew Zhao, here's your monthly stipend. I'm going to have Junior Nephew Lu assign you a mid-tier forging chamber—the fire there is stronger and more stable. For every block of refined copper you produce, you'll receive one low-grade spirit stone as a bonus. For a premium block like that one, five spirit stones. The more you produce, the more you earn—no ceiling. If you keep performing at this level, I'll pass on some of my personal forging techniques to you."

Andy had his complaints—Artifact Master Kuang was essentially treating him as cheap labor. The refined copper he was producing would fetch at least ten times the "bonus" offered if sold at a market. But his face showed nothing but delight. "Thank you, Artifact Master. I'll work twice as hard. I hope you'll continue to guide me in the art of forging."

Satisfied with Andy's eager compliance, the artifact master turned to Ma Gao and Fang Fu. "As for you two—your results this time were poor, with more wasted material than usable product. Normally there would be consequences. But in light of Junior Nephew Zhao's performance, I'll let it go this time. Apply yourselves more diligently going forward. If either of you produces premium-grade refined copper, the same rewards apply."

He tossed them each a few low-grade spirit stones, then with a sweep of his broad sleeve, swept up all the successfully refined copper blocks from the floor—leaving the failed pieces untouched. With his haul collected, Artifact Master Kuang strolled out of the Hall of a Hundred Forgings at his leisure. All four of them bowed and watched him go.

"Junior Brother Zhao, you really do have a gift for forging," Lu Wen said once the artifact master was out of earshot. "Getting assigned a mid-tier forging chamber right off the bat—Artifact Master Kuang must think highly of you. Don't forget about us humble brothers once you've made it big."

"You're too kind, Senior Brother Lu. I was just lucky, that's all," Andy replied with appropriate modesty, though inwardly he was exasperated. Lu Wen's two sentences had neatly painted a target on his back.

Sure enough, while both Ma Gao and Fang Fu offered congratulations, there was an unmistakable edge of hostility beneath the words. Andy sighed quietly to himself. There was nothing he could do about it. After a brief pause, the three collected a new storage pouch of refined copper ore from Lu Wen and headed back to the forging chambers.

When the two guards at the teleportation formation heard that Artifact Master Kuang had ordered a mid-tier chamber for Andy, they exchanged startled looks. Andy pretended not to notice. He turned in his "125" jade disc and received a new one marked "18."

Chamber 18 was roughly twice the size of the previous one, with two additional pairs of dragon-head fire outlets on the walls and a beast-hide meditation mat on the floor. Beyond that, it was much the same as chamber 125.

In this mid-tier forging chamber, Andy threw himself into diligent cultivation, and the days slipped by one after another.

Every month or two, he would leave the forging chamber to deliver his refined copper to Artifact Master Kuang in exchange for a modest handful of spirit stones. To avoid drawing too much attention, he mixed one block of slightly superior premium copper in among a dozen or so ordinary blocks—enough to keep the artifact master pleased without raising any eyebrows.

This routine continued for four or five months before Andy received a message relayed through an intermediary from Jian Xin'er: the Taixu Sect's biannual internal trading meet was about to be held on Guling Street. If Andy wanted to attend, he should come find her on Tiechuan Peak in half a month's time.

Andy had long since consumed the last of his pills and had been eager to acquire more. This was not an opportunity he was about to pass up. As long as he turned in a sufficient quantity of refined copper each month, Artifact Master Kuang left him and the other artifact disciples entirely alone—which, as far as Andy was concerned, was an arrangement that only increased his regard for the man.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

On the appointed day, Andy rode his Flying Plume to Tiechuan Peak. The peak faced Longshou Cliff across a deep gorge, its summit reaching into the clouds like the prow of a great ship—hence its name, "Iron Ship Peak." A single enormous boulder over a hundred zhang tall stood at the very top: the Mast Stone, the peak's signature landmark.

No large-scale formation barrier sealed this mountain. The only unusual feature was a cluster of narrow valleys around the midpoint of the mountain, perpetually wreathed in cloud—almost certainly the medicinal garden belonging to Jian Xin'er's Senior Uncle Sun. Jian Xin'er's duty was to help tend this garden, turning over a certain quantity of herbs each year and spending the rest of her time in free cultivation. It was an enviably light assignment.

Andy produced a red Message Talisman, whispered a few words to it, and sent it streaking into the clouds in a flash of red light. Moments later, Jian Xin'er's voice drifted out from the mist: "Right on time, Brother Wugen!" An instant later, a young woman in a pink dress appeared before him.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Andy blurted, staring.

"What, don't I look nice?" Jian Xin'er pouted.

Andy cleared his throat. "Of course you look nice. I'm just wondering if it might attract a bit too much attention."

"Oh, what does that matter? I'm so sick of that grey robe—it's hideous. Since Brother Wugen is kind enough to take me to the market today, I thought I'd wear something pretty." She smiled brightly.

"All right, let's get going then. It's quite a ways." Andy relented with a helpless shake of his head.

The two set off on their Flying Plumes, flying side by side toward Guling Valley.

"I heard that Brother Wugen is some kind of forging prodigy—produced premium refined copper in your very first month and got reassigned to a mid-tier forging chamber. Is that true?"

"It's not nearly as impressive as people make it sound. I just got lucky."

Along the way, the two fell into easy conversation, trading stories about their recent experiences and a few pieces of gossip from within the sect.

"Did you know, Brother Wugen, there's a cultivator in the sect with an Ice Spirit Root—a Senior Uncle Leng, not even thirty years old yet—who's already broken through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment? They're calling him the greatest cultivation genius the Taixu Sect has seen in a hundred years. That kind of aptitude is really something to envy. I wish I were a Variant Spirit Root cultivator."

"And there was a cultivator named Xin Yue—a senior sister who entered the Taixu Sect the same year I did. I heard she left the mountain some time ago and never came back. Everyone's saying she must have met with foul play. The cultivation world really is terribly dangerous."

"Senior Sister Xin has been missing for over half a year now. Her senior uncle asked about it a couple of times two months ago, and then never mentioned her again. None of the other disciples bring her up anymore either. People in the Taixu Sect can be so heartless."

……

Most of the talking came from Jian Xin'er, accompanied by frequent sighs and exclamations. Andy offered the occasional few words of commentary.

Two or three shichen later, the two arrived at Guling Valley. The valley was packed with several hundred buildings of every description, the vast majority lining both sides of a broad thoroughfare called Guling Street. A scattering of cultivators was already walking the street, and makeshift stalls had begun appearing in the open spaces along its edges. The scene reminded Andy immediately of Liuyun Market.

And of Liu Yingying. He had no idea what had become of her—whether she had married that Foundation Establishment cultivator or fled to some distant corner of the world. There had been no word at all.

The moment the two touched down on Guling Street, they felt a powerful force press upward through their Flying Plume artifacts, preventing them from taking off again.

"That's the Anti-Flight Formation," Jian Xin'er explained, seeing Andy's puzzled expression. "Probably to keep people from flying around inside the market and causing chaos. This whole street is covered by the formation—no aerial travel is permitted within its bounds."

Andy nodded. He had read about Anti-Flight Formations in one of the Archive's texts and knew the basics.

The two didn't rush to start shopping. Instead, they walked the full length of Guling Street first, surveying everything on offer. What Andy saw left him genuinely puzzled.

There were shops selling spirit herbs, magical artifacts, talismans, raw materials, and cultivation texts—all of which he expected. But there were also several establishments that looked exactly like the mundane world's restaurants and teahouses. Even more baffling were the shops selling women's clothing, cosmetics, rouge, and face powder—the sort of things mortal women used—and there were seven or eight of them.

If not for the talisman and artifact shops right next door, he might have thought he had come to the wrong place entirely.

Jian Xin'er took one look at the bewilderment written all over Andy's face and burst out laughing.