Your number one and number two concerns are going to be weapons and combat spells. I’ve spent the last few months tweaking the Vast Darknorth Sea Art into something a little more flavorful, and it’s way too soon to start worrying about pills and supplements. Especially given the utterly dogswater alchemy standards in this place. Mmm… we still haven’t beaten shame into the profession yet. That can be priority number three.
“Grandpa, I know you look down on alchemists, but-”
They cost me two hundred years of accumulated energy. Them and that… being. Yet they still swan around and tell people theirs is the number one profession, best in the world for earning big. You tell me if I should be mad. Oh, I’ll probably release my anger once we burn a few laboratories and promote things that aren’t dribbling insanity, but until then, every alchemist is a bastard. I’ll pass along the upgraded Darknorth Sea art tonight. The changes at this stage are subtle, but they will grow in effectiveness over time.
“I wondered about upgrading Heavenly Swallows. Is it possible?”
Possible, but not worthwhile at this time. What I will do, however, is suggest you spend some time nurturing your darts every day with your qi. Make it a focused thing you do, don’t just leave them on your person or something. With time, you can raise them into proper Heavenly Realm darts. There is still a great deal of virtue to exploit in that art.
“My palm arts?”
Earthly Realm, no potential for upgrading. Dragon Suppressing Palms included, I’m afraid. Still slightly effective if you are fighting up close and personal, mind you, but expect the people you fight to have hidden armor, life saving treasures, special spells, special body refinement techniques… Heavenly palm arts exist, and these aren’t it. Sorry. Moon Crossing the Lake shouldn’t be messed with.
“Oh? We got that off Suneater, I can’t imagine it's very good in the greater world.”
Mid-fourth rate, though since it is so suitable for you, I’d classify it as a weak upper fourth rate. The reason it shouldn’t be messed with is that it’s not actually particularly well designed from a technical perspective. Solid conceptual throughline, and I can see that its creator had exposure to decent arts, but it feels like a sophomoric effort from someone who wasn’t top of their class in the first place.
“The ability to travel between lakes, though…”
Is the best thing about it, yes. And I am sincerely hoping that by the time you can use it, we will have found better evasion and travel arts. Grandson, qi is the energy of the universe. The sheer scope of what can be done with it, even at this foundational level, is incredible. So far, we have been getting by on “usable,” but never confuse that with something being truly powerful or sophisticated. It would be a shame to obsess over things that just aren’t worth it.
Tian mulled it over, then shrugged. Lunch was absolutely fantastic. The lack of qi in the food was unfortunate, but the sheer pleasure that came from not cooking it in the first place was impossible to overstate. The tea, however, was disappointing. He could tell it was a very decent green tea, freshly picked and roasted, properly stored, but it tasted hollow. The lack of qi in the water and the tea left it feeling empty, like a body without a soul.
“Where to first? Get passes and check out the city?” Liren asked. Tian shook his head.
“No use. We aren’t ready, and won’t be for a long while. Our first stop should be that Nimu warehouse, just to see if there isn’t a fortuitous encounter waiting for us. I would also like to… drop by… another warehouse, but we aren’t really ready for that either. We don’t know how to disguise ourselves and I know you are feeling what I’m feeling right now. We need to be headed south. I say we try to run down our old censor friend. If he isn’t the “magistrate” we are looking for, I’d bet he knows who to ask.”
Tian didn’t see the old ghost behind him sagging with disappointment. The two left the tea house and made their way through the narrow streets. The crowd of people around Tian, even if they weren’t physically touching him, pressed against him. He quickly figured out it was their awareness. The interplay of shen and qi started becoming more obvious. The attention shaped the qi, and he could feel the qi. Mortals were like a faint breeze, Earthly Realm cultivators were a stronger breeze, and there were Heavenly Realm experts indiscreetly “keeping an eye on things,” which felt like a rising gale. A thousand different winds, all blowing with different intensities, coming and going without rhyme or reason.
Flying, in addition to being faster and looking domineering, would also keep you out of the storm of attention. Worth considering. There was certainly no escaping the surveillance of all those Heavenly peers of theirs. A break-in would only succeed long enough for their ‘colleagues’ to swoop in and snatch what Tian had rightfully stolen.
The Nimu Caravan Company had an office and a warehouse near the entrance to the lower town. The wagons were in excellent condition, from what Tian could see, and appeared well maintained. The office itself looked uncanny. It should, logically, pose no possible threat to a pair of Heavenly Realm cultivators. And yet, Tian couldn’t shake the feeling he was going to catch something diabolical just by standing near it. “Dilapidated” wasn’t quite right. It looked structurally sound. It just projected an aura of imminent collapse.
The blue flag with a white ox carrying the moon in its horns was bright and clean. That was something.
“You ever see a flag like that before?”
“Nope. Not in any of your history books?” Liren asked.
“Not a one.”
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“Huh.”
The two knocked, then went in. There was a desk, a little stove, and an old man who appeared to be first cousin to a tree stump.
“Good afternoon. We heard that you occasionally sold cultivator artifacts?” Tian asked.
“Good afternoon to you. We sell lots of things. Things we can identify, we sell straight away. Things we can't get put on the tray. We are pretty good at identifying things at this point, so there isn’t a whole lot on the tray. Take a look. You see something you like, we can dicker over the price.”
He waved a weathered arm towards a table with a cloth covering it. Tian cupped his fist, bowed slightly, and walked over to the tray.
“We also need good tents for traveling, food, high quality charcoal, tea… anything you have for sale suitable for cultivators.” Liren took over the conversation as Tian lifted away the cloth.
“Most of what we have is for mortals, or those in the Earthly Realm.” The caravaneer grinned, leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken. Tian looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Liren. This mortal was sharp.
“Heavenly Realm. Show me what you haven’t consigned or sold yet.”
“An honor to have you in my humble office. It’s not much, but here’s the list.” He didn’t sound particularly honored. He was polite, but just polite. The mortals of Mountain Gate City seemed to treat Immortals like nobility, rather than gods. Powerful, yes, but not something alien.
Tian ignored the outraged sputters he was hearing from Liren and examined the tray.
“Grandpa? Could you lend a hand?”
Oh yes, indeed I can! Mostly trash, and I mean that literally, I’m not being condescending. See that bit of metal that looks folded over and has strange patterns running through it? It’s literally something that was folded over a few times, and those patterns are part of a larger construction. I’d say a failed array component someone scrunched up in a fit of rage and threw away.
Tian blinked. It had never occurred to him that would be something that happened, and in retrospect, he couldn’t think why he didn’t think of it. It was still quite rich in qi, he could feel the metal qi radiating off of it in little prickles. It was just trash. He shook his head and looked around the tray.
Bone fragment, contains a piece of the natal rune of a shangyang, if it was intact it would be a little useful, but not very. And it’s not intact. Trash. A length of wood… ah, I see what happened there. Constant exposure to water and heat, plus they used a weird varnish. Over time, it deformed. I’d say… the bracing strut from something roughly side-table sized. Shame, it was decent quality wood. Trash.
Tian felt the corner of his mouth twitch. It seemed treasure hunting was not such an easy way to pick up money.
Oh, this is special.
“What is it, Grandpa?”
A toasting fork with a heating element built in. The idea is that you can toast the outside of something in a hot fire, while gently roasting the inside of it at the same time. And it works too. I bet everyone just thought it was an underpowered or broken weapon. I’d say it was working as intended. Must have belonged to a chef, or someone with a real interest in cooking. I wouldn’t bother, personally.
There was a jar the size of Tian’s chest, covered in seals and with a big sign hanging from it reading “YOU OPEN IT, YOU BOUGHT IT. WARNING. VERY SMELLY. WARNING.”
The jar actually has some very nice stuff in it, and we should grab it. It is the best thing here, and it’s not even close. Hmm. See that busted horn cup? It’s made from… I’m going to say some kind of minorly spiritual antelope. Still at the Heavenly Realm, so it can be of some use. You can break it into slivers and refine them into darts pretty easily. Worth it if the price is right. The small silvery tablet covered in barely legible writing looks promising, but unfortunately, it’s a trap. Someone was doing some etching on top of it and the letters partially transferred through. It’s a record of some old baron’s great achievement building a bridge. The metal just has a lot of chromium in it, naturally shiny.
Yeah, everything else is just trash, or useless, or useless trash. Grab the jar and the cup. Actually, tell Liren you want the busted cup for materials, and insist that the old timer throw in the jar for free.
“Why, what is it?”
I can’t say. He’s too sharp and will pick up on your reactions. He already knows you’re interested. Go on.
Tian did, and the conversation went as expected. The old caravaneer got “the palpitations” hearing the word “free,” and needed a strong drink to recover himself. Tian could feel his nosehairs singing from four feet away. Then he offered a price that had Tian near to fainting, sending him reeling until he collapsed against a corner of the wall. There was only one chair in the office, and the caravanner was sitting in it.
After the caravanner and Hong exchanged four rounds, Tian couldn’t stand it any longer. He staggered over and tugged Liren’s sleeve. “Sis. It’s not worth it. It can’t be worth all this. Let’s just kill and rob people. Bad people. At least that way I’ll feel clean.”
“You walk off battlefields literally covered in blood and gore. I have seen actual demons that looked less upsetting than you.” Liren rolled her eyes at him.
“Yes, but I wasn’t dirty on the inside. Let’s just go.”
“Alright, alright! Stop looking at me with those eyes. Like a kicked puppy. Heavens, boy, haven’t you ever haggled?”
“No.”
That made the old man stop and give him an odd look. “Then how do you live?”
“I eat wild grasses, and whatever I can find on the mountains and rivers. I hunt. Sometimes I solve people's problems, and receive rewards. Other times, I just kill them and take their stuff. Bad people. I can promise you that. But quite often, I am surprised by the kindness and generosity of those I meet.”
The weathered old man gave him a long look, then a second long look. Then shook his head. “Yeah, alright, just you remember that the Nimu Caravan Company is nothing but good people. Ten spirit stones for the cup, and we’ll say a silver for the jar so long as you swear not to open it within ten miles of a major road and a hundred miles of Mountain Gate City.”
“Done.” Liren handed over the money and collected the goods. “By the way, do you know what the road conditions are like as we head down south?”
“How far south?”
“All the way.”
“Don’t go unless you want a hell of a fight. Green River still has bandits aplenty, but it’s the most manageable river that heads even roughly south. And I mean no disrespect, but I am taking your high cultivation into account. The Heavenly People aren’t bandits themselves, but some of the various Fortresses are backed by powerful cultivators. Once you hit the steppes, you might as well be out of the Broadsky Kingdom. The tribes have their own magics. I don’t know much about that, but our cultivators never managed to finish them off. Beat them, yes, but not finish them off.”
The old man gave them a toothy grin. “Safe travels.”