Chapter 705


    Looking over the sea, what Anton really wanted was Paradise. Having a friendly lord of the sea would really do well for Inistra right now. Unfortunately even if Paradise himself were open to the idea, it would be a bit difficult to transport him four hundred lightyears.


    Then there was the matter of origin. Local beastmaster sects would be more valuable for such a task, whether they solely tamed beasts or treated them as partners. Ultimately, the difference for those who were effective tended to be minimal. There were exceptions like the Ultimate Phoenix Sect whose sect head was willing to sacrifice their beasts to preserve his own life, but most understood that a beast was as valuable as any of their other members.


    There was no amount of time that would allow Anton to know everything about a- at best, he could memorize the most well known sects and cultivators. The same was true of Inistra, so just because he couldnt think of any suitable candidates didnt mean they didnt exist.


    Jamh, Anton drew her attention for his following question, Do you know any beast cultivation sects that could tame deep sea creatures?


    She shook her head. Locally, we have very few. Some live off of the local wildlife, but the closest we have is the Lustrous Pearl Sect.


    What do they do?


    They raise big ms, for the sake of growing oversized pearls. Theyre valued for their looks and their properties for enchantments.


    Not exactly inspiring in theirbat prowess, Anton admitted. Though I suppose they could be useful fortifying areas in a defensive fashion. As he spoke, he was sweeping the whole Reef of Serenity. The whole thing was made up of variousponents, including central inds and sandbars that had been built up in various ways. That included intention depositions of stone, asionally shipwrecks that were left in ce, and coral growths among other things. What about them? Anton asked. Realizing Jamh couldnt sense what he meant, he borated. The coral guys.


    Coral cultivators? I suppose rock cultivators are useful for fortifying our harbors, but thats about it


    Corals are animals, Anton said.


    Sorry?


    Theyre little animals that make rocky homes. Often with some amount of algae along with them for the sake of photosynthesis.


    I have heard that, I suppose, Jamh said. I never really studied them closely.


    Why not? Anton asked. How long have you lived here?


    My whole life.


    And you havent taken a close look at coral? Theyre so interesting! Anton said. You should.


    Im not going to change my style of cultivation.


    Anton grinned, I wasnt saying you should. I was just saying you should know as much as possible about everything local. I can still remember every nook and cranny of my forest Though it had changed greatly since he became a cultivator, he still recognized the forest near old Dungannon.


    Will this help deal with the looming threat of a sea beast tide?


    It will make you more rxed and happy, Anton replied. Or you might hate them, but I doubt it. Every living thing is worth taking a close look at. Anton stepped forward. Im going to go talk to that coral sect.


    Good luck, I suppose, Jamh said.


    -----


    The first target Anton picked out was a woman with hair bleached white by age and the sun, naturally dark skin pigmentation a shade deeper from thetter. The winkled woman was not the strongest among the coral cultivators, nor did she seem to have a ce among the elders. Nor did Anton detect great talent- after all, at her age one would expect more from her cultivation. Instead, he chose her because she looked happy.


    Found an interesting one? he asked, moving next to the woman as she floated on the surface and peered into the waters below.


    Theyre all interesting, she said without even turning to look. Look at these, like rainbow flowers in bloom. Almost makes you want to pick them up and pretend theyre a bouquet.


    That would probably be a problem, Anton said. Theyd dry out.


    Plus the toxins, the woman said. That wouldnt be great for you either.


    Anton focused his senses on them more closely. The toxins werent actually that difficult to detect, though in Antons estimation they were fairly weak. Then again, on the scale of creatures basically unaugmented by energy the toxins were probably quite deadly. So no eating them?


    The woman turned towards him. Im afraid not. A pleasure to meet you, Im Cahya.


    Despite her looks, if Anton were to judge her by her cultivation she should be somewhere around half his age. Perhaps even less, closer to one hundred and fifty than one hundred and seventy. But that was just an estimation. She was younger than his granddaughters despite their effective youth, but with them being Ascension cultivators most people were younger by a great margin. Nice to meet you. Im Anton.


    Ive heard of you, she said.


    From who? Anton asked.


    My nephew Danial, she said. Hell surpass me in cultivation soon enough, it seems.


    That doesnt have to be the case, you know, Anton said. I bet I can help you stay ahead for a while, at least.


    Why? Cahya asked.


    Because I am invested in cultivators being strong enough to survive.


    She shook her head. But why me? And why should I care about my cultivation?


    He looked at the woman carefully. This was not a woman who had given up on life. On the other hand, she also didnt seem particrly concerned to be aware that her end woulde. As far as he could tell, it didnt really matter to her either way. Arent you happy? Wouldnt you like to live another two decades, or ten?


    Might be nice, she said. Can imagine Id ever reach Life Transformation, though.


    Its not impossible, Anton said. Youd just have to want it.


    Then, it <em>is</em> impossible, she said. Im fine as I am now. Dont need to be stronger.


    And a longer life means nothing to you?


    Should it?


    I would at least expect you to prefer prolonging your current enjoyment.


    Only if that canst, she shook her head. I couldnt do much in the war, and I doubt Ill do much in this next one. Against the beasts.


    I believe an Essence Collection cultivator should have some effect, Anton said. Id imagine you to be capable ofbat in the sea just fine.


    Im not that strong, she said. And have no prospects nor interest in bing stronger.


    So that was it. Thetter might be true, but I can guarantee your prospects arent hopeless. If youre not interested in growing stronger, might I suggest other reasons to cultivate diligently?


    Suggest as you will, she smiled vaguely.


    Youll get to spend more time among the coral. And your nephew will probably be d to have you around.


    A nice thought, Cahya said. But if I spend half my time cultivating and half among the coral for a decade, its just the same as spending all my time among it for the next five years. And maybe Ill be killed after five regardless.


    What if I told you that you could not only cultivate all the time but also spend that time doing what you love? All for the low, low price of listening to an old man for a while.


    Pretty steep actually, Cahya grinned. But Ill take the chance. What insights do you have?


    Me? Anton asked. He looked at the coral. They like sunlight.


    Thats pretty obvious.


    Thats the only one I had, Anton shrugged. But its not about what insights <em>I</em> have. Its about yours. Its quite simple to glean insights from simple interest. And quite conveniently, there should be a route to improve yourself in the same way as the corals grow.


    Im a bit solitary to have a whole colony, Cahya exined. I joined the sect out of convenience, really.


    But it fit you, did it not?


    On the surface, she agreed. But eventually, I determined many points of contention.


    A method that doesnt quite fit you almost as if it might be <em>imperfect</em>, Antonmented.


    So youre selling a perfect cultivation method? Cahya asked. You could find someone with more money.


    Ill consider that, when I have a perfect cultivation method. But unfortunately, the only one it will be perfect for is myself. As for you, I have studied many methods. If we establish motivation for you, I can help you deal with areas of energy control that might trouble you. Or be a sounding board for insights. He pointed to something that looked vaguely akin to a vine waving in the currents. Is that also a coral?


    Soft-bodied kind, Cahya exined.


    I see, Anton said. It has the color and <em>feel</em>, but theyre all quite different. I know the surface details about them, but Id like to hear more. Oh, and I would suggest circting your cultivation as you study them. Dont concern yourself with being slow about it. I guarantee it will be worth the effort, and it might even be better than hours sitting in a room meditating about words on a page.


    Anton took his own advice, not that he ever really stopped. If he wanted to, he could say in constant daylight but he found that rest and night were good for him, even if he didnt necessarily need to sleep. Perhaps that made him less like the sun, but so be it. Or maybe they just hid their rest cycles better.


    -----


    The arrival of the sword saint on Yaitis came with a clear threat- the promise of death. Chidi clutched his chest as he felt the promise of bisection, no- being minced into tiny little pieces. All that, and the Augmentation cultivator was still on the far side of the as far as he could discern.


    Whats wrong? Aconite asked.


    The sword saint has arrived, Chidi said. He could feel the de, though just barely beneath the rage of its wielder. He felt a strange malice from the weapon itself, but he couldnt quite pick out the reason. It almost felt like the de hated its master. Or perhaps that was him projecting. Regardless of his interpretation, the feeling faded quickly. Even an Augmentation cultivator could not project their energy so strongly forever. It was a simple taunt- but not for Chidi. Though perhaps he felt a sliver of disdain for him personally. No, the clearly intended recipient would be grandmaster Chikere. And he had no doubt she would be on her way to face the sword saint soon enough.


    Should we inform someone?


    Chidi hadnt even considered that. It just seemed natural to him that everyone would have felt that. But the moment he set about to find someone, he felt it.


    des shing. Had Chikere been waiting for him where hended? Chidis legs gave out from under him as he focused everything on feeling the tiniest traces of the battle. He wanted to be there, though he had the feeling that if he was he would die- regardless of anyone intentionally attacking him.


    Chidi, Aconite nudged him worriedly.


    Sorry. Im feeling the battle, he said from his position sprawled out on the ground. He realized how she got there. Chikere could cut through space, hed seen her do it. Though she didnt do so when traveling with him. Possibly because she couldnt, or didnt feel like it. More likely, it would have overwhelmed him. Hed thought hed experienced her serious, but just the tiniest traces of the battle reaching him made him tremble.


    Could anything survive around them?


    He felt the power of the sword saint, a power far greater than Rakiyas Integration cultivation. Chikere was good, but was she good enough to survive <em>that</em>? The battle raged on for minutes. Perhaps she was.


    Then, space tore apart next to him. Chikere stumbled out, surrounded by fifty des. She fell to one knee. Blood dripped down her body in great rivers. Chidi could feel the lingering intent behind the shes, cuts, and stab wounds.


    It wasnt just her body that was wounded. Chidi felt nicks in her des, which he knew were always kept pristine. Then there was her recement arm, her right. It was dangling from her right shoulder, cut through in many ces. It barely managed to clutch a broken sword between its fingers.


    The worst part of her visage, however, was the trails running down her face that <em>werent</em> blood. Though theposition of tears wasnt all that different from blood, Chidi could distinguish between them well enough.


    Dammit Chikere said, her muscles trembling. Why why did it have to happen like this?


    Chidi brought himself to attention. Grandmaster. Please tell me what happened. He was going to have to get her to treat her wounds, but perhaps hearing the story from her would distract her from her pain. Or perhaps it would make it worse.