Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 1084: Tales of the Realm

The morning sun rose over the silver grove and cast a warm glow across the abandoned campsite. Li Yu sat on a smooth rock and watched the embers of the fire slowly fade into gray ash as he gathered his belongings and prepared to resume their journey west alongside his three companions. The bizarre interaction with Elder Jin still lingered in the back of his mind but the departure of the two sisters didn’t change much for Li Yu.The sudden betrayal by Seline did not change his worldview or leave a lasting scar on his mind. It simply served as a firm reminder to always be careful regardless of the situation at hand. A cultivator needed to stay vigilant and ensure proper protection from schemes even when extending a helping hand to those in need.

He helped them out of kindness and Elysia provided the necessary safety net to prevent a disaster. It was a practical lesson on balancing mercy with caution and he accepted it without holding any lingering doubts in his mind.

"Are we ready to move?" Faen asked while adjusting the straps on her boots.

"Yes, but not for a while." Li Yu replied while standing up and brushing the dirt from his dark robes. "We will keep a steady pace today. The training period is drawing to a close very soon and I want to just enjoy the remaining time we have in this realm."

Before leaving the clearing, Li Yu reached into his storage ring and pulled out a smooth green jade slip. Elder Jin gave this item to him right before tearing open the spatial rift the previous night. It contained the compiled intelligence reports gathered by the Zhan and Li clans during their time here. The two families shared information freely and cataloged the experiences of their younger generation to measure their overall progress.

Li Yu sent a thread of spiritual sense into the artifact and a flood of text poured into his mind. The jade slip fed a highly organized stream of text and transcribed field reports directly into his mind. He saw the careful written accounts of his cousins and peers as they documented their navigation of the foreign territories. Li Yu decided to review the official reports while they walked down the dirt road to pass the time and learn what the others had accomplished during their time here. This was another form of gossip and Li Yu simply could not resist himself.

The first document detailed the journey of Zhan Feng. He was a talented cousin at the Law Integration realm who ventured far to the frozen north. Zhan Feng spent his weeks exploring a treacherous mountain range known for its violent storms and sharp wind currents. According to the written summary, he sought a quiet place to break through a stubborn bottleneck but stumbled upon a hidden waterfall instead.

The report noted that the water flowing down the high cliff possessed a heavy spiritual pressure that pushed most wild beasts away from the area. Zhan Feng wrote about forcing his way through the crushing cascade and discovering an ancient cavern hidden directly behind the roaring water. He documented how the walls were lined with glowing purple crystals that pulsed with a strange rhythm and illuminated the dark stone.

Zhan Feng went on to detail how he ventured deeper into the cave and triggered a series of ancient trials left behind by an unknown sect. Stone warriors carved from dense granite animated from the walls and attacked him with flawless executed martial techniques. His report included a tactical breakdown of the three day battle where he fought without taking a single rest.

He relied on his sword arts and fluid movement techniques to dismantle the golems one by one. Zhan Feng was one of the few within the Zhan family that used a sword compared to the more barbaric weapons the Zhan Clan was known for. The continuous combat pushed him to his utmost limit and forced him to refine his understanding of the sword in real time.

When the final stone warrior crumbled into dust, a hidden door groaned open to reveal a small stone chamber. Zhan Feng wrote that resting on a pedestal in the center of the room was a rusted metal box covered in intricate array formations. He managed to pry the box open and found a single golden pill alongside a weathered scroll. The pill radiated a potent aura that helped him immediately break through his bottleneck and enter the Domain King realm and helped him form a more solid foundation.

However, the scroll presented a mystery that remained unsolved. Zhan Feng noted the text was written in a dead language that none of the scholars back at the base camp could decipher. The scroll pulsed with void energy and seemed to be the first part of a much larger inheritance scattered across the cosmos.

Zhan Feng secured the item and brought it back for the clan treasury but the true nature of the ancient cave remained an enigmatic puzzle waiting for a sharper mind to solve. Li Yu found the breakdown impressive and admired the endurance his cousin displayed. He was also curious about the scroll and surely one of the elders will go to that place and investigate it further.

Li Yu shifted his focus to the next report in the jade slip as he walked alongside Borum. This report came from Li Shi who was a rising star in the Li clan currently residing at the Paragon realm. She traveled to the lush southern jungles and found herself entangled in the local politics of the native inhabitants.

Li Shi filed a detailed account of discovering a hidden valley brimming with Starfire Lotuses. These were rare herbs used to concoct pills that expanded the internal Qi sea and fortified the meridians. A single lotus could fetch a staggering price in any auction house across the realms. However, she noted the valley was guarded by a fierce tribe of wood elementals who worshipped the fiery flowers as sacred artifacts gifted by the heavens.

Instead of drawing her weapon and taking the herbs by force, Li Shi chose the path of diplomacy and documented the interaction as a guide for future contact. She transcribed her negotiation with the tribal chief whose body was made of twisted roots and glowing green vines.

'We do not seek to destroy your sacred grounds,' Li Mei quoted herself in the report. 'We are alchemists and cultivators who understand the value of life. If you allow me to harvest three mature lotuses, I will provide your tribe with Spirit Nurturing Pills and other types of pills. These pills will accelerate the growth of your young saplings and strengthen your defensive borders against the encroaching beasts.'

She then recorded the response of the tribal chief to highlight the inherent distrust locals held toward outsiders.

'The outsiders always bring deceit and ruin to our lands,' the chief had replied according to her transcript. 'You ask for our sacred flames and offer small beads of energy in return. Why should I trust your words?'

'Because I have the strength to take them by force but I am choosing to stand here and offer a fair trade,' Li Shi wrote as her final counter argument. Her report detailed how she let her Paragon aura flare for a brief moment to display her overwhelming power without initiating an attack. 'My clan values mutual prosperity over senseless slaughter. Take the pills and secure the future of your tribe without losing a single warrior.'

The chief pondered her words for a long time before finally agreeing to the terms. Li Shi successfully secured the three Starfire Lotuses without shedding a single drop of blood. She established a rudimentary trade agreement with the wood elementals that would greatly benefit the Li clan in the future if they chose to not just take it by force, which they most likely wouldn’t do.

Stolen story; please report.

Li Yu nodded his head while stepping over a fallen branch. Li Shi handled the situation well and while she ultimately had to use a show of her true strength as part of the negotiating, she was ultimately successful. She got what she wanted and they were able to get some benefits as well instead of being slaughtered or robbed for it. It was about as good as it got for a group facing a much stronger cultivator and such was the way of cultivation, the bigger stick always provided additional benefits.

Not all the reports contained tales of victory and fortune though. The Mosaic Realm was a dangerous place and the wilds did not care about the pedigree of a cultivator. Li Yu read the sobering account submitted by Zhan Kael. He was one of the younger members of the clan who had come here and had just reached the Law Seed realm before the training period began.

Zhan Kael filed a report detailing how he formed a small group with two other disciples and ventured into a jagged canyon system known for its rich mineral deposits. They spent several days carefully extracting various different ores from the canyon walls. The heavy ore was highly sought after by weaponsmiths for forging premium defensive gear and strong shields. His notes indicated their spatial rings were growing full and their spirits were high as they prepared to return to base.

Their fortune took a dark turn on the fifth day of mining. A group of rogue cultivators tracked their movements and laid an ambush near the canyon exit for them. Zhan Kael described the rogues as a ruthless band of mercenaries who specialized in hunting other explorers for their gathered resources. They struck without warning and unleashed a barrage of toxic techniques from the high cliffs above the narrow path.

The written account displayed the brutal efficiency of the sudden attack and Zhan Kael noted he summoned his defensive Qi barrier but the toxic energy ate through his shield in a matter of seconds. His two companions suffered deep wounds to their shoulders and fell to the rocky ground while gasping for air.

He even transcribed the threat shouted by the bandit leader to document their methods. 'Hand over your storage rings and we might let you leave this canyon with your lives.'

Zhan Kael knew better than to trust the words of a bandit and detailed his desperate attempt to fight back. He drew his mace and tried to cover his fallen friends but three more rogues leaped down from the ledges and surrounded them. The report noted the attackers were all at the Law Integration realm and heavily outmatched the young Zhan disciples. The clash of metal echoed through the narrow passage as Zhan Kael fought to fend off the superior numbers.

A heavy saber strike shattered his mace and sent him crashing into the canyon wall. With blood pouring from a deep gash on his chest and his vision blurring, Zhan Kael made the hardest choice a proud cultivator could make on the battlefield. He reached into his robes and crushed the emergency jade token provided by the clan elders.

The report concluded with the activation of the jade, creating a shield around them for protection and then an elder came and wiped out the attacking force. The three of them were then taken back to the Zhan Clan base to rest and recover but their training in this realm was over.

They were allowed to keep everything they gathered but were scolded by how they were over powered by another group, even though they were stronger than them. The Zhan way was to overcome everything and if not, you find a shameless way to win. They could not do either and were sent to punishment back at the clan, their training trip concluded.

Zhan Kael recorded his deep shame and frustration at the very bottom of the report. He vowed to train harder and hone his martial skills so he would never be forced to flee from a fight again. Li Yu felt a pang of sympathy for his younger cousin but he knew the setback was a vital part of the martial journey and was why the Zhan and Li Clan had so many real life training sessions. Surviving a harsh defeat often provided a better foundation for growth than an easy victory and reading the honest self reflection proved Zhan Kael was learning the right lessons.

Li Yu shifted his focus to a lengthy geological report from Li Khen. He was a sturdy youth at the Domain King realm who specialized in earth laws. Li Khen ignored the dense jungles and focused his efforts on a sprawling desert region in the eastern quadrant of the realm. He sought a specific type of ore known as Sunfire Quartz.

The document described the desert as an unforgiving environment where the temperature could boil water during the day and freeze bone during the night. Li Khen wrote about spending weeks exploring across the shifting dunes while fighting off giant scorpions and territorial sand worms. His persistence paid off when he discovered a deep crater surrounded by jagged glass formations.

The heat radiating from the crater was intense enough to melt ordinary steel and Li Khen noted he coated his body in a thick layer of Qi and descended into the pit. He found dozens of glowing Sunfire Quartz crystals embedded in the rocky floor inside as the report outlined his process of extracting the delicate ores and storing them in specialized jade boxes to preserve their volatile energy.

While he was mining the last cluster of quartz, he documented a violent seismic event and a giant sinkhole opened in the center of the crater while revealing the buried ruins of an ancient temple. Li Khen carefully approached the edge and peered into the darkness. He wrote about seeing grand pillars carved with depictions of winged serpents and a crumbling altar holding a single glowing orb.

'This must be the core of a fallen civilization or great sect,' Li Khen speculated in his field notes while documenting the architecture.

He tried to enter the ruins but a potent barrier of golden light flared to life and blocked his path. Li Khen recorded striking the barrier with his heaviest techniques but the energy shield absorbed the kinetic force without a single ripple. He spent two entire days documenting the array structures and trying to find a weak point to disable the ancient protection but could not break through.

The man eventually ran low on supplies and had to abandon the effort before the desert heat drained his vitality. He marked the exact location on his map and included the precise coordinates in his report for an elder to follow up on. The glowing orb sitting on the ancient altar remained an unsolved mystery waiting for a stronger expert to crack the barrier. An addendum at the bottom of the file showed the clan elders back at the base noted the discovery and planned to send a specialized team of array masters to investigate the site before the training period officially ended.

Li Yu pulled his spiritual sense out of the jade slip and focused more on the road in front of him. He wasn’t done going through the reports yet but decided to take a mental break. With his Nexus Mind technique, he was able to do both but having full attention and split attention were two different things completely.

He stored the green jade back into his ring and let out a satisfied breath and had a big grin on his face. The dirt road continued to stretch out before him while the morning sun climbed higher into the sky. Borum marched steadily ahead while Faen and Garren kept a watchful eye on the surrounding fields.

Li Yu felt a sense of pride and further connection to his extended family even though he was technically exiled from one of them. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t though so he never lost any kind of connection to them. It was nice to read up on and hear about what other members of his family were doing here as well and brought joy to him in a way that he didn’t realize.

The younger generation of the Zhan and Li clans were making their mark on this realm. To Li Yu’s surprise, even the Zhan Clan members had detailed reports and were trying different tactics. He had nearly expected nearly all of the Zhan Clan reports to be. ‘I encountered a problem and smashed my way through it. I stumbled upon a ruin and smashed my way through it. Or lastly, I was ambushed by some cultivators and smashed them.’

They actually submitted professional reports detailing great fortunes, tricky political encounters, ancient mysteries and setbacks as well. Each trial and tribulation served to temper their Dao hearts and forge them into stronger cultivators. Everyone was growing stronger and that was something that was great to see.

The collective progress of the clans was very positive and a few disciples were forced to use their emergency tokens and retreat but the vast majority were returning with bountiful harvests and valuable experiences, including himself. The training period was doing exactly what it was designed to do for the future of the family.

Li Yu smiled and enjoyed his peaceful walk even more. He was happy that the others had done well so far as a whole and found good fortune in their respective journeys. The remaining days in this realm would be quiet for his own group as he planned to take it extremely easy. Li Yu was looking forward to savoring the calm before they all returned home.