novelraw Chapter 194 - 193 - Return to Veritas
Chapter 194 - 193 - Return to Veritas
The salty breeze was refreshing as the long journey across the Fortune Way finally closed in on an end. The large boat carried many people but it was only relatively large compared to personal boats.
There were massive ships employed by Stardust Emporium and the Saint Kingdom but this ship was one of the many guild boats. Thus the vast majority of passengers were lower income or rogue cultivators.
At the prow of the ship was a gorgeous young woman with braided brown hair smiling as she held her arms open. Her pristine white robes left no doubt who she belonged to so no one bothered her.
It helped that there were 3 more such women nearby smiling at her. Wherever 4 Maidens wanted to go, only an idiot would dare to stop them. The 2 dark cloaked people were clearly not from the Heavenly Maiden Sect but friends of the sect were just as off limits.
"I really did not want to come back this way." The male voice was tired but amusement was clear in it as they looked at Fey's antics.
"I know you had a few issues the last time you were here, but look at her. She loves telling the story of how her 'Big Brother' let her cultivate for the first time." Shoti had her arms crossed over her chest which despite how conservative the combat dress was nearly made Lind lose track of his mind.
A sharp jab to his ribs brought him back and made Shoti giggle. She was doing it on purpose to tease Cyntilla too!
"I am so glad to see her smile again. Shoti could get her to laugh but that was all for years." Qing was smiling warmly at Fey. They had all adopted the little girl after Lind 'died.'
"She will break through soon. I can feel it." Cyntilla was right. Both she and Fey were very close to reaching the Gold Tier but the boat was a very bad place to face the tribulation. They would have to find a spot outside Veritas quickly. Lind was looking forward to it as both Shoti and Qing were now Gold Tiers and he was hoping to learn what was to come for him.
The trip was thankfully peaceful so it only took a month from Petra to Veritas this time. Lind was grateful as a battle would likely push both of them over the edge. He had taught Fey all he had learned about the World Realm relationships but he still had much to understand from Iron Tier to Gold Tier.
The dock finally revealed itself and the boat came alongside a decent dock but not as nice as the Marina Adventure's Guild. The passengers swiftly made room for their group which made Lind wonder if there was a point to being incognito at that point.
The whole reason they did not use the continental teleportation array was due to the fact his return had brought many powers seeking him. No powerful World Realm would be expected to travel by boat anymore, but Lind still did.
The rotting smell of fish and ocean actually made Lind smile but then he nearly ducked behind Qing as a familiar face stood at the top of the main entrance to the city. Nadia with her silver hair was looking over the docks and she was at the peak of the Gold Tier.
Apparently his elixirs had done a lot of good for her cultivation. He had no idea why she was here but the sea of bodies parted around her like she was an immovable object. The lack of shouts at her also showed no one in their right mind would object to her presence.
"Careful of her." Lind warned his companions but as if the spirits had abandoned him, Nadia narrowed in on them and moved forward. Generally, no one would stop a Maiden but Nadia was clearly looking at Lind and Cyntilla in interest.
"Welcome to Veritas, Heavenly Maidens. May I interest you in a visit to our guild?" Her words did not match her actions as she looked directly at Cyntilla and Lind. He felt a cold sweat breakout as she was a broad woman and taller than him by a head at least.
"We are on a journey for personal reasons. I hope you understand." Qing was the one to respond but Nadia did not even glance at her as a smile spread on her face.
"I understand but perhaps you would like to refresh yourselves before leaving our fair city. Afterall, it is a long journey even for us. Also, annoyances tend to crop up even if the chances are remote." The last sentence piqued Lind's interest.
"Perhaps we can indulge a bit. I have always wanted to visit the Marina Adventurer's Guild." Shoti hopped on while Annabelle frowned but Qing waved off the worry as they followed Nadia back to the guild.
They drew many eyes but the combined authority of the pristine white robes and Nadia made any bold cultivator find easier targets. Lind noted Nadia did not take them in the front of the guild but into a building next to the guild.
It was a large home that was clearly connected to the guild building itself. The treated wood glistened in the sunlight but the smell from the coast was far less here. Lind saw several individuals noting their arrival but turned away as Nadia escorted them inside.
Lind felt a formation activate to isolate the home but outside they would feel nothing. He was damned curious about what was going on but then was stunned when Nadia bowed deeply to him.
"Master Frey, it is a pleasure to meet you once again." The joy in her voice was hard to miss and Lind pulled his hood back as he smiled. Cyntilla kept her hood up but he nudged her and she sighed before removing it as well. "Ah, Princess Cyntilla, I am so glad Master Frey finally found you!"
Lind was stunned but then remembered the Marina Adventurer's Guild was also a branch of the Sapphire Auction House network. Likely Nadia was privy to knowledge most would not be.
"What is going on, Vice-guild leader?" Lind skipped to the current issue but Nadia only sighed before she summoned a steaming pot of tea to pour into several cups on the bright wooden table in the main room.
Lind motioned and all sat down. Fey refused to sit away from him like he would vanish into thin air. She was 17 but acted like she was 10 again.
They all indulged her as the 4 women had treated Lind much the same before he went to collect Fey before heading home. The tea was quite relaxing and all agreed they were a bit tired from their journey.
"First, congratulations on breaking through to the World Realm, Master Frey." Nadia nodded at him and he smiled back. She then turned serious as she set her tea cup down. "While you were wise to travel by other routes, I am afraid people are still looking for you at every port or teleportation array that they can."
He nodded as he accepted it was impossible to avoid everyone, but he wanted to at least get back to Darkmoor Kingdom without any large detours if he could help it.
"I expected as much. May I ask what powers are here?" Nadia smirked but then a jade slip appeared in her hands. She imprinted something on it before tossing it to him. Lind sunk his senses into it before he frowned deeply.
"Is this up to date?" He did not doubt its accuracy but the last entry was from over 2 months ago. He saw Nadia shrug and had to accept it was too wide of an area to cover easily.
"What is wrong, Lind?" Qing asked but he just handed her the slip as Fey grasped his robes a little tighter as she hugged him. He cracked a smile as the other 4 women examined the slip and had similar reactions.
Annabelle looked aggravated, Shoti was angry, Qing just frowned, but Cyntilla grabbed the hilts of her short swords.
"Why are they after him so much more now than before?" Annabelle asked the question but Lind was the one that understood why.
"While I was in the Soul Realm, I came up with the theory on elemental relationships which shifted not only the potency of Soul Arts but made it possible for 6 elementals to finally cultivate and temper their cores." He sipped at the tea and looked up at the exposed ceiling beams as sunlight made shafts from the quartered windows.
"Why is that bad?" Fey spoke up but the other 4 women instantly understood the dilemma.
"It is not. In fact, many weak sects that had taken in 6 elementals for members in desperation now have very powerful and loyal cultivators. In the same realm, a 6 elemental is terrifying in both defense and offense." Nadia spoke up as she swirled in some sugar to her tea. "In the last 8 years there has been a sharp increase in 6 elemental cultivators and now we are seeing that their flexibility is far beyond anyone's imagination."
Lind nodded and hugged Fey close as he came to the heart of it.
"Some of those powers are now worried since those same powerful cultivators are stuck at the peak of the Soul Realm while I have successfully broken through to the World Realm. By now, since it has been almost a year since I left the Relic, word has spread that I am at the Stone Tier with a perfect foundation." Fey finally understood. It was a massive moment.
Lind had not distributed the knowledge as he had before due to some concerns he had. Lind had broken through but unlike the Soul Realm where the breakthrough made them awaken their 6 cores, the transformation process was what Lind had to study. He had been a World Realm for only 6 years versus the near decade he had been a Soul Realm with a lot of experimentation and luck to forge his way ahead.
The sect and kingdoms would not care about that though. All they would care about was nurturing the pillars of their Outer disciples or lower caste cultivators. Lind felt it was important to study his harmony more as it seemed like that was a critical part of his breakthrough.
Now, the Lotus Empire was suddenly flooded with visitors on its borders. Darkmoor Kingdom was powerful enough to keep them inline so they were outside the Empire but they were clearly looking for Lind.
"You should know I knew you were coming around this week, Master Frey. We received a request to detain you but of course, that mission was regrettably lost." Nadia winked at him which made Lind smile. Despite it being exposed back in Cimmeria, Taren Cord was a member of the Guild, and had a massive favor owed to him for his actions. Lind appreciated her actions.
"My thanks to you and the Guild Master." Lind bowed and the others did as well. Nadia waved it off but then summoned another jade slip. That one, however, was demonic in nature rather than base Qi.
He caught it and adjusted his Qi with a diffuser to sink his senses into it. Nadia was stunned as she no doubt expected Cyntilla to look at it but the demoness only smirked as she drank her tea.
"Oh come on!" Lind exclaimed as he held out the stone to Cyntilla. She read it and laughed.
"It would seem Crown Prince Ryu misses you." All of them now smiled as they had long heard the stories from Cyntilla and Lind about his time in the Lotus Empire. The jade stone was an invitation to Darkmoor Kingdom to help with his situation.
"I may consider his help but there are other ways in, chiefly flying comes to mind." Lind could not fly across oceans but after a few months of practice, Annabelle, Fey, Qing, and Shoti could use the disc artifact as well as he could. He was more efficient but only just.
The disc did more than fly. It could hide them from everyone up to Sky Realm. As the majority of powers hunting him near the Lotus Empire topped out at peak Gold Tier, it would be easy to bypass them.
"I have a courtyard to allow you to leave that way today. However, I can see at least 1 of you, maybe 2, are ready to face their tribulation. I will get a map for you and suggest a few places but understand there are eyes here as well. Be careful out there, Master Frey." Lind smiled and tossed a bag over to Nadia who caught it.
"There was another reason I came by but planned to drop it off at the Guild." Nadia sank her senses into it and was nearly floored. Low grade 4 elixirs!
"You never cease to surprise me, Lind Frey. I will get those maps." Nadia went upstairs and the rest of them relaxed as they began to plan for 2 of their party to break through. Annabelle had a ways to go before she was ready but Fey and Cyntilla were long ready.
Lind was excited as he wanted to study Gold Tier Tribulation as much as anything else he needed to study.