V4C7: Plans and Actions
That was not what Wei Yi had expected to hear, not just due to the tales of complete defeat of all of the Primordial Deities, but also due to the unmistakable cosmic element of her own cultivation, or, rather, the technique that had ended up being passed down to her from Kong Shi Meng.
If he had defeated Primordial Cosmos and then gained some kind of insight from its death, then it would make a great deal of a lot of sense why it was so overtly leaning in this direction from the very start of her path, but if it disappeared, then that brought up quite a few questions. Amongst many of those was why anyone would ever assume that the war against the Primordial Deities was over if there was no body nor any trace of the entity’s demise.
In response to that question, Yi Shi Ming could only shrug, “I am afraid that I do not know, but my son had been able to conclude with certainty that it wouldn’t bother Yi City before he declared it to have perished. Had he reported the entity absent, it would have stirred up fear amongst those who had experienced the damage that it was able to cause, even when it did not appear to be heading for any individual armies or settlements. In fact, Primordial Cosmos was not reported to have attacked a single fort or district directly, and any damage done was supposedly through mere proximity.”
“Mere proximity… was it not overtly hostile, then? Was there a neutral Primordial Deity?”
“From what I remember, there was sufficient reason to conclude that the entity known as Primordial Cosmos was against us, and with the other primordial deities, but my long sleep may have muddled my memories more than I realise. If so, then perhaps there was one that did not intentionally bring harm to humanity,” the mother of the Master of Yi City admitted.
Before the golden age of the Master of Yi City, the world had been partially occupied by the Primordial Deities, with each one controlling a sizeable portion of the Western Continent at the time of Kong Shi Meng’s birth. They had cults and cities that were fully controlled by the Primordial Deities, and they had settled in their regions after what must have been a long period of combat between them that ended up causing them to conclude their territorial wars and no longer attempt to overtake the world.
The appearance of a foe as powerful and unifying as they were rapidly bringing together the human cities and clans that they had been unable to control on their own sent them all into a frenzy, and thus war resumed.
It took a long, long time for it to be settled, and the Master of Yi City had grown from the peak of the seventh realm all the way up to the peak of the ninth before it was concluded. Countless skirmishes, scuffles and major conflicts broke out before any one of the Primordial Deities fell, and when they did, the others only seemed to grow stronger and gain power from the fall of the others. This time was rather damaging to the world, destroying quite a few ancient relics and sites of history from before the time of the Master of Yi City that had led to a number of people initially having a rather negative view of Kong Shi Meng when he first rose to power as the Master of Yi City.
However, none of those people, even the most dedicated worshippers of the Primordial Deities and those that had been under their influence but not been fully converted by their energies and methods were able to contend that he had been incredibly successful with what he had sought to accomplish. Yi City was a marvel, and as it stood for a million years, any such negative sentiments outright vanished.
One thing that was unilaterally agreed upon, however, was that the Primordial Deities were bastions of hatred and disgust towards humanity, and that they only kept humans around to twist them to their whims and to witness them being forced into their servitude.
If this was not true, then while nobody would suddenly view the Master of Yi City as some terrible villain, especially if the only such Primordial Deity also happened to be the one with the least exposure and control over the world during its existence many years ago, it would likely cause those who are slightly more critical of him to review his past deeds and confirm just what he had gotten up to back then.
“Just a thought, but what if we were to spread this kind of thing as rumours? We could say that the Primordial Deities had a neutral one amongst them, or that there were some kind of strange dealings between the Master of Yi City’s forces and Primordial Cosmos, or any other Primordial Deity. It doesn’t have to be anything with even a shred of actual evidence, but the key is to make people dig into history, to review what they know, and to seek to learn more after the many years in which so many had happily forgotten the past,” Wei Yi suggested, “If this was to spread out far enough, They could hardly control it without bringing themselves to the forefront.”
“So long as They do that, people would begin to question why something isn’t being permitted, and why a group has so much control, especially when They generally present themselves as being simple men and women in clothes of high quality but low price. It might bring them to the attention of the whole Yi City,” Luo Lia Kun continued for her, “They might even seek to rebel.”
“They have little interest in the people, but not only will the great gathering of cultivators seeking answers or freedom pose a certain threat to the third and second generations, it will also mean that if they were to eliminate them, they would cause a large number of deaths. Since they haven’t killed us all yet, they must have some interest in us, just as the Primordial Deities had. Perhaps they believe that the mission supposedly given to Them by the heavens includes safeguarding human lives? It would explain why the districts have not yet been broken down.”
Great Dark nodded, “They seek to stay out of the public eye… In Their eyes, such knowledge cannot possibly be out there… Perhaps they believe that the prison realm that they had stolen gave no way for a single soul to survive…”
“Certainly, a possibility. This could be one of the things that your spies, once you send them out, do while remaining hidden. After all, we don’t need any conclusive evidence, so we don’t have to leave anything suspicious on them. So long as the rumours can spread, it will be enough, but it wouldn’t be sufficient for Them to deal with some people that just seem like ordinary travellers, merchants or warriors,” the Ascendant suggested, glancing at the map that she had brought over.
It had the marks that she had made upon it previously, detailing which district was to be visited by their spies and investigated, but she brought out a strand of killing will from a finger and pointed at it.
“Yi Shi Ming, if you would, could you tell me the location of every other potential fortress that you would have suggested for our use, as well as any locations that had been occupied by the primordial deities?”
“The latter is simpler, so that is what I shall begin with. The districts were founded on the locations of cities, and some, naturally, happened to be the same as those that had been inhabited by the Primordial Deities. So long as the district territories haven’t shifted significantly since the last time that I had looked at the map, most of this will be simple. The Shi District housed Primordial Ocean, who had occupied it for at least a thousand years before my son rose to prominence. The Huang District was founded atop the territory of Primordial Blood, which had resided there for no less than two thousand-”
The mark that she had placed at the Shi District was different, but no larger than the one at the other districts of interest, but the mark that had already been at the Huang District suddenly grew significantly, almost bubbling for a short while before it settled.
Although nobody was able to understand just what had caused this, they saw that it was clearly connected to Wei Yi, who had, at some point, bit her lip with enough strength to cause a drop of golden blood to flow from it, with her body regenerating too quickly even against her own sharp teeth to allow for any more than that.
“Great Dark, we must pay even greater attention to that district. The more I hear about it, the more I am concerned that it might be home to some dangerous things.”
“Understood… even if I do not quite understand your worry… I understand nonetheless,” the dark twin of Great Earth said, noting it down in his own mind as he looked at the map created from the Ascendant’s energy with some concern of his own.
“Anyway, you may continue. Sorry for that.”
“You need not apologise, Wei Yi. The only other district that appears to currently exist on the same territory as the one that had been occupied by the primordial deities is the Qiang District, which was once home to Primordial Energy for an uncertain period of time. What I can confirm from more recent events is that it has a prosperous planar ore and stone mine, and that the people there have a lot of expertise with handling it, leading me to conclude that the influence of Primordial Energy can be felt to this day.”
“Then, this shall be investigated as well, separately from the original few districts. More rumours can be spread, less information can be safely gathered, and just to be safe, whatever contact procedures that we have with each agent should be separate, as to prevent anyone from being able to deduce it one way or another,” Wei Yi said, “After all, when we meet, both of us may be in disguise. Who can be certain that the other person is who they claim to be without a safe method of interaction?”
“To give each person a separate method… it would be difficult for others to remember each one…”
“Don’t worry about that. I intend to be the one doing it, and, as you might be able to tell, I have rather decent mind and memory. Don’t forget that I had absorbed everything within those jade slips of yours within a matter of seconds, when you said it would take months.”
”Ah… To be frank, I had believed that you might die then… I thought to get you out so that your blood didn’t cover everything inside of the physical part of the pagoda… When you had been fine the entire time, perhaps we should have paid more attention to you… although that might have attracted more from Them, as well…”
“Too late for any of that, Great Dark. Anyway, Yi Shi Ming, what about the fortresses? Any suitable ones?”
“I do not believe that most of them still stand in anything resembling a presentable condition, and that does include potential evidence of the events at the time. If there are any, they would have been looted by now, whether by Them or by ordinary thieves.”
“Would They be aware of every single hidden fort like this one, or were they just built a little more shoddily than this one?”
“Paragon was one of the strongest superstructures that my son had constructed in his time, possibly even including any spatial realms or structures that he had made with or without my knowledge,” the mother of the Master of Yi City replied, “I had hoped that they wouldn’t need to be used, hence why I hadn’t mentioned one that was nearer to the Yi District, as you might have gone to it before you could fully consider the dangers. The issue is that any fortresses and bases that were used directly in the conflict against the primordial deities have been destroyed a long time ago, mostly so that the materials could be moved to the border of Yi City rather than letting them stand around and gather dust.”
“Sensible, but unfortunate. Your son wouldn’t happen to have had some place where he would stash all kinds of historical documents, whether in our language or Enian, that we could just dig up and put to use right now?”
“I am afraid not. Had there been something like this, something that I knew of, then you can be sure that I would have mentioned it to you by this point. It would have been too valuable to ignore.”
“Alright, not an option then. A shame, but hardly unexpected…” Wei Yi frowned for a while, staring at the map, “Fortunately for us, this is meant to be more of a long-term project, so we can first focus on the more immediate things – gathering information on Them. The spies won’t be in the best place to do such a thing, so I would like to get back out there and get on it. If they realise who I am, I have the leeway to escape once, at the very least, so it shouldn’t be particularly dangerous, and I am uniquely positioned to have the widest range of roles available to me.
“Depending on the necessity, I can be a warrior, farmer, beggar, or even a maid, so long as it can get me more information… One question for everyone present for the moment: do any of you have any idea what Testament is?”
The others met her eyes with the answer clear in their gaze.
“Well… We must learn right away, because it seems to be something of interest to Them, and it is thus of interest to us. When I had gotten into a fight with the third generation men of the Chen and Ning families, I had overheard one of them mention the name before they either realised where I was, or while they were trying to trick me into a false sense of security to make it easier to jump me.”
“Testament… Is it some kind of document that guides them?” Great Dark suggested, “It could be… that it is the source of their motivations. Perhaps it contains some hidden truth…”
“Could also be some artefact that gives them their anchors. Perhaps they have some kind of reverence for it after the many years in which it had been helpful for them, time and time again,” Luo Lia Kun offered her idea, “Gracious sands… The more I think about them, the clearer it seems that we know very little about all of them. Their motivations are vague, their methods are strange, their limited number is odd, their primary bases…”
Miyu chipped in, “On the topic of bases, it could be their base, couldn’t it? Imagine the residents of Testament going against those of Paragon… Would sound absolutely awesome, wouldn’t it? Could be a great PvP game…”
“Eh… Aside from that last bit, could you not verify it through your otherworldly gift?” Zhi Qiu Ya asked.
“… Not really. Do we know for certain that we have a single accurate guess here, or is everyone just throwing ideas together? Can we even be sure that it is just one thing, and not some overarching thing that keeps all of them together?” Miyu sounded strangely reasonable for a little while, “Maybe it is a person, or a deity of their own, or some vehicle or ship, or maybe an ancient skeleton that they worship for some reason… Maybe it is a sort of hive consciousness for them, or perhaps it is the souls of all of Them that had come before and died in service to their goals?”
“Even with all of these, assuming that one of them will be correct at some point, until we obtain the certain truth, your otherworldly gift will only tell us what you believe to be true, not what actually is,” Wei Yi sighed, “This is an issue, but one that I think can be resolved so long as we go about things the right way.”
“What exactly does that entail?” the perpetual vice-leader asked.
“To explain that, I would need to mention that I made a bit of a mess in the Ping District when I came to the conclusion that it is a hive of the worst aspects of modern society after everyone there swarmed in to rob me. Judging by the fact that They had allowed such a thing to remain and perpetuate for many years, I can only assume that it is somehow of use to their goals. That means that there will likely be a bunch of Them there, presumably a pair or two, looking about and trying to figure out where I went.”
“Are we in danger of being found?” Great Dark questioned right away, “To be discovered this early… wouldn’t be beneficial.”
“No, I don’t think that they will be able to find us… right?”
She looked at Yi Shi Ming, who, after a moment of though, said, “They should be aware of the existence of this fortress, even if most of Yi City no longer is. However, fortunately for us, the exact location of Paragon had never been exposed, with the majority of those that had resided within it either being highly loyal or had perished in one of the battles that Yi City had been involved in then.”
“Good, so they shouldn’t be able to just walk right up to our walls and knock on the gates. They will be trying to send people to us, that much we can be almost certain of, so we should try to cause them to emerge and go for us directly.”
“Surely that wouldn’t mean exposing the fortress?” Mo Zhouquan chose to ask the question that everyone else had on their minds after her proposition.
Wei Yi calmly shook her head and pointed to the map of Yi City, adding Paragon to its edge, then another, smaller region to the south of it, where it would be partially protected by the edge of the sandstorm caused by the actual fortress without making it obvious where it was localised. She then added on a few small symbols to represent the forces inside of both fortresses, leaving most in Paragon, and two dots to represent the Greats, surrounded by a cloud of people.
“The idea is simple. They will be trying to get us through the people, since that would make it easy for them to not expose themselves unnecessarily to a person that might not even be aware of them. So long as the people cannot easily breach all the way to the fake fortress, they can be deemed to be insufficient, and necessitate Their involvement in the matter, at which point they would naturally send the people back while They came forward to deal with me, the rebel and the thug daring to go against their plans,” she depicted this on the map, changing it accordingly, “At that point, my full might, combined with that of Paragon and you lot, can be put to use.”
Miyu traced a thin line on the map, “What about that big, old worm slithering about?”
“As we have already seen, the Great Worm didn’t get too close. Whether that was for some personal reason, or due to the fortress itself, it shouldn’t be dangerous to us right away. However, if it does get onto the battlefield, I’d imagine that it would be more keen to eat two more than one, and that while They should have no spatial methods on their side, that is not the case for us.”
“Wouldn’t They retreat if they believe us to be too dangerous, and if their Testament is indeed a spatial realm of some kind?”
“The only reason that it is so easy for me to pull people in is due to me effectively carrying the true spatial realm around with me. None of Them, unless they are in the seventh realm, at which point it hardly matters which tactic other than fleeing we employ, are likely to own their own spatial realm,” Wei Yi said to Zhi Qiu Ya’s questions, “So long as we can bring them in close enough, then make use of our stronger techniques and methods, we should be able to finish them off. Also, They have a tendency to look down on everyone, which does include us.”
“If they recognise you… that disdain will turn to even greater caution, however,” Great Dark stated.
“They should only be able to associate me with a single major event at a time, at most, and if they do conclude that I helped their Luo family lose its inheritors more quickly as well as making a significant impact on the Ping District’s immediate prosperity, then that may make it easier to bait them out into action. If they decide to shove me in the prison realm, for instance, then I can easily stop the transportation array from forming beneath my feet and go in for the kill.”
Yi Shi Ming said, “Wei Yi, I would be concerned with the possibility of Their second generation choosing to appear instead of the third. If they had noticed that you and the killer of two of their number are the same, then they would be very likely to send at least one such individual.”
That much was easy to guess, since it would only be natural to send a greater force at a perceived greater threat, so Wei Yi created another layer to the map, zooming in on the location of Paragon and setting out the potential encounter with more detailed lines and symbols. To signify the potential change from the third generation for the second, she made the Great Family’s symbols brighter, as well as adding a number into them.
For a few moments, she looked upon the scene in silence, glancing up at the mother of the Master of Yi City after a short while.
“They are in the fifth realm, usually, correct?”
“That is what would be expected from their cultivation pattern. Each generation will be two realms apart, so it would be the third, fifth and seventh realms for the third, second and first generations respectively.”
“It is also what we had been able to observe from our own observation,” Luo Lia Kun added, “There might even be a reason why they are staying in those realms, and perhaps they are building up energy that they do not then use so that once the second generation becomes the first, they can swiftly ascend to make up the difference in their cultivation at that point.”
“If that is the case, any of the world’s geniuses should probably step back. They are able to cultivate to such heights while holding back at that point. Imagine if we rile them up and they decide to just break through as many realms as possible? Most of us wouldn’t really stand a chance,” Wei Yi said, turning her attention back to the floating second layer of the killing will map, “I cannot cultivate that quickly, not without a lot of resources, but each stage is twice as significant due to my perfected stages. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t like to face one of Them while at an inferior realm, even if I am able to perfect my physique, killing will and bloodline cultivation…”
“That is a lot of cultivation paths for a single person to embark upon…” Great Dark, who had not yet been made aware of the full range of things that Wei Yi attempted to do with her time, commented, “Would any of them… be easily advanced in order to make up the difference?”
“What I meant was that even with my killing will being in the fifth realm, my physique energy being in the fourth, and my bloodline enhancing everything else by a significant factor, I do not want to face Them with any disadvantage. The further we go, the wider the gap in realms, but so is the power that They have in comparison to the usual person. I could contend with the fifth realm while being in the third, but when it comes to Them, without a great deal of luck, I wouldn’t have successfully killed the two at the Luo District.”
“You say luck… was it that arrow that you used?” Luo Lia Kun asked.
“That, and the chance that I took in setting up the transportation array while you fought the other one. Both of these wouldn’t have worked if I had not been fortunate, and so it wouldn’t have been enough to confirm that I can reliably finish off the third generation. Now, however, I think that it will be within my reach, but now it is the second one that we might need to worry about…”
“Then, it would naturally be most prudent to limit Their power as much as possible, while growing your own, all in the shortest time span possible,” Yi Shi Ming stated, “You would not be able to make use of the Kong Prison Realm’s property to converting planar energy from the distance that you intend to fight at, but I would not advise getting any closer than that unless we can guarantee absolute success, as it would risk discovery of the fortress. Advancing your planar cultivation, then bloodline, then the methods you use to empower yourself would be my recommendation, prioritising them based on the amount of time required for a certain return.”
“I agree, but…” Wei Yi paused, looking at the two layers of the map before her before turning to Great Dark, “Alright, the matter of spies is independent of the potential upcoming fight, so you can get them sent out as soon as you and they are ready. Ideally, they should be out of here before any of Them have a chance to get near, as they might otherwise be able to notice some kind of spatial fluctuation through the control that they do have over the prison realm’s transportation array.”
“I shall get started on that, then return…” he said, getting up quickly, “I will also call for some pillows… The seats are quite cold and rough…”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered, shifting a little in her seat.
For her and her Yin-Yang Ascendant physique, taking care of the temperature difference between the bottom of her legs, as well other things that were able to touch the stone through a layer of fabric, was rather easy, but that hardly meant that it was pleasant for her to be sitting on simple stone, with or without the strange nature of it that made it far softer than one would usually expect from stone.
Also, it would always be nicer to sit on something specifically made for that purpose, rather than needing to make do with stone that would fit in with an aesthetic.
In general, she didn’t really know whether the lack of anything but stone and dirt was due to some great decay of all but those things, or if the person designing this place had never taken comfort into account, but the latter seemed less likely. The most likely case would be that Kong Shi Meng had been responsible for most design decisions, and as he had originated from a world that supposedly permitted for significantly more comfort than this one ever could, nor would he had been unable to consider the fact that morale would be greatly aided by any ability for relaxation and relief from stress.
However, with the way in which the entirety of the fortress was preserved so well prior to their coming, it would be strange if other materials weren’t also able to be stored in the same way. While cloth did have a greater tendency to decay than stone, there were plenty of high-grade materials that avoided such faults – or were able to repair themselves, such as that which made up the Crimson Robe of the Third Arrival – so it would have been rather odd.
‘Perhaps he didn’t realise it was an option due to his otherworldly perspective… Also, none of this is relevant to the current situation, so I’m just wasting my time, it seems,’ Wei Yi noted, bringing her attention back to more relevant matters, “In order to maximise our chances in the event of an assault, regardless of the cause, we shall begin training. So long as everyone in the fortress can hold their own against anyone of the same realm, the number of enemies that I might need to contend with shall be lessened significantly. Luo Lia Kun, Zhi Qiu Ya, you’ve met with Ju Yazhu, right? Bring her along as well. She’ll be a decent example.”
V4C7: Plans and Actions
That was not what Wei Yi had expected to hear, not just due to the tales of complete defeat of all of the Primordial Deities, but also due to the unmistakable cosmic element of her own cultivation, or, rather, the technique that had ended up being passed down to her from Kong Shi Meng.
If he had defeated Primordial Cosmos and then gained some kind of insight from its death, then it would make a great deal of a lot of sense why it was so overtly leaning in this direction from the very start of her path, but if it disappeared, then that brought up quite a few questions. Amongst many of those was why anyone would ever assume that the war against the Primordial Deities was over if there was no body nor any trace of the entity’s demise.
In response to that question, Yi Shi Ming could only shrug, “I am afraid that I do not know, but my son had been able to conclude with certainty that it wouldn’t bother Yi City before he declared it to have perished. Had he reported the entity absent, it would have stirred up fear amongst those who had experienced the damage that it was able to cause, even when it did not appear to be heading for any individual armies or settlements. In fact, Primordial Cosmos was not reported to have attacked a single fort or district directly, and any damage done was supposedly through mere proximity.”
“Mere proximity… was it not overtly hostile, then? Was there a neutral Primordial Deity?”
“From what I remember, there was sufficient reason to conclude that the entity known as Primordial Cosmos was against us, and with the other primordial deities, but my long sleep may have muddled my memories more than I realise. If so, then perhaps there was one that did not intentionally bring harm to humanity,” the mother of the Master of Yi City admitted.
Before the golden age of the Master of Yi City, the world had been partially occupied by the Primordial Deities, with each one controlling a sizeable portion of the Western Continent at the time of Kong Shi Meng’s birth. They had cults and cities that were fully controlled by the Primordial Deities, and they had settled in their regions after what must have been a long period of combat between them that ended up causing them to conclude their territorial wars and no longer attempt to overtake the world.
The appearance of a foe as powerful and unifying as they were rapidly bringing together the human cities and clans that they had been unable to control on their own sent them all into a frenzy, and thus war resumed.
It took a long, long time for it to be settled, and the Master of Yi City had grown from the peak of the seventh realm all the way up to the peak of the ninth before it was concluded. Countless skirmishes, scuffles and major conflicts broke out before any one of the Primordial Deities fell, and when they did, the others only seemed to grow stronger and gain power from the fall of the others. This time was rather damaging to the world, destroying quite a few ancient relics and sites of history from before the time of the Master of Yi City that had led to a number of people initially having a rather negative view of Kong Shi Meng when he first rose to power as the Master of Yi City.
However, none of those people, even the most dedicated worshippers of the Primordial Deities and those that had been under their influence but not been fully converted by their energies and methods were able to contend that he had been incredibly successful with what he had sought to accomplish. Yi City was a marvel, and as it stood for a million years, any such negative sentiments outright vanished.
One thing that was unilaterally agreed upon, however, was that the Primordial Deities were bastions of hatred and disgust towards humanity, and that they only kept humans around to twist them to their whims and to witness them being forced into their servitude.
If this was not true, then while nobody would suddenly view the Master of Yi City as some terrible villain, especially if the only such Primordial Deity also happened to be the one with the least exposure and control over the world during its existence many years ago, it would likely cause those who are slightly more critical of him to review his past deeds and confirm just what he had gotten up to back then.
“Just a thought, but what if we were to spread this kind of thing as rumours? We could say that the Primordial Deities had a neutral one amongst them, or that there were some kind of strange dealings between the Master of Yi City’s forces and Primordial Cosmos, or any other Primordial Deity. It doesn’t have to be anything with even a shred of actual evidence, but the key is to make people dig into history, to review what they know, and to seek to learn more after the many years in which so many had happily forgotten the past,” Wei Yi suggested, “If this was to spread out far enough, They could hardly control it without bringing themselves to the forefront.”
“So long as They do that, people would begin to question why something isn’t being permitted, and why a group has so much control, especially when They generally present themselves as being simple men and women in clothes of high quality but low price. It might bring them to the attention of the whole Yi City,” Luo Lia Kun continued for her, “They might even seek to rebel.”
“They have little interest in the people, but not only will the great gathering of cultivators seeking answers or freedom pose a certain threat to the third and second generations, it will also mean that if they were to eliminate them, they would cause a large number of deaths. Since they haven’t killed us all yet, they must have some interest in us, just as the Primordial Deities had. Perhaps they believe that the mission supposedly given to Them by the heavens includes safeguarding human lives? It would explain why the districts have not yet been broken down.”
Great Dark nodded, “They seek to stay out of the public eye… In Their eyes, such knowledge cannot possibly be out there… Perhaps they believe that the prison realm that they had stolen gave no way for a single soul to survive…”
“Certainly, a possibility. This could be one of the things that your spies, once you send them out, do while remaining hidden. After all, we don’t need any conclusive evidence, so we don’t have to leave anything suspicious on them. So long as the rumours can spread, it will be enough, but it wouldn’t be sufficient for Them to deal with some people that just seem like ordinary travellers, merchants or warriors,” the Ascendant suggested, glancing at the map that she had brought over.
It had the marks that she had made upon it previously, detailing which district was to be visited by their spies and investigated, but she brought out a strand of killing will from a finger and pointed at it.
“Yi Shi Ming, if you would, could you tell me the location of every other potential fortress that you would have suggested for our use, as well as any locations that had been occupied by the primordial deities?”
“The latter is simpler, so that is what I shall begin with. The districts were founded on the locations of cities, and some, naturally, happened to be the same as those that had been inhabited by the Primordial Deities. So long as the district territories haven’t shifted significantly since the last time that I had looked at the map, most of this will be simple. The Shi District housed Primordial Ocean, who had occupied it for at least a thousand years before my son rose to prominence. The Huang District was founded atop the territory of Primordial Blood, which had resided there for no less than two thousand-”
The mark that she had placed at the Shi District was different, but no larger than the one at the other districts of interest, but the mark that had already been at the Huang District suddenly grew significantly, almost bubbling for a short while before it settled.
Although nobody was able to understand just what had caused this, they saw that it was clearly connected to Wei Yi, who had, at some point, bit her lip with enough strength to cause a drop of golden blood to flow from it, with her body regenerating too quickly even against her own sharp teeth to allow for any more than that.
“Great Dark, we must pay even greater attention to that district. The more I hear about it, the more I am concerned that it might be home to some dangerous things.”
“Understood… even if I do not quite understand your worry… I understand nonetheless,” the dark twin of Great Earth said, noting it down in his own mind as he looked at the map created from the Ascendant’s energy with some concern of his own.
“Anyway, you may continue. Sorry for that.”
“You need not apologise, Wei Yi. The only other district that appears to currently exist on the same territory as the one that had been occupied by the primordial deities is the Qiang District, which was once home to Primordial Energy for an uncertain period of time. What I can confirm from more recent events is that it has a prosperous planar ore and stone mine, and that the people there have a lot of expertise with handling it, leading me to conclude that the influence of Primordial Energy can be felt to this day.”
“Then, this shall be investigated as well, separately from the original few districts. More rumours can be spread, less information can be safely gathered, and just to be safe, whatever contact procedures that we have with each agent should be separate, as to prevent anyone from being able to deduce it one way or another,” Wei Yi said, “After all, when we meet, both of us may be in disguise. Who can be certain that the other person is who they claim to be without a safe method of interaction?”
“To give each person a separate method… it would be difficult for others to remember each one…”
“Don’t worry about that. I intend to be the one doing it, and, as you might be able to tell, I have rather decent mind and memory. Don’t forget that I had absorbed everything within those jade slips of yours within a matter of seconds, when you said it would take months.”
”Ah… To be frank, I had believed that you might die then… I thought to get you out so that your blood didn’t cover everything inside of the physical part of the pagoda… When you had been fine the entire time, perhaps we should have paid more attention to you… although that might have attracted more from Them, as well…”
“Too late for any of that, Great Dark. Anyway, Yi Shi Ming, what about the fortresses? Any suitable ones?”
“I do not believe that most of them still stand in anything resembling a presentable condition, and that does include potential evidence of the events at the time. If there are any, they would have been looted by now, whether by Them or by ordinary thieves.”
“Would They be aware of every single hidden fort like this one, or were they just built a little more shoddily than this one?”
“Paragon was one of the strongest superstructures that my son had constructed in his time, possibly even including any spatial realms or structures that he had made with or without my knowledge,” the mother of the Master of Yi City replied, “I had hoped that they wouldn’t need to be used, hence why I hadn’t mentioned one that was nearer to the Yi District, as you might have gone to it before you could fully consider the dangers. The issue is that any fortresses and bases that were used directly in the conflict against the primordial deities have been destroyed a long time ago, mostly so that the materials could be moved to the border of Yi City rather than letting them stand around and gather dust.”
“Sensible, but unfortunate. Your son wouldn’t happen to have had some place where he would stash all kinds of historical documents, whether in our language or Enian, that we could just dig up and put to use right now?”
“I am afraid not. Had there been something like this, something that I knew of, then you can be sure that I would have mentioned it to you by this point. It would have been too valuable to ignore.”
“Alright, not an option then. A shame, but hardly unexpected…” Wei Yi frowned for a while, staring at the map, “Fortunately for us, this is meant to be more of a long-term project, so we can first focus on the more immediate things – gathering information on Them. The spies won’t be in the best place to do such a thing, so I would like to get back out there and get on it. If they realise who I am, I have the leeway to escape once, at the very least, so it shouldn’t be particularly dangerous, and I am uniquely positioned to have the widest range of roles available to me.
“Depending on the necessity, I can be a warrior, farmer, beggar, or even a maid, so long as it can get me more information… One question for everyone present for the moment: do any of you have any idea what Testament is?”
The others met her eyes with the answer clear in their gaze.
“Well… We must learn right away, because it seems to be something of interest to Them, and it is thus of interest to us. When I had gotten into a fight with the third generation men of the Chen and Ning families, I had overheard one of them mention the name before they either realised where I was, or while they were trying to trick me into a false sense of security to make it easier to jump me.”
“Testament… Is it some kind of document that guides them?” Great Dark suggested, “It could be… that it is the source of their motivations. Perhaps it contains some hidden truth…”
“Could also be some artefact that gives them their anchors. Perhaps they have some kind of reverence for it after the many years in which it had been helpful for them, time and time again,” Luo Lia Kun offered her idea, “Gracious sands… The more I think about them, the clearer it seems that we know very little about all of them. Their motivations are vague, their methods are strange, their limited number is odd, their primary bases…”
Miyu chipped in, “On the topic of bases, it could be their base, couldn’t it? Imagine the residents of Testament going against those of Paragon… Would sound absolutely awesome, wouldn’t it? Could be a great PvP game…”
“Eh… Aside from that last bit, could you not verify it through your otherworldly gift?” Zhi Qiu Ya asked.
“… Not really. Do we know for certain that we have a single accurate guess here, or is everyone just throwing ideas together? Can we even be sure that it is just one thing, and not some overarching thing that keeps all of them together?” Miyu sounded strangely reasonable for a little while, “Maybe it is a person, or a deity of their own, or some vehicle or ship, or maybe an ancient skeleton that they worship for some reason… Maybe it is a sort of hive consciousness for them, or perhaps it is the souls of all of Them that had come before and died in service to their goals?”
“Even with all of these, assuming that one of them will be correct at some point, until we obtain the certain truth, your otherworldly gift will only tell us what you believe to be true, not what actually is,” Wei Yi sighed, “This is an issue, but one that I think can be resolved so long as we go about things the right way.”
“What exactly does that entail?” the perpetual vice-leader asked.
“To explain that, I would need to mention that I made a bit of a mess in the Ping District when I came to the conclusion that it is a hive of the worst aspects of modern society after everyone there swarmed in to rob me. Judging by the fact that They had allowed such a thing to remain and perpetuate for many years, I can only assume that it is somehow of use to their goals. That means that there will likely be a bunch of Them there, presumably a pair or two, looking about and trying to figure out where I went.”
“Are we in danger of being found?” Great Dark questioned right away, “To be discovered this early… wouldn’t be beneficial.”
“No, I don’t think that they will be able to find us… right?”
She looked at Yi Shi Ming, who, after a moment of though, said, “They should be aware of the existence of this fortress, even if most of Yi City no longer is. However, fortunately for us, the exact location of Paragon had never been exposed, with the majority of those that had resided within it either being highly loyal or had perished in one of the battles that Yi City had been involved in then.”
“Good, so they shouldn’t be able to just walk right up to our walls and knock on the gates. They will be trying to send people to us, that much we can be almost certain of, so we should try to cause them to emerge and go for us directly.”
“Surely that wouldn’t mean exposing the fortress?” Mo Zhouquan chose to ask the question that everyone else had on their minds after her proposition.
Wei Yi calmly shook her head and pointed to the map of Yi City, adding Paragon to its edge, then another, smaller region to the south of it, where it would be partially protected by the edge of the sandstorm caused by the actual fortress without making it obvious where it was localised. She then added on a few small symbols to represent the forces inside of both fortresses, leaving most in Paragon, and two dots to represent the Greats, surrounded by a cloud of people.
“The idea is simple. They will be trying to get us through the people, since that would make it easy for them to not expose themselves unnecessarily to a person that might not even be aware of them. So long as the people cannot easily breach all the way to the fake fortress, they can be deemed to be insufficient, and necessitate Their involvement in the matter, at which point they would naturally send the people back while They came forward to deal with me, the rebel and the thug daring to go against their plans,” she depicted this on the map, changing it accordingly, “At that point, my full might, combined with that of Paragon and you lot, can be put to use.”
Miyu traced a thin line on the map, “What about that big, old worm slithering about?”
“As we have already seen, the Great Worm didn’t get too close. Whether that was for some personal reason, or due to the fortress itself, it shouldn’t be dangerous to us right away. However, if it does get onto the battlefield, I’d imagine that it would be more keen to eat two more than one, and that while They should have no spatial methods on their side, that is not the case for us.”
“Wouldn’t They retreat if they believe us to be too dangerous, and if their Testament is indeed a spatial realm of some kind?”
“The only reason that it is so easy for me to pull people in is due to me effectively carrying the true spatial realm around with me. None of Them, unless they are in the seventh realm, at which point it hardly matters which tactic other than fleeing we employ, are likely to own their own spatial realm,” Wei Yi said to Zhi Qiu Ya’s questions, “So long as we can bring them in close enough, then make use of our stronger techniques and methods, we should be able to finish them off. Also, They have a tendency to look down on everyone, which does include us.”
“If they recognise you… that disdain will turn to even greater caution, however,” Great Dark stated.
“They should only be able to associate me with a single major event at a time, at most, and if they do conclude that I helped their Luo family lose its inheritors more quickly as well as making a significant impact on the Ping District’s immediate prosperity, then that may make it easier to bait them out into action. If they decide to shove me in the prison realm, for instance, then I can easily stop the transportation array from forming beneath my feet and go in for the kill.”
Yi Shi Ming said, “Wei Yi, I would be concerned with the possibility of Their second generation choosing to appear instead of the third. If they had noticed that you and the killer of two of their number are the same, then they would be very likely to send at least one such individual.”
That much was easy to guess, since it would only be natural to send a greater force at a perceived greater threat, so Wei Yi created another layer to the map, zooming in on the location of Paragon and setting out the potential encounter with more detailed lines and symbols. To signify the potential change from the third generation for the second, she made the Great Family’s symbols brighter, as well as adding a number into them.
For a few moments, she looked upon the scene in silence, glancing up at the mother of the Master of Yi City after a short while.
“They are in the fifth realm, usually, correct?”
“That is what would be expected from their cultivation pattern. Each generation will be two realms apart, so it would be the third, fifth and seventh realms for the third, second and first generations respectively.”
“It is also what we had been able to observe from our own observation,” Luo Lia Kun added, “There might even be a reason why they are staying in those realms, and perhaps they are building up energy that they do not then use so that once the second generation becomes the first, they can swiftly ascend to make up the difference in their cultivation at that point.”
“If that is the case, any of the world’s geniuses should probably step back. They are able to cultivate to such heights while holding back at that point. Imagine if we rile them up and they decide to just break through as many realms as possible? Most of us wouldn’t really stand a chance,” Wei Yi said, turning her attention back to the floating second layer of the killing will map, “I cannot cultivate that quickly, not without a lot of resources, but each stage is twice as significant due to my perfected stages. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t like to face one of Them while at an inferior realm, even if I am able to perfect my physique, killing will and bloodline cultivation…”
“That is a lot of cultivation paths for a single person to embark upon…” Great Dark, who had not yet been made aware of the full range of things that Wei Yi attempted to do with her time, commented, “Would any of them… be easily advanced in order to make up the difference?”
“What I meant was that even with my killing will being in the fifth realm, my physique energy being in the fourth, and my bloodline enhancing everything else by a significant factor, I do not want to face Them with any disadvantage. The further we go, the wider the gap in realms, but so is the power that They have in comparison to the usual person. I could contend with the fifth realm while being in the third, but when it comes to Them, without a great deal of luck, I wouldn’t have successfully killed the two at the Luo District.”
“You say luck… was it that arrow that you used?” Luo Lia Kun asked.
“That, and the chance that I took in setting up the transportation array while you fought the other one. Both of these wouldn’t have worked if I had not been fortunate, and so it wouldn’t have been enough to confirm that I can reliably finish off the third generation. Now, however, I think that it will be within my reach, but now it is the second one that we might need to worry about…”
“Then, it would naturally be most prudent to limit Their power as much as possible, while growing your own, all in the shortest time span possible,” Yi Shi Ming stated, “You would not be able to make use of the Kong Prison Realm’s property to converting planar energy from the distance that you intend to fight at, but I would not advise getting any closer than that unless we can guarantee absolute success, as it would risk discovery of the fortress. Advancing your planar cultivation, then bloodline, then the methods you use to empower yourself would be my recommendation, prioritising them based on the amount of time required for a certain return.”
“I agree, but…” Wei Yi paused, looking at the two layers of the map before her before turning to Great Dark, “Alright, the matter of spies is independent of the potential upcoming fight, so you can get them sent out as soon as you and they are ready. Ideally, they should be out of here before any of Them have a chance to get near, as they might otherwise be able to notice some kind of spatial fluctuation through the control that they do have over the prison realm’s transportation array.”
“I shall get started on that, then return…” he said, getting up quickly, “I will also call for some pillows… The seats are quite cold and rough…”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered, shifting a little in her seat.
For her and her Yin-Yang Ascendant physique, taking care of the temperature difference between the bottom of her legs, as well other things that were able to touch the stone through a layer of fabric, was rather easy, but that hardly meant that it was pleasant for her to be sitting on simple stone, with or without the strange nature of it that made it far softer than one would usually expect from stone.
Also, it would always be nicer to sit on something specifically made for that purpose, rather than needing to make do with stone that would fit in with an aesthetic.
In general, she didn’t really know whether the lack of anything but stone and dirt was due to some great decay of all but those things, or if the person designing this place had never taken comfort into account, but the latter seemed less likely. The most likely case would be that Kong Shi Meng had been responsible for most design decisions, and as he had originated from a world that supposedly permitted for significantly more comfort than this one ever could, nor would he had been unable to consider the fact that morale would be greatly aided by any ability for relaxation and relief from stress.
However, with the way in which the entirety of the fortress was preserved so well prior to their coming, it would be strange if other materials weren’t also able to be stored in the same way. While cloth did have a greater tendency to decay than stone, there were plenty of high-grade materials that avoided such faults – or were able to repair themselves, such as that which made up the Crimson Robe of the Third Arrival – so it would have been rather odd.
‘Perhaps he didn’t realise it was an option due to his otherworldly perspective… Also, none of this is relevant to the current situation, so I’m just wasting my time, it seems,’ Wei Yi noted, bringing her attention back to more relevant matters, “In order to maximise our chances in the event of an assault, regardless of the cause, we shall begin training. So long as everyone in the fortress can hold their own against anyone of the same realm, the number of enemies that I might need to contend with shall be lessened significantly. Luo Lia Kun, Zhi Qiu Ya, you’ve met with Ju Yazhu, right? Bring her along as well. She’ll be a decent example.”
