The Fourth Fall - Chapter 21 preview (Patreon)

It took them just over two days to arrive at their destination, slowing on the second day to deal when the cultivators of the State of Wei had arrived, having gone ahead on spirit horses and flying swords and floating carriages to meet with their own men and the larger flying instrument. A minor fortress, a keep that had been rebuilt upon a floating stone platform. It was a powerful weapon of war, a moving fortification that could be dropped along the border at any point to help stymie the movement of troops, especially when one staffed it with dozens of high-ranked cultivators. Not enough, of course, to stop an army – but a moving fortress had the advantage of being able to leave a battle it could not win.

Wu Ying knew all these factors, knew even that the Wei only had three such spirit platforms. Two of them were on this border itself, the final one in the west on the border between their two countries. In time, it might be sent somewhere else, to the south, to the north perhaps.

North and east, they continued their progress. The three floating spiritual platforms cutting through the sky. High above, that the clouds were a floor that some cultivators took to, dancing, leaping, skimming across the white, pillowy strings of moisture and wind. Many took the opportunity to marvel and revel in the new heights, for few could reach – or dared travel – to elevations like this, afraid of running out of energy or the suffocating thinness of air.

New experiences, new viewpoints allowed some cultivators to come upon new forms of knowledge, to breakthrough to new cultivation precipice’. It happened more among their attendants, among the guards and cultivators of the lower ranks of the Sect and government, though more than one Core Formation cultivator spent time in contemplation as they harvested these experiences for new knowledge.

For Wu Ying, these heights were not new. He had danced across the cloud, ridden the air currents to the peak of his ability and drained his own core dry of energy. To then plummet, down and down again, all the while harvesting energy and insight alike till he reached the floor and swept him along, allowing the wind to bleed off his momentum across a long arc of movement.

And even so…. There were heights still, places where the wind could no longer support him, high above. Places that the wind could not reach, areas that were empty of air itself he sensed. Not empty of the Dao though, though it felt... different. Strange to his own senses, which were so reliant on the sense of smell or the feel of the wind blowing through the air.

Even so, Wu Ying took the time in-between to cultivate, to replenish the Core within his body and fill it to the maximum. He pulled energy to him, again and again, refining it over and over in his dantian via the Formelss Body cultivation method so that he could begin the process of layering in the future. For now, though, he intended to fully replenish the energy within, such that when they entered the borderlands between Wei and Cai, he would be ready to do battle.

Yang Mu was making her own preparations, in-between joining the groups outside, skating across the clouds on her fans. She had been up this far before, though no thanks to Wu Ying. Instead, her own arrival to these lands had been via her parents, those Nascent Soul cultivators who had no fear of ascending to such heights. A small treat, she had said, for one of her birthdays.

Even so, she continued her own work, though much of hers consisted of creating talismans and fortifying formation flags for the future. She knew better than to stand on the front-lines in a battle that might involve multiple Nascent Soul cultivators. Of them all, other than the actual Nascent Soul cultivators, she had the best understanding of their degree of strength.

It was often said a single Nascent Soul cultivator was worth a full sect by themselves. It was not, of course, quite true - for martial strength varied by individual cultivator - but the saying was still common for the intention behind the fact, rather than the specific details. It would take multiple Core Formation cultivators to even damage a single Nascent Soul cultivator, and in many cases, the peak of mortal cultivation could flee if they were concerned.

The only true counter to a Nascent Soul cultivator in battle was another of their strength. If not for their rarity, in many cases their advanced age, and the clash with said cultivator's dao, more governments would seek to involve such powerful personages in their battles.

In that sense, Wu Ying guessed, that he was the most fortunate of the diplomatic team. The Verdant Green Water Sect Head's own elemental control of the clouds was not his dao. Even now, Wu Ying struggled to full grasp it; though elements of control annd guardianship were clearly part of it. On the other hand,the Six Flags Patriach's own dao was clearly that of hearth and home, and his presence here was already straining his dao. Only a degree of mental gymnastics kept him from damaging his own cultivation base, though myriad cracks already ran through it.

Well, perhaps not the most fortunate, for Wu Ying recalled the Generals. Many who rose high in the ranks or in their cultivation were warmongers, held only in check by discipline and duty. While such individuals were always necessary, their presence was also always viewed with some trepidation. More than one kingdom had enterred a state of flux or civil war, or in some extreme cases, conquest and overthrow as the king lost control of their army and their leaders.

In such an environment, one tense with last minute preparations, the trio of spirit instruments finally arrived at the contested border. The spot the group had picked was both picturesque but also remote, bordering a steep series of mountains and then a deep gorge that cut through the mountain itself and created an impossible pass for an army to pass. While a couple of rope bridges dotted the river itself, it was no place for a large number of individuals to traverse or even mortals to exist within.

As Wu Ying stood on the balcony of his residence with Yang Mu by his side, he could feel the pulse of air surrounding them, coursing through the gorge in a never-ending stream of air and humidity. In the deeply forested lands afterwards, he sensed a small village, hidden and remote, filled with perhaps only two dozen mortals at best.

Such breakaway settlements were not uncommon. Mortals who had things to hide, fleeing the law or justice or just their past, would travel to remote regions to set-up such encampments. Sometimes, they were filled with those who had chosen to live away from the, often heavy-handed care of local lords and magistrates. Here, in the deep wilds, a level of freedom could be found.

For however short a period. There was a reason few dared undertake such actions, for roaming spirit and demonic beasts would often attack such settlements. Obscuring their presence was their best hope, but the materials and techniques to create such formations were often outside the means of such breakaway settlements.

And so, they existed, uncomfortably close to creatures that could - and in some cases, would - destroy them at a whim.

A single settlement, a number of demonic beasts and even more spirit beasts below. None of them stronger than a Core Formation-equivalent level, as far as Wu Ying could tell. That too, was no surprise, for though they had taken to a remote location for the meeting, the constant clashes between the two states had forced them to enact patrols across this region. Patrols that would have either located a Nascent Soul-level beast and had them avoid it, or that would have driven more powerful and aggressive creatures away.

In other words, this location, with its picturesque gorge, its lack of powerful creatures and its distance from any major source of civilisation was ideal for the meeting.

"You're frowning," Yang Mu said, softly. "Are you concerned about the negotiations?"

Lowering his voice, and wrapping it in a bubble of his own dao and chi, Wu Ying answered. "There's a settlement below."

A single eyebrow raised, and the young lady focused her own aura. After a few moments, she gave up however, the distance between their craft and the ground and the hidden settlement too great for her own techniques. "How big?"

"A breakaway settlement. A score or so, including a few children," Wu Ying replied, disapprovingly. Hard as life might be under the lord's, to travel out here with a family was a death sentence. "None above Energy Storage, and even there... two. One old."

"Bandits, then and their families. Or desserters." She glanced southward, where the nearest army encampment would be.

Wu Ying nodded in silent agreement. Even his powerful senses could not provide their history, just details of their present. No hints of blood beyond what could be expected, no burning tarred smell of demonic cultivators. Most were clean, clear of obstructions beyond the mortal ones of their stuck meridians. Elemental energies untouched, as they utilised the Yellow Emperor cultivation method. He could smell the compost heap, the doused fire and bubbling pots of mashed wild grains and strips of hunted meat, vegetables and fungi galore.

Nothing untoward. Beyond their presence.

"What do you intend?" Yang Mu asked, curiously.

He was silent for a time, turning his gaze to the approaching spiritual instrument. When he did answer, it was softly and with a little regret, "Nothing."

A part of him wanted to storm down below, to demand what it was that they were doing. To bring children out here, and all but guarantee their early death. Even if they did not die, what kind of future would these children have? No education, no citizenship plaque to indicate their origins. Sure, it might be that they could survive, perhaps even thrive if no one looked into it. Sneak into a city where so many citizens thronged that it mattered not, though even there, casual inspection might see them caught out. Their lives were burdened by choices not of their doing, for no judge would care for their excuses.

A part of him wanted to do so, but Wu Ying was no wandering busybody. He knew nothing of their circumstance, nothing about their background. It was possible that his mere presence would have the group attempt to slay him, for desserters and traitors, bandits and thieves knew their fate if they were caught. A single wanted man could condemn the entire settlement, if Wu Ying looked too closely. Leading to the destruction of innocent families and tragedy in turn for the children.

Perhaps they might survive. Perhaps they might thrive. Perhaps they were good people. Or not.

In the end, their path was their own. They were doing no harm to othes down below, and so it was not his place to meddle. They were not even in his kingdom after all. Let the Wei find them and deal with them. If they could.

"Very well." Yang Mu accepted his comments with equanimity before she pointed towards the incoming spirit instrument from the other side. It was a massive thing, a moving fortification similar to the Wei's but larger again by twice. It could have easily contained twenty thousand soldiers and their support staff, more in a pinch and glimmered at the edges with suppressed energy from the protective formations. "And what do you think of that?"

"Expensive to move." Wu Ying said, immediately, the poor farmer within him wincing at the thought. Or the logistics of keeping such a building and all those within fed. "Though I think you would have a better idea of that, no?"

"I have gained some understanding of the flying formations needed to carry such a building," Yang Mu said, demurely. "There are numerous methods, and I understand the effectiveness varies depending on the base dao of the one who first created the building." A slight beat, before she added. "But yes, very expensive. Wasteful even."

"Some strategic uses, at least. That's a not insignificantedly sized army that they can place where they wish," Wu Ying said. He was no general, but even he understood the value of moving twenty thousand soldiers behind the lines and causing havoc. "I can sense multiple defensive formations around the spirit instrument, most inactive. I have a feeling, outside of the Wei's, they might be more geared to being attacked."

Yang Mu nodded, then flickered a grin. "If they believe we are defenseless though, I feel they will be surprised. We might not have the defenses that the others do, but we have our own surprises as a cultivator's spirit instrument."

Wu Ying could not help but smile at the excitement reflected on her face. She was leaning forward a little as she spoke, her eyes sparkling as she spoke a little faster than normal. Leaning closer, he could not help but add. "You sound like you'd love to see that in action."

"No, of course not!" Yang Mu said, scandalized. "War is horrendous. The costs involved, on all those caught within it, are always high." Then, she added, honestly. "Though it would be fascinating to see these spiritual instruments clash. Do you know, that there has not been a major clash of spiritual instruments of significant in the last fifty years in the region?"

Wu Ying grunted. "I do. And I'm glad of it." He shuddered quietly, at the thought of having one such flying over him while he was an Energy Storage cultivator. Releasing blasts of spirtual energy high above, like a war god's guandao. Something that he could do little to stop or even anticipate.

Perhaps, looking at it that way, the border clashes and the war between the State of Wei and Shen had never escalated to that signfiicance that the pair had utilised their own cultivator weapons of war. It was, perhaps, a touch disappointing when one considered that multiple counties and villages had been destroyed, that significant land had been taken before the armies had been pushed back. Then again, for governments, and for cultivators, the lives of those below were never a major concern. Not unless it intersected with their own lives.

And perhaps, in that sense, it was for the best. For when a cultivator acted, at least at the highest level, events changed.

And still, Wu Ying turned a little, pass the immense and looming spiritual instruments, to where the small settlement stood. He could still remember his time as a farmer, a mere mortal who heard about cultivators flying above, fighting far away. Doing great and fell deeds alike, and yet, the stories that mattered; to them, to their people were those of Guan Yin, of the Ten Immortals and their pedestrian whims to lift and care for the mortals they encountered.

If gods could meddle, what then of mere cultivators?