Emerald Alchemist, Ch 24: Aligned Realm (Patreon)

As he flew toward Boreas, Verse clenched his hand, testing his new strength. Ripples of condensed air flowed around his fingers, trapped by the simple motion.

The tempering from the tribulation had further improved his body. The first dragon meridian had infused him with the vitality of Wood, but now there was a balance of the other elements there.

It was more than he’d expected.

Since he had Wood at a high level, the other four elements in the storm had been attracted to it, rising to the same level and creating a five-element harmony in his physical cultivation that belonged to both his Jade Foundation and the first dragon meridian.

The Jade Scripture would have done something similar on its own, since infusing the body with the five elements was a necessary part of its cultivation method, but it wouldn’t have been to this degree.

The Jade Scripture and the Nine Dragon Meridian Art were complementing one another.

It was the best of both paths.

The output in physical strength wasn’t that much higher than before, still around the early Primal Spirit realm, but it was supported in more ways. His movements were more fluid, his endurance was higher, his defense was better, his strikes were more explosive, and his healing was faster.

It was a complete physical cultivation path now.

His dragon meridian was humming with force. It had absorbed some of the Wood energy from the storm, as well as a little bit of the Stone, and had increased to 54%, breaking past the halfway point that was a minor barrier.

According to the shrine, he would be able to absorb both Wood and Stone energy to enhance it now. Wood added vitality and Stone added endurance. It was still mostly Wood, but some Stone was necessary.

His cultivation was at the early Aligned realm, but with everything combined, it shouldn’t be an issue any longer to deal with an early Primal Spirit realm cultivator.

If he fought Corpsewind now, the ghost aura might still give him some trouble, but he wouldn’t need talismans to win. Amethyst Harrow pills would speed things up, but even without them, it wouldn’t be that difficult.

Leaf let out a hiss of amusement as they flew. The elemental was sitting on his shoulder, looking down at Verse’s hand and the air twisting around it. He hissed again, clearly laughing.

He had disappeared somewhere during the breakthrough, but as soon as the storm passed, he showed up again, jumping onto Verse’s shoulder out of nowhere. He gave Verse a curious look, and then he headbutted him before lying down, apparently in approval.

Verse worried about him for a bit, but every time he did, Leaf proved he could take care of himself.

“You’ve been around for a long time, I know.” Verse chuckled as he scratched his head. Then he gave the elemental a Rank 3 herb to celebrate. “Once we wrap this up with the sect, maybe we can find some higher-ranked herbs.”

Leaf hissed in agreement and curled his tail around Verse’s neck, although he didn’t really need it to hang on. The wind didn’t bother him. It split apart around his body in the same way it did around Verse’s, although there was no sense of elemental manipulation or even an aura to protect him.

Eventually, Boreas came into view on the horizon. The tall stone walls gleamed brightly in the sun, making the city look like a shining emerald.

The guards didn’t delay him as he headed straight through the gate. He only flashed the guest medallion as he landed and then he was through. Before long, he was walking along the stone streets as he headed for the Azurewind Guard headquarters.

Here and there, he bought some skewers of spicy grilled meat and steamed buns that were infused with spiritual energy. He shared them with Leaf as he walked. It had been a while since he’d eaten anything and the stalls along the way were too tempting to ignore.

He’d used a lot of energy during his breakthrough, and although these wouldn’t go very far in helping him to restore it, they still took the edge off. He would have to find a proper restaurant soon, perhaps with Vesana if she was free.

If there was one thing Boreas was good at, it was mixing spiritual herbs into their cooking.

Now that he was back in the city, he was feeling fairly relaxed. He wasn’t worried about the sect attacking him here. They’d kept their attempts low-key before and they would be even more nervous now that Corpsewind had died.

Until they figured out what happened, they would be paralyzed with nervousness. If things went well, they wouldn’t even know what hit them.

It didn’t take long before he arrived at the guard headquarters. Once he was there, he reported the success of the mission.

His guard badge had an inscription to record some of the events that happened around it in a limited way, which he had activated to scan the cultivators’ trail and his encounter with the Dark Obsidian Serpent.

Between that and the beast core, it was easy to turn in.

The payment was fairly high at 500 mid-grade spirit stones, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for the Azurewind Guard. They only took on special missions.

“Would you like to sell this core to us?” Ressa asked as she studied it. Her fingers lingered on the dark surface as if she were reluctant to let it go. “The ability to travel through stone is in high demand, not just for exploring areas, but because it makes travel much safer.

“It’s worth quite a bit. You could auction it in town, but the guard would be happy to match a reasonable price, say 7,000 mid-grade spirit stones? I might even go above that on my own. It’s not good form, but it is very tempting.”

“I would rather keep it,” Verse said as he shook his head. It was useful to him, so he didn’t plan to sell it that easily. “Is there a craftsman in the guard who could inscribe that with the right formation? It’s rare to find something like that. It could turn into a powerful tool.”

“Yes, it’s a very useful item,” Ressa agreed as she reluctantly passed the core back to him. “One of the best ways to use it would be to rest underground in a secure cavern, or to dig out a cultivation cave. I know of one construction company that has based their entire business around creating cultivation caves for sale, and an Obsidian Serpent core is one of the main tools they use for it.

“But to answer your question, the guard does have some people who are able to inscribe the core, and their work is guaranteed. It would be safer to entrust it to us than to local craftsmen, but the price is high. It will probably cost about 2,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”

She looked up at him and when he didn’t flinch at the cost, she nodded.

“If that’s what you want, you can leave the core with me and I will post the mission for you. It will be sent to you through your badge when it’s done. It shouldn’t take more than a week or two.”

“That’s fine,” he agreed as he set the beast core and then a spatial ring full of spirit stones down on the table.

With Stone at Touch of the Dao, he was able to manipulate it to a small extent, and he could hollow out his own cave or create pillars easily, but the difference between that and the free movement that the core would allow was large.

Once the core was finished, he would be able to walk through stone like it was water. It just had to be natural stone, without too many other elements in the mix, and not anything locked down by a formation.

The core wouldn’t be of much use in Boreas where everything was warded, but out in the world, it might turn out to be very useful. It was better to spend a bit of money on it now and keep it than to give up something like that.

“I should remind you about the induction ceremony,” Ressa said as she stored the core away in a special jade box. She looked up at him with a smile. “It will take place in just a few more weeks. I see you’ve broken through to the Aligned realm now too, so you should definitely be there.” “How did Visele and Breslin do in their training?” he asked out of curiosity. “They must have succeeded, since the ceremony is still on.”

“Ames tells me he’s never had such an awful time training anyone,” she said with a laugh. “It’s mostly because Breslin never gives him a quiet moment. Perhaps that’s the price of reaching the gold rank. It should be good training for the politics at that level. But all the same, they just finished a few days ago.”

“I should get that drink with him then,” Verse said with a chuckle. “He probably needs one. Will you let him know that I’m back, if you see him? I have something he might be interested in too, if he has free time.”

Ames had offered to show him where silver-ranked guards drank. He was also one of the few Primal Spirit cultivators around Boreas. Getting a drink with him would let Verse get a sense for things, including whether or not he was interested in opposing the Crimson Shade Sect. Relying entirely on the Alchemists’ Guild to solve everything wasn’t in his nature.

He didn’t need Ames’ help, but he wouldn’t turn it down either. One of the best ways to make a good friend was to fight together.

Even if he wasn’t interested, he was still friendly and a good person to know.

“You can use your guild badge to reach him,” Ressa said as she pushed a red-hued metal disk across the table. “Just touch it to that first. It’s a communication plate linked to him. He left it for you a while ago. All of our guild badges can be used for direct communication. They just need a link to use first, like this one. After that, it will save the connection for you.”

Verse touched his badge to the plate, and it flashed once in response. When he checked it, he could sense that Ames’s information was recorded in his badge. He thanked Ressa before he headed out of the guard building.

He whistled a cheerful tune as he headed for the Alchemists’ Quarter and the White Cloud Auction House. On the way, he picked up a few more snacks from street booths and shared them with Leaf.

Once he reached the auction house, it didn’t take long to find a private room and an appraiser, and then he unloaded the piles of equipment from the assassins and Corpsewind.

The appraiser didn’t even ask questions about where the items were from. She just sorted through everything, tallied up the total for everything, and slid the list across the table to him to accept or decline.

He crossed out a couple of things that he decided to keep, but he pushed the list back to her with the rest.

A little while later, he headed back out of the auction house quite a bit wealthier than he was before. All of the equipment netted him another 14,000 mid-grade spirit spirits, even when he sold the majority of it cheaply.

The auction house had no fear of selling these items. They also had channels to ship them off to distant cities if they decided that was the best course of action. As long as there were no active tracking marks and they weren’t breaking any local laws, they had no problem with where an item was acquired.

Cultivators killing each other was far too common for them to worry about the details.

At his best guess, they would have any identifying marks stripped off within a few hours. With service like that, there was barely any need for a black market. He’d heard of one around Boreas, but it dealt with items that were much more illegal than this.

He could have waited to auction a few of the items and perhaps received a better price, but it wasn’t worth the trouble. This was enough to fund his alchemy for a while and the potential income from that was higher.

The only downside of the visit was that he wasn’t able to get a new weapon. That left him grumbling a bit. He wanted a spear that was aligned to one of his elements, or even better to a higher principle that could channel all of them

Apparently, the demand for Primal Spirit weapons here was limited. With only a few dozen cultivators at that level around Boreas, they didn’t keep many in stock. Only regions closer to the capital sold them in bulk.

Most cultivators at that level had a weapon crafted for them personally, one that would match their dao.

Fortunately, there were craftsmen capable of that in the city, and they were well-known for their work. The auction house had promised to arrange a meeting with one of them for the following week, and to provide a channel for materials at a reasonable rate if he needed it.

After thinking about it, he’d decided to accept.

Although it would take longer, it would be better to get something suited to him that wouldn’t break too quickly.

From the assassins’ equipment, he kept the most useful talismans, spiritual herbs, and the poisons and antidotes. They were the core of the sect’s strength, so it would be worthwhile to study them and see the easiest way to get around them.

He also kept the rare ores and gemstones, since the smith might want them. He could sell them off to the auction house later if they weren’t useful.

Once that was settled, he sent a message to Vesana and arranged to meet her in one of the auction house’s secure rooms in a few hours.

He’d been gone for just over a week, which meant it was time to see what the sect had been up to.

While he was waiting, he dropped by a nearby tea house, relaxing among the woody scent of the tea and enjoying some small dishes in a private room.

When he arrived back at the auction house, Vesana was already there waiting for him.

She was pacing back and forth in the small room, radiating an aura of overflowing energy. Her attention was locked on a jade plate in her hand, which glowed with a soft light.

“Verse!” She spun toward him as soon as he closed the door and activated the wards. “I have news! Another heritage alchemist went missing!”

Then she paused as she took in his new aura and her eyes widened.

“You broke through to the Aligned realm! That’s wonderful news!”

“I did,” he said with a smile, but a moment later his expression turned colder as he focused on what she’d just said. “So the sect did take the opportunity to kidnap an alchemist while I was gone. Can you track this one?”

“Definitely,” Vesana agreed quickly as she held up the plate in her hand, showing him a bright outline of a formation and a directional arrow that pointed to the northeast.

“After they left the last couple alone, I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen again, but it did. I’ve been tracking all of them just in case, and I got to her before she disappeared. Look at this.

“I got several of these tracking plates from the auction house, and I activated them whenever I met a new heritage alchemist, just in case. It only needs a trace of their aura to work. The other two are still in the city. Only this one is missing. They must be desperate, because they’ve never taken a registered alchemist before. It’s all the reason we need to hunt for her.

“With you at the Aligned realm, this will be a little safer than before. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to do anything, but with both of us, it might be possible to see what’s going on.”

Verse nodded as he considered the best approach. It seemed like the sect had definitely changed their plan or become more desperate. He didn’t know what their timeline was, but if they were willing to grab a registered alchemist, they had to be at a critical juncture.

Perhaps they planned for Renzer to cover for them.

“Is that pointing in the direction of the sect?” he asked as he looked at the tracking plate. “Or did they go somewhere else?”

“It’s pointing a little south of their main location, but it’s close,” Vesana said as she brushed her hair back from her face and studied the plate. “It’s probably a secret area where they’re holding them. I’ve already told my uncle about the kidnapping, and he’s hurrying this way. He wasn’t going to be here for another month, but if things go well, it should only be a couple of days.”

Her eyes were bright and her movements were full of energy, making it clear that she wanted to follow the trail immediately.

“This is almost enough evidence,” she added quickly, “and we have the perfect excuse. It doesn’t prove that Renzer was behind any of it, but it’s fully within the guild’s right to look for a kidnapped alchemist. At worst, we’ll just have to apologize.”

“That is good news,” he said as he tapped his fingers against the air in thought, unconsciously hardening it until it was like a table. It was very convenient.

“How long has it been since the new alchemist disappeared?”

“It was the day after you left, so just over a week,” Vesana replied quickly as she filled him in on the details. Her excitement was turning into focused attention now as she began to plan.

“This heritage alchemist actually arrived two weeks ago, and I thought nothing was going to happen to her, but she suddenly went missing. I was just waiting for you to get back. Now that you are, we can follow them and see what’s going on. Maybe we can find a trail for when my uncle arrives.”

“They moved faster than I thought they would,” he said with a frown as he considered the timeline.

It looked like the sect really couldn’t wait. They acted as soon as he left the city. He wondered what they were thinking now that the team they sent after him was dead.

Hopefully, they were in a panic.

They were cultivators from a dark sect, however, so a panic to them probably just meant seizing the moment. Demonic cultivators weren’t known for running around like headless chickens.

Vesana looked eager to run out of the room that moment and find the alchemist, but he held up his hand to hold her back.

“Before we go after them,” he said, “have you ever heard of the Desolate Mind Pill?”

Vesana froze at the question, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the tracking plate.

She was half turned toward him and he watched a series of emotions flicker across her face, from puzzlement, to a furrowed brow, to wide-eyed shock.

Apparently, the name of the pill rang a bell.

“That’s...not possible,” she said a moment later as her hand shook. “That pill is banned by the guild, it’s impossible to make without....” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head.

“So you do know about it?” he asked with curiosity. “How does it work and what does it need?”

“First, tell me where you heard about it?” she asked slowly as she regained her composure. “The name of the pill is known in a handful of records, so it’s not impossible to hear about, but the guild tries to discourage information. It’s in the top twenty on the guild’s list of banned pills. The hope is that it will eventually be forgotten. The only reason I know it is because a lot of my family is in the guild enforcement branch, and it’s one of the things they need to deal with. I’ve had that list memorized since I was five.”

“It’s what the sect is making, apparently,” he said confidently. “At least according to the sect elder who tried to kill me.”

It didn’t take long to fill her in on what he’d learned from Corpsewind, including the sect’s plan to take control of the region. Corpsewind hadn’t given him a lot of details, but the fragments were enough to paint a picture.

As he spoke, Vesana’s expression turned paler.

“You need to understand that it’s not just a spirit domination pill,” she said after he finished. She was hesitant to speak at first, but quickly got over it. “It requires two things to work: one is a mindless alchemist to make it. Usually that means one under a domination effect already and who has no stray thoughts. I imagine that the Crimson Shade Sect’s soul slave technique might qualify for that.

“The second thing is a drop of demonic blood. That’s the catalyst that brings the other elements together. The pill is a terrible creation. It devours the spirit of the alchemist who creates it, breaking it off into wisps that combine with the demonic blood and infuse the pills. That’s where it gets an initial burst of soul energy, which acts like a seed.

“When the pill is consumed by a victim, the seed begins to grow. The demonic blood sends tendrils throughout their spirit and slowly supplants their will. It can take years to finish, but even before that it results in people who will almost mindlessly agree with the demonic cultivator whose blood is influencing them. At the height of its strength, the demon can control their thoughts or kill them with a snap of his fingers.”

Vesana paused, her expression turning angry now as she glared at the tracking plate in her hands.

“If the sect is making that pill, it’s a huge problem. If you’re certain about this, I need to tell the guild immediately. My uncle might not be enough, but he’s probably the closest. He can summon more reinforcements.”

“I’m sure that’s what Corpsewind said,” Verse confirmed. “I’ll swear to it by my cultivation if necessary. And that’s not the only thing. I think I know where they might be getting the demonic blood.”

The description of the pill made him think of Corpsewind’s transformation. If the sect was planning to use the pill to take control of the region, there was no way he was the only one.

At his best guess, the sect master had to have a similar demonic physique, one that was close enough to the recipe for the pill that it worked.

Given the mentality of the Crimson Shade Sect and demons, there was no one else he would trust with that sort of power.

“There have been records of demonic cultivators using this pill before,” Vesana said with a frown, “but I’d never heard that the Crimson Shade Sect had them. They kept that secret close.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled out a guild badge that was a lot more ornate than the one Verse had. She set it on the table and swiftly drew a complex formation around it.

Ten high-grade spirit stones went into key locations between the arcing lines and sigils. As soon as the design was complete, she focused all of her attention on it. Waves of spiritual energy flooded the air around her, pouring into the badge.

She spoke into the air for a while, but her words were obscured by the formation. Verse watched her expression go from anger to hesitation, and then to pure determination.

Eventually, she looked up from the formation and the high-grade spirit stones disintegrated into sparkling dust. All of their energy had been used to reach across whatever distance she had just crossed.

“My uncle is rushing here now,” she said with a deep frown. “It’ll still be a day or two, since the teleportation formations he needs are slow to charge. He wants us to investigate and use the full force of the guild branch here.”

“That means dealing with Renzer,” Verse said. “You think he’s going to cooperate? Your desire for secrecy might be affected by this.”

“Unless Renzer wants to be branded as a traitor, he won’t have a choice,” Vesana declared firmly. “Secrecy isn’t as important now. If the guild acts to suppress a banned pill, the missing alchemists and everything else will be seen as related issues. We’re within our right to act on this. The real problem is if Renzer is helping the sect, he might warn them too early.”

Her frown deepened.

“I’m only the assistant branch manager. Renzer should be the one taking charge of this, but I still don’t have evidence that he’s the traitor. With my uncle’s support, I can seize authority from him, but it’s politically risky. We have evidence on the sect, but not enough on him yet.”

“Then we need to go and see him,” Verse said with a flash of emerald flame in his eyes. “Quietly and with a way to block his communications. There’s a risk that the sect will try to reach him, and if they can’t, they will know that something is wrong, but the timing will have to be good enough. There is still a small chance you’re wrong about him, so we can find out when we get there.”

“But he’s at the early Primal Spirit realm,” Vesana said. It was clear she wanted to agree with him, but she was worried. “I might be able to block his communication with an artifact, but I’m not confident in stopping him if he tries to warn the sect himself. I’m only at the middle stage of the Aligned realm and you just broke through. That’s not good odds”

“I’ll take care of it,” Verse said with a short nod. “Even if he’s a Primal Spirit realm cultivator, leave him to me.”

“Are Imperial Knights really that strong?” Vesana’s eyes widened as she looked at him. “I’ve heard of people fighting up ranks, but that’s a full realm above you, if not more! The difference between realms is too big. That breaks every standard of cultivation in the empire!”

“Just leave it to me.” Verse nodded as he gave her an easy smile. “In fact, you could say I’m looking forward to it.”

He kept his bloodline under tight control, but emerald flames were still sparking off his skin as a wave of anger rolled through him and his heart sped up.

He hadn’t forgiven the sect for trying to assassinate him, and Renzer was probably the one who had gotten them involved. He didn’t have too many rules when it came to this life, but for anyone who tried to kill him, he was more than willing to return the favor.

First Renzer, and then the sect.