Emerald Alchemist, Ch 32: Settling Affairs (Patreon)

The demonic energy had overwhelmed the Ice Titan energy until Verse couldn’t even sense it until he was right next to it, but looking down at it now, he knew why it was familiar.

The Elder Races had lived for millions of years together on this world, with a heritage stretching back to the dawn of time.

His blood knew their blood.

Now he had a name to put to that feeling of battle and ice he’d seen when he looked at the blue material. It was fragmented visions of what was, memories saved in his own heritage.

This Ice Titan was something like a cousin to him once, or at least a powerful race familiar to his bloodline. If they’d met in a different era, they might have been enemies, or perhaps friends if things went in a different direction.

Right now, all he was filled with pity and anger. The idea that the demons had hunted down young dragons and all the other races made emerald flames burn like a sun as they ignited around him.

A low roar rose out of his throat and shook the walls of the building, swiftly spreading across the entire ruins. It was a mix of wrath and power, a proud and noble strength that rose from his blood.

It held an aura that dominated everything around it. There was an intrinsic prestige that shook the spirit of anyone listening and made beasts lay their heads low.

Birds fell silent and serpents hid.

The remaining sect cultivators shuddered as they froze in place, their limbs suddenly turning weak. Before they knew it, they found themselves lying on the ground and staring upward at the spinning sky.

A dragon’s roar was a spiritual shock, and they were too weak to resist.

Verse’s hands curled into fists as the desire to avenge this titan raged like an inferno. He wanted to crush the building, raze the earth, and rend everything he saw in a massive explosion of flame.

This had happened thousands of years before, but the wrath he felt was from today, not the past. The only thing keeping him from doing it was the people around him.

He slowly let out a breath and got control of himself.

No one had saved this titan, but at least he was here to mark his resting place. He would give this descendant of the Elder Races a proper burial. He didn’t know the Ice Titans’ traditions, so a dragon’s would have to do.

He turned back to look at the alchemists, frowning as he saw the blank faces again on the kidnapped ones. Their spirits were too suppressed to react to his roar, but the sect cultivators were plastered to the floor.

The elder was trembling, his face as pale as milk, and even Vesana was staring at him in shock, as if she weren’t sure whether or not that roar had come from him.

“These are not rocks,” he said quietly to her as he tried to find a way to explain. “This ruin is built on top of an ancient tomb that was afflicted with demonic energy. The sect disturbed a burial site. I’m familiar with the people who built it. The sect master was trying to refine the demonic energy, but he dishonored those buried here.”

It was enough information for her without having to go into more detail.

“That’s...” Vesana hesitated as she tried to put together the roar with the man in front of her, but then she just shook her head. “Understandable, I think. At least, it fits with the usual pattern of the Crimson Shade Sect. They wouldn’t care about a tomb if they got something from it.”

She looked at the kidnapped alchemists and the sect elder, and then she shook her head.

“The guild can deal with the demonic energy here. My uncle will know how. We should also take these alchemists back to the guild branch to see what we can do for them. Hopefully, we can remove the soul technique.”

“Why don’t you take them back to the city,” Verse said as he looked at the five of them. “And the sect prisoners as well. The guild can punish them as you see fit. I need to deal with this disturbed tomb. I’d appreciate it if you gave me some time to do that before returning to purge any demonic energy that’s left over. I’ll take care of the remains.”

“But won’t that be dangerous to you, with the demonic energy here?” Vesana asked hesitantly as she glanced at the cauldrons and then to Verse. “We also need to make sure the sect can’t cause any more trouble.”

“The Azurewind Guard can settle the rest of the sect and anyone who escaped,” Verse said. “As for the sect master, if I’m not mistaken...”

He glanced up through the open roof of the building, to where he could feel Elamrin returning. A moment later, the sky cracked with a sonic boom as an object hurtled toward the earth.

It was about the size of a person. Wisps of flame surrounded it, as well as foggy layers of blood that were dissipating into the air.

The body slammed into the dirt at the center of the ruins with a loud, dull crash like a bell had been rung. A wave of spiritual pressure rolled out across the ruins, lifting dust from the walls.

“It appears the problem has been solved,” Verse finished. “Your uncle is formidable.”

He pointed at Elamrin, who was standing triumphantly in the sky with white flames coiling around him. The ocean of blood and the darkness that had veiled the area when the sect master activated his techniques were already fading.

Before long, the sect master’s energy dissipated into the sky, revealing a bright sun and the purple horizon.

Verse sent a wave of spiritual energy to study the body that was now lying at the center of the ruins, but there was no trace of life on the sect master.

He was dead.

Elamrin had been forced to kill him after all.

He turned to look at the captured elder, and then he snapped his fingers. A bright jade seal appeared in his hand, its lines gleaming with bright jade essence, and he tossed it to Vesana.

“That’s the key to the seal on him,” he said. “As for the Desolate Mind Pills that we’re also looking for, I can sense a faint aura on the cauldrons that should be them, but it’s old. I think they made them a while ago, before they got started on this refining process. I suspect you’ll find them in the sect master’s spatial ring, or somewhere similar. That fellow you’re holding onto should know more.”

“I’ll make sure to get everything out of him,” Vesana agreed as she sent a glare at the elder on the ground. “The guild will spare no expense to track down every last one of the pills, but we’ll need to confirm what demonic blood was used to create them. If they were tied to the sect master, that’s the main problem out of the way. They won’t be worth anything now that he’s dead.”

Verse nodded in agreement. The Desolate Mind Pill was linked to its bloodline origin, and if that was the sect master, they would be useless now.

“That fellow should be able to answer more questions,” he said as he pointed at the elder. “It’s the only reason to keep him around.”

He turned to look at the five alchemists again, his frown returning as he considered how to help them.

“I have a technique in mind that might help these five,” he added slowly. “If the guild has trouble with the soul binding, let me know.”

Demonic energy was pervasive and the alchemists’ spirits had been eroded by constant exposure to it. If someone had been in better control of it, they might have ended up like this Ice Titan or the sect master, with the energy slowly infusing them instead.

With the right method, it could change someone into a demon, at least a lesser variant. It was one of the ways the demons increased their forces and passed on their bloodlines.

That was what had happened to the Ice Titan.

Demons were able to use that energy in other ways, including by killing another demon and taking their energy for themselves, but that sort of manipulation belonged to the more pure-blooded ones.

As for the soul damage that these alchemists had experienced, he had two ideas.

One was using his Vitality of Light technique, which he’d originally developed to help his old friends recover after their souls had been damaged back in Whitestone. He’d never had a chance to finish it in time to help them, so it would be good to put it to use here.

It relied on his Dao of the Endless Dawn for some of its effect, but it wouldn’t hurt them.

His other idea, however, was a bit more interesting.

If he purged the demonic energy from them, he might be able to save the Ice Titan energy. There was a lot more of it than the demonic qi, and since they’d been exposed to it for so long, it was already partially merged with their spirits.

He wasn’t sure the exact effect it would have on them, but if it was something like the dragon aura that Memory had used to infuse his friends in the past...perhaps it could benefit them.

He would just need to think of a way to help them infuse their bloodline with it...or at least to use it as energy to refine their bodies into a stronger form.

Humans had a weird physique and were always absorbing strange things to strengthen themselves, so it should be possible.

He wasn’t sure if his efforts would be as successful as Memory’s, but if it worked, these five would at least get some recompense for the suffering they’d gone through. Perhaps they would even end up better off than they could have ever hoped for.

If it worked, they would have to get used to the Ice affinity that came with the titan blood, which was more potent than their own inherited bloodline. It would probably change their constitution and elemental alignment.

It might alter their cultivation path, or even turn their alchemist Fire affinity to something like an Ice affinity. Fortunately, he’d heard of at least two sects that practiced a form of Ice Flame alchemy.

He wasn’t sure how that would affect their heritage recipes, which might or might not like that change, but at least it would be possible for them to succeed in the future.

The guild would love to have five unique alchemists in their ranks, so if things went well, their experiences here might have a silver lining.

He stretched his hands as he looked at the five and the cauldrons that were still covered in a blue haze, and then he nodded. The plan was worth following, and he would do what he could to help them recover.

It would be a slap against the demons and some revenge for the titan who had died here.

Despite the idea, he didn’t share it with Vesana yet. It would only get her hopes up. Also, it was best to let the guild devote their own resources to the problem before he stepped in. That way, they would feel more committed to these five.

If they chose to abandon them instead, it would be a telling mark against any further cooperation with the guild. It would be his test for them, whether they knew it or not.

If they went down the right path, he would support the guild more in the future. If they didn’t, he didn’t mind treating them the same way they treated these five.

Right now, however, he had more immediate work to do. In particular, he needed to get rid of everyone so he could investigate the dragon blood underground.

“Do you think you can clear everyone out and give me some time to rebury this place?” Verse asked as he looked at Vesana. “It’s best to take care of it before any more time passes. As for any value the guild might find here...feel free to take everything belonging to the sect. It’s not important to me.”

“I don’t quite understand what you want to do with the tomb here,” Vesana said after a moment, “but I should take these five back to the guild as soon as possible anyway, so we can try to heal them.

“I’ll send out orders to clean up the rest of the sect and then to leave this place alone for a few days. You’re an Imperial Knight, so if you want to take charge of the scene for a while, no one will mind too much. Will that be enough time?”

“A few days should be plenty,” Verse agreed. That would be enough for him to search underground.

The thought of the Obsidian Serpent core he’d given to the guard to turn into an artifact came to his mind. He had a decent number of spirit stones now, so if he sent a few to Ressa...perhaps it would be possible to speed up the construction of that artifact.

It would make it a lot easier to dig through the ground.

“The guild can destroy the demonic energy if anything is left,” he added. “I’ll purge some of it myself, but I don’t know if I can get it all or not.”

“It will take a little while to gather the right people and materials for that, but I can promise it,” Vesana agreed. “Alright, since the alchemists are here, our main objective is complete. The rest is just details anyway. My uncle will go along with my suggestions and I’m the one paying the Azurewind Guard, so there shouldn’t be any other issues.”

She hesitated for a moment as she looked between the alchemists and Verse. His words had reminded her that he had his own plans, and her attention settled on him as a gentler look appeared in her eyes.

“Will you be staying in Boreas for a while after this?” she asked softly. “We...never had a second date.”

“You never know,” Verse said as an unexpected smile tugged at his lips, “I might leave here about the same time as you head back to the capital.... A few years in Boreas sounds about right. I’m sure I can find something to keep me busy until then.”

He gave her a rakish grin and she covered her mouth as she tried to stop a laugh.

He was already planning to stay in Boreas and continue practicing his alchemy, but with her around things would be much more interesting.

He was already planning to stay here for a while, at least until he mastered the basics of dragon alchemy and was ready to move on to an area with better resources. It was the whole reason he’d bought a house.

He also needed to explore the Emerald Halls to the south, if any of them were still intact, as well as the one he knew about that was closer. That would take a while, and he could use Boreas as a base of operations.

“Alright, let’s continue this conversation when everything is taken care of,” Vesana said as she grinned at him. “I’ll handle the rest of it. Thank you, Sir Knight of the Crimson Sunset.”

Her tone was teasing on the last words.

Verse winked at her, and then he signaled to Elamrin in the sky.

The enforcer’s laugh boomed out as he turned and flew down in their direction. He looked very pleased with himself after his fight with the sect master.

“Thank you, uncle!” Vesana called out as she intercepted him. “We need to help these alchemists, and we have a prisoner to question. Did you find the Desolate Mind Pills on the sect master?”

Verse tuned out their conversation as he walked back to the cauldrons. They could figure out the arrangements for the heritage alchemists and the search for the Desolate Mind Pills on their own.

His attention was focused on the Ice Titan energy in the cauldrons, as well as how the demonic energy was infiltrating it. It was a rare opportunity to understand more about the Elder Races.

His thoughts turned to the past, listening to the memories of his bloodline as he spoke to the shrine about the ancient era of the world.

A little while later, more forces from the Azurewind Guard arrived and began to strip the area. It didn’t take long until nearly everything was cleared out of the ruins, including all of the sect cultivators.

Eventually, he was left alone in the ruins.

Elamrin hadn’t wanted to leave the demonic energy unattended, but with Vesana’s assurances and Verse’s promise to look after it, he had eventually agreed.

The enforcer left behind an Inspired Aura-ranked talisman and an artifact similar to his Sun Crystal Beads, just in case Verse needed them, but after that Vesana was able to pull him away.

It made Verse smile. Elamrin seemed like a good friend to have. Perhaps in the future, they would meet again.

While the area was being stripped, he sent a message through his guard badge to Ressa about the Obsidian Serpent artifact. It only took her a moment to pull Imriz into it. The guard commander was still busy cleaning up the sect, but as it turned out, they’d suffered no casualties and the guild was letting them keep nearly everything from the sect as part of their payment, so she was in a good mood.

After having earned so many spirit stones, she was happy to do him a favor and raised the priority on the artifact, promising that he would have it by tomorrow.

Things were coming together.

Verse looked down at his hand, where Renzer’s spatial ring was resting, as well as the spatial ring of the elder. There was also a third ring there, an extra one that Vesana had pushed on him.

She and her uncle kept the artifacts and other things from the sect master’s spatial ring, but she had pulled out all the spirit stones and useful herbs from it, which she’d insisted on giving him as thanks.

The Azurewind Guard was being paid, and he wasn’t getting a cut of that, so she wanted to make sure that he had something for what he’d done.

From all the rings together, it was a decent haul. Renzer and the sect master both had a decent pile of wealth.

There were around 1,000 high grade spirit stones and 30,000 mid-grade ones, as well as quite useful herbs.

Breaking through to the Primal Spirit realm in the future would take a lot of resources, but there was enough left over that he would be set on expenses for a while.

He stored the rings away and then he looked down at the cauldrons in front of him before he nodded. He’d spent a while discussing the best approach with the shrine.

It was time to rebury this Ice Titan, but he wasn’t going to let him return to his rest with demonic energy all over him.

A wave of his hand sent a series of jade seals flying across the cauldrons, locking down both the demonic and Ice Titan energy.

Then he took the bright crystalline statue that Elamrin had left to him, and held it between his hands. It was shining with a brilliant white light, similar to the Sun Crystal Spheres.

Lines of jade green essence and emerald flames poured out from him, anchoring to points in the air where magical seals appeared. Before long, the area around the cauldrons was completely covered by a sealing formation centered on the crystal statue.

With a tap of his finger, the statue began to shine even brighter. A wave of burning light spread out from it, scorching the threads of demonic energy that were spread out over the cauldrons and the nearby area.

He stepped back and let it work.

It was a Demonbane Formation, a construct that was intended to destroy demonic energy. The shrine had helped him to create it. It wasn’t the first time that it had seen this problem.

In the past, the Elder Races had fought constantly, even under the umbrella of their overall alliance. The dragons and demons were old enemies, so it knew a lot of methods that targeted them.

The formation was using the Fire energy from the artifact to purge the demonic qi. It would take a little while, but it should eventually burn it all away.

As he waited for it to work, he studied the Ice Titan energy, which was slowly turning to a darker blue as the demonic threads disappeared.

From what the shrine told him, the Ice Titans turned to a type of extremely dense ice when they died. Except for the bloodline energy and aura left behind, which kept their bodies from melting, there was little to distinguish them from the deepest layer of a glacier.

They were a warlike race, and they had focused most of their traditions on battlefields and the victories they won. For a warrior, the tradition was to leave the body where it fell, usually sealed in another layer of ice, and to raise a monument to the battles they had won.

For a young and lesser known Ice Titan, like this one had probably been, they would have buried them without much in the way of acknowledgement. Eventually, their bodies would melt away to rejoin the world.

The demonic qi was the main reason that hadn’t happened. The cold nature of the two energies complemented one another, keeping them both in stasis. Once the demonic energy was purged, things would take their natural course.

All he needed to do was rebury the titan once that was done.

He sat in vigil in front of the cauldrons as the demonic energy was slowly purged, as day turned to night and then to dawn. Eventually, the threads of demonic qi disappeared and the only thing left was a deep blue fog drifting above the Ice Titan bones.

A wave of his hand summoned a wind as he gathered all of the energy together, and then he surrounded the energy in a globe of water. As soon as the water touched the energy, it froze into a crystalline sphere.

He gave the sphere a nod as he set it carefully on the ground, and then he pulled out his silver guard badge.

A moment later, a gleaming obsidian amulet appeared in his hand. The Dark Obsidian Serpent core had been carefully inscribed with intricate layers of formation talismans, which were linked into a silvery band of metal that surrounded it. Then a chain had been fixed to the top, turning it into an amulet that he could wear around his neck.

It hummed with the deep force of Stone and Flame.

He cut open his finger with a flick of emerald flame and sent a drop of blood flying onto the artifact. The blood swirled across the surface of the inscriptions and then sank into them, fusing into the core.

Instantly, he felt a connection form with the amulet. When he focused on it, it came with a strange awareness of the stone around him. It felt comfortable but ethereal, as if it were only partly there.

He smiled slightly as he hung the amulet around his neck, and then he reached out and levitated the sphere of Ice Titan remains on a wave of wind. He looked down, sensing for the most direct path toward the dragon blood.

It called to him like a beacon.

With a nod, he slowly sank into the ground, passing through the stone like it was nothing more than a bank of clouds.

Within a moment, he was gone.