catvi

Chapter 117 - Enclaves (Patreon)

Published:

2024-04-08 14:33:16

Imported:

2024-05

Content

[Table of Contents]

Yung had lain a trap.

“To be honest, this one had thought you would be more naïve,” Su Yafeng said. “It gladdens me you are aware of the consequences of your actions.”

“I try,” Yung said, trying not to sound smug. Who wouldn’t appreciate being appreciated by a pretty maid.

However, he must admit that the current outcome was a bust. Oh, it did meet his expectations, but he was hoping it would not.

Su Haochen was only tasked to protect Yung, not be his arms and legs. So it was fortunate that the tod was agreeable to going along with Yung’s plans.

Yung guessed that for some reason, although Su Haochen was a rascal that scorned authority and liked mischief, he had a bone for justice.

A very sadistic bone, but one nonetheless.

Why else would he go around the night beating up abusive husbands?

So following Yung’s plan based upon the Xianxia cliches he could still remember, the tod had kept an Umbral Foxvine in the coolie’s shadow. He did the same for every ‘victim’ Yung had helped out during that day of vigilante justice.

“I thought they would either be too scared to act or be more discreet,” Yung said. “It gives me a good excuse though.”

“It is legitimate,” Su Yafeng said. “And legitimacy is always a virtue when it comes to meddling in other people’s affairs.”

<Yung: Can you capture them?>

<Yung: Why?>

<Yung: Evil creature.>

<Yung: Do you read many storybooks? Could you recommend me some good ones?>

<Yung: Good for him.>

<Yung: Please save him if that happens.>

<Yung: Who taught you that?>

<Yung: ...who taught you how to change usernames? And usernames have a character limit. How did you break it?>

<Yung: …just, make sure the kids don’t die.>

No more replies came. Yung scratched his head. Did he even implement a username changing feature in the first place? He had the basic framework set up, but he was sure that it wasn’t something a general user could access. It was blocked behind a developer’s wall and there was no public way to access dev mode.

Yung filed the name Lanky of the Dark Star Mercenaries away.

“What other plans do you have?” Miss Maid asked.

Her hair was partially braided today as opposed to her usual flowing style, and in contrast to Su Nanya’s strange curls, they didn’t flutter about seductively. The braids started from a section of her bangs and reached behind her ears alongside unbraided ribbons of hair until they formed an elegant side bun, put in place with fox-tailed silver pins. It was a chain braid. From the side bun, more ribbons and braids cascaded down, draping over her left shoulder into that strange hairstyle soon-to-die anime mothers liked to have.

“... didn’t you have black hair?” Yung asked.

“I am better at being blonde than the mistress, so it's okay,” Miss Maid said.

“I-I... I don’t think this is proper.”

“What are you saying?” Miss Maid said, then narrowed her eyes. “No. No. Fool. My sense of fashion is superior to the mistress’s. I have no want to steal a man from a crazy. What if she cuts my pay?”

Yung sighed in relief. “I want to take a closer look at my Dao Insights.” If the golden constellation in his Sea of Consciousness was in fact a Dao Aspect, then what Dao Insights and Dao Aspect Shards was it formed from? And if not, then what exactly was it? “I’ll play to my advantages and hone my unique abilities rather than trying to develop new ones.”

Miss Maid nodded, “Practicing combat techniques that supplement your innate abilities would be better too. Crossbow and spear?”

“A gun would have been better.”

“What’s a gun?”

“The symbol of freedom and broken families,” Yung said. Guns left a bad taste in his mouth, but no one could question its convenience and power. Of course, if he did use a gun, it would have to be a magical one. “The Dim Gold Auction House should be ready with the altar soon too.”

“If you can properly refine it, an altar can become an amazing tool for Divine Cultivators who rely on external worship.”

“Wow! Miss Maid has the best, most concise, amazingly structured explanations out there. She doesn’t tease or hide information! Wow!” Yung raised his palms and lowered them again.

Miss Maid patted a rogue braid that tried to stand up, then refilled the tea for both of them. It had a roasted rice flavour, and was light brown in colour. Did it have caffeine? If cultivators used all manners of strange magic mushrooms, wild weeds, and alchemical crystals to boost their cultivation, then could concentrated caffeine be of use to them? Did roasted rice tea have caffeine? Was there magical caffeine out there?

“All Land Gods have Altars. Lord Silky’s previous dwelling was his,” Miss Maid said. The fuzzy foxmoth yaoguai nuzzled up to her cheek, waiting for treats.

One grape later, Miss Maid continued, “An Altar has many uses. It can act as a proxy in harvesting worship as long as a totem is properly refined into it. It can also store excess worship and diffuse it gently into the Land God or Divine Cultivator’s domain. And as the cultivator’s cultivation increases, and they refine the altar further, it can gain many more mysterious abilities. For example, as a tool to communicate with worshippers, and reward them bounties.”

“Like a Transmission Array Token?” Yung perked up.

Miss maid nodded, “Another use is to turn the Land God’s ‘land’, where she has put down her roots, into a Sanctified Enclave, although such transformations are only possible if the Divine Cultivator is in the highest stages of the Harmonious Heaven realms.”

“…that was too much information,” Yung said. He was fully invested in the conversation now. Half his mind protested, that he should check up on the coolie, but Miss Maid really was a good teacher. “What rewards can one grant? And what is a Sanctified Enclave? It sounds… Religious.” Yung didn’t want to be no dogmatic pope.

But then again… Religion has been a good crux for revolution. Out with the old, in with the new ethics of modernity. Yung thought.

“A Sanctified Enclave is a place where directly opposing the Land God’s directives, concepts, and sanctified ‘laws’ will cause a Karmic backlash. For mortals, there isn’t much to worry about. But for cultivators who seek insights into the Grand Dao, a negative Karmic feedback, or a Karmic backlash might just be a death sentence. Ill-timed heavenly tribulations being triggered, stepping on unholy insects, losing one’s storage ring to name just a few.”

“Sounds autocratic,” Yung said. The part of his mind that lacked any regards for other people’s privacy cheered. While his democratically raised ethical part shuddered. “That would have been a nice thing to have. I bet it’s the best place for mortals to live.”

Miss Maid nodded knowingly. “It is. But who in their right mind would let mortals stay in such Sanctified Enclaves? If it is mortals living in a Land God’s domain, by a few generations, even the least of them would learn how to cultivate. If it’s the domain of the Heart qi cultivator, they would receive far better rewards in giving access to such a place to their cultivator devotees.” Miss Maid stopped, looking up at the sky and frowning. “And there are natural Sanctified Enclaves too.”

“As in, not created by an altar?”

“Yes. It embodies one simple rule. And usually occurs in places the Planar Consciousness itself deems of importance. Killing a Land God Yaoguai would curse the killer with misfortune for generations. Similarly, acting in ways that directly, even indirectly, oppose the Planar Consciousness’s mechanisms, its laws, will curse the lawbreaker with great misfortune too. While following it may bring rewards.”

“May?”

“Depends on what the laws are.”

Yung was in deep thought. “So maybe if the Sanctified Enclave is natural, mortals can benefit from it?”

“The Capitol of the Radiant Sun Empire on the Gilded Radiance Continent is one such natural Sanctified Enclave. Removing the mortals there, even forcefully, did not go against the Planar Consciousness’s laws. Usually, the first day a Sanctified Enclave appears, the Karmic feedback for any action taken is the strongest, even if the person is a mortal. It winds down gradually, and that gives the cultivators enough time to figure out at least parts of the rules. Still, few Enclaves favour mortals. Very few indeed, and many a time, cultivation sects, empires, and even cults find ways to remove mortals from there. If not by force, then by persuasion, or just directly investing resources so that they can awaken.”

Yung tutted. "There is no such thing as an easy lunch, huh? But that still means the mortals who are initially there profit.”

“Perhaps. Usually, that is the case, as even a weak cultivator can be put to good use.”

“... but they still bar entry to such Enclaves after the last mortal generation has been awakened?”

“After all, to mortals, cultivators are like natural disasters. Even a sneeze might generate enough force to decimate a family. Which cultivator force would risk having such frail beings around when it can suddenly trigger a heavenly tribulation? Imagine a cultivator accidentally killing a mortal child by a random flare of his qi caused by momentary distraction, and then perishes by a series of unfortunate coincidences.”

“Haizz,” Yung shook his head.

“Do not be so disheartened. If... When you get to the Harmonious Heaven 2nd or 3rd Realms, you may create a Sanctified Enclave with your own rules. The range is far smaller than a Natural one, but it can grow.” Miss Maid said. There was a slight change in her expression. She smiled, ever so slightly.

“Thanks. It gives me a direction. I’ll teach you how to make tiramisu next.” Yung had made egg pudding once. It wasn’t good. The next day, Miss Maid had made a batch following Yung’s theory, but with such divine taste Yung had almost broken through to the next stage.

“You said Natural Enclaves appear in places the Planar Consciousness deems important. This Planar Consciousness…” Yung had a lot to think about. Descriptions of it had led Yung to assume it was the underlying weltgeist that governed this plane. The embodiment of culture, intellect, and the moral forces that guided the sapient development of this plane. Hegel’s philosophy actualised.

But perhaps it was a more literal, alive thing than Yung had assumed. His mind went back to the vision he had seen in the cave. The six-tailed white fox. The entity of unimaginable vastness she settled in. The act of reviving the dead.

“You might want to ask the Mistress; she knows far better what the Planar Consciousness is. As for Natural Enclaves, yes, they favour places important to the Plane. For example, around lost plane entrances.”

“Like here?” Yung said excitedly.

“Only if they are supremely dangerous. Usually, if there are many tens of Lost Planes connecting to a part of the Last Ascension Mortal Plane. There is one Enclave in the very South of the land bridge that connects to the Continent of Madness. The Capitol city I mentioned earlier houses three entrances, but each of the Lost Planes on the other side are capable of mounting an invasion that can turn the Gilded Radiance Continent into a second Continent of Madness.” There was a light glint of disdain in Miss Maid’s eyes. “Around natural treasures that should not be mined or harvested. A Chaos-spring that spawns a species that the Plane wants to propagate. The cases vary a lot. And there are usually signs of them appearing.”

“Such as?” Yung said. He looked up at the sky with a bit more Faith qi in his eyes. The Celestial Links showed themselves. Golden pillars. Did they signify fate? Karma?

There was another light too. Rays that streaked across the evening sky. They had been chatting for quite a while.

“A sudden retreat of Chaosfiends. Chaos-springs that spawn harmless animals. Voidfiends dying. Voidrifts closing. Iridescent clouds that stretch for hundreds of kilometres. Heavenly light of all colours. Rays of stellar light so thick they could be touched, seeping into the earth and water of the plane down below as if to bless it,” Miss Maid said. As she spoke, the sky changed. Miss Maid pointed at a ray of light that beamed into Yung’s teacup from above. “Yes, just like that.”

“...”

Miss Maid looked up.

The clouds had gone iridescent. Yung saw an aurora so bright and beautiful it reminded him of Su Nanya. There was a pleasant gust of air, and a flurry of anguished scream coming from the nearby Warring Twilight Forest.

In the distance, south and east from where they were, there was a clap of thunder.

Yung went still, not comprehending what was happening.

“You are loved beyond your wildest imaginations,” Su Yafeng said. There was a visibly tired look on her pretty face. “I must contact the clan. Excuse me.”

And then she was gone.