Mana 6 Chapter 6 (Patreon)

When I woke up the next day, I shifted my body carefully, working to untangle myself from the sticky pile of lovely ladies that had collapsed on top of me.

The transformation of Kat’s shared soul technique had been incredible, and I had to say it made keeping fourteen women satisfied a lot easier.

I pulled a robe out of my spatial ring and tightened the cord around my waist before tying it as I walked out of Wenxi’s courtyard to the main building.

I smiled, still riding on a high from the night before. Life was good.

Quinn pulsed in my chest. Curious, I released her.

“You have a big smile on your face this morning.” Quinn appeared before me. She’d once been a steel serpent but now had been transformed into a gold dragon. As she tilted her head, her now golden horns caught the morning sun. Since she’d been given the essence blood of an ancient gold dragon, she’d taken on more of that form.

“Of course, I have a big smile. Last night was one to remember.”

“What about today?” She asked.

I resisted the urge to frown. Today I was going to head to Cloud City. “It is necessary. For myself and for my family.” I was already at peace with the decision.

“Your freedom will be limited.” Quinn pointed out.

“A small price to pay.” I pushed open the doors to the courtyard attached to Tianxi’s, finding my mother waiting for breakfast with my father.

She looked up at me, and there was an instant understanding in her eyes as I closed the distance. “Ready to go already, Son?”

I didn’t belabor the conversation, handing her a letter. “Give this to whoever is going to Murdock to collect my kids. Have them give it to Caitlyn or Rob; they will get my other children in line. And tell them to keep a close eye on Ember; she has a bad habit of running away.”

My mother took the letter reverently. She realized that it was not only a simple tool to get my children to go along with her family, but it was a measure of my trust. “I’ll have them do that. Are you bringing the wives today?”

“Yes, after breakfast.” I let out a heavy sigh. “With the Bishou attack, I realize I need the Yunpi family as much as they need me.”

She nodded. “Don’t tell them that. The inner workings of an ancient family are complex. If you ‘need’ them, they will use it.”

I grumbled an acknowledgement. I was not looking forward to dealing with the family politics, but I was about to be knee deep in it. “To survive in the Yunpi family, I’ll need a backer of one of the seventh rank elders, yes?”

My mother nodded. “You will, but not right away. They are united in bringing you and yours into the family, but that will only last until you are there.”

“Then they will all push me, and I’ll be forced to pick one.”

“I’m sorry, son. At least I spared your childhood from family politics, but you must dive in head first now. Obviously, I’d love for you to meet the ancestors of our family branch, but ultimately, you’ll decide what is right for you and your family.” My mother folded her hands in front of her, holding tight to the letter.

She was nervous for me and for her family.

“I know.” I released some of the tension in my body with a deep breath before sitting down. “Now, tell me everything you can about the family.”

***

It hadn’t taken long to get my wives on board; they’d already known it was coming.

Not long after a late breakfast, we were all standing around a large circular enchantment in a separate part of the city.

The Feng family had the large empty building on complete lockdown. It was both a very convenient way to travel, and a huge military risk to have an enchantment capable of teleportation between the cities. It would be the perfect beachhead if someone were to ever try and attack the city.

In order to make it work, there were actually two large complicated enchantments side by side, like a figure eight. On one side, five immortals appeared and immediately held their arms out in a T-pose as Feng family guards searched their bodies.

“It is important to control who comes and who goes. This is one of the reasons we were so shocked when you first displayed your bloodline.” Ming nodded towards the demonstration of how carefully they inspected newcomers. “So when you appeared without our knowledge, it was startling. More than a few men were put on reviewing all the teleportation circle logs.”

I nodded, understanding the importance of controlling this form of travel. But with Ming leading the group, we had easy access to the exit. A small troop of Feng Family guards joined the circle with us.

The guards were part of the agreement with the Yunpi family to bring Ming along as we went into their territory.

“Everyone, all hands and feet inside the circle, please.” A guard was polite enough but ensured our group was well within the circle to avoid any incident. An incident could cause families to go to war.

The guard, finishing his inspection, though he was brief in respect for Ming, stepped back and nodded to another guard, who activated the enchantment.

Light swirled around us as mana flowed through the enchantment and it activated.

I expected some sort of strange sensation, but the light grew so bright I had to close my eyes. The next moment, I found myself opening my eyes to find all of us in a similar formation, but in a differently decorated room.

“Hands out.” A guard in pristine white armor and gold trim put his hands out in demonstration.

My mother stepped forward. “Excuse us. We will be going without inspection.” There was an authority in her tone that I hadn’t seen from her before.

The guards instantly recognized her and bowed, taking a step back.

We all followed my mother out quietly, but I broke the silence as soon as we were clear. “Was that necessary? He was just doing his job.”

“I’d rather the entire city not know you are here yet, not until we’ve had time for the family to meet you first.” My mother grabbed my arm and pulled me along as she lifted the whole group up into the air. Her domain expanded much farther than mine could, wrapping the whole group inside and lifting us all.

As we rose, I got my first look at Cloud City. Its name was no mystery. Between the thin air and the low clouds, it almost felt like I could reach up and touch them.

Cloud City was built on the peak of a mountain, and I could feel the increased density of immortal mana compared to what I’d felt in Blueheavens. It was a wonderful place to cultivate. No wonder the Yunpi family established a city here.

But the city planning was familiar to that of Blueheavens. Cloud City had three rings making up the city, like Blueheavens.

The city itself was built with white stone, making it blend in somewhere between the snowy mountain top and the clouds above.

“It’s beautiful.” Michelle sighed as we flew through the air. “Look.” She pointed to a distant estate that took up much of the middle ring; it was largely gold and tan.

I knew who that part of the city belonged to. “The Leon Family.”

“Correct.” My mother turned to us. “The Leon Family has gobbled up a little more than half of our middle tier ancient families. They haven’t joined their bloodlines, but non-blooded marriages into the Leon Family are common enough that several ancient families have disappeared entirely over the last few hundred years.”

“They just let this happen?”

“Resistance has been whittled down through business deals, and it has only accelerated in recent years.” My mother sighed. The Yunpi family was being pressed into a corner and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it forced them into all out war.

Based on Blueheavens’ pattern of the more prominent families in the center, I assumed that the white structures that looked like they were rolling in the clouds themselves must be my family.

That was only confirmed as we headed directly towards them.

The buildings were odd, swirling spherical shapes, with no true roof on them. Instead, the same carved stone made a round roof, with small channels that were both decorative to make it look wispy, yet would also work to guide the water smoothly off the roof.

“Our buildings are works of art, carved by a late ancestor originally, and then mimicked over the years as we’ve expanded. Some of the older buildings were his original work.” My mother said proudly.

“Where do the stones come from?” I asked.

“The mountain below us.” My mother gestured around us. “It provides much for the entire city and those that live in our territory.”

Lanhua pulled at my sleeve as we approached the Yunpi estate.

I turned, raising an eyebrow at her demeanor. It wasn’t like her to look so nervous.

“After earlier, I wanted to say something. Isaac, I—” Lanhua struggled for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I will put down my grudge with the Leon family to pursue you.”

I was shocked. She had put hundreds of years into building up her revenge. It would take something large to make her give that up.

“That’s not necessary.” I released a breath of my own. “Recently my eyes were opened to the risks we must take at times with relationships. Though I’m already beyond blessed in that regard, I understand your feelings and accept the risk.”

It wasn’t quite opening my heart to her, but I was trying to tell her that she at least had a foot in the door.

“Thank you.” She pulled at my hand, her silky smooth skin tantalizing me with just that touch as she pulled it up to her lips and laid a dizzying kiss on the back of my hand. “I will treasure the opportunity, and I promise not to betray your trust.”

“Yeah.” I said dumbly, still rocked by feeling her touch.

And she knew exactly what she was doing, if the smirk on her face was any inclination. She gave me a wink as she drifted back to the rest of my wives.

Rachel, Diana and Nikki congratulated her and pulled her into a series of hugs before passing her around to the rest of my wives. They had encouraged her and they were accepting her into the fold in their own way.

“She’s had a hard life. I’m glad she’s finding some comfort.” My mother commented.

“You don’t find it awkward? The generational gap?” I clarified.

My mother shrugged. “Immortality makes things like that seem trivial. You are of similar ranks; that is more important in our society.”

Cultivation rank seemed to be treated more like how the mortal world treated age. It didn’t bother me though. We were all timeless and some of my mana beasts were ancient.

My mother’s domain started to drift down towards the Yunpi estate. I was able to make out people in white robes, bustling about. The robes looked similar to each other, but there were different borders along them.

Guards gathered where my mother was clearly planning to land in a large open yard. A group of our size was a large enough concern for them to mobilize and clear us before allowing us to walk among the family.

“Things will start happening quickly once we land. Do your best, and try not to anger the elders. I’ll look after your wives.” My mother warned me.

She said nothing about taking care of her husband and Breeze, but I assumed that was given.

The trees parted around us, and the grass blew with unseen wind as we landed amid the courtyard.

“Remain still until we can verify you.” A guard held out a hand, but his eyes were locked on my mother.

“Lilly Yunpi. Who is this group?” A more decorated guard questioned. His eyes held a heavy weight, like he’d seen much and been beaten down by the world.

I could feel he was far into the 6th rank and well deserving of respect.

“This is my son, my husband, and his adopted son.” She then let out a large sigh. “These are my daughter-in-laws, including the heir to the Feng Family, Ming Feng, who is accompanied by family guards.”

There were skeptical looks from the other guards, but the older man nodded slowly, dipping his head a little further than he needed to for my mother. “Welcome back.”

“Here, this is for Robert’s team that were looking into my grandchildren.” She handed him a letter, staring him in the eyes and not releasing the letter as she spoke slowly and with a gravity that demanded respect. “This is to be given to Caitlyn, his eldest, to bring the others in line. Special attention needs to be paid to one of his youngest, Ember, who has a penchant for being a little escape artist. It isn’t an attempt to escape, just a little rascal.”

The older guard handed the letter off to one of his subordinates that had listened to the whole thing. “No harm shall come to these kids, understand?”

“Understood.” The guard gave a slight bow of his head again and turned sharply, walking away.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the guards going to pick up my children. I wanted to be there to protect them, but I trusted they’d at least be safe for the moment. My mother wouldn’t put them in direct danger.

My mother kept talking to the guards, and I took a moment to look around. My eyes caught on a young child tottering on the edge of a three story building.

Even if the child was born an immortal, three stories were too far for a child to fall.

I was riveted in place as feelings of a father made me look around wide eyed to see if anyone else was watching the five-year-old girl.

When I saw no one watching her and she tottered at the edge of the roof, I bolted from the group.

It was a sudden, sharp movement that caused several guards to draw their weapons and block me.

But there was no time to deal with them as the girl tumbled through the air.

My Pixiu bloodline flared to life, along with the nine-tailed fox.

Guards blocked my path, but their motions were easy to predict due to my Pixiu bloodline.

I ducked under the first guard and bobbed around the second before darting forward, warping space to pass the third and shoot out of the cluster of guards that had collapsed around me.

Jumping high into the air, I caught the little girl, spinning my back and kicking off the building while holding her.

“Wee!” she squealed, not a care in the world. Children truly lacked any sense of self-preservation. “Again! Big brother! Again!” She clapped as I landed.

If I had anything to say about it, we would not be doing that again. And I gave her a face to tell her that. But she just smiled up at me with glee, continuing to clap her hands.

All around us, the guards watched with caution, and those of the ancient family watched me with wide eyes as I deactivated the two bloodlines.

My ears burned as I caught snippets of conversations around me. Everyone wanted to know who I was. A young cultivator with the Pixiu bloodline, and not only that, a second bloodline. I felt like my actions now had just spawned a torrent of rumors.

It had never been done before.

“Weapons away, you idiots. He was just catching the child from a fall.” The older guard smacked one of them. I thought it was just going to be a small smack of discipline, but the guard toppled over and his face buried itself in the ground with how hard he was hit.

“Grumpy!” the child shouted as she spotted the older guard. The guard made a face, and I could see how she had come up with that nickname.

“Xiexie, go find your father.”

“He’s boooooring.” She dragged out the word like a petulant child. “I want to go play.”

The older guard rubbed his face. “Smith, can you take her back home?”

A guard broke formation and took the squealing girl from me, marching with her held out in front of him like a prized possession.

It noticed the guards had no issue identifying the little girl and knowing where she needed to be returned. I had a feeling she was in trouble.

I couldn’t imagine raising children that were already starting to cultivate. I pictured Ember being able to cultivate when she was that age and cringed.

“Sorry about that.” The older guard plastered a smile on his face. “So, you are Lily’s boy. Did you know she wasn’t that different from that little girl once upon a time, climbing everything and getting into trouble? Heck, she still likes to run off every chance she gets.”

“Terrance, sometimes you are too old.” My mother rolled her eyes, moving the conversation forward.

I wondered just how old the guard was.

“That’s Terrance?” My father blinked. “I remember some of the stories—”

A look from my mother made my father’s mouth snap shut.

“And you are the father?” Terrance asked, as if I was some newborn. “Is that your bloodline?”

“No bloodline sir. Just a swordmaster.” My father couldn’t keep his smile from ticking up on the corner of his lips.

Terrance grunted at him and frowned at me as if I were a puzzle to work out. “Fine. Men, take Lilly and the rest to her courtyard. Young man, you are with me.”

My mother stepped forward but froze after Terrance held a hand up. “I have my orders, Lilly. Don’t make this hard. He’ll be fine.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you make them feel like a child?” I asked Terrance.

My mother laughed. “He thinks we are all children.”

“You ARE children in my eyes.” Terrance sighed. “Come on. The elders will know you are here already; it is best we don’t keep them waiting.”

He put a firm hand on my back to guide me.

“So why haven’t you ascended to the 7th rank?” I asked him as we walked. He was the strongest sixth rank immortal I had ever felt, and if he was so old, then it didn’t make sense to me why he wouldn’t pursue the next rank.

“Because I am a cautious man. Wandering the void for answers often results in the immortal never coming back. I have great grandchildren in the clan, and I will continue to protect them.”

“Just great grandchildren?” I joked.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “There might be a few more greats that should be in there, but I don’t have time to count all of them. I guard the Yunpi family and will continue to do so as long as I’m able. There is no allure in the seventh rank for me.”

I frowned, thinking about what he’d said.

Given immortal bodies, it would make sense to see more sixth rank cultivators than existed. The process of wandering the void to reach the seventh rank must be dangerous.

Terrance led me deeper into the estate, to a large building with wide stairs and columns across the front. While many buildings around us had people coming and going, this one was almost ominous. No one seemed to be putting a single foot on those wide steps.

“Just go in and wait for the Elders.” Terrance gave me a light shove.