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77.63% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 250: Chapter Fifty - We leave for the other realm

Chapter 250: Chapter Fifty - We leave for the other realm

Leon blew out the candle after finishing clearing the thoughts that were spinning around his head by writing them into his diary.  Notes about elemental essences, cold refining were added to mention of Feather Fall and Floating Pills, of which he'd managed to make several of the former and only three of the latter in the end. 

Do not form above a fire that is hotter than smouldering coals, use water to cool the cauldron. He added with a heavy sigh.  He'd caused several craters in the walls while discovering that little thing.  Fortunately Feather Fall Pills were slightly more forgiving when it came to temperature control or there would be many, many more.

Lastly, he wrote of what he'd learned about the Empyrean Shattered Isles so far, with the intention of adding to these notes when he returned.  He also scribbled down a note for Jin Li, in case his lover came out of his closed cultivation while he was away. 

Don't worry about me, I'll be back soon.  The coeurl are in the main stables being cared for, please bring them back if I cannot do so first.

His brush paused and heat flooded his face as he quickly scribbled an endearment before blowing dry the ink and folding the note before placing it beneath a carving of a Coeurl cub On the table.  Rushing to his bed, he dove beneath the covers, still feeling a little embarrassed, but he quickly fell asleep so did not dwell on it long.

As morning came, Leon automatically reached for the cold space beside him before waking enough to recall just why it lacked heat and he drowsily pouted for a moment.  He padded over to his stove to add a little wood to it in order to cook some breakfast, deciding to cook the last two eggs in stock to eat.  As they boiled, he checked over the things in his interspatial bag, which included a blanket and a spare set of robes.  Naturally, a lot of the space was taken up by jade bottles of pills and potions as well as an earthen jar of various dried vegetables and rice; he hoped that this would be good rehydrated as soup.  Being an alchemist, he was expected to take his cauldron, taking the portable stove wasn't overly necessary, but wasn't too much a burden and could heat a kettle of tea or soup.

He did not linger over breakfast but wrapped himself with a warm, waterproof cloak he'd bought recently and hurried over to the outer school plaza with his things.  He was the only outer school student to be picked in the end, the other fifty nine members hailed from the inner school.  Leon even recognised a few to his surprise, some he had met as Leo, another as Leon, but he didn't know any of them well.  They were guided by a Teacher to the griffin nests and one by one boarded the awaiting beasts.

They flew above the tree line in a northerly direction, sharply descending at one point only for the beasts to find a strong air current that allowed them to glide upwards and high up the vertical peaks facing them.  They circled west for a short way, flying amongst the clouds, before descending upon an artificial stone platform carved into the mountain's side.  Above the clouds, there was no snow here, just the crunch of frost beneath their feet as they made their way inside the mountain.

Sheltered from the cold air and basking in the heat from two braziers filled with magical firestones, the alchemists relaxed visibly before slowly dispersing and finding their team leaders or team mates waiting around the edges of the massive cavern.  Pike was waiting with Troy and Velana had already met with them.  The taller martial artist joked as he stated that the mages would likely be last.  He was not wrong.

Sixty teams of six was a great number of people, not to mention the Mage teachers and former seniors who were there having opened the portals or were waiting to guide the students through.  The cavern was quickly filled with bodies. Two mages would guide the ten teams of students through each time.  One would hold the key totem of each team, in order to guide them back as well as protect the portals and the other would follow the ten teams using enchanted origami birds to watch their movements.  This information would be sent by one of two twin crystal mirrors to the school, which would be sent to other enchanted mirrors in order that the students left behind could witness their favourite teams whenever they wished.  The spell was similar to the bubbles made for the illusion challenge of the Standings, just more anchored.

Pike's team came through the portal in the third wave, having drawn lots in the beginning.  The two mages gave out the breakable totems, which were the size of a waist pendant and also gave to each team one spelled interdimensional bag.  This had much more space than their individual interspatial bags, but was enchanted that things could be put in, not taken out.  Whatever it contained would be what they were judged on in the end and the team was also free to claim the contents and distribute it amongst themselves.  Of course, this was another reason for creating a team that had core trust amongst themselves.

Leon took a deep breath as he followed Pike out of the cave in which this wave's teams appeared in, Velana and her partner brought up the rear.  Troy was clearly excited, although this was restrained, still reminded Leon a little of Sun when it came to exuberant energy.  Roman was as nervous as himself, not able to hide it, but kept following the two martial artists with resolution.  Meanwhile Caelus belied his bulk by moving forward with much ease and lightness of foot.

Pike looked around hoping to gain his bearings, though such wasn't easy to do.  There were more than thirty lands they could have appeared on after all. In the end, Pike shook his head as he paused beneath a tree whose girth was worth at least five of Caelus' "I don't recognise this place, I've not been here before," Pike had ventured these lands almost four times, once as a team member and three times as its leader, "I'm not sure I can distinguish it via the maps I viewed either."

He had Troy climb the large tree, warning him to be careful. The Empyrean Shattered Isles could be said to be ruled by monster birds after all. The agile youth seemed to vanish into the canopy, which barely moved as he traversed it and it was almost fifteen minutes later when he finally reappeared.

"There is what looks like a lone mountain or volcano in that direction," Troy pointed west. "And some sort of clearing that way, but there's also a large flock of birds circling around that area as well. The nearest edge seems to be that way," he pointed to the north east. "But these place is definitely dense with trees. That one only peaks over the main canopy, there are several taller trees that are two or three times as tall." He patted the massive tree behind his back.

"Did you see any other isles?" Pike asked him, but he shook his head. It seemed they could only take their chances on this isle for now. With his description, Pike had narrowed the list of possible islands that they could be on down to about three, but he would have to see more of the land before he might be sure.

"Let's go to the clearing," he decided.

"Are you sure?" Caelus blurted out in question. "What about the mass of flying beasts?"

"I have a hunch," Pike grinned, patting his the fair-sized hammer at his hip as he spoke. "Besides, mountains contain minerals, minerals tend to be good for points so I suspect that most of the teams will head there first. I'd rather not follow the crowd or attract more attention from the wild beasts by being a part of it." He was the team leader, so they all agreed to follow him. Pike went ahead with Troy and Caelus following, Leon and Roman walked behind them while Velana and her fox partner continued to protect their backs.


Chapter 251: Chapter Fifty One - We begin exploring the Isle

From a top the canopy, Troy could attempt to judge the distance to the clearing, but how far it seemed to be and how far it was in reality was quite different. The trees were a mix of thick and thin, tall and somewhat less so. Their trunks varied mostly in shades of rich and ash browns with the occasional oddity thrown in, such as the tree with lurid green bark. Saplings of many varieties attempted to climb to reach the canopy, but it was likely only a few could manage to do so. Due to the mostly green ceiling, the sky could not be seen, just that it was bright enough to be considered day. Troy claimed that the suns were quite high in the sky, so a night period was still somewhat distant.

That was right, plural. There was more than one sun. Troy had only quickly glanced, for the two stars were extremely bright, but he mentioned that the smallest of the two seemed more orange than white and currently, they shared a similar space above them.

Pike planned for them to reach the clearing, scope out the area and consider its potential as a temporary camp. There were currently no other islands to explore, so it wouldn't be in error to camp in the same spot for the next few nights if the place chosen was the right one. He also would like for them to camp sooner rather than later on this first day to discuss strategy, however, he did not hurry forward.

For one thing, although they were somewhat shielded from the view of most of the flying menaces this realm was known to breed, there were still plenty of dangerous beasts and even some plants to be found at ground level.  In fact, less than five minutes into their journey as they traipsed through the foliage, a crowned serpent that was as thick as Leon's thigh and five times in length against Pike's height dropped from an overhead branch, looking for a quick takeaway.  Unfortunately, all it gained was a quick death; Pike smashed it's jaw with his hammer, nearly removing the bone from its attachment to the creature's skull completely and Troy leapt forward with a long knife and cut off its head.

Leon's heart beat like thunder within his chest and his fists curled until they turned bone white.  He took several deep breaths as the two martial artists claimed their trophy.  This type of serpent, while it looked frightening, was the opportunist type and a scavenger, also quite lazy, slow and without poison, so it wouldn't gain them a great deal of points as a kill, but its skin was iridescent, popular amongst the nobles in the form of belts or decorative boots so worth money.  It would be a waste to leave it behind, but the whole ambush had still scared him. He also struggled to look at the bloody mess the two martial artists left behind and could only aside his eyes in the end.

Continuing on, they came across a swarm of dire-hornets, but as they left the nest alone, the insects which were the size of Leon's palm with stingers the length of his thumb, also let them be.  Later, they came across two large felines fighting for territories.  This time, Troy gestured in question, his face excited and hungry to test his abilities, but Pike shook his head; not worth the effort.  The beasts were left to battle without interference. 

"Oh," Leon voiced in sudden surprise, causing the others to pause to glance at him.  His face reddened as he raised a finger to point out a thick patch of herbs nestled beneath the exposed root crop of a tree.  The branches seemed to lean over the herbs protectively and even their leaves somewhat hid them from sight.  If not for fuchsia pink blossoms adorning them currently, Leon would never have noticed them.

Caelus frowned, looking at the variegated, moon shaped leaves before recognising it; "Just some common Twice Crescent Elderwort.  What's their to be excited about?"

"Ah, well," Leon mentioned as he cautiously crept closer, overly wary of danger that could be lurking. It was well known that beasts would seek out or even claim the herbs in their territory to use as medicines or aids to enhance their cultivation.  Just because this herb was common, did not mean it had no uses.  So it could be said that it was no surprise that an ordinary centipede crawling over one of the thick roots of the tree gave him a start, his tension drawn so tight.  He took a deep breath to calm himself once more before explaining; "You see, this pl-plant only flowers when Celestial T-Tear herb b-begins t-to g-grow and flower amongst it."  Leon gently swept the vine like foliage of the tree to one side and pointed towards a vine like plant with small, lilac coloured spots upon its leaves, which wound itself around the stems of the larger herb.  Its flower had no petals, just a sticky teardrop shaped bud upon the tips of its off-shoot stem, which were coated in a silvery powder.  "The Twice Crescent Elderwort seeds attach t-to the Celestial T-Tear's seeds, which f-float to other pl-places to g-germinate."  Leon recalled this herb as he'd found this symbiotic relationship interesting. 

Pike smiled.  Unlike the Twice Crescent Elderwort herb which grew quickly and abundantly, spreading over its chosen bed like a weed, the Celestial Tear herb was slow to germinate and even slower to grow.  Certain conditions need to be met or it would not grow at all.  Therefore, it could be considered quite rare.  Leon was clever to understand that the former was flowering only because of its presence, otherwise they would have walked straight passed this small treasure.  On Leon's request, not only did they harvested several whole Celestial Tear herbs including the intact roots, despite the difficulty of unwinding the vines, but also both herbs' seed heads.  Leon hoped to be able to grow both together in the future.

Not long after a quick skirmish with a flock of red sparrows, the bold, powerless creatures attempting to channel the pride of their Phoenix ancestors and causing nothing more than an inconvenience before they fled, the six humans and one fox arrived at the clearing that had only been seen from a far. The trees parted to reveal both a pale, aquamarine sky and a large, still lake. Naturally, where there was water, there were beasts of all shapes and sizes, thus despite arriving, the team still had to remain beneath the shelter of the tree landscape bordering the clearing.

From the shadow of one tree, Leon's eyes gazed curiously over the diving flocks, the lounging packs and herds that gathered about the lake. There seemed to be what could only be described as a tentative ceasefire between the multitudes of herbivores and the carnivores close by, the former with nervous posture and eyes as they approached the waters' edge, while the latter were as vigilant, seeking an opportunity but not being so bold as to try their luck as scavengers and other opportunists might steal away their prey if they moved too soon or too late. Of course the situation also was not ideal for the team; they could not hunt for the same reasons as the predators, worse, they could easily become the prey.

Pike indicated for them to retreat slowly and carefully, before pointing upwards indicating the generous thick and level branches of one nearby tree. Leon felt arms reach about his waist, just as the shadows surrounding the tree seemed to lengthen, darken and solidify. His body was lifted off of the ground and he grabbed Pike's strong forearm in surprise before landing in the tree. In the other arm, the martial artist held Roman who looked equally taken aback. Velana leapt up without aid, the fox scampering up easily along side her.

The shadows then moved abnormally until they formed the shape of a doorway. Caelus was unceremoniously spat out of this space, followed by Troy, who complained as he strode out of the shadows. "How are you so heavy?"

Caelus sat upright and crossed his arms about his chest. "I could have made my own way up," he muttered. Troy raised an eyebrow but added nothing to refute him and the shadows returned to normal with a silent twang. He then glanced at Pike before asking;

"What should we do now?"


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ebonsolaris Ebonsolaris

For those who also read CiaZA, I am very late getting this week’s chapter out due to a bit of writer’s block and other reasons, but I will try to release it as soon as I can.

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