CH17: Plan To Eradicate A Cerberus

Far Bolin was confused when he read the jade slip and saw saved pictures of several animals that had been requested to be added to the contribution list. At first, he thought Uncle Far Ji was finally going senile. The man was approaching his second millennium when senility in nascent soul realm cultivators was known to happen when elders reached the end of their life spans. A tiny part of him said not Uncle Ji. When his father was busy, Uncle Ji took him to tournaments. He prepared to begin adding restrictions to Uncle Ji’s purchasing ability to prevent the older man from falling onto the lowly path of demonic cultivation.

That lasted until he had a little context. It was a request on behalf of their new pathfinders. Apparently, they were having a good time and swiping everything that wasn’t nailed down, including some very fancy tiles.

Far Bolin felt relief and imagined a stripped-bare vault and the despair thieves would feel upon entering it. To take even the fancy tiles from the floor was a sign of someone with a large storage space and no idea what was needed or not. The better-take-everything approach filled contribution charts for sects, so it was a point in favor of keeping them around.

Asking inner disciples to get a few animals would sound weird. It's all because of his cousin Far Hao, who was a degenerate. There was no question what that man would want the animals for. His demonic cultivation technique was legendary in its immorality.

By asking for these animals to be brought alive and unharmed, there would be rumors. How long before some curious fellow from another sect approached him during an intersect tournament and asked if the rumors were true? The request shouldn’t be a big deal, but to only request a few of the animals would undoubtedly raise eyebrows.

It was fortunate that Far Bolin had a plan for that. There were many hidden realms, and with a few adjustments, they could be turned into spaces for the creatures to farm. It would take some effort, but with enough obfuscation, the rumors might never rise, and he could avoid an awkward conversation.

He glanced around and found a group of core realm inner disciples playing cards. Far Bolin checked his jade slip and discovered their names and faces as they matched with their badges. While he didn’t know every name, it was good to pretend he did. It gave the lower disciples a feeling of belonging and raised morale.

“Chen Tu, you have a sister back at the greater sect you wish to bring here when our situation settles down.” Far Bolin read off his jade slip.

The man bowed. “Yes, honored founder, how may I be of service.”

“Take your companions and journey to the planes. There, I want you to gather herds of zebras, pride of lions, and disasters of wyverns you can find. Bring them here and live. We are going to use some of these hidden realms and farm the beasts. Any beast with a child is desirable, but we need enough for sexual diversity,” Far Bolin said.

“We will go immediately.”

The men stared at each other and revealed their cards. One man with a long mustache claimed the pot of sect bills with blue wolves.

“How much is this job paying?” An enterprising Ji Tu asked.

He looked the man in the eyes. “Ji Tu, you have an outstanding debt to the snowbird treasury. The vault tipped your decision to join us, not loyalty. Well, each animal carrying offspring is worth 20pts in sect bills. Others are breeding capable and will go for 5pts each. Opportunity only knocks at the door once.” Far Bolin said.

It was exhausting but it gave them the appearance of knowing them even if they hadn’t met personally. It would make some feel warm and fuzzy inside that he cared. For others, it will make them think twice about plotting against them, knowing their spy network was at work plundering their secrets.

After they left with all the tools that were expected of them, the severing expert made his way to the formation experts twiddling their thumbs and screwing the few women that came with them. He needed them for the next part of his plan.

Far Bolin suspected that moving into a new body without cultivation wasn’t as easy as most thought. His soul could potentially do it if no predators attacked while he searched. Finding a suitable host for his power would take time. Karma and the fight against the soul for control were also involved.

He focused back on the bored formation masters.

The drink ran out on the way, and no one was scheduled to ship it until the situation stabilized. Canons were being placed upon his orders, and the builders were busy erecting walls of ice. They stared at him before working harder. He preferred to give his people privacy to work instead of standing over them, making them nervous.

Far Bolin pointed at a few men. “Team 1, locate the hidden realms within this area with the most time dilation and mark them on these maps” Far Bolin tossed them some jade slips with maps of the area. Then he pointed at a few others. “Team 2 will draw preliminary plans to alter the hidden realms with formations to make them habitable for local wildlife.” Then he pointed to the last the people he knew the faces of but not really their names without his jade slip. “Team 3 will build off of Team 2’s work and make the hidden realms into spaces fit for these animals to thrive.”

He left the men to panic and move according to his orders. Being in charge and in the severing realm had some perks.

The severing realm expert teased the idea of creating cursed formations on the animals to bind his new allies to the sect, but that was unnecessary. The sect was a robust power base for any rogue cultivator. At this stage, the pathfinders would act more like contractors than true disciples, which was fine. Everyone had to start somewhere.

Something shattered in his spatial ring, sending alarm bells through him. Had he miscalculated? No, there was no reason for those three to attack his people. The founder of a new sect stared at the life rod for Elder Gou, but it remained unbroken.

Then, on his jade slip, a word and a picture appeared: Cerberus. He saw the beast in all its glory. An immortal here chained in this lower realm by the founder of the Golden Eagle sect changed to Thunder Eagle with his ascension. His Uncle was dead, killed by a legendary creature.

It wasn’t a dishonor. That was the only good thing he could pull from this tragedy. It must have targeted the most vital member of the team first to send them into shock. He expected either the escape treasure to save the party or Elder Gou’s life rod to shatter.

Moments later, what remained of the party appeared to fall in a bloody broken heap outside the vault. The beast Atom, the creature that had altered its body to fight a severing realm cultivator, was bitten in half. A small star glimmered within the black, moving flesh. It was the core of the creature. For a moment, Far Bolin debated claiming it but admonished himself immediately.

When the situation allowed it, he would be a greedy cultivator, a grieving nephew, and alone except for his sister. The situation demanded Far Bolin, the severing realm founder of the Frozen Wolf sect.

The faces of the frozen wolves pointed to a few men in wolf cloaks. “Take them to the medical tents.”

…

I was on a bed in a medical tent with the curtains closed on all sides. There was so much to take away from my loss I almost didn’t know where to begin.

My body broke and healed repeatedly. Weaves of honeycomb appeared within my bones to lighten them and increase their strength. They layered like that all the way through. A slimy substance spread across my skin before hardening like resin. The changes continued, making me more powerful physically.

Perhaps a punch wouldn’t shatter my fist any longer, but it wouldn’t damage the Cerberus. I thought about my soul arrow but cast that thought aside. It couldn’t do the job either. There was no weakness to soul attacks I could exploit.

My pressure wasn’t dense enough to damage it.

The fragments I possessed couldn’t counter the creature’s fragments of death, soul annihilation, or elements. This was another category I lost outright, and I had no hope of closing the gap in my current state.

My hair had allowed me to react to its teleportation by turning the entire tunnel into a trap. That was the only reason I could fight it at all. How long until it figured it out or had it already and allowed me to believe it hadn’t?

There was so much I didn’t know about the creature. It was another league compared to me.

My body continued to shift and change, but it wouldn’t be enough. To alter my pressure body enough to affect the creature, I needed body sage art. I needed soul sage art for my pressure to get strong enough to affect it. I needed mind sage art for my mind to react fast enough to challenge its actual speed.

I had toyed with a plan to form mind, body, and soul spirit arts and merge them into a single sage art. That wasn’t going to work. If I couldn’t use a trick to bypass it, the only way forward was through. So, I needed to get a body and rapidly reach the nascent soul realm. I couldn’t afford to waste anything, so I needed to gain all 27 chances in the body tempering and chi gathering as mind, body, and soul fragments.

This needed to be planned out, and then I needed to practice until they became legitimate weapons.

So, how would I counter Elder Yu and Lui Fang in enough time?

Far Bolin entered my tent with eyes full of determination on his face.

“We have at most ten years before Elder Yu emerges with the scroll from Neo Los Angeles, the black City beneath the earth. If we loan you resources, can you give us the returns we need to get through the Cerberus?” Far Bolin asked.

“Sir, in matters of monetary loans, you must have 2 of 3 votes among the founders.”

“While my sister fucks George, they don’t get a vote. She had a duty, and we no longer have an offer to bring Elder Yu to the fold.” Far Bolin said.

Why would he say that in front of me? Did something happen? The only thing I could determine was the death of the Elder. He didn’t give me his name. Maybe it was because he could have been used as a hostage if he had. Yeah, that makes some sense.

“If I used a hidden realm, it would be possible, but I would have to make some adjustments. Do you have any nine-leaf clovers, sage stones, and a primal wood heart or equivalents? Also, I need all the alchemical and smithing texts you possess, along with experts. Can I also have any time-based natural treasures and technique scrolls you might have?” Oh, and if you have a technique guide to turn chi into spirit stones, it would be appreciated,” I said.

The man snapped, and the assistant stared between us.

“Sir, what if he tries to take the treasure and run.” The aide asked.

“Then he won’t get his revenge.” Far Bolin.

I met the eyes of the man in front of me and felt like we were the same.

“I will speak with the treasury staff and see what we have available.” The aide said.

“I’m the one who turned the spaces scattered across the basin into hidden realms,” I said.

“Interesting, what do you have planned?” Far Bolin asked.

I stared at the man in blue wolf fur with a laid-back hood. He looked manic, with bloodshot eyes. This was not a man to trifle with.

“I have a bit of a philosophy regarding hidden realms. I always push the boat out and let the currents take it where they may. Once the boat is out, it is not controlled from the shore. If you want the realms to develop to their full potential, then you don’t want to,” I said.

He nodded slowly.

“In this case, I’m pushing out a battleship. My plan is simple: I will make a realm that benefits all things life and enter it with extreme levels of time dilation. When I leave, I will have a sage art.”

“Time dilation puts pressure on the soul.” Far Bolin nodded his head. “That won’t be a problem for you. I suspect that with only a little rest, you will be ready for the next world. What kind of dilation do you have planned?”

It was more fun talking shop than I thought, even if he was a lamen. “I expect 500 years to 1 day or more with the right preparation,” I said.

His eyes widened nearly to the point of falling out of his skull. Far Bolin stepped back and took a seat. Then, his eyes regained some of their light.

“We aren’t betting the future of our sect on three individuals. Fate always favors odds, preparation, and timing over hope. I suspect you have a method to strengthen the souls of others like the ancient Psyrens. You will receive 50% ownership of the hidden realms and project control during their development. In exchange, you will teach your secret to those entering the hidden realms and align their loyalty with the cause.”

There was no way I would be kicked out of my hidden realm. I had to fight for it and more. Adding more people to the hidden realm wasn’t an issue, but how I built the ship needed to change. We needed a captain to bring the ship back to the harbor for adjustments after a limited term. I toyed with the idea of calling the captain a monitor or director. The moderator seemed too on the nose of where I came from.

I made a counteroffer. “70% ownership, full control over the direction, and a budget so long as we produce results.”

Enemies needed to be brutal and, most importantly, resemble Cerberus and Elder Yu. I would create several scenarios where the prophesized heroes come to save the world. A beast always guards the entrance to the villain’s lair, and only by defeating them can the true problem be solved.

“55%, and you will roll back your control.” An aide scribbled furiously behind the severing realm expert. “You have more of a spine than I thought for someone dead and beaten again by their killer’s pet.”

I held up a meaty half-regenerated arm. My body was still adapting, growing stronger and lighter. While I wouldn’t weigh as much, I would be able to punch harder and move faster. It was like growing to the strength of two ants before a truck.

Let's face it: there was no way I wasn’t adding a backdoor to fully control the system we created. Building a hidden realm with a backer was a dream come true, and it was mostly for my benefit, too. I prefer a world with a far different tone from this one. Why not make a happier world with a few issues they need heroes to solve every few centuries?

“60%, and I will roll back my input to advisement when it's finished.” The severe realm cultivator nodded slowly and bowed with barely a nod. I returned his gesture and lay back on my bed. It would take time for my body to finish healing.

“I can’t wait to see how George Whiteman works with you.” Far Bolin said.