Sorry, the chapter is late again. I lied to myself yesterday and said I'd totally be able to edit after going to a local rib joint for dinner with a friend, even though every time I've gone there in the past, all I do when I get home is lie on the couch, struggling to digest all the meat I ate.I'm finally free to catch up on editing, so this shouldn't happen again for a while. Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for all the support.
Chapter 86
Research and Tough Choices
Tobias had no problem with delegation. If someone was perfectly capable of doing their job, then there was no reason for him to interfere. This was why he had appointed so many competent ministers and ensured they reached the foundation realm. Their competence let him pursue other interests when he wanted or needed to, and right now, he needed to understand how to accelerate the plague, so it would end sooner.
The Great Plague had lasted thirty-three years, and that was during the height of The Three Kingdoms' power. Their current understanding of the Great Plague was much deeper than in the past, so they were unlikely to repeat past mistakes, but famine was still an ever-present threat. Famine would fuel desperation, and desperate people would cry out to their ancestors for help, spreading the plague.
The following morning, Tobias walked through the Civil Realm taking note of how much miasma had been absorbed by the sage realm spirit herbs overnight. All the cauldrons that had been filled with crystallised miasma were now empty, but the liquid miasma levels had barely dropped.
Except in one situation.
One of the cauldrons contained about a cup less than the others. The garden was on the far side of the realm, so Elder Chow hadn't seen what took place, leaving Tobias puzzled by what had happened.
Tobias finished his investigation and then headed for the Civil Sect to gather researchers for his project. Before entering closed-door cultivation, his Cultivation Academy had three scholars and five professors teaching gathering to the Civil Sect's disciples. Xu Ling's research laid the foundation for gathering techniques, and the Scholar of the Cultivation Academy expanded upon it, making it the most well-understood cultivation profession in existence.
Tobias needed to see if his people were still around, because they were the only ones he trusted to track the effects miasma had on sage realm spirit herbs.
When Tobias scouted the sect the day before, the buildings had been overflowing with cultivators. They were attending classes, practicing cultivation exercises, working on their fitness, or testing their professional abilities. Now, they were all gone. Less than a tenth remained, and most of them were instructors or new students who hadn't stepped out of the mortal realm.
Tobias dropped his shrouding technique as he entered the city size spirit garden behind the academic buildings and projected his aura as far as he could to gather the attention of anyone who had remained behind. The Civil Sect's spirit garden held several million spirit herbs, exclusively used for general meridian opening and cleansing pills.
The fast-growing and resilient spirit herbs gave the gatherers and budding alchemists ample opportunity to practice their craft, while building a foundation from which The Three Kingdoms could create its future. The abundance of resources allowed the academy to research the effectiveness of the pills in detail, learning exactly where and when they were appropriate for use. Tobias didn't know the current state of their research, but there had been many minor breakthroughs before he went into seclusion.
The cost of becoming an initiate cultivator was declining each year.
Tobias's scholars and professors came running the moment they sensed his aura. They sprinted out of the surrounding lecture halls and from all across the spirit garden, using techniques to arrive as quickly as they could.
Scholar Chunhua arrived first, cupped her hands and bowed. "Scholar Chunhua greets Sage Knowledge in these troublesome times."
Tobias inclined his head in return. "I required your most skilled gatherer scholars for a research project. They will need to have assistants to perform their duties. They will be working with miasma, and this could lead to them contracting the plague if something goes wrong."
Scholar Chunhua swallowed. "May we refuse, Sage Knowledge?"
"You may."
"What will we receive in return for our service?"
"Fifteen gold spirit droplet compression pills."
Her eyes widened at his offer before she winced. "One must assume there is a high chance of contracting the plague with this sort of generosity."
"Of that I am not certain," Tobias replied with all honesty. "Which is why I am willing to be so generous. Within a few days, I will know how safe this task is, and then the reward will be more appropriately aligned with the risk. Collect those who are willing and bring them to the Civil Realm."
Tobias shrouded himself and left.
He didn't have time to repeat himself or answer questions. He'd sensed members of the Divine Council enter the city while he gave instructions, flashing their auras to get his attention the same way as he had to his own people.
Patriarch Shen and Patriarch Lee were investigating the cauldrons when Tobias returned to the Civil Realm. Tobias made his way towards them while shrouded, not bothering to move at a sedate pace. He dropped the shroud only when he reached them. Neither patriarch jumped, having sensed him when he was over one hundred yards away.
Patriarch Shen inclined his head. "I have informed the Divine Council of your findings, Sage Knowledge. The council has voted to assist in raising immortal spirit herbs to help our immortal ancestors with their plight. The remaining sage realm spirit herbs from the original Sword Garden and those currently in the Civil Realm are at your disposal."
Tobias didn't miss the fact that they weren't willing to risk their own gardens. "How many of the Sword Garden's spirit herbs are left?"
"We removed 283 from the Sword Garden at the end of the war. Over half have been used to produce cultivation pills to assist our cultivation. A third of those that remained were lost when we were unable to care for them. We have 77 left that we are willing to commit to this cause."
Tobias was mortified.
There were currently 478 sage realm spirit herbs in the Civil Realm. The majority were common spirit herbs, but they were still sage realm spirit herbs. Their ability to nurture and improve their environment was unequalled, making each one precious. For the Divine Council to have lost so many rare spirit herbs to greed and negligence was beyond disgusting.
Tobias held back his anger. "Is the Divine Council willing to commit their own sage realm spirit herbs to my project?"
"Only Patriarch Lee has chosen to do so. He is here to discuss the matter with you." Having said what he needed to say, Patriarch Shen vanished.
Tobias turned to Patriarch Lee. "Are you willing to tell me why you are willing to commit your family's sage realm spirit herbs when the others are not?"
Patriarch Lee cupped his hands behind his back with an amused smile on his lips. "I have learned over the years of our friendship that my clan should follow your instincts if we wish to prosper. I have also spoken to my son about this matter, and he informed me that he believes only a handful of our sage realm spirit herbs will be capable of attempting to ascend. The others will stop once they reach the peak of the sage realm and will have a much more nourishing effect on our family's cultivation realm. He also said that even with all the miasma collected after the Great Plague, there is not enough for all of our sage realm spirit herbs to reach immortality."
"You know how much was collected," Tobias said.
He'd asked for the numbers, but Patriarch Shen hadn't given them to him yet.
A scroll appeared in Patriarch Lee's hand, and he passed it over. "Do you know why the 1st Emperor or the other sages never discovered that miasma could be broken down by sage realm spirit herbs?"
Tobias answered as he read. "I assume it is because sage realm spirit herbs do not have the strength to pull miasma from sage or nascent soul realm cultivators against their will. I also imagine that if they attempted this against a nascent soul realm cultivator, it would terrify the cultivator and prompt them to fight back. A cultivator would have to be willing to be at their mercy to receive the beneficial effects."
Patriarch Lee winced at the blunt answer but didn't disagree with Tobias's deduction.
Tobias didn't like the numbers he saw. The vast majority of the miasma that had been collected was in crystallised form, with less than one thousand cauldrons of liquid miasma. Peace Master So was correct. They didn't have enough to make all the sage realm spirit herbs reach the point where they could attempt to ascend to immortality.
It wasn't possible to end the plague this way.
Tobias turned to Elder Chow and the small, steady trickle of miasma flowing from her into the spirit herb beside her.
Patriarch Lee turned with him and sighed. "It's going to be the only way, isn't it?"
Tobias sighed with him. "She's already released the miasma that would be contained in dozens of foundation realm cultivators, and it's only been a single day. It's clear that this is the path the heavens wish us to take."
"Will you bring this before the Divine Council?"
"No. I'm going to study this in depth before I do. Once I understand what is happening, I may ask for volunteers, but I will never place this before the Divine Council."
"You are afraid we will force this upon people."
"There are hundreds of foundation realm soldiers on your border who fought for your enemy. It does not take much to justify forcing the plague upon them or removing them when an infected core realm cultivator needs their spot. I will not be a part of that."
"Neither will I. You need not fear the Divine Council voting to implement this."
"I only need to fear them acting independently."
Patriarch Lee didn't deny the accusation. "How can we assist you?"
"I need a cauldron of liquid miasma transported to every sage realm spirit herb that will be attempting to ascend in The Three Kingdoms. That will give me the time I need to finish my investigation and decide on the next step."
"And the crystallised miasma?"
"I assume the vault is underground and in the dark?"
"It's in a mountain cave lined with iron."
"Does anyone possess sage realm spirit herbs that do not require light and have a treasure that can establish a chi environment for such spirit herbs to survive?"
"Outside The Three Kingdoms, there are such spirit herbs. My son might even have some or know someone who does."
"The crystalised miasma is bulky, and the sage realm spirit herbs absorb it quickly. Based on what I read, it would take months of effort for you to transport it to where it needs to go, and you would never keep up with the rate at which the spirit herbs absorb it. Nascent soul realm cultivators are needed to patrol The Three Kingdoms and keep the people safe. We cannot continue to use you in this way. However, if a sage realm spirit herb can be established in the vault, this garden would naturally solve our problem."
"I'll speak with my son and collect what you need." Patriarch Lee turned to the entrance. "Your disciples appear to lack the courage to enter."