Chapter 93
The End of an Era
Two years later, Tobias was sitting in the gazebo on the hill watching yet another one of his relatives trigger a tribulation when Peace Master So's voice came from his Three Pigeon treasure. "I'm currently watching one of the sage realm spirit herbs in the Civil Realm undergo its immortal tribulation through my aura."
Tobias flexed his aura to remove the cap of his Three Pigeons' treasure. "What do you see?"
"The spirit herb is making no attempt to block the tribulation bolts like you thought, and there is no leaking miasma to help the other spirit herbs ascend. In fact, it's tearing miasma from the Divine Council so forcefully that they are trying to flee the realm. I'm preventing them from doing so for research purposes."
There was an undisguised amount of glee in his voice as he said 'research purposes'.
"Are the other cultivators safe?"
Over the years, hundreds of core realm cultivators had become infected, and many of them were now trapped in the Civil Realm waiting for the plague to end.
"They're distressed because of how much miasma is being pulled from them, but since this is still significantly less than what is being pulled from Divine Council, they aren't panicking. I've already assured them that it isn't causing any permanent harm."
"Are the spirit herbs next to them still absorbing miasma?"
"No. They have stopped, but they continue to protect them. Would you like me to bring you over, Senior?"
Tobias glanced at the tribulation he'd been studying before shrouding himself from perception. Studying an immortal tribulation was more important than what was going on below. "When you're ready."
The world shifted, and Tobias found himself standing outside the entrance to the Civil Realm beside Peace Master So and his father.
Tobias cupped his hands and bowed. "Sage Knowledge greets Senator Lee."
Senator Lee chuckled. "You don't need to shroud yourself. I've had the Imperial Palace evacuated."
Tobias dropped the shroud and frowned. "I didn't know senators had the power to influence who came and went from the palace."
Senator Lee rolled his eyes. "I did so under my authority as one of the heads of the plague reaction committee."
Tobias smirked. "Good. For a moment, I was worried I'd have to write to my senator and complain about you overstepping the bounds of your authority."
Senator Lee groaned. "Don't joke about that. I get twenty of those letters a day, and I have to reply to all of them."
"So, you're not running for a second term?"
Peace Master So chuckled. "He's doing everything he can to secure his position. He rarely spends a meal alone. Soon he'll be taking your advice and kissing babies."
Tobias had to chuckle. The thought of an old monster kissing babies for votes was just too amusing. "You wouldn't think that with how much he complains to me about his job."
Senator Lee gritted his teeth. "I complain because I'm not allowed to simply punch that brat from the Wei family without losing my position."
"Yes, it's very annoying when you have to listen to someone else's ideas instead of overwhelming them with your superior cultivation."
"I have no problem listening to others. I have a problem with listening to idiots."
"This is why I said the Senate had to allow the public to attend their meetings. No one can know who the idiots are unless they are allowed to listen."
"I still don't have the numbers to get that vote to pass. And you'd better hope that he doesn't get his current law change through."
Tobias frowned. "What's he trying to get passed?"
"He wants to give the senate the power to banish citizens who have too much power and influence over The Three Kingdoms. He's still upset about the techniques and spells you created during the civil war, which now leave him vulnerable to lower realm cultivators."
"If I wasn't going to be the first person banished, I'd say it was a good idea." Tobias turned to the portal. "Can you help me see inside?"
Peace Master So nodded.
Tobias felt the Peace Master So take control of his aura and merge it with his own. Tobias's aura moved into the Civil Realm, allowing him to see the chaos within. The Divine Council were no longer beating their fists against Peace Master So's barrier like Peace Master So had said. They had given up and were huddling beside sage realm spirit herbs, waiting for the torture to end.
Tobias wouldn't describe what he was seeing them go through as violent vomiting. Vomiting usually involved some form of pauses. They were expelling miasma in an endless stream, but that made a certain amount of sense. The tribulation was unlike anything Tobias had seen.
The gale-force winds tore through the realm as black lightning crackled across the sky. The lower realm spirit herbs were all fighting to maintain their barriers to survive the storm. Only the target of the tribulation was benefiting from what was taking place.
Tobias studied the Divine Council. "Did they damage their foundation trying to escape?"
Peace Master So nodded. "They never should have left the safety of the sage realm spirit herbs with that much miasma pouring from them."
"Did you notice that despite all the miasma moving through the air, none of the spirit herbs have been damaged?"
"This doesn't prove the daos are structured by realms or that high realm daos are more effective at suppressing miasma, Senior."
Tobias chuckled but let their old argument lie. He still couldn't prove his theory, but that might change after he became infected. "Have you measured the miasma quantity in those bolts?"
"It's three times greater than a sage realm tribulation."
"I expected more."
"No. You were hoping it would be more, Senior."
Tobias didn't argue. There was no point. They had both read the notes the immortals had left behind, where they complained about how little their power had increased on their way to the peak of the sage realm and how there wasn't a significant change in their power when becoming immortal. Instead, their existence was fundamentally different to the one that had come before. It was what allowed them to pierce the barrier to the immortal realm and prevented them from remaining behind.
"This is going to have very little effect on ending the plague," Tobias muttered. "Even if I'm right about what will happen next."
Senator Lee turned to Tobias. "What do you think will happen next?"
"I think the immortal spirit herb will lengthen the tribulation and feed it to the other spirit herbs, remaining here for three days to accelerate the cultivation of the other spirit herbs that are like itself before ascending to the heavens. There is going to be a cascade effect as all the spirit herbs that are capable of ascending undergo tribulations. If I'm right, the number of sage realm spirit herbs in there is going to drastically increase. We might even see a second immortal ascension."
***
Over the next few weeks, the Civil Realm lost three of the existing sage realm spirit herbs, as one by one, spirit herbs that matched the original began to ascend, pulling their companions with them. Those that were left were either incapable of ascending or on the road to immortality. Peace Master So had released the Divine Council when the cascade ended. The Divine Council had fled for their sects and clan realms only to return within a few days. The torture turned out to be preferable to the achingly slow divinity growth they achieved in their own realm.
A year later, Tobias chuckled at the old memory as he sat on the hill overlooking his family's new hidden realm and watched the sage realm spirit willow he'd been given by Yin Hao finish its immortal ascension. A beam of light pierced the sky as it was invited to ascend. Instead of leaving, it remained in place to assist the other spirit willows that surrounded it.
The chi saturation in the garden had grown drastically with the spirit willows ascension to immortality, warping reality. Tobias hadn't expected the immortal ascension to turn their cultivation realm into a hidden realm, but he wasn't surprised by the transformation either. Peace Master So had suggested it might happen.
The hidden realm stretched for nearly five miles, overlapping the surrounding hills, providing the perfect environment for his clan to reach immortality. They could now expand without destroying more of their grandfather's tea plantation.
The spirit willow Yin Hao had given him was the first spirit herb in his clan's realm to ascend to immortality, and Peace Master So was going to be livid if Tobias didn't pull off what was supposed to happen next. His family had been expecting their spirit herbs to begin their breakthroughs ever since the Civil Realm began doing the same, and they were prepared to take the next step.
Tobias projected his aura to those below. "Begin the tribulations."
His grandpa cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled. "Give us a moment to recover you, tyrant! You have no idea how unpleasant that was!"
Tobias wanted to point out that they were wasting a valuable opportunity, but the glares he received made him keep his mouth shut. Five minutes later, his second cousin began to compress his core and triggered a tribulation.
Instead of the sage realm spirit herbs blocking the miasma tribulation bolts, the immortal spirit willow took control of the bolts. It redirected them into the strongest nascent soul realm spirit willow that his family had raised through countless tribulations.
When his mother began her tribulation, the same thing happened. Her bolts were redirected to the same tree. His grandfather went next, and his older sister Jing immediately after. Each time, the immortal spirit willow directed the bolts to the same willow. This only stopped when the eleventh member of his family began their tribulation, and the sage realm spirit herb beside them deflected it instead.
Tobias projected his voice through the storm. "No one else try to ascend."
His clan had already worked that out for themselves and were shouting to one another, but Tobias wanted to make sure they knew he agreed.
Tobias began taking notes.
After only three hours, the spirit willow targeted by the tribulation lightning began to break through. Tobias watched as Yin Hao had space forcibly folded around him, leaving him standing beside the ascending tree with his palms pointed toward it. The stream of miasma escaping his pipes had grown much more intense, saturating the willow as the tribulation clouds grew darker. The immortal spirit willow began sending the core realm miasma tribulation at another spirit willow as the first guzzled the nascent soul realm cultivator's miasma.
Over the next three days, Tobias watched as the situation escalated, with thousands of the spirit willows in his family's realm becoming sage realm spirit herbs. Peace Master So had personally selected each seed the willows grew from, so they had some of the best bloodlines in existence.
However, based on how long it took the first one to breakthrough the number of breakthroughs should have been impossible. However, partway through the first spirit willow's sage tribulation, the immortal tree began redirection the tribulation bolts to the others. This pattern continued until it controlled ten sage realm tribulations rather than ten core realm tribulations.
The difference between those bolts was like night and day, and Tobias's family's tribulations were left to crash against the barriers that surrounded them and nourish the nearby spirit herbs. It was an interesting approach, and one Tobias did not expect, which was why he'd asked his family to trigger more tribulations.
Right before the immortal tree vanished into the heavens, a voiced filled Tobias's mind. "Bye, Mr Patriarch." The voice was soft and childlike, filled with boyish excitement. "I'm off to play with the other immortals until our family can come and join me."
Tobias looked up from his notes in time to see the immortal tree vanish into the sky in a flash of light. The thousands of sage realm tribulations from the spirit willows took on a more normal pattern as they began blocking the occasional bolt of tribulation miasma to nourish the rest of the garden.
Yin Hao's voice reached Tobias's ear. "Did the immortal tree just talk to you?"
"Yes. It said, 'Bye, Mr Patriarch. I'm off to play with the other immortals until our family can come and join me.' What did it say to you?"
"It thanked me for all the food I gave it and told me to find it when I became an immortal so it could return the favour."
"Did it sound like a child to you?"
"Yes. But I'm more interest in the fact that it thinks it's a part of your family."
"My clan practices a spirit willow cultivation method."
"Which makes me understand why they would be considered family, but it doesn't explain why you're considered family?"
"Maybe it thinks I'm adopted."
"Doesn't explain why it didn't talk to anyone else."
Tobias projected his voice through the storm. "Did anyone else hear the immortal spirit willow talk to them before it ascended?"
Tobias received a resounding yes from everyone who wasn't actively trying to sustain a tribulation. With the immortal spirit willow gone, the realm was beginning to fill with miasma fog, so Tobias pulled out the Three Pigeon's treasure and requested an evacuation.
***
The day after the tribulations ended, Tobias was drinking tea with his grandpa and discussing the immortal tree while Yin Hao tried to coax the sage realm spirit willows to move their branches. The willows were significantly larger than they had been, each spreading its branches over one hundred yards, producing too much shade and crowding out the other spirit herbs near their roots.
Tobias put down his teacup. "Have we settled on a name for the newest member of our family?"
"No. We've decided to wait until he's older."
Tobias almost scoffed. "He's an immortal spirit willow. I don't think he'll struggle to reach his sixth birthday."
"It's tradition. And if he's a member of our family, we will treat him the same as any other, immortal or not. For now, his name is One."
Tobias chuckled at the lack of originality.
There was a loud crack as one of the sage realm spirit willows dropped another branch. Tobias raised his hand and pulled the branch to him, placing it in his storage ring. Sage realm spirit wood was not as valuable as other sage realm materials, but that didn't mean it didn't have thousands of uses. Tobias intended to turn what they collected into a massive chi gathering array for their realm.
"Who's going to make his ancestral tablet?" Tobias asked.
"Your cousin Xing has offered."
Xing's stonework had become exceptional over the decades. He wouldn't go down in history as one of the great artisans yet, but his work would not offend any cultivator if it were in their home.
Tobias approved and suggested they play a game of Go to pass the time. Tobias wasn't on plague duty for a few more days, and he wanted a chance to unwind. His grandpa agreed, and they set up their boards.
Grandpa Finch looked around, taking in their family's realm. "We're truly creating a legacy, aren't we?"
Tobias nodded. "Our realm isn't as balanced as it should be, because of all the tribulations, but it is already the second greatest cultivation realm in The Three Kingdoms. By the time the plague is over, it will be the greatest. And the biggest. Our instability is causing the realm to expand rather than increase its chi saturation. It might even cover the entire Three Step Hills one day."
"Can we hold onto it?"
"Peace Master So, Yin Hao, and Senator Lee will protect us in the short term. By the time others can overcome them, we will be able to protect ourselves."
Grandpa Finch sighed and then gave Tobias a pointed look. "Why are you hoarding your discoveries?"
Tobias hadn't heard his grandpa this disgruntled since he was a child. "It's necessary. If others can copy what we have done, they will use the knowledge to become emperor."
"I know that, but this feels like a wasted opportunity. You've told me over and over how scarce cultivation resources are, and now the heavens have given us the ability to produce more than we need. I feel like your mistrust is holding back the restoration of The Three Kingdoms."
Tobias couldn't deny the gentle accusation. Hoarding his secrets really was holding back the restoration of the cultivation world. "Do you think I'm making the wrong decision?"
"I think you're not making the most of this opportunity. In some ways, you are behaving like the Divine Council, hoarding an opportunity at the expense of those around you."
Tobias sighed. "How would you do things if you were in my position?"
Grandpa Finch smiled. "I would stop focusing on spirit herbs for our cultivation and start raising spirit herbs for our servants. We are trapped here, but if our servants entered the foundation realm and became gatherers, we could take advantage of the bounty the heavens have provided. We could replicate our actions all across the Three Step Hills, providing opportunities for everyone, not just ourselves."
Tobias considered the idea and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
***
Two years later, Tobias accepted the tea Servant Ho had prepared before turning to his parents inside the barrier. His family had changed their tactics, focusing on building up their servants so they could replicate their actions across the Three Step Hills. There were now hundreds of gardens undergoing tribulation to boost the growth of spirit herbs that could be used to improve the cultivation of their servants and the mortals who lived nearby. His grandpa's suggestion had created an environment of perpetual growth, drastically increasing the quantity of spirit herbs they had to work with.
They should have been doing this from the beginning.
Servant Ho offered his parents a tray of snacks, and the barrier between them fell. Servant Ho floated a plate from the tray to them with an intense look of concentration on his face. He was still getting used to being a foundation realm cultivator.
Senator Lee's voice came from the Three Pigeon treasure, breaking his concentration and causing the plate to fall, scattering the treats across the mossy ground. "There have been no new outbreaks of the plague anywhere in The Three Kingdoms in the past day."
Tobias and his family all froze.
Tobias swallowed his excitement and picked up the Three Pigeon treasure. "Please repeat what you just said."
"There have been no new outbreaks of the plague anywhere in The Three Kingdoms in the past day."
Faces flashed through Tobias's mind. Lives that had been shattered and horrors that could not be forgotten.
"Have you spoken with your son?"
"He's not certain if some of the outbreaks he's put down were new or infected that had escaped notice. However, he has seen significantly less over the past day."
Tobias beat back his growing hope. He didn't want to let himself get too excited. Thinking it was over, only to have to go back out there and watch another child die at the edge of his aura as he raced to save them would break him.
Tears filled with hope and heartache began to roll down his cheeks despite his best efforts.