Chapter 98
The Final Years
On an unremarkable summer's day, 318 years after contracting the plague, Tobias and his friend Yin Hao walked around the spirit lake discussing politics and making jokes. A canopy of spirit willow branches sat above as they noticed the levels of miasma coming from Yin Hao's hands suddenly decreased. It was a minute amount, only noticeable to those in the core realm or above. However, neither Tobias nor Yin Hao had ever seen a change before. Not without an obvious explanation.
Both men froze mid-conversation, forgetting everything else, as they probed the changes through their aura. They came to the same conclusion without needing to say a word. They silently turned to Field Marshal Kang, who was meditating on a hill ten miles away and extended their spiritual senses towards him to investigate.
The only other nascent soul cultivator was under a cherry blossom tree, which perpetually grew and shed fertilising petals. The petals fell to delicate peace lilies that surrounded Field Marshal Kang, nurturing their cultivation and enhancing their dao. The warrior had been trying to grasp an insight from Peace Master So's dao for over a century with little success. He did not want to become a man of peace, but the warrior who maintained it.
As Tobias's spiritual sense approached, the warrior's eyes opened. He stared in their direction, telling them, without words, that he was experiencing the same phenomenon. The army of generals he'd brought with him were all looking to him, confused, which was concerning his officers, because they lacked the cultivation to sense the change and understand their reaction. Field Marshal Kang calmed his men with a single gesture from his folding fan.
Tobias chuckled to himself because of how quickly they complied. His friend liked to complain that spending centuries in a peaceful environment had caused his officer's discipline to fade, but it clearly wasn't true.
As his amusement dissipated, Tobias turned to Yin Hao. "I believe we should proceed with the plan."
There were hundreds within his clan's realm with cores created from unstable foundations. The cores needed to be destroyed, and their foundation reestablished.
Yin Hao frowned. "Is one sign enough?"
"No, but it is better to be cautious when we are this close to the finish line."
Yin Hao withdrew his aura, allowing Tobias to expand his without interference. The size of your aura had more to do with your talent than your divinity. The exercises you needed to perform to make it grow became increasingly more complex and difficult the larger it became, and Tobias had the largest aura of anyone he knew.
Tobias strained his meridians and willpower as he extended his aura outwards. The moment he encountered another aura, the owner withdrew theirs out of respect, allowing him to reach the edge of their clan's hidden realm within a few moments. His clan's hidden realm was now thirty-one miles across and completely stable, creating a hidden cultivator city in the Three Step Hills.
Tobias could suddenly see all 52,387 cultivators who called the hidden realm home. With just a thought, he could tell you how many hairs were on each of their heads or any other observable fact.
Tobias projected his voice to all corners of the realm with a gentle whisper of effort. "I believe we might be seeing the first signs of miasma becoming scarce. Those who need to purge their cultivation, please proceed to the exit. I will meet you there shortly."
Tobias and Yin Hao headed for the exit as everyone not affected by his order began talking at once.
Tobias's clan, guests, and servants had spent centuries developing and sharing their skills, all while triggering tribulations to free themselves. This had led to rapid development in many areas and an abundance of spirit herbs that had never been seen before. Experiments with sage realm spirit herbs, which no other clan would be willing to perform, were common.
His Grandpa had discovered, through trial and error, that if you took a branch from a sage realm spirit willow and encouraged it to take root, the branch would grow into a tree and behave like any other sage realm spirit willow. However, only the original tree could trigger a tribulation and ascend to immortality.
Yin Hao used this discovery to construct a living defensive array which encompassed the entire hidden realm to prevent surprise attacks. Having a living barrier that was impenetrable to anyone below the sage realm had been impressive enough, but the unintended side effect, which allowed everyone to travel freely so long as they did not cluster together, was praised almost every day.
Tobias's clan lived more comfortably than he had ever dreamed possible, with enough space to include some of the comforts of life.
Tobias raised his Three Pigeon treasure to his mouth while he walked. "I believe we are seeing the first signs of miasma levels stabilising in the immortal realm, old friend. I need you to come out of seclusion and bring Xu Ling here."
There was a thirty second pause, before Peace Master So growled through the other end. "I have a disciple who can do these things for you now, Senior."
With Tobias's help, First Disciple Chi had reached the sage realm nearly a century ago. Unlike his master, he hadn't used the dao of peace for his breakthrough. Instead, Tobias helped him achieve an immoral sword dao enlightenment to ensure his success. Between his pill foundation and the enlightenment, his tribulation progressed smoothly, but the existence of a second sage was supposed to be kept secret.
Unlike his master, First Disciple Chi was willing and able to fight. Prepare to defend his clan if someone should raise their hand against them.
Tobias chuckled. "Your First Disciple is an exceptional cultivator, but he lacks your talent for research. And treating him as a pack animal is far too rude."
"But it's okay for you to treat me like one."
"You're my junior. You're supposed to help me when I ask."
"You know I was in seclusion."
"Only because you were bored, but you can consider this payback for disturbing my closed-door cultivation if you want."
"Senior, that was centuries ago, and you were only cultivating for five years. I've been cultivating for over two decades."
"You may come and complain in person if you wish, but I believe you will notice a change in your second disciple if you check on her with your aura."
There was a pause while Peace Master So followed his suggestion.
"Okay, you are probably right. I'll bring Xu Ling to you shortly."
Tobias put the cap on the treasure and hung it from his belt before continuing his leisurely walk. He wasn't in a hurry to reach his destination. It was a beautiful day, and the miasma had been slowly decreasing for centuries. It could be decades before the plague was actually over.
***
Half an hour later, Yin Hao grabbed Tobias by the scruff of the neck with his aura and dragged him back through the archway. Directly cycling miasma into his meridian networks to remove the spiritual energy hadn't been painful for Tobias, but it did have the unintended side-effect of leaving him weaker than a newborn. That's what happened when your organs all shut down at once.
Tobias gasped for air as the spirit willows suppressed the miasma within him, allowing chi to enter his meridian network and restore his physical functions. Yin Hoa released him as Elder Cloud and Elder Mist rushed forward and flooded his body with healing chi. It had taken the pair a century, but they had eventually agreed to share their skills with his clan in return for reaching the nascent soul realm. It only took three more days for them to agree to follow him to the immortal realm above. The things his clan were capable of showed them how wrong their sects' philosophies were."
While Tobias tried to orient himself, Xu Ling leaned over him and smirked. "Learn anything interesting from that experiment?"
She reached down and passed her fingers through the faint trickle of miasma flowing from him to the surrounding spirit willows. The miasma raced into her body, causing her to shudder.
Tobias gave himself a moment to recover and felt the fatigue vanish as his core began to burn. "Yes. I learned it's important to have an assistant."
Peace Master So chuckled as he peered down at him from the other side. "You'll be happy to know that it worked, Senior. There isn't a trace of spiritual energy in any of your meridians. However, your core is about to explode. Your cultivation can't support its existence."
Tobias pushed himself to his feet as the elders quickly stepped away. "Be ready to intervene."
Tobias stumbled out of the realm. The miasma in his meridians had flowed into the surrounding spirit willows so he only had to deal with what was in his core.
The moment he was outside the hidden realm, Tobias used the chi flowing through his body to crush his core. Without chi to reinforce it and Tobias actively preventing his dao from helping, it was only as hard as glass. His core shattered, losing its structural integrity and becoming raw chi.
The miasma absorbed every trace as Tobias stumbled back through the archway. The spirit willows intervened to save his life, suppressing the miasma and drawing it from his body. Elder Cloud and Mist flooded his body with healing chi, undoing the damage he'd caused.
As Tobias's mind cleared, the first thing he noticed was the total absence of his aura. The experience was worse than being blind. His aura had become his most powerful sense.
Tobias had experienced this transition through his clone many times. He knew he would quickly adapt. It would just be uncomfortable until he did.
Tobias took a deep breath. "How did I do?"
Peace Master So stared at his stomach. "There is no trace of your core or anything else, Senior. You're a foundation realm cultivator."
Tobias motioned to Xu Ling. "Everything is more or less as we discussed. Nothing from my experience will help you."
Xu Ling nodded and hurried out of the realm.
Tobias watched as she burned her spiritual energy from her meridians with miasma and was pulled inside to recover.
He walked over to her as Elder Cloud and Mist tended to her and smiled down as he leaned over her. "Learn anything interesting for that experiment?"
She smirked back. "Yes, you're extremely delicate."
Tobias offered his hand.
Xu Ling continued to smirk. "I don't believe it's appropriate for a foundation realm cultivator like yourself to be so forward, Patriarch Finch. I am, after all, a core realm cultivator."
Peace Master So threw his arm over Tobias's shoulder as he leaned over her. "You're soon to be a dead core realm cultivator if you don't destroy that core."
Xu Ling grabbed Tobias's hand and let him pull her to her feet.
She threw him another smirk. "Excuse me for a moment."
She stumbled through the archway.
Peace Master So leaned closer, hiding his words with his aura. "She's being awfully forward, Senior."
Tobias had noticed that too. "This was what she was like when we first met."
"When she was trying to marry you."
"Yes."
"She must have got over her fear of ascending to immortality without you."
"She hasn't overcome her fear. She simply recognises that keeping me at arm's length no longer protects her heart from our eventual parting."
"You can't miss what isn't gone."
Tobias nodded.
Xu Ling stumbled back through the archway without any assistance, wearing a triumphant smile.
"You missed a spot," Peace Master So said, flicking his finger and knocking her back through the archway before yanking her back in.
"Did she actually miss something?"
"You'll never know, Senior."
Tobias turned to Yin Hao.
He trusted the man with his life.
Yin Hao nodded back that she had failed to fully cleanse her core, while grinning at Peace Master So's scowl.
Xu Ling brushed the dusk off her robe, as Elder Cloud and Mist infused her with healing chi. Once they were done, she walked over and offered Tobias her arm. "Can I interest you in a stroll around the garden, Patriarch Finch?"
Tobias chuckled as he accepted, happy to have his friend back. "A stroll would be lovely. It will give me a chance to explain what's happening to everyone."
"That's why we have a…"
"You were going to say aura weren't you?"
"This is going to be annoying."
"No, the annoying part is we don't know how much longer it will take the miasma toxicity in the heavens to fade. We could be stuck like this for decades."
***
Eight years later, Tobias and Xu Ling were resting against a spirit willow, arguing about a research paper one of her scholars had written, when the miasma within them suddenly vanished. Until now, the flow of miasma coming from Yin Hao had only reduced by a third, so they were both taken by surprise.
They both stared at each other in shock while probing within themselves for any trace of the miasma that had been there only a moment before. Excited cheers began to spread through the realm as they both continued to probe for anything they might have missed.
As the shouting grew deafening, Tobias nodded his head. "I'm completely clean."
Xu Ling waited another minute before nodding back. "I'm also completely clean."
Untamed grins spread across their faces.
Tobias grabbed the Three Pigeon treasure and removed the cap. "You're going to need you to intervene with the khans. We're no longer infected."
"I'm already there, Senior. They've just discovered how much my first disciple has benefited from turning their hordes into a peaceful society and how I'll be very upset if they try to undo all his hard work. It's taking all my focus to keep them from lashing out, so I'll speak with you when this is over."
Tobias put the cap back on the treasure and turned to Xu Ling. "Do we ascend now or after the celebration?"
Both of them had completely reestablished their foundations with a new spirit pill formula, one that was better aligned with their path. The changes wouldn't show until they reformed their cores, but once they did, they would find it slightly easier to gather dao insights.
Xu Ling looked around, listening to everyone's excitement, before turning to Tobias. "Is it bad that I want to ascend instead of celebrating?"
Tobias chuckled. "No, because I was really hoping you would say that."
"You are not using our first day of freedom to cultivate," Grandpa Finch called from further down the lake. "The clan is celebrating, and we expect you both to be there."
They both gave him childish groans before laughing. Both of them wanted to test the changes they had made, but neither was truly willing to forgo the celebration to do so.
Xu Ling rose to her feet and offered Tobias her hand. "Let's test your divinity one last time?"
Tobias took her hand. "What's the point. Everyone tested as prodigies over a century ago."
"A few of my scholars in Peace Master So's realm got bored and developed a better way for testing divinity. It's opened up an entire new field of study."
This was the first Tobias had heard about it, which meant she'd intentionally kept the discovery from him. "I believe the Cultivation Academy is supposed to supply me with everything it discovers."
Xu Ling smirked. "It must have slipped through the cracks. You know how these things are. A lot of paperwork. People get left out accidentally."
"Accidentally."
Xu Ling's smirk grew.
"Okay, I'm intrigued."
Xu Ling waved her hand, and a copper disk the size of a shield appeared on the ground between them. The only noticeable feature of the artifact were the thirteen clear crystals aligned in a ring around the edge.
"Remove your shoes and step onto the centre," Xu Ling instructed.
Tobias did as he was told, feeling the cold copper beneath his feet.
"Now cycle chi through your meridian networks as fast as you can."
"Both of them?"
"Yes, both of them."
Twelve of the thirteen crystals that formed a ring around his feet began to glow as he filled his meridian networks with chi.
Xu Ling grinned when she saw that. "You can get off now."
Tobias stepped off. "What am I looking at?"
"You have a divinity of twelve, which means you're not classified as a prodigy under the new standards of measurement. Your divinity only matches someone who has successful entered the nascent soul realm."
"I'm not a prodigy?"
"No one who became infect is."
"You're certain?"
"We've tested everyone in Peace Master So's realm. Their results are identical to your own."
"Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed. So please tell me that the twelve is better than the old ten crystal I could illuminate using the old method."
"I can't tell you that. They're essentially the same, but this method is more accurate."
"In what way?"
"Because of your discoveries, my scholars were able to study divinity and calculate how much was required for each layer of your core."
Tobias stared at the device in shock, suddenly far more interested in the artifact. "This is amazing. I can't believe you can measure the precise amount of divinity needed to form a layer of your core on a mobile artifact."
Xu Ling smiled. "The requirements to light each crystal may be a few percentage points higher than the actual requirements, but they only had one sage to work with when they developed it, so it should become more accurate in the future."
Tobias was still impressed. "Why does it have thirteen crystals?"
"They originally created it to test if miasma could improve divinity enough to create weak prodigies. Lighting it requires the same divinity as the weakest prodigy they were able to find."
The Three Kingdoms were blessed with one or two prodigies every decade. In the past, these prodigies had died off nearly as quickly as they appeared, so they were considered rare, but due to Tobias's teachings, none had encountered an early end for the past few centuries.
Tobias smiled. "I'm glad you kept this a secret."
"You liked my surprise."
"I do. I also like the fact that testing everyone to see if their results are the same as your scholars will distract me from not being able to ascend until the celebration is over."
Xu Ling laughed. "Let's go distract ourselves then."