[--quest, Sage of Dread, completed][You have successfully prevented the corruption of the city-wide array and thus the death of everyone within its protection][...][Rewards][Reward 1: 30,000 CP][Reward 2: Spirit Core (Divine)][Reward 3: Identity of the 3rd Sage of the Abyss][...][Spirit Core (Divine) -- a remnant core of a spirit who had undergone a Nirvana; can be used as a material for a pill, core for a Soul Weapon, core for a Divine-tier formation, or ingested directly. Note that the latter will result in all but certain death for anyone outside of spirit forms][...][Identity of the 3rd Sage of the Abyss -- though the totality of structure of the Order isn't known even among those of the order, it is generally though that it resides upon the so-called 'Seven Pillars of the Abyss', the seven strongest Sages. Seldom few across the worlds know of their identities, and even those who do largely know of the Seventh and the Sixth. The Third Sage, titular 'Sage of Nightmares', is Monk Song Bao, the Path's revered Buddha. He had been around since the Paths were first established in the Samsara Valley Region, mantling many identities, and taking upon the identity of Buddha approximately 8,000 years ago. Note that Monk Song Bao is an Emperor of the highest order, and that this, too, is merely one of his identities--rather, it's simply the one he is currently employing][...][Extra Hint revealed due to the exceptional feats of your Disciples: three out of the four strongest Sages of the Order occupy positions similar to Monk Song Bao, in that they have public identities revered by the masses. Only the First Sage remains elusive]
Huh. Goddamn. I--
[--Eternity offers to reveal the identity of the First Sage][...][Karmic causality incalculable; the system must regain its full scope and mandate in order to relay the information to Host][...]
... well, fuck.
It was like someone poured ice-cold water on me in the middle of me celebrating, bringing me back to reality.
I'd almost forgotten about the quest (not really), namely because I feared that the third reward, specifically, will drop a bomb on me that will rattle me, sort of undoing the self-soothing meditation of calm and peace I've had going on for some time now.
And it kind of did, to be honest.
I'm vaguely aware of the Samsara Valley Region; if we had gone directly south from the Eternal Mountain and across the lake, we would have eventually reached it. Best I know, there are three 'sects' within the region: Path of Eternity, Path of Nirvana, and Path of Nothingness. So, to know that one of the top-figures of the Sages is de-facto leader of that place... well, shit, it's scary.
Then there was the nugget about the First Sage.
I'm not surprised, per se, that Eternity knew who it was; it is likely that Eternity knows everything, at least everything not associated with me or the kids. What I was surprised by was that the system didn't even offer to relay the information. It wasn't providing it on its own, just 'translating'. And it still provided the most resounding 'No' it ever did.
... all this while, I think we've kind of passively been underestimating the Sages, both Long Tao and I, simply because they've been operating in this world, the lesser one and whatnot. Even now, seeing how relatively 'easily' Long Tao took care of the admittedly doubly weakened version of one, there was a sense of derision in me. In that I knew were weren't ready yet, but it wouldn't be too long.
But now, all I really want to do is hop off the entire train.
Even Eternity, a creature older than literally everything else in the world, who doesn't experience the passage of time, had a price associated with it. It was a mind-blowing price, sure, but it wasn't a 'No'. There's been a few times the system has told me no, or I could infer from what I've been shown that I should not fuck with whoever it was, and each and every time that happened, it had something to do with creatures that defied description.
Their Order is far greater than we assumed, though blindly guessing was... pointless.
"Here, Master," Long Tao appeared in front of me, handing me the ball of pure energy that was twisting above his palm. "A gift."
"... what gift?" I looked at him oddly, but before he could explain it, the system jumped in with a helpful few bits.
[--presence of True Qi detected][True Qi -- the most innate aspect of a creature born of Dao. It is the purest form of Qi, unmatched, and cannot be harvested in any capacity; though everyone's True Qi is of the same quality regardless of all else, people are born with varying amounts. Host is recommended to keep the small bundle of True Qi, as it can be a great help during the breakthrough into the Shedding Mortality Realm]
"... it's surprisingly little," Lao Shun commented from the side. "For an Avatar of that tier, I expected more."
"It's an adequate amount," Long Tao shrugged as I finally took the bundle and shoved it into the 'prison'. "The perfect amount that a person can survive without, with as few consequences as possible."
"You know," Lao Shun said, his eyes wandering over to the kids. "There was one a time that I'd be flying about after a battle like that, using my long-learned expertise to heal people and bring them back from the brink. They'd have the looks of awe and respect in their eyes, and they'd chat their gratitude toward me."
"..."
"You've stolen that from me," he then turned to me and said. "Robbed it so cruelly, without a care in the world. I was once--"
"--okay, pipe down. I'll give you a recipe or something. Happy?"
"... always," he grinned as that downcast expression turned upside down quicker than a kid jumped out of bed for a weekend game.
Soon enough, they all lined up in front of me, looking up at me expectantly. Though I wanted to give a speech, all I could focus on the fact that they were bloodied from head to toe, with clothes half-ripped and torn.
"... you lot need a bath," I said. "And some new sets of clothes."
"Ah! Stupid Yimu, you forgot to do your job!" Dai Xiu exclaimed.
"H-huh? What job?"
"Master is not good with blood! What if he passes out?! Ugh, the next time we spar, I'll have to punish you..."
"..." honestly, it looked like only Dai Xiu was still in any way passionate about that tired joke. The others merely looked at her and sighed, quickly donning on fresh sets of clothes and cleaning themselves with Qi. "Alright, and the next time we spar Xiu'er, I'll have to punish you."
"E-eh? M-Master...?" why do you look like you're about to cry?! When the hell have we ever sparred?! It was just a joke! Ah, whatever.
"Good job, everyone," I said. "You've shown me a spectacle that made me more proud than I can put into words. Each and every one of you... you have grown so much. But, no matter what, just know: before you are cultivators larger than the world, and before you are heralds of change, and before you are monsters others will make you to to be... you'll be the light that was my reason to live when I had none. And, as is the tradition by now, if you have anything you want as a reward... let me know, and Master will see about opening some of my ancestral coffers to find it for you."