As we flew back to the sect on Golden Sky Lord’s back, I thought over the last hour’s events. After the other sects left we brought out the herbs and other things we had gathered in the secret realm and started trading and splitting up the different items. Sixteen of the storage bags and fourteen of the swords I collected while leaving belonged to the disciples of Prajna temple and Golden Saber Sect that had fallen. I offered to return the belongings to their sects, but they mostly turned me down. Only Mishana had any valuable items among the monks, and the golden saber sect only wanted the swords of the fallen returned so that they could be placed in the sect’s memorial. The Golden Saber sect believed the stories about sword spirits, and tried to keep the swords of the fallen with them, believing that the loss of a master and taking another life both helped a sword advance towards developing a spirit. They paid me ten stones each for the swords, and allowed me to keep the rest of their belongings.
After that we traded a few of the ingredients we had gathered with Prajna Temple for some of their gathered ingredients. I had the most ingredients to trade, as I had the bags of dozens of other cultivators, but as I knew nothing about the ingredients I allowed Chu Van to oversee the exchange of my ingredients. We were more interested in the ingredients that could be used in cooking, as the White Tiger sect lacked an alchemist, while the temple had several skilled alchemists and wanted the other ingredients more. As many of the ingredients were edible but had interesting effects the temple offered talismans or spirit stones for them, and the disciples ended up selling most of those ingredients, valuing the stones more. I didn’t particularly need the stones, but needed the ingredients even less, so Chu Van sold most of mine as well, securing several dozen stones in service fees for himself.
The monks had no desire for the meat of the various spirit beasts, as they didn’t eat meat, but they showed some interest in the hides. I sold them ten coyote hides and the blood needed to properly turn them into talisman paper, as the hides and blood had gone to me so that I could convert them. Golden Saber showed much more interest in the meat and we sold them half of the dead Lightning Sparrows, a kilogram from the lion I had, and one hundred kilograms of flood dragon meat.
I managed to convince Swift Wind to buy the Lightning Sparrow I had healed, saying it was the perfect companion for a swordsman that prided himself on his speed, and helped him form a companion contract with it. Like the contract ceremony I had performed for Mishana, once the beast was as strong as I was when creating the contract, peak level two in the case of the flood dragon and initial level three in the case of the bird, it could break the contract, but hopefully by then they would be good enough friends that it would have no desire to do so.
I managed to learn that the technique the monk had used to step on the leaves of the rainbow enlightenment tree was a level two movement technique called the ‘Weightless Steps technique’, and purchased a low grade copy of it from one of the monks. It wasn’t a Buddhist technique, so I could learn it. It essentially reinforced any surface that your feet touched for a split second, allowing you to run on leaves or flower petals or water.
I also found that the bowl Mishana had use to trap Blue Phoenix was called a Spirit Capture Bowl, and that it was sent with Mishana in case the realm had a natural spirit, so that Mishana could capture it. While souls were somewhat different than spirits, when combined with the suppressing level five talismans meant for ghosts it was able to hold him for up to a few hours, long enough to bring him out of the realm or even travel a short distance with him.
After that we said goodbye. Only a few of the monks had been interested in trading for beast companions, so that business was quickly finished, and it was getting late. We needed to return to the sect so that we could store everything we had gained from this trip.
When we landed in the sect’s courtyard we got off the giant bird’s back and each thanked him for taking us there. “I do have a request for Master Mike, though.” I said, as Mike was standing there with us. I wanted the giant eagle there to add a bit of peer pressure. Mike nodded and I continued. “I was hoping that we could have a celebration of our safe return, and that we could cook the Flood Dragon to celebrate. Master Golden Sky Lord would be welcome to eat with us, of course, though I doubt that we have enough Flood Dragon meat to satisfy him.”
GSL laughed. ‘I like the idea, but you are right. I could probably consume an entire flood dragon myself and not be full. Instead, I shall treat it as a delicacy, and allow you to make up the rest with other spirit beasts. I saw that you had several wild boars in your pens. Perhaps two or three of them will be a suitable substitute.”
Mike nodded. “Very well, if you can get the meat to the kitchen, I will order that they roast some other animals as well and we shall have a party.” Several of the nearby disciples cheered at his statement. ‘I’m taking it out of your pay.’ I received telepathically. Apparently Mike hadn’t liked my suggestion. ‘Flood dragon meat is worth ten stones per weight in the city, and we’ll need to give him at least a hundred, if not two hundred, to satisfy him.’ I knew that a weight was around half a kilogram, as it was what the mortal currency was based on, having started from the mortal lower servants receiving two weights of spirit grain per day in payment, which many sold part of for other things they needed. Modern lower servants received two currency ‘Weights’ per day, and the price of grain had fallen greatly since, so they could purchase five weights of a common grain for a single Weight of money.
The cost of the meat meant that I had just cost myself at least a thousand stones, but it also meant that I had earned far more from the sect, as that much was being deducted, not taking the place of my payment. I smiled and left for the butcher’s area so that I could remove the skins of the various beasts and allow him to prepare the snake meat.
An hour later, as the sun was starting to set, I left for the kitchen. I had left all of the hides and blood at the butcher’s so that he could store them, but would be back the next day to turn as many as possible into talisman papers. The ones I really wanted to convert were the Flood Dragon and Lion hides, as they would provide me with large amounts of level three paper, allowing me to put my full power into them until I reached level four, Core. I would leave the coyote hides here, as Dr. Shmidt could convert them for me, and pick up my share when I returned, possibly after the war ended.
I took the meat to the kitchen and saw that Shu Gongzhu was helping them. All of her family had been released from the beast bags they were being carried in and four of the men were helping the sect as well, though two of them were watching the children as they played with a human girl. Even at level one they were at least as intelligent as a dog, so they learned the rules of the simple game the girl was playing pretty easily. “Too bad the only kids for her to play with are beasts.” said a woman sitting beside the kitchen door, peeling some sort of root vegetable I assumed was the local version of a spirit potato.
‘You will get used to it.’ said Shu Gongzhu as she stood to take the peeled vegetables inside. I noticed that the rats seemed cautious about entering the darker areas outside, and asked Gongzhu about it. ‘Oh, we don’t know the area. We may have lived in a cave, but being outside and not seeing the sun is a bit frightening. I can tell myself that it is normal here, and tell the men not to be afraid, but the children are all level one. They can’t understand that the sun isn’t always in the sky. Many of them haven’t even been outside before, so the idea of an open area without walls scares them.’
I nodded. “I can make you lantern talismans, if that would help.”
‘For myself and the males, perhaps, but the children can’t use talismans yet.’
I nodded and pulled out a stack of level one papers, creating what was essentially a night light, a talisman that would turn on and produce a light glow when given a bit if qi, then turn off when qi was added again. All of the practice I had gotten from making the attack and barrier talismans plus my improved stats from the cultivation seeds maturing and the level up made the job far easier, so I could make a more complex talisman than I used to. After giving seven to Gongzhu the next time she came to get vegetables, one each for her and the six men, I kept making them until I got good enough at the job that they no longer proved a challenge.
After that I decided to make a more complicated attack, then a more complicated barrier. This one would be a lightning attack, but not tribulation lightning. At level one I would concentrate on secondary effects like muscle seizures, tiredness, and disorientation. Essentially, it would be a taser talisman, though I would refer to it as a Lightning Stun talisman on this planet. Having a concept only produce some of its effects but not others was a bit complicated, but I had done so before with the light talismans, using the sun imagery to only product light but not heat. I had used the full moon on the night light ones, however, so they were much easier to make, as I didn’t need to alter the concept to remove heat.
It took me around five minutes to get a good enough image that it would only stun targets, though I didn’t have any way of testing it. I certainly wasn’t going to test it on another person or beast without getting permission. So I would have to give them to some disciples tomorrow and let them test the design for me. I made another hundred of those talismans, reasonably certain that I had designed them properly, then got a feeling of curiosity from my bag. I brought out Xiao and he looked the talismans over. Apparently he had been borrowing my eyesight the same way I had borrowed his and the dragonfly’s. “They use lightning to knock people out without killing them.” I said, and he looked confused. I sighed and walked to the nearby practice field. The path to it was well lit, so the children followed me out of curiosity, the two male rats coming along to make sure they didn’t get into danger.
Once there I stood across from a target dummy and threw one of the stun talismans at it. It crackled with tiny sparks as it flew and when it impacted the dummy larger bolts covered the front of the chest. “See, no damage, but it hurts and will knock you down.” Xiao looked interested and I got the idea that he wanted me to throw another one. I did so and he stared at the spot where it impacted, then flew up and flicked his wing at it, throwing a bit of lightning at the same target. While most of the qi went towards reproducing the effect I demonstrated, the dummy was still a bit scorched from the electric discharge. “A little less power.” I said, “at least until you can control it better. Focus more on causing pain and knocking them down.” I demonstrated with the improvised technique at middle level one strength, then Xiao tried to do the same.
We repeated the process, several times, but I was having a hard time explaining what I wanted to him. I threw one at my leg to demonstrate the attack’s effect on a person, but he still didn’t get it. That’s when he chirped at me and I got a strange feeling. “You want me to use it on you?” He chirped in agreement. I knew he mostly understood the concept through our link, not the words I was saying, but I still wanted to talk. “Ok, but I’ll do it at low power so I don’t hurt you.”
Xiao flew to the target dummy and landed on its shoulder, and I took aim, limiting this one to initial level one. I hit Xiao with the attack, and he looked annoyed. “Stronger?” I asked, and he chirped in agreement. I increased it to middle level one, and threw the second attack, and he chirped louder. “Even stronger?” Xiao chirped in agreement and I increased the strength to peak level one. I threw this one and he chirped again, loudly. “Even more?” He nodded his head. I wasn’t sure where he learned that. This time I threw one at middle level two, and when I hit him he seemed surprised. He chirped, wanting me to do that again, and I did so. After the second time, he flew over to me, then sent an almost perfect copy of my attack at the dummy. “Perfect.” I said. “Now, use it on me, so I can see what it feels like.”
I went over and stood in from of the dummy and Xiao threw several of the bolts at me. While I felt the attacks, it was like getting hit with a low power airsoft gun, annoying but not really painful. Apparently I was too resistant to lightning to properly test it. “Sorry, Xiao, I guess I’m too strong for it to work on me. Maybe when you are stronger….” I trailed off and Xiao looked disappointed.
Just then one of the male Rats stepped forward. He held up his hand towards the target and a bit of wood qi shot out towards it, though it didn’t hit very hard. “Try making this float.” I said, and picked up a stick from the ground to hand it to him. He looked confused. I pulled a small piece of spirit iron ore out of my bag, pointed to myself, then the rock, and made it float. I then pointed towards him and the stick. He seemed to get what I was asking a few seconds later, and held the stick out in his hand, and a few seconds later it started to float. “Good, now throw it.” I said, and made the piece of ore fly at the dummy with a bit of qi, even though I could have thrown it harder. He floated the stick again and motioned towards the dummy and the stick flew towards it, hitting it on the shoulder. “Good,” I said, and he looked proud of himself.
He went back over to where the children were watching, and the other male came over, carrying some small sticks. This one put a stick in his hand, and concentrated really hard on it. For about ten seconds nothing happened, and I started feeling sorry for him, then the stick started to wobble. He likely had a lower quality spirit root than the other male rat. Eventually it was fairly stable and he motioned to fling it towards the target, but it only flew a few meters before hitting the ground. The first male laughed at him and he gave the male an angry look. He tried three more times, getting a little better each time, and the last time he did so the stick made it to the dummy, but only hit the base of the stand. He looked disappointed, then came back to watch the children. As he was letting his qi leak, probably not knowing yet how to hide it, I could tell that he had used almost all of his qi trying those few times. My guess was that he only had a petty wood root, while the other one had a lesser or maybe even average root. Hopefully with practice he could improve it, though.
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We returned to the kitchen and the little girl came up to me. “Hey, big brother.” she said. “Your bird is really cute. Can we play with it?”
I looked at Xiao and he nodded, then shrunk down to his normal, baby bird, size and jumped onto her head. She reached up and held out her hand and he hopped onto it, then she lowered him so she could pet him.
I left Xiao to play with the kids, but got the sense that the other two beasts I had contracts with were jealous. So, after retrieving the ore sample, planning on taking it back to Earth to test if it was different than Earth iron in more ways than just having more qi inside it, I returned to the children and brought out the other two. The rats looked a bit scared at the cat, but I held it and petted it to show that this one wasn’t hostile. All of the other beasts that were brought back, including the lions, were placed in pens in the livestock area, so this was the first one they had seen.
Gongzhu saw the cat and rushed over. ‘That is one of the cats that attacked us.’ She said, stepping between me and the kids. ‘Are you angry at us? Do you want to hurt us?’
“No, of course not.” I said. “This one’s mother might have been one of the ones that attacked you, but its mother is dead and it is just a cub.”
‘Did you kill its mother?’ Gongzhu asked, a bit less afraid.
“Yes, I did. She attacked me and I had to do so to protect the others. Her hide is at the butcher’s shop if you want to see it tomorrow. I can even give you some of her meat if you want.”
Gongzhu seemed to relax a bit and sighed. ‘I trust you. I didn’t know that the lion you killed was its mother. If that is the case, then it is up to you to raise it.’ I wasn’t sure how that followed, but it might be part of Rat culture. Gonzhu sighed again, exhaling deeply to release her stress. ‘Fine. If you can guarantee that it won’t hurt any of them, then it can play with the children.’
“I promise it won’t hurt them.” I said, then looked the cat in the eyes, telling it through the link not to harm them. The cat seemed to understand, so I set it down on the ground. It looked nervous, but when the human girl came over and petted it, it seemed to relax. After a minute or so the rat children also starting petting it, a bit scared at first, then warming up to it as it started to purr. I picked up the snake and gave it the same instructions about hurting any of them, but that was mostly a formality. One of the Rat children started petting it, much more comfortable around it than the cat, and it stuck out its forked tongue to lick the rat, then crawled up its arm.
I left my beasts to play with the children, then went back to the kitchen. The rats that weren’t old enough to walk upright were still at the kitchen in a small pen, with one of the male rats watching them occasionally. They mostly slept, so they didn’t need as much supervision as the others.
That night we had a massive party with many kinds of spirit beast meat from the hidden realm. Several disciples, including Chu Van, were able to break through that night, and the next morning those that reached level three would be able to officially become an elder, with those that reached level two getting to choose one of the sect’s spirit beasts as their companion. I tried a little bit of everything the kitchen had prepared, allowing me to amplify the partial seeds in the meat and rebuild all of the seeds from the spirit beasts within me to where I had them before I advanced, though it took me most of the night to do so. I would need to add my normal cultivation seeds to them before advancing further, however.
Shingua turned out to be one of the level one disciples which advanced, being able to adopt a spirit beast companion from any of the pens, or any spirit beast they owned. The next day she ended up partnering with one of the lions that we had brought with us, as she had been impressed with by their speed and dexterity. She had provided medical care for the lion when she first met it, so it didn’t mind partnering with her, even if it was stronger than her at late level two. The lion likely knew that she would quickly get stronger with his help.
The next morning, though, I was called into Mike’s office. They explained that the other two sects had given them one hundred thousand stones as their share of the reward for fighting Blue Phoenix. They gave me ten thousand of it, plus another two thousand for all that I’d done to protect the disciples. Or, they would have, but Mike was upset about how I had lost them two hundred weights of dragon meat by inviting GSL to join the feast, so he was keeping the money they were going to pay me to cover the losses. I thought he was just acting spoiled, but didn’t say anything. If I had to guess, I would guess that something similar had likely happened to him while he was in the military, with him pranking a superior officer, and he was just doing the same to me.
After that they returned all of my jade slips to me. They had made High grade copies of all of them, and would be allowing the disciples to use them whenever they wanted. I then gave them most of what the defeated sect members had on them, keeping only a few robes, the medical and food supplies, the spirit stones, and all of the storage bags for myself, leaving them the weapons and all other supplies. I planned on doing a good bit of shopping once I got to High River and might need them. The only thing that I asked in return for the goods was the I be allowed to pick one more spirit pet from the pens. I wanted to give a pet to all of my friends when I got back to Earth. I knew Liza liked cats, and that Gabriel used to have a pet snake, so he and Deb would share that one, but I hadn’t yet gotten one for Dave and Maria.
Mike accepted and when those that advanced to level two in the hidden realm or last night went to pick their companions I went with them. Most of the beasts were livestock, with a few being wild animals they had domesticated. Only a few of the non-livestock could fit in on Earth as pets, though. We had gone through most of the area when I noticed one that might fit what I was looking for. There was a pen full of wolves of different types, and off to one side was a red and black female surrounded by puppies. The fact that she wasn’t nursing and didn’t look like she was even producing milk made me hopeful that they were old enough that I could take one with me.
I asked the guiding elder about them, Dr. Clement, and he told me that they had found her in the hunting area, badly injured and about ready to give birth. Ben and Randy had treated her wounds and they brought her back here, where she gave birth. “She’s a half blood Burnt Wolf, but the puppies are strong blood, so their father has to be either a strong blood or full blood. We just haven’t seen him yet.” the doctor explained. “They have both a fire and wood root, though they favor Fire. You know how most dogs and wolves like to pick up sticks in their mouths?” I nodded. “Well, they like to pick up embers and carry them around. In fact, they often pile up sticks and leaves and start fires just to sleep in the embers. They are just really good at making sure the fire doesn’t spread, so they haven’t been known to start forest fires.”
I nodded. “Can I go inside the pen? I want to see if she will let me take one of the puppies.”
Clement shrugged. “You can try, but she hasn’t let anyone take one yet. Ever since advancing to level three she’s been really picky about who she lets near them. She trusts Ben and Randy enough to let them pet the puppies, but won’t let them take one.”
I nodded. “Well, then I’ll have to convince her.” I said, then opened the gate and went inside.
I walked over to the burnt wolf and she looked at me. ‘You smell like a bird, a cat, and a snake.’ she said, staring at me. ‘You have too many beasts already.’
‘Only the bird is mine.’ I said. ‘The cat is for my mate, and the snake for a friend. I hope to find a beast companion for one more friend here.’ One of the puppies, the smallest one, looked at me. I picked up a stick from the ground and lit it on fire, then gave it to him. The puppy wagged its tail and laid down, dropping its burning stick and picking it up again. It got up and dropped the stick beside me, then looked at me. I picked up the stick and threw it s few meters and the puppy ran over to pick it up and bring it back.
After a few minutes of playing catch, the mother looked at me again. ‘He like you.’ she said. ‘If you didn’t already have a companion, I would let him go with you. He doesn’t like it here. His siblings and the other wolves bully him. He is smart, though. He will probably be smarter than me when he is this strong.’ She probably meant “when he gets to level three” but didn’t know the words for that. ‘Is the friend you want him to partner with also of Fire?’ she asked. I assumed she was talking about spirit roots.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘He is of fire and earth.’
‘Can your friend take care of him? Raise him properly? Make him happy?’ She paused for a second, and I could tell she was sad. ‘Can he give my son a better life?’
I nodded. ‘Yes.’ I answered. ‘It wasn’t a spirit beast, but he had a dog when I met him. He got her when she was a puppy, and she died of old age. He took good care of her. I think she was his best friend.’ When I first met Dave he had an old German Shepherd. His dad had bought it for him when he was a child, and he used to always have her around, even pausing or leaving video games when she wanted to go for walks and never complaining, even though the other players got mad at him. When she died two years ago, he laid around for days. I never saw him cry, but I knew he missed her like she was family.
The Mother thought for a minute, then sighed. ‘Then take him. Just promise me that he will have a good life and be happy. I can’t give him that, but maybe you can.’
I promised and she stood up, then picked him up in her mouth and put him in my arms. He still had the stick in his mouth, but I ignored it when it touched my skin, creating a small barrier to protect myself. I petted him and used the servant contract, and he accepted, though I got the idea he was sad about leaving home. I carried him out of the pen, and the other people gathered around, congratulating me.
“I’m surprised you succeeded,” said Clement.
“She wanted a better life for her son, and didn’t think she could give it to him.” I answered.
Clement nodded. “See, disciples. This is why we watch others pick their companions. The others only tried playing with the puppies or giving them things to play with. Kev did that, but he also talked to the mother, and convinced her. When there are intelligent beasts involved, you can’t just appeal to their beast instincts, but you need to appeal to their humanity as well.”
Several disciples nodded and we continued. Only one other disciple picked a companion after that, the two remaining ones deciding that nothing there suited them. They would look over any other animals that the sect brought in as they did so, and hopefully find one they liked.
I carried the puppy with me to the butcher’s, and sat it on the ground. I let the lion out as well and, while at first they didn’t get along well, within an hour they were play fighting and becoming friends.
I spent the rest of the day turning the lion and flood dragon skins into talisman papers, as well as a level three hyena. The rest of the hides and blood I left for Shmidt to turn into paper or the tanner to make leather clothes from.
After giving half of my papers to Shmidt, as that had been my previous agreement with Randy, as well as why everyone had allowed me to keep the hides, I returned to my room. I let the animals out so that they could play in my room, but only left for supper, mostly so that I could give them something good to eat.
After supper I asked to talk with Randy and Mike. We went to Randy’s cabin again, and I once again set up the seal plate, blocking the outside world. “Okay,” I said in English when we were done. “There are two more things we need to discuss before I return. First, the ambassador wanted me to feel you out and see if you might be willing to work for the military, either as spies or mercenaries. He wasn’t sure about your strength, but seems to want to recruit as many allies as possible.”
Mike shook his head. “If it was just me, I might consider it, but now I’m looking out for dozens of Earth civilians and over eighty locals, not including the spirit beasts and the new Rat family. Shu Gongzhu and Chu Van were both accepted as official minor elders today, and the fact that we have our first spirit beast elder and native elder will cause some changes within the sect that might complicate matters.”
“GSL isn’t a high elder?” I asked. “I assumed he was an honorary one at least.”
“GSL?” Mike asked. “Oh, you mean Golden Sky Lord. No, he wasn’t interested in clan politics, so he’s pretty much an independent cultivator.”
“As is Rocky Killboa.” Randy said, and I gave him a confused look. “Oh, that’s what I named my Stone Chimpanzee companion.”
“After the boxer from those old movies?” I asked, and Randy nodded.
“Yeah, I’m not good with names. But he did kill a constrictor snake that attacked me when we first met, so it’s appropriate. He’s living with his family up in the hunting grounds, the chief of his village, so he hasn’t been willing to join us here, just give the disciples a safe haven when they are in the area. The stone monkey that Mike sold last week is actually from his tribe. They aren’t a smart as the stone chimps, who become intelligent at level two, but the monkeys are basically a servant caste in their society. The one Mike sold in town was the grandson of one of Rocky’s half blood servants. It’s a complicated and pretty disgusting story, so I’m not going to tell it, though. Suffice it to say that the child was banished and I was going to raise it, but when we found out that it was a weak blood Mike convinced me to find it a home in High River instead of here.”
Any story which resulted in a half blood having a weak blood descendant would involve a non-spirit beast mating with a spirit beast, which meant that there could be a large difference in intelligence, so I decided not to ask.
“Ok, then. Second issue, my cover for coming here was actually to buy livestock which we can ship back home. The Ambassador didn’t mind the idea, and better spirit beasts entering the food market could be worth a lot of money, so can you spare any? I would prefer at least strong bloods, but half bloods can work if that’s the best you have. I noticed rabbits, pigs, goats, sheep, deer, and chickens in your pens. No cows, though.”
“Yeah, there aren’t any wild cows and few wild horses in this region.” Mike said. “Plains areas are best for them. That said, we can work out a deal. When do you need them?”
“Well, we are leaving in nineteen days, so the trip to High River in two weeks should be fine. The Ambassador will want to talk to you anyway about recruiting you, so negotiating the sale of livestock is a good excuse for that.”
“Well, if you are actually making a large purchase we can deliver whenever. It just isn’t worth traveling to High River when we are making thirty or forty stones selling weak bloods. For thousands of stones worth of livestock, though, we don’t mind.”
I nodded and, after a bit of small talk, I returned to my room. Once there I left the spirit beasts to run around, knowing that I would sense if anything happened to them, and turned on the qi enhancing formation. The animals all seemed to calm down at this, and soon they had all gotten comfortable and started meditating. I soon joined them, hoping to understand my new strength. Someone would be here at some point in the early morning so that I could return to High River with the beast sellers, so I wouldn’t have all night.
