Fighting to be Kind in a Cultivation World

As we head to the entrance of the fortress towards the Inner City, despite the distance, we can still hear the cheers going on behind us.

Considering the things we’ll need to do going forward, it’s a great motivation to do them well.

It’s not long before I can hear Shi coming in from behind us with four carriages.

Since we have quite the distance to travel, we'll have to rely on them to expedite the journey. Even better, it seems some of the spirit stones have been put to good use, with permanent formations having replaced the talismans that were used before on them.

Privacy, speed, comfort, space, and security.

All the formations on these have taken these concerns into account and incorporated them into the design. However, these were the only ones that could be completed. And for a high cost.

Luckily, with a resident formation expert and plenty of spirit stones (courtesy of myself), it was a simple endeavor. And we have more than enough surplus at the sect and here to keep the formations going.

Shi's voice breaks me out of my thoughts as she rides up just behind us.

“Hey! Here’s the stuff we needed for the trip. Each of your bags and equipment is also here, so make sure to jump in and check if you need anything else before we leave. We have plenty of space with the formations, so don’t be afraid to include more if you think you will need it.”

“””Okay!”””

Everyone shuffles over to the carriages after she says that, in a way that’s reminiscent of a bunch of students following their teacher.

… It’s been subtle, but I think she’s taken over the position of group mom. Everyone seems to listen to her, and she always seems to have things ready for others. All the while still keeping that badass, sexy, biker girl vibe.

Maybe this is all from her time running security with the Yellow Sashes. I’m sure keeping the girls over there in line had its own challenges.

Despite my inner thoughts, I also shuffle over to the carriages to see what’s there.

As I open the last carriage’s cabin door, I’m find myself wryly smiling as I immediately see two glowing eyes inside, staring at me.

The panther. With some additional familiar, tamed faces in there. The Hero Group: Dana the slime, Ru Ning the roach, and Tai Ye the spider.

Even with the species gap, I can tell they are returning my smile with grins in their own way.

I guess there was no way that they were going to stay behind, with Mei Lin coming along.

They’ve been keeping it quiet, but I know they’ve still been going on adventures, but now adding Mei Lin occasionally. Of course, with them there, I know there won’t be any risk.

The main reason for that is Dana.

She’s already in Foundation Establishment. And with her ability to go microscopic and separate herself… she’s basically able to resist attacks from lower Core Formation experts. Covering Mei Lin and getting her out of there would be trivial with the three of them there.

Let alone if she decided to attack.

I give a sigh before speaking out.

“Even though I have some words, I want to say… thank you guys for coming and continuously protecting those precious to me.”

I give a bow to them, as I say this.

Which causes the four of them to panic, including the panther. Even in and in many ways, especially within the spirit beast world, it is unusual for the leader to bow their head so readily to their subordinates. But I already know that I don’t need to follow that with them.

I quickly raise my head to make them comfortable again, but the message has been sent.

Even the panther has a new look in her eyes. A deeper commitment to the group.

But they are still a cat… so I’ll take that with a grain of salt.

Considering the journey ahead, I throw some pills I had prepared for them, in my downtime, tailored for spirit beasts. Leaving them to cultivate while traveling.

It seems after I leave that carriage that everyone else has already double-checked their stuff and is waiting for me to progress.

Time for a mini-speech, I guess?

“… Thank you, guys, for coming along. You don’t know how much I value each of you. I’m looking forward to the growth we’ll have together.

“Now, as a heads up, we’ll be stopping by a friend’s compound on the way over to Monchon City. There will be a few things I’ll need to take care of there that will help us on our journey. But without further ado, let’s get on the road.”

They give a little cheer before we all hop inside and on top of the carriages.

Starting at a leisurely pace, the speed rapidly accelerates to surpass that of a car on the highway. Self-propelled and kept stable from the formations contained within.

What I find wild is that even with this pace, it will still take several days for us to reach the inner city. We’ll need to go through the spaces between the core disciple towers, to reach the inner court pagodas, where the inner court disciples live, then the inner court itself. Only after that will we be able to the inner city.

Once again, highlighting how large the sect really is.

Since the carriages are primarily self-driving and everyone else is hanging out inside, I spend some time with an interesting contraption I had found while treasure hunting in the sect.

A sound machine.

Of course, it wasn't originally designed solely for producing sounds, but with some minor adjustments that even I could make at Qi Condensation, I was able to make it produce music. Specifically, some guitar and piano.

Once I power level He Wen up to Foundation Establishment, he’ll be able to make it so I can do other sounds.

From it, I ended up playing some songs from my world.

Nothing impressive, just a few chords. Of course, with my scan, I could play something over the top… but this is a time to just relax and enjoy the trip. And that’s just enough to cause a few smiles to pop up on everyone’s faces.

It’s in this way that the days and scenery pass. Leading us to the Gates of Introspection, the barrier between the Inner Court area and the Inner City.

For portions of the trip, we went on the highway, but for the last leg, I wanted to make sure that we were a little more subtle. Just as we pass through the gate, I sense a few kids perched on buildings nearby run off.

Well, I can’t stop them all. But not going through the highway gate should slow down the information, even by a little.

But that's when I notice something interesting about the kids running away, that I haven't noticed on others before now. Each of them has a patch on their shoulder, displaying a tortoise on a shield.

A symbol which represents the same Xing Family that I’m going to visit.

My scan told me they have a compound in the Inner City that I can visit. But this means the Xing’s have progressed far passed any reasonable measure. Bringing even more credence that Xing Xun is likely to be a regressor.

… It looks like we’ll be having an interesting time ahead of us.