Truthful Transmigration

Seeking out opponents who could replicate what the master of the First Peak was capable of wasn’t a simple task. No, John expected it was impossible unless he traveled to far off lands, and he had no intention to invite trouble on himself by showing up in a completely unfamiliar area.

Thus, his best options were in the Blustering Peaks and Wuthering Steppes, as they were the strongest air cultivators in the region. More relevantly for battling Abritt, they focused on wind instead of lightning.

Unfortunately, the Rising Storm Palace of the Blustering Peaks only had a late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator as their sect head, and Ronan’s advancement to the thirty-fourth rank was quite recent.

Avenir of the Entrapping Vortex Sect had high potential to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, and the right sort of training. John intended to seek him out at some point. He might even help the man advance, if he could. But that was something for later.

Deirdre and the Golden Tomb Guardians had explored beyond the Breathless Plains and Frozen Heights to the east and northeast of the Sunfields respectively. Among other details, new parties had been invited to participate in the tournament, as that was the first step towards having actual relations with their neighbors.

The Breathless Plains were of great interest to John. They practiced something nearly the opposite of the Sky Islands, as much as could be the case for sharing the same element. Though perhaps instead of opposite, John should term it as a counter direction. It might actually provide some insight into winds, which John needed to have any chance against Abritt.

Obviously he wasn’t going to assume that she only had the whirlwind technique he had seen, but it would be his starting point. He imagined she would also have lightning, and he’d seen how her earth element sought to dismantle his own defenses.

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John’s journey to the Breathless Plains was accompanied by Deirdre and disciples of both of their sects, as she would be able to introduce him to the locals. Specifically, Presha of Silver Breeze Gorge.

Ayhan and Lir were still digesting their insights from the Sky Islands, so while the journey might have proven beneficial to them, others having the opportunity was more important. Of the earliest disciples, Barakat was the only one to join them. He had once been the leader of the urchins, and his first element was air. Like a majority of the Six Elements Crossroads, he was training a cycle of the elements, going from air into earth and then fire.

He was in the late Soul Expansion Phase, and would need insights into water to advance to the Consolidated Soul Phase. That didn’t mean that it was good for him to neglect other elements, however, so the journey should still prove beneficial to him.

The Breathless Plains was an odd location. Despite their modest elevation, John felt like he was at the peak of a mountain. It was not unexpected, of course. Very few elemental zones were named simply for fun instead of something practical or fitting, after all.

It was among the strangest air element zones he’d experienced. While the Glass Hills were more visually impressive with the nearly constant lightning, the main feature of the Breathless Plains were endless fields of grass. At least, that was what it appeared like on the surface. But there was a very good reason that all of the foot traffic was along one major road. While the plains seemed to stretch on forever at an even level, the grasses actually hid narrow gaps that led to precipitous drops. Traveling off of a set route was quite a risk, even for cultivators, and thus there was only one main road.

Their group passed traders and disciples of various sects without incident. Despite land that seemed fertile and good for farming, various complications limited such activity to smaller locations. First, while the soil was good the thin air required the addition of formations or constant care by cultivators. Frankly, John thought the latter should be simple enough if everyone was taught at least basic cultivation, but not everyone had the aptitude nor was everyone willing to share the secrets of cultivation.

John didn’t really blame anyone for that, and even in Lunson the cultivators were all part of sects or clans. Of course, with the broad standards of the Six Elements Crossroads very few people were left without any chance to cultivate. Guiding people through the Spiritual Collection Phase was simple enough, and not a huge investment if talent didn’t pan out. Besides, even without high cultivation people could provide useful skills to the sect.

One of the larger cities along their route was called Cona, the fields carefully guarded from both man and beast. Markers were placed beyond the field, seemingly marking some of the crevasses that marred the landscape.

Deidre took them to a restaurant she’d enjoyed on her previous trip, and John found it quite acceptable. Aside from his drink which was supposed to be healthy- and tasted like things that were supposed to be healthy. Some sort of barley tea. Maybe it was an acquired taste.

Not that he publicly addressed his displeasure. It was exactly what it was supposed to be, and he could handle a mediocre to unpleasant taste. He might have rinsed his mouth with water element before moving on to the actual food, however. There were certain forms of maturity, and then there was unnecessary stubbornness.

The main dish was some sort of fowl. It was a strong flavor, and the meat was infused with air elemental spiritual energy. John would have preferred an even balance of elements, but obviously most places wouldn’t have anything like that. Not that he got most of his spiritual energy from food anyway, as extracting spiritual energy from the environment was good enough in most cases.

As he ate, John took in the city around him. Cona had more than a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, easily noticed from afar. The level of air element spiritual energy was quite high, despite the thin atmosphere. Or more likely it was the cause in some manner.

Currently, he was keeping his own spiritual energy restrained. Not hidden, as anyone who took a proper look at him would be able to discern his strength. However, he also wasn’t broadcasting it everywhere. For someone new, it might feel like a challenge… and while John didn’t mind conflict, he would prefer it to have a reason.

They continued on without incident, not that John would have expected trouble in a city. It didn’t take long to find some, though it was not from human cultivators. Instead, it seemed their lunch had come to them to take revenge.

Or at least a similar sort of bird, diving from high in the sky. And not just one, but a whole flock. An odd behavior for what seemed like birds of prey, but beasts tended to have a wide variety of behavior.

“Incoming attack!” John warned for those who had not noticed the shift in elements- or the others preparing themselves. That was something that needed to be addressed in the future, as the creatures only had stealth insofar as their elements matched the surroundings.

John threw a dagger at one of the incoming birds. He found his attack dropped off before he expected, the thinner atmosphere not supporting his weapon as well as it might have. He would have to adjust his attacks in the future to counterbalance that effect. Normally it might not have been an issue, except that his attack was supposed to be supported by air itself. Obviously he couldn’t throw a dagger that high into the sky on pure muscle strength.

The flock swooped down from on high, and John quickly stepped to the side- not to avoid an attack, but to block one for one of his disciples. The Foundation Phase cultivator was unprepared for the incoming attack. A claw swiped at John’s arm… and he was surprised to find it drew a line of blood. A thin one, but it cut through his spiritual energy defenses more easily than expected.

The birds of prey both flew faster and attacked with greater force than their level of spiritual energy indicated. That was troublesome, because it meant they had greater control. However, aside from some minor injuries in the initial pass there wasn’t anything serious.

John recalled the attack. Air element gathered on the talons, increasing sharpness. That was expected, of course, as he didn’t expect the birds to try to blow them away or shock them with lightning. However, the talons themselves had only been a medium for the spiritual energy. It was a compression of power and then… nothing.

Or more specifically, a moment of vacuum. Not something cultivators were used to blocking with spiritual energy, though instinct tended to mean it was always at least partially affected. John’s wound was lighter because of Diamond Defense, but the fact that he was injured at all showed the potency of the attack.

That also explained how the birds flew faster. It wasn’t all that different from what John did sometimes, reducing air friction. It was just that these birds seemed to go for a deeper vacuum, though they seemed to keep from causing any sort of thunder equivalent despite creating a vacuum. Perhaps that would give them away too easily, or otherwise cause issues for them.

Deirdre and the Golden Tomb Guardians took out several attacks as they began to swoop down for another attack, creating lasers that the birds couldn’t dodge. A single instant of focus on their eye and they would be blind, if not outright dead. Then they readied themselves for anything passing by in melee range.

John added his own throwing daggers into the mix, his second attack for the battle more accurate but only barely clipping his target. His third struck its target at the height of its wing, sending it spiraling down.

At the same time, he prepared a large net of earth element. He made use of the techniques he’d learned in the Sky Islands, negating the bird’s flying techniques while simultaneously weighing them down. Obviously birds could fly naturally, but suddenly slowing and dropping slightly was devastating for the portion of the flock he struck. The various disciples were able to hit the slightly off kilter birds of prey with counterattacks.

John once more blocked one of the attacks, this time focusing on countering the vacuum created. It was easy enough, a simple injection of air element, though he did have to intentionally replace what was taken away. He limited the amount of energy he used, because overwhelming amounts of Spiritual Energy weren’t what made good techniques. He wanted to be able to fight enemies stronger than himself, not dominate those weaker.

The young disciple John was protecting managed to strike the incoming foe, swinging a curved blade coated in water element. The bird was soaked, and though the attack hadn’t fully penetrated through its defenses crashed to the ground where it was swiftly finished off. The last of the flock either retreated or were finished off on their third pass.

John watched the few wise enough to retreat. Instead of pulling above the clouds, they kept low- then dove down into the ground. Indeed, it only made sense that they lived in some of the ravines. Most predators wouldn’t be able to reach nests embedded in the cliffs, and they might even get lucky with foolish man or beast falling into one of the openings. Though not scavengers, they would happily eat a fresh corpse.

Was there any use in creating a vacuum against Abritt? John knew that fully negating her windstorm would be a foolish attempt, as that would be clashing power against power. With the difference in rank, it would just be a waste of his effort and guarantee a loss. However, he might be able to slip attacks through with a small vacuum around them. Assuming she didn’t know how to counter that, which she very well might. Still, it was an idea worth exploring. Even if it didn’t end up useful against her, John had no doubt there would be opponents it was valuable for.