Chương 102: The Price of Saving

Human Hut Mountain, Azure Profound Continent"The Iron Rhinoceros Sect is not happy with you." Shen Tianyi said this over bowls of wheat noodles, his chopsticks pausing mid-lift. Steam rose from the broth in lazy spirals. Leo set down his own bowl.

"I have no idea what you're talking about! I died early." He gestured with his chopsticks.

"Besides, from my perspective, we saved their sect. Saved their lives. We took out Lord Hollowfang. They should be thanking us."

"The Iron Rhinoceros Sect is under the impression that Hollowfang would have turned around and helped them." Leo turned and looked at Lord Hollowfang, who sat cross-legged on a flat stone nearby, his own bowl balanced on one knee. Lord Hollowfang shrugged.

"Don't blame me for throwing you under the bus. You robbed me blind. Talk is cheap. I can say whatever I want." Leo turned back to Shen Tianyi.

"You know there's no way Hollowfang would have betrayed the Western Seat. He would have done it in the profundity space if he could have." Tianyi sighed.

"I should perhaps correct myself. Lord Ironhorn is not happy with you."

"Fine." Leo picked up his noodles again.

"Nothing I can do about it. We were irreconcilable after the second green hat incident." Tianyi raised his hands.

"All I am saying is this isn't the first sect you have demolished." Leo just glared at him. The three of them sat around Human Hut Mountain, their base in the land of the Silvercrest Cranes. Mike had made them hand-pulled noodles from the spiritual wheat they had planted. Although the cranes had a "no outsiders allowed" rule, that apparently didn't apply to Embroidered Uniform Guards, the Imperial Secret Police. Leo looked over at Lord Hollowfang.

"So what's the purpose of the Imperial Secret Police? Why were you down there in Crimson Lotus City?" Hollowfang's expression smoothed into something deliberately neutral.

"Ten thousand eyes watch the realm. Nothing moves unnoticed beneath heaven."

"Fine. I bet you don't even know what's going on either." Lord Hollowfang glared at him. Shen Tianyi raised a hand.

"Perhaps you should avoid such general questions to the Embroidered Uniform Guards. They have their secrets, after all. If there is something specific you want to know, ask directly." Lord Hollowfang tensed slightly. Then he watched Leo struggle to formulate a question. The boy's brow furrowed. Finally:"Why did you even choose the name Hollowfang? It's a dead giveaway for a spy." Hollowfang blinked. Of all the questions.

"For us Nascent Soul Lords, our daoist names reflect our relationship with the Heavenly Dao. If you started persecuting people with suspicious names, Lord Shattervow would be the first to investigate." He grunted, grabbed a fresh bowl of noodles, and spooned more chili over them.

"So what do we do now?" Leo asked. Hollowfang paused.

"Why are you asking me?"

"I don't know. What's wrong with sourcing ideas? You're secret police. You're supposed to be crafty." Hollowfang sat and chewed, thinking. He could brush the boy off with some witty deflection. But in the end, he didn't particularly want to make enemies with undying desperadoes. And besides, they had fed him.

"If I were you, I would sit back and relax until I reached Gold Core. After all, you have my wealth." He pointed his chopsticks at Leo.

"But clearly, you desperadoes have no understanding of what the words 'personal safety' mean." Leo nodded.

"The biggest question, as you alluded to, is that no one knows what Monarch Cloudpiercer wants. No one is willing to commit much until they know what's at stake." Hollowfang slurped more noodles, still thinking.

"The whole war doesn't make any sense. Even if Monarch Cloudpiercer beat back the great power and united the two provinces, after the war, they would simply flood the market with alchemy pills. Whatever centralization his father started would be pulled up by the roots. We would return to the old times, when loose cultivators roamed the western provinces undisturbed." He set down his bowl.

"The only thing that struck me as strange is this: Monarch Cloudpiercer wants to create some sort of refugee crisis. Our plans for invasion involved releasing everyone below Gold Core and sending them east to the Savage Mountains." Hollowfang pointed toward the distant valley where Stonehaven lay.

"The Lanternmarch sects think they are smart, building these settlements in the Savage Mountains. But the beasts aren't dumb animals. They would never have tolerated masses of refugees unless someone negotiated with them beforehand." Hollowfang leaned in and smiled.

"And guess who spoke to the beasts beforehand." He paused for effect.

"Monarch Cloudpiercer." Leo stared at his noodles. Cloudpiercer had talked to the beasts. Before the war. Before the refugees. Before any of it. Which meant the upcoming refugee crisis wasn't a side effect of the invasion. It was the purpose. The armies, the sieges, the ships burning over Crimson Lotus City, all of that was just the mechanism for displacing thousands of people into territory that had already been prepared to receive them. Leo picked up his bowl and drank the rest of the broth in one long pull.

It tasted like nothing. He had been thinking about this war as a land grab. Territory, resources, spirit veins, faith power. The usual reasons powerful cultivators killed each other. But if Hollowfang was right, then Cloudpiercer didn't care about holding territory at all. He cared about moving people. Why? Somewhere below, a crane let out a sound that might have been laughter.

In the end, Leo decided to visit Stonehaven with Shen Tianyi. The settlement had transformed beyond recognition since they abandoned their excavation camp. Where Leo remembered empty grassland and a meager camp, a proper city now stood in its place. Walls of gray stone rose forty feet high, their surfaces etched with defensive formations. Watch towers stood at regular intervals, manned by cultivators in mismatched robes representing a dozen different sects.

Inside the walls, buildings of wood and spirit-reinforced clay packed together in tight clusters. Residential blocks radiated outward from a central plaza like the spokes of a wheel. Smoke rose from forges and alchemy workshops. Merchants had already claimed the main thoroughfare, their stalls displaying everything from basic provisions to tier three flying boats. Cultivators moved with purpose through the streets.

Foundation Establishment elders directed construction crews who lifted massive stone blocks with ease. What would have taken mortal workers months to accomplish, cultivators completed in days. The entire city had risen from nothing in a few months. As Leo and Tianyi walked through the market district, Leo noticed something else. A few people here and there shot glares in his direction. One woman in tattered blue robes spat on the ground as he passed.

An old man with a missing arm tracked Leo with narrowed eyes until they turned a corner.

"Hey Tianyi," Leo said, keeping his voice low.

"What's going on with the glares? Do you have lots of enemies you aren't telling me about?" Tianyi's expression remained placid.

"They are glaring at you, Leo Chen."

"Me? What did I do?"

"Pond Gazing Sect. Iron Rhinoceros Sect." Tianyi counted off on his fingers.

"Many people here have a bone to pick with you." Leo threw up his hands.

"Like I said before, I saved their sects. I saved their lives. They should be thanking me." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Tianyi shrugged.

"From their point of view, before you arrived they were respected members of established sects. After you arrived, they lost everything."

"The Pond Gazing Sect I can understand, but isn't the Iron Rhinoceros Sect fine? Last I heard, Lord Ironhorn is alive and kicking."

"Lord Ironhorn decided to retreat his remaining forces within the profundity itself. He chose to use the strange rules of that space to his advantage. Those sect members who weren't strong enough to survive inside were forced to find shelter elsewhere." Leo grimaced.

"I guess I won't be able to explain myself to him then. Clear my name."

"I doubt he would ever want to see you again." Tianyi's lips curled slightly.

"But given how fate works, I bet he will see more of you in the future." They continued walking past a row of hastily constructed tea houses. Leo spotted a familiar figure seated at an outdoor table.

"Speaking of seeing someone again." Leo pointed.

"Hey, it's Zhang Wei! Of the Ammo Sect!" The man looked older than Leo remembered. New lines creased his face, and his scholar's robes had been patched in several places. The last time Leo had seen him, Zhang Wei had been the face of Redstone Crossing, constantly complaining about Arthur's explosive negotiation tactics. Zhang Wei looked up as the two approached. Recognition flickered across his features, followed by a long exhale.

"It's Leo Chen." He set down his tea.

"I don't know what to say." Leo grinned.

"This is the part where you tell me you're not the Ammo Sect. That you're a respected elder of the Alchemical Society." Zhang Wei's face grew ugly.

"Unfortunately, we cultivators of Redstone Crossing had no choice but to band together to survive the war. When it came time to choose a new name, no one could reach agreement. In the end, we simply kept the old one." He rubbed his temples.

"And since we already bore the name Ammo Sect, we began to peddle fire sticks." He looked at Leo with obvious embarrassment.

"You know how it is." Leo didn't really know what to say back. Shen Tianyi stepped forward smoothly, filling the awkward silence. He introduced himself with proper formality and invited Zhang Wei to dinner at the Shen clan compound within Stonehaven.

The Shen clan compound occupied a modest courtyard in Stonehaven's eastern quarter. Lanterns cast warm light across a table laden with braised spirit vegetables, sliced beast meat, and bowls of wheat noodles.

"What can I do for you, Leo?" Zhang Wei asked between mouthfuls of noodles.

"Do you need more fire sticks?"

"I think we've moved past the need for Tier Three flak shells," Leo replied.

"We recently acquired a bunch of Tier Four treasures, so we're operating at that level now." Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Who did you kill?" Leo smirked.

"We didn't kill anyone. We just robbed and extorted an Embroidered Uniform Guard." Zhang Wei choked on his wheat noodles. He coughed violently, spitting broth across the table. He looked to Tianyi. Tianyi examined a piece of spirit vegetable with great interest, pretending to have nothing to do with the conversation. Zhang Wei looked back at Leo. Leo helpfully changed the subject.

"Well, there is something we will need your help with." Zhang Wei nodded. He wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and leaned forward, listening.

"We want to help out the refugees once they arrive in larger numbers." Leo pointed at the noodles.

"We plan on selling spiritual wheat in the future. For now, we only have some Tier One wheat available, but eventually we will have Tier Two wheat ready for harvest." Zhang Wei smiled, though the expression carried a weary edge.

"I see you have figured out how to help ease the pain of this war yourself, Leo. The price of spiritual wheat has already increased threefold since the war began." He held up a finger.

"But the problem is this. During times of war, the economy reverts back to hard currency. That means spiritstones and spiritual materials. However, penniless refugees cannot produce spiritual goods from nowhere. If you want to aid people and help them survive the war, you need something in return that they can actually provide." Leo thought for a moment.

"Then is the ultimate solution to transport the refugees to the central provinces?" Zhang Wei shook his head firmly.

"They go to the central provinces and arrive penniless. The only thing they can do is sell their labor. And where is the biggest demand for labor right now?" He gestured westward.

"The western provinces. Any refugees we transport will just find themselves shipped back here, enlisted to fight in this great war." Leo fell silent. He stared at the table. He ran through options. Farming required land. Hunting required killing beasts. Mining required spirit veins. Crafting required raw materials from all three. Every option fed back to the same problem: the Savage Mountains belonged to the beasts. And the beasts, according to Hollowfang, had already cut a deal with Monarch Cloudpiercer.

Zhang Wei spread his hands.

"You see the difficulty. Even if you had us make fire sticks for you, you would need to provide the spiritual materials since we have no mines, and spiritstones for formation work since we have no spirit veins. And then what can we provide in return? Just some formation drawing?" Leo looked troubled. He turned to Shen Tianyi for assistance. Tianyi set down his chopsticks.

"There is one thing we need. We need detailed information on the refugees." His voice dropped slightly.

"My uncle back at the Western Seat sent a message to us, asking for help with gathering intelligence." Leo's first instinct was to hesitate. He would be the one spending spiritual wheat to buy that information. But information about the flow of refugees could prove valuable in understanding what Monarch Cloudpiercer was really planning. Although Leo was reluctant to give away things for free, his group had already handed the Shen clan far more valuable things in the past.

And the Shen clan had always rewarded them fairly. If it weren't for the Shen clan, Vivian wouldn't have been able to come to the Azure Profound Continent.

"Can you arrange it for us?" Leo asked. Shen Tianyi smiled.

"Of course. That would be of great help to the Shen clan as well."

Leo returned to Human Hut Mountain after dinner to find the terraces quiet in the evening light. Lord Hollowfang had already departed. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had said his farewells to Lord Flockfeather and left the desperadoes a one-way message talisman. It could only receive messages. Leo climbed the terraces toward the commotion above.

This was the group's first time handling genuine Tier Four treasures and spiritual materials, and he could hear Arthur's voice carrying across the mountain, already calculating profits. The spoils of war lay spread across the upper terrace in neat rows. Mike sorted through storage rings while Arthur examined weapons with a dealer's eye, turning each one over and muttering about resale value. Shen Tianyi had produced a jade slip and was tallying everything within. Kevin was nowhere to be seen.

Apparently he'd logged off early to talk to some girl online. He claimed she was his girlfriend now, though everyone remained skeptical she actually existed, especially since he'd been reluctant to share pictures. The Tier Two and Tier Three storage rings filled one section, decent hauls from the troops they had defeated. But the real prize occupied the center of the terrace: Tier Four spiritual treasures, weapons, materials, and alchemical pills extorted from Lord Hollowfang.

On Earth, you could buy Tier Four and Tier Five formations from Costco. But those were all engraved on lower tier materials. True Tier Four spiritual materials were controlled substances, nearly exclusive to government stockpiles. The kind of thing a civilian cultivator might see only at special exhibitions in museums. And here it sat in a neat pile on a mountain terrace. Shen Tianyi had offered to help them process everything. Arthur refused. Trading down tiers was easy.

Buying things from higher tiers, especially Tier Four and above, was impossible. Leo left them to argue and turned to his notes on the formation work he had been experimenting with alongside the cranes. The cranes had already recorded every Tier One and Tier Two formation in their archives. Kevin and Vivian had fed thousands of dances into the transformer model. The AI could generate most Tier Two complex arrays with reasonable accuracy. However, certain complex pivots remained unsolved.

The problem was the earth transitions. Crane formations excelled at wind and flight because those elements aligned with their nature. Earth required a different understanding, one grounded in stillness and weight. The cranes had spent generations developing workarounds, hybrid formations that simulated earth effects through rotating vortices of compressed air. Leo needed proper earth pivots. The AI kept generating hallucinations instead.

The model had learned surface patterns without grasping the underlying constraints. It produced dances that required wings to bend in impossible directions. It generated sustained notes at frequencies that would rupture vocal cords. The sequences looked plausible on paper but collapsed the moment a crane attempted them. Leo had tried improving the training data.

He used his inverse derivation technique and his exceptional divine sense to search for new dimensions he could add, new tokens to describe the things that were hard to describe. The model improved. Slowly. The hallucinations became less frequent, but they never disappeared. No notation system could fully capture what happened when a crane sang a formation into existence. If Leo wanted truly functional crane-style agricultural formations, he would have to become an expert himself.

A crane formation master, not just an observer feeding data to machines. The worst part was he would have to learn to sing like a crane. Crane formations required Cranesong. If he wanted to guide the earth transitions himself, he would need to learn their calls, their melodies, the words that resonated with the Heavenly Dao in ways human speech never could. He had a hard time bringing himself to speak like a crane, let alone sing like one. The very idea felt absurd.

He was a cultivator from Earth, MVP of the Collegiate Flying Aces League, and someone who had grown up with smartphones and streaming services. Now he was supposed to make bird noises? But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how important this little project had become. Refugees were already beginning to arrive at Stonehaven. More would follow. If he could get crane-style agricultural formations working, it would be the difference between survival and starvation for tens of thousands of people.

Leo thought about the time he visited the outer districts of the Western Seat. His first experience with true poverty. Children fighting over frozen turnips in the mud. Families huddled in makeshift shelters that sagged under snow. And those had been the invaders, the winning side, the people whose Monarch was conquering new territory. Things at Stonehaven would be worse. Much worse. He sat with that for a while.

Somewhere below the terrace, a juvenile crane practiced a three-note sequence over and over, each repetition slightly different, searching for the version that resonated with spiritual qi. Leo knew what he had to do. He also knew he was going to sound ridiculous doing it. But sounding ridiculous had never actually stopped him from doing anything before. It just made him complain more. Leo opened his mouth. The sound that emerged was somewhere between a strangled goose and a dying accordion.

Somewhere behind him, the argument between the three dissolved into stifled laughter.

The imperial guards arrived the next morning. They had come for Lord Hollowfang's identity token, which the Embroidered Uniform Guard had apparently forgotten to retrieve before his departure. Arthur refused to cooperate and pretended he didn't know what they were talking about. When the other three sold him out, he shouted something about injustice and self-detonated in response. The delegates spent three hours searching the mountain, questioned everyone present including the cranes, and departed empty-handed.