[Tree] Chapter 420: Silver Expanse

The chilling aura of metal Qi gripped Sebastian's soul as he materialized in a pocket realm. His eyes narrowed as he tried to survey the blinding landscape. A seemingly endless silver expanse stretched before him until it met a jagged mountain range of steel-topped bronze that welded into the horizon. A golden hue from the sun that seemed to have been forged from molten gold dyed the sky and danced across the silver expanse.

Veins of various ores ran between the harsh slopes of silver, partially hidden by razor-sharp-looking blades of copper that served as this pocket realm grass.

Sebastian took a few cautious steps forward. The ground felt like polished marble underfoot, and his shadow was a distorted reflection. In fact, this world seemingly had no shadows, as everything was far too reflective and bright.

"Woah," Ryker said in awe as he looked around excitedly. "This is what a Star Core pocket realm can look like? I didn't even know there could be so many metals in one place."

"It really is a marvel. This world of metal is a paradise for us."

Ryker crouched down and fanned out his fingers. His silver hair faintly glowed as he mobilized his Qi. The silver ground shimmered before turning liquid. Grinning, Ryker pulled his hand upwards, drawing a stream of silver from the ground. He giggled as it orbited him. "No way... I'd have to expend half the Qi in my Silver Core to make this back home or spend time extracting it from a pile of Qi-infused silver. But here, I can simply pull it from the ground! Haha!"

"That's environmental advantages for you," Sebastian nodded sagely as he continued to look around, "Nothing but metal as far as the eye can see. Imagine being a water or, even worse, a shadow cultivator here? In such a blinding pocket realm, I might even be able to go toe to toe with a Nascent Soul Realm shadow cultivator in here. One day, I hope to reach Monarch Realm and be able to summon a domain of metal like this myself. Then I would be truly unbeatable."

Ryker stopped dancing around with the stream of metal and looked at him. "Does it really make such a massive difference?"

"Absolutely," Sebastian gestured at the landscape, "Ignoring the utter lack of many other Qi types. The air is dominated by the ever-present chill of metal Qi. This is important. When you meditate, what do you hear?"

"Um, the heaven's whispers?"

Sebastian nodded, "And how would you describe the heavens whispers? Are they coherent? Is it one voice or many?"

Ryker furrowed his brows as he pondered, "When I meditate, I'm overwhelmed with many intertwined strands of Qi that are all shouting out for my attention." He gestured as if reaching for something invisible, "But when I focus on the metal strand, I find it the most coherent in its teachings."

"Very good. Now, close your eyes and meditate. Breathe in and feel the surroundings. Tell me what you hear."

Ryker did as instructed. He cautiously sat cross-legged on the shiny surface and closed his eyes. From here, Sebastian could feel Ryker's Silver Core Realm spiritual sense spread out and roll over the land into the distance like a wave.

A sharp gasp escaped the boy's lips, and Sebastian smiled as he knew what Ryker was experiencing.

A dominated silence. In the absence of everything else, only the metal symphony would remain—a deep, ancient, vibrational hum that resonated deep within one's bones and carried the metallic truths of the world. Metal was almost always present but was overshadowed and drowned out by other affinities. While considered one of the more 'basic' affinities, metal Qi's whispers were surprisingly hard to pick out among the noise.

Sebastian attributed it to metal's innate nature, which he understood as elegant, rare, and quiet.

Metal lies low, deep in the earth, preferring not to draw attention to itself and remain untouched. This is far unlike other elemental affinities, such as fire, which is loud and bright. Living in the same building as the Redclaw family has given me a particular distaste for that affinity. Whenever I close my eyes to meditate, all I can hear, see, or smell is the blazing radiance of fire, which begs my attention like an unloved child. I far prefer metal, which is more cold and aloof.

"This is incredible," Ryker said as his eyes slowly opened. He seemed refreshed from the experience.

"Do you see now, Ryker?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah! Back on Red Vine Peak, meditation is like going to war. Even with the help of all the pills and resources, I still feel the need to battle for metal Qi's attention. Once I have it, I must tune out the noise of the other affinities to give it my full focus. But here, where there is nothing else, I can finally meditate with metal Qi in peace."

"It's much the same for the heavens, you know? When casting a technique, you call out with your Qi to reshape reality to your will. Try it, use a technique here, and see how much easier it will be."

Ryker nodded, and Sebastian felt the boy's spirit pull on the Qi around them. Metal Qi surged toward the boy as if he were a magnet, and his white skin took on a metallic hue as it hardened nearly instantly.

"So fast," Ryker's eyes widened in shock as he inspected his arms, "and it felt so effortless."

"How much Qi did it use from your silver core?"

Ryker took a moment to check before. "Huh..." he looked at Sebastian with his mouth hanging open, "It cost me almost nothing."

"It's far easier to reshape reality to your will when it's already been partially done for you," Sebastian chuckled as he playfully made the silver ground around them shift under their feet. "Now, as easy as using metal techniques is here, imagine the opposite. That would be the experience of another affinity cultivator arriving here. Rather than an exciting place of opportunities, it would be more of a hellscape for them. Anytime they wish to use a technique, the Qi needed to fuel it would have to be pulled solely from their reserves. Furthermore, the technique would be far more costly to use, and their control over it would be lesser due to the dense metal Qi's interference. Perhaps worst of all, once the battle was said and done. That other cultivator would have almost no hope of replenishing their used Qi. It's what makes the immortal's desolation Qi so terrifying. When you deconstruct reality and strip it of any Qi types, fighting back becomes almost impossible."

Sebastian paused his teachings and glanced at Ryker, who seemed to be hanging onto his every word. "Do you see now why environmental advantages are king?"

"Yes, I understand." Ryker nodded, "So if I reach the Monarch Realm, I can create a place like this?"

"Indeed, and you can even manifest a domain of metal around you anytime," Sebastian smiled and surveyed the landscape again. "Now, enough teachings. The last pocket realm we entered was quite good, but the Qi here is on another level. It has to be mid-stage of the Star Core Realm, and I can feel the weight of the many daos that lurk in this place. We should explore a little before finding a good spot to cultivate."

"Have the others been going to pocket realms like this?" Ryker asked excitedly.

"I do not know of the others," Sebastian shook his head. "But that would explain their fast progress. We are limited on the 9th layer of creation due to the realm's sparse and overall lower level of Qi. It's why Star Core Realm cultivators are so rare and often treated as Elders or even Grand Elders of noble families. But when we are given access to these pocket realms where the Qi is focused on one affinity and is also at a higher stage than us, progress becomes a breeze. It's no wonder so many in the Ashfallen Sect have stepped into the Star Core Realm as of late, yourself included."

Ryker whistled in amazement, "So cultivation can be quick."

"It sure can be with the right support. After all, cultivation is mostly about overcoming hurdles. So cultivation becomes surprisingly easy when there's a godly tree backing you that seems oddly proficient at removing obstacles between ourselves and the heavens."

Sebastian knew Ryker was a cultivation nut. The boy was incredibly talented and spent every waking moment meditating as if the heavens' whispers were his only friends. So he could only smile, seeing literal stars in the boy's eyes.

"Will it always be this easy?"

Sebastian stroked his chin, "Mhm, it should be so long as the resources the immortal can provide outpaces our cultivation. But what if these pocket realms cannot reach the Monarch Realm, or Ashlock is unable to source ingredients for high enough level pills one day? That is when progress will slow down, and things will get tricky."

"Tricky? How could things possibly get tricking for the Ashfallen Sect?" Ryker said dismissively.

Sebastian hesitated, unsure if he should share his concerns with a child. Eventually, he decided to crouch before his young master and met the boy's confused gaze. "Listen, Ryker, the Ashfallen Sect... they aren't the good guys. In fact, they are far worse and more tyrannical than the Blood Lotus Sect ever was."

Ryker narrowed his eyes, "No, they aren't. How could you say that about my big sisters?"

"That's because you haven't experienced the darker side of Ashfallen," Sebastian said seriously. "Ashlock and Stella treat their people exceptionally well—you and me included. I mean, look where we are. Think of all the pills and heavenly truffles we have stashed away in our spatial rings. This is all priceless stuff that the Grand Elders of sects would kill for, yet they give it to us for free."

Ryker nodded, "So what's the problem?"

"There is none—so long as you stay on their side and do everything they say and want. But it's what happens to those who mildly inconvenience them or who aren't a part of the inner circle. To Ashlock and Stella, those people are seen as nothing but resources. The Ashfallen Sect has the power and resources to wipe out sects and level cities. Yet, unlike other powerhouses that prefer diplomacy to avoid war, the Ashfallen Sect prefers the route of annihilation." Sebastian's voice subconsciously dropped lower as if he were afraid the All-Seeing Eye was gazing down his back, "They are heartless tyrants to all who don't bend the knee to them. A surefire way to quickly grow a list of enemies, which is fine so long as they remain on top. Which is why I said things would get tricky should the immortal stop providing miracle resources."

Ryker furrowed his brows as he contemplated his words. The child was bright and knew more about the world than someone his age should due to the information gleaned from the heavens' whispers. But anything about sect politics? The kid was practically clueless. Stella was dangerous to get too involved in, and he hoped Ryker would come to see that.

"Do you have some examples?" Ryker eventually asked.

"Many. The Lunarshade family of the Tained Cloud Sect. Ashlock wiped the entire family out in a single night because they hurt Stella. However, a more relevant example would be Grand Elder Elaine. She disliked her family, so the immortal wiped the Voidmind family out sparing almost nobody. In fact, the floating island we are using to go home is made from the corpse of the Voidmind family's Grand Elder. Look," Sebastian put a hand on Ryker's shoulder, "I know you don't like your siblings, and some of your relatives bully your mother, but they are still your family and blood. I used to hate my siblings, but we fought side by side in wars together later in life. There's a nonzero chance that Stella will get annoyed or Ashlock will see our family as an eyesore, and they will murder everyone."

Sebastian paused to let that sink in, "By next week, we and possibly your mother could be the last remaining cultivators alive bearing the name Silverspire. All because we invited death to our front door."

He took his hand away, and Ryker stared at the floor, seemingly lost in thought.

Sebastian withdrew his sword as he detected movement in the distance. What looked like beings of molten metal were rising from the fields of copper and heading their way, likely drawn by their Silver Cores or the smell of the meat on their bones.

"I'm not telling you to never trust or rely on them," Sebastian said, stepping forward to put himself between the approaching monsters and his young master. "But when working with demons like them, you have to pick and choose your words carefully."

Ryker raised his head and looked a little lost. "Even though I'm on their side?"

"Especially because you're on their side." Sebastian insisted, "If they treat their enemies that badly, imagine how they would treat someone who betrayed their trust."

***

"If you don't stay still, I'm going to dissect you," Ashlock said through Anubis to the Mudcloak they had kidnapped. The shadow lich barely managed to contain the little guy and had resorted to lifting it by the arms off the floor. The Mudcloak was wiggling around and trying to run in the air.

It reminded Ashlock of a misbehaving human child, apart from the fact it had the capabilities of devouring a human whole and using weapons.

"One thing for certain is it's not a perfect replica," he mused while closely inspecting the still-squirming Mudcloak with his Evil Eye. Something about his invasive gaze seemed to deeply unsettle the Mudcloak to the point where it ignored threats of dissection in favor of feeling. "Its cultivation level is in the Qi Realm, whereas its parent if I can even call it that, was in the Star Core Realm. So, in a weird way, this basically is a child Mudcloak. It just looks the same as the one it came from. System, have you learned anything?"

[The eyes of the Mudcloak that gave 'birth' to this one have dimmed, and its overall cultivation dropped a few stages]

"So creating a Mudcloak isn't free?"

[No, quite the opposite. While it seems they can multiply their numbers nearly instantly, it dramatically weakens them. However, this drawback is offset by their ability to quickly progress their cultivation]

"Interesting," Ashlock thought back to the Dragonite Mines, and the situation became even clearer, "The Mudcloaks were stuck in a Soul Fire pocket realm, which suppressed their progress. So without the ability to out-cultivate their predators, the only option was to multiply their numbers, but the Lesser Drakthars were too superior, leading to them being hunted down."

The Dragonite Mines had been the perfect prison for the Mudcloaks, and he had broken them free. The question was, had that been a terrible mistake? A hyper-intelligent, instantly replicating race of monsters was terrifying no matter whose side they were on.

"If given an inch, they can take it a mile. One moment, there's only a few of them, but if given enough time, they can multiply and all reach the Star Core Realm or higher." Ashlock mused, "And if a single Mudcloak remains, it will remember what was done to its race as they are all telepathically linked and can quietly prepare for revenge."

Ahshock closed his eye, and the Mudcloak stopped struggling. As much as he wanted to dig deeper, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know more. There was no way the Mudcloaks didn't know who put them there,

"System, how loyal are they really?"

[They seem mentally enslaved by Douglas's crown, who, in turn, has an oath of loyalty toward you. Should that crown be destroyed, however, it's uncertain what would happen]

"The Mudcloaks would be unleashed," Ashlock said and instructed Anubis to let the Mudcloak go.

They were far too valuable for the Ashfallen Sect and to the growth of the All-Seeing Eye's cult to make an enemy out of.

"Sorry to keep you here, little guy," Ashlock said through Anubis and patted the Mudcloak on the head, "Here, have a fruit."

The Mudcloak gleefully took the Divine Enlightenment fruit and ran off. It seemed mostly unbothered about being kidnapped, which was a good sign.

"I'll just have to keep a closer eye on them moving forward," Ashlock sighed. Things were never easy.