Truthful Transmigration

The main motivation for John and indeed many members of the alliance was still related to the events they remembered with the Molten Sea. Becoming stronger was one part of that- strong enough that nobody would dare to cause trouble. But growth took time, and even with Ascending Soul Phase cultivators blooming one by one among the alliance, certain regions had possessed Ascending Soul Phase cultivators much longer.

With no guarantee they could overpower any enemies, knowing more about the strength of potential enemies was important. Cultivators were being sent to expand the range of their knowledge, essentially acting as spies… though they weren’t infiltrating clans or sects, but focusing more on publicly available information.

Some useful geographical information was available because of Yustina- she had reincarnated from the far side of the world, and knew the general layout of the local regions. Creating a precise global map would be extremely difficult because of various dangers from environment, beasts, and humans- but they were certainly able to do better than just knowing the next region over.

Crossing the seas was quite difficult- unless higher ranking cultivators were willing to explore. The Crystal Sea beneath the Sky Islands was relatively safe, but that was practically coastal. Further beyond it they had limited information except that most ships did not return. The same was true circling around to the west, all the way to the north after pasting the northwestern region with the Shining Coast and Boiling Springs. To a certain distance the seas were ‘safe’, though The Swirling Expanse to the southwest was the least stable even near the coast or where it approached the Shimmering Islands.

Even so, it was known there were islands or perhaps larger landmasses further out. Meanwhile, continuing along the continent to the northeast it narrowed out until it eventually reached the Molten Sea. It was debatable whether or not that counted as ‘land’, but ultimately it separated things from the far continent that Yustina once lived upon. Since the ‘continents’ on Earth were for the most part actually connected by land, the Molten Sea was at least as good of a divider.

That left the world with two main continents and some amount of unknown area. Unknown, at least, to the greater region John lived within. Yustina may have once known more about other areas, but if she did she hadn’t retained that information upon her reincarnation.

She remembered enough to know she hadn’t roamed beyond the nearby elemental regions, which wasn’t that surprising as she had only reached the Consolidated Soul Phase for a short time before she was killed. Nothing stopped lesser cultivators from traveling, but they needed to rely on safety in numbers, and Yustina’s previous sect hadn’t been interested in roaming widely.

-----

In addition to exploring the world more widely, efforts had begun to seek out additional reincarnated or transmigrated cultivators. The only catch was that asking directly wasn’t necessarily going to work, nor was it the best option. While John himself was semi-public with his transmigrated status, the rest of the club weren’t. There might be rumors, but that was true of most strong individuals.

The reasons to remain secretive about the search were plentiful, though there were a few main issues. While John and the others were strong enough to protect themselves against most potential threats, it might still be possible to draw attention from the wrong sort of individual. Simply because they hadn’t heard of any Exalted Soul Phase cultivators didn’t mean they did not exist. In addition, any sufficiently strong faction interested in reincarnation might cause trouble.

John wasn’t concerned just for himself, but also for those they were seeking out. Furthermore, there were certain requirements if they were going to be inducted into the ‘club’. Trustworthiness was key among those features, and making themselves known to certain individuals then not allowing them to join could certainly cause strife.

The search for individuals who had lived prior lives was one that was more long term, however. They didn’t expect it to bear fruit in any given timeframe. Even with previous efforts, they were still mostly at the level of tenuous leads to those who had great talent.

-----

Though John usually did not attend openings of the Crystal Caverns, this time Ursel had come to drag him along. Not that she would actually have to drag him… but it seemed like she could and would, if he hadn’t agreed.

“I found a really deep section last time,” Ursel explained. “It was packed with dense energy. I should be able to find it again even with whatever shifts have taken place.”

“I see,” John nodded. “And I’m assuming you plan to break through there?”

“Exactly! And I need you to defend me while I do it. Because there’s no way I won’t be drawing attention from the natural creatures here. And maybe some others.”

John remembered the creatures of living stone. He doubted they could easily harm Ursel… but that was just the ones he’d encountered long before. “That sounds reasonable enough,” John said. “But would not Renato be more appropriate as a guardian?”

“No way,” Ursel said. “I’m going to need all the earth element there,” she declared. “If he came along he’d slurp it all up fighting!”

“I would naturally use some earth element as well,” John pointed out. “But I can restrain myself. How many others should come along?”

Ursel shook her head. “Nobody! The more people, the more spiritual energy disruptions.”

“That sounds fine on the surface,” John said. “But I should bring along disciples. They can remain further off, if necessary, but having more fighting force along the way should be helpful.”

“Hmm…” Ursel pondered. “It will take longer to get there, but I guess it will be worth it.”

“How will it take longer with more combatants?”

“Because we were gonna run straight there! I don’t need any dumb crystals so we could just ignore everything and go past anything trying to stop us.”

“Sounds like a good way to get into trouble,” John pointed out. “You could run into a group ahead that you can’t get past while being pursued by others.”

“It’s good training,” Ursel shrugged. John wasn’t surprised she’d done something like that before. “But you’re right, you can bring some other people. As long as they don’t stay too close, and preferably those without earth element.”

While for most cultivators going into an area where there wasn’t an element for them was problematic, and less useful for training, the Six Elements Crossroads wouldn’t have that same problem.

“At least some will need to absorb earth element for their own training,” John pointed out.

“There will be plenty of spiritual energy before and after,” Ursel said.

“There’s also the matter of getting official slots,” John added. “The others I bring might not be ‘fated individuals’.” Since he was close to the sect master and the other highest ranking cultivators it wasn’t really that big of a question- especially for himself- but they still had particulars.

“Good points,” Ursel said. “You should bring something like… ten people. And we can see which of them are fated.”

“Can’t you just pick a number of people?” John asked.

“No way. They’re super serious about that stuff. Even disciples of the Order don’t all get to go inside. You’re already on the permanent list, though. Like Renato and myself,”

“And Johannes, I presume.”

“Nope,” Ursel said. “Most of the time the sect head is watching the outside. Oh, right, that’s another reason Master Renato can’t help me out. He’s on guarding and sealing duty. This time the sect head is going in.”

“I assume he’s trying to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase. It’s a bit unfortunate, as he was one of the first to reach the Soul Expansion Phase.”

Ursel shrugged. “It wasn’t his time, I guess. But I bet he’ll advance this time.”

“How much do you believe about the fate thing?” John asked.

“I’m not sure. But I know how serious the others are,” Ursel shrugged. “So carefully pick some people and some of them should work out.”

-----

It would have been easier if John was just allocated a number of tickets, but he went along with Ursel’s deal. There were a number of people in the sect eager to break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, and who might benefit from earth element specifically. John also brought Raul and Viriato, as while they weren’t near a breakthrough they could still benefit. Raul already had an earth element totem, and Viriato might be adding one next- depending on if he felt it fit his balance.

Ayhan and Lir as well as other early disciples were also selected. John didn’t bring too many because he knew some would be disappointed- and simply training with the Order of the Amber Heart was something they could do at any time.

John didn’t think Ursel did any manipulations, but ultimately only some of those without the Earth Element from his group were selected. That included Lir, Viriato, and another named Tlaloc.

Tlaloc was originally from the Shimmering Islands, and had been split between air and water. However, before he could choose his third totem the Six Elements Crossroads had been founded and he felt called to join. Now, he was on the precipice of the Consolidated Soul Phase and completing a cycle of core elements after having already attuned to fire.

Whether or not Ursel or someone else had manipulated the results, they got what they got. Ayhan looked a bit disappointed, but he would have other opportunities to advance and keep up with Lir. Besides, it wasn’t guaranteed that anyone bur Ursel would break through. Technically not even her, but John seriously doubted she would fail. She knew herself best, and she had more than enough experience with her element and with the world in general.

-----

“Today, the Crystal Caverns open once more,” Renato said, addressing the waiting crowds. “As before, they will have shifted, the earth element within empowering the very structure below to change. Be wary of the danger, even those who have been chosen. In general, deeper depths are filled with denser spiritual energy- but make certain you can survive the trials and more importantly make it back out in time. The caverns must be sealed on schedule, and anyone left inside afterwards will be presumed deceased.”

With that, Renato stretched out his hand and removed the seal on the caverns. John noted that it was stronger than before- was it simply because the sect head had grown in strength, and was able to create something more, or had the spiritual energy within grown and thus made a stronger seal necessary? That was something of great interest to John, but he would ask later.

Their group of five was among the first in, and while they didn’t entirely go along with Ursel’s reckless charge strategy, they did ignore the earlier groups. They should have only been a challenge to Foundation Phase cultivators at best, so leaving them behind was for the sake of others. But eventually they slowed their pace,

“Where precisely are we heading?” John asked. He could vaguely feel a greater density of earth element ahead, but that only represented the first few hundred meters. Which path was better could easily shift.

Ursel walked past the various crystals without taking note, though the other three harvested some of the larger ones. They weren’t all earth element, and indeed a surprising number of them were light element just as before. Viriato was likely thinking of the crystals as a resource for the sect, while the other two doubtless wanted them for personal use.

“We’re going down,” Ursel said. “Always pick down. Though if the same path as before still exists, it won’t really be difficult. There was a big spiral.”

Along the way they encountered a number of earth creatures, some made of the local stone and some formed out of the various crystals, sharp edges sticking out of their bodies as their vaguely humanoid forms charged at the group. As Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, Lir and Tlaloc were the focus of the attacks, and the others let that happen so they could gain experience- though they did make certain the two weren’t swarmed by too many foes.

Then they arrived at a hole- a deep vertical drop that seemed as if a cylinder of stone had simply been erased.

“This seems good enough,” Ursel said, then she leapt over the edge.

Everyone else looked at John. “We should climb. I don’t want to use up my air element or have to convert too much just yet.”