Depthless Hunger-Chapters 489-492

Chapter 489: Security Beneath the Waterfalls

It turned out that after blowing past many trivial sects, at the end Kai had actually fought a major branch under the Great Rivers. Not strong in absolute terms, not at their level, but prominent enough to attract attention. There was no time for in-depth discussion of any details, just Omilaena's plan to get them out, which seemed to involve preparations and jade slips.

Eventually, after several rough battles against cultivators that started to include Earth Souls, they managed to get further north and Omilaena had everything she needed. She flew out ahead of them, balanced on a flying sword, and held a slip in each hand.

"These two should work together," she called, "but it won't last long! The whole ship needs to get through before the qi fades!"

They had a brief time while they weren't under attack, so there was nothing to do but try it. Kai commanded the Clanless to move forward at full speed, directly toward Omilaena. At the last second she smashed the jade slips together, producing a swirl of teleportation energy. As the Clanless plunged into it, she leapt up to land on the prow just beside him.

When they flashed out the other side, there was a terrible scraping sound from behind. Kai looked back and saw the swirling energy had dissipated a little too early, clashing against the mana shielding. It looked like the shields had collapsed, but the ship itself was intact.

More importantly, they'd slipped their opponents and arrived in new territory. Kai felt certain that they had been thrown far north, and not just by the sun shifting in the sky. Judging from the vast cliffs and waterfalls in that direction... were they near the Heavenly Mountains and Lakes? Things must have gone strangely, for his wives to move so far north.

"It has actually been hell catching up to you," Omilaena said as if she could read his thoughts. "But it worked out, so let's get this ship hidden before anyone comes in range."

They seemed to have arrived in a relatively remote region, but Kai brought the ship down beneath the tree layer as quickly as possible anyway. He longed to ask Omilaena questions and restrained himself for the sake of security. Plus, he realized that Inafay and Orotaisin were more exhausted than he'd realized... they'd put up a good showing, but fighting for this long had taxed them.

Omilaena still hadn't answered his questions about Zin Nim, except to say that she was waiting at their hideout, making sure it wasn't discovered. She also told him that the Krysali and some dryads had been rescued, though their merchant ship had been lost in the process.

Once they had the Clanless on the ground and hidden, they could finally breathe easier. Inafay and Orotaisin greeted Omilaena before they slumped down together on the deck, recovering from the sustained battle. Meanwhile, there was one more variable... Kai walked down to the engine room and brought up Grandpa Wan Fei.

As soon as she saw him, Omilaena's eyebrows rose and she gave him a curious smile. "Well, that's interesting. Seems like you did more than protect the poor little dryads."

"I don't know if we can trust him," Kai said, "but he's been enduring manticore poison for the entire trip as insurance of good behavior. Can you make an antidote for that?"

"I've been studying Cloudspire poisons and I can do better: I can make something that suppresses the poison temporarily but doesn't purge it, so he has to worry about it later." As she walked closer, Omilaena spun a new syringe into her hand. She stopped in front of Grandpa Wan Fei and looked him over. "Kai thought there was something to you, old man. He's a bit idealistic, but if you disappoint him I'll be pissed."

When she injected the syringe into his arm, the Deepriver patriarch let out a long sigh. His cultivation base, which had been struggling to contain the poison for so long, was clearly exhausted. However, his back straightened and he bowed to her with dignity.

"The Masterful Crown sect is no longer capable of defending its territory," Grandpa Wan Fei said. "If my sect and family are to survive, it is no longer in our best interest to support them."

"You've got that right," Omilaena said. "Even more patriarchs are dead since the last time you were here, so it's getting worse for them. All the same, you need to cooperate or that poison will come back stronger than before. Manticores are nasty beasts, and Kai's poison is worse than normal."

Had it actually gotten worse? The Manticore's Quill ability had been growing, but Kai had assumed that was an improvement in his ability to launch them, not the fundamental poison. Then again, his monstrous nature flowed into every one of those abilities, so maybe he'd taken a sacred beast's poison and made it worse. He was impressed that Grandpa Wan Fei had survived it so long.

While they arranged everything in camp, Kai stayed near Omilaena and tried to find the time to ask about Zae Zin Nim. She seemed to be looking at him for another reason, though, and eventually pulled out her new goggles to examine him. Afterward she grunted and then handed them over.

"You got rid of the tattoo, but do you notice anything else?"

"Let me try." Kai took the goggles and examined his soul on a deeper level.

<

Name: Kai Clanless

Physique: ??? (??? year lifespan)

Soul: ??? (??? year lifespan)

Supremacy: None

Talent Capacity: None

Elemental Capacity: Void

Essence Capacity: Savage Heart

Cultivation Capacity: Gluttonous Cultivation

(Beggar King's Bond)

>

It jumped out at him immediately: his Talent Capacity, which had been "Void" for so long after burning out his Class, had returned to "None." As soon as he saw it, Kai knew that this was what he had been sensing, a new space opened up in his soul.

"How does that work?" he asked. "I thought I burned out my Class forever."

"But your body is still compatible with mana," Omilaena said as she examined him. "The mana tattoo must have been stretching that capacity, so my best theory is that it managed to heal. When you drained it away, the space it left behind is a healthy portion of your soul."

"Can that happen?"

"It's rare, usually the result of legendary treasures, but not impossible. We should talk about this more, after we take care of our higher priorities."

They made sure that the wind couple was fine and deposited the old man in an outer cave, then Omilaena led Kai to one of the waterfalls. It looked like there was nothing behind it but a normal cliff, but when she did something unusual at the base, the water parted to reveal an entrance that hadn't been there before.

"This will be our base," Omilaena told him as they entered. "Our enemies are still hunting for us, and there's good news and bad news there. The Masterful Crown alliance is severely weakened... but they have more support from the Brightwind sect. We need to prepare for a serious fight."

"I'm afraid I have bad news too," Kai said. "It's only eight months until the incursion, and I made a lot of promises that we'd be back in time."

"That should be enough. If we can't become strong enough to take on some patriarchs in that time, we won't have a chance against the even bigger challenges."

She still hadn't said a single word about Zae Zin Nim... they passed through a defensive corridor, and he saw rooms clearly intended for cultivation and training, but there was no sign of her. The cave system wasn't big at all, despite having been artificially enlarged, so there was only one room beyond. When Kai stepped forward, Omilaena moved in his path and stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Kai... I need to warn you, our wife has become a hideous beast. She's very sensitive about it, so you shouldn't mention how grotesque she's become. I just want to prepare you for how disgusting, repulsive, repugnant-"

"Omi, no!" The irritated voice came from within the last room and suddenly Kai knew that Zae Zin Nim was alright.

"Then come out there and prove it, you coward!"

Robes shuffled in hesitation. Kai forced himself to wait and tried to keep his expression utterly neutral, just in case. Omilaena wouldn't tease like this if something truly terrible had happened, but something must have changed that made Zae Zin Nim self-conscious. He didn't want to accidentally hurt her with an uncontrolled reaction.

When she finally emerged, Kai almost laughed. She still looked every bit as beautiful, with the same shining black hair and clear skin. If anything, she seemed healthier than before, vibrant with raw power. The only difference was that her skin was gray now... maybe that was considered ugly on Cloudspire, but the idea of getting her out of those robes just excited him.

"You see?" Omilaena told her from the side. "Worried over nothing."

"This is... the true Blackblood Physique," Zae Zin Nim said shyly. "Or at least my Blackblood Physique. Omilaena keeps telling me that I'm being silly, but..."

"You're beautiful." Kai stepped up to her and caressed the side of her face. As he leaned down, their gazes locked and he realized that her eyes had changed as well. He'd always thought of her as having black eyes, but they were in fact just dark brown, especially compared to the utterly black eyes he stared into now. They glistened like pools of ink, gazing at him with longing...

That stare must have done it, because Zae Zin Nim gave a happy cry and threw her arms around his neck. Kai held her tightly as she finally seemed to relax. Her body felt exactly the same against his as it always had, except perhaps her skin was a little smoother.

One of Zae Zin Nim's arms left his neck, flailing around, and he understood when she managed to grab Omilaena and pull her into their embrace. Even though Kai was in a waterfall in the middle of nowhere, in a continent he didn't particularly like, having just left his mother continent... he felt like he'd come home.

The little cave was cramped and dingy compared to the master bedroom, but it felt so much better.

.

..

.

Some time later, they lay together in bed, having thoroughly proved to Zae Zin Nim that her new skin was no obstacle to their relationship. Omilaena lay on one side, just having sated her needs like usual, but Zae Zin Nim was clearly overflowing with soft emotions, which left her clingy against his chest, kissing it over and over.

"I'm so glad the manticore tattoo is gone," she murmured.

"You see the double standard?" Omilaena drawled lazily. "You have to suffer this hideous peasant tan, but one little tattoo and she-"

"Hush." Zae Zin Nim reached out to cover the other woman's mouth with one hand without stopping her kisses.

The result of the manticore tattoo was a strange one he had never anticipated. He had taken it mostly to help Zae Zin Nim avoid attention, without any expectation of greater power, then given it up solely to help Juray and the dryads. But if it had really healed a major portion of his soul, then it had unlocked a new path of power. Exciting as the possibility was, he didn't want to think about it right then.

Kai squeezed both his wives tighter and took a moment to just lay back. It couldn't last forever, though, so he voiced what they must all be thinking. "What next? After causing so much trouble, I can't imagine any hideout will last forever."

"It doesn't need to last forever," Omilaena said, all business again despite how she pressed against him. "Now that you're back, we just need to find the right angle of attack."

"Advancement first," Zae Zin Nim said, and leaned up to kiss him on the lips instead. "We can make rapid progress with dual cultivation again, thanks to our developments. Doing anything else would be irresponsible."

"You see what I've had to put up with? I've been desperate to have you back before the insatiable beast wears me out."

"That is a flagrant lie." Zae Zin Nim leaned over to kiss Omilaena next.

"Not complaining about that," Kai said, "but you're both right. We need to prepare. Break through if we can, figure out a new path where we can't. If we show our hand, they'll retreat and gather more allies. The next time we take on the enemy, we need to break them."

Chapter 490: Blue and Black Paths

They were back together, everyone had gotten laid, and they had a plan. Things were looking up as far as Omilaena was concerned. Up to this point, she and Zin Nim had hidden their growth with shrouds, and Kai was still unknown, so their opponents would underestimate their new strength.

When it had been just the two of them, everything had been simple enough in their hidden cavern, but with more people they needed organization. She had been busy for a while setting up a security perimeter so they wouldn't be discovered despite more people running around. Fortunately, the two from Deadwaste weren't idiots, and the Deepriver patriarch somehow - improbably - seemed to be in earnest about helping them.

Once she had that done, however, Omilaena had no choice but to face herself, her progress, and her own thoughts. She sat in the cultivation chamber, continually absorbing the icy qi she'd acquired. Her tattoo was slowly growing stronger, but due to its unusual form, she had no idea when it would jump to the next stage... though she guessed it would be quite a while.

As she got bored while cultivating, she couldn't help but look at her soul again.

<

Name: Omilaena

Total Power: 1377

Heart of Poison: Level 88 (352)

*Prana Jewels: Level +6 (24)

Lethal Artisan: Spinel Rank (305)

Ice Refinement (112)

Path of Venomsteel: Step 10 (150)

Physique: D-9 (245)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

Azure Core (+125)

>

Compared to the other two, her slow and steady growth looked like stalling. The only advancement she was particularly proud of was improving the Prana Jewels again. As they resonated more and more with her soul, their bond increased and strengthened. She felt entirely justified in going to so much trouble getting the three of them to the Primal Loom.

Beyond that, however... the trouble was that she didn't see where she could go next. She was advancing with poison as quickly as she could, while her Lethal Artisan and Path of Venomsteel abilities were limited by lack of sufficiently powerful materials. Barring an absurd stroke of luck, none of those were leaping in rank any time soon.

The most obvious choice seemed to be increasing Physique from D-9... yet after seeing Zin Nim's transformation, she felt even more confident in her choice to wait. There was something more to be uncovered with Physique, even if she wouldn't take the same path. Her body was already composed of poison on a deep elemental level, so she was convinced that she could transform it further. The problem was going from that vague theory to actual reality.

Her cultivation was interrupted by Kai leaning in, which was honestly a welcome distraction. She stayed seated and gestured for him to approach. "What is it?"

"I forgot I have something for you," Kai said.

"Is it cock?"

"You used that one already." Kai just grinned and pulled a jar of green liquid from his spatial ring. "This is a potion Juray made, derived from wind essence. She was hoping that your techniques might be able to do something with it."

"Mm, nice girthy potion."

"Clearly, being separated has not been good for you."

Omilaena stopped messing around and took the jar from him, examining the contents first with her eyes, then with manifested goggles. Her first instinct had been to be dismissive, because the potion's power was well below theirs, but now that she looked closely, it really was a remarkable advancement on Goralian potions.

"I don't know what I can do with this," Omilaena said, "but it's a material worth experimenting on. Thanks."

"No problem." Kai headed out, recognizing that she'd be fixated on her work.

Years ago she had done some experimental work with Goralian potions during the end of the Krysali Revolution, and they had actually been essential in keeping the army alive instead of chopped apart by crystals. Overall, however, she had only been working with materials that had already come into existence. Since then, she had gained so much more experience with the tattoo artists in the Manticore tribe that she viewed things from a new angle.

Manifesting energy in a physical form wasn't unique, but it was special. Some forms of power, especially chakra arts, actually followed the Essence aspect and were distinct abilities, but mana potions or qi pills... no, those were just concentrations of the same thing. Now that she thought about it, there were strong similarities between healing potions and medicinal pills.

With this potion, what she had was a concentration of raw force, like a wind elemental... could she work with that? The two obvious paths were to try to make it permanent like the tattoos, which would result in loss of power, or make it more similar to her injections, temporary but stronger.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

She quickly realized that this method, while worth consideration, was better suited for boosting others, not herself. That would take some real thinking, both from a theory perspective and just in the tactical sense. What she needed was a clear angle that would grant the others a qualitative boost.

Meanwhile, she still had her own concerns. Omilaena gave up on cultivation and walked back through the tunnel until she reached an apparently normal section of the wall. The panel wasn't truly secret - at least not to Zin Nim and Kai - but she still looked carefully before she pressed the exact rock to open the door into the hidden chamber.

There the body of the Poison Prince lay upon the stone slab, carefully preserved in the moment of his death. The poison in his body was still intense, still promising... yet all she'd been able to do was drain a little away to strengthen her Heart of Poison. That was incremental improvement, not the breakthrough she needed to catch up to the other two.

As she wracked her mind for new ideas, Omilaena leaned against the slab heavily. She told herself she was just resting, but didn't really believe it.

.

..

.

"Very good," Zae Zin Nim told them. "You're grasping the discipline very quickly."

"It doesn't feel like it." Inafay sat in her cultivator's position alongside the other two, gritting her teeth. "Hate everything about this. Every time I try to reach out, the qi just slips away from me."

"You don't seize it, you let it flow through you. Qi is water, not fire."

"I get that, but I don't get the wind part. There isn't 'wind qi' right? The idea that I need to absorb this generic qi, then somehow make it like wind..."

Zae Zin Nim hesitated before giving an answer. The right method would have been clear to her, years ago, but after all her experiences on Deadwaste and Rosemount, she understood how many different forms power could take. Ordinary advice might not be sufficient here, yet she didn't want to launch into a lecture.

"Cloudspire's abilities don't treat the elements in the same way you do," she said eventually. "In fact, we don't even agree on what the fundamental elements are. So don't think about it as absorbing wind qi. Just drink up the qi, then fill up a 'wind-shaped hole' within yourself. Qi can be anything, but it needs to fill our dantians and meridians, and the shape of those is what makes us unique."

"That sounds great and all, but I don't know what all that stuff means."

"It's fundamental here, but you should be able to grasp it. Hmm, maybe a different method..."

Instead of further lecturing Inafay, Zae Zin Nim walked onward. The woman's partner, Orotaisin, sat beside her, much more focused and dedicated in his cultivation even if he wasn't making more progress. But her actual goal was the third person in line: the patriarch of the Deepriver clan sat alongside them, trying to balance his cultivation base after the poisoning.

"Wan Fei, do you think you can teach them?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

His eyes opened slowly and he peered at her. "I know the basics, of course, but by my standards, they have already deviated far from the path."

"Forget those. They're stronger than some Earth Souls you've met, right? Think about them as having some sort of unique body or dantian, something that makes them extraordinarily suited to wind. All they need is to learn the basic cultivator skills and adapt them."

"I have taught many in my time. I suppose I can try this as well."

"Good. I will expect progress when I return."

She pivoted from the Immortal's Cave and only considered after she got out that maybe she should have been more encouraging or less brief. Had she come off as a bitch? Well, it was too late now. Inafay seemed quicker to forgiveness than anger, anyway.

Even though she urgently wanted to return to her own cultivation, Zae Zin Nim didn't mind teaching them. Speaking to Inafay had been important in her own journey, and the techniques she taught had been essential for Zae Zin Nim reaching her own Advanced Class. It seemed that, despite their overall weakness, these Deadwasters had something useful to teach her. Another thing she never would have imagined as her old self.

For that matter, she was surprised that Kai had managed to tame the Deepriver patriarch. Cowing an inferior opponent into obedience was one thing, but he had somehow infected the man and changed who he was. That sort of thing was just unnatural, not that she wouldn't accept it when it was in her favor.

Once she was on her own in their private room, Zae Zin Nim sat down and considered her soul again.

<

Name: Zae Zin Nim

Total Power: 1713

Cultivation: Earth Soul 64% (524)

*Heavenly Sash: Cultivation +10% (52)

Coldfire Corona: 35 (405)

Pure Yin Shroud: Spinel Rank (250)

True Blackblood Physique: E-3 (418)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

>

Her most obvious path to growth was continuing to strengthen her new body, which seemed to brim with potential now that she had fully embraced it. The Coldfire Corona continued to climb upward and she still cultivated despite the fact that she knew she couldn't reach Sky Soul in time. All of those were good, but they weren't enough.

When she had faced her father, she had been able to stand against him, but not overcome him. The difference between her and the mightiest of Sky Souls might not be huge, but she needed to decrease the gap.

That left the Pure Yin Shroud as the element of her soul that had been stagnant for longest. She could feel that there was some potential there: it was chakra reinforcing her body, after all, and her body had just taken on a new form. Yet so far, she hadn't been able to unlock any of that potential. Maybe it would be good to ask Omilaena... then again, Omilaena seemed very stressed with her own training. She was no child to be baffled by these things, so she could figure out something herself.

The answer was obvious, if embarrassing. As if summoned by her thoughts, Kai poked his head into the room at that moment.

"Did you want to talk about mana exercises?" he asked.

"Oh... that was what I was thinking this morning, but I have changed my mind." Zae Zin Nim beckoned him to come closer to the bed. "I think the two of us should dual cultivate together more often. Umm... Omilaena and I maximized our gains before, while you were gone. But I think there are unique advantages for us, since we're both developing in Physique. So it could help mine, but you should also rise in C rank if-"

Kai cut her off with a light kiss and she leaned into it. "You don't have to make excuses," he said quietly.

"It's not! I... do want to be intimate with you, but it will also be productive."

"Alright." Kai picked her up by her waist, hoisting her effortlessly and placing her on his lap, where she leaned against him happily. "What's involved this time?"

She told a deep breath and tried not to blush too much as she told him.

Chapter 491: The True Form of the Manticore's Quill

Kai's first plan had been to focus on fully developing a presence technique, turning Banchlain's Aura from a passive tool into an offensive weapon. Before he'd been told about the qilin hunt, which had been a major distraction, he had assumed that he would merge together the three types of essence he had. Now that seemed a little more difficult, and actually merging a skill became a second priority.

Well, in all honesty he was also distracted by his wives. Zae Zin Nim always wanted to dual cultivate, while Omilaena came up with excuses to "drain poison" from time to time. His Physique had actually shot up another two levels, but it still felt indulgent.

All of that aside, he did view the issue of presence techniques as his primary objective in the battle. He would bring raw power, yes, but many people could do that. What he needed was an ability powerful enough to stop the Masterful Crown clan and all their similar allies cold, something that could redefine the battlefield the way the patriarch did.

His thoughts were going in every direction as he moved through the forests: back to Mutefang's Stealth and his monstrous form, just in case he ran into any of the qilin chasers. According to the most recent information, many young cultivators were still trying to track down the qilin for a blessing. Given its rumored properties, it seemed like the perfect sacred beast to round out his technique... if he could find and eat it first.

Zae Zin Nim had told him everything she knew about the qilin, both legends and reliable information. All manner of blessings were attributed to it, but everyone agreed the sacred beast had an incredible presence. Methods of successfully tracking it down were less clear, not least because those who actually received a blessing were unlikely to tell others how to do the same.

Unfortunately, a large portion of the hunt seemed to be wandering through the forest. In Kai's case, thanks to his stealth and mobility, he could search for both the qilin and all other hunting parties, but it still meant a lot of scouting. While he moved, Kai examined his own soul and continued strategy.

<

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 876

Monstrous Hunger - XV (omicron)

Cultivation: Nascent Foundation 23% (257)

Savage Heart: 20 (208)

Physique Level: C-4 (320)

Beggar King's Robes: +2 (10)

Soul Level: 9 (81)

Behemoth's Heart - X (kappa)

Thunderbird's Wings - IX (iota)

Baleful Breath - VII (eta)

Mutefang's Stealth - XV (omicron)

Banchlain's Aura - XIII (nu)

Void Gaze - VIII (theta)

-

Direboar's Strength - XIV (xi)

Tyrant's Claw - XII (kappa)

Manticore's Quill - X (kappa)

Isulfr's Bite - VIII (theta)

Sahagin's Soul - XII (mu)

Lizarkyl's Tail - VI (zeta)

Direurchin's Spikes - V (epsilon)

Wallcrawler's Feet - III (gamma)

Abominalgum - I (alpha)

Rose Piranha - III (gamma)

Cloud Piranha - III (gamma)

Bloodtrap - III (gamma)

Slime's Immortality - I (alpha)

Silver Demon - I (alpha)

Direcrab's Claw - III (gamma)

Voidmaw's Bite - I (alpha)

Great Cetae - II (beta)

Spine Aura Urchin - III (gamma)

Redtree Betrayers - II (beta)

Starvation Wraith - III (gamma) 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

>

His human soul had continued to grow at a steady rate, but he was most pleased by the progress on his monstrous side. Where once that side had failed to keep up, due to the lack of monsters, he was now confident he had double his human strength, or at least close. That put him at almost 1800, which would make him equal to the greatest powers on Rosemount or Cloudspire.

Yet that wasn't enough... maintaining that edge would require pushing in every aspect, not least his monstrous essence. As he moved, Kai realized that Manticore's Quill had proved to be far more valuable than he'd thought at first... yes, he'd known it was a powerful sacred beast, but it had been an excellent anti-cultivator weapon that he relied on frequently.

There weren't any other essences that he thought were equal to it, so there was no question of trying some grand merger. No, he was perfectly happy with Manticore's Quill, he just wanted to make it an even more deadly ability. It could use more destructive power, and while he was at it he might as well enhance the poison.

That night when he stopped to rest, Kai settled down to make some final decisions. Direurchin's Spikes had been in his soul for a long time - they were occasionally useful for defensive purposes, but weren't worth a whole slot and could be made partially obsolete by the Savage Heart transformation. Meanwhile the Spine Aura Urchin was another sharp monstrous essence that used qi for an entirely different type of poison. Two excellent additions.

Over the next day he spent time testing both abilities and they quickly shot up several ranks. Ever since the growth in the abyss had increased his Monstrous Hunger, he felt as though he was more connected to his monstrous essence. It only took a little training for him to gain a strong degree of mastery of the two spike skills.

When he decided to actually do a combination, however, it felt like not quite enough. He'd make the quills much sharper and more poisonous, but he needed destruction... eventually Kai decided on Direcrab's Claw. It wasn't really incompatible with or useful for Tyrant's Claw, so using it for penetrative power was probably the better decision.

He prepared himself for an intense struggle, but it turned out to be easy. The monstrous essences devoured one another within his soul and all he had to do was make sure to take the strongest parts of each and have the manticore essence end up on top. Soon he looked proudly at his result.

<

Manticore's Spine - III (gamma)

>

Manticore's Quill had become Manticore's Spine, and even at the lower rank he could feel its potential. As he returned to scouting, Kai enjoyed testing it further.

Now it was far easier to create spines from any of the three sources of energy, each more focused than before. He discovered that he could easily shoot spines of different sizes, even make them curve in midair. Not only was the default poison more deadly, it seemed like he could produce different kinds of poisons, even weaker ones if he didn't want to kill someone so quickly.

When Kai finally stumbled on a camp, he was almost irritated that his fun had been interrupted.

This one was a group of young masters, attended by multiple Earth Soul guards. Some of them were Earth Souls themselves, but none seemed particularly impressive to him. Kai didn't recognize all the robes and symbols, other than the general appearance of the Great Rivers sects. He lurked around the camp while they chattered obliviously on.

Most of what they said was the usual inane boasting, but they spoke plenty about their attempts to find the qilin. From them he learned that the region east of Floodisle City was flooded with so many searchers that everyone agreed the qilin couldn't possibly be there. Only people so wise as to have been born into wealthy families - like them - had the sense to search further east and north, where the qilin had been sighted most recently.

He also learned a critical piece of intelligence: Xir Xan Khan was still in the region, rumored to be one of the closest to finding the qilin.

Apparently he was also searching for his "lost bride" - that inspired another round of rumor and gossip. Common knowledge had it that the rebels in the south had been crushed and only two Sky Soul women had escaped.

As the young men discussed his wives, Kai's anger rose and he considered attacking the camp. They used euphemistic language to discuss sexual assault, which almost offended him more than outright threats. To them it was funny, or a game, or just the way the world was. All that kept him from killing them all was the knowledge that their deaths would only interfere with his plans, not further them.

The group barely spoke of all the dead young masters at all, as if they'd forgotten them.

Kai still returned north in a fury. He noted several other hunting parties and figured out the general area of the most serious qilin hunt, but never ran into Xir Xan Khan, much less the sacred beast itself. Eventually he decided that he'd done enough scouting for now and returned to the waterfall to confer with the others.

All he really wanted was to find Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena, then wash the unpleasant thoughts out of his mind. Before he reached the waterfall itself, however, he saw a green streak that resolved into Inafay. She stopped in midair, hovering effortlessly like a higher flight technique, and saluted him.

"Back from the qilin hunt?"

"Not successfully, but I've done enough for now." Kai rolled his shoulders, trying to remove the tightness in them. "How are things back here?"

"Well enough. Your wives really miss you." Inafay hovered a little closer and narrowed her eyes at him. "I... can't believe you actually pulled that off."

"Uh... yeah, somehow."

"I can't really imagine. But the three of you are happy together?"

"More so than I ever imagined."

"Then great!" Inafay slapped him on the shoulder and flew alongside him as they headed back. "I feel like I should congratulate you, but I'm not sure what to say on such an occasion. Instead... after you rest up, do you want some help in the hunt?"

"Help?" Kai glanced at her and saw she was in earnest.

"Yeah, don't forget I was trained as a hunter too! This seems like an interesting challenge, and we have those illusion wreaths to hide our identities. Having some more people who can fly could really narrow down the area."

"Heh, maybe so." For a little while Kai was able to forget about the rest, and when he finally got back to the cave, it left his mind entirely.

Chapter 492: The Fortune of a Qilin

Even though Kai hadn't been gone long, he enjoyed catching up with everyone at the waterfall base. And no, he didn't just meant Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena for the obvious reasons. In every corner of their base, someone was working on something different.

Inafay and Orotaisin managed to help him scout the forested region even while developing their cultivation. Clearly Omilaena had designs on them, working on her idea of unified wind powers, but they seemed to be enjoying it, so he wasn't going to interfere. It was good to get to know them better, observing how they behaved differently together and apart.

He was more surprised by the Krysali and dryads, who seemed to be intensely motivated to keep training. The Krysali knew that their home was under threat of incursion, he supposed, and the dryads had experienced a massacre of their people. Even if they weren't likely to contribute to the upcoming battle, they wanted to do something.

As Kai was on his way out again, he was interrupted by Cragrila. She carried a new spear, made from Cloudspire jade and dryad wood, which seemed to match her power in some way. What struck him most was how her skin seemed to have shifted, becoming hard and inhuman.

"I'm testing my defenses," she told him, and lowered her head. "Can I ask you to hit me?"

"How hard?" Kai asked, warming up his arm.

"Not full strength, obviously. But I want to feel that monstrous energy."

Kai started off with his weakest possible Tyrant's Claw. To his surprise Cragrila actually weathered it, crystals springing up from her skin to block the damage. He put in a little more strength and this time the Tyrant's Claw sent her flying backward, slamming into a tree... the crystals on her torso had shattered, but they blunted the damage in doing so.

"Not bad," Kai said. He'd been taking her approximate strength for granted, but now he took a better look at her soul.

<

Name: Cragrila

Total Power: 541

Crystal Cultivation: 9999 (125)

Crystal Dantian (+25)

Acid Cultivation: 1000 (50)

Physique Level: D-1 (205)

Crystalline Blood (+50)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

Jadewood Spear (+50)

>

She really had improved, passing 500 Power once everything was accounted for. He wasn't sure if her methods were advisable, based on what Omilaena had said, but at least when he brought her back to Krysal, the elites would see that he kept his promises.

"Do you think I could take on an Earth Soul?" she asked.

"It depends on how those crystals interact with a cultivator's qi," he had to tell her. "You should test with Zae Zin Nim."

"I see. I'll do that, thank you."

Kai nodded to her and moved on. He also noted Nirka in the Krysali area, but she had taken a more normal path of cultivation which resulted in little progress. She mostly avoided him these days, which he supposed was just as well.

No one else interrupted him, so he was free to move into the forest and again hunt for the qilin. This time he had a much stronger awareness of the entire unmapped region: his overhead view of it from the Clanless, information overheard from cultivators, and scouting from Inafay. He thought that he had a better chance than all but the best-equipped parties... which still made it improbable that he would ever encounter the qilin.

As he traveled alone, Kai considered just what might be fundamentally behind the sacred beast's behavior. It reminded him of the dragons in Krysal, which also left blessings. Except the golden dragon had registered as a monster... now that he thought of it, that would be an exception to what he'd seen from monsters. Was it a flaw in his spiritual sight because he was still understanding sacred beasts, or were dragons unique?

Of course, he wasn't so naive as to believe that if he found the qilin, it would bless him with unending good fortune. Very likely, it would do exactly the opposite. That was why he didn't intend to play by the rules, not this time.

During his explorations he spent a lot of time looking over the unused essence in his soul. There was so much power he had never found a way to exploit... the Abominalgum from the Blood Current, for example, proved very stubborn. The immortal slime had thankfully never tried to attack him again, yet every use he could think of for it felt like a waste of its unique properties. Then of course there was the "Silver Demon" essence he'd drained from Anaelina, which felt like he would waste it if he tried to force it down to any specific use.

Overall that didn't bother him. When he needed essence, he often needed it urgently, so it was good to have a supply of monsters powerful enough to be worthy of inclusion in an ability.

Still, he hoped to make further progress to balance his rising Physique. It occurred to him that he had never used the Voidmaw's Bite ability because he'd eaten that monster while on his honeymoon. That had potential... could he merge it with Isulfr's Bite? The Isulfr's essence had carried him for a long time, but it was a relatively weak monster by his current standards, so maybe it was time to upgrade it.

Just two different monster essences wouldn't be enough, though. He considered that he had two different types of piranhas, from Rosemount and Cloudspire, and tried to make it work for a while before he threw out the idea. His core skills were one massive bite, while the piranha essence suggested a flurry of smaller nips. Neither was really appropriate.

It was while thinking about different combinations, barely even remembering his primary mission, that Kai stumbled across the qilin.

The beast wasn't quite like anything he'd seen before. It stood on four graceful legs, yet the joints were tufted with silver hair. Unlike a deer, its body was covered in delicate silver scales that flowed back into a twisting tail. An elegant mane surrounded the head, and two horns curled up in beautiful patterns, unlike any horns he'd ever seen on an animal before.

Long ears twitched from its mane, as if inspecting him. Bright gold eyes turned to meet his as it examined his soul and it took a step forward.

Then the qilin snorted derisively and turned away to dart into the forest.

Before it could, Kai activated Void Gaze and bound it in place. The qilin froze mid-leap and he began to advance on it, but to his shock the beast twisted. Now that it stared back at him, its gaze seemed to carry an immense weight, as if the beast had been alive for centuries and would see centuries more. An archaic aura flowed over the clearing, trying to press him down to his knees in worship.

Kai added Banchlain's Aura, but for the first time it actually had no effect. The qilin seemed to be a creature beyond fear, and its own aura was incredibly powerful. If only he'd prepared the Starvation Wraith, Kai was sure that he could have overcome it, but he couldn't alter his soul in the middle of such an intense stare-down.

They both broke at once. Kai winced briefly, and in that time the qilin sprang into the trees and was gone. He tried to hunt it down, flashing over and through the trees, but there seemed to be no sign of it.

The legends said that you could face a qilin only once in your lifetime, and if it rejected you, there was nothing to be done. Kai was willing to bet that wasn't true, and if necessary, he would make it untrue. Now that he was absolutely certain the qilin was the last piece he needed for his presence technique, he resolved that he would be ready for it the next time.

When he returned to the waterfall, the others could immediately see that something had happened. Kai grabbed Zae Zin Nim out of her position and lifted her into the air. "I saw it!"

"The qilin?" Her eyes went wide briefly, then returned to their normal narrow skepticism. "It rejected you, didn't it?"

"Of course it did."

Omilaena appeared in the doorway, one hand on her hip. "Gonna eat it?"

"That is the plan." Kai set Zae Zin Nim back down and turned to both of them. "It actually shrugged off Banchlain's Aura, so I want backups next time. Maybe speed would be enough, but there's no reason to take a chance. I want to prepare my other abilities to merge into a true presence technique."

Zae Zin Nim immediately moved closer, curious. "Have you decided what you want to use?"

He explained about all his intuitions and his plan to merge Banchlain's Aura, Redtree Betrayers, and the qilin's essence under the overall power of the Starvation Wraith. It was impossible to know for sure how they would balance until he tried, but he hoped to create something that didn't just produce a powerful aura, but altered him on a spiritual level.

Once he was done, Omilaena let out a low whistle. "If that works, we'd never be bothered by gimmicks like presence techniques or going incorporeal again. But I agree, you want to get something from monsters, humans, and beasts."

"Will it be a problem that there are two monsters?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "I... don't know how this works, but I can't help but notice the imbalance."

"I don't think so," Kai said, "and I'm more monstrous anyway. But I wanted you two to help me develop those other abilities so I can try to use them on the qilin."

The "Redtree Betrayers" essence was most worrisome, since it was the first essence he'd ever consumed from humans, so he put time into that first. Zae Zin Nim was actually the most helpful with that, teaching him about blood arts that some savage cultivators used to convert others into raw power. It seemed like the essence only controlled emotions, so it wasn't as overwhelming as the others, but as he developed it, he thought it would hold its own.

Working on the Starvation Wraith essence proved almost too easy, the power flowing in many potential directions. He could have simply developed a spectral arm, or made himself go incorporeal, but he judged that both of those would be selling himself short. The Starvation Wraith had seemed otherworldly, like a being from the abyss that could simply ignore the laws of the normal world.

Could he capture some of that in his own essence? While training he never obtained strong results, yet the essence kept growing within him, like an egg preparing to hatch.

Or maybe a fleshy core waiting to transform into something much worse. Even though the power was wholly his, Kai still felt a little unsettled and didn't keep the essence in his soul when it wasn't necessary.

In an ideal world he would have spent weeks training, but there simply wasn't time. The longer they waited, the closer the incursion came, the more likely it was that someone else would catch the qilin, and the greater the risk that Zae Clen Ban or someone else found them. Relaxed training was a thing of the past, before they had begun all these bloody vendettas.

So Kai headed back into the forest, in search of cursed fortune.