Chương 155: Azure, Add It To The Collection

The Ancestor and Sect Master led me through the Three-Leaf Clover Sect's grounds with the nervous energy of two children showing a strict grandparent around a room they hadn't cleaned in a while and every few steps one of them would gesture at something they hoped would impress me while shooting quick glances back to try to read my reaction. I maintained the mysterious intimidating demeanor and floated along behind them at enough height to make it clear that I could see over both their heads at all times.

The red glow from my eyes, courtesy of the Shroud rune, cast shadows across their faces every time they turned around to check on me.

"And this," the Ancestor said gesturing grandly at what appeared to be an ordinary courtyard, "is where our disciples practice the Sacred Leaf Dance technique, the formations embedded in the stone help channel…" A young disciple chose that moment to dart across the courtyard on some urgent errand and the poor boy made it three steps before he noticed our little procession.

His eyes went wide as they tracked from the Ancestor to the Sect Master and to me, the cloaked figure with glowing red eyes hovering several feet off the ground. I watched with mild amusement as the boy's brain struggled to process what he was looking at, his mouth opened and closed several times and then his survival instincts won the argument, he dropped into such a deep bow that his forehead made a thud sound against the stone tiles.

"Seeing your elders and not greeting them?" the Sect Master's voice had the right mix of stern authority and barely concealed panic, "where are your manners?" The boy somehow managed to bow even deeper than he already was, "this junior greets the Ancestor, Sect Master, and, and..." his voice trailed off as he struggled with how to address the mysterious floating person.

"And honored guest," the Ancestor supplied while shooting me another nervous glance. I said nothing and maintained my ominous silence because sometimes the effective approach to being intimidating is letting people's own imaginations handle the heavy lifting.

"Y-yes! Honored guest!" The boy's voice cracked on the last word, "this junior begs forgiveness for his rudeness and, and..."

"You may go," the Sect Master said, taking pity on him. The boy didn't need to be told that twice and scrambled to his feet to get away from us with his original errand forgotten in his enthusiasm to be somewhere else as quickly as possible.

"Young disciples," the Ancestor said with a laugh that was trying to sound natural, "so energetic, wouldn't you say honored one?" I kept my silence but I could feel Han Renyi's amusement coming through, "Master, I think you've traumatized that poor boy for life."

"Good," I replied, surprised at being addressed as master, "a healthy respect for mysterious floating figures will serve him well in his cultivation career." We continued the tour and word of our presence seemed to spread faster than any movement technique I had seen because every courtyard we entered was emptied out by the time we arrived, though I could sense people watching from windows and around corners.

The few cultivators who couldn't avoid crossing our path all followed roughly the same pattern, shock, then terror, then deep bows, and then hasty retreats. One memorable reaction came from an older disciple who started reciting protection mantras under his breath the moment he saw me.

"Your disciples seem jumpy," I commented, mostly to watch my two guides squirm.

"Ah, well..." the Sect Master cleared his throat, "we don't often have the honor of hosting such distinguished guests."

"Especially not ones who can make our Ancestor's Tree do... that," the Ancestor added and then looked like he deeply regretted bringing it up. I glanced down toward where he had gestured and one of the Ancestor Tree's roots was following us along the path. The moment it noticed my attention it froze mid-creep as though convinced that staying still would make it invisible.

I looked away and suppressed a smile because in my peripheral vision, I could see the root begin inching forward again and pausing whenever it seemed to think I might turn back to look. For something that could level the sect compound with a single effort, it was being endearingly cautious.

"Master," Azure said, "I'm detecting that the tree's root system extends through the sect grounds, every building and every courtyard, there isn't a spot these roots don't reach."

"Good," I replied and noted how both our guides were trying their best not to look at the floor beneath their feet, "that should discourage our hosts from having any ideas about surprise attacks at any point." Eventually we arrived at the sect's archive building. It was older than most of the other structures around it.

Its wooden walls had darkened with age but still kept their intricate carvings intact, multiple layers of protective formations shimmered faintly when I extended my spiritual sense, though I noticed they seemed to be operating at reduced power which was probably another sign of energy conservation.

"The Three-Leaf Clover Sect's Archive," the Ancestor announced with pride in his voice, "nine millennia of accumulated knowledge!" This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I had to admit it was impressive when I looked at it. The main hall stretched up three full stories with walkways and platforms connecting the different levels. Scrolls and books filled shelves that went from floor to ceiling.

The spines were marked with characters that glowed faintly. The air had that combination of old paper and ink that seemed to exist in all collections of cultivation knowledge regardless of the world you were in.

"I suppose this is where we should make introductions," the Ancestor said, bowing deeply with his beard touching the floor, "this junior is Zhou Tao, Seventh Ancestor of the Three-Leaf Clover Sect." The Sect Master followed, "Li Jie, current Sect Master, we are honored by senior's presence." We had reached that part of the dance where they were hoping I would reveal my identity so they could search for some legendary name from their past that would explain my impossible cultivation level.

"You may know me as Ling Zhuo," I said, watching their faces carefully. The flash of disappointment was brief, but it was clear that the name meant nothing to them, and that they recognized it as a false name. The Ancestor's beard twitched slightly like he was fighting the urge to ask my real identity.

"Now then," I continued before they could recover their footing, "remove the seals on your technique archives." The request made the Ancestor's eyes widen and his beard bristled with the shock of it. The Sect Master's carefully maintained composure cracked for a moment and showed the real panic running underneath.

"Senior wishes to..." the Ancestor started and then stopped, struggling with the concept of what was being asked. I understood their reaction because what I was asking for was unrestricted access to their sect's most closely guarded knowledge. In any other era, that kind of request would have been met with refusal and possibly violence.

The reason for that was because a sect's techniques were the accumulated work of generations and handing someone free access to all of it was handing them the means to potentially destroy everything you had built. But the world had changed and with no other living Tier 5 cultivators, they didn't have a choice, the possibility of advancement was too valuable to walk away from, and my supposed power level was too significant to ignore.

"Is there a problem?" I let my eyes glow brighter and both men shook their heads.

"Of course not!" the Ancestor's voice was higher than his usual, "we would be honored to..."

"We live to serve," the Sect Master cut in smoothly, probably worried his superior was going to strain something trying to force those words out. He made a series of hand gestures and the protective formations around the archive began to dim one by one.

"Azure," I thought as the seals deactivated in sequence, "you're up."

"Already scanning Master," he replied, "but I must say their organizational system is interesting."

"Interesting how?"

"Well for one thing they have categorized Techniques for Pruning Spiritual Plants under both Combat Arts and Gardening, I suppose it depends on how one approaches horticulture." I held back laughter as Azure began copying everything into his database.

While the techniques here probably wouldn't match the power of those from the outside world, I was interested in wood and plant cultivation because the unique conditions of the Starhaven Realm might have produced some innovative approaches that I hadn't encountered before. As Azure worked, I found my thoughts turning toward Han Renyi and the reality that when I left this realm he was going to be on his own. I needed to make sure he wasn't left facing problems he couldn't handle.

He had made his interest in learning my techniques clear through his not-so-subtle hints about wanting to be my disciple, but without access to red sun or blue sun energies, most of what I could do would be impossible for him to replicate. I had managed to strengthen his body to the equivalent of Qi Condensation Stage 6 which was meaningful, but he needed more than physical enhancement, he needed a cultivation method and techniques that worked with the local energy system.

"Azure," I thought, "how is your cultivation method design coming along?"

"Still gathering data Master, the information here is helping fill in some gaps in my understanding of how rouqi functions, I won't be able to improve the World Tree Sutra itself, as that is far beyond my current capabilities, but I should be able to create a workable rouqi cultivation method once I've finished analyzing everything here." That was what I had expected.

The World Tree Sutra was a Beyond Heaven Rank method and trying to improve it with information from this realm was not a realistic goal, but a specialized method for rouqi cultivation was achievable.

"Han Renyi," I called mentally, "what's your elemental affinity?"

"Wood element," he replied, "it's part of why I wanted to join the Three-Leaf Clover Sect, Zhou Shentong had agreed to help me..." his tone darkened, "but only if I handed my family over to him." I noted the coincidence of the matching affinities and wondered whether it had been a factor in why the possession had gone as it did, shared elemental resonance might have made the transition easier than it would otherwise have been.

"How do you feel about joining this sect now?" I asked. His confusion came through clearly, "with you as my master why would I need a sect?"

"You sound comfortable with me staying in your body," I observed. There was a moment of silence as he realized what he had said, "I… I mean I would love to have you as my master, maybe after you have your own body?"

"My situation is complicated," I said, "and I'm not certain how long I'll be staying in this realm so it would be better for you to establish yourself before I leave." He went quiet for a while and then said, "you're right, and yes I would still want to join the sect." I turned to the Ancestor and Sect Master and both of them straightened up like students caught not paying attention in class, "I find myself busy," I said in a casual tone, "and the Three-Leaf Clover Sect seems like a fitting place for my disciple."

Everyone in the room understood that this was not a request, and the way the Ancestor Tree's branches shifted meaningfully outside the window made the message clear. The Ancestor's eyes widened slightly, then he broke into a broad smile, "we would be honored to welcome senior's disciple, being able to defeat a Tier 2 Rouqin at such a young age, what remarkable talent!"

The Sect Master nodded with enthusiasm, "yes, yes, we'll arrange everything, special quarters, access to training facilities, priority for resources..." I had to admire how they had both adapted to the new reality because not only were they abandoning any idea of revenge for Zhou Shentong's death, but they were also now falling over themselves to welcome his killer into their sect with open arms and give him priority treatment.

"If this poor junior might be so bold..." the Ancestor swallowed hard, "would the great senior perhaps be willing to offer some guidance, even a small hint of senior's profound wisdom would be..." I stayed silent and considered my options carefully because there was no chance I was sharing anything related to my actual cultivation methods or techniques, but I needed to give them something real, both to maintain the cover I had established and to make sure their cooperation continued to hold long term.

What did I have that was valuable but not revealing enough to cause problems? And then it came to me.

"Tell me," I said, "what do you know about formations?"