Molting the Mortal Coil

The exploration team that had returned from the area had reported that the threat levels weren’t high, but the scouts actually ran into dozens of things they could not identify. After the training expedition filed onto the Flying Ship, one of the Elders gathered the disciples to explain.

“We are now heading to an unexplored valley in the Saffron Swamp. You will be split up into teams of five and head out to map and explore the valley. This is only a training mission and you’re all forbidden from fighting amongst yourselves just like within the Sect. If you discover anything beyond your means you are to return to the camp and notify the Elders.”

The ship started to float over a depressing looking swamp. There was large yellow tinted cypress and mangrove style trees with large roots that seemed like a forest of pillars. The roots extended into the dark waters that seemed to be tinted a shade of violet. The violet waters and yellowed plants were similar to the violet and yellow of the Saffron, hence the name. It was a remote place, having required a few days to reach, Sage had not seen any sign of civilization for at least half a day.

Once the Flying Ship landed, the Elders pointed out a campsite and had the Disciples clear the area and gather some basic resources from the area. Sage along with one of the other elders started to set up defensive formations around the camp. He also drew out a few cages of Spirit Insects and set a few creatures that looked similar to a large grasshopper around the camp.

These little Alarm Crickets had powerful senses and were trained to act opposite to their normal instincts. Crickets would usually chirp away till a creature approaches too closely at which point they quiet down to stay hidden. These Alarm Crickets do the opposite, staying silent until someone comes close at which point they would chirp out loudly with a unique sound. An aggressor might not notice the difference between the Alarm Cricket and a normal cricket, but a properly trained cultivator could use them as a proximity alarm system that required no energy to operate and was difficult to disable.

It was hard to pick out a few small insects without using Spiritual Sense and if a person sweeps an area with their Spiritual Sense other cultivators with a stronger spirit power in the area would notice. Alarm formations were also set up at the outer ring of the formation arrays, but the Alarm Crickets could spread further and with the formations drawing attention the crickets would be even harder to notice. The disciples collected wood and set up tents, which went quite quickly with the help of Storage Pouches and Qi Techniques to manipulate objects from a distance. A few exploratory parties were sent out to forage for food, but they were sent into the already explored areas of the Saffron Swamp. The Camp was set up at the mouth of the unexplored Valley and the Disciples weren’t allowed into the valley till the next day.

The Disciples spread out into the valley over the next few days and many strange things were discovered. Half of the Elders rode on various flying magic tools and kept watch over the Valley. Over the next few weeks, Sage was called upon to identify a dozen different rare species of Spirit Animal and Demonic Beast. He even captured a few of them to take back to the Tamer’s Hall and the Disciples that found it would receive contribution points for the discovery. Each of the Disciples had a Flare Talisman that could be activated to call for assistance. The number of injuries was pretty high, but there were no deaths. With the help of medicinal pills and powders, most of the injuries were treated quickly.

Sage was only an Outer Disciple and not a true elder, so his presence on this trip was to act as support personnel. The Disciples would bring back Spirit Animals for the Sect and Sage would disassemble them, Sage was a 1 star Butcher, in order to properly separate and save every piece of their spoils. The bones, hides, hairs, fur, feathers, horns, claws, teeth and every other external bit would be saved and sorted. The internal organs would be preserved in bottles or dried out and ground to powder. The flesh and muscles would then get packed and stored in cold jade boxes to keep it fresh.

Unsurprisingly, Sage was also put to use as a Chef. He was only 1 star, but with the weaker Spirit Animals that the Disciples brought back in large numbers he was more than suitable to prepare the meals. A Chef could use the parts of these animals that were so powerful in life and rich in qi to create meals that actually drew out these features and benefited the consumer. The meals weren’t as powerful as refined pills from an Alchemist but there were far lower side-effects and they were much gentler to consume. In addition, they could make the normally unpalatable flesh of these monsters into gourmet meals. The rank of a Chef was based on what rank of beasts they could properly cook.

Sage could only currently prepare meals out of rank 1 beasts, his low strength limiting the speed he could advance in the profession. It was true that most professions relied more on skills, knowledge and spirit power than they did actual rank as a cultivator but there was still minimum requirements on most of the powerful techniques. In order to advance further in a profession without having enough strength it required focused effort and exceptional amounts of skill. Sage had merely only dabbled in most of the professions he’d learned, as he was always hoping to find something that would make him stand out and set him apart. After earning 1 star in ten professions he gave up on the search and focused on what he was the best at.

The irony was that he was brought along on this trip because of his ten different professions. One Lang Sheng was like having eight 1 star professionals along with a 4 star Formation Master and 3 star Tamer. It was an economical deal for the Elders, and Sage got to tag along with the Inner Disciples training mission.

During the third week, Sage was called upon to join one of the groups of Disciples. They had discovered an area with strange wildlife and wanted help identifying them. There were six Elders on this trip and three of them were on duty to reinforce the teams at all times. They agreed with the request and one of the Elders on duty made sure to stay closer to the area they had discovered. This would mean they could have faster backup, just in case some of the wildlife they spotted were too powerful for them to handle.

Happy to set out, Sage ran through the woods with five Inner Court Disciples. Their leader, Ding Zhen, led the way for a few hours before they all stopped at the wall of the valley. Ding Zhen smiled at Sage and looked around conspiratorially before he spoke, “Brother Lang, you see… we didn’t tell the whole truth earlier to the Elders.”

Ding Zhen and the others walked forward and pulled aside a curtain of vines to let Sage see a circular stone door on the face of the valley wall. It was covered in concentric circles filled with many small symbols.

“We were afraid if we told the Elders of our fortuitous encounter here, they’d come in and take it all and just give us some points.”

The five of them all had mischievous smiles on their faces and a bit of greed in their eyes. Nodding along with Ding Zhen’s description, one of the two girls, Chang Xia, helped out, “Please Elder Brother Lang, don’t tell the Elders and help us get in!”

The other girl and two guys chimed in as well, adding in pleas for assistance and help keeping this secret. The four talking over each other excitedly before Ding Zhen finally held up a hand, “What do you say, Brother Lang? We six will split the spoils! If there’s anything we don’t need we can make up a story and turn it in for points afterwards. This place looks so ancient, who knows what treasures it holds!”

After a few moments of contemplation, Sage couldn’t help but feel a bit of greed and excitement at having an adventure. He’d spent the last two decades in relative safety, living like his old life. A regimen of stability and slow growth. It was the safe life. The safe life had made him quite respectable, but it had never solved his real problem.

I can’t just always live the safe life! If I don’t face risk, can there be any big rewards? Do I want to always be the slow and steady guy?

Sage smiled at the five others and nodded his head, “Let’s do it!”