Keeping the spark of excitement at learning alive seemed like an important part of cultivation. If nothing else, John thought that allowing cultivation to become too routine would lead to stagnation. Improving just for the sake of it was pointless. Some might strive for strength to feel secure. John’s reasons were to keep himself and his family safe… and because there were exciting discoveries to be made.
It was one thing to understand intellectually how certain aspects of the world worked- it was another thing to make them happen. Even something so simple as a state change in water was quite fascinating if one paid attention to it.
Still in the Encapsulated Flow, John watched light reflect off of the river in front of him. The pretty sparkles didn’t provide him any insight into either water or light… but ignoring the pleasant things in the world wasn’t going to keep him motivated. Light was the final piece of the puzzle he’d been putting together throughout his second lifetime, and he’d only just begun to truly understand how it fit in.
He needed to be able to fit light and darkness intertwined with the cycle of core elements to complete his cultivation. Though he had several ideas for how that might work, he couldn’t perfect them without a totem. And once he chose a totem, he would be stuck with it- even if there was a flaw with his plans. Though it was a bit early to worry about that because John still had to reach the late Ascending Soul Phase and complete the last few ranks before he could truly be concerned with that.
His focus returned to the rivers, walking along the surface and focusing on spending the minimal amount of spiritual energy to create a stable walking path. If he narrowed to just around his feet, he could easily sink but spreading himself too far resulted in wasted energy. The waste wasn’t on a level that was particularly important anymore, but small efficiencies could add up over time.
John eventually brought himself to the headwaters of the river he was following, which gradually had become a smaller stream. It began as a waterfall that poured out of the side of the mountain with significant momentum, arcing down into a pool from which the stream flowed. As John prepared to walk up the curved waterfall, something struck him as odd.
He tilted his head left and right, walking around the spout of water. He looked down to make certain, but it was certainly splashing into the pond. But the rest of it looked… paused. There was not a spray of droplets going every which way, but one pure stream of water with edges that did not shift, as if it was a still picture.
Recalling the name for the phenomenon took some time, as he had to look into memories of Earth and videos shared there. The name was laminar flow, and it was truly odd to see in person and with such a sizable flow of water. From what John remembered, usually such flows were little more than the amount a hose could output. That was because it required a flat opening to create the conditions necessary to avoid turbulent flow.
However, in front of John there was a clear example of the same phenomenon occurring at greater scale- the flow being more than a meter across. Not astronomically large, but quite significantly more than he’d ever seen before. Carefully, he placed his hand in the flow- and it splashed about just as expected. But as soon as his hand’s disruption went away, the water returned to its normal flow as it was replaced from up above.
John wondered if the physical arrangement of the cliffs happened to be perfect to produce the laminar flow, or if it was tied to spiritual energy somehow. Either way it was something he wanted to investigate more in depth, and he would certainly be showing it to the disciples along on the trip. Even if there weren’t any great insights, appreciating the beauty of nature was worthwhile.
Walking along the surface was actually quite easy. He didn’t have to account for a change in flow, after all. He did have to deal with the verticality, but as it wasn’t fighting him it was relatively easy to ‘stick’ to it, even though in truth that would have dropped him with the water. His spiritual energy simply carried him along segments without actually being attached. Yet it was different from making floating platforms of energy because of the mere presence of the natural element.
Reaching the top just a few dozen meters away, John wondered if the mountains had been crafted for this very purpose. Or maybe he was fortunate to find it. Either way, the shape of the opening the water poured out was just right for the pressure of the water behind it- another key component, as it would otherwise simply drop downward and turn into turbulent flow. The fact that it maintained until it hit the ground below was an amazing amount of precision that John expected couldn’t be entirely natural… though he’d seen various other oddities without human intervention.
Perhaps the water element wanted to be in this state of perfect flow and had carved out a perfect opening for itself. That was beyond speculation on John’s part, given that spiritual elements weren’t actually conscious as far as he was aware. They did act in consistent ways, however, and arranging for a sort of ‘perfection’ did make sense. But given that there was no active shaping from spiritual energy, he couldn’t really know. At best, he could return in the future and see if the water had worn away the edges of the opening or if it remained an eternal flow.
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Some of John’s disciples were less enthusiastic about the phenomena than he was, though those who were neutral did their best to pretend interest. Others showed what he thought was proper interest… but he couldn’t force anyone to care. He showed them something amazing, and maybe some of them would take longer to recognize it.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
They moved on throughout the Encapsulated Flow, past many rivers and mountains. Eventually they found their way to the Winding River Sect, a local sect of some prominence. They had not arranged anything ahead of time, but the sect head welcomed them regardless.
He was an older man named Sekar, with a cultivation at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. A respectable cultivation even by modern standards, and outstanding compared to what John had first seen upon his arrival in the world.
“I am interested in your perspective on the water element,” John said as he sat with the sect head at the head of the river island they inhabited, watching the river split around them. “My main exposure has been ocean based water cultivators, and those who deal with the water in plants.” That covered the Viridia Wildlands and to a lesser extent the Soulrot Bogs, though the latter dealt mainly with stationary water.
The old man nodded, his gray beard wagging slightly. “I think you will not be surprised to find we focus on flow. We do not favor stationary forms, but movement.”
“The Shimmering Islands mainly center around waves and tides,” John said, demonstrating by swirling water element around him. Then he created a wave, pushing out then pulling back. “Disrupting enemy movements is key.”
“We think much the same,” Sekar said. “But we would be more likely to create a continuous stream.” He demonstrated, pulling his hands behind him then thrusting forward. His water element swirled around him like a true river, creating a continuous push around and then directly in front of him without actually going beyond a certain distance from him. He didn’t send his spiritual energy beyond and let it fade away, but neither did he circle it back around. It simply went.
That sparked something in John. To him, spiritual energy was a substance. Whether it was individual particles or a liquid or gas, to create movement he would perform that movement. Perhaps sometimes he subconsciously performed techniques like Sekar’s, creating an effect with the energy simply in the area, but it certainly wasn’t something he did consciously.
It wasn’t strictly an improvement, but to create a continuous effect it certainly had its upsides. The downsides were that while it never got away from a cultivator and faded out of their control, without the symbolic movement it might be somewhat weaker. But was that just the sacrifice one made for a continuous effect rather than a short term effect?
John attempted to replicate it, attempting to feel the power. He expected he could do the same thing with both water and air, and he indeed formed a continuous gust. Then he compared it to a whirlwind circling around him. That was effective in both sustained power and efficiency, as the constant movement was efficient, if predictable. Then again, so was a constant flow in one direction.
“There must be more to it,” John pondered, mostly to himself. What if he created a sort of river going away from him, then whipped it back and forth? Yes, the fact that it didn’t require a specific route and could move untethered to his actual flow of energy allowed for some versatility.
Sekar nodded. “As expected of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. You have great intuition. Of course, your technique is yet unpracticed.”
“I would gladly receive guidance from you,” John said. “In exchange, I can offer insights into other water element techniques you won’t have much exposure to.” He couldn’t give some of the core techniques of the Brandle Clan to a random stranger, but he knew other styles from the Shimmering Island and of course he had no reservations about sharing anything from the Stormy Sea Sect and the manuals they had gotten from them.
Just because John had moved more quickly through the ranks of cultivation didn’t mean he was a better cultivator in all ways. It just showed that he had access to sufficient spiritual energy and a decent understanding of elemental balance and totems. He could have taken longer to reach the same distance by focusing on particular aspects of control, and that was something Sekar excelled at. Each technique he showed was honed to perfection.
Sekar also shared a number of training methods that made John wish a river flowed through Lunson. Then he had a rather insane idea to make that true, but whatever he did would require channeling a river through at least the length of a small country… potentially more. If those places happened to be water element it would be reasonable enough, but at best he could bring in water from the Blustering Peaks or some of the mountains of the Stone Conglomerate. Trying to draw from the Frozen Heights would require going through either the Sunfields or the Phoenix Forest, which would likely result in excessive evaporation.
A passing thought, but it was one that stuck with John.
But putting aside massive terraforming projects, John had more practical and immediate things he could learn. If he required a river to practice some techniques he could travel… just like he was doing now. Remaining stationary was a good way to focus only on the center of the continent instead of thinking of unity and shared prosperity, as far as such things could go.
There was some tension between the Frozen Heights and the Encapsulated Flow, as they were neighboring water element regions that could both use the same resources. But that was true even when there were merely neighboring sects. As for enemies, Sekar mentioned concerns about the Molten Sea. Their sect had been out of the path of Gesine’s march, but it still disrupted their region. Just because it had been many decades since the incident didn’t mean that people had forgotten.
The Breathless Plains also had many older conflicts with the Encapsulated Flow. Some of those had been settled, though John made some mental notes not to forget about the fringes of the continent in his push for peace. That was the other reason for this expedition besides training, finding the things that had been missed or considered less important. Just because he knew that some of the sects in each region were friendly didn’t mean everyone worked towards the same ends.
