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Chapter 400

  Though they had experienced cold already, the Frozen Heights were only just beginning to show their true character. It wasn’t long before a storm blew in during their daily travels and they actually needed the whiteout protocols that had been established.

  It rapidly went from the cold of ice to a bitter cold that gnawed at the bones, even though spiritual energy. John had to carefully monitor the remaining spiritual energy of the weaker cultivators in their group as the fire cultivators rapidly began to dig into their reserves to keep their groups from freezing. Even if they were able to prevent the windchill, the aggressive cold of the Frozen Heights stole away any heat they generated in mere moments.

  Eventually, John had to give in. “We’re going to establish a shelter!” he called behind him, boosting his voice with air element.

  Up ahead, John could sense some cliffs that he hoped were made of a more moldable material. They would have to carve their way through meters of ice before they could do much of anything, but John could already tell their previous efforts wouldn’t be sufficient.

  Some of their members were nearly collapsed by the time they made it just a couple hundred more meters through the storm. That included the pair of lovers Fedel and Chi, who hadn’t fully recovered from their previous exertions. However, along with the support of their groups they still managed to trudge along.

  John supported the efforts of the air cultivators keeping away the winds while water and earth cultivators began to carve through the ice and stone. Reforming a natural element was a basic task that cultivators learned, though the circumstances were more difficult than usual.

  They had to widen the opening of their improvised cave to move out material more quickly. When the work began, John saw great ambition within the disciples- but soon the thought of high ceilings and a roomy cavern fell away. They dug out an area where it wasn’t quite possible to stand less than ten meters on a side. Not a miniscule space, but quite cramped for a group of their size.

  John personally contributed some of his energy to closing up the entrance- leaving a small amount of space for smoke to escape from the cave and air to circulate in general. Proper construction should minimize heat loss.

  As the disciples huddled together around a central fire, warming their rations, John sat out front in the storm. He’d had various opportunities to train in colder places- like the Blustering Peaks and the deep sea- but nothing had quite reached this level.

  It wasn’t just cold. John could feel the spiritual energy attempting to draw away heat. Bundling up wouldn’t be enough, and neither would their insulation. Even sheltering in the mountain wasn’t completely protecting the disciples, but with a central area to protect they were managing. Some of the earth cultivators were actually fortifying the insulating properties of the stone to aid the fire cultivators in keeping warmth.

  Meanwhile, John accepted the cold. Not directly on his body, of course. He was not interested in turning the blood in his veins into ice. That might technically be a unique method of body tempering, but transforming into his body into a dead state wasn’t particularly something he was interested in.

  Water element seeped through his normal defenses, grasping for his heat. Warming himself worked to some extent, but John knew he had to resist. He first tried blocking the spiritual energy with his own water element- and that worked to some extent- but it didn’t feel particularly productive. If he was here just for survival, he would go inside the shelter. He wanted to grow.

  He kept his eyes closed to avoid the beating of the winds and to prevent his eyeballs from freezing. John considered how he might have been able to temper his body with fire to produce more internal heat, but that wasn’t going to be beneficial in all situations. It was certainly too late to practice such a thing here.

  After a few moments, he realized he wasn’t here to learn how to resist cold. He was here to learn how cold worked. So he would fight ice with ice. Or something like that.

  There was plenty of water element spiritual energy around, so John wasn’t shy with his usage. He created steam, but it rapidly froze around him, forming an uncomfortable layer of ice on his skin. He carefully melted that away as he considered alternative options.

  Then it came to him. It was simple, really. He just needed to copy exactly what the world around him was doing. It was trying to draw away his heat, so he did the same in turn- making sure not to bother the shelter behind him, of course.

  It was more difficult than he imagined. John was used to state transitions with the water element, and it was easy enough to boost those with fire, but directly drawing heat was outside his area of expertise. Yet he had an example all around him. Even with his higher cultivation, he found himself losing a battle of tug-of-war for the heat. He wasn’t really sure where it was going when it was taken from him, since the surroundings clearly weren’t actually getting hotter.

  Too many minutes were spent wrestling with the water element for John to remember that even in this new application, standard water element rules should apply. He stopped fighting and just went along with it. Not the heat being stolen from him, but instead just lightly encouraging the transfer to be towards him. He worked with the surrounding water element instead of against it.

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  It wasn’t as if the Frozen Heights were some sort of evil lair that actually wanted to kill him. That was just what the natural elements did here. So pointing things in the right direction was fairly easy, if he was gentle.

  He almost became too warm after a few moments. Soon, he found himself going through cycles of heating and cooling, making sure not to let his internal temperature actually change too much. Bodies were sensitive things, even the bodies of cultivators. A few degrees wouldn’t be a problem for a cultivator, but a few tens of degrees would still be a serious issue.

  John took a breath in- letting in the cold. His lungs froze and ice spread throughout his body- or at least the feel of ice. Then he contracted his diaphragm, breathing out the cold. Ice was gathering on his face, and he shook it off.

  He wasn’t sure exactly how long he’d been cycling temperature in and out, but most of the disciples inside were beginning to nod off, except those chosen to keep watch. John could sense Ayhan and Lir, two of the strongest among them. They had clearly been watching him. John made his way inside, directing his words to the two of them. “If you want to take the opportunity to train, I can handle the camp.”

  They inclined their heads. The two of them had each completed a cycle of core elements, stepping into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Training with the icy cold of the Frozen Heights would be good for them. When things were a bit less terrible, John would encourage the other water cultivators- and those who were planning to pick up a water totem in the future- to do the same.

  -----

  Fedel and Chi awoke properly recovered. The two of them looked so cute snuggling together that John almost allowed them to swap groups to stay together, but he wasn’t going to reward foolish behavior. After watching over their exhausted forms for a day, he had transferred them back to their own groups during the marching day, and they would remain in them for the remainder of the time in the Frozen Heights, however long that was.

  John imagined they had likely experienced the worst of it, or at least close. After the storm, they hiked for a few hours in the early morning- since they had gone to bed early. About the time the sun was coming up, they crested a rise and were able to see down the other side of the Frozen Heights. Ice glittered in the sun, sparkling with the colors of sunrise. It couldn’t have been timed better.

  John smiled. This was what cultivation was about. Facing adversity and surpassing it to find the beautiful things in the world. If one grew more powerful only to lack enjoyment, it would be all for naught.

  Traveling down the far slopes wasn’t necessarily easier. They were on the route of one of the best passes, but that didn’t mean it was perfect. The west side seemed far steeper, which meant less buildup of snow and more ice. The disciples had to split their attention between keeping their own footing and performing their other elemental techniques. Proper shoewear might have helped, but it was good training.

  As always, they were made to watch out for each other. The groups remained within arms length of each other, so that when one person slipped another one or two could catch them. Earth and water cultivators did the best at keeping their footing, while fire cultivators only tended to make the surface more slippery if they were careless. Air cultivators could cushion their movements if they were strong enough, though supporting their weight with wind would rapidly drain their energy. Not as much as flight, of course, but they had to last all day.

  The landmark John focused on was a particular spire of ice standing above all else about half a day’s travel down the slope. It took them a bit longer than intended as they had to cater to the weakest among them, choosing easier routes that wove back and forth instead of more direct ones. It was still enough to challenge everyone, as the groups were balanced with that intent.

  As they drew closer to the intended destination, John sensed people waiting. They were hidden, but John thought it was more a matter of habit than of malice. He warned a few of the higher ranking disciples just in case. They might need to act, either to protect their fellows or to stop them from doing something stupid if people suddenly appeared.

  Once they were closer, the waiting cultivators were visible in the distance, standing out in the open. It would still be possible to miss them given their garb that blended well with the ice and snow, but they weren’t skulking behind anything.

  They waited at the base of the spire, a young man standing at their head greeting the Six Elements Crossroads as they approached. “Welcome, travelers. Do you wish to take the challenge of the spire?”

  John had vaguely heard about this place, but the Encapsulated Flow didn’t know much besides its existence. “We would first hear what it entails,” John said. “We of the Six Elements Crossroads are open to any beneficial cultivation exchanges.”

  The young man inclined his head. “We represent the Lone Spire. It is a straightforward but difficult challenge that we offer. We ask cultivators to carry water element up the spire as high as they can go. Those who reach the top obtain the satisfaction of building the spire ever higher. Those who push too far… usually find themselves tumbling downward.”

  John nodded. He needed to probe into the etiquette surrounding the challenge. “Are cultivators meant to work alone?”

  “The challenge is meant to be just that. Working in groups is acceptable, as anything that contributes to the spire is valuable.”

  “I see. And is this challenge intended for only disciples? What of elders and others?”

  “Of course we encourage the strong to ascend. It would not grow so tall otherwise.”

  John looked up at the spire. With nothing else around it on the slopes, it had been hard to judge its height. Something like a few hundred meters, rising sharply upwards. John could see how a steeper vertical form would increase the difficulty and force cultivators to place their contributions at the base, maintaining a solid structure- though likely only one that could survive in a place with such strong water element.

  “We will gladly contribute,” John said. “Will you be challenging at the same time?”

  “We would be happy to,” the young man said.

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