A woman who looked neither young nor old, her skin surprisingly darkened by the sun instead of its natural shade, stepped up to the gap between the twisted cactus walls. “The Succulent League had not expected a visit from the Six Elements Crossroads, but we welcome you regardless. I am Anna Evensen.”
“If you did not expect us at some point, perhaps that is my fault,” John said after he properly introduced them. “The Six Elements Crossroads is intended to interface with everyone, even those sects that are not yet noteworthy.” That was nicer than saying small or unimportant. The size of a sect hardly mattered, and it was quite difficult to say which would grow to importance someday. “I know we have not been invited, but we would like to exchange insights- either now or at a later date.”
Anna nodded. “You are here now, so I see no reason we should turn you away. Though I am uncertain if we have anything of value for your disciples to learn.”
John smiled. “I think it would be quite difficult to find a sect that had nothing valuable for us to learn. We practice all six elements, after all. Even if particular methods are focused on an individual element, it’s still valuable to understand. I have personally learned much from other plant focused cultivators, such as the Emerging Bamboo Sect. I should expect some of our members to have valuable insights of their own to offer in discussion.”
“We welcome you gladly,” Anna said. “Let us display our humble surroundings.”
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A tour of the sect grounds of the Succulent League at first seemed as if it might be limited in scope, but it was clear that the sect didn’t focus solely on the type of cactus that made up their outer perimeter. That type merely seemed to be the best for interweaving into a spiked wall, suited for that particular purpose as should be expected.
Other directly practical plants were available in the herb garden, which was perhaps not surprising as that was where the Rolling Dunes gained the primary draw that had led to the conflicts with the Muted Crags. Aloe had medicinal value even on Earth, and in a world with spiritual energy the properties were significantly stronger. There were more than just that, and of course some non-succulents that fit into the medicinal fields.
Most of the sect grounds were arranged as gardens, displaying what proper cultivator care could do for plants. In the middle of a desert they didn’t have any massive trees, but what they did have was all far larger than expected. There was a barrel cactus as tall as John himself, sitting proudly in its own little section.
Then there were the training grounds. Some were bare and open sand, either with protective formations for group training or simply empty for solo cultivators. Those that were occupied had disciples sparring or sitting in quiet meditation- often with a plant next to them. John saw a few people carrying around their plant of choice, dry roots dangling in the air. It didn’t seem particularly safe, but he supposed that one of the main draws of certain succulents was their hardiness. It would be far easier for a cultivator to get a plant situated somewhere new as they could help direct the roots underground, instead of vaguely putting them in a hole.
“Many of the disciples also tend to particular sections of the garden, even if that is an individual plant,” Anna explained. “However, those areas are not suitable for combat training.” She gestured towards a disciple standing next to a gangly cactus, whipping his arms around while at the same time directing the cactus in the same motions.
“Do you ever perform combat with energy projections of your chosen plants?” John asked. If they remained local, they could use exclusively physical plants, but he imagined it would be quite troublesome to lug a full live plant around with them.
“If it is necessary,” Anna confirmed. “But we find it weakens the connection too much, so we avoid that if at all possible.”
It made sense. John couldn’t feasibly carry everything he might want with him, but cultivators were usually more effective around a physical source. It was simply impractical for most cultivators to bring their element with them.
Typical earth cultivators who used the ground were fortunate that most of the time they had their element, and air cultivators who used winds almost always had something to work with- though they would be better with actual winds. Fire cultivators could set their surroundings alight for an advantage if they were willing to do so. Light and darkness cultivators usually had access to at least some of their element, as the sun or moon and stars were always in the sky, and light made shadows. Water cultivators couldn’t exactly carry enough water to matter most of the time, though he supposed most cultivators could carry something in a storage bag.
Except for something living like a plant. It wasn’t that living things couldn’t enter a storage bag, but it was quite lacking. Air wasn’t exchanged with the outside unless the bag was opened, and plants needed light and space.
John imagined someone carrying around a tree, or a giant pot. It was a humorous image, and its practicality was in question. Would tiring yourself out for a potential advantage be worthwhile? It would at least be an interesting training method.
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Despite both being plant cultivators, the Emerging Bamboo Sect and the Succulent League could hardly be more different. It wasn’t just the difference between desert and an area sharing the water element, though certainly that influenced their styles.
Bamboo grew rapidly while maintaining strength and flexibility. For that purpose, it needed sufficient resources. Many succulents were about resiliency with limited resources. Cultivators would never perfectly embody the spirit of that which they trained with, and in many cases combat style became a larger factor, but it did influence their fundamentals.
John could sense the health and growth of the plants around them, but unsurprisingly nothing was growing as quickly as his eyes could see. The Emerging Bamboo Sect had particularly extreme circumstances as well as a particular form of giant bamboo that almost seemed to appear from nothing, but even so their combat style didn’t involve giant bamboo. Just regular sized bamboo, which they could use to propel themselves forward, block attacks, or use offensively.
The combat style of the Succulent League was unsurprisingly based far more around thorny exteriors. It was a more stationary method, not involving so much pushing themselves around with energy- though that certainly didn’t make them immobile. It focused on the durability of the earth element, either making use of ‘spears’ as long spines and fighting in formations or making actual use of local plants to stab or cut, augmenting their natural sharpness with energy.
John and his disciples sat in on the basic lessons, not because the sect head was unwilling to share more advanced information but because it was important to learn the basics. That way, they could have a firm understanding of the differences between their own understanding and that of those around them.
There was nothing particularly extraordinary about their methods, but they were solid and John saw how the sect had taken root in just a few decades. Their growth was less than the Six Elements Crossroads which had outside backing and an excellent location, but they made good use of their circumstances.
The earth element in the area was vibrant enough, and John soon found himself surrounded by a small collection of growing things. Even with the application of spiritual energy he barely saw any growth by the end of a day of training, but in some ways it was more satisfying. He wouldn’t be able to shelter inside any of his new little plants, but the best part was how they were planted. It just took a leaf from any donor, and with a little preparation it was ready to grow into a whole new plant.
John already had some ideas for how that might benefit the cultivator themself at a higher level. Perhaps with training they could accept portions of their spiritual energy being severed without issue. Or they might intentionally sever them to allow for something to grow. That likely wouldn’t be a whole proper plant… but John could imagine someone being quite surprised when a cactus they cut in half simply continued to come at them from two directions.
Then he considered insights that the sect would likely find less useful for themselves. Such as the addition of water element to accelerate growth. Air element was of course the natural amplifier of earth, but especially in the case of succulents which stored up water in their leaves plants could use a greater injection. And allied elements feeding into each other was nothing new.
As for why the Succulent League might not make use of that, it was simply because the natural water element in the area was limited. Was it worth it to spend time learning how to convert their primary element into another element simply to accelerate the primary? That time could very well be spent training with their native element and bringing it to a higher level. Though John would suggest the option, at least as something that more experienced cultivators might consider.
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John looked at a small, fuzzy cactus. Except he knew that it was anything but fuzzy. Some cacti had actual hairlike fuzz, but this one was a variety of prickly pear. It looked like the broad leaves had little soft spots, but in reality those were tight clusters of specialized spines that looked almost like patches of yellow velvet. No softness would be there, just sharpness and pain.
But it looked so soft and he wanted to touch it. And what was the point of being a cultivator if he couldn’t do something like that?
He reached forward, gently touching the plant. At least a dozen miniature spines broke off, but because his skin was strengthened with Diamond Defense they didn’t actually puncture and stick into John’s finger. He could touch them, but they weren’t soft.
It might have been a waste of effort, but he probably could fix that. Changing the properties of an object was possible. Temporary changes were often easier, though sometimes spending the time to permanently change properties bit by bit was required for the greatest divergences. It simply wasn’t possible to change something’s properties to be unnatural all at once, not without an excessive amount of spiritual energy.
The material of the spines did not easily lend itself to softness, however John spent a significant amount of time studying it to grow more in tune with how it functioned. He was fairly certain that if he nudged things in the right way, he might turn them into something actually soft. After all, hair and fingernails were made out of the same substance- just put together very differently. And some actual fuzz on cacti appeared to be made out of a similar substance.
Perhaps the pursuit of a trivial objective was a waste of time, but John didn’t think so. Other cultivators might disagree, but he would argue that anything a cultivator was willing to pursue that involved the study and manipulation of their element would be beneficial in some way. Conversely, if a cultivator found a particular topic uninteresting it wouldn’t matter how many thousands of hours they spent meditating on it. They might still learn something, but it would mostly be a waste of time.
It might be a bit of a fallacious appeal to authority to say that because he was an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator he must be right… but it certainly had some truth to it. What he did worked.
Very carefully, John transformed just one small patch of spines. It wasn’t a continual project, but instead something he went back to daily when he wasn’t doing something ‘more important’. And at the end of things, John touched the plant and found the fuzz even softer than he imagined.
He wondered if anyone was willing to invest in a cultivar that permanently remained soft. There might not be a huge market for cuddly cactus, but what were profits or practicality next to turning childhood mistakes into joy?
