The Viridia Wildlands. As their name implied, much of the area remained untamed even in this era of great cultivation. Powerful water and earth element infused into the region, causing rapid growth of vegetation and similarly rapid growth of animals that ate said vegetation- or those other animals.
One day a huge swath of grassland could be chewed up by a herd of grazing creatures, and the next the grasses would overtop even the tallest humans. In different parts, forests and jungles reigned supreme but no matter where in the Wildlands people were, it was brimming with life of some kind.
John remembered tracking down Ursel, who had been battling a monumentally huge rhinoceros. There was some chance she was here now, though John didn’t keep track of her projected training schedule. She was liable to change her mind on a whim, as long as nothing important was going on.
Their expedition had already stumbled across a number of beasts. Disciples were tasked with battling them- and following orders was important. If John, Ayhan, or Lir judged that certain disciples should not join a battle they meant it. They wouldn’t accept people jumping into battles far outside of their capability. Unless John blunted every attack of the beasts they faced, he couldn’t guarantee the safety of everyone. Thus, it was better to only have to watch for risky patterns. He could react to situations where people failed to perfectly defend themself, instead of worrying about someone being completely blindsided.
Along the way they had come across a hippopotamus- relatively small as far as the Viridia Wildlands went at less than two stories tall. That battle had torn up an area a few kilometers across, though a similar amount of vegetation would have been damaged throughout the day if the beast continued eating.
Later, they had come across a flock of crows that thought humans looked like a tasty snack. After paring down their numbers slightly, John let the rest of the disciples match themselves against airborne opponents. He had an idle thought that if they could tame such crows they could be great messenger birds… if they could manage to find enough to eat outside of the Wildlands. Most places they would either cause ecological devastation or rapidly starve. Potentially both.
Even herbivores in the Viridia Wildlands tended to be unusually aggressive. It was necessary for their survival, so it made sense. Some learned to rapidly run and hide, though fighting back was often necessary.
Just because his disciples had experienced that didn’t mean they really understood, it apparently. They came across a creature that could only be called a bunny. Not a hare or a rabbit, but a round ball of fluff that happened to be house sized. Everything was fine until someone tried to pet it.
Fortunately for the fool involved- a different fool than the others so far on the journey- Ayhan had anticipated some risk and was nearby. A sudden wall of earth in the bunny’s jaws kept the disciple’s arm from being cutely snipped off. John reacted as well, but he was significantly further away and thus took a moment to push the disciple away with a burst of wind.
The floppy eared ball of fluff couldn’t be blamed for reacting to a perceived attack by an insect. Whether the bite was to defend itself or to sample the thing in front of it hardly mattered, it was simply acting on instinct.
What followed was chaos. The power of the bunny wasn’t so vast that it could actually give their group trouble… but some disciples refused to attack even if they were in danger. That might have been fine, as choosing whether or not to kill something was their prerogative- but they also didn’t always defend themselves appropriately.
John let someone a bit too fascinated with the round flying form get squashed into the ground- their defensive energy was solid and the ground was soft enough John knew they’d mostly get a fright and make an impression in the ground. Perhaps a few broken bones, if they took the hit wrong. He added some of his own energy into the earth beneath them just to make sure nothing went too wrong.
Those disciples that were willing to attack the bunny found it surprisingly sturdy, empowered by earth element. Its fur was durable like iron yet soft and yielding at the same time, protecting it against crushing and slashing blows alike.
John was trying to scare the creature away with a series of attacks when it kicked its hind leg out at one of the disciples. Lir chopped the offending limb off with her glaive, not taking any risks. With an injury like that, John didn’t expect it to last long so he thrust a lightning and water empowered sword into its neck. Better for it to die quickly. He drew out its blood as he pulled away so that nobody would get hurt with its dying throes.
-----
“What have we learned today?” John addressed the disciples. There were a number of valid answers, but having just skinned the animal and carved it into segments that could be roasted over a fire, most people weren’t especially talkative. The few that didn’t really care might have been amused at the situation, except for John’s serious tone. “Don’t try to pet wild animals. Or if you do, make certain you are much stronger than them first. Even generally docile creatures can be dangerous when threatened.”
There were other lessons that could be had about not underestimating an opponent in combat, and John would probably bring those up eventually. But ultimately, the important thing was that they not let the situation go to waste. That included the food and materials that the body of such a beast could provide. Not eating it would be rude. At best, it would have been feasted on by scavengers.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
As its juices dripped onto the fires, it smelled delicious. That meant they had to have guards prepared, just in case anything was drawn to them. The presence of the stronger cultivators among them should be a decent deterrent, but that didn’t mean they could ignore the potential danger. An ambush could easily result in a weaker disciple being injured or killed, and John wasn’t perfect no matter what some people probably thought.
It was tasty. The bunny had an intense flavour from its active life and the infusion of earth elements. Properly cooked by infusing various elements throughout, the meat was tenderized to the point it was at least edible. Not exactly easily chewed, but the effort was well worth it. John still would have preferred not having to kill it, though.
-----
If John had only needed to visit the Emerging Bamboo Sect, and maybe Great Ring City, he would have been happy with his time in the Viridia Wildlands. However, the places he visited were just as important as where he did not visit.
He couldn’t reasonably avoid the Indestructible Kapok Grove. Not when they had an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Worse, Abritt was fairly certain that Mandlen was a reincarnator. In truth, John had little opinion about the man himself. The Indestructible Kapok Grove had been a source of trouble long in the past, especially for Ursel, but he shouldn’t judge a whole sect for a few bad disciples.
Or should he? After all, the behavior of disciples was a representation of those above them. It was either behavior patterns they saw, or whatever they were allowed to get away with. But it had also been several decades since there was actually any trouble, so John had to start with a reasonable position.
As they approached, John had to say he was at least impressed with their sect grounds. Grand trees surrounded one individual that nearly rivaled what Great Ring City was built within. Interestingly, that one tree’s roots grew outward in tall ribbons, forming walls that naturally divided different districts- eventually surrounding the whole sect with a barrier at least ten meters in height.
Interestingly, the spines that John took to be one of the signatures of a kapok were not present on the largest tree.
Their group approached the gates- the first of a series of them, placed between tall and relatively thin roots. Though they were proportionately thin, there were at least a few meters of solid wood, brimming with spiritual energy. The gates stood open, five in sequence finally leading through the outer barrier. John suspected that attempting to go over the walls would be met with great difficulty- more than just the guards he saw keeping watch.
He was met inside by the woman he knew to be the current sect head, having seen her previously. John was actually surprised that Zorana still retained the position, given Mandlen’s cultivation. Most likely, he didn’t want to be saddled with the responsibility.
“Welcome to the Indestructible Kapok Grove,” Zorana said. “Your journey has been long. Rest within our safety.”
John would be happy to rest. He kept his face positive, while inside reminding himself not to relax too easily. People had taken great offense to less involvement than simply being the father of an individual in conflict mere decades in the past. He didn’t intend to go anywhere alone- or at least not entirely. If privacy was required, he would still wish his foremost disciples to remain within earshot.
The kapok tree was a good choice for a sect to center itself around. A balance of offense and defense combined with the ability to grow to a great height were excellent core tenets. If that turned into people with prickly personalities, perhaps that was an acceptable side effect. Though it seemed like Zorana could at least be polite when she wished to. John would judge further based on how people of all levels interacted with his disciples.
Zorana took them on a winding tour of the sect- though it might have also been the most direct route to the central areas, given the prevalence of roots from both the mighty central tree and its smaller counterparts.
John hadn’t been certain at first, but eventually he determined with certainty that Mandlen wasn’t present. That might be for the best, because while interacting with the man would be useful, it could also go wrong. Still, John did have to mention that he would wish to meet with the man if he were present.
“Elder Mandlen is currently on a training excursion,” Zorana said. “However, you are welcome to stay as long as you wish.”
John thought for a few moments. “If you do not know when he might return, I think we will likely limit our stay to a week so as to not be burdensome. Furthermore, we have far to travel still if we wish to traverse the entire continent.” They were somewhat more than halfway done, but they didn’t have truly unlimited time.
“We will gladly host you,” Zorana continued. “I would send word, but his current training location is secret even to me.” She sounded slightly disappointed, but accepting.
“It is not a problem,” John said. “Cultivation must be a priority.” John had sent word ahead, but it was entirely possible Mandlen had been in private training for several months. Or maybe he simply didn’t wish to meet John, in which case he would happily accept that without it needing to be said. Either way, they would eventually move on.
-----
John found a surprising number of disciples tending to the trees. He didn’t expect them to be neglected, of course, but he doubted that such well established trees needed human intervention. At best, encouraging them to grow where they wanted- and to not grow in a way that would box in any of the districts- seemed like the only requirements. Yet John found the disciples tending to the ‘smaller’ trees- the ones only a hundred meters or so tall that were dwarfed by the central one.
They were especially focused on the spines. John saw fallen spines be returned to the tree and sealed back on. Furthermore, some of the spines grew out of other spines in fractal-like patterns. He couldn’t determine exactly why such work was important, but it was done with just as much care as the harvesting of the seedpods. Speaking of the seedpods, in contrast to the spines they were filled with soft fibers. John had felt their exceptional quality in the sect furniture.
Perhaps he would ask about the spines. Nobody should begrudge him a bit of curiosity.
