PtM Book 17 - Chapter 13: Sky Blight Restaurant

1/3 this week.

The Blighted Earth Sanctuary was a cultivation city, and as such, every dwelling had its own cultivation amenities. Though they weren’t as good as what could be found in clans or sects, they were sufficient for diligent cultivators to reach the rune gathering realm and continue on into the middle rune gathering realm.

To continue advancing, it was necessary to occupy a sanctuary cave, where higher-quality energy could be obtained. There were one thousand such caves in the Blighted Earth Sanctuary, and these caves were seldom empty.

Each of the three sanctuary leaders had personal caves deep in the mountain where the transcendent crystal vein was richest. The next thirty caves belonged to the elders of the sanctuary, the initial law-stitching powerhouses that were the backbone of the sanctuary’s safety.

The next three hundred best caves went to the city’s three hundred protectors. It was they who would do most of the heavy fighting if conflicts were to arise, and casualties were not a rare occurence. As such, the quality of their energy didn’t lose out much compared to elder-level cultivation caves.

As a peak muscle empowering cultivator, Cha Ming was a protector, and therefore qualified for a cultivation cave. Since he had no merit to speak of, he could only occupy the worst cave, cave number 333.

Cha Ming naturally didn’t care about this. He normally cultivated using a personal formation and high-grade spirit stones in the Clear Sky World. Thanks to these spirit stones, their cultivation environment did not miss out much compared to the cultivation caves used by the sanctuary leaders.

Becoming a protector came with some obligations, but Cha Ming didn’t expect to do any fighting. He had paid a heavy price to enter the sanctuary, and if war came their way, he would abandon his false identity and flee rather than fight. This would result in some with karmic punishment, but he was confident in being able to minimize any negative effects. This was assuming that he didn’t remain here long and didn’t incur significant obligations or forge strong friendships.

As a protector, Cha Ming was allowed to fly within the city at a reasonable speed, and since the sanctuary was small, it only took him a few minutes to arrive at the Sky Blight Restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t the tallest building in the sanctuary, as it only occupied four out of a potential ten storie. In all, five hundred cultivators could occupy the venue comfortably.

A lovely lady greeted Cha Ming when he arrived at the entrance. “Greetings fellow Daoist,” the lady said. “May I have your identification and reservation?” Cha Ming handed the lady his identity plate alongside a high-grade transcendent crystal. The plate was handed back to him. The crystal was not.

“Right this way, Protector Shatterstorm,” the lady said, sauntering back into the restaurant.

Cha Ming followed her through the bottom floor and took note of how even the rowdiest patrons generally shied away from her. It was clear that she only welcomed high-level guests and had come out specifically to welcome him.

The Sky Blight Restaurant had a vaulted ceiling that combined all four floors for a full half of the restaurant. Musicians played on a podium that that was enchanted such that it appeared to be close to all seats on all levels.

Though it was possible to see all four levels from the ground floor, the fourth level was shrouded by a formation that Cha Ming could not pierce. Moreover, there was a fair number of powerful cultivators blocking the way up the final flight of stars.

“I do advise you to be careful, fellow Daoist,” said lady leading the way. “Though the rabble blocking the stairway would never think to hinder me, they will not show you the same courtesy. If you feel that you cannot follow, please tell me now so that we can avoid any unpleasantries.”

Cha Ming looked over the dozen people shrugged. They were protectors like he was, but they were only ordinary cultivators. Even injured as he was, they would not pose a problem, so he said nothing as they approached.

“Daoist Sky Dream! It’s been so long since we last saw you,” one of the cultivators said. “Have you finally decided to let us in?”

Daoist Sky Dream put her hand to her mouth and giggled. “Why ask when you know the answer, fellow Daoists? If there is room for you at the appointed time, I will allow the strongest among you to participate. But remember, whoever causes a ruckus, my mother will throw out. Even I won’t be able to save you.”

“Don’t worry, Daoist Sky Dream, we’ll behave,” the speaker said. He was a body cultivator with shoulders were nearly half as wide as he was tall.

“You know the rules, gentlemen,” said another. “Lowest on the stairs fight first. And no weapons.” This man wore Daoist robes and was unnaturally skinny.

They simultaneously manifested their domains and activated various abilities, pausing only to allow Daoist Sky Dream to climb the steps at a leisurely pace. She walked slowly, which suggested that if Cha Ming did not catch up to her by the time she reached the doorway, he’d have lost his chance.

Cha Ming drew on his destruction domain and enforced it over the width of the corridor. Other domains began to crack and fall apart. He took his first step and was met by a man who wielded two fingers as a sword. The sword fingers were sharp, and the domain behind it merciless, but he was too slow for Cha Ming, who stepped in and grabbed his wrist, then broke it before casually stepping past him and facing his next opponent.

Another Daoist followed hot on the swordsman’s heals, executing a technique that lit Cha Ming afire. But fire was part of Cha Ming’s being, so he simply ignored the shocked Daoist and stepped forward to meet the next challenger.

Next up was a wind cultivator, which was rare in the Puppet Lightning Region. Fighting at such close quarters and not being able to damage anything was a tough restriction for someone like her, but she made do by summoning several compact wind blades. She tossed them towards Cha Ming and dared him not to block. If he couldn’t take her attack and dodged, it would be him who caused the ruckus.

Cha Ming responded by shaping his qi into a destruction edge. It wasn’t as powerful as if the Clear Sky Carving Knife were backing it, but it was enough to accomplish what he wanted. He targeted the flaws in the wind blades and cut them apart with the destruction edge. Anywhere he slashed, the winds died down, resulting in minimal aftershocks and zero disturbances.

This display sufficiently cowed most of the other qi cultivators. Only one was brave enough to come forward and try to lock him in place using spatial manipulation. But Cha Ming’s body was too strong. His physical strength was nearly equal to that of a shell-marking cultivator. The spatial cage shattered, and the backlash wounded the cultivator so badly he could no longer stand.

Cha Ming eased the cultivator to the ground before heading towards the last of the twelve guardians. “A clash at full strength will be too much for our surroundings,” Cha Ming said to them.

“That’s true,” said the broad-shouldered man. “What do you suggest we do then?”

“Let’s make a game out of it, shall we?” Cha Ming said. “I’ll walk forward, and you can push me however you like. If you manage to stop me, you win.” He then began walking, and his opponent, determined to prove himself, interposed himself between Cha Ming and Daoist Sky Dream.

Powerful palms landed on Cha Ming’s chest. They caused him to grow heavy and his steps to hesitate somewhat. But Cha Ming broke through this invisible restraint and continued walking at a pace that could comfortably catch up with Daoist Sky Dream.

The desperate demigod naturally wouldn’t let things continue in this fashion. He glowed with a dark light and activated a divine ability. His strength did not increase, but Cha Ming discovered that he was rooted in place.

“What do you think of my divine ability, fellow Daoist?” the demigod asked. “I call it Devil Caging Threads.”

“A rooting ability,” Cha Ming said. “Not bad. Very powerful. But let’s see how long you can persevere.” He raised his foot and intensified his fledgling destruction domain. At the same time, he drew on his destruction qi and coated his whole body in it.

His opponent let out a shocked gasp as his palms became cracked and brittle. The bonds connecting his bones together weakened to the point that they could not withstand his great strength.

Yet the demigod pushed nonetheless, and his skin broke, as did his flesh, followed by his muscles, then his ligaments, then his bones.

Fortunately, he was a demigod, and his flesh swiftly grew back. But it remained that he could not exert his full strength against Cha Ming, and therefore could not stop him from moving forward. The same crumbling effect had also weakened his rooting ability, and as such, it continuously broke apart and reknit itself, greatly draining his energy stores.

Cha Ming eventually caught up to the surprised Daoist Sky Dream. The demigod was still pushing against him, but he could not impede his motions in the slightest.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Daoist Sky Dream,” Cha Ming said. “Fellow Daoist, do you still want to keep doing this?”

The broad-shouldered man, seeing that he was getting nowhere, stopped and bowed. “It’s not often that people challenge me with brute strength. Most of those who make it through use their law projection to restrain us.”

“No harm done,” Cha Ming said, then turned back to Sky Dream. “Shall we?”

“You made a mess,” Daoist Sky Dream said, noting the trail of divine blood running down the hallway.

“Did I?” Cha Ming asked. He willed the blood to evaporated, and it did, leaving not a trace behind.

Daoist Sky Dream chuckled. “This way, Dao God Shatterstorm.”

The fourth floor was the least crowded floor in the restaurant and only had a single private room. The walls were highly insulated form the outside, and the door was covered in many layers of formation.

Cha Ming had never been here before, but he noticed the patterns on the door fit the crystal he’d been given. Daoist Sky Dream took out the crystal and placed it on the door, unlocking it before handing the crystal back to him.

“I will not be attending the meeting today, so I wish you all the best, Dao God Shatterstorm,” Daoist Sky Dream said. “I imagine that you’ve already heard the same warning countless times, but I cannot help but repeat them: watch your behavior. Especially today. There is a guest in attendance that that cannot be offended by anyone in the Blighted Earth Sanctuary.”

“Many thanks for the warning,” Cha Ming said. He entered the room, where sixteen Daoists were sitting cross-legged on individual floor mats. A few opened an eye and took note of his arrival, but most of them kept their senses withdrawn and their auras masked.

At a glance, there were eleven law stitching elders in the room, as well as five protectors just like him. The leaders of the sanctuary were absent, as was the mysterious guest Sky Dream had spoken of. Cha Ming took a seat like the others. He did not make to socialize, and the veterans in the room, clearly unimpressed by the cultivation level he displayed, did not make any overtures.

Several minutes passed, and in those minutes, a few more figures trickled into the room – three more law stitching elders, and one more protector, for a total of 21 people, including himself.

There were no tables in the room despite this being a restaurant. There were no chairs or paintings or ornaments on the wall, with the exception of a clock on the far wall that could be seen from all angles.

The clock ticked until its largest hand aligned with a glowing number. A glowing circle appeared at the center of the room, revealing three cultivators. There was a flash of gray, and before Cha Ming knew it, he discovered that their seats had been rearranged at random and placed into a large circle.

Cha Ming only recognized two of the three early law-stitching cultivators present. One of them was a red-robed woman with a strand of red highlighting her long head of raven-black hair . She was the owner of this restaurant and one of the leaders of the sanctuary, Daoist Crimson Butterfly.

The second early rune gathering cultivator Cha Ming recognized was the wine house owner who had introduced him to this venue. The aura he exuded outside the wine house was an oppressive one. It demanded and enforced silence, and threatening a storm for anyone who provoked him.

The third early rune gathering cultivator was unfamiliar to Cha Ming. His description did not match that of the third sanctuary leader. But his identity was easy to determine, because he wore violet robes and a medallion on his chest with a trickling rain pattern forming the outline of a puppet.

“Artificer Lei is primarily here to perform maintenance on our lightning tower, so I invited him to this exchange hoping that he’ll have brought good things from out of town,” Crimson Butterfly said explained. “Some good news: this latest upgrade will increase the number of early law stitching cultivators that can remain in the sanctuary to five, the number of elders we can remain to fifty, and the number of protectors to five hundred. The lightning essence allocated to each cultivation cave will also be increased by thirty percent.”

“Many thanks for the introduction,” Artificer Lei said. “I usually keep to my workshop and spend most of my time working on puppets, but duty calls. I have been tasked with upgrading the formations in twenty different sanctuaries, so I won’t stay long.”

“Since you are our honored guest, please go ahead first,” Daoist Crimson Butterfly said.

“Many thanks, Daoist Crimson Butterfly,” Artificer Lei said. He flicked his sleeve and revealed three humanoid puppets. “I don’t have much to offer except for some of my creations. These few lightning puppets are high quality enough to embarrass me.”

Cha Ming’s eyes narrowed when he saw the puppets. They weren’t just humanoid puppets – they had clearly been human once upon a time. Each of them was tall and muscular, and seemed to be made of bronze.

Some of the protectors in the room might be fooled, but there was no hiding the death aura that lingered on these puppets. These had once been cultivators, and the elders knew it. Yet they said nothing and continued as though everything was normal.

The elder did not mention the nature of his puppets either. He treated them as though they were made of stone or metal or clay. “We have a surplus of such puppets inside the sect, so naturally, they aren’t worth very much to me or my fellow sect members,” the elder continued. “But it is my experience that rogue cultivators like you all would find them especially useful. After all, you have no sects to rely on. These puppets can absorb more lightning than you can call during a storm and protect you on and off the battlefield.” He looked around the room with a smug smile.

The two sanctuary leaders didn’t seem to care for these puppets, but eight of the fourteen elders spoke up. “Would you take a blighted earth core?” one elder said, taking out a sphere that warped gravity. “I’ve been nourishing it with my soul blood for the past century and was planning on using it as a golem core. But perhaps in your hands, it would serve as a useful puppet crafting material?”

“Don’t listen to that cheapskate, Artificer Lei,” another elder said, taking out a large sword – or half of one, as it appeared to be broken. “Here’s a yin-aligned sword I found in a ruin in my younger days. It’s broken, but it bears a powerful cruse. Such items might not be directly useful, but I believe this specimen has good research value.”

Artificer Lei held out a hand and caught the blighted core. He inspected it and nodded. “This will do fine for one of the puppets. As for the sword… I’m afraid that things like weapons or forged goods aren’t something precious to me any longer. Materials are what I’m after. Materials… or corpses.” He did not specify which kind.

One of the elders was more discreet than the others. He sent over a storage ring. “What about the materials in this ring?”

Artificer Lei caught the ring and looked inside it. He beamed and nodded. “Yes, this will do just fine.”

“Does anyone else have something worthwhile?” Artificer Lei said, giving them another once over. His eyes lingered on Cha Ming momentarily, but not for long. Just long enough that others noticed. “Since that’s the case, I’ll hold onto this last puppet. Perhaps something else will turn up.”

“I’ll go next then,” Daoist Crimson Butterfly said. She summoned three crimson bubbles that each contained an item. One was a flute, another a seed, and another a golden crystal that gave off a strong scent of blood. “The first item is a Three Dreams Flute from the old Three Dreams Sect. Every time it is played, it pulls the player into a dream where they can find inspiration and have a chance to break through certain bottlenecks.

“The second is a Runeshift Hyacinth seed. It must be grown with one’s soul blood for twelve years, and upon reaching maturity, it will grow nine flowers that each give a tenth of a chance to shift an already-formed rune into another.

“The third is a blood crystal that I found in a ruin five decades ago in the Blood God Region. It’s reached the standard of a law-stitching artifact, but I have no way to use it. For each of these three things, I am looking for darkness or light aligned formation materials. I’ll reluctantly accept defensive treasures of a similar alignment.”

Several minutes passed as she waited for a reply. No one spoke up, so she moved to put away the treasures. “Would you be willing to accept initial law stitching grade energy gathering plates?” Cha Ming interrupted.

Crimson Butterfly thought a moment before answering. “If it’s a full set of a twelve, I might consider it.”

“If it was a full set of a twelve, I don’t think I’d give the crystal a second look,” Cha Ming said. “Besides, these are energy gathering plates we’re talking about. Sects and clans desire such treasures, forget us rogue cultivators.”

Crimson Butterfly laughed heartily. “Then how many do you have, fellow Daoist?”

“Three,” Cha Ming said.

“Then I’d rather not,” Crimson Butterfly said. “Energy gathering formation plates are valuable, but this blood crystal is intriguing. I’ll be satisfied with inspecting it for the next five decades.”

“Then by all means, continue to hold onto it,” Cha Ming said. “I could do six formation plates, but that’s all I have. And then I’ll need to find a way to procure another set for my own cultivation.”

In truth, Cha Ming was in possession of a great many artifacts that those on the Chasewind Plane might like. The problem lay in exposing too many of them.

Daoist Crimson Butterfly gave him a thoughtful look. “Very well. For six, I’m willing to trade this crystal.” She sent the crimson bubble over, and Cha Ming sent over the six formation plates. “I believe that’s all for me. The next Daoist can go ahead.”

The next few exchanges were of little of interest to Cha Ming. Too many things were easy for him to obtain in the Heartforge Realm, and only local resources or items that would aid his recovery were worth considering.

“This is an item that I acquired during my travels a few years back.” It was the wine house owner who spoke. Here, he was known as Daoist Silent Storm. “He took out medium-sized bottle and had it float at the center of the circle of Daoists.

“That’s… that’s wind bottle!” said one of the protectors.

“A sealed wind bottle,” an elder said. “But the seals have almost completely broken down. How old is this wind bottle?”

“This is precisely a wind bottle,” Silent Storm said. “I obtained it in a ruin a decade or so back. Back then, I was thinking of using it to forge a wind treasure. But then I managed to procure a wisp of divine astral wind by chance and decided it wasn’t worth the gamble.

“The seal on the bottle is precisely three thousand years old. It could contain nothing worth mentioning, but it could also be a priceless treasure that can no longer be found on the Chasewind Plane. It’s a gamble, but that’s what makes such an item interesting.”

He only had to wait a few seconds before receiving his first offer. “I can offer you a storm heart pearl,” one of the elders said. “Since it’s a gamble, I can’t offer more.”

“I personally love a good gamble,” Artificer Lei said. “I can offer you a puppet lightning essence crystal, if you are willing.” He tossed a crystal into the air.

A violet light filled the room as the crystal flew, and time slowed down to a crawl for Cha Ming, who felt his blood pump and boil, and his mixed energy pool seethe with excitement. He was attracted to the crystal, and it to him. In fact, Cha Ming was tempted to jump on the crystal here and now.

Then the moment ended as Artificer Lei pulled the crystal back. Outwardly, Cha Ming’s reaction was nothing special, but judging by the exchange that followed, it had not gone unnoticed.

“Artificer Lei!” Daoist Silent Storm snapped. “You know exactly how I feel about using those stones so indiscriminately, and I have warned you before. This is your second infraction. There will not be a third one, am I understood?”

Artificer Lei frowned. “I’m not sure what you’re insinuating, but I’d like to remind you that I’m here to upgrade your lightning formation, without which your sanctuary will cease to exist.”

“And I’d like to remind you that I could destroy any number of your shoddy puppets!” Silent Storm said.

“Shoddy?” said Artificer Lei. “How dare you?”

“I think we should all calm down,” Crimson Lotus said. A law projection appeared in the room. It didn’t but instead cooled everyone’s emotions.

Daoist Silent Storm’s breathing returned to normal, and he calmed down. “I will not budge on this, Artificer Lei,” he said finally. “We have rules around here for a reason. Other elders of the Puppet Lightning Sect respect this rule, so you should also be able to do the same.”

Artificer Lei was clearly not used to such confrontations, and as a puppet craftsman, his aura was lacking compared to a warrior like Silent Storm. “It was my mistake,” the elder reluctantly said. “It won’t happen again.”

“The storm heart pearl is not sufficient to obtain this bottle,” Silent Storm said. “Please let me know what else you can offer, fellow Daoists.” He did not address Artificer Lei’s bid, but the damage was already done. No one dared bid on this item any longer.

Cha Ming was quite interested in wind bottle. There were many unique resources on the Chasewind Plane, but at the top of the list were the plane’s four winds and four lightnings. These were valuable as crafting materials, and could also be used to create essence crystals, and if one was lucky, elementals.

Cha Ming did not want to expose too much wealth, but Artificer Lei’s strange behavior made Cha Ming feel uncomfortably weak. He was currently lacking a strong wind to upgrade his azure tempest series of paintings. Most importantly, he was lacking friends.

Daoist Silent Storm’s energy was quite pure, and Cha Ming could tell that he was on the verge of a breakthrough. One of the biggest problems cultivators on the Chasewind Plane faced was a lack of high-quality energy, so he had just the thing to offer him. He floated out a storage ring containing a single top-quality transcendent crystal.

The wine house owner inspected the ring and frowned. “Are you sure you want to trade this away?”

“I’m sure,” Cha Ming said. “As long as you’re willing to part with the wind bottle.” The elder didn’t even hesitate to toss the wind bottle over.

Cha Ming immediately became the focus of attention. If it were an elder that had won the exchange, it wouldn’t be unusual. A cultivator as weak as he was should not have the qualifications or the treasures to trade for it.

Artificer Lei already had his eyes on him, so Cha Ming decided to double down. “Artificer Lei,” Cha Ming said. “I noticed you offering up a crystal in exchange.”

“It was my mistake, fellow Daoist…”

“Shatterstorm,” Cha Ming said. “I understand that Daoist Silent Storm would not like you to toss such things about, but I would like to trade for it nonetheless.”

“You should think twice before making such offers, Daoist Shatterstorm,” Silent Storm warned.

“Don’t interfere in my private business,” Artificer Lei snapped.

“Many thanks for your concern,” Cha Ming said to Daoist Silent Storm. “I have been on the lookout for some rare body cultivation resources, and I believe that the crystal he showed is exactly what I’m looking for.”

Silent Storm could only sigh. “I naturally can’t stop anyone from making personal trades.”

“You’re a brave one, boy, I’ll give you that,” Artificer Lei said. “The amount of wealth you’ve revealed is already making all these fellows greedy. Now let’s see just what it is that you think can tickle my fancy.” Cha Ming sent another ring with a top-grade transcendent crystal over, and Artificer Lei’s eyes narrowed when he saw it. “Interesting. Veryinteresting. Very well. The crystal is yours.” He tossed it over in a storage ring, which Cha Ming quickly inspected before putting away.

Cha Ming naturally did not want the remaining early law stitching cultivator in the room feeling left out. Cha Ming had over a hundred top-grade crystals from all his trading activities in the Azure Tempest Region. The Chasewind Plane did not generate them, but in the Heartforge Realm, they were quite common.

“Daoist Crimson Butterfly, I happened upon the corpse of a powerful cultivator during the fiend outbreak,” Cha Ming said. “On it, I obtained a limited quantity of a treasure useful for high level cultivators. But for one as weak as I, such items are useless. I would rather obtain practical means to defend myself. Please accept this item in exchange for whatever you feel appropriate.” He tossed out a final ring to her containing another top-grade transcendent crystal.

Daoist Crimson Butterfly’s eyes widened. “This is indeed a very precious treasure to those in our cultivation realm. I am not sure exactly what it is you’re looking for but given your exchange with Artificer Lei and your desire for my blood crystal, I can hazard a guess.” She passed a storage ring over to him. “The shelter assigns lightning as per an agreed upon allocation, but sometimes there an excess of lightning. Storing it in liquid form is inconvenient, so we compress them into lightning essence crystals. I don’t believe the crystals in that ring are worth what you have given me, but hopefully they are useful to you. Consider it that I owe you a favor.”

“These crystals are exactly what I’m looking for,” Cha Ming answered. More importantly, the favor was what he was after. He knew full well that both the wind bottle and the lightning crystals were worth far less than these top-grade spirit stones, but that was the point. By offering them up, he had sown karma with two of the sanctuary leaders, affording him a small layer of protection.

Cha Ming spent the rest of the exchange looking gloomy and cheated. Many of the other participants looked at him pityingly, while others shot him predatory glances. Exposing wealth was a balancing act, but it was necessary if he wanted to recover from his injuries and take a step forward.

The exchange was completed without a hitch. Artificer Lei’s gaze lingered on Cha Ming a third time, but to Cha Ming’s surprise, he felt or saw no tracking magic. The elder simply laughed and followed Daoist Crimson Butterfly to the lightning tower, where he would immediately start upgrading the sanctuary’s capabilities.

“You’re not dim-witted, so I’m sure you understood my warning,” Silent Storm said to him in private after the meeting. “I wonder what gives you the confidence to do what you just did.”

Cha Ming laughed. “I became his target the moment he laid eyes on me, Daoist Silent Storm. You and I both know that gem was just a secondary probe for confirmation.”

Silent Storm sighed. “Things weren’t always this way. A decade ago, they were simple craftsmen that were just a little too absorbed in their work. Then, nearly seven years ago, things changed.”

“It’s the same everywhere, isn’t it?” Cha Ming said. “There’s a storm blowing across the entire world. It’s only the strongest among us who are aware of it.”

“Hearing the storm is quite different from being able to do something about it,” Silent Storm said.

To which Cha Ming shrugged. “Storms are nothing new in the Puppet Lightning Region. Some avoid them, and others hide in their sanctuaries.”

“And about you?” Silent Storm asked.

“I fight them head on,” Cha Ming said. “Since I cannot avoid them, and no shelter will protect me, I can only fight. I don’t know how much time you can buy me, but regardless, I appreciate your help so far. With luck, the resources I secured today will be enough to make a full recovery.”