Treasures Of Heaven And Earth

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," chanted Chún as he trudged across an endless savanna towards a setting Golden Crow with the pair of goats following reluctantly behind him on the rope and the chicken coop full of hens on one shoulder and the otherwise empty coop with the rooster on the other.

---

"Chickens are dumber than dirt," the young teen exclaimed as he chased a frantically squawking hen in the that had escaped the coop, misty morning light between the trunks of some primeval forest, "Come back here, you pile of feathers before some Essence Beast makes a meal out of you."

---

"Goats are worse than chickens," the platinum-haired True Cultivator growled under overcast skies and pouring rain, shaking water from said hair and blinking drops out of his vision, as he stalked the pair of goats who had chewed through their lead ropes and were now walking carelessly along the rain slick cliff edge, completely ignoring him.

---

Chún shouted a wordless cry of rage as all of the livestock that he had carefully and painstakingly shepherded over endless days of stupid, tedious, dangerous, treacherous, mind-numbing and normal-mortal foot paced travel back towards the Heaven and Earth Vine clearing, broke for freedom simultaneously at the sound of some random Essence Beast howling.

The temporary portable chicken coops had come apart after about three days of constant use and the ropes were long consumed by the goats, so Chún had been using his old herding skills - combined with some very gentle mesmerising techniques his locus had taught him - to keep the ordinary animals in line.

Unfortunately, the half dozen chickens and rooster were proving to be a lot less intelligent than geese. And the billy and nanny goat seemed to be spending all their spare time - when not trying to eat everything in sight along the route - plotting escape.

"Why is it, Tai," he asked between clenched teeth as he stalked towards his last couple of escaping acquisitions that he found himself more and more visualising as roast dinner rather than valuable livestock, "That you never pointed out to me," his hand snapped out and quickly but gently tapped the nearest errant poultry on the head, "the drawbacks to my plan to grow my own milk and eggs."

"Well…" Tai's mental 'voice' through the link was amused, "I had not anticipated that you would be unable to carry the livestock with you while traveling at Cultivator speeds. The standard shielding technique is considered quite basic - merely an extension of a Cultivator's domain keeping the area around them calm as they move - a sort of bubble they control along with anything in that bubble."

"I do not exactly have practice extending my Essence outward to form any sort of aura," pointed out the teen True Cultivator, with what he felt was great restraint, as he moved silently up behind the next stupid animal.

It was not so much that it was difficult to catch them, it was merely that he kept having to do it - without damaging them - over and over again. And that he had to shepherd them over what was now an extremely annoying week-long trip, at a regular human's - or chicken and goat's - pace from the Geese Pasture to his cave.

"It is one of the few things Consumers and True Cultivators have in common - imposing their will on the universe - it is almost instinctive…" mused Tai, "Perhaps you have taken the concept of balance and not interfering with natural development too far?"

"And explain again why you cannot simply open a rift between here and the cave?" snapped Chún mentally.

"It would likely kill the livestock - they are not Essence Beasts. Previously I was able to shift the entrance point to my universe from my Anchor point on the Golden Planet to the the extra li or so to your position, so they simply crossed over as per normal. A rift means they would be directly exposed to raw Essence - such an exposure - for however brief a measure, would kill ordinary animals."

"These animals are not ordinary," shot back Chún, "they are clearly demonspawn. I have never in my life had as much trouble with livestock as these nine bloody creatures."

"They are affected by the increased levels of Essence," explained the Mountain "it makes them more active and somewhat boosts what intelligence or 'animal cunning' they naturally possess - be sure to maintain a light touch when linking your Dao Pattern to theirs - too much Essence will reduce their brains to mush."

"I would spot the difference?" asked Chún ironically, then waved his hand irritably, "no, I know what you mean - but it means they break free of it at every little distraction. I am sure the goats are beginning to resist the technique, as well. Are you sure there is no way to speed this up?"

"I know of no other fast travel method that would be safe - unless you built an Essence craft, " answered Tai, "that generally requires skilled Dao Pattern artisans and specialist Essence Shapers though. It would take you longer to learn how to construct one than it would take for you to walk back to the cave, even with the frequent interruptions. Additionally..."

"Yes?" asked the teen as his friend's mental voice in the link trailed off.

"Given that these are ordinary animals, a period of slow acclimation to the increased Essence levels is probably wise. It is likely they would become ill and possibly die if they were transported swiftly towards high Essence areas like the Heaven and Earth Vine's clearing." There was an embarrassed feeling to Tai's pause as he admitted, "It is not something I had to consider prior to this as the Essence Beasts and plants living here have grown along with me."

"Oh?" responded the young true Cultivator, exhibiting great intelligence.

"At least you were able to place the rest of your purchases and the gliding horse into your Cloak - imagine if you had to haul all of that at this pace as well - some of it would have surely been broken or soiled by now," pointed out his locus brightly.

"Except that means the Cloak is not able to shift or absorb water as well while most of its Essence is holding its spatial pocket stable," grumbled Chún, "hence my being sick of being wet and cold and generally irritated."

There was a moment's pause as Chún charmed one of the goats with a light touch, then Tai pointed out matter-of-factly, "You realise eggs and milk are completely unnecessary? Your body tempering has progressed well past the point of needing to consume food for substance. Not to mention, being cold and wet does not have an impact on your body anymore."

Chún sighed as he headed to the final chicken that was now ignoring everything around it in favour of picking up bugs and tender shoots of plants - except it seemed to take a casual step or two away every time he drifted near.

"I may not need it, but the food is certainly a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e and comfort as well as something to relax my mind from Cultivation or other stress. Just as much as being cold and wet remains as irritating as the way these animals are behaving - even if it has no physical impact I still feel it," he grinned as he darted forward and brushed his fingers across the top of the chicken's head, "and their produce will be good trade goods - especially once the animals absorb enough Essence to improve their milk and eggs."

He turned towards the billy goat, tapping his chin, "is there any reason why you cannot lead the animals to the cave yourself, Tai? I know you would be better at charming them than me - you already give orders to the Essence Beasts on your surface."

"The livestock are not Essence Beasts and even if they were - they were not born here - or lived here long enough to be a part of me," replied the Mountain Planet, "so my control over them is very limited. The only thing keeping them from being eaten is your presence."

"You could send a Crystal Warrior…?" suggested the teen thoughtfully, "or I can give you enough Essence to make one?"

"That… could work," admitted Tai, "if you concentrate enough Essence to form some Essence Crystals, I can create a Warrior…" there was a brief pause that felt like a stone had fallen in the link, "wait, no, that would only work if we created a trail of crystals all the way up to the Cave - remember, a Guardian can only travel so far away from its concentration of Essence Crystals."

"We were working on a network of Crystal 'sentry posts' before your advancement," Chún reminded his locus as he reached out and tapped the billy, who bleated then fell in behind him along with the nanny goat, the chickens and the rooster, "were they destroyed?"

"No - any Essence Crystals actually flourished if they were not hit directly by destructive Essence attacks - there was a lot of wild Essence being thrown around. Losses were minor." Tai rumbled like an immense beast in the link, seemingly unintentionally as he ruminated, "I think I understand your thought - the network was never completed in this area... although - we can create the trail I suggested before - I can link up existing Crystals with new ones you can create along the route - although we will have to account for topography…"

"Topo… what?" asked Chún.

"It means we have to make sure the animals can cross the ground safely, so we cannot go in a straight line. Still, if we put a collection of Essence Crystal large enough to support a Warrior every hundred li away from the next… and taking into account existing points…"

Tai trailed off silently and Chún nodded, walking forward with the livestock following behind him, "We could create a relay of Crystal Warriors to guide and protect the livestock - each Warrior could pass the animals to the next one - like the Empire does for military orders."

"It would take you a day or so to lay down the Crystal points needed," agreed the Mountain. "I have calculated the best route to the Cave taking into account the terrain and including as much as possible existing points - the last thousand li or so to the cave you would not need to grow any new points at all - the existing network of 'sentry posts' are sufficient from that point inward. The animals would get there maybe five or six days after you."

"That sounds good to me," agreed the teen, "What is the easiest way to create an Essence Crystal?"

"You will have to charm the livestock to stay put first - you need to be at least two li away from them before you start, or they will die from over exposure to such a high concentration of Essence before it condenses into a Crystal," warned his locus.

"If I leave them alone, they will get eaten," pointed out Chún.

"There is a place with a naturally protective Dao Pattern about a li ahead," suggested Tai, "if you provide enough Essence to allow it to advance and then charm the animals to go within its boundaries, they should be safe enough while you go far enough away to create the Essence Crystal without harming them."

Chún's eyebrows raised. "Good old, basic ignition work! It has been a while."

There was a strong sense of amus.e.m.e.nt through the link from Tai, "Yes, because a couple days over a week is ever so long for you short-lived mortals."

"Is that all?" asked Chún in surprise.

"It has been around twelve days since you set up the Dao Pattern to draw in and clean the Essence in the Heaven and Earth Vine's clearing, so yes, that is all." answered the Planet, still amused.

"Ai… feels like a lifetime ago," marvelled Chún, shaking his head as he led the animals towards the point ahead that Tai indicated - of late, he had become so used to the extra information his illusion map constantly provided him that usually forgot about it except when Tai made a point of highlighting something specific.

The planet laughed down the link. "It has only been forty-two days since you met that True Cultivator - I know you have experienced a lifetime of changes in a short period, but…"

Chún stumbled in shock, "I cannot believe it has not even been two months - I did not realise how quickly I had - we had - advanced."

Tai fell sober. "Yes, it is concerning. Normally such fast advancement would not be permitted by the Heavens - while we have experienced tribulations, they have been more in the nature of difficult tests, rather than true attempts to destroy us or prevent our growth. I wonder what requires us to grow so quickly."

"You said yourself that Golden Crow Planet was in danger…" reminded Chún, walking around a stand of spiky bushes that the goats took nibbles off as they passed.

"I was talking on the order of tens of thousands of years, not however quickly our 'lucky chances' seem to be indicating," answered Tai with concern coloring his 'voice'.

Chún shrugged, some of his old street rat mannerisms showing through, "Sometimes crap happens, Tai. You roll with it and watch for opportunities. There does not seem to be anything we can change at the moment." He stopped at the edge of a small gully that had a rivulet crossing one side, a stand of bamboo on another and an almost artistic arch of some sort of rock falling from the ridge he was standing on to the lower hills across the gully from where he stood.

Lush plants and trees grew in and around the gully, many with colourful and pleasant smelling blooms and the sounds of the water and various songbirds contributed to the harmonious atmosphere

"Huh, nice place. I can see the effects of the Dao Pattern quite clearly and feel it too - even without needing to use Essence sense - this place feels safe." He glanced back at the animals that had visibly calmed down behind him and quirked an eyebrow, "Looks like it might be worth duplicating the pattern back at the clearing somehow - come on everyone, the bottom of this gully in the center, looks like the strongest part of the pattern."

"Perform the Essence Ignition first," interrupted Tai as the teen made to climb down the side of the gully. Chún halted his steps and frowned, then tapped himself on the forehead, "Essence exposure - right…"

He straightened up and sank into Essence Sense and the natural protective pattern formed by the conjunction of all the geographical features and major Essence plants came sharply into focus.

He whistled under his breath. That was a beautiful pattern. He let his sense trace over the Essence flows in the hope of memorising it. If this was the basic pattern, the advanced pattern that would form after he provided more Essence would probably be too much for him to recreate back at the clearing.

Picking out the anchor points he focused then let his essence flow out in sync with the pulse of the planet and the more delicate shimmer of the Dao Pattern. The pattern began to exhibit the familiar signs of advancement as he continued feeding it - more complex layers of patterns unfolding out of the existing one, brighter and stronger flows of Essence, swelling sounds of bells, chimes and something that sounded like a reed flute - very soothing.

The Advancement washed out with a gentle wave of ignition that mostly stayed confined within the gully - inside the protective pattern, with only a light wash of Essence cresting over the ridge. Even so, the animals made noises of distress and confusion, staggering.

Chún dropped his connection to the now much more complex protective pattern and looked at the livestock through his Essence Sense. Their Dao patterns were fluctuating unsteadily - almost wobbling in place as if they had been struck - but after a moment they stabilized and strengthened.

He let the Essence Sense fade and quickly moved over to the livestock, touching each of them briefly to re-establish the charming technique before they regained their usual mischievousness, then moved down into the gully leading them into the center of the protective Dao Pattern.

Once they were all happily cropping or pecking at various bits of greenery, he released the charming technique. The animals ignored him, continuing to peacefully forage.

"That should be sufficient," remarked the Mountain, "They will be safe here for a while. Now, there is a concentration of Essence around forty li away you can intensify to create Essence Crystals."

The teen nodded and left the gully briskly, heading for the strongest local source of Essence he could sense in the immediate area.

---

It took a shi or so of effort and several closely grouped Essence Ignitions - pulsing Essence into several Essence plants within an arms span of each other to advance them - to generate an intense enough level of Essence to start the Essence Crystal forming. After it was formed it started building up naturally, but Chún looked down glumly at the small crystal that was slowly growing at his feet.

"If it takes this long to create each one I fear your estimate of my travel time might be optimistic, Tai," he said wearily, despite feeling energised by the amount of Essence he had been exposed to.

"I should be able to find better locations for each one from this point onward," reassured his locus, "unfortunately we were restricted by the distance to the livestock versus how far a Crystal warrior can travel away from its Essence Crystal - and this was the only Essence Spring in range that was big enough. I will send the Warrior to get the animals as soon as it forms."

"I hope you are right, Tai, or this is going to be painful and slow," Chún said then flashed into the distance as he picked up something approaching speed, "point me towards the next Essence Spring we should use."

"While you do this, we need to discuss the village," answered Tai as Chún followed the marker on his Essence Illusion map, "I have extended my influence outward from my origin point - it was not as difficult as I had thought it would be; Golden Crow Planet has recognised me as the Mountain with supremacy over the local land area around my original location. It includes several other mountains - although none of them are Essence producing points yet, my own advancement has increased local Essence levels enough that the situation may change soon."

"That is good, I suppose? Makes it harder to find you…. Ah - the next point…" responded Chún absently, then focused on raising the Essence levels with multiple ignitions. This Essence Spring was much stronger than the last and the True Cultivator managed to create an Essence Crystal within half a shi.

"Better - next? OK," Chún darted off in the direction of the next Essence Spring, "So I take it that means you can see or control what happens in the Village?"

"For about ten thousand li around my original location actually. It gets harder to see things farther away from me, and I cannot control things like I do here - but I can sort of… make suggestions... to the local Essence Beasts," explained Tai, "I - have - been encouraging the local creatures to watch for hostile Consumers - especially those Grass people - they actually have some sort of common pattern in the crude Formations they put on their skin which makes them easy to spot," Tai chuckled coldly, "coincidentally, an unusually co-ordinated Essence Beast attack has killed the single Consumer that came through with that marking - last night."

"I wonder how long it will take before they send a serious force?" worried Chún, "those guys were not tough but…"

"It looks like this was not considered a high value area," pointed out Tai, "really there is no reason to think there is anything important enough for serious investigation. That was probably a routine messenger or something, or it would have been a more substantial force - they could have only been gleaning low level resources and income from this area."

"Still…" Chún stopped next to the Essence spring, "you should let me know as soon as something changes."

"Of course. I rather think you might be more worried about what the villagers are planning. I certainly found it, unexpected…?"

"That sounds ominous…" Chún joked as he started pulsing Essence.

"Oh nothing bad," reassured Tai, "they just decided that something powerful decided to intervene on their behalf. Apparently someone noticed a cloud of mist heading in my direction the night all the bad guys died?" the Mountain explained pointedly and Chún winced.

"They have been discussing it since it happened - at one point a few people mentioned all the odd lights and noises that had been noticed from around my old location lately - some of the stuff that we have had to deal with has been leaking through despite my best efforts."

Chún facepalmed as Tai continued, "A bunch of others mentioned the general increase in sightings of Essence Beasts and plants - I think your items from the market might have been mentioned?"

Chún g.r.o.a.n.e.d as his locus kept talking, "That old Storyteller you keep talking about brought up some old fable about old Mountains having guardian spirits… and a lot of treasure?" Tai sounded bemused, then continued, "anyway, some of the braver villagers went up the trail… this morning - and found their side of the grotto… villagers have been coming up all day and leaving offerings and incense there - along with what looks like requests and prayers."

Chún choked and the Essence Spring went up in a big flash of Essence, spontaneously forming a crystal as a massive Essence dump flashed out.

"They, what?"