Depthless Hunger-Chapters 417-420

As far as Omilaena was concerned, the two people exploring alongside her were more interesting than the city itself. Floodisle City was big, sure, but it was another cultivator city with cultivator ranks and cultivator rules. These two would be beside her long after she'd harvested the city for whatever it was worth and left it behind.

Zin Nim took to the city immediately, treating everything granted by her rank as a right. It was convenient, such as when she deduced that the flying rickshaws were free for anyone above the tenth rank, and sometimes fun, such as when a salesperson started to bother them and Zin Nim stared at him so intensely he looked like he almost pissed his pants. The only thing that left Omilaena a little unsettled was how much Zin Nim adapted to it, reminding her a little too much of the worst women in the Pureflower sect.

By contrast, Kai was clearly out of his element, treated as an obstacle or servant. Omilaena didn't have a single comforting instinct in her body, but she felt a bit bad for him, so she made sure to counteract that. She pressed up against his side more than necessary, whispered promises into his ear, and generally tried to make sure he was too horny to feel bad about anything.

First they visited one of the cultivator markets, where they were immediately ushered to the higher class section. The Pureflower sect had given them plenty of qi pills among their supplies, but Omilaena purchased a few more items, just in case things went bad. She could use more metals as well, even if they weren't particularly impressive.

While Zin Nim examined local flying swords, which she said were superior, Omilaena sidled over to where Kai was looking through a stall of assorted items. She ducked under his arm and hung off him while he looked, pleased by how automatically he grabbed her hip.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"I was hoping they'd sell monster cores, but there isn't a lot of that here," he said. "I asked earlier and they implied there was a wet market in the lower city, if anywhere. That's probably not going to be good enough for me."

"Not a lot of monster hunting in these parts." Omilaena patted his side apologetically.

"Not a lot of imports in general. Not like Rosemount."

"Well, Cloudspire has always had a stick up its ass about not needing anything from the other continents. I think you could make some chakra progress, though."

"Really? I've seen some chakras, but they don't seem to value it as much..."

"You just need to use them a little more adventurously." Omilaena plucked a glass bottle from the stand, which was covered in warning symbols, and held it up for him. "See, this says that it will increase your power, but drive you mad and reduce your lifespan."

"What a great deal."

"No, but think about it. The ingredients can't just have an arbitrary 'decreases lifespan' quality - that's silly. What it has is a material effect, likely flooding power through your body in a way that harms it. Which means that the negative effect is conditional - I'm willing to bet your Behemoth's Heart can just consume most things like that without skipping a beat."

"Huh." Kai nodded and began to look through the stands with new eyes. Simple as it was, Omilaena was glad to have someone who really listened and understood.

Before she could decide how much to tease him, Zin Nim returned to them and gestured with a nod. "I've been given access to a store with highly restricted goods," she said. "Let's go see if they have anything we need."

The "store" was basically a tower, complete with its own guards, qi shielding, and balconies where cultivators sipped tea. Since that sort of ostentation usually meant strength on Cloudspire, Omilaena was curious to see what it held. She'd found absolutely no poisons so far and could only hope that those were kept in restricted areas.

When they approached the door, the guards shuffled nervously, and a woman in an official's robes looked them over. Omilaena was ready to show her jade slip, as she'd needed to do many times already, but the woman seemed focused on Kai.

"The two of you may enter, but he cannot," the official said.

"He is with us." Zin Nim delivered her usual glower, but the official's sanctimoniousness was impervious.

"We have certain requirements for our clientele, and I fear your servant does not meet them. We would welcome you and your companion, but we cannot allow you to disturb the other clients."

Zin Nim looked like she was considering murdering the woman, while Kai just sighed. Definitely time for her to take action. Omilaena slipped between them, taking Zin Nim's arm before she could kill anyone, and took over the conversation.

"Of course, we understand." She bumped her ass against Kai and gave him a smirk over her shoulder, then escorted Zin Nim inside.

Within, the air was immediately cooler and filled with qi. All the walls were covered in elegant hangings, but Omilaena was more interested in how the floors seemed to be divided into different levels based on rank. The first one started at rank 6 and the servants inside quickly hastened to urge them upward. It seemed like the second to last floor was rank 10, with a special rank 11+ floor beyond.

The materials began feeling powerful enough starting on the 9th floor, so they stopped there. Omilaena immediately discovered where all the poisons were hiding and eagerly went to go investigate. She was surprised that Zin Nim went along with her, holding her arm affectionately.

"Do the poisons need to be Sky Soul tier?" Zin Nim asked. "I'll help you look."

"I don't just need intensity, my Heart of Poison can also grow with variety," Omilaena said, selecting one of the jars. "See, this isn't so different from a Rosemount poison, despite its strength, but this one... some sort of meridian poison, is it?"

"Yes, I think that would be different. Let us see..."

That was reassuring in a way Omilaena hadn't realized earlier: Zin Nim might be at home here, but she hadn't reverted to her old self. She might look like a perfect cultivator maiden, but she would kill to defend either of them. Which was nice, even if Omilaena didn't particularly need that right now.

While they moved through the poisons, Omilaena also examined the other customers. There were some powerful Earth Souls, yes, but also women purchasing beauty products and men buying silk robes who didn't seem to be cultivators. Unsurprising that the ranking system allowed for factors other than strength, though she took a perverse pleasure in going all the way to the top on power alone.

After they made a few good purchases, they moved on to what Zin Nim was interested in... which seemed to be dual cultivation products, which were held in a screened off area. Omilaena slid up beside her, teasing half as much as she did with Kai, which was about all Zin Nim could take.

"And just what are you looking for?"

"It isn't fair to leave him outside," Zin Nim said with determination. "I... want to make sure we get something for him. As recompense for the insults."

"I don't think we need to buy anything to thank him for putting up with us." Omilaena got a little bolder, her arm snaking around the other woman's waist so her hand could flatten against her stomach. "Pretty sure the two of us can reward him just fine."

"No, I want to find something." She held up a white jar and sniffed the contents. "I like the qi in this, but what is it? The smell is... do you eat it? That seems like it would be repulsive."

Omilaena had to restrain her chuckle. "That's a cream, dear. You don't put it in your mouth, not unless you're feeling adventurous."

"I... I see..." Zin Nim flushed, but didn't break until Omilaena slid her hand further down. "Omi! Don't be vulgar!"

"What? You weren't complaining last night."

"Enjoying m-marital congress is not vulgar! Displaying what should be private, for anyone to see... that is what is inappropriate."

"Ah." Omilaena's eyebrows rose as she understood something about the other woman for the first time.

She was a possessive little thing, actually. Where Omilaena was happy to show off herself or others, Zin Nim wanted to keep it all to herself. Quite a cultivator's attitude, now that she thought about it, but Omilaena just found herself fondly amused. Fine, she could play along with that game too.

"Alright, I'll behave myself and we'll see what we can find..."

.

..

.

Finally, after so many disasters and inconveniences, everything was going right. Zin Nim floated through the city like she was a lotus petal herself.

The creams seemed like they would burn a hole in her spatial bracelet, even though they were cool to the touch, because she couldn't help thinking about her plans for later. She knew that Kai didn't have an ego like so many of the men she knew, but it just wasn't fair. He should be able to stride the streets and have others cower before him, not be treated like a peasant. Later, she would make sure he understood how much she appreciated him.

Her real surprise was Omilaena, who had behaved herself the entire day after their conversation. The other woman took so much delight in being improper, but the instant she had really understood, she changed. Zae Zin Nim intended to thank her wife for that later too.

But for now, she was simply glad to have reached this point with both of them. They were back in civilization with proper credentials and no undue attention. Their goals in the Southern Rivers seemed distant priorities compared to just enjoying being together without any obligations.

"I know where I want to go tonight," Zae Zin Nim told them as they rode another rickshaw. "With no disrespect to Kai's cooking, you haven't seen the true cuisine of the Southern Rivers. I've heard about a restaurant that's supposed to be one of the four most prestigious in the city, which is not only delicious, but the food allegedly boosts your Physique. Maybe it won't make a difference, but..."

"But it's worth a try," Kai said. "Why not?"

Omilaena raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you know much about Southern Rivers cuisine? I thought this wasn't your area."

"I am still familiar with the customs of its strongest sects," Zae Zin Nim explained. "I may have had difficulties at home, but I ate the finest dishes from across Cloudspire. But even I never got the opportunity to go to a restaurant like this."

So they headed out together, though first they changed Kai into a nicer robe... or rather, they fed a nicer robe to the Beggar King's Robes, which was rather strange. Fortunately, there were more men in a restaurant like this seeking to enhance their Physique, so he didn't stand out as much and wasn't turned away. Which meant all three of them could enter and she could finally relax with her spouses.

Since they had more than enough money, Zae Zin Nim paid for the most expensive table and the full course. They were escorted to the top of the entire restaurant and given a glorious balcony seat that was shielded from the rest of the city by tree boughs, instead offering a look at the beautiful gardens below. Once this sort of luxury had been her everyday life, and she had spent years scrounging in wastelands... all those travels had brought her these two partners, and with them the luxury was a joy instead of a prison.

As the restaurant brought them dish after dish, they talked about everything and nothing. Eventually they would need to have a serious conversation about their next moves, but that didn't hang over the evening because she knew that she would enjoy that too.

Soon enough Zae Zin Nim had eaten all she could and sat back in satisfaction. Omilaena squeezed her thigh surreptitiously under the table, but it was just affectionate, not teasing. Meanwhile, Kai continued to consume an enormous quantity of food, since he could apparently eat anything. Either he had become more polite since they met or his manners no longer bothered her, because she was just glad to see him eating his fill.

"Thank you for putting up with everything," Zae Zin Nim said. She leaned against his side and smiled up at him when he looked at her. "It's ridiculous that they can't see your value."

"I expected it." Kai shrugged as he spoke, but she thought she was a bit of relief in his eyes. "People treated me strangely in the Bloodcoral sect, too. I knew once we got away from the Manticore tribe that I'd have to deal with this again."

"You are... not what men are expected to be, here."

"But we appreciate your qualities." Omilaena slid around the table to press against Kai's other side, putting her hand on his inner thigh. Zae Zin Nim had thought she was being forward with her own maneuver and now flushed. It was under the table, though, and that was just who Omilaena was, so she decided not to complain when her wife had already been so accommodating.

"You don't need to do this, really." Kai squeezed Omilaena's shoulders and planted a kiss on top of Zae Zin Nim's head. "I'd do a lot worse for your sake than play servant for a while. I only care what you two think about me, and I'm not worried about that."

Zae Zin Nim smiled and cuddled in beside him. She was trying to decide if it would be too forward to bring up what she had purchased, or if Omilaena would make fun of her for the clumsy attempt at seduction. Even that might not feel bad, not in their little group of three. For a few moments, she was purely happy.

"Excuse me, this table is needed."

The disruption shattered Zae Zin Nim's illusion of perfection. She sat upright, ready to castigate the servant who now bowed in front of them for interrupting, but her instincts told her that something else was wrong. Too late, she saw a young man in cultivator's robes walking toward them, with half a dozen young men in tow.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded. "First I find out my favorite table is taken, then I find this?"

"Apologies, my lord." The servant bowed desperately while being pushed out of the way. "They'll be gone soon, I assure you, and then-"

"What kind of place has this become?" the young master demanded. "I come here for a fine meal, not to see... some filthy ape groping two fine maidens."

At first Zae Zin Nim had been searching the faces for someone she knew, fearing that it would be a Brightwind ally, but all of these faces were unfamiliar. None of them were anyone they had met during the city or had any vendetta with. Her scalp went cold as she realized that this had nothing to do with any of their actions, it was just bad luck.

This couldn't be chalked up to Kai's cursed fate... this one was hers, for forgetting where she was.

That kind of bullshit was one of the main reasons Omilaena hadn't gone to Cloudspire.

She was still thinking about it the next day as they split up to finish their business. It had ruined their night because Zin Nim was out of sorts, wanting intimacy in the non-euphemistic sense. Admittedly, Omilaena had come around to the creature comfort of relaxing together, but she had wanted to bang. Given what had happened, it should have been a nice palate cleanser.

Seemed like a bad time to introduce Zin Nim to any of her personal fantasies, so Omilaena decided to just be responsible for now. They'd have more time together later.

Now she had to go out on her own and gather critical information, just in case it was more prudent to leave Floodisle City. Omilaena had asked some discreet questions and eventually found her target: a house dedicated to cleansing poisons, not creating them. That was more likely to get her useful information about the poison used against the Pureflower matriarch than chasing directly after the potential culprit.

Getting in had been easy, just a simple matter of a sob story, her rank, and a demonstration of a few antidotes. Now, however, she sat in a dingy waiting room amid cultivators from all across society. They were more diverse than most of the stratified institutions in the city, which was one of the reason she'd chosen it. The openness meant delays, unfortunately, and she couldn't push to the front of the line without being a copy of the little prick from the previous night.

When someone finally came to meet her, it was a little old lady, so hunched over she only came to Omilaena's waist. She could still know her poisons, though, so Omilaena crossed her legs as properly as she could and lowered her head.

"Thank you for meeting with me, grandmother."

"You say your husband is sick?" The old woman peered at her through crude lenses. "You're sure it's poison?"

"I have some small healing arts," Omilaena said as she pulled a vial from her spatial satchel. The poison in the matriarch's body had been too intense to perfectly copy, but since she'd absorbed some, she could created a diluted version. "This is what I believe the poison to be, and I fear all my arts are insufficient."

"Oh my." The healer examined the vial and shook her head. "This is no simple poison, girl, it reeks of qi. You might be better suited asking in the Western Wilds."

"I have asked a few, but it is no use, alas."

"How did he get this in him? This is a dantian poison, so it wouldn't take with food or drink. You could take it via tainted qi, but no cultivator with eyes to see the Heavenly Mountains would fail to notice such a thing."

"I know," Omilaena said even though that was brand new information. She looked down and sniffled. "He was poisoned while traveling and I feared that he... might have been unfaithful."

"While that could be, I'm sure it's not, dear." The old woman reached over and patted her leg. "Much more likely to be an attack striking the dantian directly and leaving behind poison, or perhaps qi in the atmosphere, if you could hide it among other things..."

The old woman went on to list enough different methods that Omilaena could believe Kir Mei Bai got poisoned without knowing it. She disliked these spiritual Cloudspire poisons, since they circumvented the body's usual defenses, but this was a good opportunity to learn more about them from an expert. Curing them was one thing, but with enough information she could duplicate them.

And, she supposed, maybe solve the mystery that was their pretext for visiting the Southern Rivers.

"Thank you so much," Omilaena gushed. "Do you know if any of the larger clans could help me acquire all these materials? I heard that the Masterful Crown clan had more than enough, but..."

"You can't approach the clan directly, definitely not. If you want poisons and antidotes, their specialists are the Purple River sect. It's near the Loam, you know, so not easy traveling, but that should get you on your way. Probably near Verdant River sect headquarters to start - they're ascendant lately, so they have more cities than the other Great Rivers."

Omilaena thanked the old woman again as if those names meant anything to her. She had memorized the sounds, but wasn't familiar enough with everything in the Southern Rivers region to actually know what that meant.

Still, she had a lead. A potential source of the poison, yes, but more importantly the "Loam" was almost certainly the Loam of the Gods. Omilaena hummed as she considered finding another Insanity.

.

..

.

When she was younger, Zae Zin Nim had slapped down many rivals who were rude to her, and even killed a few men who dared to take liberties. But she had done that as the genius daughter of the Brightwind sect, not an independent cultivator. She couldn't assert her rights here without implicitly attacking the most powerful organizations in the entire regions.

Now, she needed to investigate, both to find out whether or not there could be potential repercussions and to find a path forward.

Strangely enough, that took her to one of the most elite feminine institutions in the city: the Deepest Jade Garden. No woman was allowed in unless she was at least rank 12 and there were apparently a great many other requirements. Omilaena would never be allowed into a place like this for reasons of decorum alone, but Zae Zin Nim drew on her old habits and passed with flying colors.

Once inside, she was immediately the subject of much attention. Technically the Deepest Jade Garden existed for cultivation and trade, but it was also a source of gossip for the highest-class women of the city. As a surprising new arrival, Zae Zin Nim only needed to drop hints that she was receiving marriage proposals from the Masterful Crown clan to get a wealth of information.

"Oh, that's wonderful! You could be set for life!"

"Be sure it's really a part of the main clan, not a little branch. There are so many miserable little sects trying to cling to their prestige."

"Though beware the patriarch. If you displease him, or his firstborn son, he might teleport you away to parts unknown."

"Isn't that just a rumor? Would even he do that?"

"The great River sects are all as prestigious. Many of their cultivators even marry into the clan."

"Is that so?" Recognizing her opportunity, Zae Zin Nim directed the conversation in that direction. "And which of the Great River sects is the most prestigious?"

That got a wealth of intelligence - she could have gotten the same broad details from any peasant, but the women of the city had far more inside information. They had both sect leaders and wives of sect leaders among them, so while they were biased, they gave her insight she couldn't get anywhere else. Soon a clear picture emerged.

The Masterful Crown clan had dozens of minor allies, but four were considered the most prestigious and collectively called the Great River sects. There was disagreement over whether the Heavenly River sect or the Deepriver sect was the strongest, but both were venerable and respected. The women knew less about the Purple River sect, which was far to the south and more secretive. Finally, the Verdant River sect was rumored to be the current holder of the Loam of the Gods, and so one of the clan's greatest sources of strength.

It didn't have much of a presence in Floodisle City, however, so it was considered a bit rural. The women agreed that it was only worth marrying someone from a far-off sect if the man was on his way up and could eventually be promoted to a higher position in the great city.

As for the Shining River sect of the young master who had attacked them, it barely received the slightest attention.

"What about the clan itself?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "I assume they have their own inner sects, aside from their close allies."

"Don't get too confident now!"

"But such pure white skin," another woman murmured, "maybe she could..."

"The most prestigious is the Grand Crown sect..."

It seemed that the public face of the clan's cultivators was the Grand Crown sect, where every woman was a legendary beauty and every man had a harem of concubines. The inversion, spoken about by whisper and implication, was called the Dark Crown sect. Both were considered highly formidable, equal to any major sect in the other lands, and based on their reach Zae Zin Nim could believe it.

Even after she learned all the details she needed, she found herself lingering. Despite how much she had grown, it was flattering to have everyone marveling over her... even if she knew that much of it was truly just flattery.

When the gossip and backstabbing became too much, Zae Zin Nim made her excuses and retreated, longing to reunite with her husband and wife.

.

..

.

The plan had both women going to the most elite parts of the city, but Kai went in the opposite direction, back through the cultivator's gate into the lower part of the city. There he managed to find work as a day laborer, mainly because he had at least double the weight of most of the workers in pure muscle. That led him to a job down by the riverside, moving all the goods required to feed such a large city.

While he was there, he hoped to get a better sense for the common people of Floodisle City, the actual salt of the earth. But the great sects and clans were omnipresent in their lives as well, and it seemed the highest aspirations of many workers was to become servants of an important organization. Despite his occasional questions, Kai couldn't figure out exactly how all these sects actually funded themselves, or what they contributed to anyone other than themselves.

After most of a day, a Body Refinement cultivator came to ask for workers with some cultivation base to move more dangerous goods. Kai passed the test effortlessly, of course, and went to work in a sheltered cove separated from the main Floodisle ports.

Unfortunately, there were no great secrets there, just more goods to unload. Yet as he moved the boxes, he felt as though some of them contained a familiar sort of qi. Most of the goods they handled were based on qi, of course, but something was odd about these. He considered just ignoring it, but he'd been working a full day and come across no significant leads, so he decided it was better to act.

When he and another worker tried to pass on a narrow stair, Kai made sure they bumped into one another. Their boxes fell and Kai intentionally only caught one, letting the other crash against the stones and break apart.

And then he stared.

"Dammit!" One of the overseers advanced on them, cursing. "Clean all that up right now, and it's coming out of your pay!"

No one treated this as a revelation, just an annoyance, but Kai still rushed to kneel down and touch the purple crystals. For the first time on Cloudspire, he saw something from Deadwaste: these were qi crystals from Krysal.

What the fuck?

They reunited that night to share information, just finding a hotel where they could sit together instead of any grand institutions. Kai far preferred that, since all he really wanted was Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena without interruption. As they explained what they'd learned, however, he realized they could have a problem of split incentives.

"Our best lead on the poison is the Purple River sect," Omilaena said, "but frankly I don't think the chances are high that they were really the culprit. We might as well stay in Floodisle City city and take it for all it's worth."

"I won't deny that we could gain a great deal here." Zae Zin Nim shifted uncomfortably, frowning at nothing in particular. "However, if we get on the wrong side of the Masterful Crown clan, they will cause trouble for us throughout the entire region. They could even draw the sort of attention that might get us noticed in the Eastern Plains."

"Do you think we would, taking down one little silkpants idiot?"

"No, but it could escalate. I have been investigating their strength, and the clan has many Sky Soul cultivators, so they could be a nuisance. I... don't want us to have to join or ally with more sects here. We should be able to keep traveling together."

"Aww, I knew you just couldn't contain your lusts."

While they spoke, Kai was staring out the window of their room, thinking about the anger on the young man's face, Fhazi, and different paths taken in life. Eventually he turned back, glancing over both of them but focusing eventually on Zae Zin Nim.

"Do you think there's actually a significant risk?" he asked. "We can go if you insist, but I really want to track this down."

"He was only important because of his connection to the Masterful Crown clan," Zae Zin Nim said. "Perhaps he will never dare to return to face you. Even if he does, and even if he can find you, at worst he will bring his father. We can remain, if you wish."

"I'm in favor of staying," Omilaena said, "but is this actually decisive evidence? We haven't seen a single pebble from Deadwaste, so why here, in the biggest city in the whole region?"

"Analyze for yourself." Kai tossed the crystal he'd taken to her, but Omilaena only caught it with her pipe and set it aside.

"Already did. Yes, it looks like the Krysali cultivation, but all my research suggests that there are common patterns. Anywhere you go in the world, if you combine the Cultivation aspect with the Essence aspect, you're going to create crystals like this. Maybe they're engaging in some experiment."

Zae Zin Nim immediately shook her head. "Doubtful. Cloudspire may be wrong about some things, but I agree with the consensus: crystal cultivation is inferior in most respects."

"Even the Frontier elites using it?"

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"I said most respects. But regardless, I have a very difficult time imagining any self-respecting cultivator, much less one from a major clan, building qi in crystals like this. The impulse to drain it into your dantian would be too strong, and they lack those crystal cores."

"So what does that mean?" Kai asked. When neither woman answered, he continued on himself. "You say there's a low chance someone here created the crystals themselves and I'll accept your judgment on that. So does that imply that someone from Krysal is here?"

"I know there is a small amount of trade between Krysal and the Eastern Plains." Zae Zin Nim chewed on her lip for a moment. "Compared to the size of the ocean, going around the southern side of the continent is not so far. It is not impossible, just very strange."

"I know we have a lot of other things to look into, but I want to figure out what's going on. So are we set?"

He expected to have to persuade them, but to his surprise both women agreed immediately. Omilaena seemed a bit intrigued herself, while Zae Zin Nim was very solemn about anything she considered her duty. In any case, he was glad to have them on his side.

.

..

.

After another day of work, Kai headed back to their room tired and irritable. Not physically tired, because his body was basically untouched by minor physical labor, but frustrated by the lack of progress he'd made and annoyed by the endless complaints of the workers. Half of them griped about not having wives and the other half griped about their wives.

When they nudged him on the issue, he just grunted in vague agreement, since he didn't think that they'd like to hear he was going back to two wives who loved him. Kai was looking forward to seeing them in general, and even more so when he saw them in serious conversation.

"Find anything?" Omilaena asked.

"Nothing." Kai dropped down into the chair in their room. "You look like you had more luck?"

Zae Zin Nim nodded. "Yes, the channels of the city are more open to us due to our rank. I have a simple answer for you: some foreign materials are being purchased by the alchemists of the Grand Crown sect because the Verdant River sect has allegedly discovered a new path to immortality. However, most of the materials are believed to be methods to obscure their real formula."

"And I have a more complex answer for you." Omilaena smirked as she leaned back. "I was trying to find out where the crystal shipment went, and it turns out... they leave the city to the south and they just disappear. This is gray market trade, if not black market."

"The law is only what the Masterful Crown clan says that it is, here."

"I was asking around in shady parts of the city and it turns out that region to the south is involved with slave trading. Slavery isn't illegal here or anything, but it's apparently kept in the shadows."

"It is considered low class." Zae Zin Nim frowned to herself, almost as if she would go quiet, but then continued. "Large sects or clans typically have many outer sect disciples who can be used as servants, so direct slavery is used for... more unseemly work."

"Alright!" Kai slapped his knees and got to his feet. "Let's fight everyone in the city and free the slaves!"

For a second they both stared at him, then Zae Zin Nim giggled and Omilaena relaxed back with another smirk. He sat back down and sighed.

"In all seriousness, isn't this worth investigating? If someone from the Masterful Crown clan did poison the Pureflower matriarch, they wouldn't do it through official channels. It seems more plausible that they would use clandestine means. Figuring out how the underbelly of the city works could be helpful."

"Honestly," Omilaena said, "I'm skeptical that they're responsible. But there could be better poisons there, or a connection to the Purple River sect, so I'm in."

"They might use the Dark Crown sect," Zae Zin Nim pointed out. "Hidden sects exist to perform actions that could not be done officially. However, I am also open to investigating."

It was decided just that easily: they left Floodisle City the next day, flying away from the island to the south. The banks around the lake were still filled with farms, outposts, and other signs of the city, so Kai felt as though he'd barely left. As they got further away from the outskirts he began to feel as though they were investigating new territory again, though the region was an unpleasant swamp.

Since clandestine meeting points didn't exactly put out signs, they needed to investigate the whole area. Omilaena had gathered some information about the general operations, but not exact time schedules, which were negotiated between buyer and seller. Rumor had it that another shipment would be coming in, which still left them with countless miles of territory to scout.

Kai was fully prepared to spend days on the search: they could trade off training or cultivating, so that just meant spending more time with his wives. There was no one to judge them out here, so in some ways it was better than the city. Zae Zin Nim groused about the lack of amenities at first before gradually softening up and enjoying herself, so the trip became increasingly pleasant.

And so Kai was almost disappointed when they spotted something just two days in.

"Is that a shroud?" Omilaena peered over one railing, so Kai moved to join her. The swamp was hazy with power that could be mistaken for symbols of spiritual sight at the wrong angle... but she was right, there was a shroud within the miasma.

"Found by their shroud?" Kai glanced over at her. "I can't sense anyone else, so would someone really use a shroud that's actively counter-productive?"

"The thing is, I can only make out one or two. There have to be more people, so my guess would be that most of them are invisible and they only have one or two making a mistake. It could be incompetence, or it could be something else..."

"Let's intercept them," Zae Zin Nim said.

Kai walked over to where she was seated and bent down. "Can we? I assume they've already noticed us, since we're a lot more obvious."

"Only someone with teleportation or an advanced flight technique could escape us, and if they had those, they wouldn't be traveling along the river. Let's just go get them."

Despite this strategy, they still flew down under the treeline, instead streaking along the river's path. Soon enough they spotted them: the camouflaged caravan moved alongside the river, being pulled by some sort of sacred beast that swam within it. The beast itself was camouflaged to spiritual sight, so it was a clever method of transportation, but now that he got close, the ropes were obvious.

As for the caravan itself, Kai could see that it contained a large number of cages carrying human beings. He couldn't see well through the trees, so he didn't recognize anyone... but he was sure that there were a few Krysali shrouds among them. The crystal cultivation shrouds were bulkier and stiffer than the native Cloudspire ones, so they stuck out enough to attract attention. What the hell was anyone from Deadwaste doing here?

Before he could investigate further, a force burst out of the trees... not from the caravan, from the opposite side of the river. Kai whirled to that side of the deck, ready to fight, but the group of cultivators swept up beside them on a swarm of flying swords. A full dozen, at least one Earth Soul... he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Are you really trying to traffic women?" The leader was a tall, handsome man who stared at Kai imperiously. "I honestly didn't believe it and expected this to be a waste of time. But it seems you really are scum."

"I don't know who you are." Kai shrugged and kept his hands at his sides, readying Tyrant's Claws.

"But I know you, barbarian."

Some of the cultivators in the group looked slightly familiar, but Kai didn't have much time to look at them because his attention was drawn by the leader's soul.

Name: ???

Total Power: 821

Cultivation: Earth Soul 90% (475)

Physique: E-0 (80)

Immortal Body (+150)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

Flowing Crown (+100)

>

The man had a total of 821 Power, which would be unremarkable except that he was only at Earth Soul. He was getting a huge percentage of his power from an Immortal Body and something called a Flying Crown... the conflict had just become a lot trickier.