The month of travel to the Southern Rivers was honestly a relief, not solely from the warfare but from being entangled with other people and organizations. They had to stop occasionally, but otherwise it was just the three of them, almost like their honeymoon on Darkmist Island again. That suggested sex, but the biggest factor for Kai was just their presence, the ability to talk and train together with the women he loved, without interruption.
Not that there wasn't sex. Before their marriage, he had been worried that dual cultivation was going to involve a lot of weird rituals, but mostly it just meant sharing their energy while being intimate. They'd maximized the value during their honeymoon, but now that they had all grown further, they could benefit again. For example, Zae Zin Nim could take qi from Omilaena for her own cultivation and the act didn't require anything specific... as much as Omilaena might claim otherwise.
That was only a small benefit, however, and they all had their own tasks to focus on. None of them had imminent breakthroughs except for Physique, which continued to loom over them in stalled form. For his part, Kai wanted to keep increasing his monstrous strength to match his human advancements. There weren't any convenient monsters, but he could train his essence and try to strengthen it.
He sat cross-legged by the front, sorting through all the monstrous essence in his soul. His new Manticore's Quill ability was useful, but he hadn't used it enough to raise it beyond beta rank. Just shooting at nothing hadn't accomplished much aside from improving his aim, so maybe he needed live targets.
While he navigated himself, the women were cultivating at the side of the ship. It seemed to be going fine until Omilaena groaned and flopped back onto the deck.
"This is interminable. Cultivation is the worst."
"I thought you said Physique training was the worst," Zae Zin Nim pointed out.
"That is also the worst." Omilaena rolled over onto her side to address them both. "Your chosen methods are all so repetitive. Physical training insists that you have to lift a thousand rocks, cultivation is just sitting in a thousand caves."
"Then... then chakra training is just engaging in a thousand acts of sex."
"If you mean a thousand different people, that'd be a challenging path to power." Omilaena suddenly shot across the deck, wrapping herself around Zae Zin Nim's back to embrace her from behind. "But if you mean a thousand times, well, I haven't been counting, so why don't we start at zero?"
"You are insatiable." Zae Zin Nim squirmed in her arms, but she didn't try to squirm away. And if she wasn't cultivating at that moment, the more relaxed atmosphere seemed to have done her progress a lot of good.
Kai smiled from his position but didn't join in. If he'd told himself years ago that these two women would end up being so comfortable with one another, he never would have believed it. Zae Zin Nim even fought back with her own teasing on occasion, which delighted Omilaena every time. She stuck close to cultivator propriety in public, but it was great to see her stretching herself in private.
If not for the threats hanging over them, he would have been happy to spend his life . But they needed to keep training, and to make progress they needed to gain new resources, so they continued into the Southern Rivers region.
Though the Western Wilds hadn't been as much of a desert as the reputation suggested, it was absolutely desolate compared to the Southern Rivers. As they crossed over the barrier the trees gathered into forests, a green sea that extended in all directions. After another day of travel, the forests were interrupted by a riot of color: rivers snaked through the trees, and all along its banks new plants blossomed in dozens of colors.
"Not that one." Zae Zin Nim spoke as she came up behind him and clasped his arm to lean against. "I don't remember all the names, but the westernmost rivers are slower and wilder. We want a civilized main channel that will take us to the heart of the region."
"How soon do we see people?" Omilaena asked. "Not a lot out here except plants and normal animals."
"There are many alchemical ingredients here, so I think parties go out to search for them. Normally this part is empty... I think the closest civilization would be straight east, to the Heavenly Waterfall sect. But they don't like outsiders, and we have no reason to visit them." 𝘳𝔞Νȏ𝐁Ê𝘚
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
As Kai broadly understood from the maps, the Southern Rivers covered the broad southern swath of Cloudspire. Despite the name, it wasn't all covered in rivers: water flowed from the central mountains into various streams that combined into rivers that were truly massive and poured into the ocean. But along the way, there were countless forests, jungles, and other regions.
Allegedly the southwestern and southeastern areas had different cultures, though he hadn't been able to find out much about that. The Bloodcoral archives he'd read were mostly interested in coastal monsters and ships. But there was no point using them as guides when he had Zae Zin Nim with him.
"So which direction do we head?" Kai asked. "I'll cut southeast for now."
"We need to find one of the faster western rivers, because they all merge together at a place named Floodisle City," Zae Zin Nim said. "It's ruled by the Masterful Crown clan, so it should get us in the right neighborhood. That would also be a proper cultivator city... I've never visited, but I heard it was the most prestigious city in the Southern Rivers. You've seen a few impressive things, but Cloudspire has much better to offer."
"Provided that we can pass." Omilaena come up on Zae Zin Nim's other side and leaned on her head. "I imagine we'll be under a lot more scrutiny here."
"Yes, but it should not be a problem. Both of you have a strong, if unorthodox, cultivation base, so few would imagine the truth. And if anyone doubts Kai's history, he can take off his shirt to show that horrible thing."
"I approve of Kai taking off his shirt as a general solution to problems."
"I must disagree, while that manticore exists."
Once they reached a river that satisfied Zae Zin Nim, they lowered their ship down to the water. He wasn't sure how it would work, since flying vessels were generally daintier than ocean-going ships, but it floated easily on the water. As promised, the current was surprisingly fast, so they began speeding south with no concerns except fallen trees or other obstacles.
He actually wished that they would have a problem. A giant alligator, maybe, or some river bandits, or anything that would let him fight. When Omilaena called that they were under attack, Kai burst onto the deck, ready and eager.
His gaze immediately fell on a school of bright fish swarming toward them. Most importantly, they registered as monsters in his vision.
Monster: Cloud Piranha
Kai practically hurled himself over the edge and enjoyed the impact as he hit the water. Given their river path, he had Sahagin's Soul prepared at all times, so as soon as he was partially submerged, he shot forward. The fish tried to swarm him and he actually laughed out loud into the water.
It was fun, yes, but it was also over all too soon. Back when he'd first arrived on Rosemount he'd been able to fight a swarm of Rose Piranhas, and he was far stronger than he had been then. His speed was far greater, they couldn't pierce his skin, and the only damage they did to his clothes was repaired by the Beggar King's Robes.
When Kai leapt back up on deck, he had a whole armful of dead piranhas in his arms. He'd eaten plenty under the water, tearing them in half or swallowing them whole, but the sight of monsters had awakened a different sort of hunger. Not the deepest one, just a nostalgia for the old flavors.
"Really?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "We have plenty of supplies."
"Yeah, but I feel like eating monsters," Kai said. "And I doubt they'll let us do that sort of thing once we reach Floodisle City, so this is the time."
He set up an old-fashioned fire beneath a spit, even used the fire stone he'd purchased back in Goralia - it was still sitting around in a corner of his spatial ring, unused. When the fire wasn't quite enough for the qi-dense fish, he blew a little wisp of Baleful Breath to make sure they were done.
The first one tasted surprisingly good and he closed his eyes as he savored it. There was nothing stopping him from eating the fish raw, but he liked the taste when they had all their toxins and corruptions burned away.
To his surprise, Zae Zin Nim approached and sat down on his leg, then took a fish of her own. She nibbled on it at first, then finished the entire thing and nodded in satisfaction.
"It may not be fine dining," she said, "but it is strangely satisfying. I remember when this was all we had to eat."
"Right?" Kai wrapped one arm around her and held her closer while they both took another fish.
Omilaena approached skeptically, sniffed at the fire, then gingerly took one. "I remember these being absolutely awful," she said as she bit into it. "Not fit for human consumption. But this... actually, this isn't bad. I doubt you've become a masterful cook or anything, so I wonder what changed."
"Could it be a fundamental shift?" Kai asked. "Maybe exposure to me made you more compatible with monstrous power, even if just a little."
"I was going to say it's because I've gotten so much practice eating one particular monster that I've gotten used to the taste."
Zae Zin Nim threw a fish at her face, but Omilaena caught it out of the air with her teeth. She danced closer and sat on Kai's other side, trying to feed Zae Zin Nim the fish with her mouth, which prompted protests at first and then laughter. Kai joined in and they enjoyed the crude but gratifying meal. If they could have continued like that, he would have been happy.
But the next day they began to see other ships along the river, and great walls on the horizon. The sound of flowing water increased as multiple rivers came together into a great lake, with the city of Floodisle City rising high over it, larger than any Kai had ever seen.
They had finally arrived and it was time for their preparations to be truly tested.