Stella finished her dash across the mountain peak and paused in the White Stone Palace courtyard. Despite the fight last night, groups of Redclaw youngsters were silently cultivating, so Stella made sure not to disturb them and made her way over to the destroyed half of the palace.
"You see, I told you it got destroyed!"
Stella heard the Grand Elder ranting at somebody as she exited a portal and saw Elder Mo staring at the scorched earth and rubble beside the Grand Elder with a look of disbelief.
"You're telling me a group of Merchants did all this?" Elder Mo glanced around while scratching his balding head, "What affinities were they?"
"Spatial, light and darkness," Stella answered, and both men turned to look at her.
"Ah, Mistress Stella, I'm glad to see you are alright after last night's chaos," The Grand Elder said sincerely as he walked over, "I apologize for not coming to help sooner as I was deep in cultivation and didn't expect them to attack with the immortal overlooking the meeting."
Stella shook her head, "Neither did we, but those ruthless bastards were after the earrings the immortal gifted me as a child and never had plans to conduct business with us. So we were rather caught off guard."
"I still don't see how those three could cause all this," Elder Mo commented as he walked over while keeping his eyes on the destruction, "Maybe an earth and fire cultivator could do this. But the three affinities you listed don't match the destruction. Spatial is best for transport and assassinations, as is darkness. Great affinities for delving into rifts because even if they get injured or caught out, the light cultivator could offer healing and shields. But they aren't affinities I would associate with complete destruction."
"They were a formidable group for sure," Stella agreed as she glanced at the White Stone Palace that looked like it had been hit by a meteor, "The immortal killed the spatial mage a second into the battle, and we would have disposed of the other two as well but Lucius, the light cultivator, started to harness the power of a sun god and could blast us with powerful light attacks. And if that wasn't bad enough, Nox used some artifact that locked the immortal out from assisting us."
"Ah! It's all making far more sense now," Elder Mo nodded to himself, "Well, this looks like a nightmare to deal with, so I'll be off to the forge, and I'll have to postpone my peaceful walk to later this evening. What a bother..."
"Just a moment. I have something for the both of you to do." Stella said, and both men paused.
"How may I be of service, Mistress?" The Grand Elder asked, and Elder Mo waited there patiently.
"This part of the palace was being left empty for the cultivators we plan to bring into the sect from the academy and elsewhere, right?"
"Indeed," The Grand Elder nodded.
"Well, we need to start getting those cultivators moved in and trained up," Stella said, "If that battle last night taught us anything, it's that we need more people. So can you go and fetch Douglas from Darklight City and bring him back here? He has a lot of work to do."
"As you wish, Mistress," The Grand Elder smiled as he summoned a sword to fly on and also a cloak to cover up his shredded clothes from his battle with the wolves. Without further delay, he hopped on the levitating sword and took off in a blazing trail of crimson flames toward Darklight City.
"Now that foolish old man is gone, how can I assist you, Mistress Stella?" Elder Mo asked respectfully.
Stella summoned her sword in its sheath. "I was wondering if Elder Mo could use his spirit fire to empower my sword?"
Elder Mo stepped forward and gestured for her to hand him the sword. Once he grasped it, he withdrew the black-tinted blade from the obsidian leather sheath adorned with a golden star pattern and whistled in awe as he held it carefully and marveled at its craftsmanship, "This is a darn well-made blade you have here and bloody expensive too."
"The immortal gifted it to me a while ago," Stella said casually and didn't mention they had looted it for free, "I agree it's a beautiful blade, but when I tried to cut through Nox while she was shrouded in armor of darkness, I could not cut through."
Elder Mo stopped inspecting the blade and looked at her funny, "What cultivation realm was this Nox person?"
"Ninth stage Star Core, I believe... why?"
"And what time of the day was it?"
"Dusk, transitioning to night."
Elder Mo stared at her blankly.
"What?" Stella asked, crossing her hands below her chest and not enjoying Elder Mo's deadpan stare.
"There's nothing wrong with the blade, Mistress," Elder Mo eventually replied, "But there might be with your head!"
Stella narrowed her eyes, "What are you suggesting."
"Look, what you are asking for is basically impossible," Elder Mo quickly changed the subject, "It's like telling a mortal with a shovel to dig through solid rock and then getting confused when they fail. There's nothing wrong with the shovel. It's just not going to happen..."
"What if the shovel was empowered with Qi?" Stella countered.
"But the example was with a mortal."
"I'm not a mortal, though," Stella replied and pointed at her sword in Elder Mo's hands, "and that isn't a shovel."
"Look, I gave that metaphor for a reason," Elder Mo sighed, "Even if I empower your sword with spirit fire, you still can't cut a god in half. Just like a mortal can't shovel through a mountain... you know what, never mind. What is it you want me to do?"
Stella grinned, "See, there we go! I just want the sword to always cut. No matter what. If I can get the blade to someone's neck, I want it to cut through."
"Yeah... no." Elder Mo handed Stella back her sword. Ghostly flames appeared in his hand, and he gazed into it, "Spirit fire is exactly as it sounds. It's a fire that contains my spirit will, vigor, and life experiences. I can condense it and hammer it into a weapon. So when you wield a blade imbued with my spirit fire, it's like it contains a piece of me."
He then snuffed out the ghostly flame and put his hands behind his back. His deep gaze met Stella's, and she almost flinched away due to how serious he looked, "I have not cut that which cannot be cut. That is something in the realms of sword dao or a talent one could acquire from an immortal swordsman's inheritance, as to cut that which cannot be cut means to cut all—even time and the fabric of reality itself."
Stella fell deep into thought. Cutting time is most certainly out of my capabilities, but the fabric of reality... now that's something I could possibly achieve as a spatial cultivator with time and practice.
Before she knew it, she gave Elder Mo a brief bow, "Thank you for this teaching. It has given me a lot to think about."
Elder Mo gave a hearty chuckle, "The young always make the most outrageous requests, and it's the duty of the old to guide them on the correct path. If you are willing, I can imbue the sword with my battle spirit or intuition, but I would ask you to wait until after my cultivation has stepped into the Star Core Realm so I can offer you the best I can."
I don't think I want a piece of Elder Mo inside this majestic sword Ashlock gifted me anymore. But I could give him one of my spare swords just so I can see if having his level of intuition can let me hone my swordsmanship some more.
"That would be great, and I'm sure you will be at the Star Core Realm by the end of the month," Stella said, "The Mystic Realm opens in ten days, after all."
"Oh, how fun," Elder Mo grinned, "I wonder if anyone else will find an inheritance this time." He gave a short bow, "This chat has been pleasant, Mistress Stella, and I wish you good luck on cutting that which cannot be cut, but I must leave now, or the forge will grow cold."
Stella waved the old man off as he gave one last look at the scorched rubble and then vanished into the White Stone Palace.
"Oh, Stella! There you are," A familiar voice called across the mountain peak.
"Elder Margret—" Stella said as she turned and then paused. It took a moment for her to understand what she was seeing, but then she remembered firmly placing the skin improvement truffle into Elder Margret's hand the last time they saw each other.
"You look... different," Stella said with a strained smile, "A little too different, but a good different!"
Elder Margret, who had Sebastian in tow, shook her head and laughed a little at Stella's nonsense, "I know just how you feel as I felt the same way when I looked at myself in a mirror after eating that truffle you gave me. I almost thought I had died and returned to when I was in my thirties."
"Oh, you know who you remind me of?" Stella tapped her chin as she looked at Elder Margret up and down.
"Don't tell me it's Amber..."
"Amber."
Elder Margret rolled her eyes, "I've heard that all morning, and let me tell you, being called 'an older Amber' is not the compliment people think it is."
"It's just so true though!" Stella laughed, "You look like her mother."
"We aren't that closely related," Elder Margret shook her head. Her short crimson hair went in her eyes, so she reached up and tucked it behind her ear, "There are so many generations between us I don't even know what I would be to her, to be honest... anyway, we are getting off track, and I have a lot to sort out today," Elder Margret then stepped aside and gave Stella a full view of a beaten up but alive Sebastian Silverspire.
Stella raised a brow, "Yes?"
"The deal with the merchants may have fallen through, but you still gave them pills in the name of the Ashfallen Trading Company and received payment in a roundabout way," Sebastian said calmly, "I just wanted to inquire when Ryker and I may receive our rightful fifteen percent share of this payment?"
"What payment?" Stella asked, genuinely confused.
"The spatial rings," Sebastian replied, "You did seize the spatial rings from the Merchant corpses, right?"
Oh, they want a share of the loot? Hmmm. Diana isn't here right now, but she would know what to do. I wasn't the one supposed to be handling payments anyway.
"You can ask Diana—"
"We just want a share of the Spirit Stones and Crowns. Any artifacts or other items in the ring are yours to keep," Sebastian gave a weary smile, "Considering my contribution in the fight last night, and also the Silverspire name being overused, justifies at least this much? I don't see plans for another distributor for the pills lined up anytime soon, and Ryker won't have a chance to win the inheritance war if we earn nothing for months to come."
Stella was really finding it hard to say no when looking at the beaten-up man, and what he said was reasonable.
"Fine, but don't tell Diana," Stella said in a hushed tone as she brought out the spatial rings she had spent all night and a lot of Qi breaking into and guesstimated around fifteen percent of the spirit stones and Crowns and then handed the pile to Sebastian.
Sebastian graciously accepted the pile like a true butler. He didn't even comment on its rather pathetic size as the Merchants hadn't carried much money on them, which further cemented Stella's theory that they never planned to buy any pills in the first place!
"Thank you, Stella, I appreciate this," Sebastian said as he stowed away the riches. "I will return to my room and recoup from the battle now."
"I could probably get you a healer if you need," Stella suggested, but Sebastian waved her off.
"No need. These wounds will heal within the next few days. If that is all, I will be off."
Stella shrugged, "If you say so. Oh! Say hello to Ryker for me."
"Sure thing," Sebastian said as he walked off with a stream of silver orbiting his waist.
"By the way, Stella, Kane Azurecrest was wondering if he could meet you and discuss pills?" Elder Margret asked.
"I want to take a break from pills for now," Stella said as she unsheathed her sword and gazed at her reflection in the polished metal, "Perhaps after the Mystic Realm? I would be down to talk to him then... but for now, I want to hone my swordsmanship and further my cultivation."
"Sure, I understand," Elder Margret smiled, "It's always good to switch it up sometimes. I will tell Kane what you said and return to my duties."
Stella nodded, watched Elder Margret vanish into the White Stone Palace, and then sighed. Anytime she thought about alchemy, she got a flashback to seeing the Merchant's enthusiastic faces while trying her creations and then trying to kill her a moment later.
Pills are great, but I could have died last night if I was even a little weaker or didn't have my bloodline power. Stella surveyed the destruction with a heavy heart. This could have been her grave if Nox hadn't been so restricted in her techniques due to Lucius. She needed to get actually stronger, and spending days on end in a dark cavern creating pills wasn't going to get her there.
"What in the fucking nine realms of HELL happened here?" Douglas shouted in the distance, and Stella couldn't help but chuckle as she saw the Grand Elder bring Douglas and Elaine back from the city.
The three jumped off, and the Grand Elder waved his hand to retrieve the sword.
"Hey Stella, how are you?" Elaine asked while Douglas stood gobsmacked in the background.
"Exhausted and a little distraught, but still have all my limbs, so can't be too sorry for myself. What about you? Been busy?"
"Oh... nothing as dramatic as you clearly," Elaine laughed, but Stella could see bags of exhaustion under her eyes, ruining her pretty face!
"Class is much more lively, and people pay attention and ask me questions now, which is nice," Elaine groaned, "I just wish they wouldn't also try to get on my good side all the time. Like when I eat or walk around, I get flocked. I've started to ask Douglas to walk with me to keep them off, but that just started annoying rumors..."
"That sounds like a battlefield of its own," Stella patted Elaine on the shoulder, "I heard from the immortal that school can be a torturous affair for both student and teacher."
"Thanks...?" Elaine replied, "I thankfully got the day off today, though, so I decided to come and check out what happened here with Douglas."
They both turned to look at Douglas, who was walking around in disbelief and kicking at the scorched rubble while having his hands clasped behind his head and looking on the verge of a breakdown.
He then paused and crouched down and seemed to be poking something, "Is this fucking Geb? What happened to him?!" He shouted over his shoulder at Stella.
"Oh, he got punched by a demi-god," Stella laughed, "Dead as a pile of rocks, I'm afraid."
"That's not good at all," Douglas groaned as he stood, "Geb was made from Roderick Terraforge's soul. If he is dead and his soul has departed, the Grand Elder of my family also knows of his death because of a soul-tracking artifact attached to all scions."
Stella cursed under her breath, "God damn it. We arrested Roderick at the alchemy tournament in front of everyone..."
"It might be fine for a while," Douglas half reassured, "The Terraforge family is far from here, and they would need to pass through the territories of both the Voidmind and Skyrend families, which isn't going to happen without issues."
"Stella!"
What now? Stella grumbled. She had come here just to have a quick conversation with Elder Mo! What is with all these people wanting to talk to her?
A large shadow shrouded in a fog barely landed in front of her without falling over, and as the mist cleared, Stella saw Diana with her raven wings spread out and looking terribly distressed.
"Stella, it was awful!" Diana said so quickly she mumbled her words, "I woke up and then met Maple's siblings, then learned I am part of some ancient clan that I can't mention the name of, and now Ashlock is stuck in a pocket realm of spatial Qi and asked me to get you."
"Wait, what?" Stella blinked in confusion. Maple's family? Ancient clan? Pocket realm?
I was literally gone for half an hour. Stella thought as she clicked a portal into existence. How could so much have happened?