Chapter 244: 308. Baishulin

“Sir Zhou Ye, can you spare a moment to talk?”

Now that the group was back on the move, Jia decided to see if she could gather some information to prepare for what was shaping up to be a rather treacherous final leg of their journey.

“How may I help you, Lady Ambassador?”

While most of the Austere Mountain group kept their distance, the acting commander was at least polite enough to entertain Jia’s curiosity.

“I wanted to ask about those fiends, if that’s alright. I’ve never encountered them before.”

“Hm. I can’t say I know much about them myself. We tracked them from the area surrounding the demonic enclave, thinking that the demons had allied with local beastkin and were using the beast waves as a distraction to infiltrate the empire.”

He gave her a meaningful look, and she smiled sweetly.

“I can assure you that no such alliance exists. The demons are as much of a problem for Goryeo and Yamato as they are for you. I’m curious about these ‘beast waves’ you speak of, though—is that a new thing? We encountered one in the south, ourselves.”

“It’s not unusual for groups of magic beasts to overrun their habitats in neglected areas of the wilderness, but they’ve been more frequent lately—and more focused. Most of them have been coming from the east, so we assume the demons are involved. Ascended beasts are a very new and concerning development, however.”

Jia frowned.

“Do you think the demons are raising them somehow?”

“Possibly. It’s not my place to speculate—only to destroy their demonic taint wherever I find it.”

It was a good thing that the balance of Jia and Eui’s cores currently favored her tennin core. Jia made a mental note to keep them as well-hidden as possible anyway, just to be safe. Though his mention of it reminded Jia of the first time she’d encountered Demon Hunters.

“Do you know Sovereign Shen?”

Zhou Ye looked askance at Jia, his face a stoic mask.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss matters pertaining to the emperor’s divine guest.”

There was still a lot of information in that non-answer, but Jia didn’t want to upset him by probing too much.

“Alright. Before I leave you alone, I wanted to confirm something—we’re headed to the Labyrinthine Forest of Unbreakable Threads, right?”

He nodded.

“You continue to surprise me with your knowledge of the empire. Yes, they are the administrators of the Baishulin province, and it will fall to them to establish the legitimacy of your presence here”

“Administrators? Not the rulers?”

Zhou Ye grimaced.

“By right, Baishulin belongs to the Great Austere Mountain Sect. However, some lesser sects have taken advantage of some obscure legal minutiae to contest this claim, and the imperial family has not seen fit to resolve the matter due to the Bai clan’s absurd petition to be recognized as a great sect.”

Jia raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t seem to think too highly of them. Should I be worried?”

“The Labyrinthine Forest are young upstarts relying on stolen gimmicks to quickly amass power. Their techniques are borderline demonic, and they have a poor reputation. However, their loyalty to the empire is without question—you can trust them to treat you fairly.”

‘Fairly’ being a relative term, considering the fact that they could ‘fairly’ throw any number of technically true allegations at her. Bai Lin knew full well that Eui was technically a demon. Besides, of course Zhou Ye wouldn’t admit to knowingly leading them to their doom.

“Well, thank you for the reassurances. Our journey has been quite long, and I’m looking forward to enjoying the Spiritual Flowing Purewater Sect’s hospitality.”

Jia bowed and began to turn away, but Zhou Ye called out to stop her.

“Actually, Lady Ambassador, I’d like a few answers myself.”

She turned back and offered another bow.

“Of course. That much is only fair.”

Zhou Ye glanced at Master Ienaga, hesitating.

“The barbarian in red—is she truly a xiantian martial artist? I doubted you at first, but after seeing her technique...”

“I’d ask you not to speak of my master that way, but yes. The only one in the world, to my knowledge—though I suspect that precedent will be ending within our generation.”

“Truly? That’s rather troubling news. A new generation of fighters like her would represent a grave threat to the empire.”

Jia crossed her arms.

“It doesn’t have to be like that. We’re here on a mission of peace, aren’t we?”

“Perhaps so, but you came in force. Two xiantian fighters is already a considerable show of force, but that girl who destroyed the scorpion creature—she’s dangerous. I’ve never seen a power like that, but there’s no doubt in my mind it’s demonic.”

Eui’s cackling laughter resounded through her mental link with Jia.

“Hehehe! Let me talk to him!”

“Absolutely not! You’re staying as far away from the Demon Hunters as possible, especially after an accusation like that!”

Jia smiled stiffly at Zhou Ye.

“What makes you say that? Eui’s power is certainly destructive, but she comes by it honestly and trains hard to keep it from destroying herself or her allies. We—she kept you safe, didn’t she?”

Zhou Ye frowned, glancing back in Eui’s general direction where she was helping to carry Jung’s litter.

“Perhaps. But a Yin qi that powerful can’t help but twist its user from the inside. I warn you—she is a walking disaster waiting to happen. I will respect your status as foreign diplomats, but know that if I ever encountered such corruption festering within the empire, I would cut it out at the root.”

Jia pursed her lips, suddenly no longer interested in continuing the conversation.

“I’ll take that under advisement. Farewell, Sir Zhou Ye.”

 

---

 

The group traversed the rest of the pass without incident, finding a starkly different landscape on the other side. The sect town was instantly recognizable by the way everything was precisely arranged to artistic specification. If there was anything Jia had learned in her travels through Qin, it was that cultivators were extremely prideful.

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The streets were lined with perfectly trimmed white trees, their leaves turned yellow and red by the cool autumn air. Despite the autumn colors, the streets were kept completely clear of fallen leaves. Such an immaculate presentation couldn’t have been managed by mortals alone.

“Sir Zhou Ye, is this where the Labyrinthine Forest is based? It’s a lovely city, but I was expecting something grander from the provincial lords.”

Zhou Ye glanced at Jia and grunted in acknowledgement.

“This is Huishan. Technically, it’s not the home of the Labyrinthine Forest, but rather one of their branches. Great sects—and those that aspire to greatness—will have such branches all around their home province. In some cases, even throughout the entire empire. The Great Awakening Dragon Sect is particularly prolific.”

Jia chuckled uneasily.

“Well, I haven’t had the fortune to encounter any of them in my travels so far.”

“I see. In any case, the branch leaders will likely want to take you to the provincial capital to be vetted by the main branch.”

What an opportunity! Jia carefully controlled her expression and tone as she inquired further.

“Oh? We were hoping to proceed north to Qingchuan at the earliest opportunity—which direction is the main branch in?”

“A bit of a detour, I’m afraid. The Bai clan is headquartered on the eastern edge of the province. Still further north than we are now, but the way to Qingchuan is actually slightly west.”

“Well, that’s troubling...”

Jia frowned performatively—this was excellent news! She would have to confer with Princess Seong Misun to work the new development into their plans. Zhou Ye tipped his head in a tiny apologetic bow.

“My apologies, but we cannot be too careful with foreigners.”

“Of course. I’ll have to discuss it with the Princess so that it doesn’t come as a surprise to her—excuse me.”

Jia bowed and bit the commander farewell, rushing over to Misun who didn’t hesitate to weave a privacy spell as she approached. She crossed her arms and regarded Jia archly.

“Well?”

“They are taking us to a branch. Technically it’s still the Labyrinthine Forest Sect, but the main leadership is going to be all the way back in their headquarters to the northeast, which would be a significant detour from our route—are you thinking what I am?”

Misun scoffed.

“I pray to our ancestors that I never think as you do, Lee Jia. Get to the point.”

“If you raise a stink about the detour, maybe we can strong-arm the leaders here into taking us straight to Qingchuan, then we bypass the Bai clan entirely and prevent them from causing us any trouble.”

“Hm, not bad. Throwing my weight around like that might burn us some goodwill, but I get the impression that these are already our enemies, yes?”

Jia’s expression hardened, recalling the way Bai Lin had laughed while mutilating Eui during their duel.

“Unequivocally. I don’t think there’s anything to be gained by forming a relationship with the Labyrinthine Forest of Unbreakable Threads.”

Misun nodded.

“Then I’ll do my best to factor that into my upcoming performance.”

The privacy spell fell just in time for Jia to hear Zhou Ye calling back to them.

“We’re almost there. Everyone please stay close together as we enter the sect grounds—there are formalities to observe.”

Jia moved up to his side, planning to act as a herald for Seong Misun, and got a good look at the sect’s main gate.

The gate was more of a formality than a barrier. Two giant birch trees marked the entrance to a dense white forest. The gate was partially grown out of the two trees it sat between, built out into what Jia had come to think of as a typically showy entrance to the sect. The forest itself was magically enhanced, and Jia could sense a powerful formation surrounding it.

“That’s unusual. I thought most sects preferred mountains.”

Zhou Ye grimaced.

“Typically, yes. The Bai clan are strange ones—they have reserved mountain territories, but they only maintain training outposts there. Their main sects are always in forests like this one, which they somehow cultivate into these monstrous white trees.”

Jia regarded the forest curiously, extending as much of her domain as she could without intruding on the formation. What she sensed surprised her.

“Oh! It’s a leyline nexus!”

Zhou Ye looked askance at her.

“Pardon?”

“Uh, nevermind. Just talking to myself.”

While essence existed throughout the world in the form of mana, not all mana was created equal. Throughout Jia’s travels, she’d been able to personally confirm what she’d been taught in the academy—that the elemental balance, density, and flow of mana varied wildly between locations.

Qin’s cultivators traditionally fought over tall mountains in order to build their sects there because of a higher mana density. Traditionalists would say it’s because the mountaintops were closer to heaven, but whatever the actual reason was, it was true that high altitudes were a reliable way to find higher densities of mana. But they weren’t the only way.

Particularly strong currents of balanced mana were known as ‘leylines” by Goryeon mages, and they built their colleges and cities on places where those leylines converged to create the great masses of mana that powered their powerful shield formations—leyline nexuses.

What made the academy’s Forbidden Mountain so remarkable was that it had both a formidable peak and a particularly dense leyline nexus.

The Bai clan had apparently taken a page out of Goryeo’s handbook and built their sects on leyline nexuses instead of mountains. Jia wasn’t sure what to make of that.

While she was lost in thought, the group had been ushered through the gate and right up to the large temple in the center of the forest. They were met by an orderly line of third-stage cultivators in black and white robes that reminded Jia of the birch trees surrounding them.

The cultivators bowed, and Jia returned the greeting, allowing the hosts to speak first.

“Greetings, honored guests! We have been expecting your arrival, and prepared a suitable welcome to entertain you.”

Jia frowned, keeping her face hidden behind her sleeves. What was this? She glanced at Zhou Ye next to her, but he was caught off guard just as much as she was. The greeter continued, heedless of her consternation.

“Allow me to first introduce your host during your stay here. None other than the scion of our Great Labyrinthine Forest of Unbreakable Threads—Lady Bai Lin herself!”

A cold sweat ran down Jia’s neck as the doors to the temple opened to reveal Bai Lin, who stepped out and regarded them with narrow eyes and a cruel smirk.

“Well well, look what fate has decided to leave on my doorstep...”

Jia gritted her teeth, internally swearing furiously. Perhaps Misun was on to something about that curse.