Chapter 262
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Chapter 262
Some time later, Anton found himself back in Graotan. Not at the Order, or anywhere hed focused on teaching cultivators. Hed been to Carran a few times before, and while he had technically done some teaching about cultivation while he was there that wasnt the main reason for visiting. The main reason was visiting family. This time that definition would be expanding, at least in the official sense. Unofficially, everyone involved was already family.
Yes, while he might visit occasionally this time his trip to Catarina and Timothys hometown was for one simple reason- a wedding.
It had been a long time coming, even by the standards of cultivators. A full decade might have passed for those who met later in life, but Catarina and Timothy knew each other basically their entire lives. Timothys entire reason to cultivate had been to stay with Catarina, so it wasnt a surprise in any way. They were just slow about it.
Anton was with Flora and Jasper, Catarinas parents. The path leading to Flora had been on the shorter end of generations, so she had technically been Antons first great-granddaughter- not Annelie. He just hadnt known it. It was funny how, given enough time, generations could sort of flip on their head.
Its about time, Flora said. I thought I was going to be an old woman before Timothy proposed.
Instead of mentioning that both herself and her husband were slightly more youthful now than when hed first met them, due to their progress into late Body Tempering, Anton played along. You know they can hear you, right? he grinned.
Good, Flora held her head up. Because they were making me worried.
You know, Jasper leaned in conspiratorially, I heard that Catarina was the one who finally proposed. He turned to Anton, What do you know about that?
Anton shrugged. Well, I suppose you could ask them. It was, in fact, technically true that Catarina had been the one to make the proposal of marriage. It was just that Timothy had been setting up a whole big plan about it, probably too much as those plans never seemed to get completed. That resulted in Catarina asking when they were out on a mission protecting a village from some particularly troublesome beasts, instead of Timothy asking when they returned.
Well, its fine, Flora smiled. But how long do you think it will be before I get grandchildren?
I suppose thats up to them, Anton said. The current times of relative peace were probably the best they were going to get, but things could change at any moment. But then again, they could have a significant period of peace. During Antons century of life before he became a cultivator, he had rarely heard of any large scale conflicts between cultivators. The recent events in Ofrurg would have been the sort to come to his attention, even if it wasnt directly affecting Dungannon.
-----
The actual ceremony was relatively simple. The only extraordinary thing about it was the variety of people who showed up from various surrounding countries. Ayotunde happened to be in the area, and many other cultivators the pair had interacted with came. That included a member of the family who had never encountered Catarinas parents. Annelie made her way over from the Frostmirror Sect. While her general activities might be monitored by the sect, it was no more than any other member. They simply had vested interests in knowing where their valuable members were, in case something happened to them.
The only thing extraordinary about the wedding was the quality of the feast afterwards. Even the local vegetables and chicken provided by the Rileys were exceptional, as they used energy to enhance their work in the fields which ultimately made its way into the animal feed. At the current moment their cultivations were higher than most of those working in the fields at the Order had been, at least when Anton first arrived. Enthusiasm for the work had improved over the past decade, and Elder Howland had some more regular workers at higher cultivation levels- along with Hoyt and Anton, of course.
Im glad to help, Anton said. But Im just one more person tending to some trees. You all know more about these than I do.
Youre not here for that, specifically, Lev commented. Youre here for something dangerous. More dangerous. Theres a big old grandfather willow out in the woods. We sometimes make trips there, but weve rarely gotten some good time studying it. Since its the basis of our cultivation technique, a trip might improve individual cultivations or allow for changes to the technique as a whole. Or we might learn how to grow bigger plants, Lev shrugged. It would be very helpful to have a strong cultivator like yourself present on a trip, especially with your ranged capabilities.
A grandfather willow, huh? Anton squinted as he looked into the distance. And its much bigger than the rest? I havent really seen anything like that.
Its not all that close to the sect, Lev said. About fifty kilometers. And the particular terrain makes it a lot more subtle.
Alright then, Anton nodded. So the goal is to, what, spend as much time as possible in the area, study the tree?
And the other plants around it. Maybe some of them contribute to its growth, or it was just lucky. Either way, its a good training spot for members of the Grasping Willow. Just not a safe one, or wed have set up the sect there.
-----
Elder Varela had been around mid Spirit Building when Anton had first encountered him. Now the man was only stepping into late Spirit Building all this time later. Meanwhile, Lev had already surpassed him and was one of two Essence Collection members going along for the trip. The rest were mostly Spirit Building disciples, with a few peak Body Tempering disciples as well. In total, there were about twenty people going.
Elder Evo was the other Essence Collection cultivator, and along with Lev he represented the best that the Grasping Willows had to offer. They were much smaller than the order, and had no Life Transformation cultivators at the moment. They might yet have one in Lev, though it would probably be another thirty or so years before he would reach it, if he had the knack. Lev certainly had talent and motivation, but people reached their limits in between stages of cultivation for many different reasons. Life Transformation was a big barrier that the majority of cultivators would never surpass even with limitless resources.
Anton wasnt sure if they were technically still in the Mossythorn Timberland. Theyd been walking for most of a day, keeping pace with the Body Tempering cultivators. He supposed what the area was called hardly mattered unless he was planning to make a map.
The important change in scenery was the increase in grasping willows. While the sect had intentionally planted the troublesome trees in greater abundance near them as a combined defensive measure and cultivation aid, their current location was more natural. The plant-aligned cultivations of the others kept them from being attacked, and Anton was too strong for the plants to cause real damage to, but there were other annoyances as well.
Actual mossythorn vines, for example. They didnt look like much, but if you walked through a patch of them you would find yourself with a myriad of tiny little thorns poking into you. Unlike western creeper they didnt ignore defensive energy, but it was still something that needed to be avoided.
There were myriad poisonous plants, though most of them were only troublesome if ingested. The rest had pollen that needed to be avoided, but everyone present knew how to filter their lungs if necessary. Aside from a few other things, all they had to worry about were the beasts that could live in such a place. They ranged from small stinging insects and venomous snakes to bears the size of houses and snakes able to swallow a man whole.
Anton was able to lead them around most of the problems as they headed down into the valley that was part of the reason the grandfather willow hadnt been visible from twenty kilometers away. He could see it now, still overtopping everything else even with its position deep in the valley. Given its size if it had been on relatively the same height compared to the Grasping Willow sect, he could have at least seen hints of it from there. The furthest branches were already overhanging them from kilometers away, drooping along the ground. Anton was very cautious of those, because while he would almost certainly be able to free himself it would be much more difficult than the more modest sized specimens.
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Chapter 262
Some time later, Anton found himself back in Graotan. Not at the Order, or anywhere hed focused on teaching cultivators. Hed been to Carran a few times before, and while he had technically done some teaching about cultivation while he was there that wasnt the main reason for visiting. The main reason was visiting family. This time that definition would be expanding, at least in the official sense. Unofficially, everyone involved was already family.
Yes, while he might visit occasionally this time his trip to Catarina and Timothys hometown was for one simple reason- a wedding.
It had been a long time coming, even by the standards of cultivators. A full decade might have passed for those who met later in life, but Catarina and Timothy knew each other basically their entire lives. Timothys entire reason to cultivate had been to stay with Catarina, so it wasnt a surprise in any way. They were just slow about it.
Anton was with Flora and Jasper, Catarinas parents. The path leading to Flora had been on the shorter end of generations, so she had technically been Antons first great-granddaughter- not Annelie. He just hadnt known it. It was funny how, given enough time, generations could sort of flip on their head.
Its about time, Flora said. I thought I was going to be an old woman before Timothy proposed.
Instead of mentioning that both herself and her husband were slightly more youthful now than when hed first met them, due to their progress into late Body Tempering, Anton played along. You know they can hear you, right? he grinned.
Good, Flora held her head up. Because they were making me worried.
You know, Jasper leaned in conspiratorially, I heard that Catarina was the one who finally proposed. He turned to Anton, What do you know about that?
Anton shrugged. Well, I suppose you could ask them. It was, in fact, technically true that Catarina had been the one to make the proposal of marriage. It was just that Timothy had been setting up a whole big plan about it, probably too much as those plans never seemed to get completed. That resulted in Catarina asking when they were out on a mission protecting a village from some particularly troublesome beasts, instead of Timothy asking when they returned.
Well, its fine, Flora smiled. But how long do you think it will be before I get grandchildren?
I suppose thats up to them, Anton said. The current times of relative peace were probably the best they were going to get, but things could change at any moment. But then again, they could have a significant period of peace. During Antons century of life before he became a cultivator, he had rarely heard of any large scale conflicts between cultivators. The recent events in Ofrurg would have been the sort to come to his attention, even if it wasnt directly affecting Dungannon.
-----
The actual ceremony was relatively simple. The only extraordinary thing about it was the variety of people who showed up from various surrounding countries. Ayotunde happened to be in the area, and many other cultivators the pair had interacted with came. That included a member of the family who had never encountered Catarinas parents. Annelie made her way over from the Frostmirror Sect. While her general activities might be monitored by the sect, it was no more than any other member. They simply had vested interests in knowing where their valuable members were, in case something happened to them.
The only thing extraordinary about the wedding was the quality of the feast afterwards. Even the local vegetables and chicken provided by the Rileys were exceptional, as they used energy to enhance their work in the fields which ultimately made its way into the animal feed. At the current moment their cultivations were higher than most of those working in the fields at the Order had been, at least when Anton first arrived. Enthusiasm for the work had improved over the past decade, and Elder Howland had some more regular workers at higher cultivation levels- along with Hoyt and Anton, of course.
Im glad to help, Anton said. But Im just one more person tending to some trees. You all know more about these than I do.
Youre not here for that, specifically, Lev commented. Youre here for something dangerous. More dangerous. Theres a big old grandfather willow out in the woods. We sometimes make trips there, but weve rarely gotten some good time studying it. Since its the basis of our cultivation technique, a trip might improve individual cultivations or allow for changes to the technique as a whole. Or we might learn how to grow bigger plants, Lev shrugged. It would be very helpful to have a strong cultivator like yourself present on a trip, especially with your ranged capabilities.
A grandfather willow, huh? Anton squinted as he looked into the distance. And its much bigger than the rest? I havent really seen anything like that.
Its not all that close to the sect, Lev said. About fifty kilometers. And the particular terrain makes it a lot more subtle.
Alright then, Anton nodded. So the goal is to, what, spend as much time as possible in the area, study the tree?
And the other plants around it. Maybe some of them contribute to its growth, or it was just lucky. Either way, its a good training spot for members of the Grasping Willow. Just not a safe one, or wed have set up the sect there.
-----
Elder Varela had been around mid Spirit Building when Anton had first encountered him. Now the man was only stepping into late Spirit Building all this time later. Meanwhile, Lev had already surpassed him and was one of two Essence Collection members going along for the trip. The rest were mostly Spirit Building disciples, with a few peak Body Tempering disciples as well. In total, there were about twenty people going.
Elder Evo was the other Essence Collection cultivator, and along with Lev he represented the best that the Grasping Willows had to offer. They were much smaller than the order, and had no Life Transformation cultivators at the moment. They might yet have one in Lev, though it would probably be another thirty or so years before he would reach it, if he had the knack. Lev certainly had talent and motivation, but people reached their limits in between stages of cultivation for many different reasons. Life Transformation was a big barrier that the majority of cultivators would never surpass even with limitless resources.
Anton wasnt sure if they were technically still in the Mossythorn Timberland. Theyd been walking for most of a day, keeping pace with the Body Tempering cultivators. He supposed what the area was called hardly mattered unless he was planning to make a map.
The important change in scenery was the increase in grasping willows. While the sect had intentionally planted the troublesome trees in greater abundance near them as a combined defensive measure and cultivation aid, their current location was more natural. The plant-aligned cultivations of the others kept them from being attacked, and Anton was too strong for the plants to cause real damage to, but there were other annoyances as well.
Actual mossythorn vines, for example. They didnt look like much, but if you walked through a patch of them you would find yourself with a myriad of tiny little thorns poking into you. Unlike western creeper they didnt ignore defensive energy, but it was still something that needed to be avoided.
There were myriad poisonous plants, though most of them were only troublesome if ingested. The rest had pollen that needed to be avoided, but everyone present knew how to filter their lungs if necessary. Aside from a few other things, all they had to worry about were the beasts that could live in such a place. They ranged from small stinging insects and venomous snakes to bears the size of houses and snakes able to swallow a man whole.
Anton was able to lead them around most of the problems as they headed down into the valley that was part of the reason the grandfather willow hadnt been visible from twenty kilometers away. He could see it now, still overtopping everything else even with its position deep in the valley. Given its size if it had been on relatively the same height compared to the Grasping Willow sect, he could have at least seen hints of it from there. The furthest branches were already overhanging them from kilometers away, drooping along the ground. Anton was very cautious of those, because while he would almost certainly be able to free himself it would be much more difficult than the more modest sized specimens.
Chapter 262Some time later, Anton found himself back in Graotan. Not at the Order, or anywhere hed focused on teaching cultivators. Hed been to Carran a few times before, and while he had technically done some teaching about cultivation while he was there that wasnt the main reason for visiting. The main reason was visiting family. This time that definition would be expanding, at least in the official sense. Unofficially, everyone involved was already family.Yes, while he might visit occasionally this time his trip to Catarina and Timothys hometown was for one simple reason- a wedding.It had been a long time coming, even by the standards of cultivators. A full decade might have passed for those who met later in life, but Catarina and Timothy knew each other basically their entire lives. Timothys entire reason to cultivate had been to stay with Catarina, so it wasnt a surprise in any way. They were just slow about it.Anton was with Flora and Jasper, Catarinas parents. The path leading to Flora had been on the shorter end of generations, so she had technically been Antons first great-granddaughter- not Annelie. He just hadnt known it. It was funny how, given enough time, generations could sort of flip on their head.Its about time, Flora said. I thought I was going to be an old woman before Timothy proposed.Instead of mentioning that both herself and her husband were slightly more youthful now than when hed first met them, due to their progress into late Body Tempering, Anton played along. You know they can hear you, right? he grinned.Good, Flora held her head up. Because they were making me worried.You know, Jasper leaned in conspiratorially, I heard that Catarina was the one who finally proposed. He turned to Anton, What do you know about that?Anton shrugged. Well, I suppose you could ask them. It was, in fact, technically true that Catarina had been the one to make the proposal of marriage. It was just that Timothy had been setting up a whole big plan about it, probably too much as those plans never seemed to get completed. That resulted in Catarina asking when they were out on a mission protecting a village from some particularly troublesome beasts, instead of Timothy asking when they returned.Well, its fine, Flora smiled. But how long do you think it will be before I get grandchildren?I suppose thats up to them, Anton said. The current times of relative peace were probably the best they were going to get, but things could change at any moment. But then again, they could have a significant period of peace. During Antons century of life before he became a cultivator, he had rarely heard of any large scale conflicts between cultivators. The recent events in Ofrurg would have been the sort to come to his attention, even if it wasnt directly affecting Dungannon. -----The actual ceremony was relatively simple. The only extraordinary thing about it was the variety of people who showed up from various surrounding countries. Ayotunde happened to be in the area, and many other cultivators the pair had interacted with came. That included a member of the family who had never encountered Catarinas parents. Annelie made her way over from the Frostmirror Sect. While her general activities might be monitored by the sect, it was no more than any other member. They simply had vested interests in knowing where their valuable members were, in case something happened to them.The only thing extraordinary about the wedding was the quality of the feast afterwards. Even the local vegetables and chicken provided by the Rileys were exceptional, as they used energy to enhance their work in the fields which ultimately made its way into the animal feed. At the current moment their cultivations were higher than most of those working in the fields at the Order had been, at least when Anton first arrived. Enthusiasm for the work had improved over the past decade, and Elder Howland had some more regular workers at higher cultivation levels- along with Hoyt and Anton, of course.Im glad to help, Anton said. But Im just one more person tending to some trees. You all know more about these than I do.Youre not here for that, specifically, Lev commented. Youre here for something dangerous. More dangerous. Theres a big old grandfather willow out in the woods. We sometimes make trips there, but weve rarely gotten some good time studying it. Since its the basis of our cultivation technique, a trip might improve individual cultivations or allow for changes to the technique as a whole. Or we might learn how to grow bigger plants, Lev shrugged. It would be very helpful to have a strong cultivator like yourself present on a trip, especially with your ranged capabilities.A grandfather willow, huh? Anton squinted as he looked into the distance. And its much bigger than the rest? I havent really seen anything like that.Its not all that close to the sect, Lev said. About fifty kilometers. And the particular terrain makes it a lot more subtle.Alright then, Anton nodded. So the goal is to, what, spend as much time as possible in the area, study the tree?And the other plants around it. Maybe some of them contribute to its growth, or it was just lucky. Either way, its a good training spot for members of the Grasping Willow. Just not a safe one, or wed have set up the sect there.-----Elder Varela had been around mid Spirit Building when Anton had first encountered him. Now the man was only stepping into late Spirit Building all this time later. Meanwhile, Lev had already surpassed him and was one of two Essence Collection members going along for the trip. The rest were mostly Spirit Building disciples, with a few peak Body Tempering disciples as well. In total, there were about twenty people going.Elder Evo was the other Essence Collection cultivator, and along with Lev he represented the best that the Grasping Willows had to offer. They were much smaller than the order, and had no Life Transformation cultivators at the moment. They might yet have one in Lev, though it would probably be another thirty or so years before he would reach it, if he had the knack. Lev certainly had talent and motivation, but people reached their limits in between stages of cultivation for many different reasons. Life Transformation was a big barrier that the majority of cultivators would never surpass even with limitless resources.Anton wasnt sure if they were technically still in the Mossythorn Timberland. Theyd been walking for most of a day, keeping pace with the Body Tempering cultivators. He supposed what the area was called hardly mattered unless he was planning to make a map. The important change in scenery was the increase in grasping willows. While the sect had intentionally planted the troublesome trees in greater abundance near them as a combined defensive measure and cultivation aid, their current location was more natural. The plant-aligned cultivations of the others kept them from being attacked, and Anton was too strong for the plants to cause real damage to, but there were other annoyances as well.Actual mossythorn vines, for example. They didnt look like much, but if you walked through a patch of them you would find yourself with a myriad of tiny little thorns poking into you. Unlike western creeper they didnt ignore defensive energy, but it was still something that needed to be avoided. There were myriad poisonous plants, though most of them were only troublesome if ingested. The rest had pollen that needed to be avoided, but everyone present knew how to filter their lungs if necessary. Aside from a few other things, all they had to worry about were the beasts that could live in such a place. They ranged from small stinging insects and venomous snakes to bears the size of houses and snakes able to swallow a man whole. Anton was able to lead them around most of the problems as they headed down into the valley that was part of the reason the grandfather willow hadnt been visible from twenty kilometers away. He could see it now, still overtopping everything else even with its position deep in the valley. Given its size if it had been on relatively the same height compared to the Grasping Willow sect, he could have at least seen hints of it from there. The furthest branches were already overhanging them from kilometers away, drooping along the ground. Anton was very cautious of those, because while he would almost certainly be able to free himself it would be much more difficult than the more modest sized specimens.
