Chapter 285
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Chapter 285
One problem with picking out a single person from among the handful of suspicious smiths was lack of information. It didnt take a cultivator long to adjust their accent to fit with the changes of being on another continent. It might be possible that there would be a slip-up, but Velvet wasnt so familiar with the exact differences that she thought shed notice it.
Another issue was that she didnt recognize any of the people involved. Not that she expected to have seen them, but she had memorized as many Life Transformation cultivators as possible. The publicly known figures had been a few hundred all told, and the Order even had information on those less public. These werent any of them. Perhaps theyd concealed themselves well, or changed their looks. That didnt necessarily mean one would be in disguise, since there were permanent methods that could change a person if they were willing to commit to it. It was much harder to discern a permanent physical change compared to an illusion.
Watching people come and go wasnt so easy as sitting in one spot and watching the people step on and off the wharfs. Remaining in one spot for a long time was extremely suspicious, and those who came by with relative frequency would notice her. It was hard enough to not have Life Transformation cultivators notice she was looking at them. Concealing her intent was required, because fully hiding her presence was just asking for trouble when someone saw through. But if she was just another person whose eyes locked onto a Life Transformation cultivator it hardly mattered.
The important thing was her own mental state. If she treated them all as enemies, they would be more likely to feel it. But looking at the situation objectively, the majority of them- possibly even all of them- were not her enemies. If she kept that in mind and tempered her intent, it should keep her concealed. At least, she had no indication shed been noticed so far.
As for where she was watching from, the simple answer was she became one of those coming and going, and merely varied the time of day she made the trip. As for where she went the Niverlam Depths had a lot to offer. Most cultivators would take a little boat, whether or not they were of a high enough cultivation to walk on the surface of the water. Among other things, boats provided a small layer of insulation between the cultivators and the strange properties of the lake. That could matter if one area was the sort to pull a cultivator down into it.
Any Essence Collection cultivator has sufficient control and capacity of energy to walk on the surface of a lake. It simply required spreading out energy until the water carried the cultivators weight. It was often a wasteful method when that was basically what boats did but statically instead of with constant effort- though depending on the factors a cultivator might maintain such a method indefinitely.
It was probably faster than paddling a little dinghy, but also considered rather arrogant. Not exactly the best for keeping a low profile. The slower pace also allowed Velvet more time to watch the people she passed, taking a similar route that brought her past most of the suspicious characters.
She wasnt ready to try probing any of them yet. That was the sort of thing that got quick results, but that result might be a quick death for her. And it might not even reveal what happened to the others. Velvet didnt intend to die, and dying in vain would be even worse. It didnt matter if she was probably in range of Antons arrows anywhere in the city if she got her head lopped off before she could respond to an attack.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.
But thoughts like that led her to immerse herself in the most lauded pastime of cultivators- training. The best way to look like she was supposed to be around was to actually do what was expected. That involved going out on the lake and searching for somewhere to train.
Attacks by beasts didnt stop. She was learning to sense them, as their own energy signatures were more practiced than hers but still imperfect. Her dagger clanked off of the shell of something hard, but a twist of her body brought her dagger into where she estimated joints would be. The more she did that, the more correct she was.
After a short time, Velvet swam to the surface, sitting in her boat. She breathed deeply. It was possible to sustain her breath with energy for a long time, perhaps indefinitely, but it wasnt the same as actually breathing. And the repetitive motion helped clear her head. If she stayed down too long, she might actually believe she was part of the lake, or rather simply a natural part of the world. The effects on herself were the most disconcerting. She wondered if the cultivator who had presumably died in that spot had done so by way of violence or simply had forgotten they were alive. That was a scary thought. She absolutely wanted to avoid that, as it seemed a very real possibility. But it was an effective technique.
Velvet was practiced enough in that and various other types of stealth that she naturally blended into the world. That helped her when Aser rowed out to a nearby spot on the lake. She wasnt hiding from him, but simply training. So whether or not he had noticed her, he hadnt really noticed her. But she certainly noticed him, when his energy briefly flared up and then sort of twisted in upon itself. It almost completely disappeared as he descended into one of the depths. It wasnt the same as the Twin Soul Sects cultivation concealing abilities, but it felt sort of similar. Perhaps it was just an intermediate step, allowing him to access his true abilities while not revealing where he was from.
She managed to convince herself to dive again, though her focus wasnt on anything she was doing. She exited the lake with a dozen bite marks and a small, finger length worm with its mouth firmly attached to her ribs. She blew it up with a puff of energy and carefully inspected the area for remains of the weird parasite. It seemed to have secreted a numbing agent but that was no excuse for having not noticed it.
And Aser was gone. But that gave Velvet a chance to slip over to the area he had been in and inspect the depth hed descended into. Just sticking a finger in didnt tell her much. A swirling mix of energy that didnt coalesce into one particular idea.
A quick dive told her that it was much more open than where she had been. Not physically wider or anything, usually no more than a few meters across, but just obvious. It displayed a kind of energy, and it was that. A small shark had dozens of different teeth, some coated in fire, some in ice, some a slimy poison but each of them was a distinct entity. And none of them were allowed to bite Velvet.
It was a useful area. Though she couldnt immediately pick it up, given some time she felt she would be able to develop a method to convert her energy into different forms. The others already did that, but they all picked something related to the Ninety-Nine Stars. A core bit of cultivation that changed things. Hoyt used fire, and Anton practiced with that and light a bit. Velvet could probably work with either, but the swirling vortex promised things outside of her normal scope.
Just perfect for pretending to be from another cultivation style. And if she could become proficient, quite practical for taking advantage of the weaknesses of certain cultivators. The only problem was that it would be difficult to train if Aser were to come back. Even if he didnt have a real claim to the area, he was a Life Transformation cultivator and she was not. He also might not be pleased to find she was aware of what he was training.
How troubling. She decided to back away for the moment. He could come back at any time, though she imagined he would have stayed for longer if he was to return the same day. Either way, she should consult with the others how they wanted to proceed. Alone she could spin in circles forever until she made a mistake that got her killed, but the others would be able to guide her. Or at least make her feel better about whatever she decided on her own.
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Chapter 285
One problem with picking out a single person from among the handful of suspicious smiths was lack of information. It didnt take a cultivator long to adjust their accent to fit with the changes of being on another continent. It might be possible that there would be a slip-up, but Velvet wasnt so familiar with the exact differences that she thought shed notice it.
Another issue was that she didnt recognize any of the people involved. Not that she expected to have seen them, but she had memorized as many Life Transformation cultivators as possible. The publicly known figures had been a few hundred all told, and the Order even had information on those less public. These werent any of them. Perhaps theyd concealed themselves well, or changed their looks. That didnt necessarily mean one would be in disguise, since there were permanent methods that could change a person if they were willing to commit to it. It was much harder to discern a permanent physical change compared to an illusion.
Watching people come and go wasnt so easy as sitting in one spot and watching the people step on and off the wharfs. Remaining in one spot for a long time was extremely suspicious, and those who came by with relative frequency would notice her. It was hard enough to not have Life Transformation cultivators notice she was looking at them. Concealing her intent was required, because fully hiding her presence was just asking for trouble when someone saw through. But if she was just another person whose eyes locked onto a Life Transformation cultivator it hardly mattered.
The important thing was her own mental state. If she treated them all as enemies, they would be more likely to feel it. But looking at the situation objectively, the majority of them- possibly even all of them- were not her enemies. If she kept that in mind and tempered her intent, it should keep her concealed. At least, she had no indication shed been noticed so far.
As for where she was watching from, the simple answer was she became one of those coming and going, and merely varied the time of day she made the trip. As for where she went the Niverlam Depths had a lot to offer. Most cultivators would take a little boat, whether or not they were of a high enough cultivation to walk on the surface of the water. Among other things, boats provided a small layer of insulation between the cultivators and the strange properties of the lake. That could matter if one area was the sort to pull a cultivator down into it.
Any Essence Collection cultivator has sufficient control and capacity of energy to walk on the surface of a lake. It simply required spreading out energy until the water carried the cultivators weight. It was often a wasteful method when that was basically what boats did but statically instead of with constant effort- though depending on the factors a cultivator might maintain such a method indefinitely.
It was probably faster than paddling a little dinghy, but also considered rather arrogant. Not exactly the best for keeping a low profile. The slower pace also allowed Velvet more time to watch the people she passed, taking a similar route that brought her past most of the suspicious characters.
She wasnt ready to try probing any of them yet. That was the sort of thing that got quick results, but that result might be a quick death for her. And it might not even reveal what happened to the others. Velvet didnt intend to die, and dying in vain would be even worse. It didnt matter if she was probably in range of Antons arrows anywhere in the city if she got her head lopped off before she could respond to an attack.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.
But thoughts like that led her to immerse herself in the most lauded pastime of cultivators- training. The best way to look like she was supposed to be around was to actually do what was expected. That involved going out on the lake and searching for somewhere to train.
Attacks by beasts didnt stop. She was learning to sense them, as their own energy signatures were more practiced than hers but still imperfect. Her dagger clanked off of the shell of something hard, but a twist of her body brought her dagger into where she estimated joints would be. The more she did that, the more correct she was.
After a short time, Velvet swam to the surface, sitting in her boat. She breathed deeply. It was possible to sustain her breath with energy for a long time, perhaps indefinitely, but it wasnt the same as actually breathing. And the repetitive motion helped clear her head. If she stayed down too long, she might actually believe she was part of the lake, or rather simply a natural part of the world. The effects on herself were the most disconcerting. She wondered if the cultivator who had presumably died in that spot had done so by way of violence or simply had forgotten they were alive. That was a scary thought. She absolutely wanted to avoid that, as it seemed a very real possibility. But it was an effective technique.
Velvet was practiced enough in that and various other types of stealth that she naturally blended into the world. That helped her when Aser rowed out to a nearby spot on the lake. She wasnt hiding from him, but simply training. So whether or not he had noticed her, he hadnt really noticed her. But she certainly noticed him, when his energy briefly flared up and then sort of twisted in upon itself. It almost completely disappeared as he descended into one of the depths. It wasnt the same as the Twin Soul Sects cultivation concealing abilities, but it felt sort of similar. Perhaps it was just an intermediate step, allowing him to access his true abilities while not revealing where he was from.
She managed to convince herself to dive again, though her focus wasnt on anything she was doing. She exited the lake with a dozen bite marks and a small, finger length worm with its mouth firmly attached to her ribs. She blew it up with a puff of energy and carefully inspected the area for remains of the weird parasite. It seemed to have secreted a numbing agent but that was no excuse for having not noticed it.
And Aser was gone. But that gave Velvet a chance to slip over to the area he had been in and inspect the depth hed descended into. Just sticking a finger in didnt tell her much. A swirling mix of energy that didnt coalesce into one particular idea.
A quick dive told her that it was much more open than where she had been. Not physically wider or anything, usually no more than a few meters across, but just obvious. It displayed a kind of energy, and it was that. A small shark had dozens of different teeth, some coated in fire, some in ice, some a slimy poison but each of them was a distinct entity. And none of them were allowed to bite Velvet.
It was a useful area. Though she couldnt immediately pick it up, given some time she felt she would be able to develop a method to convert her energy into different forms. The others already did that, but they all picked something related to the Ninety-Nine Stars. A core bit of cultivation that changed things. Hoyt used fire, and Anton practiced with that and light a bit. Velvet could probably work with either, but the swirling vortex promised things outside of her normal scope.
Just perfect for pretending to be from another cultivation style. And if she could become proficient, quite practical for taking advantage of the weaknesses of certain cultivators. The only problem was that it would be difficult to train if Aser were to come back. Even if he didnt have a real claim to the area, he was a Life Transformation cultivator and she was not. He also might not be pleased to find she was aware of what he was training.
How troubling. She decided to back away for the moment. He could come back at any time, though she imagined he would have stayed for longer if he was to return the same day. Either way, she should consult with the others how they wanted to proceed. Alone she could spin in circles forever until she made a mistake that got her killed, but the others would be able to guide her. Or at least make her feel better about whatever she decided on her own.
Chapter 285One problem with picking out a single person from among the handful of suspicious smiths was lack of information. It didnt take a cultivator long to adjust their accent to fit with the changes of being on another continent. It might be possible that there would be a slip-up, but Velvet wasnt so familiar with the exact differences that she thought shed notice it.Another issue was that she didnt recognize any of the people involved. Not that she expected to have seen them, but she had memorized as many Life Transformation cultivators as possible. The publicly known figures had been a few hundred all told, and the Order even had information on those less public. These werent any of them. Perhaps theyd concealed themselves well, or changed their looks. That didnt necessarily mean one would be in disguise, since there were permanent methods that could change a person if they were willing to commit to it. It was much harder to discern a permanent physical change compared to an illusion.Watching people come and go wasnt so easy as sitting in one spot and watching the people step on and off the wharfs. Remaining in one spot for a long time was extremely suspicious, and those who came by with relative frequency would notice her. It was hard enough to not have Life Transformation cultivators notice she was looking at them. Concealing her intent was required, because fully hiding her presence was just asking for trouble when someone saw through. But if she was just another person whose eyes locked onto a Life Transformation cultivator it hardly mattered.The important thing was her own mental state. If she treated them all as enemies, they would be more likely to feel it. But looking at the situation objectively, the majority of them- possibly even all of them- were not her enemies. If she kept that in mind and tempered her intent, it should keep her concealed. At least, she had no indication shed been noticed so far.As for where she was watching from, the simple answer was she became one of those coming and going, and merely varied the time of day she made the trip. As for where she went the Niverlam Depths had a lot to offer. Most cultivators would take a little boat, whether or not they were of a high enough cultivation to walk on the surface of the water. Among other things, boats provided a small layer of insulation between the cultivators and the strange properties of the lake. That could matter if one area was the sort to pull a cultivator down into it.Any Essence Collection cultivator has sufficient control and capacity of energy to walk on the surface of a lake. It simply required spreading out energy until the water carried the cultivators weight. It was often a wasteful method when that was basically what boats did but statically instead of with constant effort- though depending on the factors a cultivator might maintain such a method indefinitely.It was probably faster than paddling a little dinghy, but also considered rather arrogant. Not exactly the best for keeping a low profile. The slower pace also allowed Velvet more time to watch the people she passed, taking a similar route that brought her past most of the suspicious characters. She wasnt ready to try probing any of them yet. That was the sort of thing that got quick results, but that result might be a quick death for her. And it might not even reveal what happened to the others. Velvet didnt intend to die, and dying in vain would be even worse. It didnt matter if she was probably in range of Antons arrows anywhere in the city if she got her head lopped off before she could respond to an attack.The debut release of this chapter happened at Nvl-B1n.But thoughts like that led her to immerse herself in the most lauded pastime of cultivators- training. The best way to look like she was supposed to be around was to actually do what was expected. That involved going out on the lake and searching for somewhere to train.Attacks by beasts didnt stop. She was learning to sense them, as their own energy signatures were more practiced than hers but still imperfect. Her dagger clanked off of the shell of something hard, but a twist of her body brought her dagger into where she estimated joints would be. The more she did that, the more correct she was. After a short time, Velvet swam to the surface, sitting in her boat. She breathed deeply. It was possible to sustain her breath with energy for a long time, perhaps indefinitely, but it wasnt the same as actually breathing. And the repetitive motion helped clear her head. If she stayed down too long, she might actually believe she was part of the lake, or rather simply a natural part of the world. The effects on herself were the most disconcerting. She wondered if the cultivator who had presumably died in that spot had done so by way of violence or simply had forgotten they were alive. That was a scary thought. She absolutely wanted to avoid that, as it seemed a very real possibility. But it was an effective technique.Velvet was practiced enough in that and various other types of stealth that she naturally blended into the world. That helped her when Aser rowed out to a nearby spot on the lake. She wasnt hiding from him, but simply training. So whether or not he had noticed her, he hadnt really noticed her. But she certainly noticed him, when his energy briefly flared up and then sort of twisted in upon itself. It almost completely disappeared as he descended into one of the depths. It wasnt the same as the Twin Soul Sects cultivation concealing abilities, but it felt sort of similar. Perhaps it was just an intermediate step, allowing him to access his true abilities while not revealing where he was from.She managed to convince herself to dive again, though her focus wasnt on anything she was doing. She exited the lake with a dozen bite marks and a small, finger length worm with its mouth firmly attached to her ribs. She blew it up with a puff of energy and carefully inspected the area for remains of the weird parasite. It seemed to have secreted a numbing agent but that was no excuse for having not noticed it.And Aser was gone. But that gave Velvet a chance to slip over to the area he had been in and inspect the depth hed descended into. Just sticking a finger in didnt tell her much. A swirling mix of energy that didnt coalesce into one particular idea.A quick dive told her that it was much more open than where she had been. Not physically wider or anything, usually no more than a few meters across, but just obvious. It displayed a kind of energy, and it was that. A small shark had dozens of different teeth, some coated in fire, some in ice, some a slimy poison but each of them was a distinct entity. And none of them were allowed to bite Velvet. It was a useful area. Though she couldnt immediately pick it up, given some time she felt she would be able to develop a method to convert her energy into different forms. The others already did that, but they all picked something related to the Ninety-Nine Stars. A core bit of cultivation that changed things. Hoyt used fire, and Anton practiced with that and light a bit. Velvet could probably work with either, but the swirling vortex promised things outside of her normal scope.Just perfect for pretending to be from another cultivation style. And if she could become proficient, quite practical for taking advantage of the weaknesses of certain cultivators. The only problem was that it would be difficult to train if Aser were to come back. Even if he didnt have a real claim to the area, he was a Life Transformation cultivator and she was not. He also might not be pleased to find she was aware of what he was training. How troubling. She decided to back away for the moment. He could come back at any time, though she imagined he would have stayed for longer if he was to return the same day. Either way, she should consult with the others how they wanted to proceed. Alone she could spin in circles forever until she made a mistake that got her killed, but the others would be able to guide her. Or at least make her feel better about whatever she decided on her own.
