Chapter 834
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Chapter 834
To the west of the Spirit Slicing Sects base, just a few dozen kilometers away, began a vast forest. Anyone hiding on the near edge of the place would have easily picked out by those within the sect, especially if they were around for a sustained duration. Perceptions naturally expanded for higher tier cultivators, and an Integration cultivator could cover such a distance in minutes or less. A number of cultivators could also fight at such a distance, though that depended somewhat on the conditions. Certain snipers could cover much greater distances, of course, but those were rarer breeds. Even if someone wanted to train more people like that, not everyone had the aptitude. And while it was certainly an advantage to be able to attack from afar, most cultivators simply erred on the side of being able to close the distance between themselves and their foes.
A forest teeming with life was a good place to hide almost anything. In Velvets opinion, it was only slightly worse than simply hiding something in the most remote location- but what counted as remote was variable. The Exalted Quadrants ships were mostly meant for intersystem transport, but they were still capable enough to fly over the surface of a planet picking out large installations. Formations could hide things, but they were rarely perfect.
Velvet wasnt actually convinced that there was anything in the forest as she began to patrol it, but she was well aware that there could be. Most likely there wouldnt be anything permanent- it would require much greater deception to hide an entire section of the forest from view without bringing awareness to spatial distortions or the like. And expensive. No, if there were spies or an awaiting army, she expected them to opt for a mobile approach.
Upon entering the forest, Velvet felt someone watching her. Not visually, or she could have picked them out in turn, but using some other sorts of senses. Rather than alert them to her knowledge, however, she continued to move along with a similar amount of stealth.
How had they picked her out? Her energy was concealed, and while she didnt have a target to feed illusions she made practically no sound. There was no way they simply spotted her. At least, she didnt think she had been that careless. But maybe she was simply up against someone she was no match for. It wouldnt require an Augmentation cultivator or even someone who matched her cultivation. Instead, a properly specialized Integration cultivator might pull it off.
Obviously Velvet thought she was well above average in her field, but if she believed herself untouchable she would surely find herself dead sooner rather than later. But she understood her imperfection.
The thing that most irked her was that she couldnt find the source. The feeling was constant. Were they following her? Was it a series of guards even she couldnt pick out? Some sort of grand formation shed stepped into, leaving something on her?
Velvet considered all of these options as she scoured the forest. She found more or less what she expected. Birds and beasts didnt even notice her, and she could walk close enough to touch them if it pleased her. Her scent was another thing she concealed, so that shouldnt be how she was found.
Velvet considered bending the light around her to become invisible, but at best that would reveal her ability to her foes. At worst, it would reveal it and they would still be able to track her movements.
She found something. Tracks. More than a few, but barely perceptible and scattered. She couldnt make much sense of them, but it was clear people had been here and were trying to hide it. She was leery of going too deep, should she stumble upon people waiting for her. And if she waited too long, they might come for her. Instead, she curved around, trying not to make her route too obvious.
-----
One expedition became two, became three, and so on. Three Squeaks brought all sorts of folk with him. Soon enough Echoing Crys children could fend for themselves. Contented Grunt came all the way to the ocean and decided salt water was not for her- perhaps she might be convinced to help people cross it later, or they could try some sort of floating thing, but there was plenty more to explore first.
Three Squeaks had thought to pawn off the princess on the Great Queen since Fearsome Mandibles had almost died, but instead she insisted they continue to go to help weed out such foolishness. It wasnt that he didnt like them, but void ants made him uncomfortable and he really had been worried about their survival. But as a year or two passed, they grew to be almost the length of his paw, and their durability was well, nothing amazing. But he might have trouble squashing them even if they held still, since he couldnt use natural energy. In short, a fat warthog sitting on them might be more danger than him, as an Essence Collection cultivator.
Others werent far behind his cultivation. Forceful Snort of the warthogs had reached that level mostly on the merits of his body, but the passing seasons provided growth in natural energy for the whole coalition. More than just Three Squeaks and his group were traveling about now, but he still wanted to go everywhere himself so he kept at it. It was just one planet. Sure, planets were big, but Anton had seen many planets. He didnt know if hed ever reach such a point, but he at least had to have something to look up to.
The beavers were behaving, for the moment. They had found other groups that were more conservative with their growing abilities, and Three Squeaks planned to invite some to join the coalition soon. They could do so many neat things as water and land builder types. Connected tunnels were cool, but things went so much further than meerkat burrows.
Time continued to pass, and Three Squeaks wondered where Anton was. How long would it be, before he came back? While it worried him for a time, he instead made it a secret goal to try to explore the whole planet before then. Could he do it? He had no idea. Was there another land beyond the west ocean? The planet was supposed to be a ball, but maybe the east ocean met up with it. North and south he hadnt yet traversed far enough to find an ocean, but he felt he would eventually get there.
Wherever they went, they tried to do good things. Meep could recommend useful medicines- and steer adventurous individuals away from poisonous options. Sometimes, those were the same thing, which meant it required a lot of knowledge. Knowledge they were just beginning to gather. How many things were there too know?
Maybe it was limitless. Certainly, he wouldnt ever know them all. No one person could. Anton admitted to not knowing everything, and he spoke of some mean person who tried to know everything but never truly made progress. He always had to have more, and while more was good being content was also good. The Coalition had much they could learn from the failures of the beavers, because even if they hadnt made the mistake of expanding too aggressively who knows if they might have in a generation or two without an example to convince people.
Three Squeaks was vaguely aware of some event an unfathomable amount of time in the future. He doubted he would be there to see it, but then again he hadnt expected to live as many seasons as he currently had. Hed expected to die in his first couple of years, as was the case with most- and more so with those who chose to fight. It was a sacrifice for others that had seemed necessary at the time, and while he still believed soldiers were necessary, it didnt require sacrifice. They could just be strong enough to withstand the dangers.
Three Squeaks wanted to do that, for himself, for the Coalition, and for all sorts of people he hadnt even met yet. And maybe, someday, they wouldnt need to fight. But he would still practice archery because he wanted to see if he could shoot the sun and Anton had said that it wasnt impossible.
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Chapter 834
To the west of the Spirit Slicing Sects base, just a few dozen kilometers away, began a vast forest. Anyone hiding on the near edge of the place would have easily picked out by those within the sect, especially if they were around for a sustained duration. Perceptions naturally expanded for higher tier cultivators, and an Integration cultivator could cover such a distance in minutes or less. A number of cultivators could also fight at such a distance, though that depended somewhat on the conditions. Certain snipers could cover much greater distances, of course, but those were rarer breeds. Even if someone wanted to train more people like that, not everyone had the aptitude. And while it was certainly an advantage to be able to attack from afar, most cultivators simply erred on the side of being able to close the distance between themselves and their foes.
A forest teeming with life was a good place to hide almost anything. In Velvets opinion, it was only slightly worse than simply hiding something in the most remote location- but what counted as remote was variable. The Exalted Quadrants ships were mostly meant for intersystem transport, but they were still capable enough to fly over the surface of a planet picking out large installations. Formations could hide things, but they were rarely perfect.
Velvet wasnt actually convinced that there was anything in the forest as she began to patrol it, but she was well aware that there could be. Most likely there wouldnt be anything permanent- it would require much greater deception to hide an entire section of the forest from view without bringing awareness to spatial distortions or the like. And expensive. No, if there were spies or an awaiting army, she expected them to opt for a mobile approach.
Upon entering the forest, Velvet felt someone watching her. Not visually, or she could have picked them out in turn, but using some other sorts of senses. Rather than alert them to her knowledge, however, she continued to move along with a similar amount of stealth.
How had they picked her out? Her energy was concealed, and while she didnt have a target to feed illusions she made practically no sound. There was no way they simply spotted her. At least, she didnt think she had been that careless. But maybe she was simply up against someone she was no match for. It wouldnt require an Augmentation cultivator or even someone who matched her cultivation. Instead, a properly specialized Integration cultivator might pull it off.
Obviously Velvet thought she was well above average in her field, but if she believed herself untouchable she would surely find herself dead sooner rather than later. But she understood her imperfection.
The thing that most irked her was that she couldnt find the source. The feeling was constant. Were they following her? Was it a series of guards even she couldnt pick out? Some sort of grand formation shed stepped into, leaving something on her?
Velvet considered all of these options as she scoured the forest. She found more or less what she expected. Birds and beasts didnt even notice her, and she could walk close enough to touch them if it pleased her. Her scent was another thing she concealed, so that shouldnt be how she was found.
Velvet considered bending the light around her to become invisible, but at best that would reveal her ability to her foes. At worst, it would reveal it and they would still be able to track her movements.
She found something. Tracks. More than a few, but barely perceptible and scattered. She couldnt make much sense of them, but it was clear people had been here and were trying to hide it. She was leery of going too deep, should she stumble upon people waiting for her. And if she waited too long, they might come for her. Instead, she curved around, trying not to make her route too obvious.
-----
One expedition became two, became three, and so on. Three Squeaks brought all sorts of folk with him. Soon enough Echoing Crys children could fend for themselves. Contented Grunt came all the way to the ocean and decided salt water was not for her- perhaps she might be convinced to help people cross it later, or they could try some sort of floating thing, but there was plenty more to explore first.
Three Squeaks had thought to pawn off the princess on the Great Queen since Fearsome Mandibles had almost died, but instead she insisted they continue to go to help weed out such foolishness. It wasnt that he didnt like them, but void ants made him uncomfortable and he really had been worried about their survival. But as a year or two passed, they grew to be almost the length of his paw, and their durability was well, nothing amazing. But he might have trouble squashing them even if they held still, since he couldnt use natural energy. In short, a fat warthog sitting on them might be more danger than him, as an Essence Collection cultivator.
Others werent far behind his cultivation. Forceful Snort of the warthogs had reached that level mostly on the merits of his body, but the passing seasons provided growth in natural energy for the whole coalition. More than just Three Squeaks and his group were traveling about now, but he still wanted to go everywhere himself so he kept at it. It was just one planet. Sure, planets were big, but Anton had seen many planets. He didnt know if hed ever reach such a point, but he at least had to have something to look up to.
The beavers were behaving, for the moment. They had found other groups that were more conservative with their growing abilities, and Three Squeaks planned to invite some to join the coalition soon. They could do so many neat things as water and land builder types. Connected tunnels were cool, but things went so much further than meerkat burrows.
Time continued to pass, and Three Squeaks wondered where Anton was. How long would it be, before he came back? While it worried him for a time, he instead made it a secret goal to try to explore the whole planet before then. Could he do it? He had no idea. Was there another land beyond the west ocean? The planet was supposed to be a ball, but maybe the east ocean met up with it. North and south he hadnt yet traversed far enough to find an ocean, but he felt he would eventually get there.
Wherever they went, they tried to do good things. Meep could recommend useful medicines- and steer adventurous individuals away from poisonous options. Sometimes, those were the same thing, which meant it required a lot of knowledge. Knowledge they were just beginning to gather. How many things were there too know?
Maybe it was limitless. Certainly, he wouldnt ever know them all. No one person could. Anton admitted to not knowing everything, and he spoke of some mean person who tried to know everything but never truly made progress. He always had to have more, and while more was good being content was also good. The Coalition had much they could learn from the failures of the beavers, because even if they hadnt made the mistake of expanding too aggressively who knows if they might have in a generation or two without an example to convince people.
Three Squeaks was vaguely aware of some event an unfathomable amount of time in the future. He doubted he would be there to see it, but then again he hadnt expected to live as many seasons as he currently had. Hed expected to die in his first couple of years, as was the case with most- and more so with those who chose to fight. It was a sacrifice for others that had seemed necessary at the time, and while he still believed soldiers were necessary, it didnt require sacrifice. They could just be strong enough to withstand the dangers.
Three Squeaks wanted to do that, for himself, for the Coalition, and for all sorts of people he hadnt even met yet. And maybe, someday, they wouldnt need to fight. But he would still practice archery because he wanted to see if he could shoot the sun and Anton had said that it wasnt impossible.
Chapter 834To the west of the Spirit Slicing Sects base, just a few dozen kilometers away, began a vast forest. Anyone hiding on the near edge of the place would have easily picked out by those within the sect, especially if they were around for a sustained duration. Perceptions naturally expanded for higher tier cultivators, and an Integration cultivator could cover such a distance in minutes or less. A number of cultivators could also fight at such a distance, though that depended somewhat on the conditions. Certain snipers could cover much greater distances, of course, but those were rarer breeds. Even if someone wanted to train more people like that, not everyone had the aptitude. And while it was certainly an advantage to be able to attack from afar, most cultivators simply erred on the side of being able to close the distance between themselves and their foes.A forest teeming with life was a good place to hide almost anything. In Velvets opinion, it was only slightly worse than simply hiding something in the most remote location- but what counted as remote was variable. The Exalted Quadrants ships were mostly meant for intersystem transport, but they were still capable enough to fly over the surface of a planet picking out large installations. Formations could hide things, but they were rarely perfect.Velvet wasnt actually convinced that there was anything in the forest as she began to patrol it, but she was well aware that there could be. Most likely there wouldnt be anything permanent- it would require much greater deception to hide an entire section of the forest from view without bringing awareness to spatial distortions or the like. And expensive. No, if there were spies or an awaiting army, she expected them to opt for a mobile approach. Upon entering the forest, Velvet felt someone watching her. Not visually, or she could have picked them out in turn, but using some other sorts of senses. Rather than alert them to her knowledge, however, she continued to move along with a similar amount of stealth. How had they picked her out? Her energy was concealed, and while she didnt have a target to feed illusions she made practically no sound. There was no way they simply spotted her. At least, she didnt think she had been that careless. But maybe she was simply up against someone she was no match for. It wouldnt require an Augmentation cultivator or even someone who matched her cultivation. Instead, a properly specialized Integration cultivator might pull it off.Obviously Velvet thought she was well above average in her field, but if she believed herself untouchable she would surely find herself dead sooner rather than later. But she understood her imperfection.The thing that most irked her was that she couldnt find the source. The feeling was constant. Were they following her? Was it a series of guards even she couldnt pick out? Some sort of grand formation shed stepped into, leaving something on her? Velvet considered all of these options as she scoured the forest. She found more or less what she expected. Birds and beasts didnt even notice her, and she could walk close enough to touch them if it pleased her. Her scent was another thing she concealed, so that shouldnt be how she was found.Velvet considered bending the light around her to become invisible, but at best that would reveal her ability to her foes. At worst, it would reveal it and they would still be able to track her movements. She found something. Tracks. More than a few, but barely perceptible and scattered. She couldnt make much sense of them, but it was clear people had been here and were trying to hide it. She was leery of going too deep, should she stumble upon people waiting for her. And if she waited too long, they might come for her. Instead, she curved around, trying not to make her route too obvious.-----One expedition became two, became three, and so on. Three Squeaks brought all sorts of folk with him. Soon enough Echoing Crys children could fend for themselves. Contented Grunt came all the way to the ocean and decided salt water was not for her- perhaps she might be convinced to help people cross it later, or they could try some sort of floating thing, but there was plenty more to explore first.Three Squeaks had thought to pawn off the princess on the Great Queen since Fearsome Mandibles had almost died, but instead she insisted they continue to go to help weed out such foolishness. It wasnt that he didnt like them, but void ants made him uncomfortable and he really had been worried about their survival. But as a year or two passed, they grew to be almost the length of his paw, and their durability was well, nothing amazing. But he might have trouble squashing them even if they held still, since he couldnt use natural energy. In short, a fat warthog sitting on them might be more danger than him, as an Essence Collection cultivator.Others werent far behind his cultivation. Forceful Snort of the warthogs had reached that level mostly on the merits of his body, but the passing seasons provided growth in natural energy for the whole coalition. More than just Three Squeaks and his group were traveling about now, but he still wanted to go everywhere himself so he kept at it. It was just one planet. Sure, planets were big, but Anton had seen many planets. He didnt know if hed ever reach such a point, but he at least had to have something to look up to.The beavers were behaving, for the moment. They had found other groups that were more conservative with their growing abilities, and Three Squeaks planned to invite some to join the coalition soon. They could do so many neat things as water and land builder types. Connected tunnels were cool, but things went so much further than meerkat burrows.Time continued to pass, and Three Squeaks wondered where Anton was. How long would it be, before he came back? While it worried him for a time, he instead made it a secret goal to try to explore the whole planet before then. Could he do it? He had no idea. Was there another land beyond the west ocean? The planet was supposed to be a ball, but maybe the east ocean met up with it. North and south he hadnt yet traversed far enough to find an ocean, but he felt he would eventually get there. Wherever they went, they tried to do good things. Meep could recommend useful medicines- and steer adventurous individuals away from poisonous options. Sometimes, those were the same thing, which meant it required a lot of knowledge. Knowledge they were just beginning to gather. How many things were there too know?Maybe it was limitless. Certainly, he wouldnt ever know them all. No one person could. Anton admitted to not knowing everything, and he spoke of some mean person who tried to know everything but never truly made progress. He always had to have more, and while more was good being content was also good. The Coalition had much they could learn from the failures of the beavers, because even if they hadnt made the mistake of expanding too aggressively who knows if they might have in a generation or two without an example to convince people.Three Squeaks was vaguely aware of some event an unfathomable amount of time in the future. He doubted he would be there to see it, but then again he hadnt expected to live as many seasons as he currently had. Hed expected to die in his first couple of years, as was the case with most- and more so with those who chose to fight. It was a sacrifice for others that had seemed necessary at the time, and while he still believed soldiers were necessary, it didnt require sacrifice. They could just be strong enough to withstand the dangers.Three Squeaks wanted to do that, for himself, for the Coalition, and for all sorts of people he hadnt even met yet. And maybe, someday, they wouldnt need to fight. But he would still practice archery because he wanted to see if he could shoot the sun and Anton had said that it wasnt impossible.
