Far before the new leader of the continent had arrived, Alva had come from the same world, whereupon she took the position of Sitora. Even so long in the past the Sky Islands were a prominent force, blessed with abundant spiritual energy and talented cultivators. She had assimilated into the culture, replacing her previous ambitions with new ones.
It was not unreasonable to seek to be an Island Master. Seeking power provided stability, and those who had experienced death understood the need for such more than any others.
Perhaps it was simply a matter of timing… or maybe Sitora simply lacked sufficient ambition. Either way, she had only been the Island Master of the Second Peak, despite having a significant opportunity handed to her.
She immersed herself in a far-off rivalry, but she didn’t even successfully overcome her rival herself. Gesine was instead slain by the desperate efforts of locals who had seemed insignificant to Sitora at the time. Yet she had also encountered another cultivator who transmigrated into the world- from the same Earth. It had felt like a strange anomaly that wouldn’t affect her far into the future, but she couldn’t be more wrong.
Sitora was glad she had departed on peaceful terms, because she could be blamed for Matayal’s death to some extent. And John could have dealt with her just like Abritt, only it would have been easier. Instead, they had become allies and John had ascended to a position that neither of them had imagined. But his ambition was merely to become strong enough to protect everyone he loved- which ultimately meant he had to be the strongest.
He didn’t just have power, though. He had creativity that Sitora had set aside. She hadn’t sought to reshape the way of the world or to advance it. Perhaps that was the different times she came from- cultivators had similar standards of living to what Sitora expected. Indoor plumbing was possible, and lighting was perhaps even easier than in her lifetime on Earth. There wasn’t much in the way of mechanization, but machines had been fairly simple in Sitora’s time.
John spoke of much more. He developed communication methods that stretched a great distance- the Sky Islands were able to look down upon the shores of the continent and send signals back and forth. Perhaps less impressive in some ways than unifying the continent with limited violence, but likely to impact the world far into the future.
Somehow, even during a war that implicated the entire planet, he also had time to develop something momentous… which he revealed to Sitora in a simple letter. What the Sky Islands had theorized, John had accomplished. At least to a limited extent, he had created more of the crystal that allowed the Sky Islands to be what they were. Previously, the best they could do was scavenge the Crystal Sea below and activate what was there.
They could likely replace the First Peak. Or perhaps they would add a new Sixth Peak, and move the second higher. That way future generations would remember their folly. Sitora wouldn’t be around forever to remind them herself.
No, if things continued as they were she might not be around long at all. She could already see the ships on the horizon, packed to the gills with air cultivators. Assaulting the Sky Islands was difficult, but not impossible for those with sufficient cultivation.
They were still over a hundred kilometers out and somewhere around ten beneath. Sitora ordered the signals be sent to the continent- whether or not the attack was coming for them, it was appropriate to alert their allies.
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Attacks had ramped up everywhere, so John was choosing semi-arbitrary locations to show himself. There were efforts being made to predict the appearance of the Triptych, but he couldn’t simply remain inactive until they managed something. Every Ascending Soul Phase cultivator he took down was one more that his people didn’t have to face. And of course, there were many more Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators that fell as well. Those beneath that? If they dared to show their faces without protection any sect on the continent could crush them with just a couple higher ranking members. John would deal with them if they happened to be on his way to somewhere else, but they weren’t really worth the minimal time he had to expend.
He now found himself in the Viridia Wildlands, though he would only be staying for a short time. He would fly beyond their shores, looking for enemy fleets. But first, he had to visit local sects. It was impossible to show his face in every one, but those above a certain size would expect him to pass through. It was important for morale. At least nobody expected him to stay and chat. He already had the best excuse prepared.
There were a few places he lingered or sought out intentionally. One of those was the Emerging Bamboo Sect. They were already on the way to his intended destination, but he was feeling some nostalgia.
He was happy to see Chandra once more. She had once been little more than a promising disciple. Now she was the sect head. John hoped he’d helped motivate her, but of course he couldn’t take any real responsibility.
“What a pleasure to see you again,” she said with a smile. John actually believed it from her. Some people were just being polite. There wasn’t much in the way of hostility against him, but quite a few people were neutral about John as a person. “I don’t imagine the jungle paths were too much of an issue for you?”
He shook his head. “I cut everything back appropriately. Maybe it will listen for a while.” Of course, John could have simply flown over the jungle- but leaving signs of his path was useful.
The plants of the Viridia Wildlands grew at an astounding pace, and any dead plants merely became fuel for future growth. John didn’t recognize any particular flora, but he could tell that they had all grown significantly since he first visited… around a century prior.
He let the nostalgia wash over him. Old memories could be quite powerful. It seemed to him like much of it had passed in the blink of an eye. At the same time, certain parts stretched out forever. Pleasure passed quickly, but anguish lingered.
“Are you planning to stay the night?” Chandra asked. “We can provide a place for you to rest, if you need it.”
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John had been moving long enough. How many days had it been since he’d set out from Astrein? “Yes, I think I will. Though if I remember your traditions, it shouldn’t be necessary for you to make anything for me.”
He surveyed the various stalks of massive bamboo. The sect had expanded their perimeter quite significantly. The older specimens had grown quite large- though they seemed to slow down at some point. None were much more than ten meters in diameter. That was larger than his first memories, though. And their height… dozens of segments which added together to over a hundred meters tall for the greatest. Some might be significantly more.
“I was hoping to find the first one I made,” John commented. “Though it might have been recycled by now.”
Without careful monitoring of their growth, the giant bamboo could grow to unusable proportions. They could also die if they were not properly monitored, and while the Emerging Bamboo Sect did their best the rate at which life progressed in the Viridia Wildlands didn’t make it easy.
Chandra pondered for a few moments. “Honestly, I don’t know if it’s still there somewhere. We don’t keep that careful of records.”
At the time, John had just been a visiting young master of a clan a few regions over. He had been welcomed properly, but there was nothing particularly special about him at the time. Even if he had been friendly, he hadn’t been close enough with Chandra or any of the others that they would specifically preserve a single bamboo cane.
The chances of it having any traces of his spiritual energy after a century were… nonexistent. Not even miniscule, but actually none. He hadn’t made any markings that would have particularly made it stand out, and if it had remained it would have had many more levels where rooms were carved into it.
John had visited again in the past, but he hadn’t really thought about it. “I’d like to see if I can find it.”
Chandra nodded. “Of course. Whatever pleases you.”
“Do you remember the boundaries of the old sect?” John asked. After all, because of how the Emerging Bamboo Sect had expanded, there wasn’t much to orient himself by. They didn’t tend to make traditional buildings, despite how much more convenient they would have been. Most of the material they gathered they exported to others instead. Bamboo was excellent construction material, though perhaps less favored when it was excessively large.
“Generally… follow the largest growth.”
John nodded. He approached the area… and felt tiny. It wasn’t much different from being a small insect in a normal bamboo forest. The density of the neighboring canes was much the same as those of a smaller size. Some grew right next to each other. No doubt as they grew, many had been taken out to make room. John was reminded of his personal gardens. He’d liked bamboo on Earth, but he’d been inspired by this place. It wasn’t just natural growth, but the training and talent of generations. Yet it was as close to wild as possible, because observing the natural bamboo was the inspiration for the sect.
Vibrant earth and water elemental spiritual energy came off of the whole forest. John could feel the most powerful bamboo, but nothing that felt like his. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that it would be among them- if it survived. But most likely, it did not. A temporary dwelling formed by a random visitor a century prior might simply have faded into obscurity. Maybe it was used for some of the walkways attached to surrounding canes- having cultivators climb up the sides was all well and good when they only had to go five or ten meters up, but at some point it was simply more practical to have spiral platforms. It slightly diverged from the natural state of things, but it made it more human.
It wasn’t long before John came across some disciples training. They weren’t focusing on growth, but offense. One bamboo in particular was between four of them, five meters across and scarred- but still standing.
“That one is stubbornly enduring,” Chandra commented. “Someone tried to cut it down once but gave up. So we gave it a purpose. It was too troublesome to make more rooms, so it lives like this.”
John could see the scars, brown patches that climbed up dozens of segments. In a way it seemed cruel… but on the other hand the bamboo cane was able to demonstrate its great determination by enduring. Not that it probably thought anything. It was merely a plant.
Each cultivator around it struck the bamboo with powerful kicks. Some slashed with weapons, but Emerging Bamboo Sect cultivators preferred to use momentum as their source of power. Some used piercing weapons, but even when they scattered off the edge of the bamboo there was sufficient space they wouldn’t risk running into their fellow trainees.
It passed through John’s mind that the bamboo might actually have had a shorter life if it were not tempered by cultivators attacking it. It seemed contradictory, but spiritual energy could be like that. A plant without any relevant activity might simply reach its end, given time.
John watched until the current trainees grew bored- it was certainly not the only target appropriate for them. Most others would prefer to spar against active opponents, whereas a stubbornly enduring bamboo cane was merely good for testing attacks that might harm fellow disciples. Warded arenas would do just as well.
He approached the stalk. Chandra no doubt thought he was odd for focusing on it for so long, but he found himself interested.
John was certain he could destroy it, but that wouldn’t make him a very good guest. He still felt compelled to attack. The appropriate thing was to use the local energy. Water and earth. He pulled out his sword, but he didn’t intend to slice through it. He just wanted to leave a mark to encourage disciples.
And he did, but not in the way he expected. John slashed from below, drawing his sword upwards. His energy stretched outward as he did, reaching the full height of the bamboo cane seventy or eighty meters above. A line about as deep as a finger was cut into it, the edges around it curling back slightly. John was certain that it would survive such a mark with no issues.
He didn’t expect it to latch onto his spiritual energy and devour it. All along the seam, the bamboo suddenly produced new shoots a meter long and a few centimeters wide springing out at different angles. The damage was recovered in an instant, though rather than healing it was something entirely new.
At that same moment John felt a bit of familiarity. His eyes rose upward, then he took flight.
Though his memory was good, it wasn’t so flawless that he could determine for certain if the rooms at the top of the cane had been carved by him. But they certainly could have been.
“Nobody’s using this. I’ll stay here.”
Regardless of whether this was his or not, John decided he owed the bamboo cane some more spiritual energy. Maybe this one remembered his spiritual energy… or maybe it just was suited for what he carried. It was quite possible any other random cane he’d sliced would have also greedily absorbed his energy.
Previously, John had observed the canes growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The sudden explosion of offshoots was far more than that. Yet as he fed spiritual energy to the large bamboo cane, he felt the majority of it didn’t go to increasing in size. Instead, perhaps, it went to endurance. He couldn’t quite say, as it eagerly devoured even his sensory energy. John could have stopped it, but he decided to let it absorb its fill.
Though it wasn’t the most grand specimen, people would remember it for a long time to come. He couldn’t give such attention to every plant he came across, but every once in a while wasn’t a bad feeling. And he felt like he’d been rude for trying to cut it, even just a little.
