Chapter 148


    During certain times, a n or sect coulde upon certain powerful resources that might catapult them forward. However, the fortunes of many were more difficult to change than that of an individual. In short, spreading out rewards rarely had a drastic change for any individual.


    The defeat of the Overlord was a significant aplishment, and the following feast was absolutely beneficial to the Temitope n, but it wasnt as if all of their members skyrocketed to the next rank afterwards. It helped with their recovery after the battle and would havesting effects in their continuing cultivation, but the sudden changes were limited. The circumstances shifted in their favor, however, as the other two ns still had to pay their mercenaries with only whatever minimal gains they had gotten from the area they were searching for the beast overlord.


    The tubers he had been both consuming and guarding were an extraordinary variant, to be sure, but even though the portions they saved could be rented, growing into more of the same, it would take time for them to grow. The nts would feed off of natural energy that might be used for special herbs or other crops. That didnt make them not worth the effort, of course. The purity of natural energy they were able to hold was quite something. If they were left for the longer term, they could also increase the quality of the soil around them- and eventually the quality of natural energy in the area. It was the same principles as other farming by energy cultivators. It would just take time before the results were obvious.


    Even so, Anton was happy to have a small bundle of his own. Hed helped advise the Temitope n about how they should treat the nts, given his own experience and what hed learned from Elder Hond. Most cultivators who knew nts specialized in poisonous or medicinal ones, not those more closely resembling standard crops. The Temitope n had farmers, of course, but their cultivations were generally lower. Anton understood why things ended up that way, but he thought it was an area that deserved as much recognition and respect as smithing orbat itself.


    After one week, the mercenaries hired by the other two ns had already gone on their way. The chances that they would try for another attack on the Temitope n were low, especially since they had to take some time to lick their wounds and recover. The group from the Order could be moving on at any point, but they stayed another week. Enough to be friendly, but not to overstay the hospitality of the Temitope. Though it wasnt as if they didnt contribute, either. The Temitope wouldnt make mercenaries or guests work in the fields, but nobody could stop Anton.


    Then there was the matter of the Vessel of Insight. There were a few interesting strands in there from the feast and battle at the walls. Anton was starting to be able to pick out who the insights came from before absorbing them, and these included insights from Elder Tshering and Matriarch Afi.


    Previously, Anton had thought it would be useful for other cultivators to absorb the insights directly. However, when hed experimented with the others they hadnt been able to take the strands of insight. It might have been possible with certain applications of energy, but so far theyd only managed to destroy a few smaller strands instead of practically being able to absorb them. It was likely that only the currently attuned owner of the Vessel was able to properly interact with the insights. In fact, Anton had the feeling that changing the attunement would result in the destruction of much of the insights. They were already an intangible made semi-real, so he wasnt surprised when they followed obtuse rules.


    At his current rank, Anton wasnt sure about absorbing Essence Collection insights. Instead, he stuck to the noodly strands that were more appropriate to his current cultivation. The Temitope n had many spear cultivators, and Anton supposed if he wanted to take up spear and shield he would now have a head start. He was more interested in a bit of the Western Steel Body that Ayotunde practiced, but he didnt have the context to do much with it. Perhaps as he approached the next stars and worked on his body more. He was still focusing on that spirit-body connection.


    As usual, Anton did his best to help others by advising them on his perspective of the insights. Not everyone would want to listen to a random old man, but he discussed with anyone who was willing. Whether Antons thoughts or the originator of the insight were more correct, discussing their thoughts helped both of them improve. Sometimes they exined things Anton had missed, while others he was able to add to what they learned. He thought he was getting better at things like that, though he knew he was still far short of many cultivators in the Order. But the more powerful ones didnt necessarily have the time to individually interact with all of the others, so what they could teach wasnt always better.


    When the Order finally left, everyone was eager to visit again in the future. They were nning to stop in on their return path, of course, but they were more invested in the Temitope n, Tailoga, and the region by the time they left. It was good to be able to help Ayotunde in return for his previous aid, even if they were both getting paid at the time.


    -----


    The terrain shifted from open grasnds into jungle as they neared the region where Everheart had indicated. They had briefly split up to search for information in the surrounding towns. Now that they were gathered back together Anton looked at the instructions he had in hand. If he didnt know better, he might think that it was as clear as it could be and that Everheart simply couldnt precisely point out a location. In short, he knew enough about Everheart from what people said and from interacting with the projections he had in the tomb that he was just messing with Anton. What the hell even is the seventh waterfall? Anton shook his head. He should know that terrain changes over the centuries. If he didnt believe that at least the facility in question existed, hed just give up. Did anyone find anything about Rainbow Lake?


    I did, Catarina said. I had to search old records for it. Turns out its been a drykebed for hundreds of years.


    Hmm, that might be a problem, Antonmented. The instructions werent vague enough that they had no hope. In fact, Everheart had named several cities around the area and directions from them to the region they wanted to search. Most of those cities even survived under the same names after two hundred years. Were supposed to follow the river that feeds into it to the seventh waterfall. At least he didnt mention a specific tree or rock or something. Those are probably all long gone.


    And from there? Elder Tshering asked. The facility is?


    Behind the seventh waterfall, apparently.


    Aha! He said, All we have to do is search behind waterfalls then. Easy enough.


    The region isnt that big, Hoyt admitted. Combing it thoroughly might take several weeks, but it should be possible.


    Yeah! Alva said, We get to go exploring!


    There werent any particrments from Timothy, Devon, and Velvet. Theyd already agreed toe along and support Anton and hadnt suddenly changed their minds.


    Then, Anton said, We should find our way to this Rainbow Lake. Well have to search from there.


    They considered getting a local guide, but the expense wasnt what stopped them. Instead, it was the desire for secrecy. Assuming this facility hadnt already been found, it should have valuable information and resources. Beyond the promised notes, of course.


    -----


    Just as stated, Rainbow Lake was a drykebed. So dry, apparently, that nothing grew in it. That was strange, as the area in general was quite wet. However, all of the rivers flowing around them followed different contours of thend and simply didnt get to Rainbow Lake.


    Anton checked the notes once more. Nothing on direction from Rainbow Lake. Just seventh waterfall. Perhaps we should try finding where the inlet was and go from there?


    In a wide open, empty area, it wasnt actually that hard to spot the inlet and outlet. It just took a bit of investigating to determine which one had been which. Then they began walking.


    Its weird, Catarina said. I dont like it.


    I feel something strange as well, Anton said.


    Everyone concurred, but nobody could quite point to what it was. Fuzz was very frantically sniffing the dry river bed, but came up with nothing of interest.


    Eventually they came to the first river in the area, where a bend turned it away from its previous longtime flow direction.


    Upriver, I suppose, Anton gestured. Thats where Id expect the waterfalls to be.


    To even possibly amodate the idea of seven waterfalls, the area had to be quite hilly. In fact, it was just the right sort of area for that and thus the worst sort of area for traveling. Sudden cliffs where the waterfalls were had to be climbed, and even walking alongside the river was difficult because of all the different nts growing alongside it.


    Most of the nts werent dangerous. Many of them were. Poisonous spores, spines, traps everything they could imagine the nts had. Fuzz almost dove into a pool of water inside one particrlyrge specimen, but Alva pulled him away. When she pointed out how it was going to try to eat him if he did that, Fuzz looked as embarrassed as a wolf reasonably could, his nose down in the soil below. That one wouldnt have been much danger for someone with help, since it was made for animals to fall into and drown, to be slowly digested. Others were more immediately dangerous.


    As they travelled upriver, they found three falls. Perhaps there was a fourth at some point, based on how they thought the terrain might have shifted. Certainly never a fifth. The spring from which the river flowed was at one of the highest points in the area. Not <em>the</em> highest point though. Perhaps one of the other rivers was the one they actually wanted, and the flow had changed more than they thought.


    -----


    Two weeks. Two weeks going through the jungle dealing with nts that wanted to kill or incapacitate them and the beasts that lived within. And now it was raining, again. In all fairness, it was not a terribly abnormal two weeks for a group of cultivators. However, they werent out in the jungle for the express purpose of training. It was still somewhat useful, but they had a specific goal they were trying to reach, and no progress towards it.


    Taking shelter from the rain was pointless. Alva was the weakest among them, but she was still easily able to withstand a bit of water. None of their gear would be damaged. It was still an annoyance, though. A reminder that the jungle continued as usual, raining buckets nearly every other day. Just because they <em>could</em> traverse mud didnt mean they wanted to do it all the time.


    Anton looked towards Rainbow Lake, or what had once been Rainbow Lake. How the hell is Rainbow Lake dry? he asked.


    Timothy shrugged, Well, that river doesnt flow to it anymore so even as he spoke, Timothy frowned. He seemed to have nothing convincing to say.


    I didnt think about it, Elder Tshering admitted. Drykes are dry. Thats all.


    We should go investigate more, Catarina said. It should at least have been a little wet. It rained the day before.


    Maybe it just dries fast, Hoyt conjectured. Look, the rains almost let up. The nts here wont look like they were soaked within a couple hours, and the drainage there might be even better.


    It could be, Anton admitted.


    As predicted, the rain did clear up. It even came with arge rainbow, streaking throughout the sky. That was nice, but by the time they got to Rainbow Lake, it was all dried up. That was clearly something strange. But determining exactly how things should be was difficult.


    Needs more investigation, it seems, Anton frowned. Do we just look around here or? Anton kicked some of the dirt. He found it to be surprisingly tough, instead of creating a gouge like he expected. That was even stranger. Perhaps we look closer at Rainbow Lake, and set aside the waterfalls forter. Its our only concrete lead, and its like this, he gestured down at the dry, light brown dirt. It wouldnt have been out of ce in the grasnds, but even when the other parts of the jungle were dry they were a dark dirt full of decayed nts. There werent even an abundance of leaves blown into theke. Something worth investigating, indeed.