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Chapter 355: Lan Jue's Discovery

Just think: The Pauper had been lost in the search for his path for years, without result. The Keeper was an even more extreme example, and if it weren't for the Keeper's involvement he'd probably have died unable to break through to Paragon.

In this regard, Lan Jue was very lucky. His grasp of his Ascension abilities helped give him a glimpse in to how his path would look. As time went on, his understanding only deepened.

He did think it was time to visit home, though. He'd been too ashamed to do so in the last few years. Though he'd probably catch a beating, he needed to know how things were going.

A face swam up to him from memory, a craggy and ancient face with a serious scowl. Lan Jue couldn't remember ever seeing his father smile. It was always seriousness and intensity. That was something Lan Qing had inherited.

"Hm?" Lan Jue stopped in surprise, and focused as a strange sensation tickled at him. There was something in this water, an energy that he could feel flowing through him. It was faint, but he could feel it permeating his body and supporting his energies. It was pure, and clean, and although not strong the nutritive effects felt very comfortable.

A flash of inspiration shot through Lan Jue's head like a bolt of lightning. It was so intense that he almost leaped out of the water. Disregarding his clothes, he sat himself down cross-legged and began to meditate.

His eyes popped open after only a short moment. A light shimmered within them. "Yes… that's right!"

Just as he'd discovered the first couple times he'd meditated here on the Barrows, both the air and elemental forces of planet itself were strong. However, it wasn't stronger than parts of Skyfire, and not as pronounced as when he was in the water. This confirmed that the waters here were unique, and bore its own special energy. If that was the case, then…

All plants needed water and sunshine, and grapes were no exception. If the descendants of the gods of wine knew this, then it was very likely they'd create a vineyard around here. The source would be where this effect was greatest.

Lan Jue hurriedly pulled his clothes on while he thought. Once he finished, he dialed the Wine Master.

"What have you found, Jewelry Master?" Lan Jue could tell from the old man's tone that he was expecting bad news.

He went on to explain his thoughts.

When the Wine Master responded, he was clearly impressed. "Why didn't I think of that? You're absolutely right, the Pauper and I will start examining local bodies of water. If they have the same properties as you're describing, then we'll need to adjust our plans. There are countless rivers, streams and lakes on the Barrows, and densely packed as they are it'll take us forever to thoroughly explore them. Hopefully we can narrow these energies to a single area, that'll narrow the search."

Lan Jue immediately launched himself in to the air, with a light that shone bright in his eyes. Again, he spread his perception outward to probe the surroundings. Who knows? If he was lucky, perhaps the descendants were holed up somewhere around this very lake.

And yet the moment he felt his consciousness spread out around him, he felt it improper. He spied suddenly the very fetching woman bathing nearby. At his level of cultivation, every detail was outlined and highlighted, and instantly transcribed to memory even before he knew what was happening.

The sudden not altogether unwelcome shock almost caused him to tumble from the sky. He'd completely forgotten she was even here, with all the excitement of their lead.

He immediately retracted his perceptive field, adhering to the gentleman's code of ethics.

I didn't mean to, he kept telling himself. I didn't mean to.

Only his mind was convinced. The rest of his body reacted as any normal man would to the image of a beautiful woman naked in a crystal clear lake.

He swallowed hard, shook his head, then found a place to settle to ground. He had no alternative but to wait for her to finish. She didn't make Lan Jue wait long, however. Once her bath was done and her clothes were dry, she called out to him.

As Lan Jue saw her again face to face, it was like watching a lotus on the water. Pure, simple, and beautiful. Qianlin's beauty didn't come from cosmetics, but was all natural. Now scrubbed clean, she exuded a natural and comforting aura. She had a spectacular figure, with skin like milk and a face that looked like it was carved from marble. Her cheeks were a vivacious pink, that set off her eyes that were a blue more deep and pure than the lake they stood beside. Then there was her head of luxurious black hair. It was already dry, and swayed like strands of silk with the breeze. She looked like a fairy tale princess.

"There's been some new information, we should go." Lan Jue said. He reached out a hand to her.

Zhou Qianlin stretched out her own, and the moment their fingers laced their shared power upsurged. Her hands were cold, perhaps from the lake. Regardless of the reason, however, Lan Jue held her hand tight to confer some of his own warmth to her.

It was a simple gesture, but it touched something in her that was difficult to explain.

They soared through the air, with the lake stretching out beneath them. Together, they began to search the three-thousand meter diameter lake for any signs of their objective. After a circuit revealed nothing, they came to a stop.

If Lan Jue's hunch was correct, all they had to do was go back over their areas and narrow the search to water. Sadly, nearly all twelve of the suspect areas were densely peppered with various bodies of water. Only a few swaths were absent of it.

One by one, they went over the major lakes and rivers, and each time they left empty handed. In the end their second sweep revealed nothing new. Another conversation with the Wine Master ensued, where they decided that a latch-ditch search of the source waters was their final gambit. If they weren't there, then they weren't anywhere.

Lan Jue and Qianlin were tasked with searching their nearest target, an enormous inland lake. It took them half a day to reach its banks. Immediately they saw that this one was not like the rest. It was a stunning cobalt blue that stretched to the horizon without a single ripple.

Lan Jue approached, and crouched to dip his hands in to the lake. There was something, a faint tinge, so he spread his consciousness deeper.

As he'd experienced, the energies of the lake immediately penetrated in to him. It was purer and more abundant, but that may have been a result of the lake's sheer size. He discovered through his psychic exploration, that the lake got deeper the closer one got to the center. At it's deepest, it was a hundred meters to the bottom. At least, that was as far as he seemed able to sense. He'd have to dive in to learn if it went deeper than that.

Lan Jue extricated his hands and peered out over the horizon. He silently pondered the situation.

"What's wrong?" Qianlin asked.

"If you asked me to pick a place for a vineyard," Lan Jue muttered, peering down the shoreline, "I'd be hard pressed to find a place better than this."

Qianlin's face lit up. "So you're saying it's likely this is the place we're looking for?"

He nodded. "Let's see what we can find."

They were off again through the skies. The lake – called Soul Mirror Lake – was a massive expanse of water, but with Qianlin and Lan Jue's speed they completed the search in three hours. Sadly, despite Lan Jue's hope, they still turned up nothing.

When they got back to their starting point, Lan Jue's eyes were beginning to betray despair. "Nothing. It looks like the descendants aren't here after all."

Their search was nearly concluded with nothing to show for it. Silence from the Wine Master and the Pauper proved their experiences to be much the same. Their chances looked grim.

But then there was obstinance, and it reared it's head as Lan Jue stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest. "I refuse to accept that they aren't here. I'm going down to take a look."

Zhou Qianlin blinked at him. "Down?"

Lan Jue nodded. "My perception can't reach below a certain depths. These waters, though, are very pure. I don't know anything about being a vintner, but just look at the vegetation surrounding this place. It's much thicker and more vibrant than the other ones we've visited. That means this lake must be providing all of it with nutrients. So look, you remain here and I'll go down to take a look. If I'm not back in half an hour, to get the others – it'll mean there's something up with this lake."

"No way." Qianlin clamped down on Lan Jue's had as she flat out refused his plan. "When you're by yourself, you're much weaker than if we're together. It's much safer for both of us to go. We'll be prepared if we run in to something. If you're going, so am I."

Lan Jue opened his mouth to patiently, calmly, and logically explain why that was an unwise course of action. But he shut it again when he saw the look in her eye.

It wasn't that he was cowed, or afraid. It was the exact same look Hera had given him once.

A sharp pang seized Lan Jue's heart. He nodded. "Alright, we go together then. I'll let the Wine Master know."

After a few sentences with the Paragon Lan Jue hung up and took Qianlin's hand once again. With a leap, both of them tumbled in to the water.

Once an Adept had cultivated his abilities to about the ninth level, they had a deeper control of their interior environment. Through micromanaging their body's systems, they could hold their breath for far longer stretches of time. This was also true in airless environments. Here, however, they didn't have the benefits of cosmic radiation.

Lan Jue pulled Qianlin down behind him, toward the murky depths at the lake's center.

Chapter 356: A World Under Water

With his whole body immersed in the water, Lan Jue felt the nutritive energies grow stronger. It was pure, and became more prosperous as the water pressure increased around them.

Lan Jue absorbed the energies and coaxed Qianlin to do the same through their shared connection. It couldn't be directly absorbed, since conversion was required to make it so. Even so, he gauged the special waters to have only about twenty percent impurities. To put it another way, an Adept who spent their time cultivating their abilities while in this water would improve by leaps and bounds over others. Simply, the planet's special life-giving properties were especially prosperous here.

Filtered light from the surface grew dimmer as their depth increased. This was no problem for Lan Jue, however. With a thought, spiderweb coils of lightning began to wrap around him. It was enough to illuminate their immediate surroundings.

The water was exceedingly clean and clear. There wasn't very much wildlife in it at all, though. Occasionally they'd see a sleeve fish dart by, but that was all. Like the creatures on the surface above, nothing in here could harm a human even if it wanted to. On the contrary, one particular fish hung around for a moment to watch them in curiosity. Lan Jue responded by ceasing his electrical light source, for fear of harming the fish.

The lake was much deeper than Lan Jue would have guessed. Before long they'd descended over two hundred meters, and still hadn't reached the bottom. Lan Jue's perception told him that the bottom was another hundred meters down.

Nothing. The quiet underwater world was still and beautiful, as though they were locked in a crystal. Sadly, no signs of the descendants were revealed.

Zhou Qianlin was just along for the ride, and wasn't nervous about their depth or location. Lan Jue was helping to regulate her internal breathing, so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. All she had to do was feel and accept the special energies of the water around them.

They swam on for another ten minutes before reaching the bottom. Lan Jue's Discipline flickered to life once more, revealing the lake bed beneath them. It was flat, and littered with smooth stones. They came in all different colors, and glittered as the light of Lan Jue's power revealed them. It was a beautiful, surreal scene. Like a sea of technicolor jade.

They each bore their own faint energy. While individually none were as strong as the weakest power gems, together their powers were amplified. Perhaps the water got it's special qualities from these stones. Whatever the case, it was a magical experience. Although they still hadn't found what they were looking for, the journey so far had been grand.

His musings were interrupted by an undertow, tugging at him. It wasn't a physical current, instead something else that drew both their attention toward it. Lan Jue, surprised, ceased the coiling bolts of lightning and peered in to the darkness ahead.

Still nothing, but Lan Jue's heart rate had increased. He couldn't say for sure, but there was something different about this place.

Once more Lan Jue called upon his Discipline, but this time the lightning sprang up around them in a protective net. He inched them forward, closer to whatever power was tickling at the back of his mind. Slowly, carefully, both his body and perception converged upon the spot.

A hundred meters seemed to pass in a blink, and that was when he started to feel a strange physical current joining with the energy eddies. This time, it was their bodies that began to be drawn in.

Lan Jue and Zhou Qianlin exchanged a glance. Their concerns were the same; in this clear, calm lake, where would this undertow be coming from?

The former mercenary paused, looked at Qianlin, then pointed toward the water's surface.

Through the Spirit Caller gem…

Lan Jue: I think we've found the right place. We should get to the surface and wait for the Wine Master and Pauper, as insurance. Then we can all come down and check it out together.

She nodded her head in agreement, and gave him a thumbs-up.

Alright.

Prudence was a virtue.

Were Lan Jue by himself, then perhaps he would have continued through the current to discover more. However, with Qianlin in tow, safety had to be the priority.

But as they were preparing to leave and contact the Wine Master, that gentle current strengthened sharply. Before they could react, both were sucked to the center of whatever invisible vortex awaited.

The two of them were a pair of ninth level seventh rank adepts, the top one percent of their species! And yet, in the face of this strange current, their struggles were useless.

The two of them were swallowed further in to the crystal-clear depths of the lake. Lan Jue knew that they'd been caused in some sort of invisible whirlpool, where the eyes couldn't see it but it could certainly be felt. The course and pressure sucked them deeper, ever downward, and they were powerless to stop it.

Lan Jue immediately pulled Qianlin close, hugging her tight to his chest. The net of lightning surrounding them flared intensely and became gold. It grew thicker until they were protected in a blazing golden cocoon of energy.

They pitched and rolled through the water, protected by the orb of light. The jerking motions were vicious, but Qianlin felt safe and secure in Lan Jue's arms.

Suddenly, the darkness around them was dispersed with the arrival of a powerful light. The tearing current also dissipated without a trace. Both Lan Jue and Qianlin could feel the pressure from being under water recede. When they hit the floor, it was confirmed – they found themselves somewhere altogether different.

Lan Jue's reactions were quick. He stabilized his energies and used them to help both he and Qianlin recover from the dizzying ride they'd just experienced. After a few moments, once both were acclimated, they stared stupefied at the scene before them.

With mouth agape, Lan Jue's eyes followed a mountain range as it stretched in to the horizon. Every square inch was covered in grapes. They expansive vineyard was carefully arranged and tended, with the meter-high plants separated in to lines by big old trees. Somehow, they'd found themselves in an altogether different world of beauty and mystery.

The mountains and vineyards themselves weren't anything to be overly stunned about. What was strange, was the air here. It seemed to ripple and undulate like waves, even though overhead looked for all the world like an azure sky. But it wasn't, their ceiling was the bed of the river.

Stranger still, there was sunlight down here. A blazing orb hung suspended in the air like the sun he'd expect on the surface. Warm rays hung over the amazing scene, however, and the grapes knew no different.

There was more than just grapes stretching off in to the distance. Several other species of flora had also been cultivated here. Like the grapes, they had also been carefully tended and arranged in their own areas.

Of course, pretty as it was, Lan Jue and Qianlin had other concerns. Namely, the people surrounding them.

There were eight in all, standing around in a circle. They were dressed in crude farmhand clothing, and bore hoes and scythes. Eight pairs of suspicious eyes pinned them in place.

"Alright everybody, we aren't here to cause any problems." Lan Jue raised his arms, revealing no weapons. Meanwhile, he instigated his Discipline to dry he and Qianlin's clothes.

All eight of their hosts were suspended in air, without wings to help them do so. It meant they were at the very least ninth level Talents. One in particular – the oldest of the crew – was surrounded by an aura as deep and vast as the ocean. That one was ninth level seventh rank or higher.

Lan Jue quickly determined that quietly adhering to everything these people said was the wisest course of action.

The elder looked at them with cold, hard eyes. "Who are you, and why are you here." It was more a demand than a question. "And you'd better have an excellent explanation."

Lan Jue grinned sheepishly. "We're actually here looking for you. Truth be told, I wasn't sure we would." There was no reason to hide his objectives, Lan Jue felt. He couldn't really lie about finding this place by accident, because what would they say? They were just diving? Where was their diving equipment?

"Looking for us?" The older man seemed surprised.

Lan Jue nodded. "Yes. We're here looking for the descendants of the Gods of Wine. I presume that's you all. We're only here to talk."

The man's face darkened. He fixed them with hard eyes, but there was surprise at Lan Jue's words as well.

"Take them down!"

The others dropped their crude weapons. Immediately, each of the other seven farmers were surrounded by a sinister blood-red aura. A sense of pressure, of crushing dread, poured from them with Lan Jue and Qianlin in the center of it all.

Even before they'd started talking, Lan Jue had carefully observed their attackers. He watched their every move, because he needed to be ready for a situation just like this. He would not simply stand by and wait for death.

An electric blue light flickered around Lan Jue and Zhou Qianlin. Lan Jue thrust his right fist into the air, and a solid blast of electricity tore upward.

It formed in to a golden orb, and rose until it hung over them all – another small sun. It expanded, pulsing his waves of energy before erupting with a thunderous blast.

The explosion tore out in all directions, flattening acres of vineyard. The others overhead had yet to fully combine their Disciplines, and the sudden shock of the blast completely dispersed their aggregated power.

Lan Jue couldn't hesitate. He'd stopped their channeling, but that old man's aura was still strong and growing. It flared large and encompassed his friends to protect them from the rapidly approaching flames of the explosion.

But Lan Jue wasn't fighting alone. He had a partner, and as he was dealing with the others a speck of light no bigger than a fingernail sped toward the old man before them. Zhou Qianlin watched in anticipation as her own attack rushed forward. In the same instant, Lan Jue release a second orb in to the old man's comrades.

Bo-Boom! Two shuddering explosions filled the air.

Chapter 357: Another Paragon!

The old man's aura quickly shifted to a golden hue, and the shield he'd created withered and vanished. A look of utter shock was plastered on his face. In the space of that instance, somehow, his Discipline dropped in power by half! There was absolutely no reason for him to suddenly have grown so weak. It was like it had just been swallowed up in to nothing.

The second explosion, obviously, had come from the golden orb. The other seven adepts lost their joined Discipline powers and – despite his efforts – were sent smouldering through the air.

In the second the chaos afforded him, Lan Jue gripped Qianlin's hand tight and morphed the both of them in to lightning. They flashed out from within the circle of adepts.

Fighting against numbers wasn't that frightening if you knew how to handle it. The key is making sure you aren't surrounded. There were eight adepts, and all of them seemed to possess the same Discipline. Had they been able to successfully link together, this situation would have played out much worse than it already had.

Thankfully, Lan Jue had been naturally equipped to protect against this. The combined discipline he possessed prepared him, with the lightning portion of his powers specializing in speed.

Lan Jue was confident. Despite the poor odds, the two of them hand in hand would not be at a disadvantage.

"Well no wonder you dared to come here. You two have a fair bit of strength." The old man regarded Qianlin and Lan Jue with a sour frown. However, he made no move to strike. The other seven adepts regained their composure and stood at his back.

A crystalline red aura sprang up around each of them. The elderly man slowly lifted his right hand, and unfurled his fingers. Within his palm was a perfectly smooth crystal ball. It sparkled and reflected the red light that surrounded them all.

Suddenly, a sanguine light came piercing down through the mirror-like lake overhead. Lan Jue, seeing this, felt his heart seize. "Not good," he muttered. Immediately he grabbed Qianlin in preparation to change again and streak toward the furthest reaches of this underworld.

But it was no use. Before they could flee, the world around them became a sea of red. They could feel the power around them making their movements sluggish. A staggering pressure bore down on them, as though they were being slowly crushed by the weight of an ocean, like the skies were crashing down right on to them.

A golden light flashed in Lan Jue's eyes. Now things were desperate. This was their domain, and the fact that they'd attacked right away meant they would do anything to keep it secret. They had no qualms silencing both him and Zhou Qianlin.

Their priority right now had to be retreat. They would wait for the Wine Master, then return. They'll be better prepared, then. With a Paragon at their side, there would certainly be nothing to fear.

Lan Jue tugged on Qianlin's hand, and without a word she pressed herself in to his embrace. She lifted her head without hesitation, knowing precisely what Lan Jue's plan was. Her face betrayed a slight blush.

It was Lan Jue who hesitated, but only for a moment. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. They were a little cold, but there was a strange sweetness to them. However, before he could really sense the kiss, Zhou Qianlin turned in to a ball of light that quietly merged with Lan Jue and vanished.

It was the second time, but Lan Jue already knew what to expect. Immediately his Discipline skyrocketed to the peak of ninth level. The world around them was still a soupy red deathtrap, so he had to react. Lan Jue lifted his right hand, and in response a golden light bloomed out from him in all directions. When his electric powers met with the overpowering red energy, the world began to shimmer as though on a hot day.

Eventually that golden light seemed to cover him entirely, exuding forth and transforming him in to his Ascension.

The old man's face changed. "Protogenic powers!" He said, eyes widening.

Lan Jue's commanding voice boomed. "Open!"

As his command rang out, the wine-red skies overhead shook violently. Thunderous blasts shook all around them, as a place overhead opened in a great fissure. Lan Jue then turned his eyes to the others in the distance. Calmly, he reached out his right hand as though to push them away.

A blast of golden lightning shot from his palm and through the air, right for the old man's chest. The red world was burned away around the lightning's passage. It opened a path right toward Lan Jue's attackers.

The old man scowled, and raised his crystal ball. It swayed in his grip, and with the motion the world surrounding them grew even more dense and tight. Both the path cut by Lan Jue's bolt of lightning and the fissure overhead were sealed.

Lan Jue was secretly very pleased with the results he was experiencing. After joining with Qianlin, his Discipline was now ninth level ninth rank – just on the cusp of Paragon status. With the addition of his Ascension, he was all the more terrifying in battle.

"Hmph!" Lan Jue dismissively regarded the man and his ball, when suddenly his body erupted in to a font of electricity. Bolts of electric power blasted out like a deadly spiderweb, hanging over everything.

Where the lightning passed, the world of red dispersed. Under it's explosive power this man's illusions could not sustain. Nor did the old man react right away – he was stunned at how powerful this intruder was.

He couldn't keep warding off these blows directly. With a grunt, another beam of light exuded forth, casting a half-boom shaped bolt of energy spiraling forth to meet the encroaching wall of lightning..

Boom–! The lightning exploded outward in a million simultaneous explosions. The old man and his colleagues radiated electrical energy as they were thrown backward. Some strange of that protogenic power became gripping chains, which captured and retrains the attackers.

Now, with a large swath of the under ground world free from the red taint, Lan Jue lifted his head to the faux sky. He shouted as loud as as strong as he could. "I command the skies to open!"

As if in response, a deafening roll of thunder echoed through the the area. Two massive golden hands appeared, and viciously ripped open a fissure in the skies even larger than the last.

Lan Jue fixed the eight captured Adepts with an imperatorial glare. Then, turning away, he transformed in to a golden bolt of energy and flew toward the newly made exit.

Even Lan Jue could not have imagine how much powerful his Ascension's commands were upon reaching this level of cultivation. It was almost like when he'd taken the entire Fantascia Genetica decoction on Taihua. The feeling – like he was strong enough to take on the universe – made his understanding of the protogenic world that much deeper. Struggle always leads to improvement.

But just as Lan Jue was preparing to escape, he heard the faintest sigh. It was sudden, and sounded as though it was right beside his ear. The world of red had been obliterated by his forest of lightning, but now the whole of reality seemed to crystallize.

An odd fragrance hung in the air, and as Lan Jue watched everything began t change. Reality warped like he was staring at the world through a pane of glass. The giant hands summoned by Zeus' command vanished in to smoke.

In fact, everything around him vanished. Once again, Lan Jue was lost in a very familiar universe of red. That fragrance grew stronger, penetrated through him, until Lan Jue felt like he was drunk.

To Lan Jue, though, it wasn't aromatic. It was bitter.

A Paragon's Domain!

Since when did these damn guys become a dime a dozen?! But this power was different from the Paragons he knew.

Lan Jue thought back to something the Clairvoyant had told him once; find the Paragons spread throughout the universe. It was looking like one of those hidden paragons was right here among the descendants.

The sigh was craggy and ancient, born from an old throat. Even just through the brief sound, Lan Jue coul sense a sort of genuine quality. He made no further moves to escape. He was in a Paragon's grasp now, and the only way out was to beat them in a fight.

However, as before Lan Jue would simply wait for destruction. No matter how or what, he had to do whatever he could to survive, especially with Zhou Qianlin's life in the balance. The situation was dire, but he had to try.

"Stay your hand!" The ancient voice called out, loud and clear.

Lan Jue felt as though the entire world was crushing down around him, like he was at the center of a collapsing star. He found himself in the middle of a terrifying vortex, with a pull he recognized from when he and Qianlin were in the lake. It was strong enough to completely stop him from moving forward.

He certainly couldn't say it was a comfortable situation to find himself in. He was struck dumb with amazement at the sheer scope of this power. After all, though he knew a few Paragons it was always incredible when another was revealed. The power they exuded was staggering and enlightening, every time.

Of all the great masters he'd met, the strongest aside from his own teacher was the Clairvoyant. He'd never experienced the full scope of the old soothsayer's power, though. Still, he was sure it was as great and boundless as the universe itself. That was easy to tell.

Their own master, the one they call Jue Di, had been known far and wide as the most powerful Paragon to have ever lived. However, Lan Jue never actually felt any protogenic powers from his master. That was because Jue Di never had to use it, and the torment he put he and his brother through was done without its need. For as far as he ever saw, Jue Di was nothing more than a common man with an exceptional love for martial arts.

What he felt now was different from the Clairvoyant's power, but he could sense that this invisible Paragon's strength was greater even than the Wine Master's, or the Keeper's. Whoever this person was, they'd have given the Clairvoyant a run for his money.

Lan Jue couldn't do it. He couldn't continue to fight, especially with Qianlin under his protection. The vortex he was suspended within perhaps wasn't as damaging as Hua Li's, but nonetheless he couldn't handle it.

Suddenly the whole of reality appeared to shudder and change. Everything was backwards: Yin became yang, and up became down. Lan Jue stood, helplessly watching as the mad world around him changed. He was unable to do anything, especially when he realized his power was slowly draining away. Every passing second saw him more incapable of defiance.

He was almost at Paragon level himself, with Zhou Qianlin's powers combining with his own! Still, the end result was failure. One could only imagine how strong this unknown Paragon was.

"We did not come here with ill intent." A familiar voice said.

Chapter 358: Domains Conflict

Lan Jue felt as though his body had become very light. In the next instant a silvery doorway of pure light appeared embedded in the crimson world. Countless more streams of light fractured away from the silver glow and spread out from it. Where the light touched, the world of red quickly receded. A new, silver nucleus expanded from their location.

Lan Jue heaved a sigh of relief. "Excellent timing. If you' waited any longer I'm not sure there'd be anything to save."

The Wine Master stood calmly, scepter in hand. Disjointed planes of silver light expanded out in fractals around him, and the old man was reflected in each. The toxic red energies without swirled angrily around the border of this silver pocket, but could not invade.

This was a war of Domains. A Paragon's standoff!

The Pauper appeared from another interdimensional fissure, standing beside Lan Jue. Upon seeing the Jewelry Master, the Pauper gave him a surprised look.

The aura that surrounded Lan Jue was the focus of his shock.

Lan Jue nodded toward the beggar as he appeared. He maintained the same majestic façade, an integral part of his Ascension. After all, empowered with protogenic energy as he was why shouldn't he be confident in the presence of his allies?

"You should not have come here." The scratchy, ancient voice echoed all around them. It was as though it bubbled up from the thick world of red surrounding them.

The Wine Master's eyes flared with silver light, that shone out like a pair of stars. He raised his scepter high and, from the shimmering power gem at it's crest, a gentle wave of silvery light swept out like a shock wave. In it's wake countless motes of light swam and danced through the air. They twinkled, they swirled, they rose and fell, and as Lan Jue looked closer he was stunned to discover every one of those hundreds upon thousands of specks was a star. As the swirling mass expanded, they found themselves in the center of a miniature Milky Way.

His Domain was evolving!

As the twinkling universe grew, the world of red receded like a shadow. But more accurately, the red was being devoured, for each individual star was it's own reality with a powerful vacuum force. Then, as it must have been at the beginning of time, the condensed cluster of stars exploded out in every direction. The reality around them grew until they sat in an entirely separate universe, entirely created of the Wine Master's will, surrounded by planets that would rival anything they'd seen before.

This was the true projection of a Paragon's Domain. The Wine Master was facing an unknown foe, who was likely significantly stronger even than himself. He made the right determination; pull out all the stops.

But then, something else was in the domain with them – another life force. As they looked on, a creeping presence like a weed snaked through the starry expanse.

Compared to an entire universe, what was a weed? This weed, however, spread it's creeping tendrils through the fabric of reality. Slow by cosmic standards, it grew and grew until it began to shock planets. The thickening twigs became wide as meteor belts.

It didn't matter how large this universe was. It didn't matter how many stacks of reality existed. The weed existed in all of them.

Both Lan Jue and the Pauper adopted focused, concerned expressions in the face of this threat. The powers of the Paragons were in contest, intertwining like serpents. They would war like this for supremacy. No matter who won, however, Lan Jue and the Pauper would be the ones to suffer the consequence.

Evidence pointed to their opponent as occupying the superior position currently. Their hidden opponent had taken the initiative, which put the Wine Master on the defensive. Worse, he couldn't stop her.

As they watched, the weeds – now thick as vines – encroached in to the heart of the Wine Master's domain. They writhes and twisted over one another until they were a dense, living net. Closer and closer they inched, and coiled so tightly that nothing but the vines existed.

Gradually, the vines began to sprout little purple pearl-like grapes, and the heady scent of the fruit filled the air. As the grapes grew plump, they were treated to a beautiful display, hiding the danger beneath.

The silvery eminence of the Wine Master's powers continued to coil round. He simply watched as the scene unfolded. Stretching out his scepter, the old man still did not engage. He simply felt all that was occurring around him.

Eventually, a dim silvery light gradually arose. The image of a moon, reflecting the light from a nearby star, appeared suspended in the newly made universe. As it grew, its power intensified. The soothing silver glow hung over every minute vine.

The ripening grapes began to waggle of the vine under their own weight. They appeared as they they might fall at any moment.

The image reminded Lan Jue of a special, complicated system of making wine called biodynamics. A small part of it was the belief that grapes should be collected under the light of the moon. This Paragon was simulating the process of a grape harvest, or so it appeared.

So far, Lan Jue could to feel the adverse affects of their battle. However, he knew that if this continued, the situation won't only get more dire.

The Wine Master remained still, like a statue suspended in space. He was lost in the totality of everything around them, scrutinizing every detail.

The first grape fell. As it tumbled through eternity, it burst open. Energies sealed within were instantly absorbed by the vacuum of the Wine Master's multiverse. But under the light of that strange moon, even the stars changed. They dimmed, until they themselves became enormous purple grapes.

Then, there was a pulse of energy, as the newly formed grapes broke the Wine Master's control. Lan Jue and the Pauper exchanged a silent, stunned looked.

Both of them knew how frightening the world of a Paragon could be, but this was beyond expectations. Neither could have suspected that the simple grape could congeal, and drown an entire universe. The vine's unstoppable expansion was almost predatory, and permanent.

What neither Lan Jue nor the Pauper understood, was why the Wine Master wasn't doing anything! All he did was watch as that enormous star was lost to his enemy's power. Flashes of emotional turmoil did appear in his eyes, though.

More and more grapes fell, burst, and their contents covered the star further.

The Wine Master sighed, and waved his scepter. The mass of stars and planets, the entire universe, began to contract. It continued to shrink until the whole of it was reabsorbed back in to the Cosmagus' body. The three Skyfire Adepts stood now in a field of wild grape vines, stretching far as the eye could see.

The only thing that separated them from that reality was a translucent shell of light. The Wine Master looked out over the fields, and shook his head. "Clearly we aren't welcome. We should leave."

He punctuated the sentence with a wave of his scepter. A golden door of light appeared soundlessly before them.

This was the first time Lan Jue witnessed the Wine Master using a portal like this. It felt… steadier, than the silver dimensional fissures the Wine Master usually used.

In the end, a Paragon – even a defeated Paragon – could make their escape. Killing one was no easy task, even among themselves.

As the golden light of their succor filled the area, the nearby grapes became illusory. Gradually, they vanished until the only thing remaining of their presence was a lingering scent. The scene around them cleared as well, revealing them to be floating in the air over the vineyard below.

"Wait a moment. Gates, bring them to me." The old voice returned, reverberating through the air like the voice of god.

Gates, apparently, was the old man who'd been the focus of Lan Jue's ire earlier. The Jewelry Master turned an eye to the acting head of Skyfire Avenue. The Wine Master responded to the unspoken concern with a nod of his head. The Cosmagus swept his arm once more, and the portal vanished.

Now that the conflict appeared to be over, Gates dispassionately floated their way. He bowed at the waist. "If the three gentlemen would follow me…"

He wasted no further time in discussion, and headed back to the ground expecting them to follow. They did, once the Paragon felt safe enough to drop his shield.

Lan Jue did not bring Qianlin forth. Her… wardrobe issue would be a problem. Things would have to remain as they were for a while more.

They finally had time to appreciate their surroundings once they reached ground, and what they saw was as picturesque as anyone could ask for. Towering mountains in the distance grasped at lazily wandering clouds. At the peak of these mountains had been constructed great buildings made of stone. They looked worn, and crude, but retained a rural beauty. They were old-style castles, constructed to overlook the vineyards.

Most vineyards were established on the sides of mountains. Although flat-land grapes existed, they were few and far between. Most of the flatter plots were reserved for other crops.

It was like Shangri-La from the tales of old, idyllic and gorgeous. Now that matters weren't so tense, Lan Jue took a deep breath to enjoy the perfectly clean air. The elemental forces here were stronger than on the surface world, and the vital energies swirling around them were plentiful. It would be a wonderful place to enhance Tan Lingyun's ability. Wonderful, or terrible, depending on who you asked.

"I imagine this is a separate dimension." Lan Jue said to the Wine Master.

But the old man shook his head. "No. We really are beneath the lake. Clearly they've used tactical employment of power to conceal themselves and keep the lake suspended. It's the same way they simulate sunlight. Unless I'm mistaken, this place is very much similar to the environment on the Mother world. We have certainly found the right place."

Lan Jue nodded, then smirked. "It's a shame our arrival was met with less than stellar hospitality."

"I'll guess we'll learn more in a minute," the Wine Master replied.

Gates, who was ahead of them, hesitated half a step when he heard the Wine Master's deductions.

They wandered through the fields, the soil's fragrance filling their nostrils. Lan Jue noted that the oxygen content was lower here than it was on the surface, but he quickly got used to it.

If it was like the Wine Master said, then why shouldn't he acclimate quickly? Men were of Mother Earth, and this place was made to emulate her.

Chapter 359: A Generation of Masters

Gates brought them across an expansive field of plump grapes. Their destination appeared to be the stone structure Lan Jue had spotted earlier. However, their ultimate terminus was not the structure itself, but what lay behind it, as they discovered when Gates brought them around the side.

Their trek had garnered no small number of stares from farmers. Their expressions were restrained, but the faint hint of hostility in their eyes was still visible.

As they wrapped around the stone building, they were met by a hidden hillside. Like all the others, it was blanketed with thick grape vines. However, in contrast to the others, these plants rose a good two meters high. The vines themselves were so thick a man could hardly wrap his arms around one, and were draped in heavy clusters of grapes. Each one bunch was a beautiful amethyst hue, and crystal clear. Certainly these were not your average grapes.

The Wine Master visibly recoiled in surprise. "This is…"

That craggy voice interrupted. "Welcome. Welcome to our village – Beaune 1."

Lan Jue and the Pauper looked on, eyes wide. The voice had come from the grape vine. Gates lead them closer, and each step brought the heady scent of wine to their nostrils. The scent was as full-bodied as it was aromatic.

Lan Jue looked toward the Wine Master, who was clearly just as stunned as he.

"When our domains conflicted, I saw that you hadn't the heart to destroy the vines or grapes. I could see in your eyes that you cherished them. You have earned the right to be here, you and your friends."

The voice was louder now, and directly before them. There was no mistaking it – the vine was talking to them. As they looked on, a face appeared in the the branches; eyes, a nose, and a mouth all became apparent. Although the features were made up of twigs and grapes and branches, there was still a spirit there, a sort of humanity.

Was this really a talking grape vine?

This voice was the same he'd heard before, the voice of the Paragon. It must be, but could a vine be a Paragon? This was inconceivable!

The Wine Master took a step forward and, pressing a hand respectfully to his chest, bowed before the vine. "I am very honored to meet you, predecessor. We, your juniors, have come from Skyfire Avenue. There, I am called the Wine Master. Would you grace us with your name?"

"Wine Master? Very well, it does appear you have a great love for wine. I'll admit, however, that it is very surprising indeed that you should find us. As for this old fellows name… That, I remember… though I've forgotten many things indeed. How could I forget? When I made wine, my name was stamped on every bottle. This one's name, is Aubert de Villaine. 2"

Aubert de Villaine! The name struck like thunder in the three Adepts' ears. Even more than when the existence of a second hidden Paragon, this revelation left them dumb-struck. This was a legend in the world of a wine, in the… flesh.

Their goal in this journey had been to locate the descendants of the great Gods of Wine. The hope had been to recover some of the great masters' lost secrets. Never in a million years would they have guessed they would come face to face with one of them.

Henri Jayer was likely the most famous of the three, and the wine they partook confirmed his mastery of the craft. However, his wines could not compete with Romanee-Conti in the realm of reputation. The great red wine was too widely known, and Jayer's offering were so few yearly. No wine would be more widely beloved than a good Romanee-Conti.

Because of this a lot had to be considered in the purchase of – for instance – a Jayer bottle Average price and reputation were among them. Among the Burgundy wines, none could top the DRC 3. The DRC was both a company, and a family business. They had seven top-shelf wines, of which Romanee-Conti was but one.

Other than the Conti, there was also Poligny-Montrachet, La Tache, Grands Échezeaux, Échezeaux, Richebourg, and Romanée-St-Vivant. None of these were piddly boutique wines. The Montrachet was considered the pinnacle of Chardonnay, and no competitor even really came close.

The DRC had a number of excellent wines, that were consistently among the best in the world. They did it through advertising, skill and proper business management. Now the mastermind behind it, a man who was a contemporary of the mighty Jayer, was here now.

And indeed it was he, Aubert de Villaine. That was the name of this grape vine. Master Vintner of the DRC, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and legendary figure – Auburt de Villaine!

The man had been born at the beginning of the twentieth century. That would make him well over three hundred years old. Even Paragons, with their extended lives, were only able to achieve this once humanity had taken to the stars and discovered power gems. Of course, those early Paragons were also long-lived, but few lived much passed one hundred.

But Aubert de Villaine was a man! How was it this vine came to speak, and to call itself by such a name?

"I know, unbelievable isn't it?" Aubert said.

The Wine Master took a moment to find his voice. "Absolutely astonishing. I'd never dreamed of one day actually meeting one of the great gods of wine. Much less under circumstances like these."

"I am not the legendary god of wine," Aubert assured. His tone had grown hard and irritated. "There is only one, and his name was Henri Jayer. Neither I nor Bize-Leroy were ever worthy of the name. Back in my younger years I was full of pride. But now, three hundred years later, I still can't compete with the man. No one will ever match his talent."

Were these words borne from the mouth of any normal modern vintner, the Wine Master wouldn't not have paid them much mind. No one in their right mind would compare themselves to one of the three gods of wine. However each had their fans, and Aubert's storie wines were the most followed. In those ancient days, it was unrivaled in many ways.

For the maker of such a fine wine – such a beloved wine – to say that… the Wine Master felt that deeply. He'd scoured any record of these great men, and never once did he hear of Aubert conceding to Jayer. The only hing he had said was that what he did, Henri couldn't do.

Lan Jue was just as shocked, maybe even more so. Hell, a grape vine was talking to them about being a three hundred year old master vintner. Things were strange.

The Wine Master responded. "Those great wines, those products of your efforts are quickly dwindling. Drinking one is to deny the universe a rare treasure. It was my hope to meet with your descendants, to find a suitable place, and to restore the glory of those old days. But I see now that would be akin to teaching a fish how to swim. With you here, things change dramatically."

Aubert's voice returned. "You can make wine?"

"I can't," he replied with a shake of his head. "I am just a humble fan, a sommelier. This is why they call me the Wine Master. I have, however, managed to amass a passable collection of old wines. Several from the DRC, in fact. Bize-Leroy and Henri Jayer bottles as well. If one were to create a superior wine, they would need to experience the product of the masters. I was hoping to donate these bottles to the descendants to help, but that seems unnecessary now."

After a moment, Aubert's rumbling voice replied. "Do you truly have bottles from all three of us? Which bottles, precisely?"

The Wine Master's response was quick and decisive. "All seven of the DRC labels are among my collection, each their best years. A 1990 Romanee-Conti, for instance. I have the entire set of Bize-Lreoy masterpieces, like her Richebourg. I have a Romanee-Conti of her creation as well – after all, she was part of the DRC for a long time.4"

'Leroy' was also the name of their business, run by the Bize-Leroy family. It was also the name of the third great master of wine – mistress, in fact. Lalou Bize-Leroy.

She was a remarkable woman, known to many as a dragon lady with iron-fisted control over the DRC brand. Some of the worlds best wines, she had a hand in creating.

Both DRC and Leroy bottles were comparatively greater in number than Jayer creations. However, for true wine lovers that wasn't overly heartening, for the greatest treasure were those few remaining masterpieces.

If this vine really was somehow the master Aubert de Villaine, then there would be no one who could repudiate his claims that Henri Jayer was the greatest vintner who ever lived.

"And Henri's? You have Jayer wines as well?" Aubert asked.

"I did… I had managed to discover a single bottle. Sadly the master's creations were few in number, even in your day. I had spent a great deal of energy in finding it, and kept it enshrined in my collection. Sadly, a few less than considerate friends had it opened. We had no recourse but to drink it." The Wine Master could still feel the dull pang of regret when he thought about the loss of that magnificent wine.

1. Here's a link to the wikipedia description of the real-world town in Burgundy.

2. Here is his first mention in the story, and a wiki refresher.

3. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

4. Remember that de Vallaine and Bize-Leroy were co-owners of the DRC back in the day, until differences in business aims got her kicked out. She later ran her own vineyard.

Chapter 360: Wine Tasting

"Drank it?" Aubert's voice took on a strange tone. "That's good. Good! Once all of his bottles are gone, Jayer will fade in to legend." There was an audible undertone of resentment in his voice. Clearly, there was a story there.

"Since you all are true fans of good vintage, I insist you stay. You're in luck, in fact. The grapes are ready… it's time to create the wine. This has bee in the work for three years. You can see how things are done, and try some flor perhaps. Since you've had some of my past creations, you'll be able to better compare them."

"That's excellent then," the Wine Master said, delightedly. "Thank you for your generosity, and hospitality." Wine had been a passion of his all his life. The opportunity to try a wine made fresh at the hands of a master was like a dream come true. Beyond that, however, he was excited for discovering that Abuert de Villaine still lived!

"Gates, give them the tour if you would. Then return, I'd like to hear their perspective." Aubrey indifferently relayed.

Gates stood to the side, and indicated for the others to follow. Once the three visitors offered their respects to de Villaine, they made to follow. Lan Jue, the Pauper, and especially the Wine Master were almost in a daze as they mirrored Gates' path. This entire experience was unprecedented, culminating in the discovery of a living legend. Was this some sort of reincarnation, where the man became what he loved so dearly? What's more, the man was frighteningly powerful! In retrospect, it was no surprise his Domain had looked the way it did.

Following Gates' lead, they entered into the old stone building. As soon as they entered, they were met with the rich scent of white oak. The inside was almost entirely empty but for a massive cask in the center. The wooden container was ten meters tall, perhaps six in diameter, and a mystery to the three visitors.

Gates seemed to sense their curiosity. "We use the most traditional methods in biodynamics to make our wines. Part of that means absolutely no mechanical processes are employed. For instance, we till the land with horse and oxen. The grapes are harvested by hand, and only the best are selected."

"We spent a great deal of time and effort in perfecting the soil here, all with the ultimate goal of returning those seven DRC wines to modern circulation. We irrigate the land from the lake above. That isn't perfectly natural, perhaps, but we've taken pains to make this place as close to the mother world as possible. Currently, our vines are about forty years old. Once the wine is made, it is aged in oak barrels for eighteen or twenty four months depending on the crop. Sadly, our barrels aren't old, so they will likely impact the flavor and quality of our wine this year. The result of our first harvest has already been bottles, while the others are still aging in casks. It's still mostly flor."

"Would we be able to sample some of the wine from your first year?" Lan Jue asked.

Gates turned his attention to the young Jewelry Master, then nodded his head. "Certainly. Now that Master de Villaine has given his blessing, we encourage you to. If you would please come with me."

They walked further in to the old stone fort, where they discovered a flight of steps. Gates lead them down the spiraling stone staircase, and they followed in single file. As they went on, Gates continued the tour.

"Traditionally, wine cellars must be at least ten meters underground. The temperature must be maintained at between twenty and twenty-five degrees Celsius with a stable level of humidity to ensure proper aging. It is a long process, that involves dust and bacteria, but all of it is part of a wine's journey. Accumulation is the key. On the home world there were chateaus that had existed for thousands of years, passed down from generation to generation. That, too, was a journey. It was the accumulation of that time, effort and experience that created such wondrous vintages."

"Are any of Aubret's inheritors here among you?" the Wine Master asked.

"Of course."

The Wine Master went on. "And you employ interspacial technology here?"

"Actually no," came Gates' response. "Master de Villaine preserved an old winery from long ago. Everything within it was exactly the same as it was during its hay-day. This isn't that one, and in fact the original hasn't been touched in ages. We're not even sure the contents are still intact."

Of course, the most important thing when sampling a wine was to make sure it hadn't spoiled. A spoiled wine, of course, made for a terrible experience. Those wines that had reached such a state were simply called 'old wine.' These were largely wines that had been improperly stored, or left to ferment for too long.

Both Lan Jue and the Wine Master's eyes were bright with the prospect of what Gates had revealed. There existed an intact winery from the former era? However, without interspacial technology to help control the wine's environment, the harsh rigors of time would likely have spoiled all the contents. The chance that any bottle survived was very slim indeed.

The reached the bottom of the stairwell, and Gates pulled out a pair of wooden doors barring their path. They shuffled in to the next room.

Even before they saw anything, that rich oak scent rose up to meet them once again. Stalagmites peppered the area, holding high the stone roof of the small cave cellar. Scanning widely, one would discovery rows upon rows of oak barrels stacked on two levels with two barrels each. They stretched on down to the dark recesses of the cellar's far end.

"We've just started, so we have around eleven hundred barrels. About seven hundred of each vintage. The first vintage has begun the bottle process, and the third has just been placed in their casks."

The cellar was easily capable of housing that many casks, and in fact they could see many open places where more barrels could be stored.

Lan Jue spoke up. "Mister Gates, what do you intend to do with your wines once they're ready?"

Gates looked back at him. "The Western Alliance has helped us in the creation of this wine. It'll be kept here in this Alliance."

"The Western Alliance?" Lan Jue's eyes lost focus for a moment, as he pondered on something.

The conversation didn't continue, and they instead went on with their tour. After they completed a circuit of the cellar, they came upon a barrel with a metal tube sprouting from it.

"What's this?" the Pauper asked the Wine Master, who stood at his shoulder.

"It's called a bung. It's used by bartenders and sommoliers. After all, a person can only drink so much. Putting away an entire cask would likely kill a normal man. So, to preserve the wine for later, you close the bung hole 1. Everything must be done to preserve this water of life."

Gates offered the Wine Master a ghost of a smile, and nodded his head. He extricated three crystal glasses from a nearby cabinet and handed them out.

"First we'll try one from a newly filled cask. This is called flor, before it's fermented in to wine. When you try it, really imagine where it will be. A true sommelier can tell the quality of a wine from a sip of the flor." As he spoke, the elderly vintner gathered up a long glass tube. There was a rubber stopper on one end, and it one looked closely they would see a small hole.

He made his way to a nearby cask, and removed the white spile plugging it closed. He dipped the glass tube in, and plugged the whole on the bottom with his thumb. When he pulled it out, the wine was suspended within. Atmospheric pressure was an important element of biodynamics.

Gates poured a little bit of the deep red liquid in to everyone's glass, then returned what remained back in to the cask. He gestured for them to take a sip.

Lan Jue swirled his glass' contents and examined the sentiment, then brought the glass to his nose. The scent was strange, not fragrant as one would expect. Instead, it was very sour, and concentrated.

He took a sip and held it in his mouth. Immediately that acerbic flavor he'd smelled struck his tongue. This was what was called flor, and a little bit of grape juice.

Sour mixed with grape, a sensation Lan Jue had never had before. It was certainly novel. He swallowed it down. Through the glass he spied a name written on the cask: Vivian. This was their attempt at DRC's Saint-Vivant – a fine wine indeed! He would never have guessed the flor would taste like this.

For a long while that tart sensation remained in his mouth. However, over time, it changed to something richer. This was certainly no comparison to a good bottle, but it was an exciting new experience. He was well familiar with the taste of alcohol, but hops were different. He couldn't taste it as Gates had said, but perhaps that was because he lacked imagination.

One by one they went down the line, sampling all seven of the DRC's budding vintages. With more experience, Lan Jue was beginning to taste subtle differences. Once they'd gotten to the last barrel – the Romanee-Conti itself – his eyes lit up. A smile spread across his face. "You can taste it – the best wines certainly come from the best base."

Gates nodded. "That's exactly right. Just as the best champagnes come the best white grapes, so that even when the carbonation has gone it is still a fine glass, so too is it here. The principle is the same."

Lan Jue shot the old guy a thumbs-up.

These were the younger barrels, where their flor had been kept in storage for a year. The entire sight filled them with hope and expectation for the future. Each one of them grew more excited with each taste. The brightness in their eyes gave it away.

Eventually, their wine tasting party came to an end. They returned the glasses to Gates.

The Pauper gazed over the casks, and with a frown gently shook his head.

"What is it?" Lan Jue asked?

The Pauper muttered. "Maybe it's because of the taste, but the Romanee-Conti has an excellent taste as well as a strange osmotic property. It's almost like it seeps in to your cells. These are young, and don't have that sensation. Not the explosive flavor of the Cros Parantoux. It's like it's missing something.

1. Yes, that is what its called.

Chapter 361: A God's Tale

The Wine Master smiled softly. "I'm already quite pleasantly surprised. A new Romanee-Conti for a new era! It will certainly be an amazing vintage once it's finished aging. Aubert de Villaine is absolutely deserving of his status as a god of wine. Although it doesn't surpass a Cros Parantoux, it's certainly a lot more accessible. Henri Jayer was a harsh and rigorous vintner, and only produced a limited number of his masterpieces a year. Meanwhile, five thousand bottles of Romanee-Conti were produced in the same time period. That's several times more than his competitor."

Gates, who had been listening to their exchanged, frowned. "If the gentlemen would follow me, we'll return to master de Villaine."

The three nodded. It wasn't long before the group stood once more before the talking vine. However, Aubert did not immediately question them on their tasting. When the elderly voice did reappear, it was weaker than the last time.

"You know, I should have died centuries ago. Two hundred years, in fact. I couldn't accept it then, I wasn't ready to leave."

"Now, I'm conflicted. When I was young, my only dream was to become the greatest vintner the world had ever seen. All of my instructors said I was a great talent. However, as I grew to make better wines, I found a strange contradiction. The better the wine, the worse my winery fared. The reason for this was my methodology – everything did and still does take a great deal of time and effort. Even just picking the grapes takes two months. If there is no full moon, then you must wait for the grapes to ripen and fall of their own accord. But you don't use those to make wine. These stringent practices ensure the best possible quality. However, the other chateaus with their bargain wines were doing much better financially. They made up for lower quality with higher selling volume. The largest Burgundy chateau at the time could produce eight hundred thousand bottles in a year.

"It was then my world view came under scrutiny. Why should the greatest wines continually be so expensive? So, I began my research. It took me thirty years to strike a balance between price and quality. The result was the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. However, at some point I lost it. Money clouded my mind, and my keen perception of the process was lost."

"I never saw Henri Jayer as competition. He was a simple farmer, and I the successor of the storied de Villaine family. Fifty percent of the DRC belonged to me. It wasn't until I was named the greatest vintner in Burgundy that I discovered, I could not follow in his foot steps."

"Gradually I came to my senses. I had never been a match for Jayer, but my true love had never changed. Making wine. I redoubled my efforts, me and Lalou. We studied biodynamics and learned to apply it to wine making. We put our sweat, blood and tears in to it, and made the DRC something special. We were pioneers, blazing trails and revolutionizing the wine industry along the way. We gave our lives to wine, forsaking everything else, but those were the greatest days of my very long life. Once I felt the wines were good enough, we sent for the farmer Henri Jayer."

"When he arrived, I took him on a personal tour of the Chateau. I wanted him to see the grandeur of the DRC. I wanted him to know how great our biodynamics system worked."

"But, then he said to me, that the vines were like his own life. He and the crop were partners. When they were sick, they were carefully tended to with the proper fertilizer. Whatever they needed, he gave them. He didn't need to follow some scientific theory."

"I must admit, I was an awful host. I ask him quite arrogantly if he felt his wines could match up with my precious Romanee-Conti. At the time, the vintage he would later dub Cros Parantoux wasn't ready. The vines were still too young. After tasting my creation, he said he could help me make it better if I gifted him some of my grapes."

"In my pride I agreed. Lalou and I continued our valiant toils, carefully following our prescribed plan to make the greatest Romanee-Conti ever tasted. Jayer, meanwhile, would come every day to look over the vines we'd separated out for him. He'd wander around doing god knows what."

"Two years passed quickly. Eventually our product was ready for bottling. Lalou and I had created twenty barrels, which would eventually become six thousand bottles of Romanee-Conti. Henri, meanwhile, managed not even a full cask – enough for a hundred and fifty bottles. We had expected something closer to five hundred, considering the acreage he'd been working with. Originally I'd thought he was doing something shady with the grapes. However, he said this was simply the result of his work. That cask was the only one up to his standard."

"Once all was said and done, we placed two bottles of Romanee-Conti on the tasting table. From the outside they looked identical, but for the name of the vintner printed on the bottle. Bize and I were confident our wine would reveal itself as the superior vintage. 1

Aubert paused, continuing after a moment of reflection. ""It wasn't until those two glasses of wine were placed before me, did I realize how wrong I was. Henri picked up the glass with Bize and I's wine, and took a sip. He then stood up and said to me, "Thank you for the opportunity to work in your lovely vineyard." He insisted we keep the wine he'd made, then left."

At first, I took that as a sign of his surrender, but then I tasted his wine. I experienced the incredible tannins through the rich, fragrant liquid. The flavor was incredible. I knew then that Bize and I had lost – not not just lost, but we had never even been in his league. Henri Jayer had committed two years of his time and effort, using his own methods to instruct us on how wine should really taste.

It was a deadly blow to my pride. For a while, I didn't eat. Worst, though, was when Bize left. She went to work with Jayer on his vineyard. I knew she sought him out for no other reason than his masterful skill… but the jealousy, and the resentment were still there. I sacrificed my health for the pursuit of perfection. I tried to kill myself, just to be better than Henri Jayer. I slaved in the vineyards, and picked only the very choicest of grapes from my countless hours of toil. But by then, Jayer's vintages were ready. Jayer was not a man concerned with riches, and his output was small, so the DRC had nothing to fret over financially. However, from that day forward, I was no 'god of wine.' There was only ever one man on that altar."

"Eventually he died… heh, yes, he died. I went to find Bize in the hopes she'd return to my vineyard, but she refused. She told me that she loved Jayer, and even though he was dead she would remain his forever. She gave up her portion of the DRC, and returned to her family establishment to produce Leroy wines."

"Rumors circulated that I had her removed from the business. None of them knew my hurt. She was the only woman I had ever loved in my entire life. But she loved a man I had no way to defeat."

"I fought on, and recovered my health. My one motivation was to be better than Jayer! The man was dead, but his wines were still in circulation. I purchased as many as I could get my hands on. Every year I struggled, and every year the result was the same. As the world's environment failed I moved to more and more remote places. I refused to admit defeat. I had to keep trying. I couldn't let myself die. Eventually I found a way to merge myself with the oldest grape vine I possessed. To live longer, I became a vine. I figured this may help me better understand my goal, so that I could ultimately create the perfect bottle of wine. There will be a day my Romanee-Conti would be superior to the Cros Parantoux! And what a fine day that will be!"

Aubert's voice became shrill, reaching a crescendo as his story came to a close. Clearly, he was having difficulty keeping his emotions in check.

As he listened to the master's resentment of a contemporary, Lan Jue's brows furrowed. He sniffed.

"What are you sniffing about?" Aubert asked. His tone was cold and daring.

"Because," Lan Jue began, "If you keep up this attitude, you'll never be better than Jayer."

Aubert was furious, and the vines ripped rattan fencing away to brandish dangerously before the Jewelry Master. "Why?! What makes you qualified to make such a statement?"

Lan Jue shrugged. "Of course I can't pretend to compare to you or Henri. However, I do feel that a vintner's most important quality is the love of wine. It isn't about being better. You said it before, you have an excellent talent. Jayer likely didn't have the same talent you do, but in your heart there's only victory and defeat. That is what's preventing you from truly understanding grapes or wine. At least compared to Master Jayer, that's your problem."

1. Potentially Important: The name for Lalou Bize-Leroy in Chinese is (as TJSS writes it anyway, he seems to like to change around characters for real names) 拉罗贝丝 which is kinda weird because that's just 'Lalou Bize' which I not her full name. Anyway, 贝丝 is important… because I translated that as Bess! Now, I don't know if that means anything, necessarily, but the Chinese characters are the same. Let the conspiracy theories begin.

Chapter 362: Fall of Divinity

The sentient grape vine went silent for a time. Aubert de Villaine pondered on the past, and only later did his deep voice return. "I did whatever I could, employed whatever methods possible, to beat Jayer. Have you seen the fruit of my vine? These are the product of my life's work – three hundred years of study, of trying to understand. Every grape is already fermented in to a self-contained dollop of wine. You have tasted Jayer's Cros Parantoux, so I invite you to try my own creations. Tell me if I've finally surpassed the man."

Lan Jue was surprised by the sudden shift in topic. He looked on as three vines, thick as a man's arm, stretched towards them.

The grapes situated on these vines were different from normal grapes. Those came in bunches, while de Villain's fruit came only one per bud. Each twinkling, amethyst-hued grape was about as large as an infant's fist. They looked delectable.

Three dropped from the vine, and fell directly in to the hands of the vineyard's visitors. Immediately, the heady scent of wine filled the air. The savory, mellow fragrances alone were enough to make them feel drunk. Tentatively, grapes were brought to mouths, but when they took a bite they did not find fruit. Instead, a gush of fluid burst forth and down their gullets. It was wine, a big gulp of wine in every grape.

Their taste buds were in overdrive. The intense flavors filled their mouths, stimulating every cell. It felt like the taste was invaded one's whole body. Thankfully, all three of the Skyfire Adepts were…. practiced enough in the art of drinking that they needn't fear getting drunk.

The Wine Master was the first to sense something amiss. But where Lan Jue and the Pauper's faces had changed from the wine's flavors, the Wine Master's expression shifted for a different reason. As he watched, his companion's flesh darkened until they were purple – the same tint as the grapes they'd imbibed.

"There's a problem with the grapes!" The Wine Master flourished with his right hand and, in a flash of silvery light, his astrum truncheon appeared in his grip.

"No. I have used my own condensed life force and protogenic powers to create these perfect grapes. They are absolutely the pinnacle of grape farming. But grapes, you see, require fine fertilizer. After years of research I've found the best kind, and it may surprise you to find that there is no better fertilizer than human remains. Now that you're here, and you've seen all of this, perhaps we'll just have you stay. The wine didn't get you drunk, as was my hope, but you still don't have the power to face me." Aubert de Villaine's voice had grown murderously cold.

A thick purple light hung over the hillside. The massive vine waves erratically, pulling in all directions until it's buried roots were exhumed. The sentient plants jerks and twisted until it assumed the shape of a man, made of bark and grapes.

By now, the Wine Master's skin had also begun to darken. He heaved a long grunt. "Lan Jue was right1, you aren't even in the same class as Jayer. Your heart is poisoned – only interested in instant gratification and quick success. Your spirit was only ever interested in money, and that is why you were never able to understand the art of making wine. Even with all your talent, you will never be the greatest god of wine."

A silvery bubble of energy surrounded the Wine Master and his companions. In response, dozens of slithering grape vines exploded from the earth all around them. They were a deep purple in color, and wrapped together to form a hideous face, frozen in an expression of rage. More appeared, and struck out at the protective bubble surrounding the intrepid travelers from all directions. There were so many that they blotted out the sky, turning everything purple.

"I have already used my protogenic powers to close this place. Even with your interspacial capabilities, you're stuck here. The fruit of a god of wine is special, you see. It would kill a normal man – he would drink himself to oblivion. For Adepts, it reduces your Talent. One grape, diluted in water, can make a thousand bottles of the best Romanee-Conti the universe has ever known. But you – you are great lovers of wine, are you not? Wouldn't contributing your bodies to create such a splendid wine be a fitting end? You dare to look down upon my creation, to claim it inferior to that farmer's Cros Parantoux, so consider this death my gift." Aubert's voice was haughty, and full of venom.

The Wine Master fixed the vine-man's 'face' with a glare. "Indeed, you are inferior. The fruit of a god of wine is fine, but it cannot compare to the true love and devotion a vintner has for his harvest. These grapes have no love, just rage and greed. You can sense it in the aftertaste – it's fetid. You said it true before – there is no way for you to ever surpass the late Henri Jayer."

"You're clearly not qualified to make such assumptions. We will see the truth of it once you've come to fertilize my fruit. My creation will sweep the universe, and all those who drink it will be drawn in. From them, I will chose the best to serve as nutrients for the next harvest. I refuse to believe that, with the addition of so many wine lovers, that I will not surpass Jayer! There will be more love for wine than that old man could ever muster. I can finally rid myself of his specter. You three are lucky – my first crop, I'll remember you always."

The skies darkened until it was a reach, deep purple – almost black. The vines, hundreds now, wiped ceaselessly at the silvery shell. Each vine shattered as it thrust itself against the Wine Master's defenses, but with each strike the strain on the Cosmagus became more evident.

The Wine Master's skin became increasingly darker in hue. It crept up his body, slowly overtaking the hand holding his scepter. He gave a bitter smirk. Never would he have thought that the greatest love of his life would be his undoing.

As for Aubert de Villaine, the great vintner, clearly his rage and jealousy had driven him to madness. A Paragon lost to anger was terrifying, for who knew how many innocents would lose their lives. This place had become a Babylonian purgatory.

In regards to cultivation, the Wine Master and Aubert were not equal. However, the difference was not enormous. In part, the Wine Master's understanding of protogenic energies was deeper due to his experience with interstellar migration – something Aubert clearly had avoided. None of that power or knowledge could be taken from him.

But this place, everything around them, was under the complete control of Aubert de Villaine. He had created it from nothing, using the skills and knowledge of the Former Era. He even turned himself in to an enormous grape vine so that his connection to the land was deeper. It was largely for this reason that the Wine Master found himself at such a disadvantage.

Evidently, the new Paragon's abilities were plant-based. In regards to combat, this couldn't hold a flame to interdimensional Talent. Here, however, those specific attributes were cut off – interspacial powers were suppressed because the entirety of this place was under Aubert's control. The grape's fluids seemed to permeate down to their souls, and the Wine Master already at a distinct disadvantage, there wasn't much in the way of resistance that they could offer.

In addition, Aubert was one of, if not the single oldest Paragon in the universe. By virtue of his age and experience alone, he had an advantage and he wasn't the least bit interested in holding back. The Wine Master knew very well what sort of destruction a Paragon was capable of. The three of them were like meat on a cutting board. All de Villaine had to do was wear him down.

Over and over again, the protogenic-infused vines lashed at them. With each strike, the Wine Master's shield dimmed. Once it failed, there would be nothing to protect them from Aubert's murderous thirst. Not even the Wine Master.

Lan Jue looked on as the Cosmagus fell to one knee. His scepter dug in to the dirt, the only thing stopping the Avenue's interim leader from falling to the ground. Tendrils of silvery light spread out from the butt of the scepter then. They were small at first, but quickly bloomed across the earth until it created a blinding lotus of glimmering light. It was dazzling, burning, and they could not look away. Each petal was its own self-contained universe, and they crashed and melded among one another.

Aubert's precious pocket of reality began to disintegrate, unable to sustain itself against the Cosmagus frightening power. The flower blazed like a sun until, suddenly, it shifted black. It became an impossible black, that drank up everything around it – a black hole, perhaps a meter wide. Almost instantaneously, all of the vines assaulting them were atomized.

There was a flux of energy, and that one meter black hole surged to devour a thousand meters.

Aubert de Villaine, standing at two meters, found himself directly in the center. As the insatiable hunger of the black hole came crashing down upon him, his viney figure ceased to be.

However, then a violet light congealed around the edges of the anomaly, keeping it from growing further.

This was the Wine Master's single most powerful skill. At the peak of his power, he was capable of devouring entire planets in it's scope. It's confinement at any level was a stupendous achievement, much less to this small size.

"Your resistance is pointless. This place belongs to me. Did you think this would be enough to destroy me? My roots spread all throughout this place. I am everywhere." Aubert's figured re-emerged from the dirt as more grape vines twisted to form a mirror image of the previous body.

The compressing power surrounding the terrible black hole strengthened. Gradually, the last-ditch effort of the Cosmagus was shrinking.

"All of your power merely makes things worse for you. The more you employ your Discipline, the faster my grape's power permeates through you. There is nothing that can save you. With that wine in your veins, you're demise is assured." Aubert De Villaine's voice was full of dark mirth.

1. To my knowledge, this is the first time anyone from the Avenue has used an Avenue denizen's true name in public. I'm thinking this is likely a mistake on TJSS's part – just an interesting aside.

Chapter 363: Calamity and Revival

The Wine Master's face had turned purple. He swayed on one knee, threatening to topple. The most terrifying aspect of these grapes was the fact that they were the product of pure protogenic energy. This wasn't any normal toxin they'd eaten, he'd have known right away if it was. It's properties were insidious, invasive. The victim slowly succumbed to exhaustion until they fell in to a deep, coma-like sleep. In a situation like this, when one needed to be at their sharpest, this was disastrous.

Just as the Wine Master was on the verge of collapse, Lan Jue – who had long since fallen limp – began to move. A stream of bright red blood began to seep from between his brows. However, it didn't drop down his face as blood should. Instead it coalesced in to something akin to a ruby, set within the flesh of his forehead. As a faint red glow surrounded Lan Jue's head like a halo, the faint scent of grape filled the air. It was the smell of wine, of the best wine the world had ever seen. The purple tint to Lan Jue's skin quickly melted away. When his eyes opened from the unnatural slumber, a flash of blood red raced across them.

Lan Jue shot to his feet, and his aura blasted out in all directions like an explosions. Gold replaced purple. There was a stuttering flash of energy, and Lan Jue vanished. He reappeared behind the Wine Master, with his right hand pressed against the ruby. A shimmering red orb of light swirled around them.

Under the strange energies, the purple covering the Wine Master began to recede as well. It rose like a mist from his pours, and when the poisoned hue was gone from his face the Wine Master's eyes flashed a dangerous silver.

"No! This is impossible! How are you able to counter the fruit's effects?!" Aubert de Villaine howled in shrill tones.

The Wine Master slowly rose to his feet. As the steamed remains of the poisons flowed around him, he lifted his astrum high overhead. Crackling ominously, the constrained black hole begun to shrink further. For half a moment there was absolute silence, before the Wine Master's star-swallowing black hole swelled to a phenomenal size.

Silk-thin tendrils of silver light slithered through the fabric of reality around them. Where it met with the deep-purple halo of constraining energy, it created an interdimensional tempest. These hairline fractures in existence fused with the black hole, allowing it to expand even farther and grow even stronger like a flood following the course of a river.

This was the unbridled power of a Paragon. Unconstrained, and unaffected, the Wine Master had more tricks up his sleeve to turn the battle in their favor. Aubert's figure writhed in the distance, with each vine of it's body lashing out wildly in rage. In response, every single vine across the stretch this quaint French-style village began to slither like they had a mind of their own.

That purple energy thickened, blotting out the sky and casting everything in a hazy light. Pressure, as though the weight of a mountain were upon them, pressed in upon the hole and the three Avenue Adepts. With the Wine Master back to full strength, Aubert would have to rely on his own direct protogenic powers diffused throughout the whole city. He was no longer caught in the grips of his mania, and was frightened by the power of this old man. He was much stronger than he'd anticipated. Ultimately Aubert was confident he could win in a straight fight – but at what cost? At the very least, he'd be unable to protect Beaune from destruction.

More important to the god of wine, however, was how Lan Jue was able to expel the grape's powers. Not just that, but he was able to remove it from the old Paragon as well. All of that should have been well beyond his capabilities.

Lan Jue would not give him answers. Largely, though, this was because he didn't know what was going on either. The flood from his forehead was his, but why did it form the way it did? Why does it seem to possess these powers? He couldn't say.

With his hand on the Wine Master's back supporting his abilities, they weren't in any immediate danger. Lan Jue looked around for the Pauper, to help him as well. When he found him, though, the Pauper was surrounded by a hazy golden aura. It seemed to radiate out from him, making his entire body gold as well.

Slowly, he pulled himself in to a seated position. His legs were folded beneath him, and his hands were pressed together level with his chest. The dirty, homeless man sat awash in light in grandeur and solemnity like a buddha. A halo of shimmering light revolved behind his head to the sound of a thousand chanting monks.

Protogenic power!

Lan Jue could feel the pulsing waves of primordial energy rippling out from him. He was fine, too? And able to use protogenic abilities?

After a moment of surprise, Lan Jue things were not as he imagined. The power surrounding the Pauper was protogenic in nature, but was internally derived. The power flowed through him, but he didn't move. He remained stuck to the floor like a buddhist statue.

Lan Jue understood. He wasn't trying to help directly with the Wine Master. His was a last ditch effort, using the swirling powers around them to help him find his Path.

The Pauper would not be launched in to Paragon status so easily, but by immersing himself in the understanding of protogenic powers, he would unlock the ability to use it – just like Lan Jue's Ascension. It would invariable help him break through to Paragon, assuming they lived through this moment. With time and further understanding, his route would grow smooth and his path short.

Lan Jue couldn't help but betray the surprise he felt. After all, witnessing a top-level Adept discover his Path was a rare and beautiful thing. Many ninth ranked Adepts went their whole lives without having this chance. It was unlikely the pressure of the situation was the impetus. He had been asleep from the effects of the grapes. There was only one explanation, and that was the grapes themselves.

Thinking back to that day they shared the Cros Parantoux, Lan Jue remembered what the Pauper had said. An epiphany, and that was the very reason he'd come with them on this journey. Now, it looked like his goal was achieved. Aubert's poisoned grapes weren't expelled, but rather absorbed. That was the push he needed to find his way forward.

The Wine Master must have sensed something as well, for he looked over toward the meditating beggar. He allowed the briefest flash of joy to appear in his eyes, before it quickly passed. If they made it out, then having another powerful Adept with protogenic powers would be a great boon for the Avenue. What's more, he was younger – about as old as the Gourmet. With luck there would be another Paragon in the Avenue's future.

Aubert de Villaine didn't care for their happiness, and continued his murderous assault. The skies overhead were like a thick sea of fluid, and it started to swirl like an angry vortex. It was quickly devoured by the encroaching black hole.

Lan Jue's keen eyes watched, and spotted the vortex swirling amidst the near perfect darkness. It was like a glue, sticking to the black hole and gradually pulling it shut.

The Wine Master's black hole was a manifestation of his protogenic powers. It was birthed in to reality through his will. This was different from Lan Jue's Ascension, which was simply a sort of coat of protogenic energy. It was not true power – enough to amplify his abilities, perhaps, but not real control.

The battle between them now was a primeval war of pure energy. Aubert's insidious powers sought to clog and close the Wine Master's black hole. It came down to who could persevere.

Aubert's abilities were not as combat oriented as the Wine Master's. However, he did have the whole of this place under his command. With the energies of this place amplifying his own, Aubert was a terrifying force to reckon with. His attacks did not let up, coming as swift and ruthless as the Paragon's poisoned rage.

The Wine Master remained still, with his scepter held aloft. The war going on overhead between his black hole and the purple vortex loudly went on, but he was still. His eyes narrowed as he peered in to the middle distance, as though thinking.

Escape would not be terribly difficult. With his powers fully restored, they would make it out alive. It would, however, consume a great deal of energy to have all three of them transported to safety.

But what next? Aubert would undoubtedly try to hunt them down. He'd lived here for who knows how long, and his intimate connection with the land made finding an upper hand difficult. With his connection to the Western Alliance, it would be difficult for him to lock up the airspace around the planet. At that point, they'd have no chance at returning home. What's more, it was easy for any Paragon to find their target, especially for Aubert. On this planet, every plant was his eyes and ears.

Things were different here than in the East. The military forces of Skyfire would mobilize quickly in an event like this. Not for the West. He had their backing, yes, but out here the only one to really have a Paragon's back would be another Paragon. Whether it was the Pope or Satan backing this madman, he could not say. In the end it didn't matter, for if either came to this madman's aid that would be the end of them.

Coming to this realization, the Wine Master's heart sank. He had no idea they'd have encountered a situation like this. One of the greatest vintners to have ever lived remained hundreds of years passed when he should have died. Unfortunately, he had become one of the very few corrupt Paragons.

It had happened before in the history of humanity, in the Former Era. One in particular was abnormally strong, with a corruption that spread the world over. He was a dictator, and his poison plunged the world in to war. He was eventually defeated, but the cost was borne on the backs of the innocent dead. Even now, the full extent of that tragedy defied understanding.