Pivot Point

"...the whole clearing starts filling with snakes and I am desperately hoping they do not notice - I am barely a cultivator at that point, so I have no idea - then there is this voice that sounded remarkably like a thousand teapots boiling at once and there is a flood dragon the size of a small hill looking down at me." Chún chuckled, pushing aside a thick tree branch to let the Heart of Metal that was still following them, pass as well, as they strode through the forest, "I was sure I was about to - be - dinner."

"That is definitely not the best way to meet a dragon," responded the young Tiger Prince as he walked beside the young true cultivator, laughing with his new friend as he leapt effortlessly over a fallen log, "I will have to go and pay my respects," he shifted the unconscious Essence boars and bull he was carrying on his shoulders, "especially since as you say he appears to have been here since before this place was anything more than an unremarkable mountain, that would make him the Eldest… where is his lair?"

"It is in the Eastern quarter of the Mountain… Well, I suppose I should say the planet now, though to be honest, we have not spread out as much as you would think, most of the new area is unexplored and unknown - and Tai says he is still an average size - not like Golden Crow Planet which is the size of several average planets combined." Chún shifted his own heavy load of herbs, spices and wild vegetables - although he was cheating by putting most of it into his Cloak.

Bái snorted, "Of course the Dragon is in the East - in the forests too, I would wager. I wonder if the others have gotten here yet."

"The others?" questioned the young teen as he bent down and grabbed a few bulbs of wild garlic in his path, then made a small jump across a stream.

"The other Guardians," answered Bái, "Phoenix and Tortoise Snake - although given this is a young planet, they may still be crane and snapping turtle - the same as how I am only a young tiger and Dragon is only a flood dragon still."

"Tai has mentioned that the World Tree is protecting him from travellers who are too powerful by preventing their crossing," agreed Chún thoughtfully, "so that makes sense."

There was a yowl of disbelief from the tiger prince and Chún turned his head to see Bái standing still and staring at him with disbelief, "What?" he asked, stopping to give the other young man a quizzical look as the Heart of Metal that floated behind them stopped as well.

"You said your locus - this planet - was still a small mountain less than two months ago," pointed out Bái, walking forward after a moment.

"Yes," replied the young teen resuming his walk through the forest - the Heart of Metal keeping pace as it bobbed serenely behind.

"I can just barely accept that this place is already a planet when it ought to be little more than a hidden land - I know having a True Cultivator powerful enough to bind to an entire mountain around, changes the rules," the tiger prince growled in exasperation, "but it takes millenia for a World Tree to form on a new planet - if it even happens! And it takes a long time for a new World Tree to get old enough and strong enough to prevent powerful beings from arriving on the planet it grows on. As in - tens of thousands of years!"

"Oh. I did not - well, I guess Tai did mention it was unusual - huh." Chún paused, thinking as he walked forward through the trees and bushes, smelling the scents of vegetation and flowers, then shook his head, "You like battle stories, right, Prince Bái?" he asked rhetorically.

Bái chuffed an amused laughter, "None of that Prince stuff, True Cultivator. If we are going by rank, on this planet, you are the representative of the Mountain itself, thus you outrank me. If you want to play protocol games, I can just start calling you Emperor." He broke into a laugh at Chún's expression and took a couple of quick steps forward so that he was beside the younger teen again, "We are friends! And yes - listening to a tale of a good fight is second only to - having - a good fight and of course, it is always better with good food and wine!"

"OK, I understand," Chún replied sheepishly, "Well, we are almost back to my cave - I can explain then." He took the next few strides in silence, then rubbed his forehead, "I must confess, I have not been eating much lately - so a guest is a good reason. Hunger has not been an issue since my last advancement - I have mostly not been eating unless something smelled good," he was silent for a Miǎo, sidestepping an animal dropping of some kind, "actually, the last time I ate was six days ago - when I was at the market."

Bái blinked as he kept up the rapid pace without effort beside him, "You have a market?"

Chún shook his head as paused he bent down to smell an Essence flower, "it is at the base of the original mountain on Golden Crow Planet," he straightened and continued moving, "well actually, there is a village near there - it is where I grew up. They hold a market every two weeks."

"I have not heard of Golden Crow Planet," responded Bái musingly, "I assume that is the name used by the humans there?"

"Oh…" Chún turned a surprised face to his new friend, "I assumed that was where you had traveled from."

"My Father's Heaven is on a planet called White Jade by the humans there," explained Bái cheerfully, "and I have been to Silver Flame, Tiger Gold, Ruby Azure…"

"Wait, wait… Ruby Azure? That makes absolutely no sense," interrupted Chún in confusion.

Bái laughed, "Well, I am guessing Golden Crow's star manifestation is a Golden Crow?"

Chún scrunched his forehead in thought, "I think so - I mean, two months ago I was just a street rat - but that is what everyone said. It is still providing Tai's light as well - we have not separated enough to have our own star yet, Tai says."

"Right - well, Ruby's manifestation is a Heavenly Phoenix - she is much redder than your star - and since she is also a woman, everyone started calling the star…"

"...Ruby, I see - so the planet is blue?" Chún asked, nodding in understanding.

"Yah," agreed Bái cheerfully, "and then there is Ruby Garnet, Ruby Topaz…"

"You have been a lot of places," remarked Chún a touch wistfully, "Until last month when all this started, I had never left the village - and even then, even though I have a whole new world to explore - I can barely keep up with the changes - I have not had the chance to go exploring properly."

"Well, as much as my Father accepted me around his mountain, the rest of the court were not quite so understanding; or worse, were - too - interested in making connections with me," Bái answered offhandedly, then grumbled under his breath, "usually for all the wrong reasons." The Tiger Prince raised his voice in an approximation of his usual tone as he continued, "so I traveled a lot! It is always fun meeting new people - especially the good looking ones - getting into fights, finding treasures, you know, the usual sort of things one does on Jianghu."

He fell silent and the pair of them walked swiftly through the forest for almost a kè with the silent accompaniment of the molten metal globe until Bái grumbled at having to shift the unconscious bodies of the Essence Beasts he was carrying on his shoulders, "I do not suppose you would like to explain why you had me knock our feast out rather than butcher them."

"Rent," grinned Chún, "you will see in a Fēn - we are here!" He gestured at the clearing that had opened up in front of them, "Prince Bái, allow me to introduce to you my landlady - the ruler of the clearing I live in - it is her place, I just trade Essence and whatever parts of the Essence Beasts I hunt that I do not want and she is gracious enough to permit me to stay."

For his part, the young tiger Prince stared open-mouthed at the Heaven and Earth Vine that that dominated the clearing, obscuring almost every inch of the cliff face at the far end in a towering cascade of barely visible, dark green leaves and vines, all shifting in and out of sight like a heat mirage. Occasionally, fruits and flowers glowing so brightly with Essence they appeared like glowing lamps in the early dusk would become visible through the heavy Essence mist which curled out in lesser amounts to blanket the entire clearing.

"Just throw the Beasts into the clearing, her Highness will take care of the rest," advised the young teen True Cultivator, as he bowed towards the Heaven and Earth Vine, "Your Highness, this is Prince Bái - newly sworn in as Guardian of the West. I request that you permit him to rest in your clearing as long as he behaves appropriately," he shot a warning glance at the young Tiger Prince that seemed to snap him out of his astonishment.

"Ah, of course," Bái recovered quickly and placed his burden down on the neatly growing grass, then bowed respectfully, "I would be honoured."

There was a chiming sound that sounded suspiciously like a giggle - even as the now familiar sight to Chún of of roots and tendrils springing out of the turf to render apart the still living and suddenly awake and momentarily terrified - Essence beasts into perfect cuts of meat, polished bone and hides.

Bái gulped beside him and Chún observed his face looked pale under his tan.

"Advise the Prince that as long as he is respectful, the Princess has no objection to him visiting," Tai's 'voice' sounded in their link, sounding amused. Chún was prompt to pass the message along and Bái nodded furiously and bowed in response.

"Come on then - I need to collect my cooking implements and spices - and I need to introduce you to Shé Yin as well - he guards my cave and the Silver Tree." Chún waved him over as he walked across the clearing towards the garden area, calling out soft greetings to the Essence sprites that swooped in from everywhere to investigate the newcomer.

Bái followed behind, eyes as big as copper bells, head and tiger 'headdress' ears swiveling rapidly to take in everything, his 'cloak' tail lashing from side to side.

Chún deposited his gleanings out of his Cloak from the trip back on the neat turf close to the garden bed and addressed the sprites who swooped out of the vine and the garden to inspect the wild fruits, vegetables and herbs he had found, "Prince Bái and I will be having a small feast tonight to celebrate our meeting - please sort and prepare whatever we have that is appropriate - check the garden, the rice paddy, the soy plants and ask the Heaven and Earth Vine if she has any ripe fruits she is willing to part with."

The multi colored dots of Essence representing the sprites swirled down and started carting off the pile of plants and various edible items the young teen had brought back.

"This place is amazing," exclaimed Bái, "Just the density of the Essence…"

Chún scratched his head, "Tai helped me grow the dao patterns to add a natural formation to the clearing - it concentrates and purifies the Essence expelled by the Heaven and Earth vine - that increases the Essence in the clearing to levels the sprites can survive in. A few of them migrated here from the World Tree - if you are thinking this is a high Essence level, you ought to feel it there."

After a moment he walked over to the entrance to the cave where his gliding horse rested and picked up a bunch of tools and various spices from the roughly constructed shelves there. "Come on," he waved Bái over as he returned to where they had first entered the clearing and bent down to pick up the neatly cleaned and butchered Essence meat, then headed in the direction of his workshop clearing, "we better start the meat marinating and roasting before we have a bath - the Vine does not like a firepit in her clearing."

It took only a moment to go to the workshop clearing. Tai had long ago cleaned it up and replaced the underground kilns and the drying pit as well as creating a solid stone 'workbench'. Now a small fire pit appeared as they entered - the Metal Heart still following behind in midair.

"I will go and ask her highness for some older leaves to wrap the meat in - are you any good at marinades?" asked Chún, laying out the meats, spices and oil.

Bái laughed, "Traveling jianghu, learn to cook or suffer miserably," he joked, gesturing to himself, "I have some good cooking wine and a few other things - I will use one of these pots," he indicated one of the ordinary pots left over from the last couple of firings that had miraculously survived Tai's advancement.

"That will work - there is a small river a few strides that way, if the pot needs cleaning," Chún pointed in the direction of the much expanded old creek, "I will bring back wood for the fire as well - smoke just seems to make the meat taste better than just using Essence patterns for heat."

The tiger prince's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded, grabbed the pot and bounded off in the direction of the river. Chún headed back to the clearing to beg for some large vine leaves. The Vine was amenable so it did not take long and on the way back to the fire pit, he went looking for clean deadwood, circling around the clearing and feeling frankly amazed at how fast the forest had recovered after the events of the last month.

Swinging past the garden, with the Heart of Metal following, he picked up the pile of vegetables and herbs the sprites had gathered; as usual the scragglier and older items had been carried off, presumably for planting or their own use.

He arrived back at the clearing to find Bái working on a very appetizing smelling mix of oils and spices - he handed over the vine leaves and other items - then went to lay the firewood in the pit.

Suddenly, there was a loud clashing sound behind him and he turned warily to see the Cauldron floating mid air circling opposite the Heart of Metal that was spinning slowly in place.

"By the Thunder!," exclaimed the Tiger Prince, "That is an artifact!"

"Another of my attempts at crafting gone a little awry," admitted Chún as he lit the deadwood with a quick twist of a Dao pattern of Fire. "According to my locus I must learn a specific sort of alchemy to make medicine or cultivation pills suitable for True Cultivators - the sorts of pills Consumers use have little effect on me."

"So you made a sentient Treasure Cauldron," deadpanned Bái, watching as the two floating treasures rushed each other in some sort of show of dominance, clashing together loudly.

"Well, that… was an accident," admitted the young teen, "I was experimenting with the Essence pottery techniques I had developed under my locus' guidance and somehow created the Cauldron. Unfortunately, I know little of being an alchemist apart from what my locus has suggested - I am learning slowly - but it leaves the Cauldron irritable at the lack of use."

"Essence Beasts such as myself have similar issues with pill making - the human methods of creating cultivation medicine do not usually work for us either," agreed Bái, looking with fascination at the snarling White Tiger adorning a quarter of the floating Cauldron that seemed to be clawing its way out from the surface of the artifact, "that is some excellent craftsmanship on that casting, I could hardly do better - you may be better at forging than I had hoped."

"I cannot take credit for it - those shapes have emerged out of the very material of the Cauldron as it has advanced," admitted Chún.

The tiger prince shook his head as he finished wrapping the last of the marinated Essence meats in vine leaves, placing them into the rapidly forming coals at the base of the fire, "A True Artifact then - I guess I should have expected that." He pointed at the clashing artifacts, "it appears some of the Metal Essence from the Heart is being absorbed by the tiger aspect of the cauldron."

Chún looked closely; indeed a metallic luster was visible over the form of the sculpted white tiger on the floating cauldron. A moment later, the artifact backed off, floating elsewhere into the forest. The metal heart somehow managed to droop dispiritedly, as much as it could be possible for a molten ball of metal to seem depressed.

Chún quickly rolled a bunch of the tougher and larger root vegetables in leaves and into the fire and then stood up, brushing off his pants, "come on both of you, we can go and have a nice hot soak while we wait for these to slow cook - I can introduce you both to Shé Yin and the Silver Tree. It grew from a seed that I was gifted by a Silver Tree I helped advance - his Majesty Flood Dragon guards that one now.

"A soak sounds like an excellent idea," replied Bái with enthusiasm, "I have some excellent alcohol that will match a good hot bath perfectly," he paused, as the two of them followed the young teen True Cultivator, "Silver trees are Metal Essence - it is unusual to have snakes guarding them."

"It must be a dragon thing then," suggested Chún, "in the stories I heard in the village, they always loved shiny things and treasure."

"That is true," agreed Bái, "they do love their hoards."

---

A Kè or so later the two of them were soaking in the hot spring inside the cavern with small bottles of rice wine; the tiger prince had somehow managed to remove his 'tiger pelt' which now lay on the floor of the cavern close to the spring, its ears and tail still shifting about with Bái moods - Chún's cloak and staff were neatly hanging up and leaning up against the wall in their usual locations by the entrance, looking deceptively ordinary.

The Essence Sprites had appeared and removed Chún's regular clothing as soon as he had undressed - they had seemed disappointed that Bái had no 'real' clothes to take for washing, something the tiger prince had thought hilarious - especially when the young True Cultivator had casually mentioned they would take care of making sure the food did not burn either.

The Heart of Metal had made a beeline for the Silver tree's ledge the moment the three of them had entered the cave, prompting Shé Yin to come and investigate the visitors. Being in similar situations - both being sons of Essence Beast kings, for one - once Shé Yin's initial caution and surprise at meeting a higher level Essence Beast and a sentient blob of metal was dealt with by the True Cultivator's assurances, the Tiger Prince and the Silver Snake quickly exchanged greetings in Beast language - which quickly turned into a friendly conversation of hisses and rumbles once the initial formalities had been observed.

Shé Yin was wrapped around one of the large heated boulders that made up the edge of the spring, an equal distance between the two of them. He hissed something as he dipped his large spade-like head into a bowl of the wine that Chún had poured from the bottle Bái had tossed his way.

Bái rumbled back, then laughed, "your guard compliments my taste in alcohol and claims it is about time you had a guest."

Chún had his eyes half closed as he leaned back against the smooth, warmed rocks at the hot spring's edge, droplets from the rising steam sliding down the long platinum hair and jade-like skin of his face, neck, shoulders, upper arms and collarbone, back into the hot water, "it is not as if I had friends to invite - besides your father, Shé Yin, but he would not fit."

"I shall have to go and meet him," rumbled the tiger prince, his muscular arms stretched out on the rocks either side of him to show off tanned skin to good effect, "Could I trouble you for an introduction, Shé Yin?"

The Silver Snake Prince bobbed his head, then hissed something that sounded slightly regretful to Chún's ears, prompting a grin from Bái, "You should be able to manage when you are older - most high level Essence Beasts manage a human form once they hit the Immortal levels," the tiger prince advised the snake in a conciliatory tone, "I expect your Father should manage a human form soon now that the Mountain has Advanced and Essence is no longer sparse."

Chún leaned back to look up through the steam at the few Essence Sprites, mostly of the Fire Essence, swirling above the pool; the dim light they cast mixed with the soft glow from the Silver Tree and the flickering brightness accompanied by a gentle crackling from the ball of lightning Essence it held in its branches that was matching the evening falling outside the cave, reflecting softly in the veins of Essence and metal that glimmered softly throughout the polished walls and ceiling. The Essence plants, herbs and flowers growing in various nooks and alcoves cast out pleasant and refreshing cents and often glowed with their own soft colors, counter pointed with the glowing Essence colors and shapes of his own pieces of Essence ceramic art.

"This Immortal's Cave is truly wonderful," remarked Bái, "more so that you have not tried to mold it into a place or anything constructed - I have been in many Cultivation Places that try to create this sort of feeling, or Immortals caves and ruins that tried to to carve a palace into them - it never seems quite right. This whole area is a perfect location for cultivation with all the Elements balanced together as well - even lightning and wood, which is usually difficult to achieve underground."

"You are of course, welcome to stay as long as you wish, my friend," responded Chún, lowering his head and looking back at the tiger prince, "but again, very little of this is my doing."

"You said you would explain how all this happened so quickly," rumbled Bái sounding more than a little frustrated, "you said you were an ordinary human two months ago - and now, this," he gestured around himself, "a World Tree, a fully formed planet… how is it possible?"

Chún took a deep pull from his bottle of wine, "According to the old man I met when all this started, I was never truly ordinary - but after I met him - it all sort of became an avalanche of changes and adventures…"

"...The creatures came down out of the rift like - I do not know how to explain it but - it was wrong. My staff - not this one, the first one I had that was originally fashioned from an ordinary piece of wood…"

"...and the rift was completely unstable after the battle, there was just so much Essence that it had to go somewhere - I used my staff to cleanse it but it was too much - the next thing I know my old staff had turned into the World Tree…"

Chún paused in his recollections of his thoughts how the World Tree came to be with the swarm of world devourers - he had, with Bái's enthusiastic prompting for more exact details, told an exact blow-by-blow account of the battle, with the Tiger Prince roaring and cheering at the 'good parts' - in the tiger prince's own words.

"It does explain how your locus Advanced so fast," rumbled Bái with interest, "you literally had a whole other planet converted into pure energy and Essence pouring through that rift - all of it had to go somewhere - and the staff was a tree once, it just had the one in a billion chance and unlimited, pure Essence to use to Advance into the ultimate expression of the concept of 'tree-ness'." The tiger prince tipped the last of his wine into his mouth and Chún followed suit, placing the bottle on the ground beside the pool as the tiger prince pulled himself out of the water.

"I want to eat," complained Bái, throwing the now perfectly clean 'tiger skin' around him swiftly, "Lets go!"

---

The two young men - the silver snake had declined their invitation, saying he preferred his food still alive most of the time - lay back around the fire pit, resting on comfortable piles of cushions that Bái had pulled out from somewhere. Chún was pretty sure he had a spatial tool like Chún's Cloak somewhere, but could not care enough to ask.

They were full, having consumed all the meat and other vegetables and fruit rich in Essence and were drinking from yet another jug of liquor that Bái had contributed. They had spent the evening swapping stories as they ate - Bái's were usually of fights, explorations and encounters with beautiful women; Chún just kept relating all the various crisis he had kept running into over the last couple of months - he had just finished retelling the time Tai's miscalculation with a demon lingzhi had resulted in having to escape a Beast tide, leaving the Tiger Prince rolling around in mirth at the absolute craziness and cheering for every strike - although he cast a wary eye back towards the Heaven and Earth Vine when Chún described her Highness chewing up and consuming the beast tide at the end.

"You have certainly packed in a lot in the last couple of months," he rumbled approvingly, "I am more certain than ever now this Mountain is the place for me - it will be an adventure to explore it - and I am sure you will keep it from ever being boring - although," he raised one hand for emphasis and tossed the jug of liquor to the other teen, "I will only visit occasionally - there is a lot I need to do to set up my palace on the planet. If I am to fulfill my duty as Guardian I need to find a good place in the West for my Kingdom. I prefer to adventure alone most of the time, so I will not be always bothering you - and once we finish forging my weapon out of the Heart of Metal, I will need to return to my Father and let him know I have found my place."

Chún caught the wine jar with a slosh of liquid as the Tiger Prince sighed and prodded the embers in the fire with a stick, sending sparks flying upward that Chún followed with his eyes as he took a swig from the jar.

"Sometimes I wish I could be free to go up into the multiverse as free as those sparks," Bái rumbled meditatively, following the other teen's gaze, "being a Guardian is a big responsibility. As much as I wanted to find where I belonged, I enjoy being free to roam too."

"This is a slightly different situation than your regular planet," pointed Chún out softly, breathing in the scent of wood smoke as he lowered the jar, "for now at least, Tai can protect itself, there are at least two other guardians here beside yourself if you include me - not to mention the World Tree. This is your home not your leash… it is good to have a place to come back to," remarked the young teen wistfully, watching as the stars spun above him, bearing down with an odd pressure.

Chún had the odd sensation that the world was pivoting on its axis; he would have stumbled if he was not already laying down. For a second, he felt a sense of vast possibility coalescing down into a single moment.

There was a shift, as if an unseen key turned in a lock - and the moment vanished into a sharp pop as a branch in the fire cracked in the flames. Shaking his head at his fancy, he peered blearily at the liquor jug he still held.

"I think I have had enough of this," he declared, tossing the liquor back at Bái, "Staying up late after running through most of my Essence twice in a day, fighting, drinking wine and eating heavily is not what I am used to."

"Lightweight," teased Bái as he caught the jug easily, "do not worry, I will drink for both of us!" He grinned, "Speak for yourself, it was an excellent day. The only thing missing is a few beauties to share our companionship with," he lifted the jug back up to his mouth and drank noisily.

Chún rolled his eyes, "This again. I told you earlier, 'Mr, I am the Embodiment of Yang', I am only thirteen summers or so - and I have lived out here in the middle of nowhere all my life. Where would I even have a chance to meet a beauty - if I even had time for that sort of thing?"

"Ha. Ah, the Springtime of Youth," declared the Tiger Prince in a mock-sage tone as he tilted the jug back to level, "do not worry about that, it will take care of itself - I am surprised in all your adventures so far you have not already met some beauties. A Hero or Heroine always meets many prospective partners in their adventures - it comes with the job description."

Chún laughed, "I do not think I can call myself a Hero, Bái. I am just dealing with the situation as best I can and trying to do the right thing."

"Real Heroes or Heroines never call themselves that," Bái's eyes reflected the flames as he stared into the fire, "that is for other people to decide…" he looked up at Chún and grinned, lifting the jug of liquor in salute, "I have had enough adventures of my own to recognise a fellow Hero - trust me, the beauties will appear, since you do not seem interested in my own gorgeous self, that is." He twisted the jug and caught the splash of liquid in his mouth effortlessly.

"Narcissist," snorted Chún, peering into the coals, "I will bow to your experience then, oh great wandering hero - though if that is the case - where are your companions?"

"I have always been more of a 'love and leave' type," responded Bái jokingly as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then his tone sobered, "though in truth it was too dangerous to bring those I really cared for with me - the politics back home…"

"That is not the case anymore," pointed out the young teen and the tiger prince nodded slowly in agreement, "Once I am established here, I might make a few trips to find some old friends," he replied quietly.

The two fell silent for a Kè, gazing quietly into the fire. Eventually, Chún sighed and stretched, "I am for sleep - if we are to forge a weapon tomorrow, I want to be well rested." He stood and looked back towards his cave, "coming? Bring those pillows if you feel like a softer bed, the cave is quite pleasant."

Bái rolled his shoulders, "I think I am quite content to sleep out here - unless it starts raining of course, then you might get a late night visitor."

"Suit yourself, Prince," Chún waved as he started back towards his bed, "sleep well, friend."