Wanderlust

The older woman looked suspiciously at Wei Huoran, "Why would you ask something like that?"

"I've been thinking about for awhile now", Huoran admitted, "There are a few things that didn't make sense, so this is the most reasonable explanation."

"I'm not sure what you mean", Quanliyuan tried to act ignorant.

"Well, I have at least two examples I can think of", Huoran replied, "The first is this."

Huoran displayed a holographic image of Quanliyuan's true form.

"I've studied this in my free time since the first time it was shown to me", Huoran, "After comparing this to every artifact that has been bought or sold here or even the Grand Array Formation, I realized how advanced you are compared to anything found in this world. The second clue that I used in my reasoning is how quickly, or should I say how slowly, your repair process has taken so far. Considering how long we been together, and the concentration of Qi here, you probably should have finished repairing a few years ago, but you might be close to fifty percent. That amount of Qi is higher than any artifact I've seen to date. I guess there is a bonus reason, but this should be enough."

"Bonus reason?", Quanliyuan asked, "Just go ahead and say it."

"Well, it's the speed of your analysis of even the highest formations", Huoran added, "Even if your purpose as an artifact is to analyze, you perform it at a level not possible when compared to the level of this world."

Quanliyuan was silent for a few moments before saying, "That is solid logic, I wonder if it's true."

Huoran laughed, knowing that it was rude to continue to pester someone over their secrets. Armed with new knowledge, he returned to current task of modifying the Life realm artifact.

A few weeks later, Sage Vigol and Sage Neridia stood in front of an armor rack. Many disciples of both men stood behind the two as they inspected their master's latest work. A predominantly black suit mixed with gold rested on the rack as the two sages admired their own craftsmanship.

"Master, doesn't this seem to be a waste of resources?", one of Neridia's disciples asked, "You always taught us that a cultivator must have a strong offense, quick movements, and their robe and inner armor would be enough defense to survive."

Neridia frowned, "You brat, you dare criticize the work of two sages? This is something requested by Daoist Wei, the discple of the strongest cultivator alive. The designs were provided by him, but they originated from the senior of this island, but it seems you presume to know more than the two of us and him now."

"No master", the man panicked, "I dare not question the wisdom of the seniors."

Neridia no longer paid attention to his disciple, and the man used the opportunity to move to the back of the group.

"Vigol", Neridia called out, "Did you already let that brat know we finished?"

"Of course", Vigol responded, "He said he just finished his project as well, and will soon be here."

"And here I am", Huoran interrupted as he walked inside the artifact refinery.

Huoran walked across the room before he reached the two sages, and the suit of armor.

After quickly looking it over, he turned to the two sages, and bowed, "I must commend the sages on their excellent craftsmanship."

"You didn't have to come all the way here to tell us that", Neridia stated.

"I jusy wanted to deliver the news to the sages that since my project is finished, I will have to travel for a week or two to gather a proper testing site for this suit", Huoran explained, "When I return, we will run a series of real world tests on the armor before deploying it."

"It will be going into action so soon?", Vigol asked curiously.

"As long as we verify that everything works, yes, it will going into action", Huoran confirmed, "There are still ten stones that have most likely found host by now. Now that everything went quiet, the chances of a disaster sharply rise as those host continued to accumulate power. If we wait to long, the ancient beasts will resurrect, and our mission to capture the stones will be more difficult. It's better to nip it in the bud now."

The two men nodded in agreement before Huoran spoke again, "Before I leave, I will leave this with the sages and perhaps you or some of your disciples can made some headway on it while I'm gone."

Huoran handed a small jade slip to Sage Vigol, and explained, "This is an isolated array formation from the stones responsible for purifying the bloodline of a beast kin. If possible, I would like to make formations or artifacts that we can sell. Also, please investigate if we can adapt this formation to different beastkin or possibly humans."

"I understand", Vigol smiled, "I'll look it over, and have a better idea by the time you return."

Huoran smiled, and then bid everyone farewell and left the room.

Commander Proudmaw and a small unit of his men were navigating through a forest north of dog nation. The forest covered a large area, including flat land, hills, foothills, and mountains. The team Proudmaw led was trekking up one of the mountains that was part of the range that split the continent in half.

Eventually, the group hiked to a cavern system on the side of the mountain, and began to set up camp. Commander Proudmaw assigned a schedule for the watch, and posted a set of guards to observe their surroundings and another set to watch the cavern opening. Once everything was ready, Proudmaw left his tent and headed into the caves.

Once inside, the commander activated a light talisman, and started to make his way through the cave system. Even though he had never been here before, there was a scent he could easily follow. After half an hour, he is eyes finally found a source of light in the distance. It took five minutes to arrive at the source of light, but as he neared his destination, he found someone waiting there.

"My friend, wouldn't have been better to observe the stars tonight?", Proudmaw inquired.

"I haven't had the time to gaze into the sky", the beastkin countered, "Just like you, we had to deal with the rats."

"So why do you call me out here today, friend?", the commander questioned the man.

"You know as well as I do that three of our kind had their connection severed from us", the stranger commented, "Our clans have been allies for a long time, so perhaps it's time we make a move. If we make the right moves, the resources needed to complete the refinement will be attained."

"I think that the disappearance of the three stones indicates that we need to stay out of the spotlight", Proudmaw told the beastkin, "It's better to keep a low profile, and accumulate strength."

"I don't think we will have much longer, before the one that defeated the other three comes to find us", the mysterious visitor predicted, "Unfortunately, we don't have the ability of the boar clan or this would be faster. But if we coordinate properly, we can advance quickly and subjugate the other tribes and clans, half for you and half for me."

"I think you forgotten how to count, how can you split an odd number evenly?", Proudmaw ridiculed his new acquaintance.

"Forget about the Dragon clan for now", the beastkin responded, "It would be too costly to attack them in the water."

"Do you already have a plan, my friend?", Proudmaw probed.

The stranger shook his head causing the hood he used to conceal his face to slide down. Commander Proudmaw recognized the other beastkin as the hero that drove the rats from the main city of the sheep.

"I didn't get the chance to ask your name last time, my friend", Proudmaw remarked, "I wonder if you would share it with me now."

"Ramson Stonehoof", the sheep answered.

"Excellent, let's sit down and discuss things", Proudmaw acknowledged with a smile on his face.

A few hours later, the commander returned to his camp.

"Sir, no incidents occurred during your absence", the guards reported to him.

"Very well", he replied, "Everyone needs to stay alert, and follow the schedule. We will return him at the first light of dawn."

Wei Huoran had finished informing all the relevant parties of his departure, and packing for the trip. He went under his cave, a place that used to be teaming with people, empty now that all the industry had moved to the life realms. When he reached the floor that he used to dry herbs and grass, he went down a recently dug out hallway until he was in front of a large metal door.

Huoran walked up to a space next to the door, and a small panel that appeared as stone changed to a different display. He placed his Qfold against one section while looking into a camera, and speaking into a microphone. The panel glowed green before blending in with the stone wall again, and the door started to slide open.

Huoran strolled into the next room as the doors closed behind him. Lights in the room brightened to illuminate the room, and he saw his flying ship floating in an large reservoir of seawater. He made his way to the vessel, and on his command, the ship extended a walkway to the dock it was tied to. Huoran entered the ship, disengaged all the safeties holding it in place, and steered the ship towards another metal door on the wall. He ordered the ship to open the next door, and the shutter doors opened causing the chamber to fill with water. Once the room was full, Huoran drove the ship out through the exit. Once he was gone, the water level dropped back to the original level, formations activated to dry everything, the door closed, and the lights turned off.