Destiny in Cinders

The portable warding-field generator was the newest model available in Skysource. This is amazing! It’s not even something that’s available on the market!

Apart from amazement, An Jing also felt a deep sense of alertness. The standards of artifact refinement technology in Skysource was already high to begin with, whether it came to sword cases or drones or even flight vehicles. Void Embrace’s own was generations behind, lacking much foundational technical expertise.

In Skysource, megacorporations monopolized all things high tech. Drones like Solace or the portable warding-field generator contained technology that far surpassed that of civilian arcane artifacts, and it was clear from a look that these were mass producible.

Granted, it wasn’t that non-megacorp-affiliated people in Skysource or even those of Void Embrace couldn’t make something equivalent. One would be mistaken to look down on random cultivators one came across, lest they possessed unthinkably powerful arcane artifacts. This was also the reason megacorporations struggled to completely suppress rogue forces in the badlands who possessed arcane relics that rivaled those of the corporations.

However, actually crafting them without the backing of significant industrial capacity was something that came at a great temporal cost to many elite cultivators. Megacorporations could mobilize large armies equipped with the best arcane and spirit artifacts to sweep across the badlands. Even the strongest badlands faction, the Justice Restoration Army, wouldn’t have enough artifacts of matching quality to equip their forces with and would still opt for going into hiding and fighting guerilla style.

Folk technological mastery was nothing like what it used to be before the world calamity, after all, but the factions that eventually morphed into megacorporations mostly survived with most of their legacies intact save for the most advanced ones. In the time since the world calamity, they’ve developed some aspects of their technical mastery beyond what they had before.

”What kind of new equipment is that?” Nian Quan asked. They had seen An Jing’s new force-field mantle and came to take a closer look, only to find themselves prevented from entering the field. Nian Quan prodded it with sword qi and was shocked. ”It’s pushing back as much as Yan Chengju’s spirit shield! It’s an impressive arcane artifact!”

”Too bad it’s just a simple tool that isn’t any good for aiding cultivation,” Huo Qing said, his interest fading significantly. ”The pattern compression on display here is impressive, but it’s only possible with specific industrial machinery. It isn’t something that can accelerate cultivation or inspire insights into the Grand Dao. It’s not even able to speed up the accumulation of spirit qi. The megacorps just love making arcane artifacts like this that normal people have a hard time using beyond its very narrow purpose. Once they get dependent on it, they get pulled into the fold and become a pawn.”

”Indeed.” An Jing and Nian Quan nodded their agreement. Megacorporations could produce impressive equipment, with a frustrating drawback. The various cultivation disciplines shared the common purpose of improving oneself. Even arcane relics that only had combat applications could boost the user’s numinosity and vivency.

While the mantle boasted defensive capabilities comparable to Yan Chengju’s arcane artifact and surpassed it in other aspects, that was it. There was nothing about the mantle that could boost the cultivator’s own attributes. In contrast, Yan Chengju’s set of Five Directional Artifacts were able to reproduce a simulacrum of true intent of the cycle of five phases. An Jing thought it akin to a wonder outside the body which could help with artifact refinement, formation deployment and even pillmaking. As Yan Chengju continued to grow, the beneficial side effects of those artifacts would improve in turn, paving part of the path to the Purple Mansion and Goldcore Realms. Perhaps one day, they would actually be able to form five-phase genesis true intent.

Mass-produced arcane artifacts from megacorporations didn’t contribute to one’s cultivation at all and were only good for their main functions. The technical mastery required to layer all those complicated spells in a small form factor was incredibly high, not to mention the specialized materials and processing required. It simply wasn’t something individual cultivators could easily reproduce. Conducting maintenance work on them was also difficult if one wasn’t affiliated with the producers.

”This is how the megacorporations keep the badlands in check,” Nian Quan said.

”I see. It’s definitely something important to note,” An Jing said.

Among these three, one of them had parents who were part of the Justice Restoration Army and was also raised by seniors with similar affiliations. There was probably no way for him to shake off his rebel roots. The other had lost his mother to the actions of megacorporations and was trying to infiltrate their elite ranks to deal the fatal blow when the right opportunity presented itself. The last one was even more ludicrous: a bearer of the Seven Ruins Arc. He wasn’t just a rebel, he was rebellion itself made flesh!

After these three future rebels talked about the drone a little more, they proceeded to work on their own cultivation. Nian Quan refined qi and healed himself, Huo Qing continued his formation studies while An Jing made use of the Foundation Realm qi-collection formation to circulate Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal. It wouldn’t take long before he manifested his first seal of the Qi Refinement Realm.

In the past three days, An Jing and Huo Qing had purchased quite a few used and broken automata from Hilltwixt through the recycling house. Huo Qing no longer needed to personally deal with every transaction and could just hire a few formationists through Rustfeather, his nominal aunt. He said that they could be fully repaired in ten days. An Jing would take some back home while Huo Qing could put the others to organize the trash-disposal facility. All he needed to do was to make a few satellite formations around the main one deployed by Metalhand.

Once matters were settled, An Jing bade the both of them farewell and left Nian Quan’s residence. They watched as he gradually disappeared into the crowd.

”Don’t you think that An Jing’s departures are always mysterious?” Huo Qing said. ”I’ve never gone out of my way to see how it happens, but he never leaves any traces.”

”Yeah. I was there when he disappeared on me once. It is mysterious indeed.” Nian Quan recalled how An Jing vanished right after imparting him with Sword of Empyreal Mortality. ”I suspect that he has a void ability.”

”Definitely,” Huo Qing said unflinchingly. ”It might be an arcane artifact or even his innate ability, though I’m leaning toward the latter. An Jing’s identity is incredibly secretive. I don’t think calling him a dweller of the immortal ruins even cuts it.”

While An Jing had convinced him that he wasn’t some ruin dweller, that still left the question open about the kind of faction that could nurture a monstrous talent like him.

”If not for a void ability, there’s no way that any faction would dare to let someone like him roam around unsupervised.” Nian Quan was confident from the beginning that An Jing was no badlander. There was no way any factions in the badlands would have a technique on the caliber of Sword of Empyreal Mortality. He even suspected that the faction An Jing was from was one that had excavated a powerful Primordial Deity legacy of the Dao Court.

Still, he had enough tact to not pry where it was not welcome, so he never pressed An Jing for answers. ”It’s truly fortunate that we met An Jing. He humbled us and showed us how vast the world truly is. He shared the endless horizons he sees with us.”

”Indeed.” Huo Qing turned to meet Nian Quan’s gaze. ”I know we’ve only thought of each other as An Jing’s friend the whole time, people he values and probably has some measure of talent worth getting to know. Let’s do this for real.”

He pressed his hand on his chest and said, ”I’m Huo Qing and I’m primarily a formationist. I picked up body refinement to defend myself and support my pursuit of the dao.”

”I’m Nian Quan,” said the blue-eyed youth as he smiled and returned the salute. ”I used to dabble in pillmaking to make ends meet. Now, I’m a sword cultivator.”

***

On the other end of the void, An Jing appeared in Void Embrace and immediately got on Frostwhite Dart. Then, he headed toward the fey spirit farms in Brokeblade Mountain to see how well the fertilizers worked.

The outcome was quite surprising; he got a whiff of a dense fragrance the moment he got close enough and was stunned to see that the spirit plants in all three plots of land were fully ripe!