Is there Anybody out there?

It did not take long for the drones released by Wei Huoran to investigate and map the cavern. Meirong quickly understood Huoran's warning about the difference in the Qi of this new world, so he had her meditate while he controlled the flying ship. The drones completed their assignment, but Huoran noticed that they were not operating as efficiently as they normally should. He recalled them back into the ship before making an inquiry to Quanliyuan.

'Why does it seem like nothing is working exactly as it did before?', he asked the artifact spirit.

'Well, just as you and your Dao companion felt a difference when you arrived here, the artifacts you created also are lacking compatibility with this new environment as well', Quanliyuan explained.

'I was thinking that, I was just hoping that was not the case', Huoran sighed, 'Oh well, it is at least working close enough as intended for now. I need to establish myself somewhere first before I bring the others out and we start making adjustments.'

'Are you going to register the location of this cave for the resources inside?', Quanliyuan inquired.

'No, for some reason if the ship's mapping system fails to record it, I can perfectly remember everything', Huoran replied.

'The first thing I need to do is find a place to establish the land from the inner world first, and then the sages and grandmasters can start converting our artifacts to this new world.'

'I will be doing the same', the artifact spirit said, 'Now that I have returned, I can finish my repairs.'

'You were created here?', Huoran asked, 'Do we need to worry about old enemies coming to find you?'

'Most likely not?', Quanliyuan answered, 'The ones that caused my old master to flee should no longer be alive, so it should be safe now.'

'I will keep an eye out, go ahead and work on your repairs then', Huoran said.

He did not get a response, but understood that the artifact was starting its repair. Soon, the flying ship exited the cavern and Huoran felt better seeing the sun again. He wanted to find an ocean to place the continents in, but did not want to wander around blindly. Even though Quanliyuan was busy, Huoran could still enter Simspace, but he could not make any request to the artifact spirit. Huoran set the ship down in a deserted location, deployed some formations, activated the ship's formations, and entered Simspace. Once inside, he noticed that Quanliyuan had already started absorbing the new Qi of the new world, so he started experimenting with the formations he knew to witness how the changes affected them. After several days of experimenting and checking on Meirong, Huoran brought eight drones out and began to reinscribe runes onto them. When the first one was completed, he went outside and ran it through several tests. Even though the final product was not perfect, he still saw a noticeable improvement compared to before so he went to work on the other seven.

Once he finished, he sent the eight drones out in eight different directions, and brought his QFold out to monitor their movements. As he watched, he sensed Meirong leaving her meditation room and coming to him.

"How do you feel?", Huoran asked when she came in.

"The environment here is definitely more profound than our home realm, and it will take some time to get used to it", Meirong responded.

"Yes, I agree, my understanding is that the other realm was the inner world of a celestial Dao cultivator", Huoran remarked, "The reason why it feels different is that his understanding was reflected in his inner world. That is another reason why certain elements feel different than what you feel here. The laws that he understood the most feels the same, but the laws that he did not understand as well feels very different."

"So how is the search going?", Meirong asked.

"This large plateau we are right on right now is surrounded by a expansive plain", Huoran explained.

The two sat and watched the eight screens as the drones continued to search the land. After a few hours, the drone he sent south started to display a forest and a mountain range further away. The drones to the southwest and west also showed the same mountain range while the north western and north drones displayed a tundra. The south eastern drone only showed more forest, the north eastern one showed the the plains and tundra meet. The eastern drone finally found a large city that was built next to a river. The area further east saw the river lead towards an oceanfront.

"There it is", Huoran smiled as he recalled the drones, "Once they return, we will set off."

"Perhaps you should have the one drone investigate the city, and wait for us", Meirong suggested.

"Ah yes, that is reasonable", Huoran laughed, "While we wait, I have already done some research on how the runes of our realm work here. As a talisman inscriber, it would be beneficial to you to read over."

Huoran sent a command to his QFold, and Meirong's Qphone played a notification tone.

"Thank you", she smiled as she opened the message sent her, and started reading.

A few hours later, the drones returned and Huoran retracted all the formations except for the ship's arrays. He operated the flying ship, and set a course towards the city the eastern drone had found. When the flying ship was less than half an hour away, Huoran's QFold played a notification tune and he was surprised to see that a beast tide had exited the southern forest to attack the city.

"Could the beasts not wait until I arrived first?", Huoran sighed as he increased the ship's speed.

"What happened?", Meirong asked.

"The city we are headed to is being attacked", Huoran pointed at the light screen, "I have already sped up, we should get there in less than ten minutes."

"How powerful are the spiritual beasts?", she inquired.

"The readings from the drone show the strongest ones are at the Foundation Establishment realm", Huoran replied, "But the city only had one Foundation Establishment cultivator and the protective array does not seem reliable."

Soon, the two arrived at the city and exited the ship, but kept it hidden before Huoran exerted his aura towards the spiritual beasts.

All the spiritual beasts froze in place as silence covered the entire battlefield. The citizens of the city and the spiritual beasts beasts looked up and saw a handsome man in black and gold robes with a sun and moon stitched on them and a beautiful woman in ocean colored robes that displayed various fish printed on it.

"Seniors", a large bear standing in front of a leopard, a fox, and a wolf spoke out, "How can we assist you?"

"Why are you attacking this human city", Huoran asked, his voice heard by all, "Has the people here wronged you in some way?"

As he spoke, Huoran and Meirong floated down towards the ground.

"I had an agreement with the cultivators of the city in the distribution of spiritual plants from the forest", the bear said, "But they continue to violate our agreement, and kill the beasts of this land when we defend our claim."

"Is this correct?", Huoran shifted his attention towards the city.

"M,m,m, my lord", an older Foundation Establishment cultivator exited the biggest and luxurious looking mansion, "I was simply trying to provide the resources needed for my people."

The bear snorted, "The people of your city will never see those plants, why lie to the senior."

The city's mayor started to sweat, "That is not true, I was just ensuring that our best people received the resources they needed."

"Is it true you had an agreement with this spiritual beast?", Meirong asked.

"I did not personally make a vow", the mayor said nervously, "It is possible that a past mayor made that agreement, and simply forgot to tell me when I took over this post."

"Post?", Meirong said in surprise, "Is this city under the protection of a sect?"

"Yes, your grace", the mayor replied.

"Excellent", Meirong clapped her hands, "Please contact your sect so we can get this straightened out."

The mayor took out a talisman, and crushed it while Huoran observed both the talisman and the signal as it went off into the distance. Huoran and Meirong kept themselves busy watching their QPhones while they waited for the arrival of the sect representatives leaving both sides acting as if they were treading on thin ice.

It did not take long for Huoran to sense three cultivators heading towards them as he could sense a female Nascent soul cultivator and two male Golden cores cultivators coming. When the three entered the area affected by his aura, he could sense a change in their demeanor as they slowed down and adopted a much humbler tone. Before long the three appeared in front of Huoran and Meirong and respectively bowed as they approached.

"Greetings Senior, I am Ling Xiaoqing, the head elder of the Asure Snake sect", the woman introduced herself, "These are two of my elders, Elder Wu Shengtian and Elder Zhao Xun. How may this humble elder assist you today?"

Huoran calmly explained the situation he came across before posing a question, "Are you aware of an agreement between this city and the spiritual beasts of the forest?"

When Elder Ling heard this question, she understood what had happened and gave the mayor a scornful look.

"Senior, there is indeed a verbal agreement", she confirmed, "Mayor Zhou, may I ask why you violated this agreement? You obviously been hiding things from the sect since these spiritual plants were not accounted for when you sent your tax to sect in."

Mayor Zhou fell to his knees, "I am sorry head elder, I will never dare to act in such a shameful way again."

"I know you will not", Huoran stated, "A vow breaker is a serious thing, and should be dealt with."

"Yes, of course senior", Elder Ling agreed, "This will be handled."

Huoran retracted his aura causing everyone to breath easier, "Stay here and watch your member, elder, I will escort the spiritual beasts back to their forest. I expect your sect to settle your debts once everything is taken care of."

Without waiting for her reply, Huoran and Meirong walked towards the leaders of the beast tide.

"Brother bear", Meirong spoke, "Can you ask your friends to return to the forest?"

"Of course, right away", the bear said before it sent orders to all the spiritual beasts.

Elder Ling watched as Huoran made a hand motion and a crack in space appeared. Her eyes widen at the sight, "He is a Void Refinement stage cultivator at the minimum."

The two other elders and the mayor also balked at her statement as they watched Huoran and Meirong led the spiritual beasts through the crack. Elder Ling turned to Mayor Zhou after the space crack closed.

"Mayor Zhou, or should I say Daoist Zhou", Elder Ling spoke with anger in her voice, "While strength is the ultimate tool in this world, you must make sure you have enough of it if you wish to feed your greed. You have committed the sin of oathbreaker, and I must escort you back to the sect after my business with the senior is finished. Elder Wu, can I ask you to watch over Serpent Stone city in Daoist Zhou's absence until a new mayor is selected?"

"Of course Head Elder", Elder Wu replied.

A few moments later, a space crack formed again, and Huoran and Meirong stepped through again.

"Welcome back, Senior", Elder Ling bowed, "I do not wish to be presumptuous, but can I be allowed to handle this incident?"

"That is fine", Huoran replied, "I have traded with the beasts of the forest to apologize to them for the greed of humans, but I hope your sect can make amends."

"I believe I can settle the manner in a way that will please the senior", Elder Ling answered, "May I ask if the senior has a connection with spiritual beasts?"

Huoran narrowed his eyes at the question, but decided to answer, "I try to settle any incident that would result in the deaths of many, but it is true I might have a personal bias. My Dao partner here is of the mermaid tribe, and I believe that it is possible to have a cooperative relationship with others, so I true to promote my beliefs."

"Please pardon my rude question", Elder Ling knew she had asked too much, "What will you do now, Senior?"

"We are heading to the ocean", Huoran said, "Oh, I guess it is only proper to give you a warning. I will be doing something big soon in the ocean, so you should let your sect know. You will know it once you feel it. Once everything calms down, feel free to visit."

Elder Ling was getting ready to reply, but Huoran and Meirong had already entered the hidden flying ship, and continued towards the ocean, leaving Elder Ling and the rest alone.

Elder Ling sighed as she and Elder Zhou also flew off taking the ex mayor with them.