denodraP

Yeah, yeah, I was a horny bastard. But what could I do? I was a young man in my prime!Anyway, we confirmed the amulet worked as intended and we even used up three entire Spirit Stones. Totally worth it though! It was the best exercise I had in years! I finally didn't have to hold back anymore and could let loose without the fear of crushing my precious little girl.While her Cultivation was great and all, it was just too slow. No matter what we did, even with my help, she still advanced a hundred times slower than me. I considered giving her a better Cultivation manual, but the basic technique she was using was already good enough. After reaching the Golden Core it might be time to think about it some more, but that was still a long way away.***Stuff happened in the Sect, and though I was under house arrest, I still received the news when something big happened. The conflict slowly escalated and the entire Sect was buzzing with activity. It was like an anthill after getting disturbed. There were peak Golden Core and early stages Spirit Realm Elders everywhere. I had no idea there were so many people.It just went to show how reserved most Cultivators actually were, keeping to themselves in walled-off pavilions and underground homes with the rest of their family. But when came time to do battle, everyone responded without question. I saw people training in various arenas, polishing their skills and techniques, and getting those limbs moving after years of stagnation.I heard from Ren Kong that the pill business suddenly increased five-fold, with most purchases focused on healing pills and elixirs. He couldn't even keep up. It was even worse than when the Beast Tide came. Back then fighting was an option. Defending the Sect was not. Everyone had to contribute.Well, the fighting would be mostly done by men. Those below Golden Core and women would not participate. The former because they were too weak and would die for no reason, and the latter because they were too important.People were bound to die one way or another, and the Sect would have to replenish their lost members quickly. It would still take decades or a century to fully recover, but at least it would happen. The men were the ones who trained in combat, for the most part, while the women did predominately supporting jobs. Most of the alchemists were actually women, and the Sect relied on them for a steady supply of medicine.No war could be won through the strength and grit of their fighters alone. Sufficient supplies of food and weapons were just as important.***I watched from high up the mountain, as the night got illuminated every so often by an explosion in the distance. Most of the time the sound did not reach us, so it was like watching distant thunder, yet I knew every flash of light most likely meant another one of ours died. Or maybe it was the enemy. Or both. Hard to tell.I tried to get a better look by forming glyphs in the air and zooming in, but the curvature of the planet made it difficult to see far. Not to mention that the tall trees blocked the sight of anything going on on the ground. I could just speculate what was going on out there.A great part of the Core Sect was just recently mobilized to help fight the invasion. While the Elders were many, they were not enough to keep an eye on the entire land belonging to the Sect. Usually securing the border would have been enough, but as the enemy began to infiltrate, it was important to keep them in mind.We couldn't let the enemy establish a foothold inside our borders. It would be too easy to attack our core that way.As such, more manpower was needed, and the many golden Core Disciples were perfect for that. Every day more of them were assigned various tasks they had to complete, and every day more of them came back with various wounds, but they didn't complain. There were no exceptions. Well, except me. Since I was forbidden from leaving the mountain, those things didn't apply to me.***"Ah, Gerald. Pack your things, you have just been summoned." Elder Li said just as I returned home. Didn't even have the time to take off my shoes, so to speak.[What? Why?]He held out a scroll with a special seal, showing its authenticity. "You have been assigned to Elder Fa Ram and his team. You are to meet at the south entrance to the Core Sect tomorrow at dawn. You will get more information then." Elder Li said.[Elder Fa? But wait… Aren't I under house arrest? Also, why am I not assigned to you? Aren't you my master?]"Yes, I am your master, and no, you are not getting assigned to me. It never happens like that when the Sect is at stake. The mission is the most important and anything getting in its way must be purged. That's why familiarity is not allowed. We don't need any hesitation due to sentimental reasons."[Oh.]"As for the house arrest… It says here that it had been voided by the higher-ups due to the circumstances. So now you are a free man. Just make sure not to get in trouble again."[Wow…] I was stunned. I was free, just like that? But I just got used to the calm life of Cultivation. Was the Sect really so desperate for people that they conscripted me? Did they need fresh bodies that much? I mean… okay.[I better get ready then. Also, please make sure Vilya is okay while I'm gone.] I said."Don't you worry, nothing bad will happen to your wife while I'm around." Elder Li replied.[She's not my… You know what? Forget it.] I waved my hand and left. I didn't have the time to be dealing with that. It was the beginning of summer and dawn was just hours away. I had to quickly gather my things and be on my way.Actually, I already had everything I needed on me. I just had to speak with Vilya. She was sleeping, but this was an emergency. I went into the room and gently woke her up. Afterward, I explained to her what was going on. She was not happy, but after a bit of back and forth, she begrudgingly wished me safe travel. We both knew what was going on. If my punishment was voided, it meant the mission was most likely outside the Sect's bounds. Or close to it anyway. It's going to be dangerous.[Make sure you don't die while I'm gone, alright? Also, don't get lost again.]"I should be saying that to you!" Vilya pouted.I just chuckled and slowly stroked her hair. [Yeah... It's easy to get lost in this world.]"I was talking about your death!"[Oh, hahaha, yeah, that's never going to happen.]***Sometime later we said our goodbyes and I left to wait at the designated place. A few people were already there, quietly waiting, and more came as the sky brightened. It was clear nobody knew each other and that was done on purpose.Most people there were at the peak of Golden Core, but there were also a few at Eigtht Layer and one at Seventh. I was the only one at Second Layer and stood out like a sore thumb. I noticed a few people secretly scan me and their expressions changed after they did so.I was not exactly hiding my Cultivation, allowing for my stage to be clearly seen, but most of my energy was contained inside, making me appear like your typical average Cultivator.At the crack of dawn, a figure flew over and landed at the entrance. It was our leader."I see everybody is already gathered. Good." The man began. "My name is Elder Fa and that's how you will refer to me. Is that clear?""Yes, Elder Fa! We all replied. My voice was drowned out by the rest."Alright, now introduce yourselves so we know who's who. You first." Elder Fa pointed at a man. He began by speaking his name and also wanted to tell something about himself but the Elder stopped him."Just the name, let's be quick about it. Next."We went one by one, quickly introducing ourselves and soon the Elder pointed at me as it was my turn and I spoke my name.[Name's Gerald Fireborn.]"Ah, yes… The trouble child. I have heard about you." The Elder commented and gave me that look that told me he was going to keep an eye on me. The rest of them introduced themselves as well, we were ten in total, and then he continued. "We are already late. The stuff should have been done a week ago already, but we lost contact with the last team. Let's just hope everything goes well this time, now let's go."We traveled slowly and in secret. The Elder was the only one allowed to use Mystic Arts and that's because he was the strongest and had the best detection abilities. It took us a full day to reach our target, luckily without incident, and he explained along the way what our job was.Ancient outposts were set along the old border of the Sect, though not up to date, they were the best at detecting enemy Cultivators. But they were dormant during peaceful times as they used way too much energy to operate. However, as it was wartime and information about the enemy movements was vital, they had to be reactivated.Unfortunately, it had to be manually operated and possibly repaired if they were broken."This should be it." Elder Fa suddenly said as we came to a stop near some old ruins. I could see some skeptical looks from my teammates. "Clear the area, there should be a hidden entrance around here somewhere."Of course, it would be underground. Important infrastructure always was. I scanned the soil but saw nothing special. To me, it seemed like the ground was just stone and completely solid. No sight of any underground base. But that was the whole point of secret bases.People had just begun using magic to tear away new growth and clear off the debris and old broken stones when the Elder erupted in anger and slapped the nearest Disciple on the back of the head."Hey! No magic! This is supposed to be a covert operation. Do it with your hands!"It took us almost an entire day to clean out the place before we found something that was even remotely interesting. It appeared as a simple stone slab, yet it was impossible to move. It had a small hole in the middle, which the Elder immediately cleared out and stuck a long crystal rod inside.There was a quiet rumble and the ground was pushed upward and a small stone building rose from the earth. It vibrated as it lifted higher and the soil and roots were shaken loose before it even reached its full height. It was maybe ten meters tall, still hidden by the forest around, and had really thick stone walls with runes covering every single part of it.But they were dead. Not a single drop of Qi ran through them. The structure was circular, like a large upside-down bowl, and the entrance was still half-buried underground. The forest floor must have risen during the centuries of its dormancy."There we go…" Elder Fa nodded. "That wasn't too hard."He didn't appear too happy though. Probably because everything went too easy. The last group just disappeared, so something dangerous was clearly out there.The Elder tsked and went towards the bunker. "Now we have to see if this thing still works. I just hope the information I received is accurate…"