73

Inside Pef's soul, the steam of his sauna palace became unbreathable, just as the hot water vapors outside.

The hero tried to remember how it felt, last time he was under pressure on Blue Xi deep mountain lake.

Breathe and relax. Water chose you, it is your spirit and your guide, he murmured inside and it helped a little.

Ask it for help, and it will aid you. He asked and bit of help was given, just enough to survive the geyser.

He did not dare to open his eyes, fearing of them getting boiled away. So he searched with his other senses, orienting by gravity and water pressure, letting the water vapors flow around him.

He began descending, not very fast, but it was progress anyway. The fire inside his soul sauna lit up and danced like a fire sprite, possibly trying to tell him something.

But Pef didn't have time for chats with fire godlings. He activated his formations inside his armor, further cooling himself, if only by a dozen degrees. It made this hell more bearable though, and the Tyrant continued to descend, going for hours and hours until he detected a distant red-hot bottom.

'Is that magma?' Pef asked, just to check for facts, nothing else.

'Kind of. Ice keeps melting and cooling it off. Perfect place for those Hot Ice Lotus to grow.' the glove explained patiently.

The Aspirant had weird notions how the universe should work, like he wasn't bending reality around him every day. Or cutting it to pieces on his lucky days. Neolithic humans were quite strange.

Pef decided to open his eyes now, since the raging torrent appeared to have quieted down. And indeed, the place was wondrous, especially at a certain boundary, where hot and cold came in contact.

Long roots emerged from the hot lava, and then climbed to the ice boundary, giving birth to beautiful and mysterious lotus plants, hundreds and hundreds of them, perhaps half the lotus plants had flowers opened and giving off an icy qi.

Pef nodded to himself, and the Legion knife emerged in his hand, now a bit more obedient than before. Just a few percents, but already much safer.

He began cutting off and collecting all the flowering plants, leaving perhaps 200 untouched, for another time or lucky cultivator.

The glove folded and stored them instantly, as without the connection to both hot and cold they would die very fast.

'Don't leave yet, go cultivate and finish opening the lower circuit. You wanted more children, right?'the glove advised him just as he prepared to fly away.

Pef didn't quite enjoy this tormenting hell, but for the children he would suffer gladly.

And so he did, cultivating a whole week and puffing open his acupuncture points in the groin area.

It hurt a lot, not just the boiling water, but feeling his private parts getting refined under heat and pressure and qi piercing needles.

As a side effect though, by the time the week was over, his domain became as complete as he had seen on Ventu, reacting to his mere wishes.

While he was climbing, aided now by the upward current, Pef asked curious. 'So, I don't have to wait 100 years for a kid anymore? Like what 30 years, maybe 20?'

'No, that's still up to luck. But instead of 1 in 1000 children being cultivators, you'll get ten times more' the glove explained with a smirk.

'What? I need a hundred kids to have an heir?'

The glove changed its tone and said more sternly: 'You think your uncles are stupid, Aspirant? Love is fine and great. But after they burned 999 regular children who died of old age before 40, they kinda hope for an immortal one.'

'So, Mia's baby?' Pef asked hopeful.

'Normal! You're lucky, but not that lucky. I gave you great boon today, Aspirant. But if you want a dozen Xi Emperors, you're gonna have to burn a thousand, at least' the range glove said in a final warning.

'Can't I increase the chances, somehow?' Pef asked while flying out of the geyser and stopping in midair.

'Perhaps. If your wives agree to dive the lava fountain, and they survive the experience.' came the answer, a bit cold and uncaring.

Xie flew next to him, checking him for damage. But Pef wouldn't be hurt by water anymore. It was truly his domain now.

"Why so long? You fought something there, did you?" she asked worried.

Pef shook his head and hugged his tragic wife. "I fought fate, but it's not enough, my love. If you want kids, you'll have to dive in yourself, and open your lower circuit. I'm not burning thousands of my children, not if I can help it."

The other wife opened her silver eyes, and glanced at the geyser with a discerning look.

"That should work for me. Not yet, but once the water domain is complete. What's wrong with normal kids anyway?" she asked in a serious tone.

"They would die, like in 40 years, maybe 50 now, with all my medicine." Pef sobbed in a fit of sadness and anguish.

"Silly husband. They would live and be loved, and have children of their own. You know Lara was born from regulars. And if you opened that circuit, then it won't be one in a thousand anyway, right?" Xie said in a more compassionate manner, one hand hovering over her belly.

"Yea, but it still feels a bit useless and sad." he muttered not quite convinced.

Xie slapped his head, and yelled: "Idiot, you're only 22! If you had died today, you would have been useless and a waste as well, right?"

The Lady Ignited arrived next to them, checking Pef for damage. "You seem fine, husband. A bit stronger and your pathways had changed a bit"

"Oh, the lava fountain is a fertility enhancer. I'll get ten times more qi children now." the water Tyrant explained with a shrug.

"Yeah, that's great. But you found the lotus?" the Sovereign asked with her own agenda.

"Yep, about 150 of them." Pef answered cheerfully. He turned around and flew next to Lin, who had almost made a Sovereign mace.

"So, more kids eh? Hmmm. You're going to be ridden for a hundred years. Wait, Xi children, who never get sick, and reach Emperor rank by default? And ten times as many? You'll never have to walk again, husband. Just lay in bed, and let your wives and Guardians ride you one after another. Forever and ever!" Lin proclaimed standing up, and waving her mace around.

"Nice mace, but kinda pointless." Pef observed with interest. Then got bashed in the chest with said mace, and flung out some 200 meters.

"It's a sword! Just needs a bit more work, and an edge..." the lady smith muttered to herself.

Lady Yuan flew fast like a firebird, and caught Pef before he hit an icy rock headfirst.

"A pointless Sovereign ranked mace will still crack your stupid skull, husband. Now, let's go back. I want to enjoy that sauna of yours again." the Fire Sovereign explained in a snarky tone.

Yuan took off and waited in midair while the group gathered themselves and flew towards home.

About a third of the way, she got really bored with these slowpokes and flew ahead, to be certain she got a spot in the sauna.

So much ice and cold gave her the shivers.

As she disrobed and sat down in the wonderful invention of her not quite beloved husband, Lia entered as well, and sat next to her in silence. They soaked the heat and steam for half an hour before Lia spoke.

"So, you found them." she concluded in her usual calm manner.

"Of course. Lady Lin has killed a Sovereign bear and gained her Tyrant rank too." Yuan explained while waving a finger around.

Lia wasn't an oracle for nothing. Pef did it then, wielding Lin like a weapon. "And the ingredients?"she asked curious.

"Enough for 150 pills. I'll arrange with Saren for crafting." The Sovereign disclosed with some trepidation.

"20 for us and 40 for the blue. That leaves, 20 more for the druids and 70 for fire." the oracle mused with her eyes closed.

"Still not enough, but should help, for a few years." the Fire Sovereign whispered in a sad voice.

They both bumped shoulders but remained silent afterwards, waiting for their husband to return.

As the meeting came to an end, Lia said gently: "I'd say about a year maybe two. Our husband isn't patient."

Yuan laughed a little, and shook her red hair. "Anyone reaching Sovereign before 50 thousands is not patient. Before 10 thousands, is a reckless maniac. Before one thousand, a raving madman. Before a hundred, just impossible."

"Pef would say cultivation is hard, as he steps into Sovereign before 25." Lia added wisely.

"He probably would. But you were right. If I hadn't been there...at least both our sisters would be dead. And Pef, if not dead, a mad Tyrant slashing anyone for any reason. That Xie is toxic for him." Yuan said in a sad voice, then left the sauna and the fire qi slowly dispersed.

Lia Ching Xi stared at the dying embers with a calm face. 'It's not Xie, my fiery friend. I think that woman died long ago.' she whispered to herself, and worried about the future.

Although they were sisters, and cared for their husband, the strange passenger inside Xie's body had another agenda.

It couldn't be the glove, as that thing was pretty much immune to anything.

But perhaps the knife? Her skill agreed. 67 percent.

Although the Lady of Justice had lost her memories, the instincts remained. She had killed over a million bad people in her 600 years on this planet. She could spot another one, from kilometers away.

Lia just couldn't figure out why. Why would this passenger risk this, when there wouldn't be anywhere to hide, once Pef began hunting her. Why not come clean?

And why was that glove allowing it? It had to know. What she struggled to glimpse and deduce, that damned glove would know at the first touch. She had sensed her soul being scanned and searched and dissected for any infection.

And if Pef was soul forging the glove, even a minute amount, the information would be there in his mind already.

Just like the sword lessons. She taught the glove everything, and now Pef knew it, 500 years of Practice in a few months.

There was no possible way to beat the glove. It had built an entire continent, populated it with billions of people, just for the right person, when it was born. Volcanis and Gaia realized this as well, and gave their best to aid and be useful. So they had a chance when reckoning came.

As Lia left the sauna, Pef and his Tyrant wives landed in the courtyard, a bit tired, but mostly fine.

Xie seemed injured a little, probably from the Sovereign bear.

She stepped in, to hug her apprentice and husband. "Take Qin and Jian next time. They'll need to be Ignited." she said softly, then turned away, the seed planted.

Lin showed her a prototype Sovereign sword, and she smiled gently. Pef's armor had a dent, the exact size as the mace-like sword. He possibly commented something silly and got bashed for it. 100 percent, the skill confirmed ironically.

Xie will be fine in a week, or faster if care was given.

"Big bear, eh?" she asked instead, eyeing the broken arm with a grin.

"Damn claw was bigger than me, see!" she explained proudly, taking out a rather large and sharp claw, partly forged into a hammer.

Perhaps Xie wasn't dead completely. This was genuine.

"I do see. You need more Practice sister. You're kinda slow." she explained in a polite tone, then dodged the slow riposte and flicked her forehead. "Really slow." she confirmed with a sigh, then flew away.

Time to train Ling some more, and then continue her job. Killing bad people. It would never end, but she didn't regret one thing.