Shui and Alia found themselves on a patch of barren wasteland, but regardless of which direction they looked, there was a different environment. From open seas to snowy hills, almost any landscape that one could imagine was present. However, as he had just experienced all of them, Shui had no interest in admiring nature's beauty.
"Weren't we going to handle business first?"
"We are. I could have let them keep toying with you for weeks if my intent was to have fun. Besides, it would have taken more effort on my part if I tried to order them while they were frustrated, so I had you appease them first."
"..."
Shui's harsh gaze made it clear that he had a lot that he wanted to say, but he didn't have the energy to argue, so he shook his head and sighed instead.
While Shui tried to calm down, Alia flew off his shoulder and moved forward.
"As I thought, it's here."
Alia chanted in a language Shui didn't understand and in response to her words, the faint outline of a door appeared before her. The more she chanted, the clearer the image of the door became. Once she was finished, Alia opened the door that had appeared out of nowhere. There was a portal behind the door, and while Shui couldn't see where it led, he could sense immense natural energy from it.
"Let's hurry on in. The children will be back soon."
Motivated by his curiosity and urgency, Shui quickly followed Alia into the portal. Once the two entered, the door and portal disappeared, leaving nothing behind for the spirits, who rushed over after sensing the flow of natural energy.
Past the portal was a short corridor which led to a lavish treasure room that was as wide as a city and as high as a mountain. There was enough space between the walls and the piles of treasure to walk through, but for the most part, the room was filled with valuable materials and cultivation resources.
"So, this is your treasury?"
"One of them, yes. I considered bringing everything with me before I went to sleep, but I simply didn't have time back then."
"Couldn't you have kept your treasures in a storage artifact to begin with?"
"I don't know how it is now, but when I walked these lands, the art of forging storage artifacts was still in the early stages, so the best pieces at the time could only function for a couple thousand years. I didn't want to lose everything in the deep trenches of space while I was asleep, so I did this instead."
"I see."
Storage artifacts generally worked by anchoring a small isolated space to an item, but the materials used and the rank of the artifact influenced the stability of the space, which determined how long the artifact could be used for. Shui's tesora-rank storage ring, for example, would still be good for another thousand years. Generally, once the space inside the artifact lost stability, losing everything inside was one of the best cases. It was also possible that the artifact would turn into a small black hole and crush the owner to nothingness. Fortunately, well-made modern storage artifacts came with an emergency function to eject everything inside and disconnect the space once it was about to lose stability.
To cultivators at his level, even a thousand years would be more than enough for a storage artifact, but he could see how that would be inadequate for an immortal spirit.
According to Alia, this room had been built by a friend and she later turned it into an artifact to store her treasures. As the room wasn't a separate space and its rank was superior to every artifact Shui had seen except for the Primordial Library, it would likely survive even if this realm was destroyed.
While Shui was appreciating the room, Alia flew towards an area entirely filled with fire-attribute resources. She then moved some resources from that area, as well as others, and placed them near Shui.
"You can use these to cultivate while I'm regaining my strength. I might have lowered my standards when I formed a contract with you, but that doesn't mean I don't expect you to be worthy of being my partner."
It was hard to feel grateful when she put it like that, but Shui thanked her nonetheless.
"Thank you, Alia. I won't these be wasted."
"Good."
Back at Storm Sky Manor, a month had passed since the collapse of the Spirit Nest. Thanks to the manor lord taking swift action, they were able to save most of the disciples trapped inside the Spirit Nest, but there wasn't much to celebrate considering the overall situation.
Among the several disciples whose soul imprints had vanished, was the direct disciple of the manor lord and the one most likely to succeed his position, Mater of the Chun clan. Given his high status and the authority he wielded both inside the manor and his clan, his death had brought rise to many issues, including the destabilization of the faction that had formed to support him in ascending to the seat of manor lord.
While the faction was stumbling towards its eventual collapse, there was a rise in those calling for the suspected culprit, Kate, to be punished. Kate and Shui were among the few disciples still missing, but according to the disciples that had been together with Mater, Kate had left the Spirit Nest with him. The two weren't seen afterwards, but given their hostile relationship, it was hard to refute the possibility that she had slain him.
Although Core Elder Ren announced Kate was missing, Mater's falling faction refused to believe him and pressed that Ren was hiding her. With Core Elder Ren's status and connections, even the combined authorities of the War Department and the Punishment Department weren't enough to force a search of his properties and office, but they did make things difficult for him. Around this time, shocking news of a heinous plot spread across Silver City. The details varied across accounts, but the suspect behind the plot and their motive remained the same.
The rumours went like this: Mater and the Chun clan were planning to betray Silver City.
Given how outrageous such rumours were, the Chun clan immediately took measures to suppress them, but when other forces dug into the rumours, there was surprisingly word that Mater made contact with the Black Dog Bandits and had them murder a group of inner section disciples of Storm Sky Manor. Considering the notoriety of the Black Dog Bandits, the Mater's involvement with them wasn't something that could be overlooked. The manor lord of Storm Sky Manor publicly sought answers from the Chun clan, but they insisted that the clan wasn't aware of this interaction. Perhaps they were confident that they could resist the manor lord's pressure, but shortly after, an inspector came from the capital.
The inspector's status placed him below the mayor of Silver City, but since he belonged to a higher power, the mayor couldn't afford to offend him. The mayor invited him to the main meeting room inside city hall and demanded the presence of the leaders of Storm Sky Manor, Lava Stream Sect, and Maiden Academy. If it was a regular day, they might have spurned his sudden request, but they also weren't brave enough to risk offending the inspector.
The leaders of Storm Sky Manor and the Lava Stream Sect were both gallant middle-aged men while the headmaster of Maiden Academy appeared to be a celestial fairy who wore a veil to conceal her stunning beauty. Any meeting involving the three tended to start off with a trade of insults, but they knew when to choose the time and place.
When the three leaders arrived, the mayor was at the head of the table while the inspector sat next to him with a solemn expression. The inspector appeared young, but his cultivation was no weaker than theirs. No one had been there to see him, but this inspector was the same person who had come across remnants of Kate's battle with Mater after she left the scene.
"The three of you are here. This is Senior Inspector Han. He's come here on a mission from the capital and needs to speak with us. Take your seats so we can begin."
The three leaders certainly heard the mayor, but they looked at the inspector instead.
"Why are your gazes on me? Did you not hear your mayor? Are you all deaf?"
Facing the inspector's admonishment, the three quickly found their seats. The mayor didn't blame them because he would have acted the same in their position. He had offered the inspector the chance to sit at the head of the table, but he plainly refused on account of the official hierarchy. Given how finicky he appeared to be, the mayor was pessimistic about the outcome of this meeting.