Elder Cultivator-Chapter 1211

Building wasn’t really the strongest suit of Velvet. She was a powerful enough cultivator that she could accomplish pretty much anything if she set her mind to it, but that didn’t ever mean she would be the best choice for something like that. She did have a surprisingly large quantity of knowledge on farming, though. Mostly absorbed secondhand from Anton when she’d before her Ascension- and a little bit afterwards.

Even if she wasn’t great, she could still contribute. Considering that the sects of the Chaotic Conglomeration didn’t have much in the way of machinery set up- especially on newly settled planets- single individuals of sufficient agility could always be useful.

“You really need to come up with a name,” Velvet commented to Runa.

“Once we do,” she replied. “We have to be prepared for people to notice. Sects rarely combine under another banner. It would be seen as a sort of separation, along with our physical location.”

The two of them spoke easily, even as they practically sprinted down rows of fields, either tilling the soil or placing seeds precisely. This was one of the planets that already had a workable atmosphere, though without an established biosphere. Others were much harder to kickstart into a planet that could be occupied. The norm was to create isolated bubbles, but those were risky as any damage could make an entire city or more uninhabitable in an instant. Even those cultivators that could sustain themselves without air couldn’t do so indefinitely until they were somewhere around Integration.

The techniques required to implement atmospheres on planets that didn’t have them were quite complicated, involving the extraction of various elements from the planet itself, usually from solid compounds. Sometimes material was taken from a gas giant, since they wouldn’t miss much material, but taking an atmosphere from one planet to place on another just didn’t work. Even if it was implemented, there was no net gain.

Velvet didn’t know how to make rocks into air, but the twins did. Either through technology or formations, they were working on surrounding planets in the systems that had been claimed.

Along with the human workers from the various sects, there were void ants. They were critically useful, as they could monitor the smaller scale issues that might arise. A planet with only trees wouldn’t be as prosperous as it might seem. Trees could entirely devour the atmosphere until there was nothing left for them to use. When they died, they would simply take up space- because decay was a process that required other forms of life to progress to any significant extent. Solar radiation could break things down extremely slowly, but that wasn’t much good.

Other plants, animals, bacteria, and all sorts of fungus and things were needed to create even a basic form of functional biosphere. Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time the Alliance had settled new planets, and they had knowledge about the various pitfalls that might occur.

With humans taking care of the large scale changes, the void ants could work on small scale implementation. They could establish practically limitless outposts from which they would monitor the spreading of various forms of life that were being implemented. Their numbers were necessary, because even with millions of humans there was simply too much area on a single planet that had to be monitored. The sects weren’t willing to bring so many people all at once, both because of the risk of drawing negative attention to themselves and because it would collapse their older and more established locations, which they needed to continue to rely upon.

Technically, the Alliance could provide them with what they needed, but cultivators like them were too proud to allow everything to be done by outsiders. Even if they were allied, it was too much. And the Alliance preferred they stand on their own as well, because the sections in the upper realms wouldn’t be able to come to their aid easily. The cultivators of the lower realms, meanwhile, had the same issues of staying long term in a different realm- even if the ships could bring them to a particular destination.

Void ants, lacking energy entirely, didn’t care- except that many preferred the upper realms for the taste of energy that they consumed. Crossed Antennae and Fearsome Mandibles worked tirelessly to implement their colonies on the new planets. The void ants of Akrys, where Fearsome Mandibles had previously established themselves, were well enough settled in to go without her for a few decades. Or forever, if it came down to that.

Occasionally the Great Queen came along with shipments from the lower realms. She was quite pleased with the group having chosen to join up with the void ants, even at personal risk. Velvet didn’t know if she fulfilled any strictly necessary roles, though the void ants were always more efficient after she came through. Either way, if they happened to be under attack it would be great to have her around. Even a Domination cultivator would want to think twice before messing with her. If it came down to it, Velvet hoped she wouldn’t give them that long.

-----

Farming was good. Velvet was able to move around outside in the sun. She didn’t always want to be sneaking around. She didn’t have a perpetual need for cover from prying eyes. Even when she wished for concealment, she didn’t want… this. Though it was nostalgic.

“I’m not swinging that pick, if that’s what you think is gonna happen here,” Velvet commented.

Runa rolled her eyes. “We’re just prospecting. We need to test the quantities of void ore around here… and we don’t know what might be hiding down here. You’re backup.”

“Probably should have brought Juli, then,” Velvet commented. “If we fight something without energy, I can’t say I’d be any better than you. I’m sure she’s got some handheld lasers or something.”

Runa was carrying the pick pretty casually. After going through Body Tempering, any sort of normal material was relatively light. Runa took experimental swings at certain veins she found, knocking away chunks of ore. Velvet presumed she was looking for signs of how deep they went. That was something previously done by hand. A cultivator could get a vague sense of where the whole field stretched, but that didn’t indicate much except a minimum level of density throughout.

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Pure tech scanners could do better than hand inspection, though. They even outdid experienced workers- though obviously the best combination was someone with experience and a good scanner.

Velvet didn’t mind being dragged about underground too much. She was able to spend time with Runa, chatting about nothing. Or cultivation, which sometimes also devolved into nothing. Ideas for anchors were endless. Even if they sounded good at first, though, they usually weren’t.

“I could use the shadow of whoever I was fighting,” Velvet said. “I’d be pretty strong for one whole battle. If someone would stand still long enough for me to create an anchor, I mean.” Manipulating shadows as a physical entity wasn’t really in her batch of stealth. And using one as an anchor really didn’t fit. Maybe for someone, though. “I could pick something hidden inside a shell of void ore.”

“I’m not sure if the Domination energy could get out,” Runa commented. “Though it probably wouldn’t be completely muted.

“It should transmit directly,” Velvet said. “But if voidsteel worked perfectly, you’d probably have killed more Domination cultivators.”

Runa laughed. “I’m already satisfied we brought down one.”

“Okay, so,” Velvet said. “I might not want an anchor like that. But you could use one, right?”

“Hmm. The Spirit Slicing Sect is inherently beholden to void ore,” Runa agreed. “But I wouldn’t want anything hidden away. And I think it would be conceptually difficult to imbue an energy negating substance. I’m not planning to head for something so esoteric as Chidi’s Negation. I’d be a tier late to even think about it, anyway. Besides, that sort of invalidates all of my techniques when energy itself stops.”

Runa stopped, looking curiously at a particular section of wall. She knocked on it with the side of the pick.

“Hmm. Notice anything odd about that?” Runa asked.

“Not at all,” Velvet said. “It looks just like any other stone.”

“I see,” Runa nodded. “I thought there was something.” She tapped the rock again.

Then it exploded apart. Velvet immediately pulled Runa back, falling into a defensive position. “Careful! It could be anything!”

She should have run. Was she going to face off against something that could smash rocks with a puny dagger? But turning would take too long, and Runa wasn’t moving. The dust began to reveal a form. Velvet began to lunge forward, but this time Runa yanked her back.

“Alright, that’s far enough!” Runa said. “No stabbing friends.”

Velvet was confused for a moment, until she finally saw a large figure standing there, pick slung over his shoulder. She recognized that profile- especially at a certain angle. “... Durff?”

“Surprise!” his booming voice rang out, a little bit too loud. “Oh, sorry.” His face was revealed through the dust, grinning. “I heard they needed miners here, so…”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “It’s mostly mechanized now, you know. Also, they haven’t even really begun operations here.”

“That’s why I had to show up early! These machines keep taking jobs from us hardworking folk.”

“You don’t even need a job,” Velvet said. She looked carefully at Durff’s face. “So, uh, how are you doing?”

“Are you talking about the part where some of my insides melted?” Durff asked. “That’s pretty much dealt with. I’m as healthy as a horse.” He frowned. “I never thought they were particularly healthy, though.”

“Alright,” Runa clapper her hands. “Reunion is here. Durff is fresh in with some new organs. How are they doing?”

He coughed slightly. “I liked my old lungs. These ones are so sensitive. Maybe I should get them adjusted.”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “It would probably help if you didn’t throw up dirt everywhere. Seriously, how did you get so much? Should I be worried about my lungs?”

“It’s fine. I just brought some extra powder to make things mysterious,” Durff said.

“Good to hear,” Velvet said. Then she wrapped her arms around his midsection. “It’s good to see you functional again. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because Runa thought it would be funnier this way, obviously,” he said.

“Ugh. And the incoming ship had to hide you from me as well,” Velvet said. “I should have suspected something was off when they went to the far side of the planet first even thought they had stuff for the main settlement here.”

-----

Durff wasn’t really necessary for the growth efforts… but along that vein neither were Velvet, Runa, or any single individual. The more people they could get together to help set things up, the better. Having a strong Augmentation cultivator was always a good thing, and he was familiar with the way the Scarlet Alliance planets operated. Not the bureaucracy. Or technology. Or probably a million other things, realistically. But Durff was used to open planet cultivation, where energy wasn’t tied down to any particular locations.

That was the sort of thing that needed strong cultivators to help accelerate the baseline level of everything else, so having another individual like him familiar with the process would help. But of course, Velvet was more happy to see him healthy again- even if he showed some signs of hesitation in his movements. She wondered if he was worried about accidentally crushing his new organs. She wondered if he should be.

Either way, she could imagine why he would be uncomfortable. She’d had her particular organs for a thousand years. She felt weird when she replaced a dagger every century or so, and those weren’t part of her torso. Cultivators could feel inside themselves far too easily to not notice some sort of changes.

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The Alliance had excellent replacement organs. The only worry wasn’t that they would be lacking in functionality, but rather if they could keep up with someone high spec like Durff. No doubt doctors had told him what his limits would probably be. He might even have listened. Either way, it was good to see him around. Velvet had hardly even realized how long it had been. Time continued to flow on. But at least they were going to be there for more of it.