Chapter 243: Ashfallen City

Chapter 243: Ashfallen City

Ashlock stirred awake at the first light and felt revitalized from a night under the nine vertical moons.

They remained a mystery to himthe lowest moon that kissed the horizon still shimmered with a purple hue and bathed him in spatial Qi-filled moonlight, while the other eight moons remained as dull as the day he had first seen them.

Idletree Daily Sign-In System

Day: 3588

Daily Credit: 25

Sacrifice Credit: 1095

[Sign in?]

As usual, his idle system reminded him that it existed with its daily notification.

"The Mystic Realm opens tomorrow," Ashlock yawned as he felt the morning sunshine warm up his leaves in this cold weather, "Has it really been 25 days since I last signed in? Have I really resisted my gambling urges for that long?"

It was very tempting to spend those thousand credits he had saved up as it was sure to give him at least an A grade draw, which would have been game-changing in the past. Yet, nowadays, a random A-grade draw wasn't going to save him, but another Bastion or being able to use {Dimensional Overlap} to gain the environmental advantage over a foe could be the difference between life or death.

"Not to mention finding corpses with a cultivation level near my own is growing increasingly more difficult, so I can't waste my precious credits on fun draws," Ashlock mused as he dismissed the notification. "At least the Mystic Realm gives me a chance to find stronger monsters from upper realms, and I should be able to enter the Mystic Realm at least twice this time due to {Nocturnal Genesis} giving me a way to heal soul damage."

Ashlock continued to bask in the morning sunshine momentarily as his massive body finally caught up with his mind and kicked into gear. The slothfulness of a tree was not to be underestimated.

Finally leaving the comfortable darkness of his consciousness and using his spiritual sight to observe the world around him, he almost shouted in surprise. Standing before his trunk with a solemn expression was a man he never expected to greet him in the morning.

"Grand Elder? What are you doing here?"

The man standing in respectful silence with his back slightly bent toward Ashlock's grand trunk that towered over him was startled by his voice through {Asbyssal Whispers}. Recovering from shock, he threw himself into a full-on bow and didn't dare take his eyes off the floor.

"Immortal, I apologize for seeking an audience with you first thing in the morning without being summoned." He said quickly while keeping his tone respectful, "But I wasn't sure what to do. I seek guidance regarding the mortals and what you wish to do with them. I tried to find Mistress Stella and Diana, but they were nowhere to be found, so I came here."

For the Grand Elder to come all the way here and wait under his shade for him to awake had never happened before, so it must be a rather pressing matter.

"Diana is off to the east dealing with monsters for me, and Stella is hiding underground practicing alchemy," Ashlock replied. It was almost an art form of how Stella could predict future social interactions and avoid them hours in advance. Now, he was left to deal with it.

"That aside, I believe I already informed you what to do with the mortals? I told you to inform them of two options. They can restart their lives in Darklight City or take the first airship back to Slymere once the storm ends. So what could be the issue that you come seeking me out like this?"

The Grand Elder gulped, "Well, you see, the problem is"

"You can raise your head, Grand Elder," Ashlock insisted, as it felt weird for a man centuries older than him to be bowing to the floor like this. "Also, speak more casually. I am grumpy in the morning and was surprised you came here, so ignore my tone."

"Oh, I see, thank you." The Grand Elder straightened up and looked less worried. No matter the issue the man was facing, it was because of Ashlock's selfish act of heroism that he had pushed onto the Grand Elder and fallen asleep, so it would be pretentious to make the poor man bow.Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com, where was I... oh yes." The Grand Elder raised his hand and coughed awkwardly, "Everyone but a select few nobles wish to remain here and restart their lives in Darklight City."

That was surprising. Ashlock had been worried that these people would be hopping onto the first airship home even if nothing but a destroyed Slymere awaited them. "At least that is what people did back on Earth. Is a mortal's attachment to a home much less in this world? Is real estate less valuable due to the beast tides and cultivators?"

"Well then, forgive me for being honest, but we are a poor sect. Even if we only sent a third of the mortals to Darklight City with merely a week of living expenses, it would bankrupt us." The Grand Elder shook his head in shame, "Our most reliable income stream thus far has been robbing other cultivators, and ventures into selling pills have been... unsuccessful, to say the least."

Ashlock hadn't been ready for the Grand Elder to lay it out so bluntly like that, and the worst part was how true it all was. The Ashfallen Sect was powerful, held authority over millions of mortals, had access to unmatched cultivation resources, and even tailored pocket realms. But despite all these advantages, they were flat-out broke.

"That might be due to some mismanagement here and there and some questionable decision-making," Ashlock admitted. He wasn't one to point fingers... mainly because he didn't even have fingers, but that was beside the point. As far as he was concerned, everyone was at fault! "But you are right, so what do you propose?"

"Why even bother sending anyone to Darklight City? Offer them housing in the new city, and if they save up and wish to move to Darklight City, it's a simple hour walk down a road." The Grand Elder explained, "You may not know, but mortals are nomadic. They move to where there is opportunity and safety compared to us, who prefer to stay and cultivate for decades at a time in one location, wherever the Qi for our chosen affinity is strongest. Then we go seeking danger to increase our strength."

Ashlock did, in fact, know that humans were usually willing to move to seek better economic opportunities and safety, as it happened back on Earth. Still, he wasn't about to expose that.

"Interesting, and this way, we don't have to give out any money and potentially flood or cripple Darklight City's economy."

"Correct." The Grand Elder nodded, "Did you have an idea for the city's name?"

"Well, we have the Ashfallen Sect and Ashfallen Trading Company, so to keep it simple, how about Ashfallen City?"

"That works."

"Okay, I will send over the earth cultivators and have them turn that area into an empty city that all hundred thousand mortals can move into. I'm sure it will be chaos for the first few weeks, but things should settle down eventually." Ashlock instructed, "Oh, and shut down the airships leaving Darklight City for the next week or so. I don't want word of what happened here to reach the Voidmind family yet."

"What about the nobles that wished to return?"

"Just tell them that the airships cannot travel due to the storms. Maybe they will be won over to stay once they see Ashfallen City. If not, they can return when everything has died down in a few weeks. Maybe I will get them to sign heaven-approved contracts to keep their silence."

"Understood. I think this is a solution the mortals will be happy with. If that is all, I will take my leave as the people grow restless for answers." The Grand Elder bowed and summoned his sword in a flash of silver, which he then threw down to stand on.

"No, that is all. Thank you for the hard work," Ashlock said as the Grand Elder took to the skies and rocketed toward the White Stone Palace, leaving a trail of crimson flame as he went.

Ashlock let out a sigh as he surveyed the now deserted mountain peak. He didn't even want to glance at the White Stone Pavilions to see what chaos a hundred thousand mortals had caused overnight.

"Luckily, I can push the work onto my favorite handyman." Ashlock's vision traveled through his roots to search the citadel that spanned the center of the mountain. Progress of its construction was coming along nicely, with the staircase reaching near the top and many rooms being built into the rock. Mudcloaks excitedly rushed around with clumps of moss in their hands that they ripped pieces off to nibble on occasionally while they worked.

Soon enough, Ashlock located their king with his crude crown of stone.

"Douglas, I have some work for you."

Ashlock saw the man's eye twitch, likely in annoyance. With a sigh, he looked up at the sky, "Yes, Patriarch? How may I be of assistance?"

"I need you and the Mudcloaks to build me a city to the north for a hundred thousand mortals."

Douglas crouched down and patted a Mudcloak on the head, "I hear voices in my head that are saying impossible things. Do you think I should ignore them, little guy?"

The Mudcloak shook its head and began chanting happily, "Work! Work! Work!"

Douglas groaned and stood back up, "A city to the north, you say? How long do I have?"

"Ideally, by tomorrow? Unless you want its construction to cut your time in the Mystic Realm that opens tomorrow."

"Well fuck's sake," Douglas cursed, "What are we waiting around for? Let's go!"