The next morning arrived with a crisp mountain breeze that did little to clear the thick, pearlescent evening mist still clinging to the upper terraces of Doushi. The view over the terraces and the city was truly enchanting.
They were still tired in the morning, after using the night to make up for what they missed doing during the journey. The trio enjoyed a slow morning in the Jade Pavilion Hotel, as they slowly finished their breakfast and dressed for a day of sightseeing.
Mina and Fin made a sizable list of things to do and see in Doushi before they set off for the next destination. Leaving their private suite, they walked out to the plaza in front of the hotel. Manager Qi had already called for a barge that would bring them down to the Emerald Terrace Station.
Unlike the West Gate Station, which had been plundered by thugs, they had a lot more options in this place. Because the Emerald Terraces functioned as the city's premier hospitality district, the security was a lot tighter, and the services vying for customers were more high-class.
Last time, they were not too interested in exploring this place, but seeing it in the morning, they found the place was actually quite stylish. While the ticket counter at the west gate looked like it was carved from white jade, this terminal was styled like a lavish garden pavilion jutting out over the cliff edge.
Beside the beast carriages that offered travel across the city via the beast highways, this place also offered travel by large, open-air floating barges made of polished, bluish-gray wood, kept aloft by glowing formation sigils along the body, creating buoyancy.
As a carpenter himself, the wood drew his attention. It had a natural, satin-like sheen. When the sun hit it, the surface caught the light with a faint, iridescent mother-of-pearl or soft blue tint.
There was nothing romantic in using a carriage to travel to the inner city, so they obviously chose the much more comfortable and expensive flying vessels. The ride cost them a whopping 15 low-grade spirit stones per person. Still, they found it worth it, despite a lot of other travelers grumbling that the price had doubled since the Southern Blade Sect was squashed.
As their barge drifted away from the platform, the view was breathtaking. The entire city of Doushi opened up below them, a sprawling metropolis partially built into the jagged mountain peaks, with bronze spires and crystal pagodas piercing through the sea of clouds, at least in the richer areas.
"It looks kind of chaotic from above," Seth remarked quietly, leaning his forearms against the carved wooden railing. Doushi was like a patchwork of opposites with slums directly bordering high-tier districts. The reason was also obvious from above.
As mana and spirit veins pooled at places of power like peaks and mountains, the highest places in Doushi were occupied by rich martial families, sects, and rogue cultivators. Like the mana, these people pooled in these places, while ordinary housing and slums filled up the spaces in between.
Mina frowned, adjusting her travel cloak.
"Right, for as much glamour as it has, as dark are its secrets. But isn't that true for every place?" Mina asked with a shrug. True, it was applied to Urth. The districts were far from perfect, even before the Apocalypse; still, Seth really loved those. They were home after all.
"Do you also see that? Is that normal?" Fin asked, pointing toward the city wall, where half of the defensive formations on the outer walls were slightly flickering. It reminded Seth of that moment when they arrived. So he DID see the barrier flicker.
"Yes, since the Southern Blade Sect's demise, things have become quite chaotic. City council even neglects simple formation maintenance," and the older man in expensive robes commented on their conversation, shaking his head.
It was obvious this was just a chance to ramble on about his complaint; however, the trio had no place to run to. They had to hear all about the systemic fallout following the erasure of the Southern Blade Sect.
However, they only noticed after he mentioned it. The airspace of the city seemed actually quite chaotic. According to the man's monologue, the city's automated traffic lanes—usually perfectly synchronized streams of flying swords and cargo vessels—were jammed.
Prices were rising as massive trading ships from the Sky-Docks were backed up in the upper air currents because the sect enforcers were no longer there to direct traffic and clear the mountain turbulence. The resulting gridlock caused a bottleneck.
This explained the fleet of ships they had seen floating above Doushi. It wasn't that there was always this much traffic, but it was a massive, aerial congestion that kept them from quickly leaving the city.
Their barge descended smoothly past the middle terraces, entering the heavy, humid air of the Commercial District. The atmospheric shift was immediate. The clean, crisp mountain air of the luxury hotels vanished, replaced by a thick, heavy scent of sulfur, crushed medicinal roots, and ozone.
They stepped off the floating barge at the Central Plaza station, the biggest one they had seen so far. They immediately found themselves swallowed by the sensory overload of the Cloud-Kettle Geysers. The plaza they entered was built like an immense, paved amphitheater.
Dominating the landscape were dozens of massive, ancient bronze cauldrons, each the size of a small house, anchored directly over natural volcanic vents splitting the mountain rock. This was the proud heart of Doushi's Alchemist Guild.
Dozens of master alchemists in billowing robes were performing "Flash-Refining" demonstrations on elevated stages, their hands moving in blurs as they tossed rare herbs into the roaring cauldrons, drawing gasps and cheers from the massive crowds below.
With every successful refinement, a massive hiss echoed through the plaza as the cauldrons vented thick, shimmering plumes of violet and gold steam into the air. Although Seth knew that this was a special way of pill refining and it wasn't always like this, he had to admit that pill refining looked and felt a lot more magical than crafting potions with
As the trio walked among the crowd of spectating tourists and commoners who had recently fled the monster-infested wilderness outside, a particularly dense cloud of golden mist drifted over them. It felt warm and tingling against the skin.
Notifications popped up in the corner of his eyes. Compliance Vapor? The status ailment it tried to apply was a state of suggestion. Seth didn't change his expression, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at the crowd around them.
The cultivators among them seemed unaffected; they probably were. However, the normal people, travelers, and refugees were breathing in the golden steam greedily, expecting a stamina boost. Instead, Seth noticed their frantic posture subtly relaxing, their eyes turning slightly glassy, and their expressions growing strangely vacant and compliant.
The mist wasn't just a byproduct of the show; it seemed laced with a highly diluted elixir to affect the crowd. Before he could comment on it to his wives, a sharp, metallic ping echoed from the largest bronze cauldron in the center of the plaza.
The beautiful golden fire beneath the cauldron suddenly turned a violent, angry crimson. The master alchemist on the stage panicked, his hand movements breaking rhythm as the liquid inside began to boil uncontrollably.
"The cooling agents!" the alchemist screamed toward his assistants, his voice amplified by spiritual energy.
"Where is the Blue-Frost grass? The temperature is spiking!" A pale-faced assistant ran up.
"There is not enough supply, Master! The warehouses are empty! We don't have any left!" his disciple screeched, looking at the steaming cauldron in horror.
"That god damn Blade Sect couldn't have died after delivering it!?" the alchemist bellowed, desperately trying to control the cauldron, but to no avail.
"Everyone! Flee and take cover!" the alchemist screamed, warning the crowd to find safety.
The giant cauldron began to judder violently against its iron chains. The natural volcanic heat underneath, completely unchecked by the missing cooling herbs, was turning the massive artifact into a fragmentation bomb of molten bronze and explosive spiritual soup.
The crowd of tourists instantly erupted into panicked screams, trampling over each other to flee the plaza as the metal began to glow white-hot.
Seth didn't even blink. Mina poked him in the side with her elbow.
~Do something-.