The expedition had a wide variety of individuals with them. From the furthest reaches they had Chandra of the Emerging Bamboo Sect and Mandlen of the Indestructible Kapok Grove. It wasn't possible to get any further from the Molten Sea on the continent than the Viridia Wildlands. Next was Harta Mulyani from the Shimmering Islands and Adde from the Immolating Heart sect in the Boiling Springs. John, Astrid, and Viriato were of course based out of Astrein, and the Six Elements Crossroads. Steve and Yustina were representing the Green Sands, and then there was Zdislava herself from the Burning Delta.

Many of the leaders were Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, though notably Chandra, Adde, Kehinde, and Viriato were currently at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. It was a difficult barrier to break through, requiring thorough preparations. Chandra and Adde were young enough they were doubtless waiting for the best moment for themselves. John wasn't certain about Kehinde's reasoning, but he knew Viriato in particular was content with the Consolidated Soul Phase. It was still a prominent cultivation stage, rare in previous generations.

The cultivators were chosen for a balance of elements, mainly those that could be comfortable in the Molten Sea. Their ability to fight against the Molten Sea cultivators was also taken into account, in case it was necessary. A group with such a powerful leaning would generally not be challenged in previous years, but it was possible to take them as a threat that must be eliminated. Better than a weak group that could be disposed of, perhaps.

Cultivators of water and earth together would be balanced against the fire and water of the Molten Sea. Water and Air was actually the greatest threat, since that was a combination that overcame both elements of the Molten Sea. Ultimately, however, the expedition only came with one hard limitation. No cultivators from the Sky Islands, for the moment. They had to become more familiar with the Molten Sea as a whole first.

Unlike previous visits, the Burning Delta sent some of their lava ships to the shores to pick up the cultivators, as it was simply more convenient. All of them would have been able to reach the sect eventually, but traveling along slowly fading rivers was not the most comfortable journey.

The complications of navigating the Molten Sea were quite different from salty oceans. Weather was far less of a factor- if it existed at all it was relatively inconsequential compared to everything else. It required more active work, as while the ships were enchanted to dissipate heat on their own they didn't move under their own power. Unless one wanted to go with the natural currents, which often led to problematic locations like the sinkholes.

Bridging over rivers and the like seemed to be mainly relevant in the area of the Burning Delta- rivers didn't survive further from the shores of the Molten Sea. However, there were still various obstacles to be concerned about. Hot patches that would overwhelm even the best enchantments a ship had, powerful currents that would drag them along unless equally powerful cultivators manipulated the lava themselves, bursting bubbles of lava and more. All had to be considered during their journey.

John felt one notable difference from previous times. He… wasn't hot. That was actually to be expected, of course, but it was still notable. His fire element body tempering had involved temperature regulation, which was part of it. The rest was simply that he was more comfortable with fire element. He'd had a fire totem when he first visited the Burning Delta, but now he'd had one with him for seven ranks of cultivation, most of a full phase.

"What do you think of the climate here?" John asked Astrid. "I would like your opinion of the Molten Sea versus other oceans, as a fire dominant cultivator."

Astrid pondered for a few moments. "I certainly feel powerful. However… it's too wet."

John nodded. "An unfortunate side effect of the Molten Sea. The air is simply saturated with water. And the lava too." Sweating and evaporation didn't work. Fortunately, cultivators could manage that stuff themselves. John noted that most of the locals tended to waft extra heat upwards. It was actually somewhat cooler away from the lava, even though heat tended to rise. Obviously being right on the surface was about as hot as it got.

The thin stone ships sailed forward with very little in the way of wind power, but instead only the manipulation of the lava around them. It actually appeared quite natural, with the cultivators putting more effort into manipulating the viscosity of the lava around them rather than actually pushing the vessel. With pressure behind the ships and lowered resistance in front, the stone ships almost slid forward on their own. They would never match the fastest ocean vessels, because the limitations of the medium hindered them more than it helped, but the Molten Sea had made things as efficient as possible.

At some point, John found Zdislava on her own vessel. They had three ships in their little fleet, but they were packed full. It was easy enough for John to fly from one to the other- or he could run on the lava, or potentially jump. "So," John asked. "Should we expect any attacks by beasts?"

She shook her head. "The vessels themselves match the aura of the Molten Sea. As for anything that would actually swim to the surface and attack us, it should all be more intelligent than to mess with this much power. Of course, there is still a chance. It's quite easy to concentrate the lava around anything with poor control, freezing them in place. Forcing water or air into their lava gills can kill them. There are a few amphibious sorts that wouldn't work for, some that waddle across the surface. However, they are usually easier to pick out."

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

John nodded. "What should we expect from this clan we are headed towards?" There had been a brief introduction, but they had no reason to delay their departure when they could discuss them on the way. It would take a few days. The Molten Sea wasn't dense with population, and inhabitable islands were rare even if one stretched that definition.

"They're the most prominent clan in this section of the Molten Sea," Zdislava explained. "However, they tend to focus on personal growth and don't interfere with much. This was still true during the times of conflict with the continent. They did nothing to aid Gesine, but neither did they dissuade her and the factions with her. Had they wished to, they might have accomplished something."

John simply nodded. It had been long enough that his anger had faded. The ones most responsible had already been eliminated, or at least those actively on the frontlines. That included Gesine herself. Perhaps if they had been strong enough half a century ago it would have been different. He was surprised at how long it had actually been- half a century was actually short. Yet the pain of his loss still hurt, even if less intensely and less often than it used to.

John missed Matayal. He was also glad to have Astrid, not as a replacement but simply as her. Someone that chose to share his burdens, while he in turn did the same with her. She hadn't lost a husband, but friends and family she loved had still been taken away from her. Life tended to do that, especially for cultivators. John had been rather lucky with how few he had lost, either due to time or violence. Hopefully the latter was less of a factor for the continent going forward, but of course they still ended up in conflicts.

Even when they had gone to the western ocean to meet the islands there, they ended up in battle. Hopefully, their losses them would mitigate far more that might have come from a less intentional approach. John could hardly imagine what it would have been like if the goal hadn't been peace. It was so easy to screw things up. Some might have blamed the Great Eye Sect for what happened, but attacking the first sect they encountered wouldn't have been good for their overall reputation in the region.

-----

John rarely had an opportunity to train with such intense fire element as the Molten Sea had everywhere. That didn't necessarily make their cultivators stronger- in the early stages they would actually spend more effort overcoming the excessive nature of the spiritual energy rather than greedily absorbing it. It was a balancing act, and having more gradual degrees of power was often best.

Half of cultivation was learning to draw from a wider area. At least, that was how John had taken his steps forward. Areas were dense spiritual energy were great, like Ciaritzal and the layer beneath the Tenebach clan or specialized training rooms, but ultimately absorbing spiritual energy wasn't the only thing a cultivator had to do. They needed to be able to control more, not just have more. Stuffing yourself full of spiritual energy without a plan was a good way to die.

That wasn't quite what Fortkran had done, but it wasn't completely inaccurate either. His talent had been decent enough to pick out a suitable totem, he'd just been impatient. John had learned from that and mostly managed to avoid killing himself, except for one particular situation.

Fire element was dominant, but ignoring the water element would have been a mistake. It was only slightly less powerful, even if it was less obvious. It was ubiquitous within the atmosphere as well as occasionally contained in highly pressurized systems beneath the surface. John occasionally saw massive geysers in the distance- their ships avoided such due to the experience of the locals. No doubt the water was superheated, far more than what could naturally happen. Pressure would do that, though John suspected he could achieve the same through other methods as well.

Fire empowered water. Even if it wasn't a natural phenomenon here, John could use fire element to aid in active freezing as well. It was more than withdrawing heat, though explaining exactly what he was doing by the basics of chemistry and physics was a bit beyond John in that particular area. Trying to understand was still important, though.

Most wouldn't have noticed the diffuse air and earth. Light and darkness were both minimal, but still present. Extracting them from the local area was excellent practice for John. Mostly, he focused on the core elements. He wanted to build towards the last two ranks of the Ascending Soul Phase. He was confident in maintaining his stability as he approached the peak. He'd have to give himself a thorough assessment about the Exalted Soul Phase once he was at the limit.

-----

Viriato was thriving in the Molten Sea. John could see it. While his first two elements were the most difficult combination- requiring astounding luck and talent to balance light and darkness- he had added water and fire to stabilize himself. If he had been planning to push his cultivation higher, this would have been a prime opportunity. But John knew there were ways he could advance without increasing his raw power.

The merchant- for that was what he was first and foremost- worked with the crew to learn their techniques for controlling the ships. He didn't instantly become an expert, but adding to his previous experience could only be a good thing.

The Molten Sea was volatile. John could tell that combat would be very centered around the terrain. That was often the case, but manipulating a wave to crash over a boat wasn't as significant as manipulating a wave of lava.

Viriato lobbed globules of lava around with glee. He wasn't practicing any particular technique, but he was still well within the proper structure of the Six Elements Crossroads. It was important to seek out what you liked about your elements. To find those things that were interesting and fun, not just what was strong. Power came with control, and if some cultivators ultimately stopped advancing because they were happy with their position that was fine. Good, even.

John wanted people to feel safe. That was what he wanted for his friends, his children, for Astrid… and most of all for himself. He certainly felt safer than he had in the past, but there was so much work left to do. Hopefully, talking to more of the Molten Sea would achieve that result.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.