Mad God

It had been a week since Ren and her little company came to the Lotus Mandala Sect. In the past days, she and Ariana mostly toured the Sect, were introduced to everything by Ophila, and established to everyone in her Sect that the new guests should not be looked down upon. Not that anyone would even dare after being escorted by one of the legendary Immortals everywhere they went! The only problem was Kyu. The little rascal immediately jumped on the fact that she was 'untouchable' and recklessly went around, tasting everything that looked even a little yummy.

"I think I'll go take a tour outside." Ren walked before Ophila, who suddenly sighed with relief.

"Tell me you are going to take her with you too!"

"I will!" Ren smiled awkwardly at her.

"Thank you!" Ophila hugged her, "Thank you!"

"Ugh… sorry…? Anyway, how much time do you need?" Ren asked, twitching her mouth at her honest reaction.

"Only a few weeks! After that, my brothers and I will finish setting up anchors, and we can go back and forth between us and your Sect! And you?"

"Probably the same! I want to experience the air around this part of the world before I try to do the first breaking. Even being in your Sect and under its purifying effects, the air is still… different. You said it; it is a one-shot thing! I won't fail~" she smiled confidently. "After I feel myself in complete harmony with this part of the world, we can start!"

"Good idea, Master!" Ophila nodded, happy that Ren was not as reckless as she expected from her at the start.

"Plus, I still need time to perfect your technique; I still did not divide my core into equal parts that I am satisfied with! I will work on it in the meantime!"

"When you are back, I'll be ready with a secure place so you can start!"

"Good!" Ren laughed. "Then I'll be off!"

"Should I send some of my men with you?" Ophila looked at her back, but she already knew her answer.

"No need! If a God descends here, I know you three would be the first to notice! Everything else I can deal with!"

"That's true!" She smiled, and it was filled with aggression when she mentioned the Gods. "Have fun out there, dad~."

"I'll try to cause as little trouble as possible!" Ren laughed before disappearing. When she reappeared, she was next to Ariana and Kyu. She quickly grabbed onto their shoulders, teleporting forward, and soon, they were at a deep, abyss-like precipice, the border to the Lotus Mandala Sect. Only a shabby, little suspension bridge connected it to the other side. After crossing it on foot, they were hit by a strange feeling, stepping out from the protective aura of the Sect right into the real world.

"It feels like… the air is heavy with ash… or smoke… ugh…" Ariana held her nose by reflex. It was not the air she felt stuffy, but the surrounding energy mixed with countless strands of different affinities that their bodies were unaccustomed to.

"It stinks!" Kyu nodded, copying her posture before she transformed into her demonic form, letting the duo sit atop her back while they ventured forward casually.

"You better get used to it! They probably warred for thousands of years, cultivators against cultivators! Our wars? Nothing compared to that! Remember, Zelig still relied on normal military warfare even if his little kings were cultivators!"

"Will our part of the world become like this?"

"Don't worry, it won't! Plus, I'll clear up the air here too!"

"How?" Kyu asked with curiosity.

"When I reopen the Sky, the Cosmos's energy will flood in, cleansing the Realm fully! This chaos will be washed away like a stain on the sidewalk in a thunderstorm!"

"Wouldn't it be dangerous?" Ariana furrowed her brows.

"Maybe. But I already did it once; we are still here, no?" Ren smiled while their travel slowly took them onto a paved, long road, winding around the hills and the green scenery surrounding them. Following it, by the time it was near sunset, they arrived in a huge, bustling city, or at least at one of the gates of its outer walls.

"Pretty big!" Ariana exclaimed, watching the walls that were as tall as what the Capital of the Empire had. The guards standing before it wore red uniforms, having the same golden sun emblem etched onto their shoulders. The line entering the city was moving quickly, and only a few bothered with them riding a giant demon, as multiple cultivators liked taming beasts.

"Stop!" stepped forward two guards when it was their turn, and by their aura, it was easy to tell they were at the 1st stage of Harmony. "Name? Sect? Your intentions in visiting Solarum?"

"Ren. Immortal Wonders Sect." she nodded in reply, pointing at Ariana, sitting behind her, holding her Master's waist. "She is my disciple Ariana, and she is the same, Kyu." she patted her head. "We are just sightseeing. We should be off tomorrow anyway."

"What a pompous name." The guard replied, never hearing about them. Still, he recorded it calmly, deciding it must be a small, unimpressive sect somewhere on the map. Hundreds of those come and go over the years, being destroyed or established every time someone thinks they can make their own just like that after reaching Harmony. "The beast has to be stored in our stables for the time of your visit; they are not permitted into the city!"

"I'm not a beast!" Kyu protested, immediately scaring the man, making him step back, summoning fire onto his hands, prompting five more to quickly arrive, similarly wearing weapons coated in fire, surrounding them.

"Relax, she is not an animal~" Ren chuckled as they jumped off while Kyu turned into human form, wearing the same uniform as them. "I told you, she is Kyu."

"A demon…" the inspector murmured, regaining his composure. It was not his first time seeing one, but still… the rarity of a fully-fledged demon was as such, he received a sudden fright hearing her speak suddenly. "If anything happens, we will know."

"Yeah, sure." Ren shook her head, "Are we good?"

"Only the test of strength remains." He took out a smooth, red, oval crystal infused with CC to measure cultivators' strength when entering the city.

"Looks yummy!" Kyu licked her lips but received a flick at the back of her head. "Hauh…" She bit onto her tongue, holding the crystal that soon lit up, and then the man recorded it down, placing her in the 1st stage of Harmony. The rest of the guards, coming out previously, were still surrounding them. Their eyes watched them seriously, even if their weapons were put away, signaling their authority to the newcomers.

"Next!" The guard handed it to Ariana, who calmly held it, and when it lit up with such intensity it colored everyone in a crimson hue, it made the red-robed figures look at each other. "2nd stage of Harmony…" He whispered before he took it away, now with much more seriousness both in his voice and on his face. Ariana's strength was such that it matched up to their guard captain's! "You next!" He gave it to Ren, who took it, but she just smiled at him before doing anything.

"How much does this thing cost?"

"Huh?" They furrowed their eyebrows as they put their hands on the hilt of their weapons. "I advise you to not try anything!"

"You are mistaken!" Ren shook her head. "I ask because this thing would already struggle with someone at the top level of Harmony… but so be it!" she sighed, but as soon as she infused her powers into it, the little 'toy' simply exploded into dozens of pieces.

"Stand down!" arrived a deep, male voice from nowhere before they could do anything. Hearing it, all the guards bowed, cupping their hands, stepping back as more than two meters tall, a red-haired and pale-faced man arrived with glowing, emerald-colored eyes. He wore a long, red robe with a golden sun emblem on his back. The fact that nobody noticed his arrival and he emitted no natural aura, at least not one they could pick up on, clearly indicated he was in the Demigod realm.

"City Lord!" the one inspecting Ren's group saluted immediately.

"Stand back!" He looked at him before his eyes turned and watched Ren's face silently, committing it to memory. "It is rare for a demigod to play tourist. I hope you are not here to cause trouble in my little city."

"..." hearing it from the City Lord, his words drenched the guards' back with sweat like a waterfall. Stopping and inspecting a demigod and her disciples was something not many did… simply because they would be dead by disrespecting someone at that level!

"Hm?" Ren tilted her head, "We are not from here," she answered with a pure, honest smile. "We were simply following the line of people! Rules are rules; if we are treated justly, we are happy to oblige!" She clapped, still smiling.

"I don't expect someone at your level to come here to cause trouble." The City Lord replied after a brief pause, leading them into his city.

"No, we are not! And as I said already, we are only here to do some sightseeing! We are not from here!" Ren sighed again, following him, while Ariana held Kyu's hand, mainly to ensure she did not cause any trouble as they walked through the vast gate.

"My name is Solas, appointed leader of Solarum." he introduced himself, looking down at the calm face of Ren.

"I'm Ren. Don't worry, we are not here to spy, cause trouble, or anything like that!" she said again, playing with her hair. "You can retract your aura!" She chuckled.

"I really hope so, as this city belongs to the Sect of Dawn."

"Never heard of them," Ren replied honestly, almost making Solas misstep even though he was a demigod, forcing Ariana to hold back a laugh. "I told you, we are from far away! If you have questions, go ask the Lotus Mandala Sect, we are their guests!"

"Oh?" he stopped, looking at them, crossing his arms before catching up again as Ren did not stop to wait for him. "I may do so." he nodded, not revealing much about his stance on the matter. "May I invite you into my abode?"

"No, but thanks! We are just touring the city a little, and we are going to be off tomorrow!"

"I see. If something comes up, visit me in the City Hall." he cupped his hands, and Ren returned his gesture in the same way before he teleported away.

"Are we in trouble already, Master?" Ariana asked with a smile.

"If we are, that means we can eat everything!" Kyu laughed, receiving another flick on her forehead.

"They are just cautious; I'm not blaming them for that! For now, try not to cause trouble, okay? Take it that we are just on vacation! Let's go! I want to check out their market square! A city like this has to have one! If you stay out of trouble," She turned towards Kyu, "Mom will buy something nice, okay?"

"Yey! Sure!" She nodded rapidly, grabbing onto her hand like a child as they walked deeper inside the city of Solarum.

…
….
…..

Farther away, in the main treasure land of the Sect of Dawn, containing around 30.000 cultivators, the current Sect Master, Ortus, was tending to his garden of sunflowers while they were constantly turning towards where he stood.

"Sect Master!" Solas's voice arrived in his mind.

"Something happened for you to contact me?" he asked, standing up, putting down his watering can, turning towards the west, and watching the sun slowly setting in the distance. He was only wearing red trousers while his naked back was covered in the golden tattoo of a sun, constantly pulsating with energy, looking like a real, blazing sun, being on fire, glowing under his skin. His long, red hair was braided, reaching down to his waist.

"We had a demigod arrive in the city, coming from the direction of the Lotus Mandala Sect."

"But they are not part of it. Or you wouldn't notice me about something like this." Ortus said before Solas had time to continue.

"Yes. But they may have been asked by them to investigate the city, not wanting to personally involve themselves without evidence."

"It is a possibility that they became suspicious after some of their disciples went missing around our territory." Ortus sighed, thinking about it. "It shouldn't be too big of a problem; most of them were nothing special inside their Sect! Still, keep an eye on them! I'll send Nubes to cover for you! If they do work for the Lotus, we need to prepare our emergency plan and sacrifice those involved in the plan, denying their connections to us completely! We can't anger a giant like them! Not yet!"

"Acknowledged, Sect Master!"

"Mhm!" He nodded, cutting the connection, before watching the sun, without blinking, until it was gone below the horizon. "When the sky bleeds like this," he closed his eyes before the orange skyline in the distance. "Skoorn is happy!" He chuckled, disappearing as his sunflowers slowly lowered their "heads" as their "sun" vanished from before them.