Now that Ocean Song had returned to the sect, he had time to inspect the progress being made.
Both to the sect as a whole and to his sect members.
A good sect leader meant lifting up sect members with him. Foolish were the sects who only relied upon a singular powerful sect leader to ward off enemies.
As a proper cultivator, he must learn from his peers' mistakes and take the better path.
Daedalus, Medusa, and Tyson were all sitting down cross-legged in front of him in the courtyard.
Ocean Song watched them intently, focusing on their cultivation.
"Good, good!" Ocean Song declared. "All of you are nearing Foundation Establishment. So, I will give the next lecture for you all to prepare." He said proudly.
The three of them opened their eyes, though only Tyson showed a hint of enthusiasm. Truthfully, Medusa and Daedalus at this point were very much just accepting anything that happened now.
It didn't help that Ocean Song was still wearing the Pope's hat, which made it hard for them to focus on anything else due to how ridiculous it looked.
And the apparent angel was standing off to the side, unmoving, unblinking.
"Qi Condensing Realm is about sensing and taking the world's Qi into yourself, refining it in your meridians for personal use. It's about opening the hidden passageways within your body and clearing out impurities. You should have realized by now that once all your meridians open, they form a cycle for which you can constantly harness the power of Heaven and Earth."
Ocean Song paced back and forth, letting his profound words sink in.
Medusa was at the 11th level of Qi Condensation, almost to the peak. Once she reached the 12th level, she could solidify her cultivation base and then attempt to break through.
Daedalus was a little behind at the 10th level, which was still impressive considering his body wasn't his original body.
It spoke of his skill that his current body was perfect enough that it was nearly indistinguishable from his real one. But even so, Ocean Song knew that it had drawbacks and hindered his cultivation.
But once he reached higher levels, he could properly reform his body and return to the origin.
Tyson, though, was surprisingly at the top. He had already reached the 12th level of Qi Condensation.
The pure simplicity that he had as a young boy had made it easier for him to digest the teachings.
"Why must one open all their meridians to attack the Foundation Establishment Stage?" Ocean Song posted the question. He gave them a moment, but they didn't seem to answer. "Because the secret of Foundation Establishment is turning your Qi into liquid form within your Dantian."
He had come a long way since he nearly killed himself—multiple times—while blazing the path of cultivation for himself on that island.
Now, look at him, leading his juniors to break through themselves!
"Qi is transformed under pressure; one must cycle their cultivation, forming a vortex within the body, to condense it within their meridians, then merge it together to form their Dantian and Inner Qi Sea. This is why one must open all 12 meridians to form a complete sequence."
He stood in front of them, hands clasped behind his back, robes billowing.
"One must become the bridge between Heaven and Earth. Your body is the furnace, your meridians the flames. The larger your Sea of Qi, the more your Dantian will expand, which will influence your Core Formation."
He continued to oversee their cultivation.
None of them were attempting Foundation Establishment yet, but he was making sure they were on the correct path.
Even Tyson, who could technically attempt it, was just cultivating normally.
Ocean Song put a hand on his back to look to see how his Qi cycled through his body and nodded to himself, seeing his junior brother having no problems.
They were all progressing nicely.
He too had his own cultivation he needed to take care of as well.
His nascent soul had grown.
But he needed time to sit down and contemplate his experiences, to digest everything and meditate on everything he went through.
To grow the nascent soul, one must experience life to give experiences to the newborn immortal soul within oneself.
It was why, in many of the sacred texts, cultivators often acted like mortals and descended to the mortal world. The easiest way to experience life was to spend a lifetime as a mortal, living through life, death, love, hate, and everything in between.
However, Ocean Song's situation was a little different; thus, he had been acting accordingly.
Frankly, his current life experience was miniscule compared to the ancient beings in the Sacred Texts that usually observed the Nascent Soul realm.
Therefore, he didn't need to 'pretend,' nor did he need to arrange things for him to experience life. Simply living as he did now and doing everything according to his heart was the best path forward.
"Alright, Fellow Daoists!" Ocean Song clapped his hands. "I believe it's enough for now. You all look good; keep it up. When you feel you're ready to progress forward, I will be here to assist."
It would make things significantly easier compared to when he went through Foundation Establishment.
"Now, I believe it's time we finally put the finishing touches on the Sect." He looked up and smiled.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song flew around on his sword.
He stopped at the East; there was a statue in the form of the Azure Dragon. He gave it a look over, noticing the profound arrays carved within it.
Truly, Daedalus was a masterful Array Master.
He then went to inspect Black Tortoise to the North. Just like the Azure Dragon, it gave off a profound aura.
Mostly because Ocean Song had no idea how it worked but trusted Daedalus.
Ocean Song learned early on that if he didn't know something, he could just call it profound, and he didn't need to explain anymore to the people around him.
The White Tiger to the West shows no signs of abnormalities. The craftsmanship looked just as well made and without any inherent flaws that Ocean Song could notice at a glance.
And lastly, he found the Vermillion Bird at the South.
The Four Direction Divine Beast Array.
He flew back up into the sect and landed upon the spot where the Silver Apple Tree had sprouted.
It had grown quite a bit in his absence.
It was over his head now, which was a good sign!
The Sect gathered here as well.
"Fellow Daoist Daedalus, how confident are you?" He asked.
Daedalus blinked. "Confident? Not at all. I have no idea what you wanted me to do. I just…winged it."
Ocean Song couldn't fault him.
He had been doing basically the same thing from the start, and look how he turned out!
"No matter. Have confidence in the me that has confidence in you, Fellow Daoist!" Ocean Song walked over to the Popemobile that had been parked rather awkwardly in the corner of the courtyard.
He took out a tarp and covered it.
He reluctantly took off his Pope hat and stored it in his storage bag.
Lastly.
He looked at the angel that was standing there. Ocean Song met her unblinking eyes as he raised a second tarp and slowly covered her with it.
And as such, no one will notice!
The other sect members just stared at the scene. The Angel stayed unmoving under the tarp.
"I will now begin, Fellow Daoists!" He declared, stepping back onto his sword. "Be prepared, our Sect Protecting Formation will start!"
He took to the skies, just above the Sect.
"The Azure Dragon to the East. The White Tiger to the West. The Black Tortoise to the North. And the Vermillion Bird to the South." He flared his cultivation base. "Rise!" He commanded, and the statues all began to glow.
The Formation appeared, carved onto each statue, linked together. And at the center was the Silver Apple Tree.
However, it wasn't simply 'done' with this.
It was missing a significant part of the Array; the 'Statues' were still merely statues without any additions.
"I call upon the Gods of Olympus to honor a call." Ocean Song's voice reverberated through the heavens. A promise of 'payment' for his aid in retrieving the 'stolen' goods, as it were. He immediately felt many eyes turn to him, as his call had been laced with his power.
"Great God of the Underworld, Great Goddess of the Underworld. Please."
Hades and Persephone were called upon, and so too did their gazes turn towards him.
Their blessings went out, and Ocean Song directed them to the Black Tortoise.
The Black Tortoise represented winter but also death. Hades for Death, Persephone representing the winter month.
The perfect starting point.
"Great King of Gods. I request your bestowal." Ocean Song bowed to the skies, and it returned with a rumble. A bolt of lightning dropped down, but it wasn't filled with malice. Ocean Song plucked it and redirected it to the statue of the White Tiger.
Olympus is attached to Western Civilization. The White Tiger is the Divine Beast of the West. As the King of Gods, Zeus represents the West.
"Great God of the Forge. I request your blessing." He called upon the next one.
Hephaestus turned his gaze towards Ocean Song and just grunted.
With the sound of a hammer falling, Ocean Song pointed towards the White Tiger Statue, and it was enveloped in the sound of metal.
The White Tiger represented the Element of Metal.
"Great God of the Sun, please bestow your blessing!" He called out to the sun still in the sky.
"As long as you don't try playing any music again." Apollo's voice rang out, and a beam of sunlight came downwards.
Ocean Song pointed to the South, and it enveloped the Vermilion Bird.
"Great Goddess Harvest, please bestow your blessing."
The mountain vibrated, and a gentle warmth seemed to envelop it as the goddess Demeter answered the call as per the promise.
From his directing, it surged towards the Vermilion Bird.
The Vermilion Bird represented fire and summer. The goddess Demeter held domain over the season of summer.
Persephone returns to her mother's side during the summer, and during the winter, she returns to the Underworld with Hades.
It was a perfect cycle established between them, two opposites that balanced each other out.
And of course, the Vermilion Bird represented the Element of Fire.
Lastly, the Azure Dragon.
"Father, please bestow your blessing." He called out.
He immediately felt a response; the ocean churned at his father's command, and the salty welcoming air of the ocean greeted him.
Ocean Song directed it to the Azure Dragon.
Technically, the Black Tortoise represented Water, and the Azure Dragon represented Wood, but dragons were the kings of the oceans!
Therefore, he took creative liberties.
And otherwise, things didn't fit perfectly.
He would freely admit that he was a bit of a perfectionist.
Lastly, the Azure Dragon represented the East.
This one was a little bit more of a gamble because they left on bad terms. But he had hoped that he at least earned his respect when they 'fought.'
Who else could represent the East but the god who stood guard over it for thousands of years?
The God who stood as the warden, separating the Western World from the Old World.
"I beseech the Great God Hercules. Will you bestow upon me your blessing?" He did have a backup; it's just that it wasn't as good of a fit, and the Array wouldn't be as 'complete.'
Strangely, he felt like a lot of eyes on him intensified a bit, like they were wondering what he was doing all of a sudden.
But no response came as Ocean Song furrowed his brow.
He was about to relent and call upon his backup, but then he heard a sound carried on the wind.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not a god anymore."
He recognized the voice of the God of Sports.
One does not forget getting dunked on so thoroughly.
Ocean Song was at a loss.
"What do you mean you're not a god anymore?!" He blurted out.
"Ah, well…things happened." The voice replied. "Anyways. Not a god anymore. Frankly, I'm surprised I could even answer a prayer; I didn't think I could anymore. But I guess this is all uncharted water."
Ocean Song was still just utterly confused.
What happened while he was gone!?
"Oh!" The voice returned. "I have a tiny bit of juice left, not much. Probably won't be able to answer a prayer in the future, but who knows. But that's not important; I can lend you a hand as thanks. Something I left back at home."
"Thanks for what, Fellow Daoist?" He asked, but the prayer was cut off.
He was still utterly confused.
Ocean Song then noticed something flying from the east. It wasn't until it got closer that his Divine Sense picked up the object soaring through the air.
It was the club that was used to beat him up last time.
Hercules' divine weapon.
Ocean Song smiled because he was happy that his plans didn't need to change.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist!" Ocean Song bowed, nowhere in particular, but just as a show of respect. "I shall accept—"
The club bonked him in the head, and he fell off his sword and hit the ground next to the Silver Tree.
The weapon landed next to him, but Ocean Song stumbled trying to stand back up, feeling dazed.
A Divine Weapon is still a divine weapon.
He grabbed it, before nearly falling over again, and tossed it towards the Azure Dragon statue.
"...thank you, Fellow Daoist!" He said before falling over once more onto his face.
It served the same purpose as a blessing, seemingly knowing its owner's intent. It allowed its power to flow into the Azure Dragon statue, and then, the entire sect began to tremble.
"Rise!" Ocean Song mumbled into the dirt as he raised his hand up.
First, it was a dragon's roar. Then a tiger's roar. Followed by a turtle's bellow. Then a bird's cry.
The Four Divine Beasts sprang to life as the sect's Protective Array activated.
It covered the entirety of the sect.
The members of the sect looked on in utter astonishment.
It all converged at the center, the Silver Apple Tree that marked the heart of the Formation.
The Passing of Seasons, the cycle of the Elements.
The tree even began to grow at a visible rate, reaching another twenty feet up into the air.
The others stood silent, watching it unfold, but their attention was drawn elsewhere.
A fiery bird took flight, flapping its flaming wings as it lazily glided around the Sect.
A white tiger stood upon one of the mountain peaks majestically, its aura of slaughter dissuading anyone from daring to approach.
Opposite was an Azure Dragon that coiled around its twin to the other side. A noble aura of destruction resided within its eyes.
Lastly, there was an unmoving tortoise that slept patiently at the foot of the sect, exuding an aura of death and decay.
Then slowly, as the lights of the Array faded, so too did the images of the Divine Beasts recede, and the world returned to normal.
Just as suddenly as it all appeared, so too did all the prying eyes seemingly disappear.
Hel was the only one who understood what was happening at this moment, other than the Angel, of course. But the Angel made no effort to engage or utter anything or show any inclination of support.
Hel understood that this barrier that invisibly enveloped the mountain was able to even reject the many eyes of the gods from peering inside.
The mountain was now and truly a safe haven, for even the gods couldn't barge in without forcing their way inside.
While this was happening, Hel turned to look at the idiot on the ground who was responsible for it.
She had a lot of thoughts in her mind that made her very…hesitant to speak about anything. A lot of what he said, she just took as nonsense and ignored it. She didn't really care about what happened to the Greeks or whatever trouble they got into.
But now, she was genuinely starting to reevaluate the idiot.
And it wasn't just him either.
"I did it!" Daedalus cried out. "Did you see that!? My calculations, my work, my effort! All of that was mine! It worked, somehow! But it worked!"
"Bawhoo!" Nessie held her head up to the sky and excitedly shouted to celebrate with him, and the others joined in.
Even Medusa, the usually more reserved member, was showing a lot more emotion all of a sudden.
Hel looked him over, the Mortal.
He wasn't wrong; she had seen him working on this barrier for a long time now. And she knew he was famous for his creation of the Labyrinth, something that even she had to acknowledge.
But, here and now, seeing another accomplishment like this.
She didn't know what to say.
And the fact of the matter was that Ocean Song had gathered these people together.
There was the small part of her that was concerned. The skeptic, the daughter of Loki, who was used to being swept up in schemes everywhere.
She wondered what his plans were. What was his end goal?
What role did she play in all of this?
Then she saw him put the pope hat back on and get in the Popemobile and drive it around in circles as he joined in the celebration.
Nessie climbed up on top of it awkwardly, but it didn't stop him from driving her around either.
Maybe, she could have remained skeptical. That small part of her might have stayed on guard, thinking that perhaps it was all an act.
But then she saw him accidentally run the Angel over, and she realized that no, he's just an idiot.
[Line Break]
A/N
Sect Protecting Array is finally built.
Daedalus using his Labyrinth building expertise and magical knowledge to finagle out what Ocean Song described. Then Ocean Song used the various godly blessings to integrate the concepts into each statue to form the nodes of it with the Tree at the center acting as the 'heart' of it, and powering it more or less.
And the gods can no longer peek at the Sect, nor can they just appear inside without being invited inside. Unless they want to break through forcibly, but that's a whole other issue.
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