A month had passed since the formation of the alliance, and a time of relative peace settled over the continent. The cataclysmic battle felt like a distant, half-remembered nightmare. The Forest of the Radiant Dawn was busy consolidating its new territories in the north, and the Golden Shell Guild was capitalizing on the newfound stability to expand its commercial empire.
For the first time in what felt like a very long while, Li Yu had no urgent crises to manage, no threats to investigate. He decided to take a much-needed break.
He wanted to escape from all the fighting, from the constant pressure of making important decisions, and from the heavy weight of the world's new, terrifyingly vast geography. He and Cyra began to travel, not with a destination in mind, but simply for the joy of the journey itself.
They visited places he'd only ever heard about, wandering through ancient ruins, exploring mist-shrouded mountain peaks, and sailing down wide, lazy rivers. He took the time to see the world he was sometimes fighting for, to eat the foods he never got to eat before.
In a high mountain town known for its resilient flora, they savored thousand-layer honey cakes made with the nectar of the rare Frostpetal flower and drank a fragrant, warming tea brewed from crimson mountain moss that was said to fortify the lungs against the thin, cold air.
In a bustling coastal city, the air thick with the smell of salt and sea life, they sampled dozens of varieties of raw, salt-cured sea fish, each with its own unique flavor, and tried sweet, fluffy pies filled with a creamy pearl-oyster paste.
In the fertile riverlands to the south, they found boisterous riverside inns that served grilled river prawns the size of a man's hand, seasoned with wild peppers that left a pleasant, numbing tingle on the lips.
Their journey was not just about food. They spent a week in a city built into the side of a massive, petrified tree, where artisans sold intricate wood carvings imbued with a faint life energy, and merchants offered rare, potent life-infused teas that could soothe a cultivator's spirit.
They witnessed a boisterous festival in a mining town deep in the western canyons, where muscular cultivators competed in feats of strength, lifting massive, unrefined spirit stone geodes. There, merchants sold beautiful, raw, non-spiritual ores famed for their crystalline structures that captured the light in dazzling, rainbow patterns.
He was living again, washing away the stench of death and demonic energy with the simple pleasures of mortal and cultivation life.
Their travels eventually led them to a bustling, mid-sized city in the western territories, a place famous for its culinary delights. It was there that Li Yu had arranged to meet up with a friend. He and Cyra sat at a table in the city's most renowned restaurant, a lively establishment filled with the boisterous chatter of merchants and cultivators, when a large, familiar figure bustled through the door.
It was Fat Pig, his face beaming with his usual good-natured cheer. He greeted Li Yu with a hearty laugh and a clap on the shoulder, and for the next several hours, they did nothing but enjoy the simple pleasure of good food and good company, the talk of battles and demons a world away. Fat Pig was of course informed of all that happened, shaking up his world views as well.
"You know, for a boy who holds the fate of the Guild in his hands, you take a lot of vacations," Fat Pig joked, skillfully deboning a whole roasted phoenix-tail chicken with his chopsticks. It was an inside joke between his retainers that Li Yu was the laziest of them all, always on 'vactions' whenever possible.
"While the rest of us are busy managing the northern expansion, you're off on a food tour." He continued to joke.
"Someone has to sample the local wares to ensure our Guild's restaurants maintain the highest quality standards," Li Yu replied with a perfectly straight face, taking a delicate sip of wine. "I'm performing a vital quality control inspection." The guild had actually recently just started to open up restaurants in their establishments but Li Yu wasn't aware of such things, he was just talking nonsense.
Cyra rolled her eyes, a small, amused smile playing on her lips. The lighthearted banter was a welcome change from the heaviness recently for her as well. After their meal, Li Yu made a new proposal. "Come with us back to Traveler's Rest, Fat Pig. It's been too long since I've seen it, and you need to inspect the Guild's operations there anyway. We can take the new ship."
The journey to Traveler's Rest was a leisurely one, a stark contrast to the frantic, desperate rush Li Yu had made across these same lands to help the Asura Demon Clan. This time, he was backtracking, taking his time to see the provinces he had previously flown over in a blur. They traveled aboard the Guild's second long-range transport ship, the Golden Voyage. It was a magnificent vessel, a sister ship to the one that Kui and the team had taken north, its hull gleaming, powered by superior formations, about the best they could get from the craftsmen of this continent.
It was, objectively, a terrible use of strategic resources, using a top-of-the-line flying vessel for a simple sightseeing trip for the boss and his friends. They were able to decrease the cost a bit by having Cyra power the ship with her Qi, instead of using spirit stones but it was still a terrible use of the flying vessel. But, as Li Yu himself had thought with a wry smile, he was the boss. What was the Guild going to say? The journey became a slow, meandering tour of the continent's heartlands.
Along the way, whenever they passed over a large body of water—a great lake shimmering in the sun or a wide, snaking river—Li Yu would have the ship descend. He would stand on the deck and release his three powerful aquatic subordinates. First, Caihong, the small, rainbow-colored Seven-Colored Treasure Fish, would leap into the water, her unique ability to sense hidden treasures and spiritual energy would always be tested.
Following close behind, acting as her bodyguards, were Ying & Zhao, the pair of Abyssal Water-Drakes. Now grown to the power of Rank 8 beasts, they were sleek, formidable creatures, their midnight-blue bodies cutting through the water with terrifying speed and sharp, cunning intelligence.
Caihong would dive deep, searching for any hidden spiritual treasures, while the two drakes patrolled the area. The results were largely disappointing; the inland waters of the continent were far less resource-rich than the great sea, and nothing of note was found.
The first time Caihong came up empty on this trip, she was disappointed, letting Li Yu know she was sorry she couldn't find anything to which he said it was perfectly okay, it was just for fun.
Li Yu, however, used these stops for his own purposes as well. He would spend hours by the water's edge, his spiritual sense extended, patiently collecting different aquatic life. It was becoming more and more difficult to find new species for the Koi Sanctuary, as he had already collected so many of the common and even rare freshwater creatures.
However, the continent was vast, and nearly every isolated lake or river system had one or two unique species that had evolved in seclusion. He found a species of iridescent, armored carp in one lake, and a breed of lightning-fast, predatory eel in another. Each new addition was a small but satisfying boost to the diversity of his Koi Sanctuary which was teeming with life.
After several weeks of this relaxed travel, the Golden Voyage finally approached its destination. From the air, Traveler's Rest was almost unrecognizable from the simple, fortified town Li Yu and team had left behind. It had grown substantially, a thriving hub of trade and activity.
New walls had been built to expand its borders, and the streets were bustling with a vibrant mix of people. Mortals, merchants, and cultivators of the Body Tempering, Qi Condensing, and Foundation Establishment realms mingled freely and peacefully, a somewhat of a rare sight in a world so often defined by strict hierarchies.
The town had become exactly what Li Yu had hoped for: a safe harbor, a place where trade and opportunity flourished under the watchful, protective eye of the Golden Shell Guild. He watched as a caravan of mortal merchants entered one gate, their wagons laden with goods, passing by a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators who were haggling with a shopkeeper over the price of a spiritual herb.
He felt a simple, quiet satisfaction. He hadn't been involved in the day-to-day work, but he felt good that the town had grown so well due to the efforts of the group he had founded. It was a testament to the Guild's competence and its positive impact on the world.
The Golden Voyage landed in a specially constructed docking area just outside the town walls, causing a stir among the populace. Fat Pig, his face beaming with pride at the success of the local branch, disembarked with a wave. "Well, I have work to do," he said cheerfully. "Audits to run, profits to count. Don't let me keep you from your inspection, Wise Host."
He gave Li Yu a knowing wink and bustled off towards the Golden Shell Guild's impressive, multi-story headquarters in the center of town.
Li Yu smiled and shook his head. He and Cyra stepped off the ship, ready to explore the town he had helped found, not as its mysterious and powerful creator, but as a simple traveler, ready to enjoy the peace he had helped build.