Since Dina hadn't poisoned John and Astrid at their first meal together, she wasn't really going to get an opportunity. Not that John thought she even had a motivation, but it would now be more obvious when something was different. John was paying special attention to her aura, and anyone else would be far too weak to slip something past both him and Astrid.

This wasn't a very relaxing honeymoon. Then again, that was just one of John's dreams. The ability to take a proper vacation. Sadly, he was far too important now and there were too many things to do. At least for the near future.

Unlike with Matayal, however, he wasn't letting himself put off important things for later. Like spending time with his wife. They might not do the typical things a couple did… but John honestly didn't even know what those things were in this world.

At the moment, they were taking a nice walk along the beach.

Astrid gave John a strange look. "... Why did you take off your shoes?"

"Because I don't want to get sand in them. And who doesn't like to walk barefoot on the beach?"

They took a few steps on the crunchy sand. "People who don't like their feet getting torn to shreds," Astrid said.

"People should get better feet, then," John declared.

The sand was sharp. That wasn't completely unique, but it was beyond anything John had previously experienced. Then again, humans from Earth weren't likely to go to a beach that was so… rough. He couldn't say for certain that there wasn't anything comparable on Earth, but it was pretty harsh. Diamond Defense was sufficient, however. He could resist weapons imbued with spiritual energy to some extent, so sand was nothing.

"This sand is quite special," John commented.

"Is that so?" Astrid asked. Her eyes flickered downward. "I've avoided looking to closely so as to not harm their shores."

John nodded. "How polite of you. However, your investigations don't need to go too far. Here, let me show you." John used just a drop of his spiritual energy to lift a few bits of sand. Normally he might use earth to control sand, but he didn't want to risk altering it so he just lifted with darkness. The sand was already infused with that element, so it shouldn't be rapidly altered. John plucked out a few pieces and lay them on Astrid's hand. "Take a look. They're not just sharp."

Astrid narrowed her eyes. "Bones."

"Indeed." Quite a number of them were fish bones… but John was fairly certain he'd located some human bone. Not that he could recognize which bones they had once been, worn down as they were. The majority weren't sharp at all, there were just enough jagged edges left over. One would presume that eventually it would all be worn down into fine white sand, but either they were in the middle of the process… or there was constantly new material. "What do you think?"

"Hmm…" Astrid continued forward, her feet crunching in the sand. "I doubt the Graveshore Society has the capacity to murder enough people to line their shores with bone."

There was a slight possibility that they'd done so over long ages, but it was doubtful. "Not enough fresh material," John commented. Of course, they could have manually broken down bones and scattered them about their shores but… it didn't feel like that. "I think the island simply draws them in. Bones called to the darkness." Like a magnet, but for bones. Probably not actual magnetism, though.

"A self perpetuating cycle, then," Astrid commented. "As the bones are also the source of darkness. Might there be a backbone of this structure somewhere?"

"Perhaps," John considered. "Everything could have formed atop the bones of a great creature. Something akin to a leviathan, perhaps. There isn't anything I would consider as an active aura anymore, but perhaps long ago."

As nice as it was to walk along the beach, it would have been nicer were they not under watch. It was perfectly reasonable for the Society to keep them in sight, but that was also why they would never be able to properly relax.

Ultimately, John was glad to be able to solve one mystery. Though it was certainly rather morose, he didn't find anything particularly wrong with the darkness element it produced. Better to gain something from death than to let things rot away uselessly.

-----

It wasn't too difficult to confirm that the Graveshore Society had a negative opinion of both the Glorious Veil Sect and the Great Eye Sect. However, the reasons were precisely the opposite. The former was a rival, the latter opposed in element. They weren't strictly enemies with the Great Eye Sect, but they despised the Glorious Veil. Dina was able to confirm some of the negative things said about the Glorious Veil from a different perspective.

It was still possible the two sects were colluding beneath the surface. No, Jayendra had been perfectly willing to collude if it would take down the Glorious Veil. Perhaps they could learn more from a third, disinterested party. John wasn't confident in meeting them directly. Even if they hadn't specifically ordered his assassination, the fact that they had equipped Apurva to do so was sufficient. They might try something if he showed up in person.

John suspected they were smarter than that, but too much would be lost if they only had their current forces. Joining together with the Great Eye Sect and the Graveshore Society would be sufficient, but John wasn't prepared to make a move just yet. If they were going to wipe out a sect, it was going to be the right one. The Great Eye wasn't completely off the table just yet.

-----

John was disappointed to not be able to observe the Graveshore Society's techniques for himself, but he understood that they weren't at all familiar. It was too much of a risk, compared to simply hosting a strange army from the continent. Too bad, because there were enough darkness cultivators with Tenzing that would benefit from a peaceful exchange.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Nobody tried to kill anyone, and a few days later they were moving on. Time to get a third opinion… or perhaps a fourth or fifth. Now that they had made contact, remaining forever in the western seas might be a bit much. However, they had to at least meet with a few more sects on their way out.

The next location of note that they visited, aside from a few minor islands from lesser sects, was the home of the Drowning Deep. The Great Eye Sect didn't get along with them, which was a great place to get a different perspective.

John hadn't been expecting to run into someone in the late Ascending Soul Phase, though. That little tidbit had been left out of the Great Eye Sect's information. Perhaps he should have been more thorough.

A small fleet approached, not to dissimilar in size to the expedition. A woman stood at the prow of the flagship as they drew close, their ships settling some distance apart.

"Visitors." The woman's voice, which no doubt belonged to Vaike their sect head, was barely audible. Not because of the distance, though. John suspected her voice would sound the same standing right next to her. "Threatening?"

John felt as if he could be drawn down to the depths of the ocean. He was prepared for it now, but it almost made him relive the panic of the time. He had the feeling the depths would be far more actively hostile instead of merely dangerous. "Peaceful," John said. "We come from afar to make contact and seek information."

"Ask."

So they weren't going to be invited in. "What do you think of the Great Eye Sect?"

"Annoying."

How concise. "The Glorious Veil?"

"Unpleasant."

"The Silver Mirror?"

"Tiresome."

"The Blind Tower?"

"Pleasant."

So she didn't just hate everyone. John couldn't say which modifiers were the most negative, though.

"What about the Graveshore Society?"

She just shrugged. How embarrassing for them.

"And the continent?"

She tilted her head. "You?"

"That's right."

"Strange."

Oof. He was the strange one here? John would have wondered how this woman became sect head, but it was obvious on the surface. She had the power. That was enough.

Since she didn't seem any closer to offering to let them stay, John asked a few more things to which he got more one word answers. "Well then," he said. "We'll be back later. Is there anything you would want to trade in the future?"

"Water," she declared. John wasn't sure if that was what she had, or what she wanted. They were a water element sect, though, so bringing various things from the Shimmering Islands or such would be reasonable. Different resources would be available in different environments.

John also wanted to bring along a leviathan, but that was a bit much. Then again, if they were going to return with an aggressive stance that might be appropriate. Assuming Nitza would let Carl come along without her. John wasn't going to ask Tirto to send his daughter off to war… even if she was probably old enough by now. If anyone could be old enough.

-----

The Silver Mirror had various things to say about Great Eye Island, but none of it involved them being duplicitous. As a rival, that was about the best endorsement John could hope for. He wasn't planning to become steadfast allies with anyone after just one incident, but he needed to know who was getting exterminated. With help from other locals, preferably. Otherwise, they would just be sparking wider hostilities which was what they wanted to prevent. Ignoring an assassination attempt wasn't acceptable, though. Eventually they circled back around towards the eastern end of the islands. There were many factions they hadn't interacted with, but it was sufficient for one journey. There was just one last stop to check out one of the closer occupied islands. The Blind Tower controlled yet another darkness infused island. That seemed more prominent than on the continent, but it wasn't to the point that it was actually strange. John would bet that if they included all the islands they hadn't yet interacted with they'd find quite a bit more earth and water. The two light sects were already somewhat unexpected.

The Blind Tower was surrounded by thick darkness, but even so John could make out the general shape of the tower itself. It was like a reverse lighthouse. It might even distract people from what they should actually be looking for- threats underwater. Whether or not that was a purposeful result, John sensed quite a bit of troublesome reefs and the remains of sunken ships. Whether they all ran aground on the reefs or possibly were sunk by the locals was a different question, though.

Having supernatural abilities helped them get close to the island, but even with trained water cultivators and John's own ability to pierce through the darkness, he was less than enthusiastic about bringing their whole fleet to the island. They dropped a few smaller rowed vessels that could better maneuver, covering the last of the distance.

It became more and more difficult to see as they approached. Astrid actually closed her eyes, taking a meditative posture. John gently placed a hand on her shoulder. The darkness here was far more uncomfortable for her than the Graveshore Society.

As they continued on, soon enough even he couldn't see anything. He wondered how the locals managed it. Except, he actually understood pretty quickly. Unlike some concentrations of darkness element, this seemed to be specifically tuned to vision. Enough to make John's enhanced eyes incapable of sight, which was impressive, but it didn't limit other senses as much as it could have.

Somehow, they stumbled into some docks. John had generally been aiming them towards the cultivations he could feel, but just because different senses were less limited didn't mean they were as functional as normal.

"Welcome!" the voice of a man rang clearly through the air. "We so rarely get visitors. We're quite happy to receive you."

John imagined a man spreading his arms to welcome them, though he couldn't even feel that much. He did sense the man, though. "Sect Head Emmet of the Blind Tower, I presume?"

"Indeed. You have me at a loss, though."

"I am John Miller of the Six Elements Crossroads. From the continent to the east."

"How delightful. Please, tie up on the docks."

At least good sailors could probably do that without seeing… assuming everything was standard. If not, they could fumble around and look a bit silly for the locals- presuming they could actually see. John wasn't so sure of that.

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