Eventually, Sage found his way to the Peak Master and was surprised to find that the Peak Master’s office was the complete opposite of the garish hallways. It felt like he’d walked into a bamboo forest with tall plants lining the walls and a small stream meandering through the room. The Peak Master sat behind a small circular bamboo table on a bamboo chair drinking from a bamboo cup. Before he could say a thing, the Peak Master spoke.

“Finally, you’re here. I was getting bored. I figured you’d like the Bamboo Room, but it was driving me nuts. So mundane. Do you think gold chains or red velvet ropes would look better connecting all the trees?”

Sage would have frowned if he didn’t have such great control over his facial features. The combination with the Twin Ringed Soul Serpent made it so he had to consciously will his face to show emotion or a reaction to something. It was truly quite strange. At first it bothered him, having to give a thought to smiling or frowning, but later he realized it would be quite helpful to him in dealing with people or resisting fear. If they couldn’t tell he was surprised or frightened, he could gain an advantage in many situations.

“Only a Peak Master could come up with such a daring and revolutionary idea. I should think that any design the Peak Master chooses would tie in perfectly from floor to ceiling and not only accentuate, but enhance the mood and aesthetic of a room.”

Laughing at him, Peak Master Zhen shook her head, “Haha, how perfectly diplomatic. Seems like you might be more useful than I thought! Alright, enough kidding for now. Tell me of your progress with Seals. How good are you at breaking them?”

Sage figured it would be something along these lines. Since he was allowed to secretly practice Seal usage then of course the Sect would want to put him to use working with them. There was probably some secret place that was locked up just like the Timeless Master’s Home had been.

“I would never dare to claim the title of Seal Master, but I was able to open a single seal. I have not progressed much since then, but if the Peak Master wishes it of me, I would be honored to use my meager skills as best I can.”

He felt he was putting it on a bit thick, but he was testing to see whether or not the Peak Master enjoyed heaps of praise and flattery. There’s also the chance she might like her assistants to be weak and sniveling in front of her. Some people just liked to step all over their subordinates, so Sage was testing to see how she responded.

The Peak Master gave him a strange look and shook her head, “Alright, enough of your nonsense. Since you don’t want to reveal any of your secrets I’ll just have to leave it up to fate. You’re going to go along with another Disciple into a Hidden Domain. It’s only opened once every five to ten years at a random time. When it’s opened nobody is given any advance notice or preparation time.”

Sage had to admit such a system was quite good. If nobody knew when such a thing was going on, it was quite hard to plot in advance to set traps or corrupt the participants.

“The Disciple going with you is my agent and you don’t need to worry about hiding things from them. You’ll see what I mean once you get there. They’ve done this before and you just need to follow them and help them collect the spirit plants and other natural resources that have matured. Afterwards, they will take you to some sealed areas and you can try to open them. If you succeed, we’ll discuss your rewards. If not, then we’ll just have to try again next time once you’ve learned more.”

Sage smiled, this mission seemed far less dangerous than he was guessing. Her last comment even gave him hope that he could become a useful assistant to the Peak Master and not just a disposable playing piece.

“When do we leave?”

Sage was already starting to plot out what sorts of resources or tools he might purchase or create to help him along this time only to be denied.

“Right now. Sorry, that’s part of the rules I mentioned. Nobody knows when it’s going to happen to ensure secrecy and prevent interference.”

A few hour later, Sage was standing in front of a huge underground lake. He had spent the last few hours traveling down a tunnel into a mountain after which they stood in front of a massive array formation. After a few minutes of study, Sage realized it was a Transportation Formation.

The legendary teleportation! Finally!

After a few minutes the Formation lit up with a blinding light. When the light faded there was a person standing on it. The person was covered up in a heavy black cloak, hidden from head to toe, not showing a hint of their identity. Peak Master Zhen motioned towards Sage, “Go on, step on.”

The Peak Master followed him and all three of them stood on the Transportation Formation for a few minutes longer before it seemed to activate on it’s own and take them to another underground location. Another hour of walking finally brought them to the site of the underground lake. The vicinity of the lake was utterly smothered in array formations, Sage guessed it would take him weeks of study to just identify all the arrays in use let alone determine what they did in unison or how to start breaking them.

Peak Master Zhen held up a token of some sort and the way cleared in front of them before automatically sealing up behind them after they passed. The lake itself seemed pretty normal, for a giant lake in a big empty cavern. At least until it started to move. As time passed the lake started to move faster and faster, the center of it forming a small whirlpool. Remarkably, the water didn’t slow down, instead continuing to increase in speed and the whirlpool got larger and larger, soon encompassing the whole lake.

“Alright, time to go. You two, hop in.”

I wonder what she would say if I told her I couldn’t swim right now?

Almost as if she could hear what he was thinking, Peak Master Zhen waved her hand and an illusory hand formed in mid-air. The hand swooped down and grasped Sage by the collar of his robes and lifted him into the air. Before Sage could say anything he was tossed into the water towards the center of the whirlpool.