The terrain in the water chambers varied from the same stone tunnels and pools of water to fully flooded caverns. Obviously the two clans from the Shimmering Islands were fully prepared to deal with all of it, and the Tenebach clan had trained with them enough that most members were confident enough. Since the main group was comprised of those in at least early Soul Expansion Phase, they could at least handle controlling their breath for a moderate duration even without experience.

The flooded areas had an interesting variety of water dwelling beasts, though it still contained some earth element creatures as well. There were also pure elementals, water itself that came to life. John found that Matayal was extremely skilled at dismantling them, though he had little experience with them himself.

And, despite being lower in cultivation rank, Harta Mulyani was quite effective himself. It was logical that the Mulyani clan as air element cultivators would be effective against the water element, but he was nearly the strength Kusuma herself had displayed when John first met her. He used a spear- a sensible weapon for those from the Shimmering Islands. While the Brandle clan tended towards shorter spears, Harta’s weapon was quite long. While it seemed like that might lose out in maneuverability, with his style it didn’t matter.

Harta’s spear merely had to strike out and made brief contact with his target for the lightning he charged it with to seek them out. Even underwater his power only flowed where he wished it to- the control of spiritual energy ignored natural rules. Otherwise, no element would do anything- it wasn’t as if water naturally rose into protective spheres around people. It wasn’t any more odd to control the pathways lightning followed.

There were a reasonable number of water element treasures to be found along the way, spirit water that had not yet been devoured or the remnants of elemental creatures, as well as some of the stronger beasts. When beasts consumed materials cultivators would want, they inevitably became materials. The same was true among the beasts, of course- those with power attempted to gather more through whatever means they could for the sake of growth.

Liquid water was not the only form it could take, of course. As they moved along it sometimes grew colder to the point that ice would form- generally on the rock faces or the surface of the water.

They’d been traveling through this particular area for hours, and were now looking for a place to rest. Day and night cycles hardly mattered- what mattered was keeping everyone in a functional state. They had already been in the Prismatic Chambers for several days, making camp where they found it appropriate.

“Hmm…” Matayal murmured as she scanned the area around them with her energy. She was the best of those present at discerning subtle changes in the water around them. Matayal pointed to a flooded tunnel, “If we head that way we can find a reasonable place to rest. We just have to clear out its current occupants.”

The way she said it made it sound easy, but John imagined it wouldn’t be trivial. For them, a good place to rest meant something where other trouble would not wander into the area- and that meant taking out a dominant force. But such spiritual beasts were a good part of the reason they were here to begin with, so it was quite a reasonable approach.

Freezing waters surrounded them as they dove into the tunnels to approach their goal. Entering a large chamber, the water below them was surprisingly deep- enough that even John couldn’t see the bottom. It wasn’t a matter of simple darkness, but sufficient impurities to block vision. Given the fish swimming down there, it seemed to have a reasonable ecosystem beyond everything feeding on spiritual energy- though the density was high enough for that to also be feasible.

They surfaced next to ice floes, remaining in the water only as long as was necessary. “We will encounter company soon enough,” Matayal said. “It should be… large ice bears.”

“Polar bears?” John asked. He didn’t actually even know if the poles of this planet froze. It was possible they did, or it was possible some spiritual energy concentration made things different. Or perhaps she meant literal ice bears- they’d fought creatures made of rock, why not ice?

People gravitated towards comfortable positions on the floating ice. They could swim or stand atop the water if necessary, but conserving their heat and energy seemed more appropriate.

As predicted, John felt enemies approaching. He hadn’t expected them to be small- polar bears weren’t, and powerful spiritual beasts were rarely small. That retained its truth here, but John had based his assumptions on what was reasonable to fit through the majority of tunnels in the area. The smallest of the approaching creatures was two meters across at the shoulders, and the largest approximately four- meaning it would only fit in the largest tunnels. That was just their width, the creatures ranging somewhere around four meters long to the largest being nearly ten.

There would be plenty for each and every one of their group to fight. There were only about a dozen of the bears versus a few dozen humans, but it did not seem like it was going to be an easy fight. Winnable, though.

The largest bear rose from the waters first- they were indeed white like polar bears, but John wasn’t an expert who could say if they were otherwise the same. Sharp claws dug into an ice floe that tipped alarmingly far under the massive weight of the creature as it climbed up. John barely had time to register its eyeless face before it roared, shaking the entire cavern they were in. Spikes of ice and rock shattered, dropping down on those below. It didn’t seem as if it were particularly targeted at anyone or anything, there were simply so many it covered a large area.

The battle swiftly escalated from there- other bears scrabbling up onto the same chunks of ice the humans were standing upon. Gusts of wind and bolts of lightning met them from the Mulyani clan, while the Brandle clan countered the waves of freezing water the creatures brought along with them. John led the Tenebach clan in creating a shroud of darkness over the area- just because the creatures were eyeless didn’t mean it was a waste of effort. In fact, that allowed them to completely ignore that facet, so except for a thin fog of darkness there was nothing visible to the cultivators. They would of course minimize the sensory dampening effects on their allies regardless, but by focusing on their enemies’ best senses they could be more effective.

If John had to guess, scent and hearing might be the best- though it was likely spiritual energy senses would be sufficient for the bears. He slashed at one who approached near him, finding it difficult to cut through the thick fur. At the same time, he kept some of his focus on the largest one, currently watching from its position elsewhere in the chamber.

Everything seemed to be in the favor of cultivators until several swimming bears flipped the largest ice floe being used. It wasn’t just a show of physical strength- there was only so much force that could be generated by a swimming creature- but also control of water elemental spiritual energy. It was not surprising they controlled spiritual energy, just the method they employed it in. It was quite clever, instantly bringing many individuals into a less advantageous terrain.

With that said, two of the clans were quite used to underwater combat- being dropped into the water opened them up to attacks from more directions, but the same was true for the ice bears. And with the Tenebach clan dimming their senses, the human cultivators darted around stabbing them with their spears while only having to deal with limited counterattacks, claws swiping and teeth chomping wildly.

That was the point at which the largest specimen joined the battle, its first act as it leapt into battle forcing a large splash of water up into the heights of the chamber… and then freezing those pillars of ice- with people still inside them. None of the cultivators were helpless to escape, but being delayed for even a short time in their participation allowed the ice bears to deal with lesser numbers.

The stand out combatants were the Mulyani cultivators, as even if they couldn’t pierce all the way through the bear’s thick hides and fat, they could still release electric shocks into the bodies of the creatures. They made full use of their elemental advantage, coordinating with the Brandle cultivators for the sake of mobility.

In the water, John had to rely more on thrusting attacks with his sword. Wider sweeping motions were simply restricted too much. He was able to overcome the friction of the water with some usage of spiritual energy, but he reserved that for when it was significantly better than just adjusting his style. With both water and air elements able to be used, John was mobile and capable of causing significant damage to the ursine creatures, even as he coordinated the sensory deprivation efforts. His earth energy provided protection even when he was in the thick of things.

The leading bear made good use of control of water, creating swirling pools and freezing people in whole or in part. A few individuals nearly lost their lives, but Matayal and Harta were harrying the great creature, preventing it from following up its attacks. The creature was the equivalent of the Ascending Soul Phase, so John focused his attacks on it as well. Meanwhile, Livna was leading the efforts against the lesser enemies.

Jaws snapped towards John’s neck, teeth rivaling his sword in length. At least, it felt like it when they were so close. The creature didn’t seem afraid of John’s weapon, and when he barely managed to scratch its nose John understood why. But with Matayal next to him, he remained confident.

Control of the surrounding water was a constant wrestling match between the bear and the cultivators, and who was winning went back and forth. Even Matayal didn’t remain in constant control, with the tip of her spear suddenly being frozen in a block of ice. That made it more difficult to swing as the great bear bit at her- but Matayal herself was out of its quite substantial biting range. Instead, it actually went for the spear- perhaps understanding that the freezing would make the weapon more brittle. As sharp teeth closed around the block of ice and crushed… the ice suddenly exploded, sublimating into steam. That was not a form of water it would have any experience with, and it was more than a little bit surprised as sudden heat scalded the inside of its mouth as its jaws snapped closed. No longer burdened by the chunk of ice, instead of withdrawing her weapon Matayal thrust it forward towards the creature’s palate.

John reacted quickly, reaching out for Matayal and lending his air elemental energy, guiding lighting along her spear. A burst of energy sent the creature roaring away in great pain- though not without damage to Matayal’s spear. To its credit, it remained in one piece- but bent greatly under the force of the jaws.

The great creature began to retreat into the depths, and Matayal wasted no time in snatching the spear from a nearby clan mate- many of the weaker bears were already defeated, and everyone should have a backup weapon. Even Matayal, but she didn’t have the time to mess around with a storage bag. She dove along with John and Harta. They couldn’t afford to let the creature get away, not if they wanted to rest safely in the area.

No matter how expansive the Prismatic Chambers were, an individual cavern couldn’t be anywhere close to the depths of the sea. That was true here as well, though it was a surprising few hundred meters down that they saw the creature squeeze into a side tunnel. They followed and popped out in a chamber of air… and more than a few treasures in various states. Some had clearly been gnawed on, perhaps for their spiritual energy or because of boredom. Regardless, it was clear that in previous times this particular creature had been the end for many cultivators. Now, though, it was merely a wounded beast- still dangerous, but careful maneuvering could finish it off with a modicum of risk.