《Lord of cauldrons》Chapter 35: Cauldron path
Advertisement
Samuel finally had some headway in learning what he was doing with Elizabeth. The amount of knowledge he earned directly from Belial was cursory at best, but he did get access to a full treasure trove of books and scrolls, all giving him deeper insights into the cauldron system, which was deeper than he was led to believe. He had assumed the cauldron system was a very poorly understood niche with very little research done. The library he had access to imitated his thoughts with barely anything on the subject.
He was thankful to Belial for handing him so many personal books and scrolls when he had asked for more information. All he had asked in exchange was to be more open to the cauldron path, something he was already trying to do. Now he was trying to gorge as much knowledge as possible in an out-of-the-way room while Elizabeth mingled with her peers before the day was up and he needed to return the mountain of books and scrolls. As it turned out, his low status in the sect had hurt him once again.
Due to very twisted politics, he did not bother trying to get into them, they are held in the deeper inner sect library halls to more carefully regulate their circulation more.
The foremost myth that this broke was that a virgin or a specific form of cultivation was necessary. That was not actually true. What was necessary was a constitution that was naturally present in all virgins and those who practiced the 'cauldron' arts. In that same vein, he had extrapolated something a touch sinister. The whys and hows of a cauldron constitution were explained in extreme detail, to the point that even novice cultivators could use the information to become cauldrons. What he had found out was that his 'World Seed' could do a similar thing. One of its core principles was to make his constitution 'perfect' for him. It also made other people 'perfect' for him. This was another way of saying, it turned others into receptive cauldrons who only needed that final push. Once that happened his essence kept refining the 'cauldron' to be even more effective at handling his essence. His breakthrough destiny inadvertently had the effect of a 'cauldron' art. He thanked Lucia for pushing him in this direction. Who knows what havoc he would have caused otherwise? At least there was enough study done to make it a legitimate immortal path.
Advertisement
That part surprised Samuel, there were actually quite a few people invested enough to make an entire path out of being a cauldron, there were even entire sects dedicated to being cauldrons. They even listed many valid benefits of being a cauldron. Not the least of which was that the 'cauldron' was not tied to only having sexual intercourse with their respective 'master' and could have sex with other masters for benefits, that part irked Samuel, much to his surprise, and he instinctively had his soul sight on Elizabeth the whole time there were in the deprave establishment. She did not engage with any of the masters but instead took to chatting and socializing with her peers. That had felt agreeable to him.
On his side, there were actually quite a few things he could do. The foremost of which was shaping her constitution to be more receptive to his essence, something he was doing passively but also being influenced actively. If cauldrons were saturated enough with their master's essence, they could skip steps and directly reach the stage of the masters. The process was not an easy or fast one, but compared to reaching it normally even with his previously perceived cauldron growth rates, the process was ten times faster.
That begged the question as to why this was not more widespread, the benefits outweighed the cons 3 to 1 even if he weighted the partial lich's phylactery nature and the inability to move on to other masters ever exceptionally heavily. There was more to this, which he suspected was some sort of esoteric reason so it was immediately pushed out of his mind. No need to get involved if it was necessary for his and her growth.
His thoughts were stopped abruptly as a head shoved its way into his crotch taking in the scent like it was some sort of addictive drug. The thing that stopped him was not that she was about to blow him, that was the norm in this establishment. Any master inside was under a 'free use' clause based on their sexual orientation. Women had to keep their breasts out in the open and the men their phalluses. Disciples in this den could freely use them as they pleased, but the master was not under any obligation to provide them with any essence. He had been steadfast and despite the dozen or so attempts he had yet to ejaculate once.
Advertisement
What surprised him was the nature of her existence.
Beastmen or more commonly referred to as demi-humans were a very average sight in the mortal world, but their nature was very tribal. They mostly joined sects specifically for demi-humans. The ones that joined humans were usually the 'loner' variants and even then were rare. And even that was not the distracting aspect of the woman 'digging' into him.
The woman under him was a unicorn. A mythical demi-human variant, that was so rare that they had an entire saying revolving around them. Most became alicorns or a 'corrupted unicorns' by the time they hit maturity.
The one beneath him was still 'untouched', meaning her unique constitution was still in place. While inside a home literally called the 'den of depravity', Belial's naming conventions were very on the nose.
His curiosity was piqued, why was such a pure creature here, and how the fuck had she preserved her purity?
Advertisement
- In Serial154 Chapters
Silhouette
WARNING: THIS STORY HAS A SLOW START. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. We all grew up hearing stories about heroes and villains, but what would we do if we were to be part of one? One night, a bioweapon escaped from its laboratory in Zalcien, only to die in a dark alley. One night, a young man lent a helping hand, only to die alone in the dark. One night, a deity of death saw two lost souls and offered one a second chance in the other's body. Now a strange creature made of darkness, James has to deal with his new form in a strange new world where superpowers, heroes and villains are commonplace, far away from his home. Watch as he learns how to use his powers, as he meets allies and enemies and how, when facing the paths of heroism and villainy, he chooses a third way somewhere in between. Follow the story of James, a lost Earthling soul, as he becomes Silhouette, the mysterious power in the shadows. Greetings fellow humans. This is my first story on Royal Road and my first long-term project written in English, so I do hope you will have some mercy in your heart when reading. So, as you may have understood, this is a story with super-heroes - which is quite ironic for my first story considering all of the other ones planned are fantasy - and as such will take place in a modern-like setting. Despite dark themes and gory scenes making their way into the story, it is still a super-hero world with the logic that matches, so expect characters to survive nuclear explosions without a scratch and yet to get defeated by a rubber ducky - as well as similar dark humor, thus the comedy part.
8 352 - In Serial89 Chapters
Lich God Deidre
Twenty-five-year-old office worker, Deidre, is killed after getting T-boned from a drunk driver. She gets dragged away from the normal afterlife by an unknown force and is instead reincarnated as the Lich God. Deidre, dying with lots of regrets, now tries to live her new life by fulfilling all the things she didn’t get a chance to do previously. However, as the Demon King, Fyren’s plot is revealed bit by bit, she learns that the nice life she tries hard to get used to might not last forever.
8 157 - In Serial133 Chapters
Courier
Zoe Blanco moved to New York after fleeing the small town she grew up in and the Purity Church that controls it. The Church believes in keeping humanity pure. This means none of the NanoPCs known as Frames or any other cybernetics that most of the rest of the world uses and enjoys everyday. Upon arriving in the Big Apple, Zoe is picked up by her cousin and witnesses a courier weaving their motorcycle through traffic. Zoe envies the courier's freedom. Couriers transport data and on occasion small objects for anyone willing to pay the price. Secured delivery is guaranteed and no questions are asked. Like having a human servant in this corporate owned world, using couriers is seen as a status symbol for the wealthy and corporate elite. New York's criminal underground uses couriers for similar reasons. This gives the hundreds of couriers in NYC steady work. After weeks of not finding a job while living with her aunt and cousin, Zoe turns to her slicing skills to steal credits from the Purity Church and turns to the mob so she can get a loan to pay for the internal secure storage space a courier needs and a frame for herself. After making an unlicensed run or two, Zoe finds employment with a transport company and truly starts her life as a courier. This story is a mix of light scifi, cyberpunk, slice of life, a dash of action, and a smidge of fantasy. Slicing is what hacking is called in this story. Credits are currency in this story.
8 165 - In Serial26 Chapters
Imaginary Numbers
In a place of eternal dusk, where the sky is no longer blue, stygian walls of sable forts keep the night at bay.A former bastion of knowledge, where weeping angels dance, lifeless in its depths.A dormant stronghold, where forlorn ravens sing, dim-lit by the midnight hues, yet no stars stood.An endless night, locked in twilight, and bound by the unseen moon.A place where the fallen king resides... where he sleeps.This is the story that he made.Isn't that right... Nonary?
8 108 - In Serial37 Chapters
Ghoulish insanity (incomplete/finished)
Adventure, Excitement, a jedi craves not these things, but I do!I was captured and kept in a basement by Frank, tortured and partially eaten, yet he somehow managed to keep me alive for a whole month. When he finally decided to off me for fresh meat, instead of dying properly I found myself waking up in the body of a rotting corpse on a battlefield with gamelike elements telling me that I'm an undead ghoul. Oh and there's also the little thing with the gods cursing me as my soul passed from earth to where-ever this place is. But earth gods rock, you know? They blessed me, you know? Uhm... there's the small detail that I crave the flesh of the living. Said flesh is really yummy by the way.... It's not weird to eat corpses when you're a corpse yourself, you know? Don't look at me like that! I'm not crazy, okay? Goddamn it!
8 194 - In Serial62 Chapters
Road of the Immortal Tao
The story is a fanfiction created based on the mobile game Immortal Taoists, following the development of Server 87, adapted to fiction, plus a backstory. You will be able to find many names of actual in-game players in the novel (yours truly included), all of which agreed to participate in this little project.For obvious reasons there will be deviations from the actual game in order to match an actual timeline and for the story to make sense. Enjoy the journey of the S87 players on their path to Immortality!
8 145

