I had Toi destroy the Weir once we had figured out where it originated from and how to get there. Since we knew where the people and Magma Krakens were hiding, there was no reason to leave it open any longer. Toi could continue to spy on them from within the Spirit Realm, so we didn't lose anything by destroying their only remaining means of effective intelligence gathering.

They might have used the collapse of the Weir as an argument to move, but from the little we had heard, we knew that they had suffered through the loss of Weir after Weir when I had ordered changes to the Keep. It didn't matter if they did decide to move. There was no way they could move the Magma Krakens, not without leaving a trail.

I had barely returned to my body before the Weir was destroyed.

"Should we still build the Spirit Summoning Circle?" I asked once I explained to Clement what Toi had found.

"I think you should," he replied. "It’s not like the circle can’t be used, so it isn’t a complete decoy, and it will give the people they have left spying for them something to focus on.”

“Keeping their focus on my actions until and if the Sect decides to act? I’ve been in this position before,” I pointed out, “I don’t like it. But at least this time, I have you to help defend against anything the four of them might attempt.”

Once we had that underway and Gwen, Zui, and Aki brought up to speed, Clement and I traveled to the Sect. Those Magma Krakens were disturbing, and I wanted to know that plans would be made to deal with them. What the people that had managed to create them were thinking was frightening. If they felt confident enough or insane enough to create a new monster species that could travel through the crust of the planet to reach anywhere, it seemed to suggest that any loss of life or infrastructure was acceptable.

The Patriarch and her staff had been outfitted with com devices. We could have relayed this information over those coms. But Clement had pressed upon me the importance of delivering this information in person, so we scheduled an appointment.

I was still a member of the Four Element Sect, even if I was considered a wandering cultivator now. I owed the Patriarch some consideration, as well as a small duty to her House. The Patriarch and Elder Shadow had made clear to everyone that had assembled during that meet and greet that House Myche was allied with House Penumbra.

The usual power play that staff instituted whenever an individual attempted to see the Patriarch was missing. I was sure that had more to do with Clement’s presence than any connection that existed between our two Houses. The appearance of Clement left those who would normally delay a meeting with the Patriarch scrambling.

“My recent adventures into the Mystic Realm were not without profit,” I began as soon as the Patriarch had motioned for us to sit across from her. “Perhaps the most important is the discovery of a new method for Cultivation. One that uses Spirit and allows Cultivators to offer a contract to entities that exist within the Spirit Realm.”

“Are you going to make those techniques available to the Sect?” Patriarch Umbra asked before I could continue. It was obvious that she had her own set of spies watching what was going on in my territory.

“I haven’t decided,” I admitted. “I have heard about the attempts to cut the Hindel and me out of any reparations for our discovery. Combine that with the feedback I’ve attained concerning the Mystic Realm and the distribution of the technology my people are developing, and you will have to understand my reluctance to share.

“More to the point for this discussion,” I continued, “I was able to establish one of those contracts. The Spirit that agreed to join me, Toi, noticed a Weir within my offices. A Weir that was active and a spiritual energy pattern she was able to trace.

“Toi has discovered where a group of Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators is hiding. A cave system under Mount Krackus. Ironically, the name for that mountain might have been chosen because of the monsters growing in the lava pools below the surface,” I explained to Patriarch Umbra.

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I had asked her not to destroy it completely. I wanted a chance to study how it was made. I had invested time and effort in creating a communication device that could be used across vast distances. This Weir seemed similar enough in nature that it might serve as the framework for an Internet. I informed Clement of this as soon as Toi had assured me the device had been deactivated and it was safe to study.

“Whomever these people are, they have found a way to change the genetic structures of Kraken found in the oceans. Either that or a new species of Kraken that share the same traits as their ocean brethren has evolved within the volcanic tunnels of this island. The difference is that they are formed from Magma.”

It had taken a few hours of searching to find the entrance to the cave system that these people had inhabited. It was to the northwest of the Sect, nowhere near my own Fief or the territory, that Yvonne would have me over-see. With the location established, how to move forward was clear. It was the Sect’s responsibility to evaluate and act.

I admit to some surprise knowing that the cave system was no were close to my territory. I had been sure the hideout these people were using would have been near where their smuggling operation had been. I realized it made more sense to move as far away from that location as feasible. Once it had been located, the smuggling was disrupted. It was best to abandon the area and start over.

“Creating Magma Krakens is bad enough, but imagine what you could do with an army of the creatures if you could control them,” Clement added after I’d explained what Toi had witnessed.

“You are certain of this?” Patriarch Umbra asked. “How reliable is this Toi spirit?”

“She is bound to me by contract. Although it isn’t exactly the same as a Beast Tamer bond, it has similarities. More importantly, the contract serves the same purpose as a Cultivator’s Oath.” I explained. “We are partners and cannot betray the other. More important, she retains the knowledge and skills she has gained over her life, as well as memories she had gained from interacting with other spirits.

“One of those skills allowed my Dharmic body to follow the astral cord that tethers us together. I saw for myself the caverns I am describing. I watched as the Magma Krakens roamed. I saw four Cultivators wearing masks, masks that were enchanted strongly enough to conceal their identities even from spiritual perception.”

“Toi’s information can be trusted,” Clement agreed. “I was able to create [Balance] across the Weir these Cultivators had opened. It allowed us to see and hear where they were and what they were saying.

“Toi’s only involvement was to discover and point out the location of the Weir. The rest was filtered through my cultivation and [Dao].”

“You said none of them are stronger than Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators?” Umbra mused. “I would like to capture them if possible. Perhaps we can finally root out the source of the smuggling ring.”

“I think it more important to discover how they managed to mutate Krakens into Magma Krakens,” I replied. “If that process can be reproduced, it could serve as a formidable weapon and defense.”

“Jai is right, Umbra. If we can apply the mutation process to our Bonded, that would go far in creating an army of beasts that would be even more powerful and helpful when defending from Beast tides and Demon invasions than anything we have devised since we discovered the awakening process,” Clement added supporting my statement.

“Since Clement has mentioned Demon invasions, I have one other tidbit of information you might take under advisement. The previous Lord of my Capital had buried the bodies of those he killed in a mass grave,” I said.

“A grave that either he or the Cultists he dealt with allowed to fester and grow. It was strong enough in corrupted Qi that a Demon Rift would have formed eventually. Probably not within a year or two, but certainly sometime in the next century.

“Toi was able to teach me how to create a spirit-cleansing array. That array, in tandem with the purifying nature of the Golden Lodoicea, will clear the corruption and keep the rift from forming.

“I mention this because if Cultists are active on Delph Island, you should warn those that have claimed or will claim Fiefs about that possibility.”

“I will have the Sects Karmic Cultivators made aware. If you would be willing to give them access to the site where the demonic energies were gathering, they should be able to identify the Cultists' Qi signature,” Umbra said as she explained her reasoning and asked for permission at the same time to get access to the mass grave.

“With that identifier, they can trace the web of Karmic threads that tie those Cultists to their victims. It will take time, but if we can get that signature, we can scour the entire island to find a base.”

“Hopefully, they have not created a hidden Sect,” Clement said, his voice tinged with warning and worry. “I’m not sure if it is fortuitous or luck that we find evidence of Cultists, Magma Krakens, and spying Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators all at the same time.”