“This explains so much,” Aki muttered to herself. I had called Clement and Aki to come to the tunnel system, hoping they could figure out what the creature we were dealing with was and if we should remove it or let it be. Clement arrived within minutes, trailing a Qi bubble that enveloped Aki and allowed her to travel with him.

He managed to traverse the tunnel system in that short amount of time. That was one of the advantages of ascending to higher Realms. What took us most of a day to map out and explore, he managed in seconds. His perception was powerful enough to scan the cave network and locate us; he probably was able to expand his perception field from Xiwang.

“What does it explain?” I asked, watching as she directed Siam to collect skin samples. He had been hesitant to approach at first, but she had assured him it was safe enough for him to collect the samples she wanted.

“This is a Bristle Worm,” she explained, still focused on the creature before us. “It is harmless enough, and its only function, its instinctive drive, is to create tunnels and burrow farther and deeper toward the planet’s core.

“I had wondered how this tunnel and cave system had formed. From a geological perspective, something this extensive should have been impossible to create by volcanic activity or water erosion. At least something this extensive right next to the ocean.

“The constant erosion from tide and wind should have opened a breach long ago and flooded these caverns. I suspect the upper caves and tunnels might have formed naturally, but I would bet that an army of Bristle worms was responsible for digging out everything else.”

“If that’s the case,” Zui asked, “where are the other worms?”

“Right there,” Aki said, pointing at the worm blocking our path. “Once Bristle worms reach a certain stage in their evolution, they join with other worms, creating the segments of its body. The worms merge with the strongest, acting to guide the rest.”

“Can the segments be separated?” I wondered. “And if they can, is there a point where the joined worms slough off and regain their independence?”

“The segments are a permanent part of the Bristle worm,” Aki explained, “until it enters its reproduction cycle or is pruned, they remain part of the whole. Reproduction is done via an asexual metamorphosis as the entire parent body clones itself. It is during this process of cloning that the segments regain individuality and cells, like those I had Siam gather shed and begin to grow.”

“You say that they are digging toward the center of the planet? Is there a reason or a benefit to leave it alone to continue on its way? Will it circle back to feed on the spirit seed if I place it in one of these tunnels?”

“I’m not sure anyone has conducted an extensive enough study into why the Bristle worms act as they do. The prevailing theory is that they feed on earth Qi, and the deeper they go, the denser that Qi.

“You should allow it to continue, there is no real benefit to you right now, but as it burrows, it will unearth richer mineral and gem deposits. Once it reaches a specific size, about four times what you see here, you can begin harvesting it. The segments can be pruned and can be converted into natural earth treasures.

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“As for circling back? Bristle worms only ever travel deeper toward the core of the planet. The only time they deviate is when they have recently reproduced, and the mass of newly created worms head in different directions to grow large enough and strong enough to recombine.”

“Maybe you can answer another question I have. How are the hordes of spiders, animals, and beasts able to survive past the upper levels? What are they eating to survive?” I asked.

“Qi,” Aki replied simply.

“Although they can and do eat bio-matter, they don’t require it. Any beast that has evolved to tier three and above can survive by circulating Qi. Their beast cores reach a point at that level that allows them to grow by processing the ambient Qi.

“They evolve faster if they can eat other beasts, especially beasts of the same tier and higher, but they don’t need to. And for isolated ecosystems like this, which have a high density of Qi, they evolve to take advantage of the affinity the Qi resonates with.

“That is why the Bristle worm will at some point be powerful enough to farm for natural earth treasures.”

“So, we should just keep tabs on this thing but ignore it for how long? You said it would grow up to four times its current size?” I asked, thinking that something that large should be hard to lose.

“I would have to do some research to be sure, but I believe this specimen will not mature for another two centuries. It’s best to harvest the segments right before it transitions into its reproduction cycle, and that can be difficult to determine without the help of a gifted Cultivator, one with an affinity for earth and life.”

“Aki,” Clement, who had been silent until now, interjected, “have you come across any cultivation manuals or techniques from the trove of libraries that the House or Clan have that can be used to nurture a Cultivator with the appropriate affinities?”

“Not yet,” Aki admitted, “but the number of tokens I have to sort through is staggering. It is going to take me decades to sort through everything.

“Honestly, at the moment, I am spending as much time sorting tokens into categories that I have no frame of reference for. There are so many that have entirely new branches of knowledge that will require actual study to make sense of.”

“I think it’s time we assigned staff to help,” I said. “I knew that there was a mountain of tokens and information you were going to have to wade through, but I hadn’t realized that a large part of that was information that would have to be studied to be understood to even quantify.

“Clement, is there anyone from your family that is immigrating that would be useful?”

That he had managed to gain the agreement of many members of the House he had left to join mine and leave the Empire to establish a branch on Onkei was beyond my expectations. Even more surprising was that he had convinced the main Clan to establish a branch division on the island.

He was also reaching out to other Cultivators, people he thought might be interested in establishing a Sect or Clan, people who had been denied that opportunity by the Empire.

He was confident that he would find the right people with enough ambition and courage to build the type of Sects and Clans that our island nation would need to prosper and grow.

I had faith in him, but I couldn’t depend on and base my hopes and expectations on others to protect my kingdom. I was going to have to build my own infrastructure.

I needed people that could guard and defend their towns and people. And with the body establishment food that Lin Li had discovered, I should be able to accomplish that. To raise every non-cultivator interested in joining a guard detail, allowing them to reach the Body Refinement Realm would quickly tempt a host of volunteers.

"There are a few that might be interested," Clement replied. "I believe a Clan Librarian has agreed to immigrate. But if not, there are a few other people that might be interested, people that can be easily trained."