There was a new product on the market. It was called a beacon. They came in different sizes, shapes and strengths. Consumers could buy more complex and powerful versions with a higher Knowledge Ranking. They could look like anything from a stump to a Torii Gate, as innocuous as a pebble or as gaudy as a jewel.

What was important was the fact that holding or spreading beacons brought a steady trickle of Knowledge Points. They would give more KP depending on proximity to another beacon, ambient Qi and other factors. This encouraged people to take these special devices and hide them everywhere. A higher rank beacon overrode lower ranks, spreading out a stronger field in a larger direction, and thusly generating higher KP.

A low leveled beacon was simply a relay for information. It would receive and send information for phones and passively gather data like barometric pressure, ambient Qi, humidity and other atmospheric indicators.

The higher ranked ones where more complicated to build and had a new piece of technology built into them, the Qi sensor. It worked on the same principle as radar, sending out a wave of Qi and reading the feedback using arrays.

It was in this way that Ben set up his sensor network. Together with the phones he could get a good idea of the flow of Qi on a large level, he could make a map of locations with higher Qi and any related phenomena.

He spent some time pouring over this information. It took several days, but now he had a rough map of the way Qi flowed over the continent. There were many profound laws that determined how Qi behaved that Ben needed to understand.

He applied methods from both ocean currents and weather patterns to try to develop a Qi circulation map that would cover the whole continent, what he found had him hurrying to finish projects to prepare for his first research expedition.

He sent out memos and work orders. He made unilateral decisions and wrote out guidelines for the sect. Large amounts of data was transferred over to the mainframe for teaching and guiding development of more modern infrastructure. There were thousands of written tests of all sorts, research data, teaching materials and blueprints. If Ben didn’t have a Nascent Soul head core this would be impossible, it would have overloaded the chip and melted his brain.

He wrote out messages for the elders of the Horned Rabbit Sect. One was for a certain woman to meet him at a certain place.

A spirit vessel was seen departing that night.

---

Lilith kept her poise as she piloted the vessel. In just a few months her position had changed drastically, the higher ups in her clan were very happy with her placement next to the inventor. Her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds along with that of her sisters, who had come with her.

When she asked to bring a group of assistants, Ben told her that they would have to stay out of sight.

“Any more than one pair of breasts would be too distracting. I’d never be able to get any work done.”

The group of highly skilled assassins and masters of manipulation piloted the spirit vessel. They watched the founder from a distance, but didn’t approach.

Ben himself wore a grey robe. It was slightly mottled as though stained. He also had several rusted rings on his hands. All in all, he looked like a dirty old man. There was a strong urge to dismiss him as unimportant or irrelevant. This inferior image Ben invoked caused Lilith’s sisters to feel uncomfortable, knowing just how powerful and important he really was.

He looked off into the horizon, this gave him a mysterious air, but he has just interfacing with his A.I. Chip. He was planning his route towards a recent disturbance in a far off country. His sets of beacons were beginning to suggest a upsurge in natural Qi.

As a scientist, he would be remiss in his duties if he didn’t investigate such things.

A ring on his left hand flashed. It was the product of his research into constitutions using his own transformation as a guideline along with the A.I. Chip.

“Slow down, Lilith.” Ben ordered. “Head east from here.” The ship slowed and changed directions.

A few minutes later they came upon a small village in the mountains. The peasants here worked in a mine and were covered in soot.

The whole village looked up in shock at the wealthy visitors. Ben mildly looked down on the poor people.

“Come, Lilith, just in case it’s a girl.” He jumped over the side.

Not using any movement skill to fly or slow his descent, Ben used his body to resist the shock of a hundred meter fall. He climbed out of a crater just as Lilith stepped down lightly next to him, she wore a black robe with a veil. The crowd of villagers watched the two with fear.

“Ho...How can I assist the master?” A older man stammered when he was pushed forward by the crowd.

“Just came to talk with someone. I hope no one will interfere.” Ben said.

Using their respective movement techniques the pair leapt over the crowd and arrived at one very filthy hovel. Sobbing was heard from inside, Ben stepped in without hesitation, Lilith following close behind.

The place was covered in filth. There were no pieces of furniture, only blankets covering the dirt floor. There curled up in a corner was a young girl, about 8-9 years old. She was stained by the hut around her and emotionally traumatized by something that had happened to her. Looking around at the stains of blood and other bodily fluids around the hut, Ben suspected she was a sex slave.

Ben walked up to the girl and laid his left hand on her head. She flinched away, but Ben held her steady. The ring on his hand lit up.

“Take her with us, we’re leaving.”

Lilith walked up to the girl and crouched next to her. When she lifted her veil there were tears in her eyes. She was able to meet the girls gaze and the girl fell unconscious into her arms.

The three left the village. Back on the vessel, Lilith turned to Ben.

“What’s so special about her?” She asked.

“Her constitution. She has the Radiant Prison Body, a deity rank body. She would have been adopted by sect when she matured, but we found her first, and in this vulnerable state. Nurse her back to health and bring her to our side. Make her a loyal guard. Her new name will be… Terra. Give her the best treatment.”

Lilith nodded and set a pill in the girl’s mouth that melted and flowed down her throat. She passed the girl off to her sisters to clean and watch over her.

The spirit vessel continued on it’s way.

Youngsters and other mortals with one secret or another were voluntarily picked up or abducted and made into a small timid crowd. They had a rough idea of who had picked them up, but they had yet to understand what kind of destiny they would have from here on. Just the spirit vessel itself was more than enough to impress upon them the grandeur and power they were now surrounded by. Each individual had enormous potential, but none of them could match Terra in this regard.

Ben took the time to inspect each person and give them each a cultivation manual of at least the heaven rank. These were normally only available to core disciples of large sects, the thought of giving them to someone you didn’t know was unheard of.

A month of travel later they arrived at a small kingdom on the edge of the continent.

An invisibility array was activated and the spirit vessel began to slowly circle above the area. It would take a Nascent Soul cultivator or a Foundation Establishment cultivator with special detection abilities to see through the camouflage.

The group from Horned Rabbit Sect looked down on the country and studied the social landscape, levels of power and recent happenings of the area. Ben gave each one of Lilith’s sisters a compacted version of the phone and sent them to infiltrate each of the major powers in the area.

There were overlords in the area that fought for power. The Royal Family and it’s Shi Clan, the Flowing Moon Sect and the Free Craftsmen. Each had its own branches that struggled with each other for power and resources.

The most powerful individuals, the king and his father, the ancestor and guardian of the sect and the backers of the Free Craftsmen, were only in the Core Formation realm. Any one of Lilith’s sisters could have their way with the whole region and call herself empress.

“Go, infiltrate these groups. Wait for my orders and do what you can for the people without making any commotion. Be ready to assist or hinder your assigned group. We should be here half a year at least, but we also may leave tomorrow.” Ben gave out his orders to his people.

Lilith’s sisters departed to their branches of the local powers. Each woman was trained in infiltration and manipulation. With them as his eyes and hands, Ben was sure to be the new power behind the scenes in a matter of days if not hours.

Nothing he was doing here was without reason. According to his latest data from his beacons, there would be a major event happening here soon. He wasn’t sure what it would be, but he knew there would be plenty of conflict and an outburst of Qi.

Ben busied himself with setting up formations and sensors. It was time to record in detail his first phenomena.

As he went about his work, a subtle feeling of familiarity came over him. Ben thought it must be from his working on research again, he soon found out he was wrong.