Death... and me

There was a huge tree that stretched all the way to the Stream. It was by far the highest tree in the entire region, which seemed to be related to the same reason. It was as if the tree feasted on the energy of the Stream to stay tall and strong. For the spirits and everyone else, that was perfect. They all seemed to use the tree to get into the Stream for their travels.

Arriving at the tree base, Rean and Triwe noticed that the tree had space inside open and that many spirits and other races walked around. Some were paying for the use of the Stream, and others were there to guide the payers. Obviously, there were those who had just arrived and came down from the Stream.

"Give me a second as I register for the use of the Stream," said Triwe as he moved to one of the counters.

Rean, on the other hand, used his Spatial Abilities to feel the Stream. 'Triwe was right. The power of space interacting with the Stream above is really enormous.'

"Hey, Tian!" Fortunately, it didn't take long for Triwe to call Rean. "Everything's ready. Let's go."

Rean smiled in response, and soon, the two made their way to the top of the tree. As they got higher, the amount of energy passing through increased. In any case, it didn't seem to affect their bodies at all.

Another spirit appeared not long after to take Rean and Triwe. "Alright, come with me. You guys are heading straight to the Isvotis Continent, is that correct?"

Isvotis was the continent where one could find the Azure Lilibels.

"That's correct," Triwe answered. "Will there be any stops on the way?"

The spirit shook his head, saying, "No. I'll do the connections myself on the way, so we will enter the right streams once we get close. Is there a specific place you want to go to in the Isvotis Continent?"

Rean nodded, replying, "As close as possible to the Azure Lilibel Spirit Race. We're going there to buy their Azure Stream Crystals."

"Very well." The spirit didn't mind. "In that case, our next stop will be the Hogral Lifan Spirit Forest. At your cultivation, it shouldn't take more than a week or so to fly to the Azure Lilibels' territory. Anyways, let's get going."

The spirit was as big as Fluki. However, he wasn't a Kibin, but a Nastreas, a type of fish-like spirit. He simply opened his mouth and tried to put the two in its mouth. Triwe was taken aback at first, but Rean quickly held him. "Don't worry. This is pretty common."

As a spirit, it wasn't like the Nastreas had saliva or anything like that, so one couldn't say it was gross. Nevertheless, Triwe still felt gross just because he was inside someone else's mouth. "Are you used to this kind of thing?"

Rean nodded, replying, "Did you forget? I came all the way from Himaria Clan territory. I had to pass through quite a few continents. Not everyone has those beautiful official paths open all year long."

Triwe could only bitterly smile in response. "So we'll have to stay here until we arrive, right? Just how long will that take?"

Surprisingly, the spirit was the one to answer. "The Isvotis Continent is located seven continents away from here, so it'll take a while. Just to leave this continent will take a month. Of course, continents have different sizes, and that doesn't mean we'll cross each one entirely. Some we will just pass by for a few days, for example. If nothing goes wrong, I reckon it'll take around half a year to get there."

Triwe sighed in response. "So it'll be at least a one-year trip. Fortunately, the elder of the Blacksmith Hall shouldn't finish selecting his new direct disciples so fast. By the way, sir spirit. How should I call you?"

"Nisso," the spirit answered. They would be together for that long, after all.

"So, Nisso. Is it worth doing such long-distance travels?" Triwe felt like it was a huge waste of cultivation time.

Surprisingly, Nisso quickly nodded. "It does. For my race, cultivation happens through exposure to the five elements and our bodies' processes. The Spirit Stream is rich in five elements even though the Divine Energy isn't compatible. That means I can cultivate a lot faster here."

Rean found it weird. "Spirits can use the Streams for free, no? Do you need to work to do that? Couldn't you simply travel around on your own?"

"They are free. That much is true," Nisso answered. However, that doesn't mean we can stay inside forever. Otherwise, any spirit that can benefit from the Streams will definitely spend their whole life inside it. Spirits aren't as many as the other powers, but we still have a lot. The Streams are far from enough to cope with everyone, so it's strictly regulated by the top powers of the spirit race and the continents they pass through. That's why I joined this line of work. I can stay here as long as I'm working."

"I see..." Rean understood. "Spirits really have it hard. So many different cultivation methods." He then smiled, saying, "Well, you could just pretend that you're slower to stay longer on each trip, no?"

"Hahaha!" Nisso laughed in response. "I wish that was possible. Unfortunately, once you're inside the Stream, the speed is determined by the Stream itself. The only thing I can do is try to jump out of it, not reduce our travel speed. Whether I want to or not, this journey to Isvotis Continent will take the same thing as it should."

Triwe then remembered something. "Are the Streams the same as the continental barriers? Do they block the entrance of high-level Spirits? They do remind me of the barriers, after all."

"Not really," Nisso answered. "However, if you reach the level of one of the top experts of the spirit race, the Stream would be too slow instead. They can literally open space and travel through the spatial storms. What will take us six months to complete, they can do in just a few hours. Using the Stream is useless for them. Well, perhaps some of them just want to relax and let the Stream carry them, but that's not something we should think about."

Rean and Triwe nodded in response. "Well then, we're counting on you during this."