When the time finally came to visit the Searing Sarcophagus, their lineup of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators was a bit… intimidating. However, they did ultimately manage to get their entire group accepted. That was a good sign, as it meant that the Searing Sarcophagus were serious about opening up diplomatic relations.

John learned as much as he could about the sect before going, though the focus wasn't on their martial ability. That was relevant, but as they had recently lost their sect head… their power had dipped significantly. At the moment, only their new sect head was in the Ascending Soul Phase, and while they still had a significant complement of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators at their disposal they weren't an immediate threat.

The True Sea hadn't made any moves against the continent in a long time, so there hopefully weren't any immediate threats. But this would be the first group actually aligned with them that they would be interacting with since the war.

Zdislava apparently had a decent impression of Tajana, from some limited prior interactions. Having a starting point was good enough.

It was important to note that the Searing Sarcophagus had not participated in the attack on the continent. Perhaps not because they wouldn't have in different circumstances, but they had been occupied with other matters. Besides, only a small portion of the sects of the many aligned under the banner of the True Sea had actually participated in the invasion. That had been sufficient to occupy land all the way to the heart of the continent, though.

-----

The sect grounds of the Searing Sarcophagus were… boldly arranged. That was John's most charitable word for what he experienced as they approached. He had heard about it at a distance, but it was far more unusual in person.

When he had been told that the sect was below sea level, he had pictured walls surrounding a wide area, keeping the Molten Sea at bay. In the middle of those walls would of course be normal buildings, invisible on the horizon. But they didn't appear to have walls at all.

Their docks were the most prominent feature, arranged in a wheel spoke pattern throughout the area. All of the docks led to the central location, a building that John supposed could be called a gatehouse. Nothing else was immediately visible, though John did sense things beneath the lava. At the current level of tides, they were somewhere around five meters below the surface- leaving plenty of room for ships to sail above them. John's main thought was that the buildings must have been a nightmare to construct.

Tajana awaited them at the gatehouse. Her head was shaved, though the rest of the sect did not appear to follow the same standard. He had heard it was due to some personal mourning- officially due to the former sect head, but it hadn't been mandated or even encouraged for others as far as John could tell.

She didn't immediately greet them as they approached. Instead, she looked over their diverse group. John thought she spent slightly longer on him, but that could have been just what it felt like. "Strange times we are in, to see the world in such a state."

Tajana didn't elaborate on what that meant. John supposed he ought to respond somehow. "Perhaps every generation experiences extraordinary events. But they may not always be seen as such."

At no point did Tajana actually welcome them. At some point she just turned about. "Come, we should enter."

John supposed that being a sect head didn't actually require social skills. Or at least, not in the short term. He wasn't always quite as diplomatic as he felt like he should be, but Tajana was quite odd. He wondered if this was her normal state, or if it was related to her mourning.

Inside the large gatehouse there were numerous guards- not sufficient to stop their current group, but if they tried to force anything the conflict wouldn't be subtle. The gatehouse led to a wide spiral staircase leading downward- sufficient for four or five people to walk side by side. In only a few moments they were below the lava level, though it was actually cooler in the central area than outside on the docks. If only just.

John wondered if this was the Searing Sarcophagus. He supposed it could be multiple things- their fighting style also fit their sect grounds from what he had heard. Presumably that had been developed before they made this place, but the truth might have been lost to time.

Many of the cultivators among them were uncomfortable with the depth of the fire element around them, though none were weak enough that they couldn't handle it. They did their best not to show it, but it could easily be assumed by their hosts.

The spiral staircase eventually opened up into a grand hall with towering pillars. The room was circular, with hallways leading out in eight directions, though John believed they were rotationally offset from the docks above. He couldn't be certain, because the surface was now quite far- the buildings he had sensed would have to be accessed by going back upwards. That likely meant access through further staircases.

The chamber was lit with a dull light that John couldn't quite find the source of at first, but then he spotted recessed segments of the wall where it appeared to have some sort of translucent material that let in the glow of the surrounding lava, while at the same time shifting it to a more comfortable hue. John couldn't say it felt like natural light, but it was fairly comfortable. Though he personally would have been fine without any source of light.

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Tajana began pointing in various directions. "Sleeping quarters. Banquet hall. External access and sparring grounds." Some of the local cultivators seemed rather tense at her actions- perhaps this wasn't her normal status, or maybe they just recognized how things might appear. Well, if anyone got lost they could certainly ask a disciple.

"How does the external access work?" John asked. Perhaps they used some sort of airlock.

Tajana just waved him along as she began to stride in that direction. He wondered if it was difficult to explain or actually interesting enough to see directly. The rest of the group sort of awkwardly followed after.

Bypassing another spiral staircase, they came to a far chamber that looked as if it had a well. Then Tajana jumped into it. "You just swim out." She disappeared downward out of sight.

It was rather interesting. John thought the 'well' was enchanted with some sort of functionality that kept the lava pressure from pushing it inside. Though, perhaps it also worked naturally? Like undersea caves that had air. It seemed a little bit risky as any mistake could probably flood the entire sect, but they were probably prepared to deal with lava if there were any issues.

Seeing that Tajana wasn't coming back, John followed after her. Swimming in lava wasn't easy, or at least not by default. After all, it was too viscous and dense for people to even sink, let alone swim. But John had felt the sect head manipulating the lava, and while he couldn't do it with the same expertise he had some experience with it from previous visits to the Molten Sea.

He obviously couldn't see anything, but once outside his spiritual energy senses picked out large pillars dropping deep down into the Molten Sea. Normally, sects were built on naturally solid islands, but it seemed here they had to support their structure all the way down to bedrock. Obviously they used materials with higher melting points than the normal makeup of the sea.

John followed his sense of Tajana. If she actually tried to conceal herself it might have been more difficult, but a cultivator of lava still felt different than the material itself. He approached her, off to the side, and she gestured. Her voice was transmitted to him through spiritual energy, because otherwise it wouldn't have traveled very far though lava. Though if John recalled old lessons on sound and density, it would have traveled quickly for however far it reached.

"The sparring grounds," she said along with the gesture. John could feel a barrier of sorts, but it wasn't like he might normally expect. It didn't seem to prevent access to the sect, nor was it as sturdy as normal barriers around sparring grounds.

It also didn't isolate the area from lava. As far as John could tell it would just… prevent too many shockwaves from reaching the sect itself. He wondered if there were any considerations for safety. He couldn't be certain but… there didn't seem to be.

"Shall we spar?" she asked.

"Later," John said. He didn't want to leave the rest of the group awkwardly standing around. Or swimming around. Though Steve and Yustina seemed just fine with their little 'aquatic' excursion.

John's senses didn't stretch very far through the lava, at least not relative to what he was used to. They were still functional for a few meters easily, more if he put in effort, but that was in comparison to tens or hundreds of meters depending on the circumstances. He would likely find it difficult to sense most Ascending Soul Phase cultivators on the surface- or from the surface, if they were in this sect below.

This would be a perfect place for an ambush. John almost expected it… but it was quite possible the Molten Sea thought far less about the continent than the continent had about them. Though doubtless there were some actually aligned with Gesine who would want vengeance for her death- propagating the cycle of violence. Though John could say fairly simply that if they intended to start it again, he would finish it.

-----

"The Empire of Elements must be stopped," Tajana expressed. That was the most energetic statement John had heard from her since they were introduced. "They will cause only pain and suffering for all."

In principle, John agreed that any group seeking to constantly expand their borders through violence was a danger. In practice, there were far too many of those for John to divert the continent's focus towards one threat- that happened to be the most distant at the moment. The Sovereign Primacy still had more or less direct access to the northern shores of the continent, and the southern seas could once again be in conflict at any time.

"It is difficult for us to act," John commented. "With them being so distant. But we are still interested to hear about your conflicts."

Their mission was to determine if the Empire of Elements was a threat to them, and how soon if they would be. Plus, opening up diplomatic relations with the Molten Sea would hopefully help secure another border of the continent- the Burning Delta didn't control all access to and from the Molten Sea, just a small portion.

"Tefik was killed by them," Tajana explained. "He was powerful. But he, along with many others, have fallen to them."

John understood that all to be true- with Tefik being the previous sect head. Yet, he didn't believe that was everything. "Wars bring death to many, but they come and go. We are not yet allies, if we ever can be."

He wanted Tajana to explain further, but she didn't seem to have anything specific to say except a general disdain for Empress Aldara. When the topic turned to other matters of the Molten Sea, Tajana never seemed to be entirely focused. John thought that maybe he should agree to that spar. It might help clear her head.

Or perhaps she was just like this. But at least if they could have some vaguely friendly interactions, there might be hope for lasting peace between the Molten Sea and the continent. Committing to any sort of defensive alliance against the Empire of Elements was far too soon when there were many that still considered them hated enemies, but the hope was that a process of reconciliation might begin. Or maybe their journey would only end up providing useful military information for later, should there be further conflicts. As long as they tried for peace, John could accept whatever came after.

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