Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 103 - 102 - Truth of Immortals

Lind ached all over. His body had been channeling the elements for days and without a break or rest, his muscles and meridians had been stressed far beyond normal. If not for their improvement, Lind may well have damaged his ability to cultivate.

His eyes slowly opened to a stunning view once more. The glowing formations that protected the many treasures in front of him were as strong as ever. The door behind him had indeed closed up once more.

"H-how long?" His throat was parched. He sluggishly summoned the last barrel of water. It was only a quarter full. Lind slowly sipped as he lay on the pristine white floor. He felt far too filthy to be in this room.

"You have been unconscious for most of a day and a half. Your physical condition has deteriorated more than expected." The voice in his head was suddenly outside of it! Lind wanted to whip his head but he could only move his eyes to look ahead and see a slim female form in white.

Her eyes were dead. There was no life in them, but her tone seemed so lifelike. That was very different from other spirits he had encountered. The recording fragments were of real people, but the Immortal Will and the Ruin Spirit of the anti-elemental Ruin had seemed very alive to him despite both claiming otherwise.

This Ruin Spirit, clearly, looked like an imitation only. Her face did not move right nor was her body remotely close to reality. She was unrealistically thin at her waist while her bust was fairly large. It was what a teenager would come up with or if someone made a Barbie actually life size.

"W-what am I supposed to do here?" This question had been ignored every time he asked but now he was inside, surely he would be told. Despite her head turning towards him, there was only silence.

Lind slowly got up and assumed a lotus position to recover fully. The flow of Qi felt sluggish at first but resumed its normal speed soon enough. His aching body finally began to feel human again.

"Why do you resist breaking through?" The question nearly broke his concentration, but Lind stayed focused. The level of insight more powerful beings had into his body was becoming very annoying. He really wanted to keep them out!

Once he stabilized, he was no longer so tired, but hunger reared its head. He quickly summoned some preserved meat. It felt supremely uncomfortable to be stared at by the dead eyed Ruin Spirit. Lind took a more detailed look around as he ate.

He had thought this before, but the profound Qi should be hurting him, yet it did not. The formation arrays were complicated but no longer seemed in line with his expectations. It was almost as if something had eased the level of formation so he would not hurt himself.

Lind slowly stood up and looked at the nearest pile of treasures. It was a massive pile of Qi stones, but he could not perceive anything else due to the formation. He looked at the arrays but saw no way to shut it down. A few more piles of artifacts and what appeared to be jade slips was the same.

He could see them and evaluate them compared to other treasures he had seen, but only visually. The actual levels and profoundness of the items was impossible to perceive. A frown crossed his face but the Ruin Spirit only quietly followed him now.

What was going on? The story he was told was this was the legacy of someone called the Immortal Artificer, so where was the trial? Where were the traps?

Lind felt the room was massive but what did it matter if nothing could be understood?

After nearly a day of wandering, a blessing finally appeared.

Lind found a room full of life. It was a massive grassland with herbs, trees, and most importantly, a river! He did not rush in, but carefully examined with his Eyes, yet what he saw stunned him. It was not an illusion or some construct, but real!

He happily stripped down and dove into the water. Small fish scattered as rabbits and deer were spooked by the happily shouting man swimming in the river. Dirt and grime fell off of him as he was finally clean.

"What is this place?" Lind spoke out loud through force of habit, but it finally got a response.

"This is the last piece of my creator's home. He carved it out before the realm collapsed and preserved it here." Lind nearly jumped as the Ruin Spirit had become part of the background. Her lackluster responses spooked him, but inside this place, she seemed more alive.

"What do you mean before the realm collapsed?" Lind had never heard of this term before but he could guess what it meant sadly.

"Nothing is eternal. When a mortal realm exhausts the cycle of Qi or damages it, the stability in the void barrier will collapse and consume the realm. All cultivators inside will face tribulation if they are near it or simply die." Lind looked around at the natural harmony but frowned.

If all of the nature around him was a slice of a realm, why this slice? What made this stream important? Lind wanted to ask but then he noticed something he missed before. There was a small stone slab set up by the river.

Putting on a fresh set of robes, Lind approached it but could not understand the specifics of what it said. He could, however, make out a set of dates. It was a gravestone. Lind bowed and offered a prayer.

Instantly a glow appeared behind the stone and Lind was stunned by what he saw. A beautiful woman with pale green eyes and blonde hair smiled at him. She wore what he would call a sundress in cream and yellows that went well with her pale skin. He suddenly had something click in his mind and turned around.

The Ruin Spirit, so dead faced and dead eyed, was a variation of the woman in front of him. Lind began to suspect something but he was unsure how to go about confirming his thoughts.

"Is this place the legacy?" Lind started with that question. Hopefully the Ruin Spirit would keep answering him. He was stunned however, when a giggle sounded behind him. He whirled around to see the image of the woman holding a hand to her face as she smiled at him.

"You are interesting. Sebastian likes interesting people. She was rushed or I would be inside her. He ran out of time." Lind was stunned. His Eyes told him this woman was not a construct. The flow of Qi was quite normal if limited only to light and dark.

If he was to measure it, it would definitely be at the World Realm.

"A-are you alive?" Lind asked the question but he could not see how she could be. The woman both nodded and shook her head.

"It would be more accurate to say I died but was saved from complete death. Sebastian was a genius. He figured out how to store a soul as long as it was far enough along in the cultivation path. The first few millennia were not nice though." Lind was stunned. Genius would not cover such a feat in his books. Insanity, maybe, but clearly it was not.

"Why am I here?" Lind was no longer sure what was going on. The story he was told did not seem to match the reality. He was surprised again, though as an ancient man now appeared.

"Took you long enough!" The playful tone of the woman seemed to make the powerful man soften briefly, but he then looked at Lind. This being was beyond him! Lind had finally felt the pain he expected trying to pry into Immortal Realm level items.

"There is no filter in here, young man. I would not use your Eyes so recklessly despite how well you have cultivated them." The gravelly voice was not cold but Lind felt like his ears would bleed if he did not protect them. This being's entire existence was dangerous!

"Are you dead but not quite as well?" Lind was not surprised when the dark eyed man nodded. His robes were dark gray but that was all he could make out. He suddenly wondered where their clothes came from but what was important was why he was here.

"You are stronger than I expected a 6 elemental to be, but that is good. It will make this easier." Lind was getting tired of all the roundabout talking. He wanted straight answers.

"May I finally know why I was brought here, senior?" Lind bowed with respect but kept his defenses up. The woman was not much of a problem, but Lind had no idea what this man was capable of.

"I suppose it seems ridiculous, bringing what would definitely be a weak cultivator to such a supreme place, but it could not be helped. Preserving Cynthia has become fairly easy, but my own time is limited. I only have 50,000 years left at best." Lind nearly balked at how that number seemed small but did not argue. The word immortal meant such time could indeed seem small.

"How did things come to this?" Lind pointed at the environment and saw a wistful look on both their faces. He actually felt closer to both at that moment but still wanted an answer.

"A realm, no matter how profound it may become, is mortal. Only the Heaven Realm and above truly persevere and in that they too have limits." Lind was stunned. Was this man implying that while the higher realms could sustain themselves for longer, they would collapse one day as well? How was that possible?

"The time, dear." The gentle voice brought him back as Lind saw a solemn nod from the old man. He looked at Lind and actually looked sad.

"You are remarkable, young man. I am truly happy you were the one to make it here and for that I am eternally grateful. Once this is over, I will make sure to take care of your loved ones with all the power at my disposal." Lind felt a chill down his spine. His hand gripped his staff but before he could even channel any Qi, he felt a pressure slam into him.

"It would be better if you do not resist, as I do not want to damage my new body."

"W-WHY?!" Lind felt pain lance over him but it was not his body, it was something else. It was a thousand times worse than any body tempering bath Shoti put him through. He felt something truly threatening but ephemeral pushing into his body!

"I am truly sorry, but Cynthia has been so patient and I was so close. I would have made one for myself too rather than resort to this, but my time ran out. So I made this Inheritance to try and find a worthy body." The old man actually seemed sad, but Lind did not care. He was focused on hanging on, but he was slipping.

He could feel a blackness trying to swallow him but it was far different from the heart demons.

He knew, instinctively, that if this man succeeded, he would not simply die this time but be completely dispersed! Oblivion, that is what was trying to swallow him.

"You see, Immortals are only free of dying from old age, I look exactly as I did for millions of years but we can still be killed. I used up too much Qi making the body for Cynthia and it cracked my foundation. I was being consumed by my own power." Lind knew he was trying to distract him, but the words were magnetic. The man likely laced some sort of power into it to let them be so.

"The truth is, once you reach Immortality, you fear death even more than before because you understand all that will be lost. Those fools tried to kill me because they learned the truth, but I prepared for this contingency. A 6 elemental will be difficult to cultivate, but I already know how to balance everything.

Thank you, young man, you have saved us both." The smiles were no longer warm in Lind's eyes.

These creatures were monsters. They were immortal monsters that were trying to cheat death by taking his life! Once that thought crossed Lind's mind something snapped inside him.

Emerald flames suddenly engulfed his body and screams left his throat as he roared into the sky. His rage was justified, he was being used! All of this Ruin had been a trap from the very beginning.

Lind let go of everything he held back as he broke through to tier 8 with ease. The stronger his emerald flame, the less danger he felt. He slowly looked down to see the shocked faces of the 2 souls.

No, not 2 souls, 2 devils. This was not a paradise all around Lind, this was a hell. A hell of their making and he had walked right into it.