novelraw Chapter 1169 - 1168 - Rise
Chapter 1169 - 1168 - Rise
The Empress Consort Fionan looked on in awe at the devastation of the tribulation. She had not felt anything like it in over a million years but she was still alive back then to recall just once seeing one.
It was one of the generals of the Fionan Empire. He had been forged in war and death. When he had finally taken the final step, his tribulation had felt as terrifying as the one that suddenly showed up in the Rubyfire Kingdom.
They were at the top of a tower in the palace looking down on the grounds. She could easily see the shimmering wards erected in the middle of the guest villas and courtyards. Why someone would face a tribulation of any strength there was beyond her but she strengthened the protections around their tower to be safe.
The Heavens ignored her as she was quite far from the center, but she did not doubt it was watching. She held her daughter's possessions close as she had been looking over some of the diaries of her time in the mortal realm.
"Mother, who is that?" Petryn came up behind her but Teegan came sprinting into the room with Shea in her arms.
"TRUE LORD, NO!" Shock filled them as only 1 being had that title. The Emerald Immortal!
The tribulation began at that moment and they all felt the terror of that first bolt.
"Dao, it is a Dao Tribulation. By the spirits, have mercy on his soul." She actually meant it. The fact he had been forced to kill her would normally only earn her disdain but he took an Oath and explained what he killed was a damned heart demon.
Her daughter had been killed by the Fiends! She now had an enemy to fight and a strong ally but now he was facing extermination.
No Crystal Tier could withstand a Dao Tribulation!
Yet, she was shocked as 6 bolts passed like it was nothing! She was actually hopeful but glanced at Teegan and Shea. Their connection to the Emerald Immortal was by race. Both of them looked pale and in pain.
"Teegan?" Petryn tried to comfort her but her dark amber eyes looked up in despair.
"He is dying. I can feel the calling of my blood to protect him but he ordered us to stay away. The compulsion is weakening so it can only mean his death!" Tears flowed while little Shea was weeping.
She joined them in it. He had brought her daughter home. He had freed her from her prison but now he was going to die. There was nothing she could do.
The final bolt gathered and all the Immortals could feel it. Death. Death was the only result of that strike.
The wards were obliterated and a crater was carved out of the palace grounds. Such strong materials were shattered like glass by that lightning bolt.
The column of smoke and debris was still rising or falling as the case may be. She tried to scan into the area but her aura was blocked entirely by the remnant power of the tribulation.
She saw several figures leaping and sprinting to get to the spot but they were stopped cold for the same reason. Immortals could not enter that area.
It also meant the Immortal that faced it was stone dead.
Teegan collapsed as Shea broke out in a wail. The Empress picked up her granddaughter and hugged her close. Petryn took care of Teegan.
They were human so they could not understand but the Qilin in the kingdom all brayed and roared as well. It was clear that a True Lord was far more important for all the bloodlines connected to it.
What was going to happen now? She knew her husband would be unhappy as the man that freed his daughter was dead. Despite the tragic circumstances, the truth in the jade slips and journals made it clear her daughter was lost long before the body died.
The being that was their best hope was gone.
"Petryn, I will take Shea and–" She suddenly felt her heart thunder in her chest as a shockwave launched outwards.
All 4 turned to see a blazing emerald flame soar into the sky. It had no shape, just a roaring blaze.
The air began to vibrate as the ground shook.
What was going on?!
The raging inferno of emerald flames seemed to vibrate and then the volcano had a horrifying roar come from it!
A soul beast rose from it and the Empress felt her blood freeze just seeing it. A dragon-phoenix! What was such a rare beast doing at the heart of the Rubyfire Kingdom?! Such a beast, even as just a soul, would be enough to protect a supreme power let alone a high one!
"Mother, the Corruption! It is gone!" Only when her son spoke did she realize her power was returning! Her Immortal aura that had been constrained for so long soared back up stronger than before!
With a thought, she was floating! She could fly again!
[Humans and beasts! A change is coming to his land! Prepare and reinforce your structures now!]
A voice boomed in her mind but she did not dare ignore it. Qi flared like a storm across the capital.
Formations sang as defenses were the least of what was activated. People summoned formation plates usually reserved for life saving because the voice had compelled them too.
The shaking was getting worse as a crimson glow seemed to answer the emerald flames. The power between the 2 made it clear they were similar in some way.
A beast crystal? Some kind of strange material that took on the Fire Laws? She had no time to comprehend it as Shea tugged at her robes.
"Gramma! He is alive!" Her smile was clear as day but only shock filled her as her eyes shot upward to see the emerald flames were taking on a form!
Qi raged across the sky but it also felt like the Laws were moving as well. All the Laws she knew were bending to the will of that flame!
Pressure suddenly spread in all directions that she had not felt in over a million years!
"DAO! That is the power of Dao!" Lightning began to flash once more but it was emerald and crimson! They seemed to interact in strange ways until something broke.
A roar shook the skies as a massive emerald dragon appeared. Its sinuous body covered most of the capital. There were four massive limbs with 4 fingers claws on each. The claws were shifting in colors but there were far more than the 6 natural Qi she knew.
She recognized the demonic but there were others that she did not know at all. They were not Fiend Qi, of that she was sure.
She had no time to keep looking as the shaking made her nearly stumble but the formations protected the tower. She saw some buildings collapse but it was only when the sky moved that she understood what was happening.
The land was moving upward! Tendrils of crimson and emerald flashed outward as a pair of emerald eyes snapped open below 3 horns similar to the claws. The mane was of all colors so far as she could tell but they were not shifting. Each strand was a different element!
She could not identify them all!
"How is this possible?!" Petryn was shouting but no one could answer him. Ever since the Corruption spread, all the floating lands had collapsed. No artificial structure could fly either without an insane level of Qi consumption.
It had simply become impossible to fly.
Now, someone had come along to shatter their chains!
The Empress felt her aura expand to its old limit of 200 kilometers. Everything was under her observation but what she saw was the collapse of mountains as the tremors were too much for them.
The landscape was cracking but also healing at the same time!
A violent shift was felt everywhere and the clouds began to get closer at last! They were rising! The Rubyfire Kingdom was returning to the sky!
Golden Qi suddenly flared all around and she felt like it was far more profound than anything she had felt before. The strained formations became docile at that moment. The danger to the city seemed to vanish but she saw in her aura that it reached everywhere she could see all at once!
Everywhere it touched was stabilized but also she felt profound changes on the structure of it.
Elemental crystals flourished visibly that she had never seen before as well as natural and demonic. Ores, herbs, and all materials were changed on a fundamental level. The aether beasts grew in strength but they did not rush to the cities.
The dragon above clearly controlled everything.
"Radiant Tier?" She did not feel that power from him but only a Radiant Tier had the kind of power in the 2nd Layer. The air became cooler until a wave of warmth washed over them all. The atmospheric protection was restored!
Floating lands, at least the habitable ones, had natural flows of Qi to protect the lower realms on it. Immortals were not bothered by cold, heat, or even a lack of air at all but Heaven Realms and below still heavily relied on it to live.
The emerald and crimson lightning began to calm down. The dragon shrank until a man floated in the air with a rock solid body clear to her senses.
She blushed as he was completely naked but then her eyes narrowed in shock. His aura was peak Crystal Tier! The Emerald Immortal had been just below the high Crystal Tier yet now he was at the peak!
His aura was a bit chaotic but it was quickly settling down as he floated to the crater below. The land was still rising but it was slowing down.
The Corruption did not return. The Qi was pure! She felt refreshed just breathing it in! Her body was being cleansed of the tainted Qi swiftly.
"Mother, what is this feeling?" She smiled at her son and pulled him into a hug.
"Freedom, my son. This is how the world should be all the time!" She held the now sleeping Shea as they all looked out from the balcony to the scene of the Emerald Immortal reuniting happily with his family and retainers.
She quickly sent a request for a meeting to the king as his land had just become critical to the 2nd layer! A purified land would be coveted by all powers. King Risselle could not possibly defend it alone since the gateway could not be sealed so easily.
Further, the cities left down below would be an issue as well. She wanted the Fionan Empire to reap the most benefits. Plans were taking shape in her mind when a message came back.
[Lord Emerald Immortal will be meeting with all foreign parties 3 days from now. No negotiations will be allowed before then.]