novelraw Chapter 1196 - 1195 - The Endless Peaks
Chapter 1196 - 1195 - The Endless Peaks
The 2nd layer was dealing with the mysteries revealed by the latest ascension but the Night Immortal was currently shivering as a snow storm blocked a cave entrance. The howling wind was full of water, air, and darkness Qi but the power of it was far beyond her ability to repel it.
A blazing fire roared as the bare stone was finally radiating the heat enough to stop her shivering. Her soul, however, was still shaking from the raggedly covered man across from her.
His features were a legend after 2 centuries but the current man was far from the pristine image depicted in paintings and words.
Lind Frey was haggard. His face was covered in a stubble while his emerald mane of hair was ratty and uncared for. His robes were replaced with powerful but poorly stitched leathers.
Still, his power was clear to her. They were both Radiant Tiers but the difference between them was night and day. She expected that though as the legends were clear he had faced all 9 rounds of the Trial of Death Tribulation.
It was unheard of!
She had wondered if she would hear of him after she ascended but to be practically dragged off to the icy abode was outside of her expectations. There was no warmth in the man but he still erected weavings as easy as breathing and offered her an elixir to keep her warm until the fire could do its work.
"The storm is endless but it does wane eventually. The Icy Path will open then and we can make our way to Hort Fortress. They can guide you from there but I recommend staying a few years to get your bearings." His voice made her jump.
He was not even looking at her as he seemed to be consulting some kind of disc. It shimmered with black, white, and blue dots. Was it a map? She then saw him use his fingers to increase the displayed side magnification.
A set of peaks appeared but no land between them! It was just mists!
"This is the 3rd layer, right?" She had studied it of course but a lot had been lost.
He finally looked up and his cold emerald eyes made her want to lean away even though they were separated by the fire.
"It is. The Endless Peaks is a good name for it as well. There are no continents here but quite a few floating islands made over time by cultivators. The tips of the great mountains across the 2nd layer are here." She knew some mountains were insanely large but they were rather far apart.
A quick recall of the map in her head made her blanche. Some of those mountains would take years to reach between each other!
As if reading her mind, he snorted at her.
"It is really a barren place land wise but cultivators are adaptable. You will also find many special realms here as well as natural treasure to push your Laws to the final step." His words intrigued her but she refrained from asking.
He seemed to frown as more of the white dots moved into the disc space and circled around the peaks. Was it a live mapping?
"Your ascension caused this. The Fiery Blood Sect will have to work hard to clear the bastards away from this place. The villages will be in danger. Useless distractions." His words barely made sense.
"What exactly happened?" She finally worked up the courage but silence greeted her as a large ruby crystal appeared in his hands.
She felt mental transmissions and realized it was a kind of communication stone but she could not grasp its function. Jade communication stones were fairly common and only varied in quality but the one he had was rough.
The stone was not cut evenly and the inscriptions seemed rushed even to her eyes.
"Damn it, the 2nd squad got wiped out! Idiots!" He stood up suddenly and slammed his fist into the cavern wall. The power was clear but the stone held up! It only cracked slightly when she expected it to shatter!
"I am sorry, I did not mean for this–" She was suddenly slammed into the other wall but a wave of Qi. She was like a child before an adult!
"Did not mean it?! You wanted more power and chose to ascend! Of course you meant it but your ignorance nearly killed everyone in the 2nd layer! Did none of you think it odd that not a single Radiant Tier came down when they could?!" His face was fierce and his aura suffocated her.
She wanted to fight back but her Qi was in complete retreat! She could not even conjure a flicker of her Starfire Technique!
Lind seemed to realize he was going too far but he simply stopped attacking her.
"I do not blame you. The weak have no rights here and you should get used to that." Weak? She was a Radiant Tier? How was she considered weak?!
Yet she could not muster much of an argument given what just happened but the man refused to explain. A tired sigh came from him before a blue stone was tossed at her. She looked up but he did not explain as she sunk her aura into it.
Information flooded her mind and nearly made her weep!
The Endless Peaks were soaked in blood!
Over a million years ago, when the Corruption flooded the 2nd layer, a very different threat was unleashed on the 3rd layer.
It was slaughter. Endless and unstoppable slaughter. An army of headless things that could not be killed and consumed all life like a sponge swept the peaks clean!
By the time the existing supreme powers acted, half of them had been wiped out!
They just barely resisted being wiped out! The Sovereign Tiers actually had to act but it hardly slowed it down!
Only a handful sent help and even pulled up many of their descendents as the danger far exceeded any trial most cultivators were left to face.
It was a near complete massacre after only 100 thousand years! Entire sects, guilds, and powers were just gone!
The demons, however, refused to bow. They scraped by until they could slowly carve back out territory as they pushed back the soulless creatures.
It was all sects now. No kingdoms or empires could even exist in the current state of affairs. A lot of areas were all fortified fortresses but small villages had been allowed to exist under them.
The Icy Path was a rather unique place. It was a set of ice and snow covered peaks year round that were nearly inhospitable. It was actually a fairly safe place as the storms were strong enough to freeze even the enemy solid cold!
The Icy Path was a route that could be traversed in the low tide of the storms that never ended. It was just enough for Immortals to move through until reaching a safe spot.
They had carved out villages for weaker cultivators that had been left behind to survive. Resources were scarce but there were beasts and cultivation resources to allow them to live.
It was a horrible existence but when compared to having a soul stolen from your body, it was infinitely preferable.
The Hort Fortress was on the current peak, farther up the slope from the cave they were in.
Her ascension could not have come at a worse time as well.
The tear in the layers was an opportunity for the soulless to invade the lower layers. They were designed to kill Radiant Tiers so the lower layers would be unable to handle even 1 of them!
The current situation was an assault on the peaks collectively called Eternal Storm Peaks. The soulless had amassed their forces which confused her but the slip did not include much else.
The assault had been going on for years when she tore through space and did distract not only the soulless but the forces arrayed against them.
Based on his words and the slip references, her arrival resulted in the death of an entire squad that had been driving the enemy back until that point. They acted to save her and the 2nd layer!
The demonic forces were the spearhead keeping the soulless from killing everyone.
She had just caused a major force to die!
Lind saw she was done and pulled the slip back. She reviewed the information and looked up in guilt but he waved her off.
"I told you, the weak have no say. Get stronger and avenge them. We are at war." He so quickly turned from being upset to not caring that it bothered her. Did he not care?!
She wanted to speak but his cold eyes locked her in place.
"Don't you dare accuse me of being heartless. I have cared enough. I have watched millions die and now trillions of others died long ago before me. Does my caring help them? Does it do any good but burden me with the knowledge I can do nothing? Strength is all that matters." Lady Night agreed but his distance was wrong.
All cultivators pursue strength but the man before had changed the world over and over again. He cared so why was he so cold now? The howling wind suddenly dropped and he pulled her out of the cave.
"It is time to go. I am dropping you off at the fortress and that will be the last you see of me. I will not help you ever again." It was only at that moment she understood. He saw her as an object. In fact, he saw everyone as objects.
His upset emotions from before were more about wasting his time than the loss of life! This thing did not care about anyone!
She felt a coldness settle in her heart as the legends were all false. They were repudiated by this vile thing hauling her like a sack of potatoes into the freezing cold.
Whatever happened in the past was dead to this man. She truly wished from the bottom of her heart to never see him ever again!