Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1205 - 1204 - Soulless Flee

The months that followed were a mix of battles and rebuilding. Lind actually went out of his way to protect more than he usually would as he needed a base of operations. The central tower was able to repair its formations in time for the next wave.

The outer towers were also quickly filled by demonic forces arriving from various other battlegrounds. No place could be lost and Lind put his harmonic flames to devastating use.

He was able to get more subjects to study but no traps were laid out no matter how much he advertised his location.

If that was all that was going on, it would be considered fairly normal. However, Whisper Peaks was getting worse for all.

He thought he was just being exposed outside of the protective wards of the towers, yet the 2 he had followed the hordes to seemed to have exhausted personnel manning them.

The few nights he stood in them revealed why.

{Run! You have to run! It is coming–}

{Spirits save me! What did I do?!}

{Hungry, always hungry–}

He was trying to cultivate in a stone room near the base of the tower. It was one of the better cultivation chambers he had used in recent history but he could not focus as the voices were getting stronger.

He tried to sense intent but his theory fell through.

There was not a trace of intent anywhere near it would need to be to carry ethereal voices in the terrifying flowing wind that never stopped.

On top of that, the direction of the voices changed so it was not coming on the wind either!

Male, female, and even children which made no sense as aside from the most recent situation, no children ever came near the peaks.

"This cannot go on." He stopped cultivating and went to stand up when a dizzy spell passed over him. He stumbled which shocked him.

How long had it been since he had been dizzy just from standing up? He had been injured and tried to force himself to stand but that at least was due to lack of blood.

A quick check of his body and mental state found nothing wrong. His confusion then turned to his dantian but even there, his crystal happily glowed with Laws and elemental Qi as always.

His harmony was also–

It flickered. It was so small and short that he might have missed it if he was not looking, but it definitely flickered when it should not. It may have the shape of a flame but its intensity rarely dipped unless he was using it for something.

To do so on its own was disturbing.

"Wait, I have been coughing too." He slowly tracked the small ailments he had been experiencing since he arrived but it did not match. His harmony being affected might make him dizzy due to Qi fluctuations but coughing would not come into it.

His health was deteriorating but he had to find a solution to the more pressing issue. Something was carrying those voices and it was not the intent of dead cultivators. So what was it?

His instincts flared now and again but there was nothing in range of his aura.

A special realm? A periodic Inheritance entrance? There were possibilities but the damned voices made it harder to think the longer they were there.

He had tried erecting his own weavings but it had made no difference. It only further confirmed the source was not from intent or souls.

Something else was carrying those voices in the wind.

He quickly made his way up the stairs to the meeting rooms. The next battles should already be underway if not ongoing. Truly, the soulless never stopped.

It was only when he heard, or rather didn't hear, the usual grumbling of warriors trying to rest or recover as he ascended that he summoned his silver colored sword.

A slight hum filled the stairwell as he kept going. He saw no one which only made his caution increase until he realized something else he was not hearing.

Normally, even in lulls between the main horde attacks, the formations would be surging with power as the defenses protected the tower.

There was only silence.

He quickly increased his speed to reach the roof. It was only when he got close that he finally heard voices but his confusion increased as they seemed happy.

Why would they be happy in the middle of a horde wave?

He turned the final corner and saw a group of demons happily drinking from a tankard and they were not alone. A general celebration flowed in each group within his sight.

The normally depressed and exhausted faces were nowhere to be found as he emerged into the cloudy day. It was very bright despite that, but he found the leaders of the current tower he was in.

A male aether child with gold and green colors was holding a relatively relaxed council with a pair of demons.

The 3 men looked up and nodded at him but did not expect him to come up to them looking so grim.

"Care to explain, gentlemen?" The 2 demons were only Sliver Tiers but the aether child was a Radiant Tier.

"Fellow Daoist Emerald Immortal, the soulless have left the Whisper Peaks." Lind narrowed his eyes at those words.

"What tower is facing the current horde?" The slim man smiled at him before handing over a crimson stone to him. Lind took it and sunk his senses into it.

His eyes went wide.

[All towers reporting that the soulless are leaving the Whisper Peaks. A horde or large flight had been seen but they have not engaged, only fled.]

That was extremely atypical. If the soulless left, they left in an organized fashion with massive numbers. They did not 'flee.'

"I take it this was confirmed?" He held up the jade stone and the leader nodded.

Their carefree attitude irritated him. Did they not understand their enemy after facing them for over a million years?! Their enemy had been implacable and unrelenting yet never once in that long history had he ever heard of them panicking and fleeing.

Even when facing him, they held to an organized flow of their forces.

He was about to berate them when the entire tower froze. A feeling of dread filled everyone there as the wind seemed to increase in intensity!

{TOO LATE! TOO LATE! DOOMED!}

A shout echoed all around them but nothing happened. The wind continued to flow past them and slowly the celebration began to pick up but Lind noticed a new silence.

The voices had stopped!

He could no longer hear them at all as it was supposed to be inside a tower. He quickly launched into the air outside the wards but it did not change. He could only hear the roar of the winds between the peaks.

He examined the flow of air in the peaks and frowned. It had shifted. What had changed?

A figure joined him. It was the aether child leader.

"Emerald Immortal?" He held up his hand to the man. His robes were in poor condition after all the battles but still easily protected him as easily as Lind's skin could protect him.

"The voices have gone silent after that shout and the soulless have fled. I do not like the combination of this at all. I think we need to–" A shrill whistle from both of their pockets as they quickly pulled out violet jade stones.

Unlike the rough cut ones used for temporary or everyday use, these were highly refined artifacts made by a Maester. All Radiant Tiers had them in case a local emergency call was sent out and they were nearby.

They quickly sunk their senses into it but both blanched as they felt massive backlash from the message. Lind used his harmony but could only barely make out a message when he tried again.

[SAVE US! EATING EVERYTHING! OH SPIRITS NO!]

The words were not the only thing there. The desperation, and the loss of hope were clear but at the very end was what caused the pain. A massive impulse that was conveyed through the jade stone.

If he had to give it a word, it was like a hunger without end. A desire to consume he had only encountered exactly once before.

When he had faced the Great One!

There was 1 slight difference, however. Lind did not recognize the Qi signature. It was just the hunger that was familiar.

He almost tried to reach for his authority as a True Lord when he remembered it was gone. He had been abandoned due to turning his back on Heaven and Earth.

He was not sure what good it would have done but the instinct to reach for it told him a lot. It told him what they were facing was powerful beyond measure!

"We need to leave, now." The aether child suddenly spoke up but Lind looked at him in pity.

"I think the soulless should have told you it is far too late. We are well within the Whisper Peaks and the drafts have changed. The maps we have are no longer good." His words made hope disappear from the man but the party below was almost a counterpoint to their despair.

Lind looked out at the narrow peaks as the wind whistled between them and wondered what was out there. It had already claimed a tower, but how many were left.

"The central tower is our only hope. Send the word out." The man nodded and shot down to the tower below. Lind was about to join him when all the instincts inside him screamed at him.

He looked to the east but there was nothing there. Yet, his violet jade stone went off once more. True shock filled him then.

There was more than one! How many were there and how long did they have?!