Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1241 - 1240 - Source of Qi

Lind had expected to survive as a soul as he felt his total vitality had not been exhausted by his actions but if asked if he would wake up in a world that defied his senses entirely surrounded by the spirits of Heaven and Earth, he would have said such an idea was clinically insane.

Cultivators often invoked the spirits and his mind had touched on them from time to time but an entire world existed just for them?!

The figure before him was actually a spirit mimicking a cultivator. Their thought communication was a little chaotic to his senses otherwise.

It was the least of his concerns at the moment, however. He had no body! Yet, he did!

The rules of the spirit world were vague to say the least but according to the old woman, souls could retain their corporeal form while there. They had to be cultivators of course, but the fascinating history of the place distracted him for a time.

It was only when he realized the sun had neither set nor even really existed that new concerns came to him.

"How–how long have I been here?" The old woman paused to answer him and the various tiny orbs of light shifted quickly. It seemed asking was a taboo?

"That is a difficult concept for us. We understand the Laws of Time innately but the passage of it is not something we grasp. To put it in terms you grasp, a moment and a year are the same to us." His head hurt just trying to parse those words. He then wondered how that worked as he did not really have a head.

He flexed his body more and while it moved like he wanted, there was definitely a loss of tactile response. There were no muscles or blood flow to draw his attention to. It was a disturbing feeling to say the least but he slowly adapted.

"Then, do you know how long has passed in the 3rd layer?" He hoped that would narrow it down but the woman scratched her nose as she seemed to struggle with explaining it to him.

"Linear time is not something we are connected to so it is hard to grasp it. Cultivators live long lives as well so to us it is immaterial. Key moments draw our attention, like your tribulations, but we are not constantly observing you." Lind frowned as he knew he had touched the spirits himself.

He was about to ask when another orb floated in front of him.

"Do not mix us up with those crazies mingling with Heaven and Earth! They can't not watch you all!" The voice had shifted from an old man to a young woman and several he was unsure what to call. Still, it meant there were factions in the spirits.

"How do you know about me then?" The old woman had spoken as if they were old friends and referred to various periods in his life. They also grasped his references.

"We can read your soul. It is like one of your jade slips to you. Plus, you are not the first soul to come to us. Normally, they are at the end of their lives and we comfort them before they return to the cycle. You are the second to come so young to us." He found that disturbing. They read his soul?!

She smiled gently at him but he realized they truly did not care to understand his concerns.

"Can I at least check in on them or go back?" The old woman looked grim at that moment.

"That is not up to us. Just as your arrival was by the rules, your departure can only conform to the rules as well. If you go back the normal way, I am afraid you will have a long wait." She pointed out into the golden sky and he saw a flitting object.

It was barely discernible against the gold backdrop but his senses carefully picked out a soul! It was a young girl but she looked confused. Before he could ask he was stunned as he saw her soul sucked into a vortex.

It was not harmed but the shape became vague. It was like her personality was wiped away but he grasped what he was looking at.

"Samsara?" The woman nodded with a smile.

"Cultivators are not the only ones that touch on the Dao or Laws. Your own world has sent many souls among the infinite existence that comprises all reality. Conversely, many cultivators have been dispersed for their violations and sent out into those same worlds to maintain the balance." Shock filled him at those words.

She casually revealed the source of all life! Population explosions could not occur without commensurate souls. Souls were not whole objects but seedlings allowed to grow into a full life.

The spirit world was a transition point!

Had he come here?

As if reading his mind, the old woman shook her head.

"Reincarnation is a bit different. It is much more rare but perhaps our indifference to time will explain a few inconsistencies you have run into?" He looked up as understanding finally came to him.

The various signs of modern people being reborn long before he was yet the modern age had only existed for a few decades. How could humans from the same era possibly be born millions of years apart?

He slowly grasped a piece of it. Time was a variable and not constant here! It was in flux like everything else!

"Wait, that would mean time is both passing and not passing all at once?!" A smile spread on the old woman's face as she nodded. How did that possibly make sense?

He wanted to ask more questions and he suddenly felt a massive spike in elemental Qi. He glanced over and saw a fountain of it reaching into the sky. It was about to come crashing down when a familiar vortex appeared.

The Qi left in a rush but he did not understand what was happening.

"Ah, another tribulation calls. Seems like there are several Sky Realms this time." A new voice spoke up but Lind focused on the content.

Tribulations were not so common due to their nature but large sects and powers had designated areas for many of them. Immortals were not as common due to how ridiculous they could be but the spirits spoke as if all that power was sent for tribulations on a regular basis.

He felt enough power in that font of Qi to supply millions of Sky Realm tribulations!

"Does the Qi flow back like that too?" The old woman nodded with a smile.

"Just as the soul has a cycle, so does the Qi but it has a beginning as well. It started here." It was a shocking revelation but his mind had several issues with her claims.

The cycle clearly could exist but if something had a beginning then it should have a source.

All matter did not just spring into being. It was created by a long process of conversion, fusion, and destruction over time. The spirits and their world did not just pop into existence either.

It all had to come from somewhere but where and how? It fascinated him but was just beyond him at the moment.

"I am surprised you are not more interested in your recovery, Lind Frey." Her question shook him as he suddenly realized an oddity he had overlooked.

His battle with the Fiend had wiped out his body and most of his soul vitality. How was he flush with it? His soul brimmed with life like he was even back in his youth!

He examined it as best he could but instead of organs, meridians, and a dantian, all he found was his harmony blazing away with 18 orbs happily floating around it.

It was like his soul was just the contents of his dantian. In a way, that was accurate of any Immortal. Once the body failed, only the soul endured with the foundation built up over their lives.

He knew making a body for him was impossible due to his unique existence but now he truly grasped how insane his requirements were.

He noticed as he examined the area around the pure white slab that it was stable so he stood up and was amazed how the ground stabilized where he walked. The old woman followed him but he noticed her steps changed nothing as she followed him.

He felt a surge of Qi once more but it was massive. A mountain of Qi was sucked downward until it too vanished.

He looked at his guide and she smiled at him.

"World Realm tribulations are far more common but it is unusual to have both happen so close. Your effect is likely spreading in the realms." He was confused until he realized what he was missing.

The spirit world was the source of elemental Qi but there was no harmonic Qi. He conjured his flames and was shocked at the reaction.

The background elements swirled around his flames and more of the world solidified around him. He tried to grasp what was happening but unlike in his old world, it totally defied his ability to comprehend it at all!

He realized he could not cultivate as a soul even in the spirit world!

The body was integral to that process! He had to be able to interact with the world he came from. The pure spirit world was too chaotic for him!

"Is there any chance I can build a body here?" The old woman shook her head.

"This is a world of spirits and souls. It is not a physical place. There is on flesh here. Only Qi." Lind frowned but going back did not resolve his issues. He was stuck.

Just what was he going to do?