novelraw Chapter 1272 - 1271 - Bear vs Dragon
Chapter 1272 - 1271 - Bear vs Dragon
The group stumbled into a vast cavern. At first it was dark but a few bright emerald sparks lit up weavings along the walls. Light and warmth flooded the cave to reveal a cozy place to relax or work on projects.
A place to Forge, make elixirs, and store materials for any professional use was visible. Some of the containers clearly held sealed jade vials but none approached as they could also feel the restrictions heavily around them.
Lind's fingers danced quickly as he modified a few of his more severe weavings before nodding.
"It is safe. Din, get 3 people to begin to carve out a few more caverns for use. I want a larger bath, sleeping area, and enlarge the storage area here." Orders were given as they began to work.
It was his largest living space and also the one he had secured heavily so the likelihood of it being intruded upon was very low. Still, better safe than sorry.
"Lord Frey, where are you going?" Din noticed his departure and he only smiled as he waved at the young man. It was better not to tell him what was out in the howling winds.
Lind stepped up to the entrance and saw the blanket of ice and snow now covering it. It was a simple matter to use his flames to melt it all away. The storm beyond raged but it was waning enough to safely travel soon.
He firmly cleaned out the opening before the wind lessened to the point he could see a vague path out. The wind never let anything settle for long but he narrowed his eyes at confirmation of what he sensed on arrival.
Massive paw marks were being erased even as he looked on. One of the Silver Fang Bears was nearby. It was impossible to identify if it was a familiar one but Lind would lay odds it was.
He had made quite an impression on one.
Or rather, his mother had. He found a clear set of tracks and confirmed it. There were only 3 paws. An Immortal could heal but an injury from another Immortal would take a very long time to heal without pills or elixirs.
Even in the elements that nurtured it, the Silver Fang Bears were still warm blooded mammals.
Lind flew into the air a bit and extended his aura. It washed over the shifting paths thanks to the flow of snow and ice. He noticed a few of his smaller caves were intact but buried as well.
He frowned as one should not be. It was higher up a mountain peak and there should have been no purchase for the snow to take hold at that angle. Only flight would get someone up there.
He narrowed his eyes as he began to understand.
"Trying to cut off my resources. It seems you are out of the loop." He began to dance in midair. If anyone was to see him, they would feel a profound wave of Qi wash over them. Sigils were born and connected by traces that seemed to blend with the Icy Path's nature.
He quickly sent them out into the winds and his senses expanded with them. He closed his eyes and waited as the small weaving orbs covered vast stretches before finding his target.
A large cave was exposed to the harsh winds but the Silver Fang Bears did not care about that. They thrived in it.
Lind smirked as it was napping but he felt its power was at the peak of the Radiant Tier. it seemed the encounter with mother and son had pushed it to become even stronger. Of course, it was still alive in a place that was extremely unforgiving so that should be a given.
He quickly crossed several peaks. It would take over a week to walk that distance and he noticed a few dangerous places ready to collapse at any time. He marked them in his mental map before a dark hole appeared ahead.
He slowed as he felt his instincts warn him. Asleep the bear may be, but it was not unaware.
Only the truly foolish would assume that it was vulnerable. Lind noticed the bones.
There was not enough left to complete a living being but clearly they were waste left over from bits the bear did not want.
Most beasts would not leave waste at all at that stage but that only meant it was not what it appeared. It was meant to lure in a fool who was overconfident they would not join those bones.
"Beast formation, eh? Not bad." It was a rather niche formation technique but it was not in any way inferior to inscribed ones. It did take a rather high bar for materials but it had the advantage of hiding in plain sight.
If not for his alliances with beast powers over his life, he may not even know of it.
He examined the bones and found it was a rather nasty formation. Not only would it alert the bear but it would freeze the blood before the target knew what was happening.
He also sensed there were some natural treasures acting on the cave but they merely diffused senses even more. Maybe an ore or an herb but he did not dare push his luck further.
Instead, he looked through his ring for anything helpful. The moment he started, it would be an even fight so he had to strike hard. A weapon was not enough.
He found some herbs but the Icy Path conditions would not help him there. Poison was also useless as the Silver Fang Bear was naturally resistant. Poison could barely flow through them!
He could, however, create a reaction that would inflict damage on the bear if he caught it off guard.
He brought out Sun Root, Silver Bane, and finally Dark Vine oil. They were rather mundane grade 5 and 6 ingredients but he extracted their essence for what he wanted. The herb dregs were immediately turned to ice when they left his control, but the oil changed.
It was only the tiniest amounts left after he was done but he noted that the dark Qi flourished enough to change the oil to some kind of crystal.
He put it away to study as the essence was further broken down into aspects and then the basic Laws of each.
The Sun Root had combustion, the Silver Bane had corrosion, and the Dark Vine oil propagated the effects even more.
He held it all between his hands but light sparked that made even his instincts scream in danger.
"This is your wake up call!" He hurled the mixture of the pseudo elixir right at the Silver Fang Bear. Normally, its formations would react to danger but it had to be alive or an attack it understood.
Lind had intentionally created something that could not exist naturally in the Icy Path.
The ball of corrosive fire could only be supported in a more volcanic environment so the Silver Fang Bear would never prepare for it!
It sailed right into the cavern but his plans only succeeded that far. The bear, itself, was far more attuned to danger than the formation.
An ark of silver ice flashed and the corrosive fire shattered it. It still bought the bear time to roll out of the cave. The nest was quickly consumed as the flames spread.
All the bones, treasures, and even the very stone itself was consumed!
Even he was shocked how potent his impromptu attack was. The bear was already launching into the air with a roar.
[DRAGON! I HAVE FOUND YOU!] The bear roared in his mind but Lind sneered at it. Despite being Immortal, it was barely aware of itself. It was like it had intentionally shunned intelligence in favor of brutality.
Still, his blood boiled far more powerfully than he expected. A smile stretched on his face before he realized it and the 2 clashed in midair.
His body was covered in scales as the claws tried to rend his flesh. The impact numbed his limbs briefly but a tail whipped around and smacked the bear down.
It roared in anger but its missing paw limited its attack options as it had to use 2 of its limbs to defend while the third attacked.
Lind had no such restrictions.
Dragon and bear clashed over and over in midair. Despite his advantage, Lind had blood flowing from several injuries. The bear also was bleeding but it was able to pull in Qi and Laws from the air to heal fast.
It was a war of attrition and it was uncertain who would win.
[You will nourish my rise to the peak of power! Your heart will stop today!] Lind laughed at those words which seemed to throw the bear off.
"You are a bit late. I already died once." His hair lit up with millions of emerald and azure lights. Sigils blazed so fast as to be a blur to all but the most sharp eyed.
The bear felt danger and chose to flee. It could recover and hunt its prey another day.
Yet, it slammed into some kind of barrier! It slammed silver arcs with each of its claws but was shocked when nothing happened.
"Power is not the only way to attack. You were so busy trying to get me to bleed you ignored the cage I built around us." Lind slowly floated behind it but his smirk was wiped away as the fur on the bear shimmered like the sun.
His instincts screamed at him to dodge but there was nowhere to go! The bristles were shooting out in all directions!
They were as hard as any metal he had ever encountered! There was no literature on that attack at all!
His scales were cracked open instantly when struck. The force behind each piece of fur was too great over too small a space. He could not disperse it!
His left arm became useless and his feet were just gone! His torso was a mass of blood as well.
One of his eyes was blind but he had survived. His aura swept out as his healing started in earnest. He expected the bear to come swiping at him but he was surprised to see it laying on the ground, dying.
He examined it carefully and slowly understood.
"You wanted to take me with you? No wonder that attack was so powerful." The bear's dark blue eyes looked with hatred at him.
[So you will eat me instead? I will corrode you from within!] Lind smirked as his body healed quickly. There was a potent intent in the attack but he was able to dismantle it with his own.
"Sorry to tell you, I am not consuming you. I am just claiming the territory." A massive ball of emerald fire appeared in his right hand. His left would take longer to heal.
The bear coughed up blood but made no comment as the ice was dispersed. It finally understood something by looking at it.
[Dao? I see. I was weak–] The fireball smashed into the bear and consumed it entirely. The soul was consumed as well until nothing was left behind. It was the last respect Lind could give. A worthy foe can rest in peace.