Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1317 - 1316 - Talent of Rebirth

Lind slowly blinked his reptilian eyes open on the floor of the hall he had been in before. The female spirit was looking at him with deep concern but he slowly sat up and found his foundation had improved!

His Laws had also improved!

How?!

His memory cleared up and now the gap was filled in! He saw the aftermath of Cynthia confessing to George and the large man came running after him. He had still been there as a cultivator but just gave some advice before being pulled back to the present.

The project wrapped up and the new couple had made him look on as they became sickeningly sugary sweet for months before they remembered he existed!

By that point, Lind, or rather James, only knew they were together and happy for them. How had that happened?

How could Lind interfere in his previous life?

Had that always been true or was his memory changed by the most recent event? The moment he appeared back in time, his memory was clear but was that the original memory or the memory that came to be because he was there?

[Are you all right?] He snapped his head up to her face and slowly nodded but he had questions.

"What happened to me? How long was I out?" He had been in the past only an hour at most as Earth reckoned time. Yet, he did not feel like the current passage of time was not the same here.

If he was to guess, only a few moments had passed in the present! While it was a relatively correct comparison that an hour was only a moment for an Immortal, it did not answer what happened to him.

[The Talent of Rebirth forced its way out and fused with you. I felt a reverberation from the Dao of Time when it happened but I do not know why. It usually happens when a cultivator has some kind of major incident in the future or past that marked them for that to appear.] Her words made his eyes narrow.

It was not the first time he had touched on a different period of his life. The last time was the future but that felt more like a possibility than a certainty.

Also, it could be a simple loop in that case where he would catch up to it eventually.

Going to the past was a vastly different concept and the fact he actually had made him wonder. Was he really chosen to be reborn or did his cultivator self leave a mark that preserved his mind to his current life.

"What kind of situation would cause this, senior?" She shrugged her shoulders at him.

[Cultivators live long lives and there are many Inheritances that could cause such a thing to happen. The most common is a battle where the Dao was used as that has happened more than once. They are always devastating when they do.] Lind was stunned to learn it was not that uncommon!

"What about going back to my previous life and changing events?" He blurted it out but she smiled kindly at him.

[The Talent of Rebirth is complex. All know it means the previous life memories mostly survive but in a way, the 2 lives are separate individuals. To improve it would mean a true merging of the 2 lives. For that to happen, what do you think would be needed?]

Her words made him think as he realized he now knew his name and felt more complete than he had ever before. It was like his original self and current self were truly a contiguous being now!

The only way that would work was if the cultivator reset their perspective in the previous life. The life of a mortal or maybe a lesser life, could feel distant to a powerful cultivator. Simply getting the memories back would not be enough.

It would just be data at that point. Living a true moment from that life, however, that meant he had his answer!

"I changed the past!" She nodded at him.

[You could not change your death, but heart demons exist even for mortals. Thus, when the Talent was improved, you were put into a place and time to resolve such a heart demon.] Lind felt shocked.

He reviewed his memories carefully and found the discrepancy! Cynthia and George did end up dating but it was much later and after a very dark chapter in her life. A secretly abusive bastard sweet talked her into a relationship and then trapped her.

George found out and nearly went to jail to save her. It had not been easy and she had not talked to him for months. Just before he died, they had actually started dating but it was awkward and a struggle as she had severe trust issues.

Lind had always regretted not helping them earlier! Still, why the date he had appeared and not earlier? He had no way of knowing but the flimsy nature of his past worried him.

Didn't that mean a cultivator versed in Time Dao could erase him? The spirit seemed to sense his worry.

[You are hardly the first to think that. While such a threat would be possible, there are limitations. Heaven and Earth are quick to respond to violations of Time. Knowledge is hardly bothered about, thus seers and such exist, but changing established events can be disastrous.] She then conjured a map in front of him.

There were 9 large land masses but roughly separated into the 4 cardinal directions from what he could tell. She then let the image move and the western 3 islands vanished! They were just gone.

[A pair of enemies tried exactly what you just thought of. One tried to erase the other but think about how long a cultivator lives. Compared to a mortal that his minor consequences as the years march on normally, a cultivator has continuous effects for possibly billions of years.]

Terror filled Lind's heart. He could not fathom what would happen if even a minor cultivator was erased in that instance. No one knew the full length of the effects of their actions but the longer one lived, the broader generally those actions have.

It could unravel reality! Even the Great One, for all he wanted many enemies dead, never employed a tactic he might actually have at his disposal.

"What–what happened there?" The spirit frowned but then told him.

[The backlash of the attempt nearly wiped out everything in a certain range. Many innocents were killed but it was still a smaller number than if that person succeeded.] He could only swallow his saliva as the power and scale of death left him floored.

Nothing he had faced compared to that kind of devastation. The fact it was Dao meant he was looking at the Divine Realm lands!

The map was dispersed and they returned to the courtyard.

[You have been given your reward. One more trial awaits you but be warned, since you have proven you are a Creator, the control spirit will push you harder than before. Your rejection of becoming an Inheritor matters but the difficulty will still be increased.]

He nodded as she left him alone. There was no deadline given but he had to stabilize his mental state, so likely only a week at most.

He assumed a lotus position and meditated as he enjoyed the process. The missing pieces of his life came together and he saw his life as James Paulson. He had no girlfriend but looking back, he was an idiot on par with George but worse.

He would set people up with others even though they were trying to pick him up! George knew but did nothing as he found it amusing! Lind made a note that if he ever had a chance to go back in time again, he would get some revenge by spoiling a few of his anime or manga if possible.

Lind also frowned as he saw things in his memory that made him sad.

Based on the data he now could analyze properly, his world was dying. Earth was not just at risk, but actively dying. It was not just man made issues, but a clear shift to exterminate the current cycle.

Something had been coming back then and it required the extinction of all life on Earth once more. He knew of such events but no one had truly understood them.

He wondered if a change was coming back then no matter what they did. The rich and powerful might have known something but had hidden it from the public.

He sneered as many powerful people in his old world lived in a delusion. They had no idea what real power was. Fiends would have a field day on old Earth and the powerful would happily offer up the rest of the population to save themselves.

He realized his old frustrations were rising up and he faced them. A mortal man could have strong feelings, especially when he was powerless to change things.

Lind spent days stabilizing his mind until he was himself again. James Paulson was him and he was James at the same time.

He felt his foundation had become more profound but advanced as well. The peak of the Radiant Tier was closer now.

He stood up and the room shifted. He found himself in front of a massive stone plaza. There was no way out behind him, but ahead of him loomed a massive wall with an entrance yawning open at him.

There was an engraving above it that gave him pause.

{Maze of Existence}