Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1325 - 1324 - Disparate Jade Slips

Highway robbery, that was the best light Lind could put on the quoted price but he summoned several jade slips and placed them on the table next to her tea tray.

The firelight reflected an array of colors as she examined them carefully before her eyes went wide.

"H–how?!" He smiled as he knew the information she was reacting to was something he had kept close to his vest for a very long time.

"While studying physiques, I have found some clues to their origins and refinements. While it is hardly complete, as you can see, I would think it is something you could find worthwhile." The issue Lind had was distribution of some information was deadly.

Physiques were closely guarded secrets and damned few records existed that were complete unless one was a member of a clan, sect, or other power.

Evie looked irritated at him at that point as such information was nearly immeasurable but then she frowned as she examined the jade slips before looking at him with a shrewd glance.

"There appears to be some key information missing from each of these slips. Care to explain?" Lind had his smile stretch ear to ear at that point.

"Missing? Why, how could anything be missing unless I deliberately withheld it until you agree to my conditions?" He had a much better relationship with her but now that she was operating independently once more, he would not be so generous with his information.

She smiled back at him but with pride!

"So, you do learn!" He rolled his eyes. Shoti and Evie had far too much fun at his expense!

"Do we have a deal, or not?" He sat back as he summoned his own tea. The scent filled the room and Evie looked at him as if he was a devil.

"Your personal stash of Enlightenment Tea? Really?" Her nickname for it was not too far off the mark. It heightened mental acuity and allowed the mind to settle down from distractions.

It was not his creation but he did find the old recipe and nurture the extremely difficult to grow Vicean leaves.

It was once a widely sought after tea by many cultivators but the sect that grew them was killed by corrupted demons. It was not an intentional attack, simply getting caught up as the demons were brought down.

Evie wanted the knowledge to raise those leaves too! It was written all over her face!

"Fine, you can access the archive but I want the missing pieces when you are done!" Lind smiled wide at her and the attendant appeared as if she had always been there.

He was about to follow her out of the office when Evie called out to him.

"Just so you know, there are no answers in there, just tidbits." He narrowed his eyes but nodded and left the office as the door silently sealed behind them.

The pair moved down the corridor for far longer than when they arrived. Lind had noticed the formations and even a few weavings but did not point them out. The archive in the Silver Shadow Hall was a collection of jade slips, scrolls, and reports from the 2 Divine Inheritances.

After a few centuries, Evie had compiled them and found some parts of them were very dangerous or disturbing if taken out of context.

The journey finally came to an end as they stopped before 2 massive doors heavily engraved with sigils. They shimmered and even he saw a true expert had been brought in.

The young woman was about to unlock the door but his fingers lit up with emerald light as he correctly unwove the door lock!

"It is impressive but the glaring flaw needs to be fixed." New sigils appeared before being engraved into the doors.

The young woman was floored as a far more impressive weaving was created and then keyed like the old one so that she could unlock it on her own!

The doors did not swing open but became transparent. Lind had not done that but the room beyond was not as grand as the doors. They were instead a rather humble gathering of shelves.

Jade slips with cracks, worn scrolls, and some newer artifacts were arranged with more formations and weavings sealing them away.

The woman did not follow him but gave him a token that allowed him to remove the seals as he wanted to. The doors solidified behind him and he looked over the shelves.

There was no real organization aside from original records compared to compiled ones. He started with the latter as they were more complete.

Cultivators that had survived but were crippled by the Inheritances still had valuable information. Lind skimmed over it as he already knew most of it. Still, some insights showed vastly different experiences depending on what Laws each person had mastered.

It gave him some reference but not what he was looking for. He moved to the shelf of worn scrolls and felt the aura still lingering on each. They looked so fragile but even a peak Sovereign Tier could put a tear in them!

He carefully unrolled them on the stone table provided. None of the scrolls related to the other. Some talked about the Law of Nihility while others touched on the Law of Growth.

He frowned as they were also missing critical pieces of information where they had fallen apart as well. The gaps left the scrolls as so much gibberish in most of them.

Still, the hints were tantalizing and dangerous if someone tried to act on them without the missing pieces.

He could see why Evie hid them away.

The scrolls only gave him ideas but nothing concrete to advance his current bottleneck.

Sighing, he moved onto the jade slips. They were far more dangerous compared to the rest. They contained more than simple information and could have protections to resist any examination as well.

He looked over at the shelf and saw a myriad colors but also his Eyes and Touch burned just to even look at the final shelf!

Some of the jade slips were no bigger than a fingernail but others were as large as his head. It did not indicate what was inside but he carefully tried to find one that would not hurt him if he tried to examine it.

He chose a crimson jade slip that seemed the closest to his cultivation but the instant he tried to touch it, he was sent flying across the room! He slammed into the far wall where the formations and weavings safely caught him.

Blood flowed from his nose but he looked at the jade slip as it was the Law of Rejuvenation that had sent him flying!

"What is with that?" Why would that Law retaliate against anyone?

He looked at a massive stone gray jade slip. It felt dangerous but he carefully infused his aura. It lit up like a small sun but he felt no pain in his mind. His body weakened but that was all.

After several experiments, he was completely confused. Size, aura, nor power did not seem to matter at all.

What was going on? Some of the more peaceful slips had the most violent reactions while the most destructive or dangerous slips hardly bothered. A few aligned to his expectations but the vast majority were strange.

Evie was charging such exorbitant fees for that?

His eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what was going on. He checked for any ownership protections or other standard features but found nothing.

Suddenly, he felt Abby stir.

[Master, use me to pick up that blue one.] He looked and saw the slip gave off the aura of Life. He found her request odd but he did as asked. The instant his left hand brushed the slip the room flipped upside down in his vision!

His left arm was numb but quickly restored itself.

"Are you all right?" He felt Abby respond with a simple affirmation but he could tell she was not at her peak anymore.

Lind now understood. The issue was him.

His arms held tools that were directly opposed to the jade slips' origins. If he only had Abby, he could easily resolve the problem but since he had one from both it made things difficult.

He then examined the few that did not react.

The Laws of Death did not seem to mind what he did. The same with Oblivion.

The last one made since but then why did Nihility react so violently? He looked at his right arm and made the conclusion that the Law of Rejuvenation caused the reaction.

"So Laws of Death and Oblivion can stand beyond all but the rest have some kind of incompatibility with me now." He could ask Abby to suppress herself but his right arm had no such option as he did not have the ability to make the artifact obey him like that.

He sighed as he realized his bottleneck was now rearing its ugly head.

[Abby, please restrain your aura. I want to test some things.] He felt her comply and sure enough, he could now examine the jade slips from the Inheritance of Creation. It was what he needed the most so he focused on the information inside them.

Some of them dealt with the Laws but he also found new aspects of alchemy, refining, and the other professions. There was no complete legacy among them so he knew they were either retrieved from corpses or possibly meant to be used in context with some trial.

Still, he felt his mind broaden its horizons as he delved into them. He smiled as some new ideas appeared and he glanced at his right arm. It was time to really push to awaken the spirit inside the artifact fused to him.