Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1335 - 1334 - Duality

Pain.

All she felt was pain. What was her name again? It was important but the 2 forces residing in her were straining her crystal.

She had reached a bottleneck and no amount of meditation or resources seemed to resolve the issue. Her Laws were at the peak of the Radiant Tier and ready to spill over but her foundation refused to move.

The issue was her unique path had led to a sort of deadlock. An almost perfect balance that refused to budge.

After spending a thousand years stuck at the peak, she had looked outward. The Divine Inheritances were something many attempted but she had never found the appeal before.

Now, she was simply looking for an impetus to push her foundation forward that final step to trigger her tribulation.

She had been unbelievably naive.

It was as if she was born to go to both Inheritances. Where many struggled with the elimination field of the Inheritance of Death, she walked through as if it was her home. The Laws she did not possess seemed to happily integrated into her crystal and leapfrog to the peak of the Radiant Tier.

The trials in the Inheritance posed no real issue but the legacy tests always rejected her. She was confused as some seemed very close to her own path, yet never once did she get even the chance to try them.

She died a few times but was reborn inside the Inheritance as part of its trials. She felt her understanding of half of her path finally increase but it did not advance her foundation.

Finally, she came to the Inheritor trials. They were grueling and punished her body, soul, and dantian unlike anything ever before. Her sense of self was nearly swallowed up as she challenged the very principles of existence itself before she pushed through.

She thought she would simply become one of a handful of potential Inheritors but things did not unfold that way.

Instead, a cipher key appeared in front of her and happily bonded her. The spirit tool then led her into a chamber where a massive altar sat. On it was a soul barely holding on. It may have been a man or woman but the form was too indistinct to tell.

They smiled at her and knowledge flowed into her head.

It was not Laws, but Daos! The very surface level of them but it broadened her horizons and vastly increased her foundation. Where she had just been at the very peak of the Radiant Tier before, now she was much farther away.

Yet, her power had increased!

So too had her understanding. Her path could not advance because the one she walked was stronger than Laws! She had to push the Laws beyond the Immortal Realm!

Humbled and barely alive, she left the Inheritance of Death and made a beeline for the Inheritance of Creation.

Once more, where others struggled to even ascend the steps, she breezed through. Unlike the previous tests, she was far more aware of the Laws present. The Inheritance of Creation was fairly compatible with most righteous powers and thus even fairly weak Immortals could benefit from coming there.

Of course, getting into the actual Inheritance was a true test of their ability if nothing else.

She, on the other hand, found the trials almost a joke. The Inheritance of Death had changed her, The administration spirits seemed displeased with her progress, but nothing they threw at her slowed her down.

She was annoyed that none of the legacies accepted her once again but suspected the reason. Finally, she came to a terrible place. A maze that pushed her understanding of everything to the limits to advance.

Even with the trace of Daos, it took her centuries to traverse it.

Her once profound foundation expanded massively until she finally came to a place that shook her soul. It was far more real than anywhere she had ever seen and she understood it was not a trial or recreated environment but a true slice of lands no Immortal had laid eyes on before!

In that place, she found a natural altar similar to the stone one in the Inheritance of Death. There was no soul there but a true Divine Realm cultivator! She was incredibly tall and her skin seemed to have faint patterns that reminded her of tree bark.

No words were spoken but a faint smile crossed the senior's face before a delicate finger touched her forehead.

Information exploded and her foundation was once more reshaped by the touch of Dao!

She felt like her body was about to burst when the other half of her foundation rose up to counterbalance it. Her Qi, Laws, and crystal were fundamentally improved far beyond the limit of the Immortal Realm but she could only grasp a piece of it.

She had to advance to do more but even after all of that she learned the truth.

The path she walked was not unique but very damned rare. It was rare not only due to the requirements to survive accepting it, but to simply advancing it at the Radiant Tier.

Up to that point, almost all cultivation paths could be completed but to become a Sovereign Tier would require her to grasp an aspect of it she had never considered before.

The lives that came before. To truly walk her path, she had to know it all and resources or Inheritances that dealt with that were as rare as qilin hair as the saying goes.

Her mind was a mess afterward. Her once solid grasp on her identity was disturbed as she realized the secrets she brushed up against brought into question exactly who she was as well.

It was a trace of the last Divine Inheritance she had heard rumors about. She also realized she had a hollow tube artifact now. WIth both spirit tools in hand, she could unlock it but she was far from peak condition.

She had to settle her mind and study the artifacts to see how they worked together.

They had the potential to be spirit tools but she felt no spirits inside the ones she was given. It was likely due to the nature of what would happen with such specific spirit tools once their purpose was fulfilled.

She was glad she would not have to watch such beings die needlessly.

She returned to a cave she had made in the Whispering Peaks. It was still a strange place and few lived there unless they studied air Laws or elements.

She spent the next 500 years just putting her mind back together but a new problem cropped up. A desire began to build in her. A desire to go to the Silver Dream island and unlock the final Divine Inheritance!

It had to have been implanted but the condition of having both artifacts from the other 2 were necessary to activate it.

Her once nearly stable mind spiralled into keeping the obsession at bay. She sacrificed a lot before she finally felt she had restored herself to peak condition and mastered her new power.

She did not want to create an incident by needlessly hurting someone she did not intend to with a simple conjuring or Art.

She shot across the dark violet skies of the Endless Peaks at night. The 6 moons faintly shimmered with the natural elemental radiance they each possessed. The stars seemed larger than she remembered.

A flash of laying on the grass with her parents and siblings long ago made a pained smile spread on her face. She had lost most of herself but held onto the sweet memories of her family.

Her father, especially, were her most precious memories. In her weakest moment, he came for her and saved her. He did not admonish her but accepted her mistakes and helped her prevent more in the future.

He had made mistakes too but compared to hers, they were larger. Still, she had understood the lesson he had taught so long ago. No one, no matter how long lived or powerful, could be infallible.

What mattered was what came after mistakes were confronted. Would someone run away or face the consequences head on? He faced it head on and it had hurt him badly but he did not stop.

She was proud to be his daughter and proud of him.

She wished she could remember more than just his smile or his kind words, but to keep some semblance of herself, she had to sacrifice it temporarily to not become a mindless tool to unlock the Inheritance.

Finally, she came to a city that had a teleportation array that could get her to the Silver Dream Pavilion. It cost a lot but the guards, for reasons she could not recall, suddenly chose not to charge her.

She shrugged and let the array move her. She felt like she could resist it now if she wanted to, which was an odd feeling. The arrays were peak grade 7.

She did not know of any power she had before that could even recognize such an option.

She appeared in the thriving mercantile power and was about to step off when her heart throbbed in her chest. Her instincts screamed at her to move! She was being compelled!

Part of her wanted to resist and prepare for the Inheritance but the other part refused to kneel. Her body jerkily moved through the crowd and none could stop her! Some were angered but again, one look at her and they simply moved on quickly.

Why were they doing that?

It was only when she came near the edge of the island that peak Radiant Tier guards moved to impede her progress without regard but anger flared in her.

She was about to lash out when a figure blurred in front of her and grasped her forehead gently.

"Little Fey, what has happened to you?" She did not remember his voice, but those words. The words of gentleness and warmth broke the compulsion as tears formed. She looked up into reptilian emerald eyes and the memory of him came back.

"Father–" It was all she could say before she collapsed. As darkness closed in she felt him hold her and happiness filled her heart. She was safe. He would help her once again! Fey Frey had risen!