Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1337 - 1336 - Tempering Dao

Weeks went by as Lind pushed himself to his limits to help Fey. Her dantian cracked several times every few days but it seemed to be improving. Haro confirmed the powerful Daos fused to her body were improving it but her soul remained a weak point.

It hovered between dissolution and barely hanging on. How she had been conscious before he had no idea but her tenacity was clear as his efforts alone could not take credit for her survival.

"Should I have let her open the Inheritance?" He spoke the question aloud but it was none of the spirits that answered.

"Given the extensive history of Inheritances, she would not have survived if you let her. Heaven Realm cultivators were consumed by Immortal power in numerous instances." Evie had quietly flown up to them.

She was neither teasing nor acting aloof at the moment. Fey was one of her dear friends and had freely offered the room to them.

The demoness was even in official robes with the silver cloud on her back. The black robes brought it out but her horns, wings, and tail stood out no matter how fine the robes.

"Has the Clan learned anything?" Evie would not come personally just to check on Fey, no matter how close but the woman smirked at him a bit before becoming serious.

"The Frey Clan is the least of your concerns. Fey was seen coming here. She did not exactly hide her aura either. The Sovereign Tiers have sent orders to find her." His eyes narrowed at that.

They may have sworn to not be involved but the 3rd Inheritance was not a minor matter. Further, the fact an Immortal had shown signs of Dao traces of the other 2 at once would have drawn intense interest.

"How long do I have?" Evie became very grim.

"Not long. A few days at most. The neutrality you created here is a double edged sword. We keep the peace and no one power rules but conversely anything of united interest must be brought to light without question." He sighed as his own rules came back to bite him.

Still, he understood it was at least Evie doing her best to mitigate things.

"Thank you." She looked surprised by his serious response but then blanched as pressure fell on them all!

Lind conjured 6 elemental loci around Fey as he tried something new. He had been observing his own soul and comparing it to hers. He had an idea and the half-step Dao elemental power shocked Evie and the spirits.

He could not do much with it normally but he was trying to allow it to flow as it wished for a change. The power strained his own dantian and meridians but the streams of elemental power began to flow as he wished.

His harmony filtered it a bit to be safe but the once amorphous shape became far more stable than before. He felt resistance, in fact, from it!

A smile crossed his face as the core of Fey was stronger than he expected. He let the Dao part of his elements carefully pressure the soul without further damaging it.

Sweat began to pour down his backside but he did not stop. The 3 spirits quietly looked on but Evie had to stumble back as her body could not withstand the aura he was putting out!

How could he stand that?!

Lind focused solely on his gamble. Unlike the random exposure she had suffered, his controlled effort was working!

The soul shrank until it shimmered with power until it finally began to take shape. He could not pay attention as its stability was far more important to him.

Her dantian was straining as well but he could not divert any more attention! He had to hope it would hold on or Fey would die.

Time flowed but slowly the soul that had been barely clinging to life finally solidified back into a humanoid shape. It was not quite like her current body but it was all too familiar to him!

The soul became more profound but it was still so weak! It still had to endure the raging power inside the body it was connected to.

Now that the soul was stronger, he shifted his focus to her dantian. If he could get the 2 fragile parts tempered, she could recover on her own.

The crystal was strange to him.

She had a unique path of duality but the crystal was not like that at all. It was simply 2 swords crossed on a pedestal. The 6 elements were evenly distributed but they were nearly suppressed but the Daos warring inside her.

The crystal cracked and was repaired by him over and over. Eventually, the elemental cores inside it transformed. They became closer to his own level!

The crystal foundation shifted and the soul rejoined it. The 2 were whole once more!

Now came the final stretch!

He had to integrate the body, soul, and dantian into a single whole once more. Tempered parts were now on par with each other.

He nearly collapsed but he pushed forward. He was so close! He could heal Fey!

He was about to resume when his body stumbled and the conjured elemental foci scattered. He had far exceeded his capacity!

"Lind!" Evie rushed over and caught him but both snapped their eyes at the prone form that floated up above the luxurious bed. Fey's hair floated around her as if she was underwater but the feeling of Dao appeared!

Unlike the elemental half-step foci Lind created, the true Dao traces put his tempering attempts to shame. Life, Death, Growth, Oblivion, Rejuvenation, and Nihility Daos floated in the very area around her body.

Unlike his elemental tempering, the current Daos were waging war over Fey's body.

Lind launched himself at her and his own skin was ripped apart by the power but he persevered. Compared to what he had faced, it was just heavier than the half-step Dao elements.

Were Laws as Daos higher than the elements or vice versa?

He dismissed the stray thought and conjured his harmony from the very dregs of his dantian. Pain lanced across his body as blood flowed from his eyes and other orifices. He felt weak but he refused to give up.

"She is my daughter! I will not give her to you!" The Daos ignored him but the Heavens rumbled. A True Lord had spoken not an edict but a final line that no one could cross without punishment.

The pair were entwined in the storm of Dao but Lind was surviving better than Fey. He had been tempered by his harmony far more than he had realized. He understood the danger of the path he walked even more than before.

The 2 Divine Inheritances had changed him more than he realized.

The pain became all he knew until it finally faded. He collapsed on the stone floor. He could not even raise a finger as he looked up to see the clear pair of dichromatic eyes looking at him warmly.

"You have always been so stubborn, Father. I love you for that and I am so happy to see you never let that go." Fey looked pale and exhausted by smiling at him as she looked down at him.

He smirked back but it took all he had. Darkness closed in and he let it claim him.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Fey looked at her Father and her mind felt so clear compared to before. She was unclear on how he had helped her but the pain that had been ripping her apart was gone.

She looked up and saw Haro and Abby with a toddler girl spirit hiding behind them. She also saw Evie looking at her in awe.

"Auntie, you are cute as always. Senior Haro, please tell me what has happened to me." She did not mince words.

Haro did not pause as he explained the lengths her Father had gone to healing her. She picked up her Father and placed him on the bed while gently patting his head. He had truly returned to form in her mind.

"While I am glad you have recovered, the Sovereign–" Fey held up her hand and looked at Evie. Where once she seemed far more powerful than Fey, she was now beneath her somehow.

"I am beyond their power. Father and I are both beyond them. I can feel it. The 3rd Inheritance will be opened by me but you will not reveal Father's condition. Am I clear?" Evie looked confused but then nodded solemnly.

Fey smiled down at her Father before she looked at Abby.

"Is my Father an Inheritor too?" Abby quickly shook her head.

"Master is Master. He is something unexpected but he is precious to me. That is all that matters." Fey smiled at her words. A spirit tool should not have such thoughts but it was clear her Father had changed her.

She looked at the toddler and smiled at her too.

"Abby, Father loves you like a sibling to me. You are not just a tool to him nor to me. I am going to unlock the 3rd Inheritance. Tell him to follow at his leisure." Fey then marched to the edge and flew into the distance.

It was her choice and she knew her Father had some special destiny inside the 3rd Inheritance. She looked forward to it but her own path lay ahead of her.

Her Father gave her the best chance and she would not let it go to waste. The Goddess of Life and Death marched forward once again.