Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1342 - 1341 - Turn the Key

The imposing door loomed over the crowd. Unlike the barely restrained chaos of the last year, an orderly group now stood behind one man. His long emerald hair waved in the wind that blew around them.

The abyss and vibrant life halves of the door merged at the border but only opened for those with legacies or the 2 artifacts. Thus far, no pair with the artifacts were able to survive opening the door.

A potential Inheritor was not good enough alone it seemed.

Lind was no longer in his Clan robes. He was in simple gray robes as he was not going as a member of the Frey Clan but as himself. Abby and her sister were safely tucked away in his arms.

If he had not modified the sigils, they would have been killed as fuel to open the doorway. Fey had been fully transformed and his Dao tempering had pushed her further to be able to open it just for herself.

Without it, she too would have died after attempting to open it. The legacy holders were marked with a kind of weaving. They essentially had been issued passes that let them attempt the outer Inheritance.

Only he knew that but withheld that knowledge as it would only incur further frustration from the masses. They did not understand the point of the harsh Inheritances.

They were not about luck or fate changing encounters to let a cultivator soar. It was about tempering and creating powerful Immortals that would become Divine Realm cultivators in the future.

He pushed it all aside as he looked at the hundreds behind him. He had warned them repeatedly but even without probing too deeply, he could tell at least half would die the instant he opened the doors.

Was there truly nothing he could do?

He sighed as while many thought him all powerful, in front of a single Divine Inheritance, he was just an ant. Still he looked at the doors with a thought before he tried something.

Emerald Qi flared from him and brought all eyes forward. They had not yet all gathered, so what was he doing?

Lind brushed against the arrays he felt on the door. His head nearly split open just doing that but he found the answer he was looking for.

He sighed as he recovered and none knew what he had done. Really, all he had done was give them a chance but it would be up to them.

Finally, all 10,000 candidates were gathered and it was time. He looked out at the crowd and felt the need to speak.

[Once more, before I open the doorway, if you are incompatible with the Inheritance, you will die. I do not speak of just body death, but of your soul. There will be no making a new body or living out your remaining days as an ephemeral being. Make sure you are at peace with that outcome before I begin.]

He looked out at the sea of faces and saw many were nervous or afraid. Yet, none left. He sighed at what was about to happen.

[Both of you do as I asked. Are you ready?] Abby and her sister responded in the affirmative. He prepared to open the door as both his arms lit up where the sigils were.

Unlike his aura, the power of his arms far exceeded his own. The crowd were not the only ones to balk at it but it was too late for anyone to change their minds. Observers looking on saw a dome snap into place just as it had other times the door opened.

That time, however, the barrier locked out everyone, but now it grew! The dome expanded until the 10,000 were covered by it.

The doorway that had only extruded to accept approved candidates before now actually swung open! Lind saw that the area beyond was vastly different compared to the other 2 Inheritances.

The entrance was the filter all on its own. No tests and no chances to improve. It was a fully realized world beyond it!

Screams drew his attention. He looked back and saw nearly a full third of the candidates collapse as the Dao washed over them. Blood flowed from all their orifices but that was not all.

His Eyes saw their souls crack and he knew they were about to be obliterated.

[Condense!] His emerald energy shot outward and he used a quick method to temper the souls barely holding on. He could not save them all but the majority would hold on long enough to enter.

[Unless you wish to die here, move.] His voice boomed in all their heads. Some were able to respond immediately but they were in the minority.

For Lind, the strain was not bad at all but he had to resist being pulled in. If that was all, he would be fine, but helping the others was pushing him to his limit very quickly.

[MOVE OR DIE HERE!] He gave them a final warning that got many of them to finally move. They just barely crawled in most of their cases but the portion he was trying to help were part of it.

He saw some of them were starting to disintegrate. He had done all he could, it was up to their own luck now. He felt sweat starting to soak his robes as he began to step forward. He could not hold back anymore.

He let his focus return to his own needs as he regulated the Daos as best he could. His effort was only able to resist partially at best. It was as if he was hip deep in a fast moving river. While he could swim a bit, it only worked so long as his stamina lasted!

With each step, he felt the pull increase in strength.

[Do not resist. You cannot save them.] A voice spoke in his mind but he looked up and smirked at it.

[What I do is my choice.] No further words came but the pull increased dramatically. He sneered as he refused to be told what to do.

He barely saw people slinking by. Of the 10,000 that started out, only a fifth of them remained. Some were nearly about to die but others simply seemed suppressed by the aura of the Inheritance opening.

There was nothing else left as he crossed the threshold. The door slammed shut behind him and the rest of the world was closed off.

Lind collapsed on a stone path in the midst of a well manicured garden. He had never seen such plants in his life nor did they match any description he had ever read.

There were flowers that shimmered not with Qi but what seemed like actual stars! He saw trees that pierced into the sky but were holding fruits that glimmered with the power of Divine Realm aura on each branch!

They were all carefully behind wards that protected them. They were far beyond his power. Even with all his new insights, it was like a solid wall of steel he had no chance of piercing.

He tried to see if anyone was around him but there was no other living being he could detect. He also tried to see if there were any spirits or trials but once more he felt nothing.

He began to walk forward to see if he could exit the gardens. He walked for days but there was no sign of an exit. He realized he was either lost or something about his unique condition resulted in being randomly dropped off inside the Inheritance.

He sighed as he had to find a way out or something in the garden to maybe help him refine his soul. It would be a long journey but it would make his final step into the peak of the Immortal Realm a stepping stone to become a Divine Realm.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

A room lined with crystals thrumming with power covered a massive area. Several castles would easily fit inside. It had several metal gangways intersecting around each crystal.

Displays lit up all of a sudden and a figure coalesced to observe them.

"So, the Living Key has come. He also seems a bit naive. He protected those weaklings to enter the outer Inheritance." A screen flicked over to the Soul Nurturing Gardens. A lone figure wandered its paths but the figure frowned as he noticed none of the defenses or trials were triggering.

"He should not be able to bypass them like that. What is going on?" Symbols appeared in midair at the question until several lines glowed. "The spirits are alive?! How?!"

The tool spirits should have been consumed to enter the Inheritance. They were a catalyst but a Living Key had not been intended. Perhaps it had caused a larger shift than they expected.

The Dual Inheritor was also unexpected but not out of the limits of the results.

[The Living Key will face a harsh trial, the harshest we can give. Do not interfere and focus on the rest.] The figure looked up and bowed but then paused as he glanced in a certain direction.

A new screen appeared to show a disheveled woman standing atop a mountain of corpses. Her blades were drenched in blood and her face was a calm mask.

"The Inheritor is our best hope but I will comply." The figure vanished as the displays all shut down. The spirits of the Reincarnation Inheritance were on the move.

Lind Frey was left to his own devices while the rest of the candidates began to find out just how harsh the 3rd Inheritance could be.