Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1343 - 1342 - Soul Resources

Time became irrelevant to Lind. He had seen wondrous herbs, trees, and other plants in various pens that spanned what was easily an ancient forest in the 2nd or 1st layers.

He never found an obstruction, trial, or anything to impede him. He could not step into any of the pens but he suspected why that was. While he could not directly scan them, he felt like their auras were all working together to support greater arrays.

The strange feeling in the air made his harmony actually feel stronger. He had cultivated several times depending on the intensity. He still had felt nothing substantial.

Months had become years without any sign of an exit. While it had let him explore his current foundation to the limit, it also made it clear he was at a bottleneck on one aspect of his existence.

His body, dantian, and mind were essentially ready but his soul was lagging behind in 2 aspects. His harmony was ahead but his soul was not as profound as the rest of him.

He had not realized that while his harmony was fused to his soul, it did not mean his actual soul was on par with his harmony!

He had always assumed the 2 were equal but he now realized his soul was still distinct!

It was improved with his harmony but it lagged behind. He had to improve it as well!

He felt it improve slightly as he cultivated but he confirmed it was what was holding him back in several ways.

His soul seemed integral to taking the next step not only in the Immortal Realm but the Divine Realm.

As he took a half-step to each Dao prospect, his innate soul was still barely about at the Crystal Tier.

He focused on his weaving and harmonic aspects but they only incidentally improved his soul. Oddly, his soul power was drastically higher than the level of his soul.

It took some testing to confirm his harmony did affect that part of him.

He moved on after several cultivation sessions proved he could not just focus on his soul alone. Cultivation generally was an overall improvement as an Immortal.

He focused on his escape but he started to catalogue the various plants. He had no official names but a few were clearly advanced versions of ones he did know.

Burnt Leaf Briar for instance was quite similar to the stellar laced version he now saw. The thorns and blossoms were quite similar.

The major difference was the lack of orange and red leaves. Normally the briar plant would be colored as such but the one in front of him was violet and azure. It still reminded him of being burned but the aura was far more profound.

It was not just a higher grade item either, he felt like his harmony was actually thriving in the gardens around him.

The stone path was neatly kept and a solid steel gray. There was no sign of wear nor of weeds breaking through. He had no doubt he was once more in a slice of Divine Land.

It was different here in the strange gardens. It was not just more solid to him any more. It was like he was seeing something that existed between the physical and spiritual worlds.

The thought brought him to an immediate stop.

"I am still an idiot. The whole Inheritance is about reincarnation and the soul. Of course there is no physical exit!" If the Reincarnation Inheritance was like the others in any aspect, it was the overall operation of its facilities via its focus!

He assumed a lotus position as he changed his approach. Rather than cultivating, he invigorated his harmony. While his soul did lag behind, it was still fused to his harmony. An ephemeral dragon appeared and slowly opened its eyes.

The emerald orbs looked around and the gardens were starkly changed!

The once impenetrable gardens now had shimmering entrances. He left his body behind a bit and poked his head in one. There was no resistance at all.

The instant he had a clear sense of the plants he felt a change in his soul! It was like a man dying of thirst in the desert found an oasis.

It was not just a faint resonance, but it was like his soul was finally presented with food but he resisted. He frowned with his giant maw and pulled back.

[I have not earned this. I am in a reward area.] He had suspicions but he had not been able to confirm it. For some reason he had been dropped into a reward area.

He was surrounded by resources for the soul. Herbs, trees, and all kinds of plants that would nurture a soul directly! He had so many questions but he looked abroad to see if he could find something else.

He explored the region before he looked up and his eyes narrowed. There were traces of energy he had never seen before. He tried to fly closer but found he could not fly at all!

He could move along the stone paths or enter the gardens but he could not go up!

When all else failed, he tried a direct approach his physical body had not succeeded in. He asked for help.

[Senior, I appear to be somewhere I do not deserve to be. Are you able to hear me now?] He could only hope it would work and his efforts were rewarded.

[Took you long enough to try this.] A figure shimmered into existence but Lind noticed the fine lines of energy were the source of its appearance.

A humanoid figure appeared but it was more of a head on a glowing body. The skin was more of sparkling pieces that were slightly dimmer than the rest of the body.

He could not tell if it wanted to be male or female as the voice was neutral.

[I am still learning. I still have much to understand about myself.] Lind's words made the spirit smile.

[You are qualified to take some of the resources here. You brought in far more than enough merits and that is why you were brought here.] He frowned at those words. He kept his draconic face still but he found the spirit's words too easy to accept.

The fact he was able to bring in a lot of candidates was not impossible to impact any rewards he might get, but using that as an excuse for letting him wander the gardens for over a year was highly impossible.

The spirit could be in charge of the gardens or they could be simply an observer set to look over anyone in the Inheritance. He had no way to know that but either way, they were aware of him.

The pressure was also far above him which told him he could hide next to nothing.

He could see the spirit frown finally as they picked up on his doubt.

[Existing is not enough to earn resources. Heaven and Earth are fair. What trials do I need to face here?] The spirit seemed displeased but Lind felt like someone was trying to force him down a path.

He would not be tricked or made to be put into debt.

[You have truly–] The spirit seemed ready to insist when it paused. Their head tilted at an angle as if listening to something but Lind heard and felt nothing.

The spirit seemed to deflate partially before looking back at him.

[It would seem you are to move past the intermediate area and head to the core area. You will face the trials of Foundation, Present, and Future. They will test you in ways almost none could survive but you have no choice.] The spirit seemed to finally look down at him condescendingly.

They clearly found him lacking for that step but he did not care.

A portal was opened but he returned to his body. The spirit seemed ready to speak when it became shocked as his body was glowing with emerald light. Lind smirked as body and soul stepped through the opening.

He knew he was supposed to only go as a soul but his body had been recreated by his soul. It was now the perfect vessel and thus no longer had the incompatibility a cultivator usually ran into as they advanced.

Space shifted and Lind stumbled as he found himself in a starlit forest. The trees were transparent with sparks of elemental light shining through. He felt like he was standing beyond the physical world yet it was not like the spirit world either.

He stood on a hill looking out at the strange land but felt finally that there was an imposed system analyzing him.

{Qualifications met, creating Found Trial.}

A voice entered his mind but Lind did not notice any changes. It seemed he had some time to kill.

He tried to move or examine the fauna around him yet he could not even project his aura outside his skin let alone far beyond to the plants around him.

"Seems I will be made to wait." He sighed as he took a resting position as he waited for the trials to begin.