Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1351 - 1350 - True Goddess of Life and Death

Fey did not like what she saw. She had no idea about the passage of time but she could evaluate repairs thanks to being raised around Lind and other crafters. The buildings that still were familiar were only the auction house and a palace she knew to once be Evie's headquarters for her department.

While she recognized them, she did see some changes. There were clear signs of the formations bursting and damaging the material they were inscribed in. She also saw poor attempts to patch up a weaving here and there.

Her own Father made some of those weavings and he was considered the premiere expert in weaving. He was considered elite as a Forger and elixir master but many stood next to him in quality.

It was only when he combined all 3 professions that he could not be reached by anyone.

Based on her experience, she felt at least a thousand years had passed since the repairs were done. Her eyes also noted the alchemical arrays were acceptable but she would not deign to use such slapdash versions that clearly were installed to replace superior arrays they did not have the ability to use.

She also noted the strangely high population of 6 elementals. None of them were familiar to her but given how they had flourished in the wake of her Father's ascension.

Suspicions filled her mind but she calmly waited as the various Immortals around her kept their weapons and artifacts aimed at her. She sneered internally that all the items currently in her possession could shatter the very island they were standing on.

She also noted that few of the isolation or protection barriers posed a problem for her. It was like her aura was not detected at all, but she knew that was because of the changes she had gone through.

The artifacts that let her into the Inheritance were now the swords are her hips. They had been transformed as part of her rewards.

Her crystal had also been changed but only slightly. It was now 2 crossed swords floating where her dantian should have been. The Laws were primed and ready for her to ascend to the final tier of the Immortal Realm but she had not expected to see her friends being held prisoner.

Evie was not in good shape but she was alive.

Eventually, a group of people flew over and she saw their arrogance at a distance. They landed and looked at her as if she owed them something.

"You dare make demands of the Sigma Empire? You were only able to enter the Inher–" Fey was suddenly among them. There was no tearing through space. She took but a single step.

"Death's Embrace." There was no need to speak the Art's name but the effect of the words combined with results struck fear in all. The entire group of men and women withered and died!

Their souls were shattered!

The concept was very simple. She now had the Laws of Nihility, Death, and Oblivion fused into an Art. It was a complete death with no hope of survival. It had a few weaknesses but anyone caught by surprise stood no chance.

Alchemist or elixir masters might resist for their soul but that was it.

She stood among the withered corpses and looked at the now trembling guards.

"I will not ask again." They bolted. They all realized the person in front of them was beyond the peak of the Radiant Tier! None could stop her!

Screams and wailing made her frown. She was not that scary. She told them what she wanted and they chose to ignore her warning.

She sighed as she calmly flew up into the air before zeroing in on the tower at the heart of the island. It was now a prison rather than a place for meetings as it had been in the past. It had been a hall back then.

She simply took a step and space whirled around her. Not even a ripple was felt as she came out into a damp stone hall. Metal bars glowing with formations surrounded her but no guards were present.

She saw several corpses that had been left to rot and anger rose in her. She used her swords with an azure and gold glow on each. They destroyed the formations with ease as she collected the corpses.

Their possessions were long gone but she did not care. She moved farther in and began to find living people. They were miserable and some were crippled. They did not even seem to register her.

She broke the formations and swung open the doors but nothing else. If they still had a spark of life left, they would have to choose to leave. They would be prisoners of their own minds otherwise.

The crippled ones she had more pity and fed them some pills to help them recover.

She came to a barrier she could not break so easily but it was only a moment of study before she smiled.

"Father, you really are a fearsome being." He had taught his family the intricacies of his own work but he also made a point that everyone learned the niche aspects of professions they used everyday.

Many cultivators took them for granted and overlooked weaknesses that were not obvious. For instance, many formation masters would set up protection for supply energy to keep it working or hide a barrier's information so it could not be easily broken down.

Yet, they overlooked the anchor points. Barriers either entirely enveloped a target or were anchored to simply cover an opening. The latter was what she faced and it had a glaring weakness. The material it was connected to was not reinforced.

Her swords glowed and easily cut a space out for her. With the anchors broken, the barrier collapsed after the power was disrupted.

She calmly walked down as she finally heard screams. Her face became cold as she sped up and found torture rooms.

There were over a dozen and were actively in use! She did not hear any questions, they were just torturing them!

Demons, humans, aether children, Elementals, or any race did not seem to matter!

The rooms could adjust the space inside for the larger victims but she narrowed in on the demoness with now broken horns and clipped wings. For some reason her tail was intact but she saw the damage done to it repeatedly.

The once vibrant lavender skin was bloodied with blue ichor and many scars. Her body was not allowed to heal?!

Fey noticed they were all oblivious to her but she put her swords away.

Her fingers lit up with grayish energy before her dark eye seemed to light up.

"Ashes to Ashes." She spoke it again with a vindictive tone as each room had a streak of gray energy pierce the torturer. The figures did not seem to notice at first but then they began to cough.

Smoke began to emerge from their throats and orifices as gray flames consumed them entirely until only ashes remained. Her Arts had become simple from their once far more complex effects.

Usually she enhanced her sword attacks or movements with combinations woven in. Now, it was like she was a walking disaster with only a thought to bring death!

The victims were still being hurt but the artifacts lost their controller so wound down quickly. She brought her swords out and went back to work breaking formations and opening doors.

She then had her hands light up with forest green light. Water, fire, and light elements coalesced as she summoned herbs, Qi stones, and some beast cores. She also produced a few elixirs her Father had made as she was not as versatile with demonic elements as he was.

The elixirs were quickly given to the demons even as she controlled the orb of water heating up in midair.

The light element seemed to solidify as trays to hold her ingredients to reduce her split attention.

If Mira was there, she would have been shocked to see Fey concoct pills right there without any formations to support her nor any difficulty in peak Law Grade pills!

Fey was sweating a bit but she quickly dispersed the pills to all the people around her. Evie was unconscious but Fey could not leave all those people there.

She recognized some as former Silver Dream Pavilion members. She was about to awaken them when auras swept the tower.

A sigh left her as it seemed the so-called Sigma Empire was full of slow learners.

Her swords hummed with power as the colors shifted. One sword became an abyss while the other became vibrant with dark green energy. Her hair and eyes resonated as she pointed the abyss sword above and the dark green at her feet.

"Begone and be born." It was not an Art that time but a conjuring of pure power. The physical tower vanished in an instant!

A tree just as quickly sprouted and thundered into the air with all the living gently cradled in its branches.

At the apex of it, she floated looking down at the devastation she had wrought. Not a single person died but buildings were leveled with ease.

The tree she had summoned was a legend. Some called it the Tree of Life but that was just a misunderstanding. The true Tree of Life could not be summoned by a mere cultivator.

The Tree of Rebirth, on the other hand, was well within her purview.

[These people will come with me. Defy me, and you will learn why I am called the Goddess of Life and Death.]

The Heavens rumbled but it was not anger, it was approval! An official Dao title was claimed!

No one stopped Fey as she summoned a starship that she quickly filled with the survivors from the tower.

No one stopped her as the massive ship flew away and the tree let no one near it. Karmic Laws were powerful around it!

Word spread quickly and the Sovereign Tiers quickly recognized a powerful member would rise up soon to be part of them! The Sigma Empire lost all face as well but none took the island from them as they feared the Goddess of Life and Death would act against them causing war.

What really mattered was someone had returned and the result was shocking to all. They wondered what would happen to the others still inside and waited to see who else would emerge.