novelraw Chapter 1352 - 1351 - Dormancy
Chapter 1352 - 1351 - Dormancy
Lind slowly woke up. He felt stiff which was odd as he could not recall ever feeling like that for a very long time. He blinked and found he was partially covered in dust!
His eyes went wide as he quickly sat up and a layer of dust turned into a cloud around him. He used air Qi to quickly disperse it and found he was in a room.
It was a simple affair with a small hearth, table, and bed. There was no chair but there was a cultivation mat. He saw there was also no door.
He tried to check on himself but a slight discomfort came over him before he realized he was entirely drained!
[Master, cultivate first and then I will answer your questions.]
Haro's voice calmed him but he slowly stretched and let the blood flow into his body. It was clear he had been unconscious for years. He was worried about how long but there was no reference for him to check.
He assumed a lotus position and then felt shocked with the ease he recovered his Qi! His elemental nodes had advanced! They were almost completely Dao! How?!
He felt difficulty once more but he also adjusted startlingly fast. He found his harmony was actually above his elements! His soul was also not out of sync!
Just what had happened to him in the Present Trial?!
He calmly cultivated for several weeks as he checked over his body and soul. They had improved! His meridians were actually much more resilient! The flow of Qi was like a storm compared to before.
His flesh and blood were also free of all impurities! He could see down to a level that left him floored as it made his previous ability seem like a child with a magnifying glass and now he had a high powered microscope instead!
His Storm Arts were an easy test but he found he had limited ability to tap into his elements just like last time. It took him a bit to adapt but once he did, the power was easily 3 to 4 times greater.
Stacked on top of all his other advantages, there was no one in the 3rd layer that could stop him! Even a full platoon of Radiant Tier Immortals at the peak would only slow him down!
Did the soul have that much of an effect? Was it all of his refinement from the Foundation Trials?
"Haro, how long?" He started with the most important question.
A shimmer had Haro materialize and look at him seriously before sitting in front of him.
"I do not want you to panic but it has been 4000 years since you faced the trial. Combined with the previous trials, you have been inside the Inheritance for almost 7500 years. While the spirits here are limited in what they will tell me, the Divine Soul was more forthcoming." Lind swallowed his nervousness.
Haro would not have been so serious without a reason.
He then heard of the events just outside the Inheritance doors. Anger filled him but also shock.
Fey had emerged? She had also ascended shortly afterward but not before descending to the 3rd layer to teach the Sigma Empire a lasting lesson. Their arrogance had brought the wrath of a figure they should never have offended.
A few other Inheritance takers had emerged. While not as drastic as Fey, they also quickly ascended which made their respective powers very happy.
Some were from the group Lind had protected which made the soul re-evaluate its criteria but nothing could be found wrong. Perhaps it was Fate or maybe Lind's protection had done something to them.
Haro did not know and Lind could only guess himself.
After that, however, things quieted down. The once contentious Sigma Empire seemed to ignore the giant tree at the heart of the island and none could go near it even if they came from his own family.
He suspected Fey did not quite understand what she conjured but again, he could only evaluate it when he emerged.
"What happened to me, then? I barely remember the last trial unlike the Foundation Trial." He felt the changes and knew he passed but everything in between was a blur.
Haro frowned as he looked above. Lind knew he was consulting the Inheritance but then the bald man shook his head.
"All I can say is you passed in a way Immortals usually can't. Your unique constitution protected you from dying too as far as any of us can tell. Abby was beside herself when you would not awaken after the first year." Lind snapped up at that.
He would have died from the trial?! Not the failure but the success of it?!
That meant he had touched on something unintended.
"What is going to happen now, then? Have I missed my chance at the last trial?" Haro was about to answer when a palm chopped on top of his head.
"MISSED THE CHANCE?! ARE YOU DAFT?!" Lind had not even felt a change in the air pressure nor the aura of the soul. Just how terrifyingly beyond was the Divine Incarnate?
Lind rubbed his head and looked up to a very different being from before. Previously, their hood and robes hid everything but he now saw fine fingers and pale skin exposed easily.
The face was also a glimpse of a face but it was clearly obstructed by a formation or other barrier. He was too close to not be able to see the face otherwise.
"You lazy, good for nothing dragon! I will add crazy! You touched on the Divine revelation in the Present Trial! Just what idiotic notions are in that tiny skull of yours to not realize the danger of pushing beyond your realm?!" The soul laid into him for a good day after that.
He was not sure why but the previously distant feeling seemed to have vanished. Lind missed it actually as he kept getting chopped on the head. Haro was smiling way too much also with his shoulders shaking!
Eventually, the soul sat on his bed and seemed to collect itself.
"That child of yours surpassed my hopes but so too did those ragamuffins you snuck in with you. Seriously, what are you?" Lind only smiled and shrugged. It was not like he could hide things from a Divine Realm soul.
The soul then became serious compared to its usual self.
"While a few thousand years are nothing to us in the Divine Lands, there are a few things I think you should know. Your soul is marked. You know that right?" He nodded and the soul moved on without further elaboration about how it was marked. "The faction that marked you is aligned with mine. We actively send Inheritances down to improve Immortals but they go to the source. Do you understand how?"
Lind thought for a moment to his rebirth. The brief time he spent in between lives was clear to him. He then considered all he had seen and experienced before a few ideas came to him.
"Heaven and Earth have to allow it either via karmic debt or resonance with some kind of Samsara Dao?" The soul nodded happily.
"Close enough. Now, what do you know about the Divine Lands aside from the profound quality difference?" Lind frowned at the question. Was he allowed to know more? He knew asking his best guess was perfectly fine but was he about to be told something?
As if reading his mind, the soul chuckled.
"You do not seem to understand how far outside the norm you are. Our best projections put 2 to 3 cultivation generations before someone could attempt the trials you are doing. Do you understand how long that is?" Shock filled Lind.
"At least 100 million years a generation?" The soul nodded once more.
"You are already stronger than most Sovereign Tiers in several aspects but your limits as an Immortal will limit how you can use them. What I want to explain is the final obstacle to you. Heaven and Earth are fair, so what do you think would happen if a being came along that smoothly leapt to the peak of the Sovereign Tier?" The blood drained from Lind.
"My tribulation will be very harsh." It was not a question but the guffaw from the soul was enough to draw him back.
"Tribulations are the least of your problems. When crossing a major realm, you have to step beyond. You have already done that in some respects but you still have not become a Sovereign Tier. Even here, I cannot hide you from Heaven, yet you remain a Radiant Tier." Lind suddenly understood.
"I am building a bottleneck harder than any other?" The soul nodded.
"I like bright children. The more you try to bypass or ensnare the higher realms of power, the higher the requirements to advance. You are still close to becoming a Sovereign Tier. I suspect the last trial will put you over the top." Lind agreed as he felt like the barrier to the next tier was not impossible.
Yet, that meant the next step after that would not be easy at all!
"The Divine Lands have no 6 elementals. It never has. They are only born in mortal realms. As such, the Celestial Fields welcomes you with open arms. You are forging a new path beyond the Celestial Fields. Combined with all the rest of what you are, just breaking the bottleneck will be a nightmare." Lind could grasp that.
He had struggled a lot at the beginning but when he succeeded, Heaven and Earth had celebrated his ascension to each major realm beyond being a divine dragon.
"When you breakthrough, however you do it, understand it will not be missed. It will cause phenomena that will draw a lot of attention, but none more so than those damned Fiends. If the Great One is truly aware of you, he will be watching. I can only pray Heaven and Earth watch over you at that moment as you will be at your weakest and most vulnerable after you ascend." That surprised Lind.
After breaking through, there was a brief time of instability but normally there was time enough to consolidate or use the newly made power to protect himself.
"Why?" The soul seemed to look at him like a child at his question.
"I can't fully answer that, but just as shedding mortality brought drastic changes, becoming a Divine is not a small step. It will reshape you. That is all I can give you. I will give you a month to fully consolidate everything before starting the final trial. It will not be kind." The soul got up and left as quickly as it arrived.
Lind had a lot to consider but for now, he had a lot to do!