Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1372 - 1371 - Imposed Suppression

Lind had known the Sovereign Tiers ran the 4th layer differently from anything previously, but the rules the 5 outlined to him made him feel like going back to the lower layers to just wash his hands of it.

The most basic thing he had to learn was all the Sovereign Tiers that came before left their powerful intent and aura in their creations. Even epochs later, an area of the 4th layer could suppress even a full platoon of Sovereign Tiers, but there were not so many at any one time in a single power.

The Under Lands were literally what he imagined, the underside of the created lands made directly by the Sovereign Tiers. Over time, the difference between the Sovereign Lands and the Under Lands had grown impossibly large.

While there was an edge to the lands, they were divided by peak Law Grade formations and weavings to keep the undesirables locked away.

It was not a prison but resources were severely limited at the Sovereign Tier level. Peak grade 7 and Law Grade items were essential to them and had to be nurtured by them actively.

Thus, any treasure that had begun to regularly exist was guarded harshly by existing supreme powers.

In fact, Lind had to throw out the system of powers he had gotten used to.

Numbers could no longer counter a single cultivator. Sovereign Tiers were not just a step up but could impose their will on the very land they stood on.

They had to, if they wanted to be free to move as he had learned the hard way. His projection of his aura was taken as a challenge by the existing intent in the created soil.

The last thing he learned was that there were 2 more mini-realms between the Sovereign Lands and the Under Lands.

One he had gotten a very good look at as he fell through the land itself. It was called the Hollow Land. It was literal as vast tunnel networks imposed by beasts and cultivators over the epochs were enough to be their own separate power.

The last one was a bit vague.

It was not a particular segment but claimed areas that were long established. They were called the Thrones.

Throne of Thunder, Throne of Storms, and so forth. Some were aligned with beasts for generation after generation, but others were held by powers themselves.

The Heavenly Maiden Sect held the Throne of Light, for instance. He was unsure how that worked for the demonic members but the Thrones were not literal seats of power but elemental or themed areas as he heard about them.

The Throne of Storms was not just rain or snow, but tornadoes, tsunamis, and all kinds of them. It was not impossible to have a typhoon over dry land!

It was a demonic area but not specific to any power so far as the group knew. They only knew of these places by those banished to the Under Land from above. Not all were Immortals as some Heaven Realms were also punished.

Ascenders were a special case in that regard as obviously they committed no known crime to be banished. As such, there was a contest every 10,000 years to find promising seeds to make sure no gems are overlooked.

Lind had rotten luck as the latest tournament had been done 2,000 years ago. He would have to wait 8,000 years to try that method but he had no attraction to it.

Even though he was a Sovereign Tier, the steps between minor advancements were gigantic. A mid Sovereign Tier would wipe the floor with over a thousand low tier ones.

The final basic information was not surprising at all. Despite the 4th layer being the home of the Sovereign Tiers, they were in the minority by a large margin. The devastation of the Fiend plan had cut their numbers down more as Radiant Tiers had died in droves over the million years plus that plan was enacted.

So those that reached the end of their endurance and became souls had had no replacements like in the past.

As cultivators ascended to each major realm and the minor Tiers between, the successes dropped off sharply.

While there were an abundance of Radiant Tiers in comparison, they were outnumbered by Crystal Tiers at least 1000 to 1. The ratios only increased the lower the realm compared to the higher.

Mortals could not survive in the 4th layer and Soul Realms had to be heavily protected or they would burst apart due to the Qi around them. The World Realms were no better.

Sky Realms were the first safe level to set out on their own in local areas but it was still highly dangerous. As a tradeoff, however, progression through the lower realms was terrifyingly fast.

What took centuries in the mortal realm could be accomplished in months with guidance up here.

"So why is Qi so thin here?" It was his final question but it garnered grimaces all around. Even the dryad flinched.

"It is done intentionally. The flow of Qi is forced to go away from us even though it should radiate out equally in all directions." The one-eyed demoness spoke and her voice was full of anger.

Lind was confused. While it was possible to create a sort of suction force with formations or weavings, it should not affect something locally on the surface of the Under Lands.

The dryad seemed to read his mind.

"If you have something that emits Qi like an ore or treasure, please summon it." He went simpler than that and summoned a low grade 7 fire crystal.

The instant it appeared, he felt a shift in the Qi and it was almost yanked from his hand! He exerted his will and just barely held onto it.

The Qi, however, was practically sucked dry until only a slim dreg remained.

He examined the crystal and frowned at what he saw. The natural arrays of Qi were damaged as if the Qi had been forcibly extracted with no thought to the efficiency.

It was crude but that was not what mystified him. He felt no such pull on his own Qi but a Sovereign Tier radiated Qi much like a treasure. Why was his Qi not being pulled away?

"Everything is the same. Some natural treasures have formed but they are always ripped apart shortly afterward. Even our own Qi is nearly pulled out at times!" The bald Eldridge growled about the state of his affairs but his words made Lind narrow his eyes.

He had just confirmed his Qi was fine but then a smile crossed his face. He summoned one of his weaving plates and deployed it.

It was a simple Qi gathering weaving and it worked perfectly. The density of Qi increased dramatically but that was not what he focused on.

He was looking at the Qi making up his sigils and traces. They were totally intact and left alone. Nothing was happening to them.

Shock crossed all their faces before they quickly tried to cultivate. While the dryad was fine, the other 4 were held in place by Lind's Authority.

He quickly released them and they cultivated. The demoness snapped her eye open and looked at him in awe as she realized demonic Qi was on par with natural Qi.

The 5 cultivated and their withered states improved drastically, yet Lind frowned as his weaving plate cracked from some kind of stress. The weaving collapsed as he carefully dispersed it peacefully.

The area around them was void of Qi and he understood what had happened. It took only a small space of time before the thin Qi returned.

"Incredible! I made more progress in those few moments than I have in the last million years!" The tense atmosphere was practically eliminated as the goatee man laughed in joy.

The dryad looked more human now but he noticed her consumption to maintain the shape was strangely high. Transforming could be taxing, but once transformed, the Qi consumption should be next to nothing.

He tried to examine her but he was again denied.

He pushed it aside for later as he summoned an artifact. It was a smaller version of his Seeds he created for the Frey Clan and Sanctuary Empires.

It was separated into 6 sections for natural Qi in the current example.

He set it down and studied it. His weavings held strong and he saw no instability. Curiosity surrounded him but he wanted to test it as long as the weaving plate.

After the same amount of time passed, a frown crossed his face.

"It is slower but the issue persists. There is simply not enough Qi to sustain my weavings." Normally, his weavings split the load between internal and external consumption. It kept the Seeds stable so no single element overpowered the others while the background Qi made up the difference.

He quickly put it away but he began to grasp a few basics of the issue.

"True Lord, how did you do that?" The dryad spoke up and her voice seemed more reverent. Her flow of speaking had improved as well but her mental communication had been so limited.

Why?

So much to learn but he had time. He might change his mind in 8,000 years but for the moment he conjured a set of scrolls and gave one to each of them.

The 5 quickly absorbed it but they all became slack jawed as they assumed lotus positions once again. The shift in their auras was subtle but definite. It showed Immortals were in far better control of their internal makeup than other cultivators.

"My elemental theories made a shift in the lower realms but it seems that whoever created this imposed suppression field is either long dead or it can't be adjusted. I think 6 elementals will be mostly immune once they master the basics." It reminded him he had to get his revelations to the 3rd layer or the 6 elementals would be stuck.

So much to do and the lists were only growing longer.