Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1400 - 1399 - Dao of Eternal Flame

Lind grew concerned at the time lost in the various mazes but he was now truly trapped.

He had repeated his experiments with harmonic crystals 5 more times. He walked through the tunnel to find a pristine cavern every time but if he turned back halfway, he found it as he left it.

He tried tethering a crystal as well but the result was the same. Halfway, the tether simply vanished. It was not severed, it was like it never existed!

He had never encountered such strangeness in his life!

Haro was also mystified as it left nothing to detect. It was like reality itself was changed but not in any way they understood.

Lind tried Laws and even his Dao to the extent he could but it made no difference. It was like he was a child being indulged by an adult. Some rule or another method was being applied but it was far beyond his ability to grasp it.

[Master, something odd I have noticed.] Lind perked up at Haro's words when both he and Abby appeared with a sleeping little girl in her arms.

All 3 of his spirits were as flesh and blood once again. He knew they were in a Qi rich environment but their power was back to its peak which was odd.

He looked back at the lava pool and frowned.

"You see, Master. There is plenty of power here but the beasts are only at the World Realm. In fact, I have not felt any of them improve no matter how long we stayed in a cavern." He had missed that.

Now that he turned his attention to the beasts once more he found them scattered from his presence but while they thrived in the lava, they did not cultivate!

How had they gotten to their current realms without cultivating?

His eyes narrowed. He felt like he had been in something like this before. He tried to recall when a sudden thought came to him.

He stopped trying to look for a specific feature or passage, he simply took in the cavern itself.

The lava falls might offer a way out but he doubted it. He highly suspected the only connection was back to the endless warren he had also been trapped in. The entire place felt closed off.

Once inside, it was like getting out was impossible.

Yet, that made no sense to him. The 4th layer was not a natural place. It was created by the Sovereign Tiers but there was a possibility he had overlooked.

As he took in the cavern he found his aura was not stretching out evenly. It was not being blocked, it was like there was just nothing beyond certain areas.

"Haro, if a Ruin from a Divine Inheritance was centered on a Dao, what would it look like?" The bald man folded his arms in contemplation but shook his head.

"Any Inheritance would have a purpose even as a Ruin. You know that. This place feels natural even with the odd quirks. The fire crystal we are on is something that can exist in the Divine Lands naturally for instance." That perked up Lind but then he frowned as he pointed at the lava pool.

"The beasts here are not cultivating but neither are they hunting or dying. They simply are. They are not repeating endless cycles but moving dynamically. They respond to my presence and take time to resume coming anywhere close to us." He listed off the contradictions they were facing.

Both men were stumped but Abby suddenly perked up.

"Master! She is waking up!" Lind turned to see the little girl blink slowly before smiling and waving at him.

"Hi, Master!" The adorable face made him smile as she hopped down and looked around.

They were shocked when the lava suddenly flew up and wobbled in midair. Lind was more shocked because he felt nothing! No Law or Qi was being used!

"What are you doing?" Abby asked innocently but Lind knew he wanted to understand but the small girl looked up at her confused before she smile.d

"Oh, you can't hear the song? It is quite nice. It is not the same as my creator but it is close. I am just resonating with the notes we share." Song? Notes? What was she–?!

Lind leapt to his feet. He grasped his right arm and let his harmony flow over the artifact embedded in his body.

The Dao of Life, Growth, and Restoration flowed in it. They were not fully part of him but now that he used them he finally felt something.

The Dao of Life and Restoration did partially resonate with the chamber! He had a path and brought his own Dao into it.

Unlike the artifact, his Dao of Defiance shared different parts but once connected, his head felt like something nearly split it open.

He had been right! A Dao. He was in a place solely guided by a Dao!

He had also been wrong, It was not a Ruin. It had to have been a treasure or maybe simply a background. It was a damned Relic! That was why it felt so incomplete because it was. It was a single piece of a greater whole.

It was incomplete!

There was still an entrance from that strange trap area but no exit! Even if he backtracked, it would only take him exactly to that trap room.

He suspected it would never let him go unless he understood what was missing. He was literally in a different world!

Now that he understood, the tunnel made far more sense. He was in a room like he had experienced in the Inheritance of Creation!

He did not know many Daos but it did not take a huge leap to grasp what he was looking at.

It was some kind of Dao related to fire. Yet he could only scrape the surface of it. He was too weak!

"Master, if it is a Dao, it is an odd one. I would normally be able to sense it." Haro's admission did put a cold bucket of water on Lind. He stopped trying to understand it but looked at the little spirit happily playing with a mantaray.

Its tough skin seemed to be fine to her fingers as she tickled it. The tail whipped in happiness but Lind narrowed his eyes. A thought occurred to him.

"Abby, can you grasp Dao?" He turned to the woman warmly petting the heads of fish poking out of the lava. The fact she was unaffected by the heat proved she was as resilient as Haro in that regard.

She turned her dark head to him and pondered for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Some of the Laws you had me learn are growing stronger. I can tell they are similar to what I started with." The Dao of Death, Nihilty, and Oblivion were baked into her but she had gone beyond them.

The artifacts were changing in his arms but they had not taken a final shape, yet his thought would drastically change one of them.

"Master, it would be like using pills and elixirs to advance cultivation. It will work to a point but the shallow foundation will quickly reach a bottleneck." He frowned as Haro confirmed his worry.

"Any other ideas?" He turned to the man in tan robes who was now holding his chin before slowly nodding.

"It might be better to let her cultivate. Rather than grasp it directly, this might be the perfect environment for her to solidify her foundation and become a fully fledged spirit." Lind knew that would take time but then an idea popped into his head.

"Little one, come here." The little girl instantly patted the manta ray before returning it to the lava pool. She came running over and smiled up at him.

He patted her bright golden head and then became serious.

"I need your help but it will be dangerous. Can you help us?" She looked worried but then nodded. Abby looked worried but he began to engrave the air with sigils to create a dome.

At first, no one knew what he was doing but then Haro nodded sagely while Abby looked concerned. It was tricky but all he had to do was alter a single aspect inside the dome.

Time was not a fixed variable but the tradeoff was once he activated it, it would go until the condition he put in place was met.

"We are going to help you grow inside there. This place partially resonates with you alone. I can't do this, but you can." She looked up at him with concern but he took her hands and smiled.

"You will not be alone, I will be with you all the way. Once we are in the dome, though, we are in there until you are done." Abby looked relieved at his words. Haro also nodded but returned to his ring.

Abby also returned to his left arm. The pair walked into the dome and he activated it. He then guided her to cultivate the environment.

She quickly identified the Dao after only a month in the dome. They were in the Dao of Eternal Flame and the moment she spoke those words, Lind passed out instantly.