Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1491 - 1490 - Fragile Skin of the World

Lind was now back on bed rest but his Mother stayed in the room as the 2 projections looked at her with sheepish glances. It seemed that in any realm, the power of a mother should not be underestimated.

"I will leave so you can have your thrice cursed discussion but if I hear even a single raised word, I will be back!" She had examined Lind and found he had not made himself worse than before.

She erected a barrier as she left but Lind noticed the pair seemed to wait to make sure she was gone.

"I apologize, Lind Frey. I have seen first hand how far you will go to save a loved one. To know that no power could save them, cannot be a pleasant experience on top of the loss itself." The alien figure bowed low but Lind had a question.

"I thought that you were to be punished?" The woman whipped her head at her companion who looked grim but nodded.

"I am being punished. I am currently little more than a custodian and will likely live out my days due to the karma I have incurred." Confusion flared but both held up a hand to stop him. "We cannot explain that to you yet. There are subjects that are both too dangerous and will be restricted by Heaven and Earth regardless of your remarkable progress."

Lind was growing tired of that but he knew none of them could override Heaven and Earth. It was absolute.

"To get back on track as we have wasted our time far more than we should, you are a danger to the entirety of the Celestial Fields." Lind wanted to deny it but he then had a new question form.

"Why only projections?" A smile bloomed on her face.

"Aside from special conditions like when the Great One possesses a lower realm vessel, we can only arrive like this. Divine Inheritances are full of protections but we are unable to come as ourselves as we wish." She then looked at him as seriously as he had ever seen her. "Heaven and Earth, however, could not stop us if we wanted to come."

That drew his attention and for a very obvious reason. If that was true, why the convoluted plans of the Great Bastard? Why not do things directly?

As if reading his mind, the alien man seemed tired as he answered.

"There is no point in us doing that. The instant a Divine Realm cultivator set foot on even the 4th layer, it would shatter into billions of pieces. Even a breath from us wipes it all out completely. Useless even to Fiends." Lind suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

The power he and the Immortal Berserker used was absolutely beyond Immortal Realm. The woman smiled warmly at his quick uptake.

"That is why we are here. It is not unheard of for a Sovereign Tier to grasp Dao to such an extent. Normally, it is still limited but you have gone beyond that. You can control it. That is as rare as a qilin with pure divine blood. Again, not unheard of but it has led to devastating results." A projection appeared between them.

Lind saw an unstable land much like he currently lived in but the races were mostly beasts. He saw few humans or even demons. Many questions flared but he pushed it aside as one of the beasts changed.

They suddenly became more real than their surroundings and what happened next was shocking. It was like the very land and races were shredded into fine powder!

The last thing he saw was something like stars in liquid form rushing in but it went black after that.

Silence descended but Lind conjured his harmony. His Dao given form safely came to be and the pair were shocked once more.

"So casually?! How?!" The alien actually seemed to become more solid but the hand of the woman brought him back under control. Her shock was no less than his, though.

"It started with my Harmony. I realized it had progressed in Laws far beyond my realm. I am unsure when it touched on Dao but I know it was before I was a Radiant Tier. It is unlike what Abby and Ember represent. I can touch on those Daos from the Inheritances but it feels distant. Like I am reaching through glass to a reflection I can only attempt to grasp." His words made the pair look pale.

"Why are you still here?" The alien asked the question but Lind smiled and let his aura flare. No matter what else, he was only a peak mid Sovereign Tier. He had 2 minor realms to go!

A flicker passed over them and the alien suddenly vanished.

"He will give me more time. I knew you somehow conjured a Dao Weapon, the hallmark of a powerful Apprentice Tier. Elite Divine Realms strive for that ability and gaining it as an Immortal has drawn eyes. Yet, they may be placated by what I am about to say." Lind felt like he knew what was coming as his fellow True Lords had already warned him.

"I will face nigh impossible conditions to ascend, won't I?" She nodded but then the wards actually got stronger.

"Because of your condition, I can tell you a little. There is a way to advance but it is harsh in any path you choose. One is to literally transform those nodes into pure Dao with your harmony. Heaven and Earth will force you to ascend at that point through either the Tribulation of All Elements or, more likely, the Tribulation of Law Transformation." Lind grasped the first easy enough but the latter confused him.

"All the Laws you have grasped will be forcibly transformed into basic Dao form. Regardless of how slim you have touched on them, all will be included." Now Lind was the one to pale.

Touching on the Daos of the Inheritances had taxed most of his soul, mind, and body. He had to recover for months at a time and they were 3 to 4 at most! He knew hundreds of Laws!

If they all changed at once, it would be certain death!

She nodded as she saw he grasped the truth.

"Do not think the former will be easier for you. You have all 18 elemental systems. You have no idea how deep you still have to go. To have all 18 at once in tribulation form would likely destroy your foundation if you were unprepared. You probably have the highest chance with that one." That told Lind he would never see it.

Heaven and Earth were fair but the path he walked was murky. If something had the highest chance of success, it only meant that path was closed to him. His path as a True Lord would exclude it.

She knew that but she was giving him a baseline.

"The more likely Tribulations are not well understood. You could face the Tribulation of Balance, Chaos, or even something unique due to your harmony." That was a terrifying set of options.

The last was the worst. The Dao of Defiance was powerful and if a tribulation was set up to follow it, he would face insurmountable odds.

He would have to survive and strive to overcome whatever it threw at him.

"Understand, there are more tribulations than we know of. You will absolutely face the more esoteric ones. Your friend facing a Sword Path Tribulation is the more standard ascension. It is still an excellent one but if you can overcome it, you will become very powerful from the very start." Great risk came with great reward. Lind knew that, yet he knew there would be more to whatever he faced.

As if reading his mind she grasped his face and made him look up at her.

"A True Lord tribulation will be overridden by a stronger Divine Tribulation. Your Progenitor or other unique traits I cannot speak to, but True Lords only face their tribulation if it falls in the normal paradigm." He wanted to dispute that but a flash of when he advanced in the Rakathi Wastes came back to him.

He had faced the full Wrath of Heaven. There had been dragons but maybe that was to separate him from that Wrath.

Compared to others, it was far more terrifying overall.

"You have to understand. The world has become like glass to you at full power. Do you understand why the world was not destroyed?" He looked around and nodded.

"The Throne I created is based on my Dao. It protected us all." She nodded.

"What you call Thrones are all based on Dao. It is why they are so rare. It would be better to think of them as Dao Lands but that could lead to misinterpretations. The reason yours is so beneficial is because of how far you have progressed. It is like the Sovereign Tiers are constantly exposed to Dao." Lind had wondered but it answered many questions.

Despite the billions of Immortals currently alive, there were only a few hundred Thrones. How had the entire 4th layer not become covered in them now made sense.

Dao was not so easy to grasp and he was learning why.

It made the Celestial Fields very fragile. The Thrones were likely a response to contain that power safely by Heaven and Earth. By engraving a section of land inside a barrier, the Dao an Immortal impressed on it could safely be contained for other Immortals to experience.

Plants or beasts were the most likely to touch on Dao to such an extent.

There were only a handful of human created Thrones and just as few demonic ones. They had claimed several but the origin was lost to history.

It all came back to the fact that the 4th layer was far more fragile than he had realized. It was already susceptible to Immortal Realm wills, but Dao could shatter it entirely! Further, it would not stop there!

"Is it safe for me to go out into the world?" The tournament had allowed him to grasp more of his Daos. While some were only surface level, his harmony was woven into everything he did.

"Dao weapons are forbidden. Conscious control is one thing, but you have to understand that your existence will strain the weak areas. You will have to be careful if you fight there. Even Fiends would hold back if they knew how powerful you are." Her words brought him no comfort as only a fool told their enemies how powerful they were.

She became faint but seemed to have one more thing to tell him.

"Your soul damage is not going to heal in time. You need to find a place to encourage it as the world is simply too low to aid you. You are too strong." He nodded but she was gone.

The obstacles ahead of him seemed to only increase, yet it only drove him to leave. The Throne of Defiance could not help him. It was ironic but because he created it, the benefits did not apply to him.

Instead, he had to head out into the world that was so fragile, he could break it all if he was not careful.