Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1504 - 1503 - Ruin of Potential

Lind began his journey at last. The excitement at the beginning had been way too much! He had faced a supreme power, invoked part of his cover that was to be saved as a last resort, and finally had to call for help from his family!

It was not a good start at all!

He picked up some supplies before setting out to the north west. He had a long distance to cover and he was taking the long way round.

Roads, caravans, and various groups allowed him to join to expand their security. Most of them were in Sliver or Shard Tiers at most so a Crystal Tier was welcome.

Thankfully, only standard beast attacks or bandits plagued that part of his journey.

He actually drove off a weak set of bandits just by exerting his Crystal Tier aura.

It had been almost comical as they ran in all directions from him as he had only hopped down from the wagon.

The guards were also caught off guard but quickly slaughtered the fleeing enemies.

Lind had known the cultivation world was unforgiving but he realized he had been living relatively better than many others. The severe fights for daily survival were unending whereas he lived with his family in palaces or even entire city structures.

He had deep connections to many allies and others as well to rely on. Living as a rogue cultivator truly reminded him to be humble. He could lose it all one day or worse, face that exact life no matter how strong he became in the future.

He got the impression that the Divine Lands were even more unforgiving for newly minted Divine Realm cultivators.

After a year of travel, he was finally where he wanted to be. It was not a kingdom nor a Throne but a vast stretch of dark sandy land. The weather was normal enough but it was littered with domes of distorted air.

Ruins.

Places where Ruins fell were transformed similar to a Throne but on a much smaller scale. Further, other Ruins were attracted to the spot and made it grow. It became barren as disparate energies waged war in a sense all the time.

Relics could be found in such places but oddly there was a maximum size to such areas. It was like the 4th layer would not allow them to grow infinitely. He suspected it was likely some kind of balance was reached that stabilized to such an extent it could no longer grow.

It would take an impossible amount of time to confirm and others were already devoting time to it.

He was there because of a particular Ruin that was harsh to all who attempted it. Many vanished but those few that returned were vastly improved. It was rumored a crippled Shard Tier had become so desperate he went inside and came out a Crystal Tier with a perfect foundation!

Some suspected they had been replaced or possessed but all tests had come back clean. Lind had examined a few himself to confirm it.

He had found traces of tribulation lightning in their dantians, which was damned weird, but not harmful to them. It gave him some idea of why they could not recall in detail what happened but it was not just those that advanced that had those traces.

Some went in and came out the same cultivation realm as before, yet more profound.

Most of the distorted domes had some kind of facility and crowds but deep in the heart of the barren land, Lind found a fortress.

It was nothing like the palaces of even the backwater powers he had lived through, yet it was sturdy and well fortified for what it had to do. A massive sea of people were clamoring about food, trade, and the things you would expect of a prosperous city.

The soldiers were not all in the same uniforms either, but they all wore an emblem of an eye wrapped in gold. It was an assigned force between the various powers. Volunteers made up their number as they were given a chance to enter the Ruin after 50 years of service.

In exchange, they helped regulate the insane number of people trying to enter the Ruin.

Like an Inheritance, Ruins could only accept so many before they became unstable. For many Ruins, that number was massive, but unlike an Inheritance, nothing stopped more from entering.

There were no trials, requirements, or other restrictions. With no tests to even slow them down, people could just bum rush a Ruin as long as they survived.

Yet, Ruins were only the surviving parts of an Inheritance. Without the extensive support of the rest of the structure, too many cultivators would push it to the brink fairly easily.

Unlike the others Lind passed, only the aptly named Ruin of Potential suffered from dangerous overuse. It was not just about losing the Ruin, if the energies ran rampant, it could cause serious damage that cascaded with all the other Ruins nearby.

It would be extraordinarily bad for all powers across the Sovereign and even Hollow Lands.

That lesson had been learned the hard way, of course. Greed had led to other Ruins being driven to the brink of stability. Lind had not realized how fragile they were until he had heard of it.

He also had felt his head throb in pain as the surviving records showed just how idiotic people were even as Immortals that should know better.

There was no way to know but a destabilizing Ruin would either expel everyone as it collapsed or it would almost rip a hole into the void.

The 4th layer suffered more as well when the lands were consumed nearby. It was not an incorrect word either as he looked down at the dark sand once more.

The land was literally consumed by the raging energies. It was turned into the dead soil he now walked on and could attract more Ruins compared to other areas.

There were over a dozen such areas across the 4th layer which only made Lind think that perhaps Immortals were slow learners.

Eventually, the various powers came together to prevent future disasters like that. Also, it extended the life of the Ruins that way.

Lind entered the open city. There were stalls for the most part and only a few other fixed structures aside from the fortress. The population was not fixed here. The Ruin had no materials nor rich resources to make setting up a permanent shop worth it.

Most cultivators were just trying to get inside for their chance to improve. Lind noticed many rich men and women looking around with disdain but they did not get any preferential treatment.

The reason being the various powers guarding the Ruin would throw a fit if one of them got in before their members. Thus, the pride and arrogance of multiple powers actually canceled out the usual unfairness of rich versus poor.

Lind joined a very long line near the east side of the fortress. It was the one place no one hawked anything nor tried to cause trouble.

The soldiers there were all Radiant or Crystal Tier Immortals. Such a level of power could only be overcome by a Sovereign Tier but they faced their own admission process.

Lind would have to reveal what he was but hiding his cultivation was hardly new for the people at the Ruin. Sovereign Tiers were disruptive whenever they went out in public so hiding his cultivation was actually considered polite in the Ruin area.

Normally, they might still announce themselves via their dress or being famous, but Lind detected at least 3 other Sovereign Tiers hiding in the line.

Their disguises were not bad but their aura leaked out. He saw those near them were nervous but said nothing.

He was in the line for days! If he had not been Immortal, he would have died long ago from lack of food and water!

"Next!" A woman in armor called out and he stepped forward. She was a peak Radiant Tier. Her hair was cut very short but had a healthy dark sheen to it. She was also very damned tall even by the standards of dragons in human form!

She had to be close to 2.5 to 3 meters tall!

"Name?" Very standard things were involved at that point. Lind then let a flare of his true aura out when she got to the cultivation realm. Her face hardly moved but she stood up a little straighter.

"Welcome to the Ruin of Potential, senior. There is a designated area if you wish to relax, otherwise you will be issued a token appropriate to your status." Lind took the token but turned down joining the other Sovereign Tiers.

Again, not unusual for him to do so. He left the check in station to go back into the crowd. Now, he had time to kill.

The token would burn for a week straight when it was his turn. Thankfully, he would not have to wait too long as Sovereign Tiers did not come in such numbers to the Ruin and the order was done by cultivation realm.

It meant that each Immortal Tier had their own queue. It was the only fair way as different tiers took vastly different amounts of time in the Ruin. Conversely, the slots were assigned in greater numbers for those that took less time.

Assuming his senses were not wrong, he would not have to wait more than a month as only 7 Sovereign Tiers were present.

They went in 3 at a time but the Sovereign Tiers had the worst failure rate among all cultivation realms. If they did not come out in a month, it was considered a success and they may not emerge for centuries.

Lind doubted he would be taking that long due to his unique situation. Instead, he was more trying to find inspiration or maybe a clue to advance to the next minor realm for the moment.

It might sound insane to use a Ruin with such power to do that, but he was that stuck!

He sighed as he followed the pleasant scents to get some food and catch up on the news.