Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1506 - 1505 - Unexpected Reaction

Lind had been slightly off on his estimates. He had to wait for 3 months before his slot finally came up.

The delay was not out of the bounds of reason but when he found out why, he frowned. It seemed 2 of the Sovereign Tiers that went in died. At the same time!

That was not normal at all! The Ruin was dangerous but only to the crippled or nearly dead already! Perfectly healthy cultivators at a bottleneck did not just die!

Further, in the recorded history of the Ruin, no Sovereign Tier had ever died. Now, with 2 dead instantly the allied forces were in a panic.

Lind and the others were left in peace but not in ignorance. It was not something they could hide as the 2 powers backing the Sovereign Tiers came in force not a few days after they died!

An investigation only confirmed they had died in the Ruin. Going inside was not helpful as it was massive according to rumors. Some said it was a sprawling city while others reported vast forests.

Still others described deserts that were filled with many oases or raging river land with mountains also had been described. The consensus was the Ruin was so massive it was able to resonate with entrants.

The prevailing reason behind that was that the conditions usually matched the cultivator's foundations. A World Realm would only find the same Tier or 1 above their realm and so forth.

Immortals were a little different as race seemed to play a role where it did not with lower realms. Demonic Cultivators had faced blasted lands as an Immortal whereas lower realms reported similar landscapes to humans or other races.

The death of the 2 Sovereign Tiers hit a wall until a request was sent to those Sovereign Tiers waiting in line. They wanted the slots to send a party in anyway!

Lind rejected the request and expected a blow back but nothing came. He became suspicious and tentatively kept an eye out but he was not alone in his rejection!

All the Sovereign Tiers turned them down!

He had not expected such solidarity between them and it was not just them. The Heaven Realm and Sky Realm cultivators also turned them down. Despite coming from powerful backgrounds, they had no say in the lands they were in.

They also could not retaliate it seemed. Death was a risk in any Ruin or Inheritance so no one could complain.

The mystery of the deaths seemed to be going to be unresolved when a month ago, a heavily injured Radiant Tier emerged from the Ruin. Such a state was not normally unusual but his vacant gaze and malnourished state certainly was.

An Immortal had no need for food or drink, so how had he become malnourished?

Everyone now wanted answers and the allied forces were quick to act.

Healers were called and anyone with pills or elixirs were offered excellent deals. The Frey Clan actually had a few healers present who offered their services.

Lind frowned deeply when he heard nothing worked. It was described as casting into an abyss. The body sucked up Qi like a sponge easily enough but no effects happened! An Art to restore vitality had no reaction. Pills and elixirs that could bring someone back from the brink of death were only so much powder and water to the injured Radiant Tier!

Lind finally chose to act discreetly.

His Eyes blazed and what he saw shocked him! Where a dantian should be was a swirling vortex. It was not Fiend Qi nor anything like he had seen before!

[Master, that is not something that can be fixed but I know what has happened.] Haro spoke in his mind and he retreated to his tent. The nervous energy and tension was thick in the air but no one was going in the Ruin at the moment.

There were no more deaths known but no one was coming out either!

The lower realms had far higher traffic yet it had all come to a stop when the 2 Sovereign Tiers died.

It was only when people stopped going in that they realized no one was coming out!

Lind checked his wards one more time and then nodded.

Haro appeared much more slowly than normal to not disturb the wards. He looked very grim as he looked back towards the area housing the injured Radiant Tier.

"Master, what you have seen is something of an ailment but it is caused by exposure to pure Dao. Either you are consumed or survive it. If you are consumed, it is usually very quick but if you can resist, you see the effect you just perceived." Lind tilted his head.

What Haro said made no sense at all! His confusion must have been clear as Haro assumed a lotus position and his aura shifted ever so slightly.

A small orb of light appeared and he recognized it as the Dao of Illumination. A rather straightforward Dao but its quality was far higher than anything he had seen before.

Haro then brought out an herb. It was a 3 leaf Trident Sprig. Each leaf had water, light, and earth Qi honed to a perfect balance. It was an excellent ingredient for grade 5 or 6 elixirs to aid in balancing elements.

Lind was shocked as it withered in front of his very eyes!

"You have had a long time to adapt and deepen your relationship to Dao. You also made sure not to go too fast and thus this did not happen to you. Just as the 4th layer is weak to your full power, un-tempered life is weak to it as well." Understanding flooded Lind.

Dao was too powerful to be exposed to the full force all at once! His Dao Weapon had been a consolidation of his but it had mostly been exposed to him and the left over aura was filtered by the protections of the arena he had created.

He then remembered how the Immortal Berserker could kill even those Immortals that had been exposed to some Dao.

They did not wither but likely they did not have time to.

"So, that Radiant Tier just barely held on but is still going to die?" Haro shook his head.

"It would be more accurate to say he is already dead and the last desires brought him back. I suspect that husk only has a little of its soul left. That is why I said you cannot help him. There is nothing to help." Lind also understood why nothing was working.

The Dao vortex consumed all.

"Will he endanger the 4th layer?" Haro pondered but then shook his head.

"No. This has been heard by my previous masters but it was not unique to the Divine Lands. A Divine Inheritance could cause it too if someone did something foolish. I think the 2 Sovereign Tiers may have met and fought over a treasure. I am unsure as this Ruin is unusual." Lind frowned deeply at that guess.

One consistent thing about the Ruin was it was faced alone. No one ran into any other living cultivator that had gone in. There were beasts or other local flora and fauna, but nothing from the outside.

Lind pondered for a moment and then had a bad thought.

"Haro, could it have been me?" The dark skinned man paled but clearly had no answers. Lind was a walking calamity and while he had restricted the sense of his cultivation, it was not to say something on par with a Divine Inheritance could strip that away with ease.

If he was at fault, he needed to leave quickly but even that was denied. No one could leave as they were investigating external sabotage. It was reasonable but unless they discovered who he was, there was no way to know from either side.

"Master, there is a Divine Spirit in the Ruin. I can feel it." Lind snapped up as Haro was looking at the distorted space looming over them. "I can try to reach out to it but we cannot hide my attempt."

Lind understood but felt there was a better way. He sighed as it would give a lead to his enemies and allies alike, but just as he was about to strip away his disguise a heavy aura slammed into them all!

[Thieves. You have enjoyed taking away what was left by my creator without payment but that stops today. You have crossed a line and I enacted the final sanction. All inside have just been either consumed or barely survive. The one you have will die as the others will. In a month, I will break the barrier and cause a fatal collapse of your realms. You have been given the courtesy of time to find honor in death.]

The voice was powerful but Lind noticed many collapsed as it spoke. Blood surged from all below the Immortal Realm but no one died save one.

The Radiant Tier collapsed inward until nothing remained.

"It would seem things are more dire than we thought. Sigh, I hate when plans don't work." The human vanished and a tall emerald haired man took his place. Fine crimson robes lined in black and gold were emblazoned with a crane in flight.

Haro bowed and vanished as those still aware snapped their heads in his direction. Shock appeared on their faces but Lind ignored them.

He marched towards the Ruin until guards snapped out of shock and charged at him but he then exerted his aura in full. Despite several Sovereign Tiers at the peak nearby, none could move after he did that.

"I don't know about you all, but I do not intend to die in a month. Get those healed up and I will see what I can do." He then walked into the distortion and vanished.