Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1556 - 1555 - Path of Rebirth Flames Begins

Lind was able to recover to his peak much faster than before now that his soul had been nurtured. He could feel the Daos related to his soul, rebirth, and so forth had also matured with it.

Yet, he had no time to spare as the threat was now looming so close. His best hope was to get into the Rebirth Grounds and start the process but he had one more ritual to do.

Unlike the Soul Cleansing Ritual, the Path of Rebrith Flames was a more natural place. There were no artifacts present but the Throne of the Living Flame did restrict access to it.

It was quite simple, it was inside the massive crystal at the heart of the Throne! Only the leaders of the council or the True Lord could allow someone to attempt it!

Bori also would walk the path to help refine his essence but that was in the future. Generally speaking, only peak Sovereign Tiers were allowed to attempt it because it was very dangerous.

The flames inside the path were unique in that they all directly tied to Rebrith Dao and Soul Dao. It would be like applying the mountain of power that is Dao all at once directly onto the essence of what it meant to be a phoenix.

Lind needed that trial to push his newly acquired phoenix essence beyond what his Art could do.

Lind now stood at the bottom of a very steep path that circled up the interior of the Living Flame Crystal. It was only at the point that Lind felt very small by the crystal. He knew it was powerful but what it hid inside dwarfed anything he had ever faced.

"Master, True Lord Helsgath had one final warning. There is a place in this path that you are to face your own flames. As a dragon you have flames but not like a phoenix. I suspect your harmony is what you will face. How that will go, none of us can say but time and need are against us." The older looking Bori felt wrong but his pale white eyes held only concern.

A much younger vision filled Lind as he patted him on the head. Bori did not stop him but he did flare his own aura.

The barrier on the steps vanished and heat burst outward. It was not felt by his skin, but by his soul! Lind sighed and then stepped forward.

The instant he was past the threshold, the barrier snapped off the outside world. He could step back any time, but it would be the end of any attempt to ever walk the path again.

He looked up and was shocked to see a vista of blazing flames all along the path. They were not lighting it up but the only way to proceed was to walk right through them!

They looked wrong to him. They flickered and snapped like any flame but they did not burn the stone beneath. He felt no heat on his skin nor searing of the air.

He took one step and collapsed as pain shot through his very being. His harmony did not react at all as the flames flowed through his meridians until it reached that place the phoenix essence was located.

Blinding pain followed as it absorbed the flames slowly. Lind would have been dead if he was not a Sovereign Tier dragon! Further, he suspected he would be dead if he was not a 6 elemental with a harmony!

One step and he was on the ground already! How would he get through the path?! How naive he had been and dismissive of the importance of it.

After what seemed an eternity, Lind became aware of his surroundings again. He was still at the beginning but one of the flames was now gone!

It was only then he understood the name was literal! He would have to walk the Path of Rebirth Flames until it was done with him!

The danger was greater than he could have believed but he had to go forward. He got up slowly and attempted to recover only to find he could not!

The path was completely barren of Qi, Dao, or anything he could use! He did not even try to ask Haro as likely the path was altered for each person.

"I will not stop." He took a breath and took his next step. Oddly, nothing happened and he wondered if he had gotten it wrong. It was only at the third step that he was disabused of that notion as 2 flames entered his dantian!

Why was that information not even hinted at?! Lind knew he was already screaming. It felt like his bones were on fire yet they were perfectly fine. Anyone that dared accuse the phoenix race of being weak could go straight to blazes!

Soul pain was not like the body. Even the discomfort of the Soul Cleansing Ritual was nothing compared to his current state. How much could he endure?! How much could his mind take?!

As the pain burned him, Lind's phoenix essence slowly improved.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Bori looked at the now smooth wall in front of him. It would stay that way until his Master left the path, yet he knew only a corpse or success would come out.

"The restrictions were lifted at last. He has started." Helsgath appeared behind him but he already knew. The Path of Rebirth Flames was older than anything aside from the Living Flame Crystal.

It was in his race memory for being in the Divine Lands or anywhere a phoenix race had truly conformed to their needs. A Throne met that standard fairly easily but elsewhere took billions of years to reach that state.

Every phoenix knew it existed to push them but few knew if the odd restrictions placed by Heaven and Earth on those that administered it.

Each applicant would face a different version and thus warning was of little use but some things stayed the same. Only those that had been through it themselves or were charged with its control could speak of it.

Bori and Helsgath were extreme exceptions due to their unique natures.

"The pain will hurt him more than it would us. His soul is not like a phoenix at all." Helsgath's observation was unnecessary but Bori could only crack his tendons as he prayed to the spirits to guide his Master.

"What do you think the final refinement will be?" The last step of the path was the most mysterious. Some phoenixes came out dramatically changed from how they went in. They could prepare a rebirth cycle that would let them leap far above their current bloodline.

Others simply came out much wiser and taught others the deeper mysteries of their race to the next generation. There was no knowing for certain but if anyone quit, they were severely punished.

They would never advance again and may not even be reborn!

Lind was driven but pain to the soul was the worst torture any knew of. His being a dragon meant he likely had to face the most potent version of the path anyone had ever conceived of.

"Guessing is pointless. Lind Frey is too different from the norm to be defined by our past. Have hope, Divine Soul Flame Bori. Hope is all any of us here have left if this does not work." Helsgeth then left Bori at the smooth wall.

Time was not fixed in the path and it could open any time yet it would take at least a day on their side of it.

Bori could only sigh once more as he turned to leave when the Throne rumbled. It was faint but he had felt it. It was not something that happened often yet his soul also reacted.

He closed his eyes and tried to find the source but frankly he was not as adept as his Master. Still, he traced the disturbance to directly behind him!

It was the Path of Rebirth Flames?!

What was going on?! He quickly touched the smooth surface but no further information came to him. He consulted Helsgath if there were any side effects of someone in the path but the True Lord assured him there was no such thing.

He was unsure what was going on but Master was connected to the Throne like all of them now. Could it be reacting to him in particular?

He wished he had more answers but could only return home. His twins had made massive progress from the limited guidance Master gave them. It was not surprising but now his other wives demanded answers.

He had always been envious of those that had harmonious marriages like his Master. Why couldn't everyone just get along like them?

If Lind had heard Bori's thoughts, he would have punched him in the face before body slamming him for good measure.

Harmonious?! Harems were all about work, honesty, and taking the consequences when one screwed up! Also, Lind was not in charge!

Bori flew on blissfully home none the wiser and lucky his Master did not know of his beliefs.