novelraw Chapter 1583 - 1582 - Secrets of the Forest
Chapter 1583 - 1582 - Secrets of the Forest
Lind felt nostalgic as he walked through the Purple Forest. Unlike the near legendary places he had begun to become used to in the Celestial Fields, the forest in front of him was like coming home to the Southern District in the Lotus Empire.
The most powerful beasts he felt did not go much above the Gold Tier in the World Realm. It was also odd in that not a single beast shied away from the pair of them.
They were clearly used to Divine Realm cultivators.
That or they had nothing to fear from them due to some protection inside the preserve weavings. The latter was likely or even a single drop of his power would wipe the entire forest from existence.
The strange coloring intrigued him as Qi allowed for a wild variety of colors but they usually came from the purity of the Qi in the plants.
Mortal plants had to be caused by environment, nutrients, or some combination of their environment.
The soil looked normal at first but he paused to examine it with his bare hands. The dark soil he was used to was nowhere to be found. Instead, he found it was a pale brown and his Eyes picked apart the Qi to find what he expected.
Demonic Qi. It was not natural Qi but demonic Qi that dominated the world the preserve was carved from. He had heard stories of mortal realms like that but he had never been able to visit them as a Sky Realm.
He let his senses explore the plants and was amazed by what came back. The trees had more shadow Qi in them than anything else! Metal Qi was in the ground but not as much as he expected!
The leaves had some poison Qi in them but strangely were not poisonous. How did that work? Some herbs, however, were just more potent demonic versions he had once grown in the Moebius Sect.
What he had once called violet fern, however, would just be a normal fern in the current forest.
"Are we meeting a demonic race here?" His question made his guide pause mid-slide in surprise.
"Indeed, although it would be more accurate to say they are more comfortable in a demonic environment, they do have demonic bloodlines as well." Lind found that odd yet pushed it aside for when he met them.
Demonic beast races did not really start showing up until the Sky Realm but even then, they were barely there.
The truly powerful versions had been mostly legends in his lower world. The devastation by the Great Bastard saw to that and many other races going nearly extinct.
Qilins, for example, had been far more prevalent in lesser forms in the Heaven Realm lands but needed a constant influx of Immortals to refresh their bloodlines. Without that, and the unending war, many branches were extinguished by the Cataclysm.
Flood dragons had nearly died out too as they risked far more to try and gain higher bloodlines in places they were avoiding before due to the dangers. Thus, their numbers were depleted over only thousands of years.
Lind shook his head and wondered which race he was about to meet.
They moved for days and he took note of some mutated forms of herbs he knew well. He asked before gathering them and his guide saw no issue since they were only grade 3 or 4 at best.
Eventually, he noticed a change in the surroundings. The chirps, brush movement, and other signs of life suddenly began to fade until there was nothing. It was not the danger of a predator as it had been gradual.
They had clearly entered an area kept by a powerful beast or beasts. The guide did not stop but Lind noticed they had slowed. He matched their pace as he took in the gorgeous shadow play from the afternoon sun.
The breeze was just right for a day to be outside to him yet his eyes narrowed. The shadows drew his senses as something was off.
It only took a moment for him to realize what it was. There were too many shadows! His guide was about to cross them when he stopped them.
"Wait." His emerald light flared around his hand and he gently touched a shadow that had no source. The instant he did, it shattered! It started a chain reaction that made the forest brighter but also revealed they were not alone!
Lind had not felt a thing until that moment and realized he had encountered a grade 8 formation!
The figures revealed were mostly human but they had sharp pointed ears on top of their heads and a varying number of fluffy white tails coming out their backsides. He also noticed a few have fur on their arms to some degree or another.
Heaven Realm beasts! They were partially transformed into humanoid shapes!
"HALT!" A robust young man with a spear far above his ability seemed to jump from one shadow to the next to appear in front of them. The spear was old, very old, and damaged but it was a peak Law Grade weapon.
Lind frowned as that should be easy to fix with a moderate refiner or Forger. Repairs were far simpler than creation at that stage.
Yet, almost no care had gone into it. Out of instinct, he snatched the weapon from the youth who was shocked to find it was gone.
"You need to take better care of your weapons." His aura flared and materials appeared next to him on a small slab he summoned. He examined the lines of the inscriptions and the materials. It was made of.
He smiled at the excellent craftsmanship. He then conjured a fire to soften the weapon's metal while he carefully detached it from the wooden shaft. Both were essential, so he did it with great care.
The beasts seemed to want to stop him but his aura warned them off alone! A Heaven Realm beast stood no chance against him!
Lind felt rusty but it all came back quickly as he first went over the shaft. It was in better shape only having aged and suffered a few nicks on it from use. Still he used some elder yew wood to reinforce the strength and let some of the self healing ability do the rest of the work.
The shaft glowed briefly but then shimmered as it began to gently pull on the demonic Qi around them.
Still, it was incomplete without the blade and full head he had detached. That was more of a mess.
It clearly had been used roughly and had been struck by something that broke many of the inscription lines. He frowned as that would be far more difficult to fix for him without Forging.
While the 2 professions shared many aspects, mixing them did not go well.
His goal was to repair, not remake. He pondered before going for older methods he had learned long ago in Cimmeria.
He summoned a large metal anvil and a smaller set of hammers with chisels. It would take longer but the result would work wonderfully.
He then began to first hammer out what he could on the chipped blades to clear refuse and what did not belong.
Some substances flaked off showing it had not been properly cleaned either! He glared at the youth who jumped but he swiftly turned back as he looked at the ores and other materials he had.
He selected Viridian steel bars for their dual ability to absorb demonic fire Qi and absorb the abilities of an artifact into themselves. It took time normally but he was speeding up the process with his expertise.
It was so slow compared to what he was used to doing but he also was not a qualified refiner either. He had to simply focus on what was in front of him and repair what was missing.
As the steel merged with the spearhead, he then chiseled out the pathways for the inscriptions very carefully while the metal was warm enough to do so.
He then inlaid the demonic crystal powder to complete it.
He let it cool and examined the work. It was nowhere near what a true refiner could do but his skill far exceeded Law Grade.
He then brought the shaft and spearhead together. The instant the inscriptions aligned, the whole spear lit up as it tried to pull in Qi and Laws but the forest was not sufficient so Lind let his own aura flow freely.
The spear happily gorged until it floated above his palm. A spirit was in it! He had not felt it at all but it was there!
A flash of light and a gorgeous demoness appeared! She looked surprised at first but then saw him and smiled widely.
"Thank you, great Lord. I thought I was doomed to die soon but you brought me back." Lind smiled but then saw the youth and all his fellows were bowing as well. He sighed.
"I simply saw a good weapon in bad shape and fixed it of my own accord. Your creator was very good." She demoness smiled so wide it nearly split her head in half!
He waved her off as he cleaned up and put everything back in his ring. The beast guide also stared at him in stunned silence. Lind scratched the side of his cheek before he coughed.
"Ahem, I have been sent here by their majesties for a mission. Would you be who they have sent me to see?" His words made all snap up as they only then seemed to understand.
"The legends are true! We are protected by great powers!" He looked at his guide who seemed to understand what was going on but said nothing. They followed the large party deeper into the forest.
The youth held the spear and the spirit seemed to be teaching him things even though he was only a Heaven Realm. Lind smiled at that scene as they continued to uncover ever more secrets of the forest!