Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1590 - 1589 - No Teleportation

It took another decade before Lind was ready to head out. Part of that had been just getting an idea of the world he now lived in. The Eastern Continent was the main focus of the war with the Fiends.

The Northern Continent was littered with fronts as well but the East was the worst of it. No one knew the exact location of the Great Bastard but Lind suspected it had to be in the East.

The reason being his Celestial Fields and the massive projects he had left there. While Divine Realm cultivators could pierce the lower worlds to create a bridge, they still had to be relatively close to it.

Haro affirmed he should have ascended in the East so the Great Bastard was there.

That did little to help him as it was confirmed the Great Bastard was a Master Tier in the last 3 or 5 million years.

He had also been allowed to explore the other preserves. They were all mortal realms but he studied the various environments and saw ways to improve his Seed technology. He also confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that the krakens and leviathans did not make the palace they now ruled from.

There were no historical records but the methods behind its creation were not beastial in nature. Each race had tendencies and quirks they could not totally eliminate no matter how long they hone their craft.

Most beast races that have production skills still imitate or take characteristics from nature rather than imposing their will. The flower arrangements and other natural arrays in the palace were indicative of that aspect, but the palace, formations, and weavings all came from somewhere else.

They were also not from the same group. It took 5 years for him to perceive that!

He had not had enough things to study in the Divine Lands but his plethora of experience and wide knowledge base allowed him to grasp the finer details. Whoever made the preserves was a genius.

The structure and effects were not only solid but self repairing! Unless someone intentionally damaged the base structure, they would endure forever whether the palace survived or not!

The palace, on the other hand, was a fine example of coordination and planning. Multiple people built it and worked together to make all the pieces operate smoothly.

It has also been built above the surface of the Void Ocean. He had been allowed to inspect the exterior and found formations inscribed that specifically protected against the forces under the surface, yet they could not have been laid without the whole thing being above the Void Ocean to start.

Such a massive project could not have been hidden, yet there was nothing. Not a single trace beyond the physical structure to tell him anything.

His hosts had no desire to speak about the past but he had studied them too.

The leviathans seemed natural for the most part but the lack of a True Lord meant he had missed something. There was just no way such a powerful race could not trigger Heaven and Earth as the other Divine races.

It was only when he was allowed to heal a few that he was shocked by what he found. The interior of a leviathan was nothing like a natural being!

They had redundancies and extremely strong bone structures protecting vital areas that made them nigh unkillable. Compared to the kraken that was far more fluid and similar to the beast races of squid or octopus, the leviathan showed clear design intent!

Their lifecycle was perfectly natural so why was the rest so clearly designed?! The krakens seemed natural overall save their odd lifecycle too!

Someone had manipulated or built their races!

Heaven and Earth were fair and thus they have life and self but as they did not come from Heaven and Earth directly, they were not treated the same!

Lind found that grossly unfair until he considered a possibility.

Some hints told him that as a True Lord acknowledged by Heaven and Earth in the Divine Lands, an opportunity was coming his way to increase that aspect. What if someone was trying to game the system to have puppets they could control?

There was zero sign either race was ruled by anyone at the moment but if they were artificial and the powers behind the palace still existed, there were records somewhere. Cultivators were patient bastards. If the situation of either race changed, the creators or their descendants could come calling.

Still, Lind was angry. He was powerless to do anything yet he would not let it stand. He would find the truth and he would break any shadows from the past that might haunt his new friends.

The 2 kraken royalty got all caught up from everything that happened while they were gone. The more they learned about him, the more insane he sounded. Honestly, way too much was exaggerated!

He did not singlehandedly defeat the Fiends in his lower world! He put forth a hell of an effort but it was the entire realm working together that pulled that off. He did not rule an entire lower world either!

The stories just sounded like some bastardized version of what happened! He thought cultivators were more cynical than that!

Regardless, a mere decade was all he needed to get ready. He had gained some supplies but he was truly in need of fresh resources to practice his skills.

He was now in the arena style room with all the portals sealed. Karu was looking around in wonder as it was her first time being outside yet lately he felt something off.

Sometimes her reactions were genuine but other times it was like she was imitating them. He had no idea why but he had confirmed from his hosts that none of the demon foxes had left the preserve since they arrived.

So why did she know where the exit was? It was not visible from where they were and her senses should be as dulled as his was by being inside the Void Ocean.

He filed it away as he got no warning from his instincts from her either.

Lind was about to ascend when his vision went white.

A happy screech was followed by many tentacles hugging him tight. He sighed as he carefully patted the small form of the princess.

"Snuck away when you learned I was coming out, did you?" He was amused as he was nuzzled hard by the little kraken.

Anytime he had come to consult with the seniors or study the palace, she had seemed to instinctively know he was out and about.

"W–w–why is the little princess so attached to you?" Genuine surprise, huh? He recalled she had been shocked when he said the little princess had been born early too.

She also was flat out floored when he revealed both his Life and Death Layers were complete yet he had yet to start his Samsara Layer. It was like she had expected him to be a Journeyman Tier or on the cusp of it already.

The little kraken had grown a bit in the last 10 years but not as much as he expected. She was still a simple beast at the Immortal Realm and had only slightly gotten larger despite the massive meals he had seen her eat.

The other native beasts of the Void Ocean were impressive on their own but they were just prey to the 2 gigantic races of the Wild Sea.

If not for the low numbers of reproduction, the Void Ocean would likely be a dead place. Even though they were artificial, Lind suspected Heaven and Earth still imposed their fairness on that point.

Eventually, another pair of hands pried the princess off his face. He saw the humanoid form of the King Kraken. He looked both exasperated and amused.

Lind felt his skin healing! The little brat had damaged his skin!

Her wide eyes looked guilty but he sighed and patted her head.

"It is all right. You are just sad I am leaving, right?" Her little tentacles reached for him but her father held her back.

"How she understands you is beyond me, Lind Frey. In fact, I have been told the other beasts without intelligence seem to respond to you as if they have it." Karu seemed to look stunned but he noticed it was not genuine. She knew it already.

Lind simply smiled as they made their way to the larger areas of the palace. He was looking forward to being on land again soon.

The Void Ocean was interesting and he certainly wanted to explore but he had a goal to achieve and he could not do it there.

They were protected by the king until they came to the exit and Lind saw a huge gathering of both kraken and leviathan.

[The True Lord will now take on the request of our race. We have been unable to keep our honor but he goes forth to restore it!] The king leviathan suddenly began imprinting the words and Lind wanted to die from embarrassment.

Were they all kids at heart?

As if the voice only affirmed her worst fears, the little princess tried to break free from her father who held her tight.

He sighed and then conjured a bit of his harmony. He infused it into a jade stone until it shimmered with his power. He then gave it to her father.

[That will reach me even from an extreme distance but for limited contact. It may placate her.] He had long experience with the power of a pouting child. The stone seemed to attract her and the king looked relieved.

Lind then looked around and frowned. They were outside but there was no teleportation array. He had not been everywhere as most of the gigantic halls were just too much for even him to see every centimeter.

Karu was smirking for some reason but also looking resigned.

A dark premonition took him then.

"Senior, where is the teleportation array?] The king tilted his head in a good imitation of confusion but Lind felt his chill down his spine only increase.

[Teleportation is not allowed here. We do not allow outsiders to come to us unless we bring them here. One of the leviathans will be taking you to the Nar Peninsula.] Lind saw there was indeed a large female leviathan waiting at the end of the procession.

His eyes twitched before he glanced at Karu who looked like her soul had left her body!

She knew! She absolutely knew! He was going to confront her when they were alone and get answers!

First, however, he had to survive what was sure to be a harrowing ride to the mainland.