Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1615 - 1614 - Abandonded

Lind and Karu left with their new companion shortly after the Mystery Grade level of the auction began. They were hardly alone so they blended into the crowd before looking for a new inn.

They were about 2 blocks away from a street of inn when Lind sighed.

"You knew it was possible it would happen." He nodded as he looked for a place to be appropriate for the next few moments. The small girl looked scared as she grasped Karu's hand tighter.

"They are not coming for you, little one." Lind's words made her relax as they moved down an alley before a dead end area came to them.

Not even a moment passed before 6 figures seemed to emerge from the shadows. Demon cultivators!

"Brother, we can take you in if you give us that pass the old woman bought." A slim young demon smiled wide as his skinny frame belied the Journeyman Tier he held but Lind no longer feared them.

He knew also the offer was false by the malice his instincts warned him of.

His giant sword merely shimmered before he let go of the hilt.

The youth sneered before he frowned. Horror slowly dawned as blood began to flow from all their necks.

They all felt their bodies disconnect before their souls also realized death had come. Lind had risked using his full power and their lowered guard allowed him to kill them all.

His Art slaughtered them once more.

Karu had covered the child's eyes. She was only a Heaven Realm so it was easy to protect her.

They found a new inn in the moderate range as their finances had taken a massive hit. Still, it balanced privacy and defense. It also lacked a Fiend presence!

Karu bought the best courtyard and they enacted the highest privacy wards.

"I will go out to sell our reserve items, you take care of her." Karu knew she had to act like a destitute person after the auction so she would head out to the markets to sell what they had prepared in advance of the auction.

He nodded as he made sure her disguise was refreshed.

Once Karu was gone, he saw the small girl shrink into herself. He sighed but there was no way he could let her hang like that.

"May I know your name, little one?" His gentle voice seemed to make her cry but she shook her head.

"This one has no name. I was left at the slave house without a note. I was raised to be sold." Lind felt his anger rise but calmed himself. Why would they not name her?!

"How old are you?" He hoped for a low number to justify it but the Glass Palace did not disappoint his rage.

"This one is 100 years old this year." Lind sighed internally. A century without a name? What was wrong with those people?!

"Did you know your mother or father? Did they give you a name?" He knew what she had said, but he had to ask. Instead, he only saw more tears before she shrunk in on herself.

He sighed out loud before gently patting her head. The pair sat in relative silence as she gathered herself.

"Is there a name you would like?" She looked up at him but only with more tears. Her 2 colored eyes seemed to plead before he held up his hands in surrender.

He considered things for a time before he smiled.

"Gaia, are you ok with Gaia?" The small girl shivered but she smiled wide before nodding emphatically. It was a short cut on his part but the next part was the hardest.

"You understand you are freed from slavery but are not truly free?" She seemed to consider for a long time before nodding. Even if she walked out the door at that moment, she was too weak to protect herself.

He then talked to her until she finally became animated. She talked about how she grew up with many big brothers and sisters. She had enjoyed her time as there were many children raised in the Silent Lotus Pavilion.

It seemed that many abandoned children were there too.

Gaia spoke at length until the sun was waning and Karu returned. She smiled gently before nodding at Lind.

"Gaia, there is something you need to know." Her tiny face looked up with a trace of fear but he smiled warmly as he dismissed the disguises.

His emerald hair, eyes, and even a flash of his scales followed with Karu showing her pals skin, white fur tipped in black with gold and burnt orange eyes.

Gaia looked stunned before fear filled her face.

"You–you are the one they are looking for?" He nodded at her. He was not surprised their description was known to even a young girl. He reminded her of his Oath.

She slowly nodded before bowing with her head to the floor of their courtyard.

"I swear to Heaven and Earth not to betray your secrets." The sky rumbled and Lind felt conflicted. She was so young but swore such a heavy Oath. It could come back to bite her in the future.

Still, he did not stop her.

"Gaia, we need your help. In exchange, I will help you with our foundation." She tilted her head but he produced the pass. She saw it was a powerful item but that did not matter as it simply needed a master.

She pricked her finger and bonded with the artifact. She paled but it was simply a matter of a difference between the owner and the artifact grade.

The black slate artifact flared and he allowed her time to recover before confirming there was no issue. She was now registered as the owner of the pass.

He explained what he needed and she nodded. As a member of their group, she would administer the effects of the pass going forward.

Once she bonded to the artifact, it showed them all it could do. There was an interactive list of sales, contacts, and even some upcoming events the slate would act as an invitation for.

Lind scanned over them and smiled. He had what he needed!

He saw lists of organizations, contacts, and even upcoming meetings. He had all he needed to start to plan what he wanted to do.

Aside from that, he examined Gaia to see how she was. He frowned as he saw the signs of pills and elixirs to force her to advance in her cultivation. Worse, nothing was done in consideration of her hybrid bloodline at all.

Her foundation was abominable but not unsalvageable. He had chosen her name from his own world and for the dryads he had met before. A human hybrid would have been something he could work with but he discovered the issue was deeper than that.

"Your father was an aether child?" Gaia looked up at him but she shrugged her little shoulders.

Still, her dantian was too profound compared to the rest of her. A physique might explain it but her racial foundation prevented that.

The only race born with a pure skill were aether children. Annabelle's illusion arrays were always terrifyingly real. She was able to fool cultivators almost 2 major realms above her even before she became an Immortal and they took on a life of their own!

Her dantian held a powerful flow of energy that was dormant but ready to express itself at anytime.

Even neglected, it had kept up which confirmed his theory. Dryads were all female in manifested form but their usual Laws and Daos flowed along the natural balance paths.

Gaia's did not.

He felt something like a storm inside her ready to burst forth and ravage her meridians and body. It would not be good at all.

He realized those bastards had abandoned her because they realized they had done something wrong and wanted to make some money off of her before she died or became crippled!

"Gaia, we need to do something a little dangerous but under my guidance, it should be painless." She looked worried but Karu understood and reassured her.

"Don't worry, he looks scary but he is a big softie inside." Not the reassurance he was going for but it calmed the small girl down. He sighed and explained.

Essentially, he had to dissolve her current foundation and return her to a mortal. Body Refining was easy in the Divine Lands but it was considered essentially mortal.

The Soul Realm was not something he could normally change even with dissolution but that was where the danger came in. A pill foundation was not natural. He could tweak it a bit but it would involve pushing her body harder than normal to condense new Soul Cores.

Mortal and Heaven Lands could not do that at all, but the Celestials Fields could do it with limited success. The Divine Lands were far better but it was still a final option as crippling was entirely possible during the process.

It also was resource intensive but the newly minted pass solved that issue with its discounts and access. Lind moved swiftly to prepare as Karu and Gaia went about getting what he needed.

They had work to do and the little girl was now the linchpin of his operations.