Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1733 - 1732 - Routed

Lind was still exhausted nearly a month later when they finally reached the rendezvous point set up by his forces. The others that had escaped with them had split off for the most part to various areas but he had been catching up on the current state of the last 2 free landmasses.

The Western Lament was now firmly under Sun's control. The Fiends had bled most of the islands dry but the 3 main ones had been the worst. The Fiends had practically been revealed to have been the true masters behind each major power!

If not for the difficulty of maintaining so many islands across the Void Ocean, it would have been the first continent to fall in that state.

Sun, combined with the fleet Lind sent to help him, completely wiped out the Fiends. He had expected that given the limited return on investment the Western Lament gave everyone.

The Emerald Isle was currently in the best shape but Sun simply reclaimed the old lands of his race. The monkeys easily conquered it and began to reform it. The humans and demons had been decimated by the Fiends so any battle was a joke.

Still, the severe depletion of people made Lind wince. Whether it came before or after his attacks on the Bastard likely did not matter. The race was still on. Time was the only factor either side cared about now.

Did Lind have enough time to reach the Master Tier or would the Bastard finally reach the quantity of life needed to ascend? Based on what he had seen, the farther a Fiend was along in cultivation, the more time it took to solidify their base and even more life was needed to take the next step of a major realm.

Their tribulation was not measured by lightning or phenomena but pure life consumed.

It seemed that the final barrier was insurmountable without taking all of the Divine Lands. It was also apparent it took a considerable amount of time to build up to it or the Bastard would have done it long ago.

It was a question of quality over quantity possibly as well. In other words, he needed more Divine Realm cultivators and they needed the resources of the Divine Lands to do it. Thus the long standing stalemate in the Eastern Continent and shadow plays in the background of the rest.

Lind was glad he had taken advantage of the Bastard's recovery to arm and disperse his newly enhanced harmonic creations as far as he could. If he had not, there would be no safe haven left!

The Southern Continent was a little better compared to the Western Lament. There had already been some losses like the Glass Palace incident and a few others when he was being hunted.

Yet, he had already placed several traps waiting for a trigger. Vile Fiend Qi was it. It was a scattershot result of course but it made the other Fiend forces wary long enough for his main fleet from the north to arrive and really put the screws on them.

Still, the order to unleash hell from the Bastard had led to devastation across most of the classical factions to the point most had collapsed.

There were, however, powers inside some of those factions that not only survived but became bastions of hope.

The Divine Sword Sect, Heavenly Maiden Sect, and other old names were among them. Their members ascending from his Celestial Fields brought knowledge and allies of LInd's to their fold.

The obvious benefits did not take long to be incorporated and he heard they had sent many envoys into lower worlds to spread his elemental theories thousands of years ago.

There had been an explosion of 6 elemental cultivators advancing but they were too weak to directly contribute. The major part was how Immortals near the Divine Realm held off and rebuilt their foundations even better than before.

That had given many powers a massive boost in the Apprentice Tier and a smattering of Journeyman Tiers.

He realized that those cultivators were able to grasp powerful Mysteries as they studied extensively as Immortals.

All that was to say that the inevitable wave of Fiends in the Southern Continent found themselves broken up, killed, and generally overpowered when they reached certain areas.

Lind was glad but while routing the Fiends could be considered a success, the price was not worth celebrating.

He likened it to the way he first found the Celestial Fields. The Cataclysm had left small pockets barely holding on. The 2nd layer had been just as bad with vast tracts of land just unusable in any viable way.

The current state of the Divine Lands was that desperate.

He leaned back on his bed in his quarters. While he was the owner of the ship, he had made pragmatic use of space so nothing was wasted. So his quarters were no bigger than anyone else's.

He laid there with his pristine figure containing incredible power with a face as if carved from jade. He was a far cry from the small boy in the Frey Clan just learning the darkness behind his existence and the misery of his siblings.

Back then he had just wanted to be of use. He wanted to grow stronger and prove he was not his father's son. He had been so busy running away from his origins he had not realized the trap of sorrow he was building around himself.

Now, he was a near peak Journeyman Tier Divine Realm cultivator. He had wives, friends, and family. He had lost many on the way too to time, war, and the many ways people die.

If there was no Bastard and his Fiend race, Lind suspected he would have struggled more. The various powers he had encountered, despite facing such a threat, were still more than happy to suppress what they considered upstarts or threats to their power, real or not.

Without the Fiends, how much more brazen would they have been? He had a glimpse of it. He had seen in the Floating Isles how little the various powers cared about their image if they killed the weak.

Lind shook himself out of his memories. He knew he was thinking about it because it was simpler than facing what was coming.

He was no closer to his final Qi Mystery but he was out of time. He had to find a way to either buy more time than they had or some trigger to put him over the finish line.

Even then, all that would do was finally put him on a level playing field with his ultimate foe. It would still be 50/50 between who would live and who would die. After that awaited one more battle, one more monster.

"What about after that?" The contemplation of the past made him realize he had no plan after killing the Bastard. He would be beyond the reach of his family and friends, likely forever. Karu might join him on the final journey as she had said before but the others would have no chance.

The complete lack of mention of the next major realm also bothered him. It was like people actively avoided speaking of it even in passing. There was no mention of branches or anything.

Why?

He again stopped his thoughts but made a reminder to think about it if he won the current race. He would have time. Well, he hoped he would.

He doubted he would be allowed to relax anymore than he was now. The prison his other versions built might hinge on the lower version of the Bastard existing. He was unsure but the complete lack of knowledge could only leave him with questions.

He sighed as he left his cabin and checked on Ethry. He found Qing sleeping in the chair at the corner. He smiled and summoned a cover for her.

Ethry, herself, was much better. Her color had returned and the artifacts working on her showed her body was absorbing Qi, Laws, and Daos as it should. Her foundation had not been beyond recovery thankfully.

It would take a few more months before she woke up though. He had almost lost her. The thought dampened his spirit. He knew he could still lose her. He could lose them all.

No matter what anyone said or tried to justify looking at the bigger picture, it all came down to those people closest to him.

He would break everything to save them. Yet, he had to take care not to as well. Breaking himself to win now would only buy them a little peace before the final end in the original Bastard.

Every step on his path from the beginning to the present had been laid with care, luck, and, honestly, sheer stubbornness. He could not get lost in memories or hopes. He had to reach his target.

That was all.

He was about to leave when he saw Karu standing in the doorway. She looked at him and he saw how pale she looked. She was exhausted but she held up a jade slip.

"I–I tried to recall something. It seemed foolish to try but after what Qing told me, I think I know." Her words were odd but he simply waited. She came towards him and placed the slip in his hands.

"My Talent is gone yet my race memory did help me try to scry my old lives. I think the ancestors knew it had to be done. I can't completely recall it myself anymore but I was able to imprint everything. Please, use it to live." Her plea was heartfelt and he sighed as he took the slip.

The moment it touched his hand she collapsed. He quickly caught her with his aura. He could tell she would be fine yet he realized 2 people had now risked their lives on the hope he could win.

He looked hard at the small jade slip in his hands before gently placing Karu on a padded mat he produced from his ring. He left a note for Qing and returned to his quarters.

His greatest hope was that he found a trigger to his final Qi Mystery. If he could get that, it would be highly reassuring!