novelraw Chapter 294 - 293 - Salvation
Chapter 294 - 293 - Salvation
Even in its wrath, Heaven and Earth left a way forward. If there was ever a doubt, Rakathi Wastes proved the point. The entire area was reduced to blasted earth. Life was wiped out in a single night and fierce lightning continued to blast it through the present day.
As millenia passed, however, those that were desperate or curious began to explore the dangerous land. The reasons were much the same in that many believed secret Ruins, Inheritances, or other precious items could have been left behind just waiting to be found again.
During such expeditions, strange things were found. The first was aether beasts. Not only had they survived, but they were changed from a normal mortal realm. Most of the beasts were the more resilient or powerful versions only found in the Floating Isles at least or even the Heaven Realm!
While their numbers were understandably slim due to the lightning, it meant there was water and other food to be found. Not all were carnivores, afterall.
It was what led to finding the oasis, the largest of which was called Salvation.
Lind looked over the scroll every child learned in Rakathi Wastes. The ravines were carved out of the land like a giant knife sliced open the earth. Inside were forests of trees that dissipated the lighting but they could never grow outside the ravines.
Inside the forests were trees of odd wood that the Heavenly lightning could not destroy or conduct through. His knowledge from Younger Twin and Delenn told him it was called Heaven Wood.
It was literally only found in Heaven Realm but was damned rare as it required an area of high quality Qi for over millions of years. The unique situation of Rakathi created it at a faster and greater rate.
It was a small wonder no one had reported that up the chain of command because no one could conceive a mortal realm having a Heaven Realm resource available. If it was known there were natural forests of it in a Heaven Realm, the Alliance would send envoys enmasse to retrieve it entirely.
Of course, if the wrath of Heaven and Earth stopped, the wood could not survive in the low quality Qi of the mortal realm.
Lind felt an itch to go to those places but equally there were his hunters expecting that. He would be a giant fool to walk into a place all those looking for him would zero in on the moment they knew what it was. It also made him frown as they would recognize Salvation for what it was.
They could use such a discovery to save themselves due to the high demand of Heaven Wood. Even Immortals desired the wood as its properties were clear. Facing a tribulation with some of that wood could make survival a breeze.
It would still be destroyed in the process, but the power of tribulation would be reduced incredibly. Lind also had several ideas but refrained as it was still precious in Rakathi due to the many needs of the villagers. It was still wood afterall.
It could rot, weaken, and was desired by aether beasts or insects as food. If Heaven Wood existed, its predators existed as well. The key, however, was the lightning. The Heaven Wood could resist it, its predators definitely could not.
"Interesting. Are you going to talk to me or keep being surprised by what we are reading?" Lind was in a room once more, now properly paid for. He had made sure they were alone but the senior dragon soul had remained silent.
"I am honestly stunned by what has happened in these lands. It is clear that it cannot last, yet even my kind would want to come here for the resources they treat so abysmally." Lind nodded but then wondered if she could see that. He did not know the limit of their connection but he sent his affirmation.
"While all that may be true, did all those people die that came to your Ruin?" Lind's voice did not contain a shred of kindness. He had no anger, but he would not tolerate any political double talk.
"Sigh, I cannot speak for all, only what my descendants would share. Some did die to their own foolishness when they found out they were in a Ruin. The traps and trials still worked for a long time so their deaths I will not mourn over." Lind agreed. If a cultivator wandered into a Ruin and stayed, their fate was on them.
"But?" Her awkward feeling was clear before she seemed to resolve herself.
"I know of at least 3 humans who nearly found the shrine. The shrine was never meant for humans. They were given a warning where I could hear, but they just laughed that their great destiny could not be denied by a wurm." Lind winced. There were many things a dragon could just brush off due to its pride, but being called a wurm was a dangerous insult.
"They all said such a thing?" He doubted it and she confirmed it.
"That was the most memorable and my descendant wiped him away with her breath of darkness. The other 2 tried to negotiate or trade. They said they earned the right despite being told it was not meant for them. They said fate allowed it, so restrictions were unimportant." Lind felt his eye twitch. While it was not an entirely incorrect argument, it was the height of arrogance.
He had faced near death in Relics but never believed it was fate that put him there. He made choices and faced the consequences.
He too, might have tried to trade but when told it was only for dragons, he would then ask if there was anything a human could gain within? His thoughts made the senior dragon soul irritated but he only smirked.
"I have learned that any piece of knowledge can hold the key to cultivation, even if it seems unlikely. Secrets can be kept but wisdom shared." His words gave the senior dragon soul pause. After a long stretch of silence she spoke again.
"You are not wrong. I also do not think sharing our wisdom could have been bad, but I doubt most humans would accept that as enough without looting the shrine." Lind had to nod.
"So they died?" Strangely she did not confirm that.
"As they did not fight nor try to sneak past, my descendant gave them a different opportunity. They were not 6 elementals so they were fairly advanced. She opened the gateway I left to the Celestial Fields." Lind was shocked but then angry.
"That was still death!" Confusion came down the bond between them that confused Lind. He conveyed what the cannibal had relayed to him over 90 years ago. Rage and anger exploded in her voice.
"THOSE BASTARDS! Those vile monsters became like the Fiends!" Lind suddenly felt cold in his heart. He had suspected the similarity but now it was confirmed. The process of refining living beings was not new to him, but now he knew the source.
"So, your descendant sent them to death all the same! How was that different from just killing them?" Lind did not let it go but then felt the equivalent of a head bop.
"Would she return to death herself? There are more layers to the Celestial Fields. The area you describe would be the first layer that holds the first 2 tiers of Immortals only." Lind was both relieved and interested.
Why only the first 2 tiers? How many layers were there? The senior dragon soul did not answer and he likely could not get answers yet. Still, it meant there was still hope for Immortals.
"The Fiends cultivate by using living things?" A grumble came from her but she sent confirmation to him.
"I only fought them if they invaded our territory, but yes, they captured humans, aether children, pure elementals, and beasts to refine them directly while still alive." Lind noted another race mentioned but pushed it to the back as he relayed what he saw in Cimmeria.
Shock flooded the bond once more but also respect.
"Strange, your harmony seemed to affect their arrays. While destroying them is possible, I would not say that is what I saw in your memory. It was more like you changed something fundamental in them that broke them." Lind was curious but the only way to test it was to reach the higher realms.
Also, he would need to find them again.
"Why would such creatures exist?" They used anti-Qi but the Ruin he found at the Lotus Academy never gave him such a feeling. He tried to relay it to her, but an odd thing occurred. Any attempt to share those memories failed instantly.
Why?
"They can convert Qi with arrays but it takes far longer and of course resources do not naturally occur. As to how they exist, no one knows anymore. There were legends of another race that was destroyed by them and they were punished by Heaven and Earth with their strange Qi." Lind frowned at that. It did not seem right.
"The legends include the birth of demons. Demons did not exist until the Fiends did." That revelation truly shocked him as while the demons loved battle, they did not seem so terrifying.
The Demon Empire was brutal and not a kind place at all, but it was all in service to their ambitions. It was not to consume other living beings.
"It is the legend, I do not have facts save one. Demons do not exist in the earliest histories of my race. Our race memory has gaps, but not to the extent an entire race could be forgotten." Lind wondered about that. The block on the Ruin memory spoke otherwise.
"Thank you for telling me and I agree with you. I may be part of your race in a way, but I will remain human too. I am both, but I am not so closed minded not to see things from both sides as they are." Lind had seen far too much cruelty at human hands not to know the selfish nature of the race.
In fact, he had seen the ugly side of all the races.
A feeling of happiness spread that made Lind giggle but he resumed reading about Salvation when he froze.
"Is-is what this scroll is saying true?" The words burned in his mind but the senior dragon soul confirmed it.
"It is said such a thing is possible, but I do not understand, why should it bother you?" Lind had seen many resources but there was one he had still only seen 1 of in his life. He assumed it was the remains of a cultivator but now he knew the truth.
[At the heart of Salvation is a quarry of crystals. They are all 6 Qi blending together in colors across spectrum and intensity. Each crystal grows stronger over time but are clearly harmonies encountered over all of history.]
LInd shook as he read the last line of that paragraph again.
[In the very center is the highest quality crystal but it is the only color not repeated in the quarry. Emerald flame illuminates the natives village and is the heart of their location]