novelraw Chapter 297 - 296 - Revealed
Chapter 297 - 296 - Revealed
Lind had explained to Beth and Katie he needed a small building to experiment if that was allowed. Both women seemed to repress laughter at his request but they took him to a single home that was currently vacant.
Lind bowed and mounted the rods on the roof. It was essentially a 3 room house near the outer wall. Most of the homes near the outer wall were only used for those near the end of their lives and no longer cared about the disruption of the strikes.
It took him 3 attempts to finally trigger the rods.
The sigils lit up and Lind was stunned that the pull of Qi increased incredibly so. The pull, however, was specifically to the skies above! Lind ducked inside as 6 bolts slammed into the rods, but unlike the wall, the lightning had nowhere to go!
The wood vibrated like it was a drum but did not seem to break from the thrum of power. Lind felt all his fonts nearly push him forcibly forward but his harmony roared to his command to calm the storm inside him.
He held it in check but then it all disappeared.
Silence descended but that was not all. Lind felt a lifting of pressure on his dantian and he also could finally cultivate in complete peace! How?!
He carefully used his Eyes and Touch but there was no pain! The entire house was actually the best cultivation environment he had ever been in! He was able to resolve the minor issues in his dantian with ease in only a few moments.
He studied it but it was stable as well as perfectly safe. He moved to each corner of the house without an issue. It did not weaken nor did it become unstable no matter how far he stretched his senses.
"What is your opinion, senior?" He relayed all he felt and saw to her but there was only a contemplative silence.
"Your creation takes the incredible power of the lightning and transforms it into a partial dimensional shield. It is primitive, but you have grasped a piece of what a cultivator needs to create in Inheritance in the future." Lind felt a flush of pride but he tempered it. He had no idea how to replicate what he had done.
It was like the strange vein of elixirs he had created under a trance. He could grasp pieces of it, but a lot of it was lost in a fog until he finally became a World Realm later. He had been able to recreate much of the effects he wanted in elixirs but not on par with the first attempt.
"Interesting, I will have to study this more." Lind tried to perceive the sensation around him but it was just an ideal cultivation area inside the house. "I have to go outside."
He had no idea what was going on outside the house, but when he tried to open the door, he finally felt something odd. It was nowhere near as strong, but an ephemeral barrier was at the door.
Lind easily opened it and stepped into the street.
He was unsure what to expect, but a completely normal rumble of thunder and continued lightning strikes was not on his list. He remembered the feeling of Qi being pulled in, but now there was not even a ripple.
He could see the flow of Qi was powerful but the flow of Qi was just stable compared to anywhere else in his sight. If he glanced away, a bit of pain could be felt but he noticed something else.
His dantian was not as disturbed as before! Why?!
He tried to focus but it was difficult to self analyze small changes in his dantian and meridians without a detailed notation on his previous condition.
"I need a test subject." Lind mumbled but then his instincts warned him he was being watched.
He tried to pinpoint the source but a bolt of darkness struck the wall rods and disrupted his Qi flow. It frustrated him, but it was unavoidable. For any other cultivator, that would be a loss of tracking, but he had an alternative.
His skin flashed emerald as his dark green eyes began to glow. The world slowed down to his normal vision but the information coming to him was massive.
He could feel the minute flow of air over his exposed skin. The smell of some smelting, cloth, and human waste flowed into his nose. He had to filter it but his senses narrowed in on a slim form only a street up running away from him.
His muscles bulged and the street cracked under his feet before Lind seemed to vanish from the doorway and appeared in front of the shadowy figure.
His hands snapped out and caught the man by the throat. His eyes bulged as the Gold Tier aura flared. Lind's eyes narrowed as his experienced eyes recognized rather impressive arrays inscribed on the clothes of the man in his hand.
The man's clothes and dantain were clearly geared to camouflage and swift movement. Darkness and air was a bit of a rare combination, but very effective.
"Who are you?" The man could speak but he simply looked in fear as if waiting for someone to come along. Lind's senses flared out and he noticed a change. Using his dragon soul made his senses work perfectly without issue despite elemental Qi disruption.
He filed it away as he found nothing but he increased his grip. The sound of bones creaking as the man's face began to turn blue due to lack of air. Lind's Touch talent prevented any air Qi flowing to the man which finally made his eyes bulge.
"Last chance." Lind's voice was terrifying as he squeezed tighter.
"W-wait!" The man finally spoke but Lind only loosened enough to let him speak.
"Be quick, or this will be the end." Lind felt his blood demanding he kill the man. His instincts screamed that in front of him was an enemy.
"We came for you! I followed the strange feeling of Qi. It is too calm, an anomaly like the shaft of daylight that happened weeks ago!" Lind suddenly felt confused. What shaft of sunlight? Weeks?
He sent his mind back to his cultivation and realized more time had passed than he realized. His repair of his foundation and exploration of the environment had gone on longer than he paid attention to.
He would have to be careful of that in the future.
"Who are we?" Lind had a rather long list of people angry at him, but a Gold Tier was common enough to not narrow the field at all.
If a Sky Realm had come, he would be dead, but Rakathi offered protection from that at least.
"You will not survive the others without my help. We are from the Alliance!" Lind frowned as it was only the second time he heard of that term. Still, he knew the man in front of him was buying time.
His instincts flared but his senses felt nothing. Still, he trusted them.
He used darkness and gravity to crush the windpipe of his current foe before whirling to the right. A man finally appeared to his eyes but his senses still felt nothing. Lind suspected an application of illusion Arts to make the man blend in even more than the darkness cultivator.
Lind smirked as he used a formation plate from his ring.
The man suddenly froze as his Qi was peeled away.
"Your illusions are nothing compared to my wife's." Lind blurred to his enemy's sight and the man proved his experience by quickly using his Arts swiftly to disguise himself. It was too late, however.
Dragon senses were far more precise and now he had the scent of his prey.
The man dove into an alley to prepare a trap but suddenly all his hair stood on end!
Lightning flared not from above but from behind.
Despite Lind's hopes, his foe was prepared. The lightning was dispersed by the dark robes on the man as if it was nothing. Still, the pause gave time for Lind to catch up.
His hand instinctively formed a claw and whipped towards his target. He was unaware that his eyes became slits temporarily before he latched onto the right arm of his target. His strength was far beyond an Iron Tier, even a Diamond Tier could not currently match him in physical power.
The shock on his foe's face was short lived as an emerald flame engulfed him. It burned far hotter than any flame that existed but Lind's skin only reflected the light. Lind was surprised but then he seemed to wake up from a light trance.
There were 2 dead men but he felt nothing. Rather, he felt proud which bothered him.
"You are one of my kind, we defeat our foes and crush them before our power. There is nothing wrong with what you are feeling." Lind disagreed. He would master his dragon soul and retain his humanity. He would not compromise on that.
"Brutal, but effective. Stilson strikes me as a coward, but his idea this time was effective." Lind whirled to find a strangely well dressed man standing in the street. He had immaculate hands, glossy black hair, and what appeared to be high end make up on his face.
His rosy cheeks were not even close to natural but his face was much paler than his hands. His dark eyes even had longer eyelashes than were natural.
"How many of you are there?" Lind listened to his instincts. The first 2 were fairly strong but they relied on stealth and Arts to strike unexpectedly. The man before him was much stronger in the Gold Tier.
Short laughter came from the man as he held his hand to his lips.
"So cute, you expect to survive me, but while you are strong, that is all you are." Lind was confused until his vision blurred. His body felt heavy until emerald flames flared on his body.
All the weight lifted and his vision cleared but the sneering face of the man was now near him!
"DIE!" Lind saw the man's hands glow with fire and darkness. He only looked up and smirked at the man.
The Arts were powerful but he understood them unlike the first 2. Shadow Flame Art was favored by humans that fought demons. It was very powerful but it had a lethal weakness.
Light and water flowed on Lind's body at immense intensity. The man's fierce face was stunned as his Art was undone.
Lind did not let the opportunity slide by but then his vision blurred once more as he stumbled.
"Surprising. A mortal realm that knows of my favored Art. Still, your resilience is surprising as well. It would seem you have a beast bloodline that is somewhat strong, but I have dealt with beings like you before." The man stood over Lind, yet did not close in again.
Lind tried to clear his head again but it failed. His limbs felt like lead while his mind was mush. Poison that worked on a dragon?
"You are not a dragon yet, but I can resolve this issue. Be ready." Senior dragon soul's aura flared and Lind changed. His once subtle emerald sheen became a layer of scales while his eyes became slitted once more.
"This is your end, you're an ant after all." The voice was much closer and Lind did not let it slip away.
His hand was a claw now, not just the shape. It was created by emerald Qi but his dantian was drained instantly. Still, it did the job as his claw pierced through the robes and flesh of his foe.
Shock crossed the fine features but then as life drained the mask of Qi fell away. A very plain man was revealed with makeup and glossy hair.
"N-no…I was meant to live forev–" The man died as Lind had crushed his dantian entirely along with his lungs. Normally he would celebrate but there was at least one more enemy and he had to go.
His body was purged of poison but he was exhausted of Qi now. He was light headed as he stumbled away from the corpses. A figure appeared but Lind could not even summon an elixir.
He was about to smash a few from a pouch at his waist when the light form of Beth appeared. She had bruises on her face, but nothing else.
"Master Frey, come with me, now!" She slipped under his arms and nearly carried him away on her own. She was far stronger than she appeared and took him away from the battle. Lind tried to stay awake but his body demanded rest.
"Sleep, Lind Frey. I will watch over you." The senior dragon soul reassured him and he let darkness close in so his body could recover. The battle was not over but he had no choice but to pass out until he had a chance to cultivate. He had to get stronger or if a larger group of Gold Tier came for him, he would not survive.