novelraw Chapter 306 - 305 - Dead Weight
Chapter 306 - 305 - Dead Weight
Lind wanted children. He was not unaware of the commitment nor the long sleepless nights he would endure because of it, but he would love it. He would love it. He would relish all the frustration of worrying as they grew up and learn how to be the best parent he could with his wives.
He really, really looked forward to it.
"I am hungry. I want my treats!" A grating voice came from behind him and Tal as they cut a path through the foliage. They were heading in what they sincerely hoped was the right direction for roc territory.
"I said I want my treats!" Lind really imagined his squealing babies and later shouting children. They would be different from his imagination of course, stubborn and antsy more than he liked, but he would endure. He could endure it.
"TREEAATTTS NOW!" Tal was a bit angry as it chewed through the brush in front of them. A sudden gust of wind came from behind, but Lind easily disrupted it without a thought at that point.
It was routine after nearly a week.
He really wanted children, he really did.
"STOP IGNORING ME AND GIVE ME MY TREATS!" More wind gusted but Tal could ignore it as Lind dispersed it harmlessly once more.
LInd swore on his life, however, none of his children would be protected. He would push them to their limits and let them learn to stand on their own. He swore they would appreciate true friends and family and never, ever come close to the spoiled brat trailing him at that moment!
"We do not have treats. I have some meat and vegetables at the peak of the Iron Tier, that is all!" Lind just barely refrained from shouting but he did not look back as a kind of half screech and half shout came out of her.
She refused to eat their food. It was pathetic, according to her. They offered to help her hunt or procure Gold Tier food, but she said that was for her servants to do. She expected a Soul Realm and an Iron Tier to take on multiple Gold Tier beings and she just sat there!
Lind was powerful but he was severely outgunned as he had learned the hard way. In the mortal realm he could withstand a peak Gold Tier and possibly a low Diamond Tier in one on one combat.
A group would trouble him but he could easily escape, but the reason he could do that was the rarity of Gold and Diamond Tiers overall. Generally they only clustered together with vast stretches of wilderness between them.
In this jungle, Lind had no such break, in fact World Realms were as plentiful as ants here! It was a powerful flow of Qi in the air that made cultivation a breeze. After observing plants and beasts alike, he had determined a rough estimate.
In this jungle, Lind would be considered very slow. A human would be in the Soul Realm if they cultivated actively by 7 or 8 years of age, World Realm by 15 at latest, and Sky Realm by 20. He had no reference after that but he would guess by 100 years, they should be Immortals!
It was insane!
Thus, he treated the young roc like a child as her attitude reflected it. She expected the world to bow to her whims and did not seem to grasp the context of her new reality. All she knew was her mother would indulge her every wish and her servants were to keep her safe.
The concept they were dead was dismissed as if she refused to accept it.
She believed they were hurt, but should be showing up any moment to take her home. Lind acknowledged he had not checked them all, true, but his instincts had instantly told him the rocs were as dead as the other massive birds.
"Stop ignoring me!" Lind snapped out of his thoughts as guilt flooded him. She was right that time. He had been lost in his thoughts and missed her words.
"I apologize as I was lost in thought. Are you sure this is the way home?" Lind turned around and bowed as he cupped his hands. Showing respect was one of the few ways to placate her.
He was stunned to see her disheveled and her feathers that made up her robes were stained. Why was she not following the path?
Tal and Lind had forged a clear path but it was obvious she was diving off into the bushes or trees to the sides. He saw red stains on her hands that told him the answer. She had been snatching berries!
Lind moved quickly and took one of the berries from her. Before she could protest he brought it to Tal. While Tal was younger, her instincts as a beast of the ground and an herbivore were far more impressive.
Tal instantly shook its head and backed off.
"What do you know squirt? These taste great! They are not my treats but they will do!" Lind saw her pop one in her mouth and then his eyes flickered emerald. A change came over their companion.
Tal had been afraid of his dragon soul but this little girl was enraged.
"Where are you scales for brains? Stop hiding!" Lind did not need to consult his soul to know how that particular insult would go over with any dragon. Ethry would have roasted her long ago.
He had actually tried to explain but she insisted a 'mere human' could never gain a dragon soul. He was not sure if he should be insulted or proud at that moment but let it go.
His dragon soul enhancement clearly warned him these berries were poisonous.
"How many of these have you had?" Lind's eyes glowed as his Heaven Eyes perceived her core and meridians which seemed fine, but he could see something festering in her stomach as well. How did the girl's instincts now warn her?!
"Um, maybe 10 or 20 bushels?" She seemed genuinely confused but glad they were talking again. Lind quickly summoned ingredients and started brewing an elixir. He did not rush as he seemed to have time.
Both Tal and the girl watched on in curiosity as profound water and fire floated in midair as he extracted essence from herbs, stones, and other cores. He did not have elixirs explicitly for aether beasts but he was learning.
Compared to Ethry or the large cat he had befriended long ago, the beasts around him seemed to have complications he had yet to grasp. Senior Skinwalker was quite right that he had far to go in understanding the elements.
"Why are you maki–" In the middle of her question her face turned green and she threw up on him. He did not stop. Lind simply focused while Tal looked at him in some pity. That event, at least, he could use as an experience for his future children.
The elixir needed to face tribulation so he summoned his artifacts to induce it as no cloud was forthcoming. It was something else he had run into. Not a single production tribulation had been triggered no matter how hard he pushed himself.
The elixir improved to peak grade 4, the best he could make and it would do. He quickly manipulated the floating orb in front of him to the girl and she drained it quickly. She at least acknowledged his skill as an elixir master.
Even the jungle seemed to value such a cultivator.
Despite what she hoped, the elixir was not kind. It was basically a Purge Elixir. It removed all toxins from her body all at once. Lind was not able to dodge as more vomit and other disgusting impurities were doused on him.
Emerald flame flared around his body and vaporized the refuse but Lind quickly located a body of water. They made a beeline for it and cleaned themselves. Tal simply stayed far away from them but not so much to attract predators.
It had nothing to worry about. The stench of an ill roc was actually an effective repellent as Lind knew he had zero interest in increasing his sense of smell to learn how effective. The cold water of the lake soothed his skin and his robes were set up to dry as he put on some spares.
"Why did you give me tha–" More coughing and vomiting interrupted her anger but Lind grew concerned as the elixir should have removed all toxins. He scanned her and confirmed no more bad Qi was in her body.
Her core, however, was out of balance. It had been fine before, why was it out of balance now?
He observed the flow of Qi and saw something odd. Air Qi was a given in most birds or avian descendant species, but what should not be there was darkness. Beasts rarely took elements antithetical to their nature, but this girl had darkness with air and fire.
For an avian species, that would cause a severe disharmony. Darkness was related to earth and gravity which might seem like it belonged to those that would defy it, but reality was different. Birds used air and fire to rise and fall on the currents they created with their wings.
Ethry was an outlier as she had all 6 but even her flight was mostly fire and air when she did it.
Lind suddenly understood a misconception he had. Maybe this girl was not spoiled but simply overprotected.
"You did not assume human form on your own, did you?" The question caught her off guard but she puffed up her lithe form as if he had asked about a point of pride.
"My mother helped me transform when I became a Sand Tier. I was gifted in it!" Lind was seeing her in pain as if she had never learned about her darkness element. Would a parent block it off, but how did she get to Gold Tier?
Her foundation was solid and no sign of deviation. Unless…?
"When you became a Gold Tier, your mother was there?" A swift nod and her molten gold eyes were actually looking warm for a change.
"It was super scary as the black clouds came out of nowhere! My mother scoffed at them because she is amazing! I still got struck but she blocked the black bolts for me. I never understood why since the others hardly hurt." Lind felt his anger rise.
There was parenting and then there was endangering. What this parent had done protected their child but it placed a ticking time bomb inside them. His elixir had purged the danger but now this naive child had to deal with an element they never tried to control before!
They had turned this potentially powerful roc into dead weight!
"I don't feel good." She had become pale but Lind could no longer put off what he had to do.
"I can help you but it will hurt. I can't prevent the pain but you can get through it. You are strong. You are certainly stubborn." Lind then had his skin gain scales as his eyes became slits. "You will also face a tribulation but that cannot be avoided like before."
His instincts wanted to reject the roc in front of him, but Lind assumed his control. He was not an animal, he was a cultivator. He walked his path, not controlled by his instincts.
His young charge, however, backed away from him in anger and confusion, but time was up. His Touch had already been regulating her darkness font that was getting gilded like the other 2.
By protecting her child from the last elemental tribulation, she had made a dangerous situation and clearly tried to block it off with something dangerous on top of it. Pride, pride of the race made them do it he was sure as his own dragon instincts screamed to attack but he pushed it aside.
The girl seemed to want to fight but tribulation clouds were gathering as fear grew in her eyes. The terror was clear as he had no doubt it would be far worse than the original attempt.
"You can't run from the Heavens, but I can help, truly." All 6 elements flared around him and for the first time the girl seemed impressed. A World Realm should not have all 6 yet this man did.
Her fear made her agree and his emerald flames roared to life as he connected to her and the tribulation. It would be dangerous but she would die if he did not help. He was irritated with her, beyond tired of her complaints, and frankly vomiting on him had not endeared her to him, but he healed people.
Black lightning struck from above but it hit them both. The battle had begun.