Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 316 - 315 - Crumbling Citadel

It took a month for Lind to stabilize his foundation once more.  Merging completely with his soul once more had practically removed the barrier to Gold Tier, but the suggestion from Lady Dierdra seemed wise.

Senior dragon soul was no longer with him to guide him and the map had something to do with dragons according to her.

Kora and Tal were excited but Lind hammered home the danger of the upcoming journey.  Kora was a mid Diamond Tier after so long, but Tal was essentially a defenseless babe in the woods at the Sand Tier.

Lind was not much better despite his unique circumstances.  Sky Realms were the real first realm of freedom for a cultivator in the Inheritance.  It made Lind feel humble and reminded him of how far he had to go.

His divine bloodline allowed him some freedom but only in relation to catching beasts off guard.  Their instinctual response made them back off, but if a beast pushed it or overcame their instinct, he would be easily killed.

There were several changes Lind had to account for in his new state.  His strength had increased far beyond human limits as well as his senses.  He now always could smell minute changes that overloaded his mind but he at least had the previous short transformations to quickly filter out what he was smelling.

His sight and hearing were easier as a cultivator's senses did improve as they got stronger.  Lind had also used air, water, and light Qi to often enhance his senses over his life so having a physical improvement was not so difficult.

Taste, however, was a strange experience.  Simple enjoyment of tea became an information overload of all the contents being broken down.  He now could actually discern the origin of the leaves, their age, their life experience, and even if they were plucked or fell naturally!  How could taste have so much information?!

Once Lind sorted out his senses and his body, he found Dierdra was wise.  While the bottleneck had become threadbare, it was still there.  Unlike an actual material that would be fragile at such a thickness, his cultivation felt like a solid steel wall stood before him.

Still, he felt like he could force it, but instead he planned for his trip and gathered resources.  Unlike before, where he was rewarded for services rendered, Dierdra went to the treasure halls and procured many herbs, ores, and all resources he could potentially use for many years to come.

They both understood that when he left their nests on the mountain, he would not be coming back ever.

The final night arrived and Kora spent it with her mother while Tal was taken along at Dierdra's insistence.  Lind let them have that last night as he could not be certain what would happen after he left the Inheritance but he began to suspect there was something he did not know that Dierdra did.

She refused to reveal even a hint, but Lind was not so blinded by his desire to advance that he could not piece together the odd plans of the Divine Realm roc matriarch.

"You are close."  Lind nearly jumped as a voice came from behind him.  He turned to find a tall male roc in human form but their eyes were myriad colors which revealed it had to be Skinwalker.

"Senior, a little warning would be nice in the future."  Lind had been feeling confident in his new senses but Skinwalker proved he had far to go before it was true no one could sneak up on him.

A smile spread on Skinwalker's face but he changed shape to his previous human form.

"I thought it would take longer but you are terrifying.  I took thousands of years to make the progress you have at the World Realm.  Still, I should warn you, if you face your tribulation inside the Inheritance, it will be dangerous when you return to the wider world."  Lind was confused.  What did that mean?

His confusion was clear as Skinwalker waved to the couches for them to sit as Lind served tea.  Skinwalker smiled warmly as he drank the tea.

"I have not had this tea in millions of years.  I should visit more often."  Lind smirked that for a being that created a real memory manifested could enjoy a memory from that time inside it.  "Essentially, you can advance to the Gold Tier for real here, but since you do not face the tribulation of your mortal world, it will await you once you exit."

Lind found that absurd but then recalled the truth of his situation.

At that moment, while he was in a real place that really existed, it was also the past in a way that no longer existed once he left the Inheritance.  It would be like facing the memory of a tribulation rather than the real thing.  It made his head hurt thinking about it!

Still he had a question then.

"I will really be a Gold Tier?"  Skinwalker nodded.  "Then would the tribulation be able to harm me?"

Skinwalker laughed as he shrugged.

"I believe you would be unique as the only time I know of this issue occurring it all happened in the Divine Realm.  At that time, the cultivator was caught off guard and was crippled so I gave you the warning to be prepared."  Lind bowed and when he looked up, Skinwalker was gone.

"Nothing is ever easy."  Lind sighed as he snuffed out the lights to cultivate to his peak condition for the journey to come.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

"RUN!"  Lind was carrying Tal in his arms as the trees shattered around them.  He had heard of beast tides from Solon and Shoti both but the reality of it was far worse than anything he had conceived.

Kora was in her roc form as she soared above in concern but she knew it took pressure off Lind to only protect Tal as he ran.

They had been traveling fairly peacefully for a year before they left the territory of the Platinum Wings Clan.  Lind had left many elixirs and Forged items behind.  He was not sure what the future would hold once the Inheritance collapsed but he repaid his debts.

He had been able to make leaps and bounds far beyond his wildest dreams in his professions save weaving.  The severely limited knowledge on that profession had more to do with the aether beasts' interests than any taboo.

Now, such elixirs were keeping Lind alive.  He did not dare to fly on the disc he still had with him as the power of the aether beasts easily exceeded his ability to escape on it!

The jungle came to his aide as he grabbed a vine and was pulled up out of the way at last!  The forest treated him differently since they started their journey.  Kora did not know why but Tal strangely said the jungle liked 'Papa's song.'

High up on the thick branches, Lind did not stop but began to leap from one tree to the next as the beasts at the front were revealed to be a 6 horned boar that was the size of a house!

They were all Heaven Realms!

Lind was not their target but the panicking beasts tried to follow him.  It was a critical mistake as they had to turn to follow his fleeing shape and the beasts behind caught up to them instantly.

The scent of blood spiked which caused an even greater panic in the beasts as roars, whinnies, and many other noises echoed in chaos across the jungle.  Any beast not involved fled from the noise in fear of their own lives.

Lind finally seemed to leave it behind as he felt exhausted.

He had been pumping all his elements to lighten his and Tal's weight while pushing his body to its limits at full speed and agility to keep going.  It had nearly made him collapse when they escaped.

"PAPA!"  Tal grasped him tightly in worry but he smiled at her as Kora swooped down as well before returning to her human form.

"Lind!"  She summoned an elixir from her own storage ring, a fairly good one compared to most Lind had seen in the treasure hall, but he waved it off as he was recovering quickly on his own.

He scanned the area with his senses and was surprised to find a structure not far away.

"Come, I need somewhere safe to recover."  They moved until an artificial structure nearly buried by vines and trees emerged.  Kora and Tal were surprised but Lind was stunned.  He had detected the structure, but what stunned him was the clear view of a doorway designed not for any beasts, but humans.

It was a crumbling human citadel not far from the rocs and vermillion birds.

An instinct that had nothing to do with his dragon soul screamed of danger.  He focused his Qi control with Touch and followed several probes but nothing dangerous came back.  It was dead, entirely dead.

They slowly approached but no arrays lit up nor any reaction at all, but the thing that made Lind wary was not a single plant was inside any intact structure.  It looked like as the buildings broke, the jungle moved in.

"I don't like this place."  Tal's words made the other 2 jump but Lind patted her head.  They had no choice as Lind was still very shaky as he had to recover.

They finally stood at the entrance and he noted the signs of a door that had completely rotted away.  Metal hinges were still in the dark stone but covered in rust.  He used his senses but nothing threatening came back.

"Wait a moment."  Lind stepped forward and finally crossed the threshold.  He waited several breaths but nothing happened.  The cool interior was empty of anything useful.  Piles of dust and cloth indicated disintegrated furniture.

He was about to beckon the other 2 follow when he froze.  His heart began to beat like crazy as he saw a very faded figure of a woman among clouds high up on one wall.  It was next to a simple sword blade down with a sun behind it partially set next to it.

There were several other broken or partial symbols, but those 2 stood out to Lind.

The Heavenly Maiden Sect and Divine Sword Sect symbols could not be a coincidence but further, he recognized what he was seeing.

"An Alliance Citadel.  This place was part of the Alliance."  Lind had learned that the powers that united against the Fiends were simply known as the Alliance.  He assumed it was only at the Heaven Realm but he now grasped the breadth of the war and its age.

This place had died a long time ago and only 1 force would have killed it.  Lind summoned a disperser and checked as he felt all his blood drain away.

Anti-Qi.  There was faint traces of anti-Qi!