Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 326 - 325 - Abuse of Wisdom

Lind discovered he had been partially right.  While the dome and all the buildings were very reminiscent of Earth technology, the stone temple gave off a profound aura despite its simplicity.

He had examined the simple walls covered by a cone roof with a dark stone arch as its entrance but nothing came back to him.  He had only encountered such a lack of response in the Relics he had been through.

Those materials were often crafted by cultivators far above him.

He also felt the otherworldly essence in the structure as it seemed simple but far more powerful than anything he normally encountered in the world.  Even back in the Divine Inheritance, Dierdra had spoken with him on the traits to gauge a Ruin or Relic he might find.

Based on those criteria, the temple had been a Heaven Realm Relic.

Once inside, he had confirmation as the small structure was much larger on the inside but he was shocked to see cables coming out of walls and laid along the edges leading farther into the stone hall.

There were no doors but without knowing what the Relic was for, they could be hidden behind arrays or conditions.  At least, they would have if not for the fact that they felt dead to him.

The aura of the exterior was missing entirely from within.  His senses could penetrate the walls without issue but he only found more cabling, technology, and clear signs of excavation from behind the walls.

Someone had modified the Relic!

He wondered why but had to proceed as Tal followed but Kora flittered ahead.  Of all of them, she was the strongest at Diamond Tier.

Still, he worried as Relics often could far exceed World Realm power.  He did think issues were reduced since someone had seemingly gutted the Relic.

The hallway continued for what seemed an impossible length from what he saw outside but finally a glimmer of golden light came from ahead but there was also the sound of what had to be a giant fan.

Kora came back but she only seemed confused.  Lind nodded and patted her head as she resumed her place on his shoulder.

They finally emerged into a massive room but it was a bit confusing.  It was clear that at one time there were crystals held in stone caskets but all of that was broken down.  In their place were more machines humming away like a full server room.

Thick cables ran from the hall to the ring of machine towers but more cables led to the center of the circular room.

Lind finally felt some profound Qi but it was fractured.  It was clear that the Qi was leaking from the same cables that seemed able to avoid elemental conflict.  He was stunned to realize it was Sky Realm level of Qi.

Despite all the records and information relayed, he realized he had never asked about Sky Realms in Archadia.  The 6 elemental aspect had snagged his attention so much he had ignored something wise to confirm when heading towards danger.

As they moved deeper into the chamber, Lind felt the source of life coming from that very location.  He noticed crystals had been reassembled into a large casket glowing with golden light.

It was not light Qi, however, but a machine with a figure inside of it.  It was a fairly young man with close cropped hair and faint signs of a mustache and beard.  Lind could not perceive his cultivation but given the quality of Qi flowing towards the casket, a Sky Realm would be his best guess.

What bothered him was the timeline of events.  According to the Divine aether beasts, it had easily been tens of thousands of years since the wrath of Heaven began.  Even if a Sky Realm was inside the dome, unless they had a lineage of people behind them, they would be long dead.

Also, who put this young man in the casket?  Where were they?

There were no remains at all nor any sign of even a cultivator being left for dead.  A deeper glance at the casket revealed a set of internal controls.  It was clear the young man had put himself in the casket.

It still begged the question where was everyone else?

Lind looked around the room and finally saw something he had wanted for awhile.  It was a computer terminal.

He moved near the casket to reach it but was always looking out for arrays or any other trap yet nothing was found.  Tal and Kora stayed near him but he approached the standing desk terminal.

He noted it had a standard QWERTY keyboard which spoke volumes about its creator.  It was not just a reincarnator but a western one like him.  That person had essentially dragged technology into the cultivation world without any shadow of a doubt.

They had somehow figured out how to use Qi as a medium for power without conflict or breakdown, and now they had a full blown computer!

Lind began to suspect why Heaven was angry.  The direction of technology led to very dangerous areas the farther one went.  If a novice tried to truly bring it into the cultivation world it would be a nightmare the likes of which would make cultivators wage devastating wars.

Arts and techniques could bring devastation but there were myriad ways to mitigate it.  The world, no matter how cruel, could be considered at least able to be balanced, but technology cut through that balance like a hot knife through butter.

Still, the extent of it was clearly the work of decades at least.  Why was there no reaction until a certain point?  Why were the creators of this place prepared for that wrath?

"They really knew what they were doing."  Lind realized the truth that likely many on Earth had learned when secrets finally came to light.  All the weapons or risky research that was sometimes done in the dark was done with the full knowledge of the consequences the subjects or innocents would face.

They did it anyway because a theory had to be tested.  Further, the mental point of view was always about proving what a country or person could achieve in reality, not theory.

He looked back at the casket and only wondered if the person inside knew what these machines were doing or was simply the test subject that had no idea the cost of being inside it.

He looked over the terminal and found there was no power button but there was a jade slip embedded into the spot a power button could be.  He infused Qi into it and it came on exactly as he expected.

There were no normal powerup sounds but the screen lit up and showed a sequence of familiar code.  Lind had no claim to coding expertise but few could work in a corporate office and not pick some up simply to solve issues in a timely fashion instead of the mercy of red tape.

Once it finished booting up it asked for a password which made Lind frown but then smile.  It was not a normal computer.  It was powered by Qi, which meant there was a correct sequence that triggered a response he could interpret with his Eyes and Touch.

It took all of an eyeblink to figure out it was not so much a number or word but a combination of the 6 elements.  The hybrid setup was clear but the purpose was still hidden.

A row of folders appeared like they would for any computer, but that time the language was not like the keyboard.  Clever.  They used special characters no cultivator could ever figure out but years of playing games to avoid work finally came in handy.

It was necessary to hide usernames at times in case a coworker or upper management also played the game you were on and Lind had full knowledge of what each folder said.

[Project Summary]

[Innervation Analysis]

[Data Interpolation]

[Materials]

[Superstition vs Facts]

[Final Conclusions]

"What was all this for?"  Lind started at the top but while most of it was in either American English or a variation of Rakathi found in old scrolls, he also encountered more of the Japanese or Chinese characters for the sensitive areas.

That time, however, Lind knew he would not be denied.  The fact the creator knew multiple languages but used a QWERTY keyboard gave away their native tongue.  He used his senses to carefully understand what key sequence produced those characters and sure enough, it was a translation matrix!

It took several days to unlock the program and then read the files unfiltered.

Lind had been right and anger rose as he read on.  It was essentially a dismissal of cultivation in that the person reborn found the whole people primitive and ripe for control.  It had benefits of course, but only the truly talented, such as the creator of the technology, should benefit.

The whole point of the project was to correct the flawed logic of Qi being some mysterious energy according to the words in the files but Lind noted the person kept cultivating.  He noticed that the elements of the creator were the 4 primary elements.

A glance at the casket and Lind noted those were the exact 4 elements flowing into it.

As time moved on, they needed to expand their resource collection.  They were born to a noble house and they used their 'superior' knowledge to raise the standards of living.  It all would have been fine but the disdain for the way of life all around them was clear as day in every word.

Lind missed cars, games, and phones too but he enjoyed the life he lived.  It was not fair at all, and damned cruel at times, but he found happiness there as well.  He could not claim either as superior or inferior.

This person had abused the wisdom of their past life to corrupt and destroy the lives of all around them.

Lind skipped most of the data collection folders as it was incredibly dull.  It basically showed how the technology was adapted to use Qi and he realized it was all copied from scrolls or jade slips into the machine later.

It was only the last folder that was likely fully entered into the terminal before whatever happened.  It was the final lines that made Lind truly understand what made Heaven so angry.

[I do not know what exactly will happen but I have seen enough of the foolish acceptance of their Gods to know at least the reactions are real.  The trials I had to survive were ridiculous and I refuse to let some petulant child kill me again.  I finally have it all ready to start and that annoying war is no longer my problem.

When I wake up, I will finally be beyond all this nonsense.  I will finally live forever.]

"You bastard.  You knew the truth but kept going anyway.  How many warnings did you ignore?  How many died for you?"  Lind had made some elixirs that angered Heaven.  He had resisted but never made them again.  He was not the only one to face such issues either.

The only way this nightmarish machinery could have existed was by ignoring warnings.  Instead, they just made sure the lighting could no longer reach them!

Lind had diverted Heavenly lightning before, but that was survival from direct attack.  That person blithely dismissed what they did not want to accept and only saw the reality they wanted.

An entire area of Indelia was reduced to a blasted land of death and rage because they believed they were wiser than experts that lived for thousands of years!  They even followed that guidance to reach the Sky Realm but still denied its veracity!

"Time to wake up and pay the piper."  Lind's eyes were cold as he turned to the casket.  He could not transform but his strength was far beyond any human being.  He found the first seam and began to pull apart the casket.

The being inside had a lot to answer for and they would no longer be able to hide!