Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 372 - 371 - Secrets of Cultivation

Gheho raced across the space between himself and Lind.  His eyes saw only the death of a fool trying to face a tribulation in the middle of battle.  Everyone knew that there was a long build up before the first lightning bolt would fall.

In that time, anyone could interfere or give some last second aid.  His blade began to glow with a sapphire light as water Qi gathered to his call.  Near water like they were, it was the best place for him to fight or use clones like before.

"DIE AS A FOOL!"  The sword swung through the air faster than most eyes could follow.  If it was a normal cultivator, human, demon or aether child, Gheho's action would have ended their lives right there.

Unfortunately for him, he was attacking a progenitor.

Lind had been warned repeatedly by the spirit at the dragon lands in the Divine Inheritance that a progenitor's tribulations were different.

The Gold Tier had been terrifying for anyone nearby but the Diamond Tier had occurred in the midst of Heavenly Wrath.  Despite all the lightning bolts slamming into Lind, the tribulation dragon was there.

Thus, Lind ignored the attack despite feeling it.

Nadia and the twins looked on in worry until a massive bolt of lightning struck Gheho into ash!  No bolt struck Lind, but one had killed Gheho!  Why?!

Lind was the progenitor of a Divine bloodline.  When Divine Beasts broke through, the Heavens did not punish them, but celebrated them.  Any interference once the clouds gathered would be punished severely.

There was not even a body left of Gheho.  His storage treasure was wiped out with him which made Lind a bit sad.  Still, he had no time as he went back to focusing on what he had already known but refused to take the final step until right then.

When he smelled the ambushers, his instinct and pride rose up before he realized it.  His dragon soul was annoyed with people attacking him it seemed.  It was annoyed because Lind was annoyed.

He just wanted to finish his journey but now Lind realized he had been holding back on his own advancement.

He had figured it out by realizing the secrets of 6 elemental cultivation.  To safely progress, 6 elementals had to understand their place in the wider world.  They could not consider individual elements in isolation but as a whole of all of it.

The Soul Realm was about how the elements would compose the body and soul.  A cultivator had to grasp how the elements composed them and what they viewed the world from.  It was the beginning and since it was innate to all, it was the easiest step for 6 elemental cultivators.

No one knew 100% what their elements would be, even in families that had long lines of fire elemental cores, could produce children that never had one.  Thus, it was always the practice to offer all 6 elements for Body Refining Realms to study.

The body was the foundation upon which the cores would be born.

Lind recalled so clearly his simple thoughts of how each of the elements represented an aspect of his existence and all 6 cores came into being, waiting for him to comprehend all of them.

After that, he had been stuck in the bottom of a Relic that seemed to accidentally reveal the World Realm for him.  It was meant to be done in cooperation with a group, but Lind had done it alone.

He grasped the relationship of each element to the world at large and connected his core to the outside flow of elements.  He also had to keep his harmony in mind, in other words, he became a world unto himself.

It was the step that held back the 6 elementals because most cultivators focused on the individual cores and because they were missing the others, they loss of potential was minimal, but they did not have such a luxury.

They had to do it all at once, or not at all.  Any other attempt would result in cracked foundations and extreme loss of potential.

That assumed they did not cripple themselves in the process.

Based on those 2 major steps, Lind had already had a vague idea of what the Sky Realm would be.  Sky Realms could fly and had to ascend to the Floating Isles to advance.  They had to start to leave the world behind so it was clear what needed to be done.

Lind had gathered all his loose thoughts as a firm idea of what he had to do was now in his mind but the pressure from above was reaching a critical point.

The dread snake ascension was likely the most terrifying tribulation Lind had experienced and it was only 4 bolts.  His friends and family had allowed him to see theirs but according to his mother, Ethry's ascension had wiped out a part of the Dread Desert bandit gangs.

Lind knew the Heavens had made Ethry's will manifest during her tribulation but his would not be so kind.  Still, he looked towards the capital of the Saint Kingdom's direction as an idea came to his mind.

He was in peak condition and flew into the sky as the pressure built but Lind positioned himself to a certain direction.  As if waiting for him to finish, the first bolt of cerulean and white lightning ripped across the sky and hit Lind squarely in the chest.

He was sent flying out of control but his direction was clear as the boiling black clouds seemed to keep spreading farther and father.

Any town or village that fell under them felt terror as the pressure from Heaven only increased more and more.  Any Sky Realm nearby turned toward the east but felt only horror in their senses.

It was far more powerful than any tribulation they had ever faced.

Lind tumbled through the air but he was hardly damaged by the first bolt.  His scales were shining brightly as the second bolt slammed into him.  That time, it not only sent him farther west but it started him falling.

Lind saw the ground was a blur at the speed he was moving but he was focused inward as the air roared in his ears.

A Sky Realm had to form a Sky Core.  It was a massive qualitative change but the decades of study were very slim compared to lower realms.  Lind could usually find several theories for the same combination of elements depending on the sect, kingdom, or location the technique was found, but Sky Realm was different.

All agreed that Sky Cores were about the resonance of the elements to blend together and become one.  It was so similar to harmony research but Lind had thought he had to make it complicated for 6 elementals.

He did not not.  The quirk of 6 elementals meant their elements were already in resonance and produced the result as a harmony flame.  All Lind had to do was connect the fonts into a single whole to achieve the birth of his Sky Core.

Lind saw his dantian.  A giant emerald diamond filled it with the 6 fonts still pushing inward equidistant from each other.

Light was on top with air, water, darkness, earth, and fire before it came back to it.  The sparkling fonts began to crack as the pressure from the tribulation reached them but his emerald diamond remained intact.

Lind let the lightning do as it pleased until the 3rd bolt finally brought him to the capital of the Saint Kingdom.  Any defensive formations shattered like glass before his tribulation.

Hogath was a sprawling city, many times more massive than any other in the Saint Kingdom.  The hoarding of resources by the strong was clear in a glance at the poor conditions most had to live in.

Lind felt a venting in his heart as the blazing sword stuck in the dome caught his eye!  He made a beeline for it and while some guards in silver tried to stop him, the tribulation kept them away as the pressure was clearly building for another bolt!

Lind landed and grasped the hilt of the sword.  Its intent tried to harm him but his draconic roar shattered it.  At that moment, the 4th bolt finally came.  It was a slightly darker cerulean compared to white.

It was also painful!  Lind finally felt the pain race along his scales but he endured as he channeled part of the lightning into the blade.  The tribulation lightning could not be denied!  It raced along the golden dome and shattered it into oblivion as Lind fell into the council chambers.

There were only a few present who scattered as the pressure filled the room.  The building pillars began to crack as the council room formations were obliterated.

"You all wanted me here!  Well here I am!"  Lind roared when the 5th bolt came down blowing open the roof entirely.  The stone, metal, and wood was either completely destroyed or sent flying outward into the open courtyards of the complex.

None could stay as they fled in panic and terror.  Very few knew who had come, but those that did wailed at their greed and hypocrisy.  They did not mean it!  They just wanted to be right!

Lind was bleeding now, but his recovery time was still impressive.  His fonts were now glowing with elemental light but laced with emerald as he finally began the process.  The tribulation was judging him now.  It was forcing him to move forward, or be crippled.

Tendrils of emerald light began to stretch out from the light font to the air font.  The same from air to water and so forth.  They were faint but growing thicker as they moved around his dantian to reach each other.

The Qi in his dantian was not nearly enough!  Thankfully, he looked up at the clouds and the 6th bolt struck down like the wrath he had once faced.  Its power was far above the entire storm that once laid waste to Rakathi.

The Qi ravaged his meridians but Lind's eyes burned with rage as he tamed the storm inside.  It was funneled into his dantian and the tendrils thrummed with power as they just barely touched each font.

For the first time in his life, the 6 elements not only converged in his harmony but also touched each other with it.

His draconic recovery was not as impressive after that last lightning bolt but Lind was smiling.  His power was rising, all it needed was the final steps.

"It is time to create the path to the future!"  Lind roiling clouds and felt for a moment a sensation of joy.  It felt like the Heavens were encouraging him as he looked up and saw the power building for the 7th bolt.

The final 3 bolts were critical to him and he had to endure!  An elixir appeared in his hands and he downed it as his body healed back to its peak nearly instantly.  He was ready to take the next steps as his emerald diamond had fine cracks appear in it.

He had 6 segments being refined into a purer and higher state.  It was time to ascend!