Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 391 - 390 - Scorched Gorge

Lind was sailing through the air at a speed he had never reached before.  The ground was simply a dark blur but then bright orange and yellow flashes gave him a deep concern.  He knew the large island was called Scorched Gorge but he assumed it was blasted rock.

It seemed to be home to active volcanoes!

The geological reasoning for how a floating island had volcanoes was pushed aside as Lind realized he could not slow down!  He tried to use his natural ability and his Qi but his body barely seemed to respond.

He realized he had to overcome his momentum or he might sail off the island entirely!  He did not relish trying to survive the aether beasts that made their home between the gaps of the islands!

Lind put his full power all at once into a reversal flight force.  The effect was as if he slammed into a brick wall.  His bones strained and pain lanced up his body.  There was a loud clap of what no doubt sounded like thunder but it was 2 opposing forces crashing together in midair.

Lind nearly blacked out as he began to fall from the sky.  He was quite far up, but his mind was still reeling from the impact.  A dark forest was beneath him but he had no ability to control his landing.

At the last moment, emerald scales covered his body as he slammed into the hard packed earth.  Cracks raced away from the point of impact and a small dust cloud rose.  The carbonized trees shattered like glass in the immediate area, adding to the dust.

A few forms slithered away quickly but there was no one else to see his fall.

Once the cloud cleared, there was a large crater at the center of all the damage.  Lind's robes were scratched up and shredded, but mostly still covered him.  His body was not too badly damaged as it healed quickly.

He slowly sat up and worked the kinks out of his body while looking up at the sky.

"Let's not do that again."  The joy of flight lost a lot of appeal if he had no control.  He also made a note about speeding up in the tunnels if they gave assistance.

He looked around and winced at the destruction he had caused.  While the trees were clearly dead, his nose picked up the scent of some scared beasts.  He could not tell from that alone what realm they were at, but any beasts that survived on that island could not be weak.

He floated out of the crater and frowned as his robes.  The inscribed arrays had completely broken so he was essentially just wearing cloth at that point.  He went through robes too quickly!

He donned a more conservative pale blue color and simply made his way out of the broken area.  The ground felt more like stone than dirt but the trees gave the illusion of life.  The black branches and trunks were rife with burnt carbon.

"So while it is called Scorched Gorge, there are active places full of fire Qi."  Lind could feel that both fire and earth were in high concentrations on the island.  Water was essentially non-existent, but there had to be some for the aether beasts to survive.

Lind carefully picked his way over the stony terrain but he saw neither beast nor people to break up the dark horizon.  He could fly, but given what happened on his arrival, he felt it best to stick to the ground for a bit.

He did see a few herbs that caught his eye for study later that persevered in the harsh environment.  They were true grade 5 herbs and he was very low on such materials.

The heat in the air started to rise before Lind stopped.  He finally found something other than dirt and stone!

A lava pool was bubbling happily and it was not unoccupied.  Dark scaled salamanders were happily playing with each other as a larger parent looked on.  Lind was stunned that they were all darkness salamanders!  How did darkness aether beasts of any kind exist here?

Still, he was downwind from them so he could smell them, but they could not smell him.  He watched and smiled at the innocence of the scene.  A part of him even felt the pull to join them but his body could not withstand the quality of that pool.

The lava easily reached the mid tiers of the Sky Realm and while the salamanders had a natural affinity, it was clear the parent was doing something to protect their young.

He was about to quietly leave when his eyes narrowed.

There was a slight distortion on a ledge just above the parent salamander.  Normally, Lind would not interfere, but the playful young tugged on his heart.

Sighing that he should have learned his lesson about interfering, Lind sucked in a large bit of air and then used a touch of his soul.

"ROOOOAAAARRRRRR!!!!"  His draconic roar was infused with a warning.  The large salamander used its long tail to launch itself into the lava and grabbed both of its children with its mouth.

An aether child appeared on the ledge in shock as their ears bled.  Lind made no move to reveal himself as the trees hid him and the power of that roar was at the Sky Realm.  The highest level here normally would be Tier 3, and only if they had business.

There were many fire and earth crystal mines according to the villagers in the Elysium Plains.

The salamanders dove into the pool and vanished which made Lind even more curious but he pushed it aside a Tier 1 Sky Realm aura swept over the area.  Lind stayed still, just out of range, and saw the frustration on the blue and black skinned aether child.

"Spirits stop cursing my luck!"  The voice was male but Lind was waiting.  There was no way any sane person would be out alone to face a tier 2 Sky Realm salamander without a damned good reason.

"I told you before, you are too impatient Galen."  Another voice nearly made Lind jump as it came not too far from him!  He used his peripheral vision to confirm the arrival of another Sky Realm, but this time at tier 3!

She was another aether child, but of light and darkness!  A very rare combination!  The fact she made it to the Sky Realm was a testament to her hard work!  Soul Realm was where aether children naturally formed and no other.

That held true even in the Floating Isles.

"Patience had nothing to do with whatever beast that was!"  The whining tone made Lind understand their relationship was close.  The women of black and gold smirked but she never glanced at Lind.

She should easily be able to feel him, but she said nothing about him.

"Perhaps you should not have gone after a family during their play?"  Her question made Lind break out in a sweat.  She knew!  She clearly knew!

Any doubt Lind had she might have missed him had vanished.

The man looked upset at her words.

"Shadowscale cores are very valuable, even the young–"  Lind was unaware of when the woman moved but she seemed to flash from one point to the other.  His eyes narrowed in shock.

Light teleportation!  She was able to use beams of light to move at the speed of light!  Her darkness element actually helped her as she could separate individual wavelengths of light others could never find with the light element!

Lind could never outrun this woman even if he was tiers above her!  Her power was something any sect would be terrified of because their formations did not stop light!  The effort and resources were not worth it to guard against such a rare skill!

"Hunting an adult is one thing, Galen, but shadowscales do not threaten people.  They live in places like this far from where people wish to be.  I never want to hear about killing younglings ever again from you?"  Her voice was stern but Lind did not dare to move since he now knew she could instantly reach him.

The young man nodded before turning and leaving.

Lava bubbled for a bit before a dark head surfaced enough to look at her.  She glanced at it before cupping her hands and bowing.

"He is young, senior, I beg your forgiveness."  Lind narrowed his eyes as he realized the head was larger than the other salamander!  It was also at tier 5!

The head rose a bit and nodded before looking towards Lind but the aether beast did not look right at him.  Clearly it did not know where he was and did not possess a skill to detect him like a cultivator could.

"You can come out, junior.  I will not harm you since you cause no harm to my ward."  Lind swallowed and slowly emerged.  The moment the large salamander saw him, its dark eyes narrowed before suddenly making several sharp sounds.

The woman seemed confused but Lind only nodded.

He then growled and clicked a bit which made the salamander bow deeply to him before diving back under the lava.  Lind really wished to understand how they did that!  Fire Qi should be harmful to darkness based creatures but they seemed to enjoy it!

"You have a beast bloodline?"  Lind jumped as her voice was suddenly next to him.  He saw her dark gold eyes try to pierce his secrets but his soul was safe from her.  As to the rest, he could not hide much if she pushed.

"I had a unique situation that had an unexpected result, senior."  Lind stayed respectful but the woman circled around him.  Now that he had a proper look, she was quite beautiful.

She was not as well endowed as Annabelle but her mixture of black and gold was very pleasant on her skin and hair.  Much like the gold and sapphire, it shone like gemstones to his eyes.

It told him she was powerful.

"You have no emblem, no sign of a pass, nor a medallion.  I sense no criminal brand and most criminals would not be so clever to warn a shadowscale while not endangering the aether child."  Lind began to sweat at how much she knew at a glance!  "Who are you?"

Lind was about to give a name when he froze.  Her eyes were strange to him suddenly.  Darkness Qi!  She had 2 innate skills!  Darkness Qi was closely tied to the mind and he knew if he lied, she would kill him to be safe.

"I do not wish to say, senior.  My apologies."  Her eyes narrowed but there was no disrespect in his words so she let it pass.

"Very well, then I guess I should name you as your new owner!"  Lind flinched before powerful Qi encircled him.  He could break free but he could not escape her and she knew it!  "I think Pup sounds just right, don't you think, Pup?"

Lind wanted badly to argue as several chills went up his spine.  If any of them ever learned of this, the Floating Isles would be turned into a smoking ruin!  Sweat began to break out on his forehead which seemed to amuse her no end.

"I am Azylea.  A terrible name, but it was given to me by a good woman who is no longer with us.  I will make sure to train you to be on better behavior, Pup!"  Lind was pulled along and wondered how bad it would feel to be burned by lava really as they moved off to who knew where.