novelraw Chapter 393 - 392 - Breaking Point
Chapter 393 - 392 - Breaking Point
Four years had passed since the incident in which Dashu had let someone escape without confirming their identity from the Elysium Plains. He had been recalled as well as most of the forces in the Ravaged Isles but a contingent remained behind in all connecting cities.
Rumors had begun to spread and more than a few sects, notably the Divine Sword Sect and Hellfire Sect, had become tired of their actions. It was disruptive and spread to the adjacent Isles.
When it was just the Elysium Plains, it was hardly inconvenient aside from a near incident with the Heavenly Maiden Sect. Still, that was resolved by the higher echelons.
Now, things were getting spread around too far for the others to ignore. The Sword Breakers Sect was also not an easy neighbor already so being pushy even on the low end of Sky Realm was now drawing ire.
Words of argument rose to small fights and finally a near battle occurred on Isle of Flowers. It was a treasure trove of herbs beloved of alchemists and elixir masters alike. When that got threatened, things escalated quickly.
Finally, the Babylon Guild got involved.
When that happened, many realized how serious things had become. The Babylon Guild was always present but few had seen them take action in their lifetimes. It only made overt moves when the situation had devolved into dangerous waters.
It meant war was brewing.
A large caravan emerged from a connection tunnel. Normally there would be various groups traveling together but the Babylon Guild got special dispensation to use connection tunnels or teleportation arrays just for their caravans.
"The Lily Sect greets the envoys of Babylon!" A graceful young girl stepped forward from a group with fine yellow robes. There were a few men but they seemed to be in awe of the caravan size and profound formations already making themselves known.
Two aether children women at tier 3 of Sky Realm stepped forward. Their robes were of fine silk and seemed metallic combined with their Qi colored flesh. The men were mesmerized but a few of the women poked them in the ribs to remind them they were looking at powerful cultivators.
The representative had soft brown hair with dark eyes and cream colored skin, bowed to the pair approaching.
"You have come far Selly!" The black and gold aether child immediately broke the solemn atmosphere which made more than a few disciples crack a smirk before carefully blanking their faces.
"Azylea! Stop calling me that!" The once serious woman lost her cool before she turned crimson while the crimson and tan aether child held the bridge of her nose.
"I told you to let me talk, but noooo!" It seemed like an argument was about to begin when a soft cough silenced the 2 aether children instantly.
"Seniors, we have business to attend to." A rather striking young man at tier 2 of the Sky Realm was close behind the 2 women. His midnight black hair paired well with pale blue robes and tanned skin.
More than half the women were now staring while the men were poking them in the ribs. It should be noted the effect was negligible on the women.
"Ahem, yes. Seline, we have come per the orders of our guild. Please guide us to the negotiation site." The more solemn tone returned and all shook themselves of the silliness that had overcome them.
As all straightened themselves out, no one noticed the young man blend back into the caravan. It was as if he was never there!
The sect members brought forth several beasts of burden that looked like a cross between a wooly mammoth and an ant. It was a massive insect but covered in fur!
The hiraga were the perfect aether beasts to tame for the Isle of Flowers as they could perform laborious tasks with great delicacy and strength. Rather than pulling the caravan wagons, they picked them up with their forelegs while the hind legs firmly began to step onto the road to the meeting place.
Lind moved a curtain aside and was amazed at the smooth ride the hiraga could supply. The fur was a result of earth Qi mixing with darkness Qi inside the creatures. They usually had a third element but it varied between air, fire, and water.
Water was very rare but highly desired. A hiraga of water could be critical to caring for very delicate herbs that would be made useless without having a lot of moisture in the air.
Aether beasts had an innate grasp of the natural world so such a hiraga could produce the exact level of moisture to nurture herbs of various kinds all at once without the need for a formation or special buildings.
Lind felt the itch to study so badly but refrained as he reviewed the current list of requests. After 4 years with the caravan, he was simply one of them. Many treated him like the twins but he firmly made it clear they were in charge.
He simply curtailed their far too easy to fall into arguments. It was simply the nature of their lives, yet he was seeing that it could be moderated with some teaching. It could never be eliminated, and he would not want to, but the twins could help each other even out in a given situation.
The meeting with an old friend had loosened them both up and they fell into their old patterns but his gentle reminder would have simply shifted the argument 4 years ago.
"Master Frey! You are so mean!" Azylea was now in his compartment. She had called him Pup off and on for a year before at least calling him by name. The honorifics were only in the last 6 months!
Shoti would love this woman to death!
"You forget, we are going to meet the Sword Breakers Sect who are not known for their patience. You also know the likely reason behind their strange actions much like all of us." The death of the last grandson of the White Tiger of the Sword Breakers had spread across the Isles.
Lind had no doubt the people who let that slip were likely dead or running.
It was not the kind of thing anyone would want commonly known and worse, that they had nothing to show for it 5 years after the fact.
The petulant aether child suddenly turned serious.
"You killed him?" Lind sighed. He hated how astute her warrior side was.
"He left me little choice. You know the village he terrorized and tortured those people for over a year. It was my fault too but I gave them the chance to flee, yet they did not." He looked straight into her shimmering dark gold eyes before she slowly blinked and then nodded.
"You are too kind, that heart of yours will land you in more trouble in the future." She was still serious but she then curled up next to him! That was new!
"HUO!" Lind bellowed but Azylea did not move. Her twin came in and it was as if her soul left her body at what she saw.
"No fair! You promised to wait for me!" Lind was nodding until he froze. What was going on?! Was he having a nightmare?!
"I am MARRIED! What are you 2 doing?!" Lind did not hold back as his wards kept all noise inside his compartment. It was a necessity to protect his elixir creation process.
He suddenly had 2 very pretty aether children women laying on either side of him while in his couch.
"I swear to Heaven and Earth, I have done nothing wrong." Not even a tremor followed which made Lind relax. He had worried he had given some kind of signs but then he took a closer look at them.
There were signs of exhaustion as well as some malnourishment. It took a lot for that to happen to a human, but aether children were slightly different. They had spent 4 and a half years in the Scorched Gorge.
The highly imbalanced Qi was just ignored by demons and humans, but aether beasts and children would be much more affected. It was clear they would have to have left soon one way or the other.
Lind then gently patted their heads and let them sleep. He examined their flow of Qi and it was actually moving much better as they both slept. He was clearly still 'Pup' to them but as family.
He hoped, anyway.
The journey to the meeting place took a few weeks but the 2 slept the whole time and the hiraga never stopped. They were all in the peak of the World Realm so they hardly got tired. Lind noticed a few birds but also something that looked a lot like a drake or 2 in the air.
The vibrant fields called to him as well but he simply notated a few that he could make out for later until a wall finally crested the horizon.
The giant wall seemed like stone at first but then Lind realized it was a giant plant. It was a stone thorn!
He had only read about them but he finally got to see one. It was the lowest quality but as its name implied, it was a briar patch kind of plant that could be grown as an effective wall. It needed no arrays or formations as it had natural defenses.
This one had been nurtured to be over 10 meters tall which would be enough to fuel powerful defenses. There was no gate but 2 guards did stand in front of an area the road let up to.
"WELCOME TO LILY SECT!" The man and woman shouted before they slammed staves onto the ground. The once smooth wall began to wiggle and move until a massive arch appeared.
It was not like it was going to close any moment either, but looked like a stone arch as if it was always there! The hiraga made some kind of noise only Lind could hear likely in the whole caravan and seemed to pick up speed as they passed through the wall.
The caravan had come to its destination at last.