novelraw Chapter 411 - 410 - East End
Chapter 411 - 410 - East End
After the battle with the Tiger's Shadow, Lind and Fey seemed to have vanished into the crowd! His statement was made and even if Baihu wanted to come after him directly, there were far too many hurdles for him to overcome.
Further, the tier of cultivators would have to be above tier 6. It was highly unlikely a tier 7 would be allowed to travel without a damn good reason. They were the powerhouses of the Floating Isles and while they had the strength, their movements could cause various issues.
If there were a Ruin or Inheritance, it would be another matter, but Yinande had none of those at the moment.
Lind had intentionally drawn the fire and nearly died from it. If not for Fey finding a way back to wield her sword, he would have stopped right there.
As for Fey, she had paid the price for pushing herself so hard after barely surviving a heart demon. Her dantian and meridians were fine, but her body had not been at all. It took weeks before she could start training again, even with a healing elixir!
The strain of a heart demon was not to be underestimated!
Her mind was another matter. In the heat of the moment, it was like she had stepped back in time but the timidness had returned once she awoke. Still, she now wore her sword openly if not her battle robe.
Lind had a tailor modify her robe as it was only low grade 5. Even Yinande had plenty of those that could work on it. She would be able to train the dark earthy robes they now wore. He pushed her in training but he then let her discuss all she had comprehended about her heart demon.
He had been stunned by the revelation of what she saw the night of the battle. A projection of some kind that spoke and could affect her physical body? Qing never mentioned a phenomena like that but Fey was unusual in that she would normally be dead after enduring such a heart demon as well.
He could only hope to reach out to Qing after they left Yinande.
Once they were certain no one else was actively tailing them, they began to head east. Directions were a bit relative but there were markers based on the core islands. The Floating Isles did slowly move as a group above the oceans of the realm, but generally stayed east of the 3 continents.
Thus it was easy to set up a set of cardinal directions for each island to orient itself and let things be set up. It also allowed for the planning of the teleportation arrays as needed.
The connection bridges kept most islands a rigid distance from each other but each of the constructs were at least a peak grade 5 if not Heaven grade 5.
Lind wanted to study one more but it was not allowed without joining certain guilds or sects. He had no such intentions so he pushed it off to another day of many things he wanted to do in the future.
For now, he and Fey quietly made their way east. The greatest asset they had now was that no one knew why he was in Yinande. The various materials and apparatus he needed to do his work would be happily supplied by any power in the Floating Isles!
Even the Heavenly Maiden Sect, for all that they broke connections with him, would not begrudge 'accidently' leaving out a smelting pot for instance.
Yet, he was now in a shady place like Yinande for some reason. Even those that knew him in the lower world would have no clue why he was there and he kept it that way. Weaving was extremely looked down on due to both misconceptions and facts.
Delenn had said that was less so among Immortals but it was still not looked at favorably. No one could help being born with a talent for it, but those that sought it out were never looking for good reasons.
Compared to the utility and usefulness of elixirs and Forging, weaving was seen as unnecessary by most. Lind could see why.
Compared to a formation plate that was rigid unless it was complex enough to accept an input, weaving could be modified to adapt as needed. Delenn's current situation was a massive abuse to produce a similar effect like a Ruin to make a whole area fall into a mortal realm.
Lind thought of it differently. He felt like weaving was the key to some of his many questions about the 6 elements and how they interacted at the higher realms. The farther he left the mortal world behind, the less things made sense.
His foundation in science could only carry him so far as he was not a true scientist, but a layman. His cultivation allowed him to pluck out accurate memories of what he learned but it did not let him deduce nuclear fission!
It was the high level science he had heard here or there that seemed to align with how his elemental control worked now. Even his draconic transformation could be considered a form of physics crossed with biology.
The Qi of his soul could trigger changes in his body, but only so long as it was there. Trying to observe the process seemed to interfere with it but did not endanger him. It made Lind very curious about the whole process but he also suspected that the more permanent changes were spreading in him as well.
It all came back to weaving. He had tried using his successful attempts to build a foundation but he was truly stuck. The breakthrough he had so long ago made him think he was in grade 1 but now he was not sure.
He could pull off fairly complicated effects by combining the sigils he knew of. Yet, he could not advance no matter what he comprehended from those experiments. What was he missing?
He saw the Younger Twin and Delenn had planted the seeds to let Lind find his own path forward but he had no teacher for weaving yet.
As they moved east, villages became sparse and the wilds encroached. Lind's soul kept most beasts at bay but unlike humans, beasts were not restricted by a lack of resources. They only needed to keep consuming to grow stronger!
It was entirely possible a peak tier 9 beast could be slumbering on Yinande but only 1. Any more and they would likely fight for dominance of the island.
A breeze finally reached his skin and he could smell many things not of the island. There was salt in the air, the smell of feathers, and he could even hear the echo of a waterfall.
The edge of the island was finally in range.
They came up over a hill and saw the town they were looking for. East End was well named as it was the literal end of the road! Lind noticed a kind of foggy area around the far side of the town but it could be due to the water and edge of the island being so close and nearly sunset.
Lind glanced up and still did not understand that part.
He assumed the gap in islands would indeed allow part of the sun and moonlight through but the entire time they had been on the island, while the others were clear in the sky, the sun had not once been obstructed.
A higher island made perfect sense as there were less obstructions and even the Elysium Plains was at the very edge of all the Floating Isles so being lower did not block it either but Yinande was smack dab between several islands.
It was lower, and while the sky could still be seen, the sun was never blocked no matter the angle. It made no sense, yet once they reached the East End, it was as if that fact no longer held.
Darkness lay ahead.
The island within his sight now cut off half the light sharply as it should but a few steps back and that effect vanished.
LInd was very curious about that but shoved it aside as his goal was finally in sight. Fey smirked as he picked up their speed but there was no rush. East End had no wall.
They were open to all it seemed but why? Lind then felt it. A piercing glare from far over the edge of the island. Rather than fear, however, he felt the need to roar!
Sweat actually broke out as he had never encountered such a desire before. He had never been looked down on by an aether beast until that moment, yet his mind pushed it down. He did not want such an obvious incident to let others find him!
Instead, he let his eyes transform and traced the path of the Qi watching him. He quickly was looking at the bottomless chasm between islands. Water fell in a deluge that would crush a body not in the Sky Realm at least!
The pull was behind one of those waterfalls. It was coming from an underground source but Lind knew the origin of the water was likely a dense water crystal so it would never run out so long as the conditions were well maintained.
LInd suddenly realized what he was facing. It was not just a normal aether beast! It was a Star Tier! A Heaven Realm!
"Little dragon seems far from home. What brings your august presence to my island?" A voice suddenly ravaged his mind. It caused pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He had, however, experienced something similar long ago.
When he spoke to his possible future self!
"I am not a dragon yet, only a dragon soul senior. I am called Lind Frey and this is my disciple, Fey." Lind bowed through his pain and spoke aloud. He knew the beast could hear them just fine.
Fey bowed with him and a pleased feeling passed through his mind.
"A dragon soul, in this tiny realm?! Ha! I bet that old bag of bones would turn in her grave if she knew!" Curiosity came over Lind as the aether beast seemed familiar with dragons. If it was one of the longer lived races, it could be much older than a normal Heaven Realm.
"Do not even ask, boy! I can tell you want more but forget it. You have amused me so you are welcome. Do not cause an issue in my city." Lind began to sweat.
"I must admit, senior, that I am being sought for both good and foul reasons. Will that be an issue?" Frustration followed by curiosity flowed into his mind.
A sudden pressure was exerted that nearly made Lind collapse but his 2 badges suddenly appeared and the pressure vanished. A roar went out suddenly that shook the trees very far across the island.
None living remembered what could make such a thing happen but those of East End knew their true lord was awake once more. Many rituals and parties began to be planned to celebrate their return!
"Immortal medals! You carry Immortal Medals! Speak, why have you come here?" Lind could barely stand let alone speak! His bones creaked as he truly appreciated the power of a Heaven Realm.
"Weaving, I am stuck due to weaving. I need the knowledge to understand why I am stuck at Tier 2!" The pressure vanished entirely as the voice became silent.
"Enter. Do not speak of what you seek, but keep an open mind and eye. If you can find the opportunity, I have no objection. If you force the issue, you will be killed." The voice vanished and the world became silent again.
Lind looked at East End with more interest than before but now he seemed to have a riddle as well. He could not ask but had to solve it if he had any hope of understanding why he was stuck in his cultivation.
The trip to East End was worth more than he possibly imagined!