Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 475 - 474 - Broken World

Lind was watching the fairly ingenious traps being retrieved from the water.  They were made of a type of wood weighed down with simply metal weights.  It made a cage that reacted to movement.

The wood actually contracted when the fish swam in.  Once exposed to air and dried out, the fish could be removed.

It was an efficient use but the wood had water Qi in it which interested him where it came from.

He also helped to dry out the wood with his Qi but he noticed some more oddities.

It was as if his output was restricted by something as well.  He could only use half the Qi in his dantian before strong effort was required.

He kept the questions to himself as his ability to communicate was limited to his translation weaving.

Eventually they boarded the boat and took off.  His Eyes found the inscriptions were decent but very limited.  The boat flew but had no other functions really.

The boy spoke non-stop but most of it was about the fish and strange reactions of the beasts.  Lind noted the entire absence of beasts on their journey despite both looking for birds to be nuisances.

"Kiran, what is the highest cultivation realm in your village?"  Lind found it odd both were quite young and in the World Realm yet their foundations felt very shallow to him.

"A Diamond Tier is our leader but my Tier is normal.  I may reach the peak before I get married if I am lucky."  Lind found such a sentiment odd but based on a rough guess they were both under 20 years of age.

Such progress would be considered fantastic where he was from.

The higher density Qi thinned a bit more but Lind felt comfortable still despite that.  The children had limited knowledge but they assured him there was only one massive continent with various islands around it.

The odds of that seemed low to Lind unless something happened in the past.

They made no mention of something like the Floating Isles but they simply not know.

After the sun neared the horizon, they came across a massive stretch of coast.  Lind focused his eyes and found a pleasant forest surrounding fields and herds of animals.

As they got closer the animals began to panic but Lind pulled in his aura entirely before they calmed down.

"Do you know what a dragon is?"  Lind asked this question as they came in for a landing but both looked at him oddly.

"It is a creature of legend.  They don't really exist."  Lind confirmed the mortal realm had no beast like him then.  Likely if enough generations had passed, the aether beasts only felt terror at something of his power.

It took some effort to keep his aura retracted but his weakened state helped.

The local villagers had wooden homes with thatched roofs he found quite primitive for cultivators but maybe it was just limited resources?

As they came in for a landing, a woman was waiting for them that shared features with both.  Deep concern was on the older woman's face but the dark hair was all the same with the pale eyes.

He had seen most of the villagers were similar.

It indicated the village was like a clan.

"Who is this?"  Lind noticed unusual fear but Kiran smiled and waved while Mika was the same.  Seeing her children calm and with their fish haul calmed her down.

"My pardon, I was stranded on the island and your children offered to let me come back to the continent with them."  Lind bowed deeply and the woman was flustered as she could tell he was powerful.

His fine crimson robes already told the story but his aura was very strong.

"Are you an Emissary?"  Lind tilted his head but did not confirm or deny.  The woman seemed to think she had crossed a line but his lack of response was enough to calm her.

"I am hoping to meet your Head Man?"  Lind found her nodding as Kiran and Mika carried off the fish somewhere to start processing.  The fish were all peak Soul Realm to Stone or Iron Tier of the World realm.

The village was decent at about 1200 people but Kiran was definitely really gifted as similar age children were barely in the Iron Tier.

Gold tiers were barely more than 10 in the whole village and most of them were young too.  He found that odd but then felt the expected mid Diamond Tier as Kiran had told him.  The aura focused on him before a curtain was whipped aside from the largest building.

"Senior!  Welcome to our humble village!"  A very old man emerged with a walking staff in his right hand but he seemed to walk just fine.

His limbs were very wiry and unlike everyone else, he had actual robes but still of wool.  His white hair only reached to his shoulders but Lind's eyes narrowed as he noted the man's foundation was much deeper than anyone else he had seen.

"Greetings Head Man.  I am called Lind Frey.  May I know your name?"  Kiran and Mika only called the village leader Head man.  He bowed in return to Lind.

"I am Sebas.  I have served as Head Man here for 3 centuries."  Lind narrowed his eyes.  Based on the deterioration of his body, Lind would have guessed he was closer to 5 centuries but perhaps there were issues with his technique.

Contradictions seemed rife thus far but Lind now exerted his aura.

The old man looked at the woman who quickly bowed and left.

"I have submitted the tithe on time this year.  Was there an issue?"  Lind narrowed his eyes before moving closer to the Head Man.

"I have no interest in your tithe.  Answer my questions first and we will go from there."  A suspicion rose in Lind's mind but he did not have enough information to be sure.  Altair was a dark mark in his history but the clues pointed to a similar power.

Lind began to talk but the Head Man was almost as ignorant as Kiran and Mika.

He only seemed to know about the immediate area and cared little beyond that.

There was one piece of information he did know about though.

"A tall mountain above the clouds or a floating continent?  No, there is only a single continent.  After our true masters took over, they created a floating fortress in the center of the continent but that is all."  Lind nodded as if he was satisfied.

"I will require some materials.  The forest should have most of what I need but some extra hands and a space to work would be best."  Lind kept it vague but Sebas simply nodded before outlining what trees were around his village.

None of it was familiar but Lind carefully nodded at a few descriptions and asked if he could borrow Kiran and Mika to assist him.

The Head Man quickly nodded but Lind simply made a few preparations in case of betrayal.

He was getting a bad vibe from all the ways the people here spoke about their world.  The complete lack of knowledge about Sky Realms also bothered him.

The only term anyone used was Great One for him.

While not all places had cultivation techniques, even the most remote mortal knew about cultivation due to other cultivators speaking about them.

The Frey Clan, despite knowing they could never rise above the World Realm, knew of the Sky Realm.  It was simple survival and also the dream to strive for a higher realm.

The fact none of the villagers thus far even knew the name for his realm spoke volumes how they were treated.  The shallow foundations and the claim of the Head Man that he was only 3 centuries old but nearing the end of his life was very bad.

"Hello again!"  Mika was waving happily but Kiran looked nervous.  Lind smiled and explained what he was looking for.

Once they understood, both of them smiled and led him to the north where one stretch of forest was.  Just as with other places, all the beasts vacated away from him instantly.

Lind now understood why that might be.  It may not only be his draconic aura but his realm that terrified the beasts.  It meant that no beast reached his realm for them to be used to it in their race memories.

"Kiran, the Head Man mentioned a tithe.  What is he hiding from me?"  Lind decided to play his part a bit and saw her shiver at his question.  Mika looked honestly confused so he was too young to know but Kiran clearly did.

"G-great One.  We are a good village!  We always pay our tithe!"  Lind's eyes narrowed.  She was terrified but he did nothing to intimidate her further.  He simply followed them and examined the trees.

Unlike beasts or people, plants cultivate at a very slow but steady rate.  Only when they reached the Sky Realm or awoke a special ancestor line in them.  For his purposes, peak World Realm would be sufficient.

The forest was peaceful but Lind noticed a new oddity.  The trees actually seemed to react to him positively.  His senses were shocked to find the trees at that proximity were at the Sky Realm!

This world was broken!

There was simply no other word for it as he could see no sign of Heavenly Tribulations anywhere and Ascension Tribulations were devastating even to plants.

More questions piled up but Lind had his priority as he began to plan how to recover his Qi.