Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 479 - 478 - Pillar of Qi

Kiran was stunned at how the bare bones interior of the ship was swiftly filled in with metal, wood, and even stone fixtures.  It was originally just the barebones wood that made up the hull and supports but now had beds, controls, doors, and even areas clearly meant to cultivate.

There were also storage treasures built into the narrow forward area where there was not much space for people.  They looked like simple trunks but could store far more than anything she had ever heard of.

The transformation was already shocking but the speed of it was even more so.  They had barely been aboard for a quarter of a day when Lind was finally done.

He was sweating slightly but looked satisfied as he touched a panel in the main area that lit up several jade stones embedded into the walls.

The exterior was now exposed as clear as if she was outside and he touched a few crystals that made the density of Qi increase slightly inside the ship.  He then collected all the leftover materials before closing up the vessel.

The interior was not dark at all as Qi visibly glowed from the lines inside the ship's hull but it was not so bright as to be blinding.  Mika seemed nervous but the more Lind showed off the more Kiran felt her decision was right.

Over the year Lind was in their village, he had never been cruel nor overbearing.  He had the right to in her mind at the time but he was always polite.

The stark difference had made her curious about him but his power still kept him distant.  Strangely, when he ripped away the mask of the village head and what happened to their people over time had made her trust him far more.

He had looked frightening but when his reptilian eyes looked at them, they were not cold.  It was not a beast staring at prey, but a guardian trying to make them understand.  It was the feeling she got.

Now as she watched him recover his Qi, she felt her dantian resonate happily unlike anytime before when she struggled just to take a single step forward.  The terrifying tribulation she had faced felt like nothing just seeing Qi gather in Lind.

Time flowed so quickly but then he snapped open his dark green eyes and looked grim.

"They are here."  Kiran then noticed some of the jade stones had red dots appear on them at the barrier of the clearing.  There were impossibly handsome men and women there but she also saw humans!

Anger filled her as she realized they were like the village head.  They saved themselves by sacrificing others!  Lind moved to the controls but waited.  He clearly planned something but did not tell them.  They simply looked on as the people tried to pierce the clearing.

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"Mistress Lian, it is not a formation but it is clearly similar."  One of her thralls spoke but she had already recognized the shocking technique used to isolate the clearing ahead.  It was a 2nd Circle weaving!

It was impossible.

The mortal realm could only support tier 3 Sky Realms on the surface and a 2nd Circle weaver was at least tier 5.

How did such a powerful cultivator survive without Qi flooding out of their body on arrival?

"Savant, crack it open, now."  She gave an order to her underling who bowed perfectly.  Fiend bodies were always perfect even if they did not cultivate.  They were born at the peak of the Body Refining Realm so they never suffered the issues other races did.

The slim man gathered a simple nether flame into his hands and touched the weaving.  They all expected the normal Qi to shatter but weavings were tricky.  They had intent behind them to an extent so Lian was not shocked when that alone was insufficient.

What did surprise her was the complete lack of attack or counter attack.  A weaving had the capacity to incorporate both functions yet that one did nothing.

A sneer crossed her face.

A novice 2nd circle was no threat to them.  It also explained much as the complexity of a 2nd circle weaving was what made it dangerous but a simple one could be accomplished by a tier 3 Sky Realm easily.

It would be like a finely made sword capability used to make a simple molded blade.  The skills far exceeded the task and thus little effort would be needed to produce a pristine result.  It would not change the fact the molded sword would wear out far faster than the highly skillfully made one.

"Use a grade 3 Art."  Savant bowed once more as he summoned a nether blade of fire.  It was nearly solid as it struck the weaving and while the sigils flared at last, they held.

Savant was not deterred as he attacked the same point over and over, yet Lian began to frown deeply as the barrier held.

Her initial assumptions were dashed as the barrier flickered but did not fall.  It showed something disturbing.  The cultivator that made it had experience with fighting Fiends or at least knew about Fiend Qi.

She summoned a communication stone and asked the scouts what they found at the village.

[There were only a handful of humans left.  They begged to be spared but the information they gave was useless.  They claim a beast scared them all to scatter to the outer islands and flew off.]

She narrowed her eyes at their closed minds.

A cultivator with a beast bloodline could transform partially or completely depending on how much they grasped.  The humans scattering was also surprising as a powerful cultivator would normally save their own hide by sacrificing the village to buy time.

Everything pointed to an odd but righteous cultivator.  They were clearly not from their world so where had they come from?

"I want everyone to attack that barrier, now!  I want that cultivator alive!"  She had many questions that would need answers before she could consume them.  Her men began to unleash blades, lightning, and other Arts on the barrier.

It had issues with only 1 attack so she expected it to fall quickly yet it stood there taking everything they had!  How?!  What was going on?!

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Lind smirked as he watched the meters reach capacity in the ship.  It was designed to fly on its own but the density of Qi was far too low so he had decided to make a feature to get him where he needed to go but needed a lot of Qi to do it.

Thankfully, he got what he needed.

Just as he could create dispersers to change his Qi into other kinds, he could reverse the process to make Fiend and demonic Qi into Qi he could use.  It was very inefficient, but weaving helped improve it.

"I suggest you 2 sit on that bench there and press the green crystal once comfortable.  This next part will be quite bumpy."  He had no time to compensate for harsh movements on the ship but in time he hoped to fix that.

Three bars on the stone pedestal finally filled and he smiled wide.  It was time.

He then wove one last weaving before grasping the controls of the ship and infused his Qi into it.  Switches flipped inside the artifacts before things began to shake violently.

Before he could check on the 2 kids, gravity slammed into them all as he could hear the creak of wood.  Wind roared around them like a dragon for what seemed like an eternity before finally slowing down.

He saw a few crystals and beams had cracked but he had supplies to perform repairs.  Kiran and Mika were alive but passed out as the g-forces far exceeded what a World Realm could withstand.

Lind smirked as he quickly made repairs then headed out to the ocean once more as he felt a slight pressure as the ship rose.  He wondered what it looked like from the outside?

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Lian saw the barrier finally show signs of collapse when suddenly her instincts screamed at her to run.

She did not bother warning her men or slaves as she flew away from the clearing at her best speed.  Unlike the humans, demons, or aether children, Fiends felt no restrictions from the realm.

She had only gotten a kilometer away when a second sun flared in the forest.  She felt her thralls all disappear in an instant as screams were quickly snuffed out as well but then a new barrier appeared!

Her eyes burned but she did not look away as a massive pillar of Qi launched something into the sky.  A flying artifact!  The bastard had a flying artifact but needed to get up fast to get it to work correctly!

She had been used as fuel!

Rage flared but her sneer did not fade as she summoned a special communication jade stone.

"This is the Controller Lian for district 7.  An invader with a flying artifact has been detected near the coast.  All Raptors confirm."  She felt confirmation and looked at the speck in the sky.  "Run as far as you think you can.  When you exhaust yourself, you will fall back down to the surface to be consumed!  You will pay for today!"

Even if the beast bloodline allowed the cultivator to fly, it cost Qi to do so.  Whether artifact, skill, or Art, Qi ran out and that was the end.  It was an absolute none could avoid even if they made a floating fortress.

Qi had to be constantly fueled by a cultivator to keep it working or it would do nothing.  She looked forward to the report.  She returned to the now empty clearing and found a weaving floating in mid air.

"Thank you for the help!"  A male voice cheerfully spoke and she screamed at it before snapping the weaving into oblivion.  She would request to see him die.  If nothing else, she would enjoy the terror as his fate became clear.

She flew away back to her fortress as she had to requisition new thralls and underlings for the ones she lost.