Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 506 - 505 - Mortal Realm Grade

Yinande had changed massively since Lind had last been there.  He was back a month before he decided to make the journey.  He heard of the dangers but simply had Ethry send him as she had such power.

Yinande had been under the rule of criminal organizations for a long time but in the chaos of the last 3 centuries, it had become a haven.

There were few resources to exploit and it was in a bad position in the Floating Isles overall.  It was the last place one would expect a demon power to set up shop.

Even more so, it was the former emperor of the Demon Empire of Blood!  Yor!

He was alive and Viola was with him.  Lind had thought they had died with the rest of their force in the Floating Isles but clearly Yor knew only death awaited anyone standing around once the war started.

The demon was strangely allied with the Babylon Guild of all things to create a refuge for Body Refining Realm and Soul Realms trying to escape the battles all over the place.

The Guild had set up a few such places.

Lind looked around in amusement to see demons running most of the place but where his Moebius Sect had been an exception, Yinande seemed to be a more casual extension of its philosophies.

Still, it was Yor.  He sought strength and probably to rise once more.

Lind moved east along the now decrepit roads until there were no villages at all.  East end had been left to fall apart and none dared move there after the battle that occurred.

Many simply felt no need to expand out that far yet.

He came to where the village of the Circle used to be and found a thriving forest.  It felt very peaceful to his senses.  He also noted that he could detect much more at tier 8 than he could back then.

"Senior, I need to talk to you please."  He bowed low and felt a breeze wash over him.  The sunlight was gone and replaced by the familiar stone cavern with the gaping hole into the falls outside.

"I have been expecting you.  Soul Resonance is not something you just stumble on.  How did you get experience with Immortals?"  Lind smiled as the giant head looked down at him.

"I went to another realm…"  Lind relayed his story in full and left nothing out.  He had not even told his wives yet as he was unsure if he would be endangering them or not.  As he spoke, he felt the Black Shelled Tortoise flicker with surprise at times so he knew he had gone far outside normal experience as a cultivator.

"Sigh, I am unsure if you were simply lucky or the spirits really helped you out.  Any other Barren Realm would have been useless to you from what I can tell."  Lind's eyes narrowed as a suspicion he had about the being in front of him was confirmed.

"You are from the Heaven Realm, senior?"  The Divine Guardian made the cave shake with her short laugh.

"Ha!  I am from the Celestial Fields, young pup!  I am nearing the end of my life but it is refreshing to hear about your adventures.  I thought I would die with nothing left to draw me forward."  Lind looked sad at her words.  He knew she was severely injured but if what she said was true, there was no way to heal her.

"Stop that, you can't fix everything.  Be glad you could heal your wife as that was not an easy thing to heal."  Lind bowed but then pondered over a few things.

"I once heard there was something wrong with the Celestial Fields, is that true?"  A long silence followed before Lind felt a formation go up.  It was far more powerful than any he had felt before but he did not need to guess at its purpose.

"Since you have touched on such profound things, I will answer you but you cannot spread it around.  It would break many Dao hearts if widely known.  All hope is not lost as we still endure after all this time, so keep that in mind."  Lind swallowed and bowed to her.  "The Celestial Fields are a little different from the mortal and Heaven Realms.  There are 4 layers to it as you advance."

Lind was fascinated but had heard similar things from Lily before.

"I cannot speak to the other 3 layers, but the first layer, the namesake of the realm, is gone."  Lind froze at her words.  What did she mean it was gone?  How could it be gone?

She saw his confusion but he felt a mental shrug from her.

"I only know all communication and connections were lost all at once when I fell to this mortal realm long ago.  I believe that was close to 500,000 years or so.  Possibly longer as time is odd in the void as you well know."  Lind did.  He had apparently lost close to 60 or 70 years of what felt like moments to him.  "Regardless, I can say with certainty all of my tribe are dead."

Lind knew from Ethry that bloodlines were connected far closer than anything else in aether beasts.  If Divine Guardian was from the Celestial Fields, despite falling to a mortal realm, she could still reach her tribe members.

If there was nothing at all, then it was possible they were dead, or in a similar state as her.  Beyond reach in either case.

"From what I gathered over the last half a million years was that no Immortal can advance.  Those that try fall back quickly claiming there is no Qi in the Celestial Fields."  Lind found that hard to believe.

Qi did not magically appear from what he had learned.  It basically flowed from highest density and down through the realms until reaching the lowest density in the mortal realms.

He would need more information but he had other questions.

"The Fiends we questioned made it seem like a Barren Realm could be upgraded due to special dispensation from Heaven, but not all are treated so?"  Lind was curious about that most of all.  He felt like she put him under a firm glance but then the pressure lifted.

"I suppose your experience deserves an answer but I am not an expert.  I will give you what I know."  The Black Shelled Tortoise summoned 6 orbs of pure water Qi.  Each were then given the other 5 elements in different qualities and amounts before she continued.

"On the far left you will see the lowest quality and amount of Qi.  It is a true Barren Realm.  It is likely only 1 or 2 continents that would fit inside a single one of the 3 yours has.  Most cultivators will never rise above Gold or Diamond Tier in such realms."  It was barely stable orb of water and the other Qi.  Lind could accept the explanation but he had definitely felt Sky Realm density Qi in the realm he had been in.

A new orb came next to it that was similar but the quality and density were higher by at least twice.

"A Special Mortal Realm is relatively rare.  It requires the residents to either have done something karmically good or a chance encounter that drew the gratitude of Heaven and Earth."  Lind gulped as he realized what kind of events would create such an opportunity also came close to likely wiping out such realms.

Lind had been in such a special mortal realm.

"After that it is more straightforward.  A Low Grade Mortal Realm has at least 2 continents and an intermediate place to ascend to the Heaven Realm.  Such realms are a massive struggle to advance with severely limited resources at the Sky Realm."  Lind could grasp that but it seemed worse than his realm still.

Sky Realm resources were not impossible to get but they were limited.  The density of Qi was also decent.

"We are in what would be called a Middle Grade Mortal Realm.  I am unsure what happened to your floating continent to make it into islands but it is far from unique.  Your realm is by far the most common.  I do not think I need to state its features to you."  Lind smiled as the last 2 water orbs drew his eye.

Compared to all that came before, the density and quality of Qi had the most marked difference.

"A High Grade Mortal Realm can be up to 6 lower continents and 2 floating continents.  As you can imagine, Sky Realms up to tier 4 can exist in the lower world while a Moon Tier can just barely survive in the floating continents.  They still need to quickly leave if they do not want to damage their foundation."  Lind nodded as it made sense.

Star Tiers could ascend via the pools if they wished but many stayed to safely comprehend other elements they could grasp in the Floating Isles.  Moon Tier, from what he could understand, would be like him being back on Sarth as a tier 8 Sky Realm.

The Qi would try to explosively escape his body.

"The last version is quite rare but highly sought after by many powers."  The last orb was practically exploding with Qi and Lind could feel his own dantian advance simply being near the orb made by the Divine Guardian.  "It has only 5 continents but they are usually massive compared to anything else you know.  All 3 of your continents could fit inside just 1 of them and then 3 to 4 floating continents on top of that."

Lind could hear the desire from her just as she spoke about them.

"Peak Grade Mortal Realms are the dream of all cultivators starting out.  While Soul Realms exist in the Celestial Fields, they die far too easily by accident of battle, the same with World Realms and Sky Realms.  Mortal Realms are the best place for them to grow."  Lind could understand that but he knew more was coming.

"A peak tier 6 Sky Realm can exist in the lower continents of such a realm.  It is possible even tier 7 could persist for a time before having to ascend.  Moon Tiers freely rule in the floating continents as well.  Such realms are as rare as platinum mines for you."  Lind felt floored by the possibilities.

In such a realm, would he have been stuck for so long at the Soul and World Realms?  More resources meant more experiments and likely more Ruins or Inheritances to explore.

Lind truly wondered but dismissed it as it was pointless.  He now had a better grasp of the mortal realms.  It made him realize why the Fiends valued them so much as resources as well.

The first 3 versions were easier to conquer but difficult to satisfy their needs while his realm was likely the best results for least effort.

"Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?"  Lind could tell she was tired but he did have one more question that needed answering.

"Yes senior, one more thing."  Lind carefully thought about what he had traveled all that way for.  "Who can I trust in the Heaven Realm?"

The Black Shelled Tortoise lowered her head to look at him.  Lind felt pressure but he did not balk at it.  After a long pause, the aether beast answered him.

"No one.  Do not trust anyone in the Heaven Realm at all."  Lind understood and fell into himself.  He suspected it was bad up there but clearly it was worse than he imagined.  He had a lot of thinking to do.