Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 641 - 640 - Voices from Beyond

Linghu was the key to accessing the Law Binding so any communication outside had to be done via his efforts.  Lanbao was instrumental in teaching him over the last 5 centuries like a true mentor to a younger Immortal.

Linghu had made some progress in consolidating his Law foundation in his dantain and he had reached the peak of the low Sliver Tier from what Lanbao told Lind.

In all of that, they had studied how the Law Core and Law Arrays had been changed by the Immortal tribulation.  Lanbao certified that most of the functions they knew of were unchanged but a few key things had shifted.

For instance, there was not a trace of any Fiend Qi left anywhere.  Suzen had made the mistake of assuming no one was near him nor hiding in other special realms.  Linghu and Lanbao knew the risks so that particular feature was tweaked and found a few caches no one had known about across the territory.

Aside from that, the other major project was making a link outside the Law Binding.  Normally, that would have been part of the construction but it had been intended to be permeable to Fiends to go in and out.

Now, no one could go in and out.  It was frustrating but better than the original intent.  There was nothing, however, about creating a link to the outside via a jade communication stone.

It simply took a specially refined stone and an already existing link to get it to work at first.  Lind had such a link but was blocked off, so the communication stone was the catalyst he needed to boost his signal.

It took the better part of a month to really get it to work and even then, Ethry could not always respond.  She seemed able to hear him fine thankfully so a project was initiated.  It took another year before they were ready.

Lind was in the throne room alone.  For the first real 2 way communication, he wanted to be alone.

He pressed his Qi into the stone and it lit up a gentle violet and gold set of colors that floated above until a very familiar face took shape.

"LIND!"  Ethry was as gorgeous as always but at that moment Lind felt his heart throb to see her again!  He wanted so badly to hold her and the others but he was still trapped inside the Law Binding.

"Ethry, I am so glad to finally see you.  Even if it is only a projection, it has been far too long."  All together it had been close to 9 centuries since he had really seen her.  She had left before him to go to the Heaven Realm with most of the others.

Tears were flowing down her eyes and the connection in his soul throbbed after being silent for so long.  Without the stone, it did not work but so long as he was connected, his bond with her was open once more.

"How is Papa?!"  A voice came over the stone and Lind smiled wide to hear Tal calling for him in the background.

"Wait your turn!"

"I want to talk too, Ethry!"

"Hurry up!"

Various voices came through but all were familiar and all made his heart feel lighter just to hear them.

"Give me a moment, Lind."  Ethry's face vanished but the connection was still there.  He wondered what she was doing until he felt an increase in the Qi flowing in the stone.  The dance of Qi returned and he was shocked by what he saw.

A group of people appeared in midair he had not seen in far too long!

The colors were only violet and gold but the features were burned into his heart long ago.

Cyntilla had a hand on each of her blades.  Qing and Shoti stood next to each other but Annabelle was right next to them.  The 4 of his first wives were always close.  They were the core of his heart and why he stayed sane during his early years.

Lysanna looked tired but smiling happily at him.  Kora seemed to have trouble keeping her human shape as feathers appeared and disappeared on her robes.

Fey and Tal were holding each other as they wept openly while Ethry patted their heads.

His mother, Mira, was off to the side but had a gentle smile.  Lind saw all of them but then frowned.

"Where is Ilyria?"  His question made them look to the side before a young girl slowly stepped forward.  She looked sheepish and guilty but Lind simply looked at her with a smile.

"You all look well.  I have missed you all!  How are you all?"  Lind expected some long stories but what he was told left him floored.

Cynilla's mother had been found and had been mutilated!  The force behind it had already been crushed and he felt sorry for the idiots that had done that just a bit.  Only a bit though.

He heard how Moebius Sect had become a massive powerhouse in the support sector.  The 6 elementals had been steadily ascending.  It had been found to be safe to move them to the Heaven Realm through the ascension pools rather than wait for a normal breakthrough.

A few disastrous incidents like his own had proven that.

He enjoyed the stories but frowned when they got to the battles.  While most of them were supportive specialists, all of his family could attack.  He had heard that Wyndam had led a faction of 6 elementals that wanted to fight more than anything.

One of his wives had died saving a group of villages from the advancing Fiend fronts.  He sent a prayer for that.

He also heard Kor had been severely injured and was still recovering while the twins had acted to save his older sisters from those trying to harm him indirectly.  Anger flared briefly but there was nothing he could do sealed away as he was.

As they finished up, Lind felt exhaustion creeping up on him but he asked for some jade slips.

He quickly sent all he had learned as well as all that Lanbao taught him.  He also included some personal messages.  He barely finished before he almost collapsed.

"I have to go.  This communication stone needs some fine tuning as it quickly drains me on my end."  They all nodded but neither side wanted to disconnect, but Qi ran out.

Lind was covered in sweat and his moon was dim as elemental Qi flowed into it quickly to recover.  His dantian was like a sponge right then until he felt well enough to sit up.

He saw Lanbao standing quietly in the doorway but she said nothing as he collected himself.

"How are you feeling, Lord?"  Lind noticed lately that when alone, Lanbao changed how she addressed him.  He had asked about it on occasion but she simply said it was tradition with no further elaboration.

"Happier than I have been in a long time and frustrated at not being able to hold them."  Lind looked up as a few thoughts went through his mind.

"Is there no way to teleport outside of here?"  He had asked before but he wanted to hear it again.

"As we have covered, if one had been prepared beforehand then yes but otherwise no.  The Law Binding acts like a border for a special realm in that way.  If such an arrangement existed, the Fiends would have used it long ago."  Lind sighed but then looked at her with a firm gaze.

"What about the spatial tunnel we discussed?"  Lanbao frowned slightly before she shrugged.

"I am unsure but the idea is sound at least.  It might be possible as it would bypass the restriction of the Law Binding but the power required would be enormous."  Lind sighed as he agreed but he had some ideas to help mitigate it.

It would take time, but time he had.

On average, his family was only around 1000 to 1300 years old at most in age so they had time to burn yet.

Still, it also gave the Fiends time to try and figure out if their Immortal Realm cultivators could get inside too.  They likely knew any hope of their plans were dashed after Linghu's Immortal Tribulation.

"I will look into it later.  I have a few ideas to try.  Was there something–"  Lind was about to ask when 2 arms gently took him into a hug.  He was caught off guard until a gentle voice spoke.

"Just be, for a moment.  You can stop running long enough to relish talking with your loved ones.  Absorb that moment as few are lucky enough to have such a chance."  Lind felt tension drain from his body as his eyes slowly closed.

Lanbao waited until she was sure he was sleeping before she glanced behind her.

"Do not let anyone bother him until he wakes on his own.  It may take some time."  Sheena bowed low as her eyes glistened.  Emperor Frey had always spoken of his family but he had focused on them for so long without demanding anything in return.

Lanbao carefully picked him up and headed to one of the quarters off of the throne room.  They were usually for messengers to recover or petitioners to take a break if needed for cultivation.

Sleep was not normally needed for a Heaven Realm but Lind had been going non-stop for almost 700 years.  Even a Heaven Realm needed time to recover and Lind had reached that moment.

Sheena took up her post as Lanbao carefully closed the door.  Linghu and Lanbao would be fine for however long Lind needed as his heart finally found solace that day.