Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 645 - 644 - Hidden Race

Lind was studying scrolls when a knock came to his door.  He sighed as he expected it.

"Come in, Linghu."  The young appearing man came in and looked troubled.  The narrow face was so much like his sister's when they were troubled.  Shi was currently educating the true weavers.

No one admitted being uncomfortable with the profession but Lind had been explicit on the rules they had to live by and any violations would face a death penalty.

Unlike any other profession, even bandits would side with others to kill a weaver trying to resurrect the Soulmancers.

"What did they say?"  Lind knew many of the envoys preferred talking to Linghu as he was a native man plus a severe victim of the previous Supreme Soulmancer.  Lind had to reveal it all to get Linghu spared as well as his sister.

Once he took Oaths, few could hold anger against the siblings.  Some even felt a bit of pity that despite seeming in a position of power, they were not far from puppets.

Thus, as the centuries passed, good relationships had been cultivated between Linghu, Shi, and the envoys from each power.  Lind knew the sects were a bit arrogant, but still stayed respectful.

"I think they will still try to harvest from the place called Desolate Song.  Why did you not tell them what it is?"  Linghu and Shi knew far more about Lind than others.  He had shared his journey to them but none of them knew how he breached the Law Binding.

"How do you think they would react to a hidden race after all this time?"  Lind had heard Shi had spoken to what he suspected was the most powerful Elemental inside the Law Binding.  Even so, they were not more than a phantom.

According to Lanbao, Elementals were very long lived but also hardly physical beings.  Either death or reaching the Heaven Realm would allow them to manifest a body.

Until then, they were little different from phantoms.

Linghu pondered for a while but had no idea why Lind held back about the Elementals.  It would likely solve the issue at hand, yet Lind seemed to imply it would not.  He took a seat on one of the leather padded chairs in the room.

He had spent many days debating with Lind and Shi how the power structure should be.  Lind had wanted to just be an advisor but Shi had convinced him things had gone too far for him to back off then.

After watching for the last 5 centuries, Linghu long saw the wisdom of his sister.

Lind had always listened to their opinions and offered ideas to make prosperity spread well and far across the population.  Thus, when he sharply declined to explain why such an obvious source of elemental crystals was off limits, Linghu knew there was a good reason.

"People are greedy.  They may not think they are, but people assume they are due something even when reality states the opposite."  A voice spoke up and Lind smiled as Shi swept into the room.  LInghu pondered his sister's words but still did not understand.

"If they knew it was a graveyard, would they not leave it be?"  She smiled at her brother as she moved and patted him on the head.  He felt like pouting but Lind smirked as he set the scroll he was studying down.

"What would the broken ruins of structures and lost powers be but graves?  How many were left to die in those empty stone structures to never be heard from again?  Cultivators leave no stone unturned, grave or not."  Linghu felt irritated that he had missed such an obvious aspect, but still, the Desolate Song was different.

"So why hide about the Elementals?"  Lind pointed at Shi.  She smiled but then looked tired.

"I already said it, my dear brother, people are greedy.  Since the Elementals made no contribution to the Liberation War, it is long past time for them to contribute to the rise of other cultivators."  Linghu frowned but could not deny her point of view.

Some would leave it alone but they might do so because they knew others would move for them.

"So how do we stop them?"  Lind sighed as he looked up.  His room was full of jade slips and scrolls with the sense of a scholar more than the warrior he was known for in legends.

"Honestly, I am not sure we can stop them entirely but I want it clear that it is protected.  Unlike natural element crystals, those are dead bodies floating there.  I am not sure what the Elementals will do but the highest grade is 4 in quality.  It will do nothing for Sky Realms let alone Heaven Realms."  Lind had gone back after the war to see if he could learn why he entered the Law Binding there.

No traces remained but the feeling of being watched had increased when he returned.  As he did nothing to the floating crystals, nothing happened but he definitely felt less tolerance compared to the first time.

Nothing appeared but he then bowed with respect and laid out a weaving as a defense before leaving.  The irritation faded but nothing else happened before he left. That was over 4 centuries ago.

"I still do not understand.  I mean from what Shi described, how could they have helped us if they have no bodies?"  Lind had hoped no one would ask that particular question.  He seemed to have a deep look on his face before he sighed and touched a weaving only he could see.

The door sealed and all possible methods of listening in were blocked off.  He had even included methods using simple technology as sometimes formations overlooked such things.

"I have talked to Lanbao and from what I gather, Elementals are described as phantoms but the reality is there is only one aspect of existence that matches them.  Souls."  Both siblings' eyes went wide as they understood Lind was sharing a secret with them.

"Souls need a body to cultivate, even Fiends cannot break that rule and an Immortal Soul has to possess a body to recover."  Shi spoke but took a seat next to Linghu but Lind shook his head.

"You are not thinking about everything.  Manifested beasts appear in the Soul Realm by default.  How did they cultivate?  Aether children are only born the same way, again at the Soul Realm.  We all know about it but few question it."  The siblings nodded but it was a fact no one could dispute.

"Those beings are somewhat understood.  Aether beasts manifest in both dense Qi areas and where similar beasts leave.  A turtle will rarely manifest in a desert but a wolf could appear in any mountainous region.  The elements that make up their dantian, however, are immensely dedicated to the environment versus the races nearby."  Both nodded as this was well known.

Wolves were a good example as Lind gave them.  They could have packs of earth, darkness, and so forth in packs but if an aether beast manifested in a forest it would likely only have earth and darkness no matter what the pack that lived nearby had.

"I have always wondered where they come from but after talking to Lanbao, I have a theory."  Lind conjured all 6 of his elements.  They danced around him like balls of light.  The intensity felt far above a Moon Tier but it was because all 6 were primary elements.

"My existence, a 6 elemental, can only exist in the mortal realms.  The high intensity of Qi in higher realms, even just to floating continents, make it much harder for such dantians to form, conversely, I think Elementals can't survive either."  Shock flooded their bodies.

It was well known that aether children and aether beasts still manifested in the Heaven Realm but it was far more rare compared to the mortal realms.  No one knew why that was and the Law Binding was able to restrict it completely.

"Suppose, under the right conditions, the Elementals try to achieve sentience and the sparse density requires a body to hold on.  As they can already manifest bodies as part of their nature, Heaven and Earth compensated them in exchange for changing their race.  They took the form of the most common one or whatever was most compatible with their anchor of awareness."  Lind brought water and light together to make a realistic illusion of a woman of beauty.

Her sapphire and gold skin was well complemented by back length hair let loose.  Her smile made Linghu's heart skip a beat while Shi felt the desire to hug the woman.

"My wife, Annabelle, was born with an extremely powerful illusion ability.  Even at the Soul Realm, few Sky Realms could pierce her illusions."  Both blinked as they had never seen one of Lind's wives.  Seeing her, they could understand his wish to go to them.

"Lanbao was not sure if I am right but it would explain where the manifested aether beasts and children come from.  Elementals can only hold on starting at the Heaven Realm but it takes immense time for them to progress like that.  Living souls that slowly construct their bodies but are still able to cultivate."  Lind was curious how that worked but there was no Heaven Realm Elemental to ask.

"So, how would they have been able to help us?"  Lind looked at Linghu and pointed near his navel.  It took them a moment to grasp it.

"They were never branded?!"  Shi's voice broke as it rose in pitch.  Lind nodded.

"In a sense, they could not be.  They do not have a dantian without a body.  Also, they would be able to overpower any weaver they come across."  Both of their eyes narrowed at Lind's words.  "They are not able to be taken over or controlled by Soulmancer techniques.  In theory, they could have fought the Soulmancers in the early days but there is a catch."

Lind brought forth his floating elements and cut off his flow of Qi.  The shapes held but then a simple wave of his hand broke the shapes to disperse into tiny pieces until they vanished.

"In exchange for their powerful souls, they are very vulnerable to physical attacks."  Understanding flooded them.  Linghu finally pieced it together.

"They would demand reparations for their inaction and if the Elementals denied us, they would simply wipe them out."  Lind nodded.

"There are no good answers but revealing them would only increase the threat, not reduce it.  Revealing that Desolate Song is a graveyard is fine, but my sentiment is the only defense I will use.  The lack of high grade crystals is also something to mention."  Lind dispersed the isolation weaving and returned to his scrolls.

The pair bowed to him and he nodded back.  They went to convince the envoys once more but all agreed it would be a bit of contention so Lanbao would not be back anytime soon.