Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 655 - 654 - Flood

It had been a mere decade since Lind allowed the mortal realm connected to them to ascend under their own rules.  There had been some resistance but his gifts actually overwhelmed those voices from many that had been frustrated by being at the peak of the Sky Realm with no hope of advancing.

Also, the return of the resources caused chaos as there had been some eyeing it as time passed for their own cultivation.  Lind did not let it escalate as peak Moon Tiers descended.

The Qi was far thinner than they were used to, but none had an issue.  Once they appeared, things swiftly calmed down.

In fact, once all was returned, the Moon Tiers stayed on what appeared to be a massive continent floating over a beautiful land underneath.

The mortal realm was not as large as Lind's, but the density of Qi was far higher!

He also got reports of rich mines and herb gardens nurtured over billions of years.  The smaller size, however, placed the mortal realm in the mid range.  It could support up to Moon Tier but the consumption of resources would be massive for it.

Hence the rule the Fiends created to build a surplus to send upwards.  Without Heaven Realms to drain the potent resources, they could build up relatively quickly and ensure no one in the mortal realm could ascend as a ready made threat.

A fresh Sun Tier was a powerhouse even with Immortals around.  The Heaven Realm could not support massive numbers of Immortals for the same reason mortal realms could not support Heaven Realms.  There was simply not enough to sustain them in such numbers.

The mid range mortal realm was almost a tease.  It easily had the capacity for Heaven Realms to be born and sustained but its ability to endure was severely limited.

Once a Star Tier began to refine their dantian, it would take a massive dent out of existing resources and Moon Tier would only make it exponentially worse.  Lind saw some records of the 5 lower continents as they looked above at the floating one.

There were 'suns' made of Qi sources that none dared touch as it was a major part of what let it float in the first place.

The darkness Qi would cycle through all of them to induce a night and day pattern but it was like living at the poles of a planet.  Nights lasted a long time and so did daylight.  Mortals lived safely at the fringes but cultivators adapted until they could become Sky Realms to leave the lower world behind.

It fascinated him but he got numbers fairly quickly on resources.  The present was fine, better than fine, as it would take a few centuries to really get Sky Realms to ascend in numbers that would drain the wealth quickly.

It would come, however.  So Lind reversed the rule of the Fiends.  Once one reaches the peak of Star Tier, they must ascend.  Before that, any tier 7 Sky Realm and above could ascend so long as a power accepted them.

While the Wards and sects were doing ok, man power was desperately needed at cultivation realms across the spectrum.  A little over 500 years was not enough to nurture powerhouses.

What happened after that was a bidding war followed by a flood!

Lind had popped the cork and the mortal realm almost had a mass exodus!  Peak Sky Realms had no issues, but anyone below tier 5 would feel oppressed after ascension.

Tier 7 was fairly safe so he stuck with that.

The foundation of his Alliance was challenged but Lind smirked at the reports from leaders almost trying to assure him that intervention was not necessary.  They would all take care of it!

"You scared them, Master."  Shi and Benny were in front of Lind in his office.  He was studying the records sent to him by request from the mortal realm to get a better grasp of it but they had insisted he be made aware of the many reassuring messages.

"That aether child, at least, has a good head on her shoulders."  Galatia, one of the envoys that came up before, had basically met with Shi and Benny directly on a key issue.  His promise about aether children.

Unlike other cultivation lands, the Two Rivers alliance had a lot more camaraderie with the aether children and beasts.  Galatia had gotten many assurances before many aether children began to arrive.

They were shocked at the honest requests to join powers.

The truly shocking revelation, however, was a rebellious power that came out of hiding once Lind's rule was confirmed.

The remnants of the Heavenly Maiden Sect, Divine Sword Sect, and a new one for him, the Profound Flame Sect, had joined together to keep their rituals and real history alive.

The Fiends being wiped out when Suzen implemented the Law Binding was a happy day for them as it made it much harder to infiltrate them!

They could not survive alone and their seats of power were long gone, so they had hidden in the places no one cared about.

Lind sent someone from the current Heavenly Maiden Sect with some of his envoys to negotiate with them.  The 3 powers were now heavily interconnected but the Maidens wept to see their sect had been revived in the lands above.

Lind knew the other 2 had to have had branches as well but any such records were long gone.

The Divine Sword Sect would have fought to the death while the Profound Flame Sect was similar to his current Secret Flame Sect.  It focused more on production but had shifted to pure survival.

They actually had elixir masters!  They had no current Forgers but had retained the records of them!  Lind was excited!  Those records included testing at realms higher than the Soul and World Realms he had no idea about!

He negotiated with them but all he could promise was his own lands.  The aether beasts had no objections to more sects, especially those that defied Fiends.

The mortal realm had to sort itself out but that would take thousands of years.  Wars would break out soon but Lind could only offer a safe place to ascend for those that could withstand it.

All else he could only do what was allowed.  Galatia had seen it and thus the exodus of nearly all the aether children that could ascend.

Now, new sects had been settled with his help.  The Divine Sword Sect did have a record of their branch in the Alliance lands but there was not a stone left there.  Lind suspected they had made a last stand before things turned for the worse.

It would be very much like them.

The Profound Flame Sect's branch was actually once in the former Karridan Empire.  After looking through the Ward's records since, they found the foundation of what had clearly been a sect long ago.

It was now a set of stables.

Unlike the Divine Sword Sect, the Profound Flame Sect simply shrugged their shoulders and went to help their brothers in arms to settle a combined sect somewhere appropriate.  Lind had a few places to give them and they chose a mountain range near a vibrant forest.

It was a good setup for both their ideals.  He was unsure what they would become but he gave them the basics and the beasts agreed to a compromise on territory since Lind was involved.

All in all, things were becoming more lively, but Lind did not like what he was hearing from Ethry.

The stunning effects of his breakthrough had far reaching effects but only temporary for the war.  The Fiends were old hands at defending themselves, plus Lind was not a God.  He had implored Heaven and Earth to act to repair the damage, but it would take a very long time to fully take effect.

If the Fiends damaged it all over again, his act would only buy time.

What truly bothered him was the change in tactics.  Normally, Fiends were methodical, almost machine like, advancement was now changed.  They almost seemed vicious, like they wanted to give no room to think or breathe.

Why?

Why would they so drastically change tactics from their normal approach?  He reviewed his encounters and saw some parallels that made him worried.

Fiends were methodical, even in the face of long term setbacks, they slowly brought things around.  It was what made them so dangerous was that even if you defeated them, they simply shrugged it off and tried a new tack.

The only time they went out of that pattern was when they grasped the threat of his harmony.  The first encounter in Cimmeria tipped them off so that when he met the thralls in Yinande had taken drastic measures once his threat was revealed.

His actions against them after finding their caches in Wild Heart Isle also made them deviate.  That final battle had been brutal but far from the usual tactics.

Lind had cemented his status as an enemy when he saved the Barren Realm and restored the Immortal dragon guardians.

Any doubt the Fiends had on his location was long since gone and now they changed tactics.  Yet, they knew where he was.  So why were they going crazy against the Alliance?

"Master?"  Lind jumped as he realized Shi had been talking but he had not taken it in actively.  He quickly reviewed the last few moments.

"Ah, sorry, yes you are right.  Make sure the new treaties…"  He refocused on his duties as there was nothing he could do, but the desire to get out rose in him.  The Fiends had been burned by him and now they knew he was in their former experiment.

What he would do would be to strike at the heart of the enemy to deal the most damage.  In his case, that was his family.  The Fiends were going after his family!

His eyes became cold and the 2 women flinched but he quickly restored his calm demeanor.

"Get me Lanbao and Linghu.  I need to step up a project."  Lind finished his duties while those 2 were summoned.  On his desk was a sketch but it was only vague.  He had a thought and hoped it would work.

He sent a small prayer to the spirits for granting him the time to find a way out in time to save his family.