novelraw Chapter 730 - 729 - Secret of Life
Chapter 730 - 729 - Secret of Life
"Understand, there is information you simply cannot withstand and survive." Soltara began there and Lind nodded. "If you ever spoke to a higher realm being or encountered one in an Inheritance, you are protected by the rules of Heaven and Earth but if you push hard enough, you could still grasp it."
That was information that perked Lind up. He had lost the majority of what he just did to Soltara but then she said he could have forced it? How would that work?
"Warnings come in many forms, but most are omissions or lost memories. The information is not gone, simply blocked." Lind thought about that. He thought back to his earliest experience with Divine Realm cultivators.
Even though he had advanced since then, those memories remained unchanged. Or did they?
He closed his eyes and saw the pair of women he had seen between his last life and his current one, yet nothing changed. The information was no different even as he concentrated.
Soltara seemed to wait but his frustration was clear as day.
"It is something misunderstood by many, Lind Frey. Even we make that mistake once we solidify." He was surprised by that. Surely their process was different from other cultivators given their origins but she smiled at him.
"Where do you think we come from, Lind Frey?" That question was one he wanted to ask but he decided to give his theory.
"I am not entirely sure but assuming some things I have seen, not all deaths are clean. The souls of life sometimes disperse or are…partially damaged." Both frowned at the only cause of that particular issue, but she nodded for him to continue. "There are also spirits of Heaven and Earth. A kind of life force directly created by Heaven and Earth from what I understand."
Surprise bloomed on her face before she quickly nodded.
"How do you know that?" He was about to answer when he froze. How did he know that? Why was he so sure they existed? He went through his memory but there was nothing there.
"I–I don't know." She seemed to pierce his mind before a sad look passed over her face.
"You nearly died far too much even for a cultivator. While life and death are impossible to avoid as a cultivator, you have faced that moment saving so many. I can answer when you learned the truth of the spirits." Lind perked up.
He then suddenly felt pain in his head as a memory came back, a very bad one. His body was basically a shell as Ethry's body was rebuilt when her Qi was extracted from his dantian.
Things were so foggy but he felt happy. He felt so happy as he saw her breath once more and then the Divine cultivator nodded at him before he died.
Normally, that was where his memory ended but now it continued if barely. He went to some strange place. It was almost like floating mountains in a golden sky. He could not remember much else but his very soul was examined by something.
[Worthy.]
Only a single word came through and he was back in his body alive!
The memory faded as he saw Soltara look a little tired. Lind realized what she meant about forcing it. She was just tired but he felt like his brain was on fire just to recall that little bit.
"In any case, you are partially correct. My kind requires certain conditions to exist like in the state you see but your theory about aether children and beasts is roughly correct as well. We cannot manifest in a mortal realm." Lind nodded as he recovered. The tea actually helped too.
"So the reason they manifest like that is due to the dead or a memory imprint?" Soltara did not confirm but smirked at him.
"If only things were that simple but if they were, mortal realms would be overrun by aether children and beasts. Life is needed but who decides what they become? Where does the personality come from?" Lind was unsure what she meant but he thought about it.
Annabelle had been able to speak and grasp concepts far above any newborn but he had never questioned it much as there was little he could do to find out. Yet, he recalled the salamander that appeared on the Fortune Way voyage.
That beast had attacked with a powerful racial Art as if it had always known how to do it at that strength.
Annabelle never spoke of strange memories or anything else so where did those personalities come from?
Where did all life come from would be the better question? Elementals were partially what he thought but that was not all.
Lind then felt like an idiot.
"The Great Dao is in all things and all things are part of the Great Dao." The words were taught to every disciple the worlds over but Lind had a new grasp of it as Soltara bowed to him.
"Indeed, the Great Dao is the source of all life. We are very close to it but even we lose that closeness as we advance. To become solid is to step away to our own path. We were once monks and priestesses for scholars to speak about the Dao." Lind really leaned forward at those words.
"You were guides?" She nodded but then grew sad.
"We were the song, our ancestors laid out the path and the notes for us to share, but now it is shattered. You have allowed me to hear the song after nearly a million years of silence." His eyes narrowed as he suddenly felt something fall into place.
His right hand had an emerald flame dance it. It was his harmony and unlike any time previous he finally had a firm grasp of what a Living Law was.
"What am I?" The words came from him without any context but Soltara answered him.
"Cultivators were born from your kind, those that grasped the balance of Qi on an instinctual level. The song transformed your race but you did not get the wisdom we possessed." Lind looked up in awe at her as he understood.
He recalled clearly the day he became a Soul Realm and his idea of how each element made up a human being. He had thought about it metaphorically but it was still accurate. He had never asked about other 6 elementals!
Why had he never asked them?!
It had always been about tempering their cores and keeping their foundation in balance. Their harmonies varied but he had made an assumption about them!
Were they all Living Laws or was it just his? So many questions he never pondered but her revelation made it clear that the first cultivators would not have only grasped a single element!
The 6 elementals came first but could not figure out how to advance! So they tried to teach others and led to the combinations because of the partial understanding! It was just enough to cross the threshold!
His mind felt enlightened and began to draw a parallel. Life was not born in a vacuum but he knew a bit about how mortal realms were born roughly, yet it never occurred to him why humans and demons were the default?
He looked at the dancing emerald flame and it seemed to be far more profound than ever before. The Great Dao was pursued by beings at some point and their actions caused changes and discoveries but it also made them a deeper part of it.
The spirits of Heaven and Earth existed but they were not gods. They did not interfere in the day to day nor told people how to live. Karma was created by each person yet only cultivators faced the brunt of it.
All of it was tied together! The closer one came to the Dao, the more they were affected by it! The expansion in lifespan came from that process!
Lind felt a wave in his dantian suddenly and realized he was now a high Sun Tier! When did that happen?!
He looked up to see Soltara looking at him in awe.
"You comprehended a part of your Living Law. What did you grasp?" His Living Law? Was he not looking back at all of the Great Dao and cultivators getting closer together? How was that tied to his–?!
"Origin, I grasped the origin of life." It just came to him but that was not the totality of his Law. He felt it, but now his Sun was burning brighter than before. Its efficiency had skyrocketed! He saw it suck up Qi like a sponge!
"Interesting. Your Living Law is something unexpected. I am sad I will not see you grow in the future." Lind looked up sharply as he dismissed his flame.
"Explain that, please, senior." She had gotten better but seemed sure her death was imminent.
"You saw my center where it touched my dantian. The sliver wants to become a shard but I cannot survive that transformation. The whole reason the temples exist is to slow down and prevent our progression. The moment I cross to a Shard Tier, I will die." He frowned deeply but did not press for more.
"Senior, please enlighten me. How do Elementals cultivate? You are already Qi and it does not feel like you simply collect and condense Qi like we do." She smiled and bowed to him.
"Elementals cultivate experience. The key, however, is leaving behind the Soul Core before we incarnate into a new form." She pointed at her chest and Lind realized he would need a lot more information.