Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 731 - 730 - Elemental Path

The tea never seemed to run out but Lind did not mind.  Soltara seemed to be collecting her thoughts.

"Elementals are generally born 1 of 3 ways.  The most common is when a Soul Core is ready to draw in a new life."  A vision came over Lind as he saw a small cloud of Qi sparking a bright light and left it behind as it grew in size to accept an even bigger spark.

The small spark then pulled in Qi but also spirit as he watched until a newly formed cloud that barely fit in the palm of his hand.

It was a new life but he also noted the previous cloud became clearer as more spirit gathered around it.

He found it fascinating but it left a few questions.

"As I said, there are 3 ways we are born.  The other way is a method you are more familiar with."  A new vision was born but that time was a forest bare of any civilization yet extremely dense in Qi.

His Eyes actually worked and he saw something stunning.  The Qi seemed to be shaking in ways that were not natural as it condensed slowly into a complex pattern.  It seemed to reach a critical point before the spark was born enriched with spirit Qi.

As he watched, the Qi did only become coherent, but a sensation of life became clear to him.  It was a sudden similarity to when he saw his children being born.  It was not felt in the earlier vision.

It seemed there was more to it than he realized.  There seemed to be something to the Soul Core he had yet to understand.

"The final way, you are more than familiar with.  If there are 2 solid forms that come together, a child is possible."  Lind waved his hand that he did not need to see that particular vision.

"So after that, I saw that the Soul Core passes from one Elemental to another?"  Soltara nodded.

"Our ancestors pass on their experiences before they move on, thus we can fully explore each Dao we pursue."  Soltara smiled as she spoke of that.  "I carry the comprehension of 17 previous ancestors within me."

Now it made sense how the other Immortal Elemental spoke to him previously.  He was still stabilizing his foundation and sorting his own memories from the previous holder of the Soul Core.

It was also a fascinating approach.  Rather than teach the next generation as cultivators did, the Elementals literally birthed a new generation to explore the Dao in each realm.

"What about what you said before, that you grow with experiences?"  Lind did not quite understand that.  It seemed to him that spiritual Qi was what allowed it to grow in both of his visions.

"That is harder to show, but we do not absorb Qi to increase our mass.  We actually synergize our knowledge with our spirit and grow.  The more we understand the more we can condense our Soul Core until we outgrow it."  Lind considered what she was saying.

It was tied to the Dao.  They studied and absorbed more information and the Soul Core grew which actually drew in the Qi.  In other words the progress was the knowledge added to the Soul Core.

They did not pull in Qi to grow but their understanding allowed them to grow.  It was interesting.

The more they comprehended the more solid they became until the Soul Core had to be discarded for the next realm.  The Soul Realm comprehension would not work for the World Realm.  He still wondered how that worked but maybe they would let him study them.

Suddenly he froze.

"Wait, what happened when the Cataclysm occurred?"  Lind had a sick feeling that he understood why Soltara had no knowledge beyond 17 ancestors.

She looked deeply sad as she heard his question.

"We died as I said, due to desperate Immortals trying to extend their lives but the Cataclysm also destroyed the song.  We lost all of the Solid Realms when all was said and done with not enough juniors to attempt to save the Soul Cores."  Just as Immortals could live without their bodies for a short time, the Elementals' Soul Core had a limited capacity to exist outside the body.

The more complex Soul Core needed an Elemental rather than birthing a new one.  It made sense as the far more intricate Soul Core would need the experienced Elemental to survive.

"Did any of them survive?"  Such Soul Cores could possibly hold clues to what happened back then as thus far he had yet to meet anyone that had lived as long as Lanbao.

Soltara looked very sad and it told him all he needed to know.  None of them had survived.

"Much like your own cultivation path, ours is laced with dangers as well.  The step to the Solid Realm can lead to death about 70% of the time."  Lind was shocked.  He knew Immortal Tribulations could have death as a result but the success rate was higher than that!

Reaching the peak of the Sun Tier was actually harder than facing the tribulation!

"Was it always that way?"  She shrugged and he regretted asking.  Of course, none of them had survived.

"I was one of the few that have the most complete record but even I only know stories from those that were alive back then before they died.  The temples were constructed primarily because we cannot stop our progress."  Lind grasped it at last.  How would anyone stop experiences?

It was impossible!  Cultivators had to integrate Qi and grasp Laws to progress but Elementals were like aether beasts in the earlier realms.  They advanced eventually regardless of potential.

Each new comprehension advanced them and a growing horror came to him as he looked at Soltara.

"Yes, my realm has advanced.  However, you somehow made it much better where I am not being forced to breakthrough at the moment.  I think you bought me close to 100 years."  Lind did not feel glad as he did not know what kind of lifespan she had before.

"What happens when you reach the Shard Tier?"  Lind knew of Shard Tiers among cultivators that had no issue beyond that they were stuck in the low Shard Tier until the end of their lives.

"Normally, Immortals did not stay in the Heaven Realm.  They would ascend as soon as possible.  The obvious reason was the need to advance in a more compatible environment."  It was the first Lind had heard of it but it matched what he knew of the Heaven Realms back in his mortal realm.

Star Tiers would head up if they could to speed up their cultivation.

Now, Immortals could not do that.  There were no longer any ascension pools to the Celestial Fields.

Shard Tiers could trigger forceful ascension but it was known they would die.  It was the same for the last million years.  Ever since the Cataclysm they died without exception.

"You may be the key to solving that one day."  Soltara's words surprised him.  "If you can become an Immortal, you will find a scar where the ascension pools once were.  You might be able to pry open the path but there will be issues."

Lind was curious what she meant.

"You mean the connections are still there but can't be repaired?"  She shook her head at his question.

"You are not ready to know more but suffice to say that what you did for me, might be possible for those pools.  The shock of the Cataclysm broke the bonds but not forever."  He was curious about that but wondered how she knew they would come back.

Do you mean to say the pools are still there but simply sealed off, not destroyed?"  She nodded.

"If they were totally severed, we would all be dead."  He snapped up at that.  "It is not a memory but something I understand instinctively.  If the Celestial Fields were gone or completely severed, the Heaven Realm and mortal realms would die."

Lind understood then.  The flow of Qi went down through the various realms from the higher ones to the lower ones.  Still, it left him curious.

"If the Celestial Fields are still there, why have they not tried to descend or reconnect on their end?"  Soltara did not shrug as she looked at him and for the first time in his life he felt like he was in a room with something far larger than himself.  What was that feeling?

"The song died.  It means all in the Celestial Fields died that day."  Lind felt cold.  What could wipe out the realm where Immortals were supposedly far more common?  Even the current war was still contained to the 2 sides and the side effects of their skills.

Devastating but the scale included Immortals.  What could they have done to kill everything?

The kind of power needed to that made Lind recall the day Lanbao died.  That thing certainly had the power.  Yet, it seemed restricted by the rules of Heaven and Earth.  Still, it had been able to launch a single attack before being sent away.

It may have been enough.

"I will need to reconsider it when I get there but I would also need to find one of those scars."  Soltara then waved her arm to make the wall transparent.  He looked out and saw something in the depths of the valley near the center of the village.

There were strange marks in the ground where no trees or plants grew.  It was not too large but just looking at it made his head hurt.  Still, at the same time his sun shook as if something called out to him.

"As I suspected.  Your Living Law may be indeed the hope we have all wanted for so long."  He slowly nodded as the wall became opaque once more.

"We have more we can discuss but we have covered a lot you should digest.  There is an area over there to cultivate safely.  Please feel free to use it."  Lind bowed and realized he had a lot to digest.

He had grasped a piece of his harmony, learned a great deal about Elementals, and even touched on the Cataclysm.  It was a lot to take in and he should ponder it before asking more questions.

He bowed and moved to the mat she had indicated before assuming his lotus position and began to cultivate.