Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 791 - 790 - Race Memory

Eldest had led her pack for over a thousand years after the one before her died.  She had been heavily guided to break the limits of the Sky Realm to step into the Star Tier.  The trick was in the race memory.

Race memory was like a very intense dream that imparted the wisdom of the ancestors without overwhelming the cultivator.  The feeling of awakening was hard to put into words but instead of just relying on instinct, the race memory expanded her mind.

She could not take it all in but her mind expanded and concepts that never occurred to her flowed through her.  She knew her form was inefficient for battle in many circumstances but she recalled the race that hunted them for resources and food all the time.

Humans!

For all she cursed them, their bodies had far more options not only for weapons and movements, but Qi.  She understood how to manipulate her Qi in ways never possible before.

It had been a wonderful and terrifying experience.  The Eldest back then had helped her consolidate as best he could but they did not always understand what the race memory told them.

There were concepts they had many questions about but race memory was not like a spirit or a living being.  They got all of it without all the details.  If they got it all, their weak minds would be crushed under the wisdom of the ages.

There were, however, certain things that needed no explanation at all.  The dangers of humans and the secrets to the higher realms was the basic knowledge but there were other races she had never seen in her life.

Humans with strange colored skin like the colors of Qi in different combinations.  Humans with shifting skin of all elements.  There was a race of lavender skin humans that used entirely different Qi but did not anger her like normal humans did.  Some were kind and she felt affection for them or even pity but then the last human-like race scared the spirits out of her.

Ash gray skin, white hair, and strange eyes that were just wrong made her skin crawl.  She also saw all the races band together to fight them many times.  She understood that the race memory showed there was a common enemy but she never saw them either, thankfully.

Other beast races were different.  She already knew a lot about them but the race memory once more emphasized several races.

She saw a massive bird that seemed to cover the world with their silver to golden feathers.  They were able to move at a speed no one could follow and with power that could shred her armor like it was air!

There were giant white tigers that had pure white fur with black or silver stripes at times that made her wake up in a cold sweat just to see their giant maws covered in blood and with golden to silver eyes leaving no hope.

There were majestic black shelled tortoises that actually engendered joy in her.  She felt kinship with them and the race memories made it clear they were great allies with massive bodies.

There was another bird but this one was pure fire and sometimes lightning dancing along their bodies.  The world could not stop them.  Death was no threat to them at all as they would rise from a burning inferno with terrifying power.

All of those scared or left her in wonder but they were nothing compared to the last race emphasized in her race memory that she understood.

The last race had many forms.  The only commonality was scales, claws, fangs, and cold reptilian eyes.  They were power incarnate and extremely dangerous.

The devastation and arrogance was heavily imprinted on her as she saw whole cities reduced to ashes by only a handful of them that took massive armies to reproduce.

These beasts were near the peak of the world in her eyes.  Only some of the other beasts in her race memory could stand up to them, but they were only ever equal at best.

A word was sent with that set of memories compared to all the rest.

Dragons.

The man flying in the sky appeared out of nowhere and had vertically slit emerald eyes she could see from the ground.  His emerald hair also was not like the other humans she knew.  Her instincts were screaming at her to not disobey the man in any way!

Sweat poured off her but she could not abandon the sick ones of her herd.  She was the Eldest.  She was their protector!

She tried to speak but her body was partially shifting back to her natural shape entirely rather than the partial transformation she had mastered since becoming a Moon Tier.

The man did not move but seemed to look concerned.  He closed his eyes and she worried he was about to attack!  They had offended him.

[Ah!  My apologies.  I seem to have let my aura out as well as letting you see me.]  The voice came again and the terrifying aura vanished but the man stayed in the sky.  He had not moved but Eldest could finally take a breath.

The feeling of power was still there but it was easier to look at him.  She took on her human form and climbed up the small mountain to be clear to him.

"Great Lord!  Please have mercy on my herd.  I will give myself freely!"  She closed her eyes and waited for death to come.  All her race memories told her they were only food for these powerful beasts but they could be bargained with.

As the highest cultivation, she would be the most useful to him.

The wind blew and she cherished each sensation as they were her last.  The cool breeze and the chill of the night were clear to her but the sour smell of the sickened ones saddened her.

Her herd would die.  She had failed.

[Um, I think there has been a misunderstanding.  I am an Immortal.  I have no need of food anymore.]  The word caused a resonance in her race memory.

Images of insanely powerful beings came to her of all races that were extremely hard to kill.  They needed no sleep, food, or water to survive anymore.  They had powers that seemed impossible to her but she slowly opened her eyes to see the man still floating in the sky.

He had not moved nor done anything to them.

"Great Lord–"  She still felt danger but his aura flared.

[I am no lord.  I am only Lind Frey.  I have noticed you are suffering from Fiend Qi.  I can resolve it.]  His voice in her head spoke over her attempt to plead once more but his words froze her still.  The moons in the sky glowed dimly as she saw a few of the healthier Sky Realm members moving to protect the ones that could no longer move.

"Y-you can help us?"  She was confused as her race memory did not respond like before.  She did not understand what he was saying.

[Yes, I can help you.  I already removed the source in your cave but I did not want to act without permission to help the others.]  She tilted her head and there was a tiny clink sound as her hair was made up of the same crystals as her hide.

Her pale skin was a similar result as she had no idea she could alter it.

Tears began to fall as she knelt on the rock beneath her.

"Please, please help them."  She had begun to lose all hope and now a mighty dragon had come.  Whatever he asked for, she would give it.

He floated down until he was in front of her but on the lower slope.  She did not dare look up but she heard a tired sigh from him.

"I feel like you are still misunderstanding something but consent was given.  This might hurt, but please endure."  The night lit up with emerald fire but no plants burned at all.  It touched the entire herd at once and they brayed in pain.

Her head shot up but was stunned at what she saw.

Faint tendrils of vile Qi floated out of their bodies.  While they were in pain, it was endurable as their color improved!  After a few breaths of time, the fire vanished leaving no one harmed!

They all stood up and were cured!  They danced on their 4 legs and gently butted heads or brushed their stone guards together happily.  The man smiled gently and walked among them.

There was some fear still in them, but he patted their heads and sat down so he was at their height.

"You are ok now, I promise."  His voice suddenly clicked in her mind at that moment.  The ancient voice of the former Eldest had said the same thing patting her head as she had barely survived becoming a Star Tier.

New tears fell, but of happiness.  The crisis was over.  She saw him produce some precious herbs but he happily let them eat and seemed to have bottomless amounts.  She then saw some discomfort in many of them but impurities were purged in a massive amount.

The emerald flames wiped all the impurities away too!

She looked on and felt hope bloom in her heart.  How long had it been since she was not feeling the pressure on her shoulders but for that moment it was lifted away.

After half the night passed, the herd moved back into the cavern as he promised it was safe to do so.  She was then alone with him in the night.  She felt nervous as another aspect of his race came back to her.

He may not need food, but a strong desire was still a part of Immortal dragons.  The desire to propagate.  The current situation of the world made it possible he had come to claim her.

It was still scary but a far better fate than food.  She did not know if she was compatible, but she was willing to try.

"I am unsure what that look means but I want to be clear.  I seek knowledge only.  I have many questions I hope you can help me with."  A slight twinge of disappointment swept her but she calmed herself.

"If I can help, I will be happy to."  She meant it but he was now frowning at her.  She felt like nothing was kept a secret from him.

"Before that, why is your foundation so poor?  You are dying if you keep pushing ahead like that."  His words shook her but unlike before she looked sad at him before the words left his mouth.

"The previous Eldest died before he could teach me.  I can only guess from my race memory how to advance as others have before me."  He frowned deeply before closing his eyes and looking pained.

"Alright, before my questions, we are going to fix that.  I cannot restore lost potential but I can at least save your life."  He then brought out strange objects she did not immediately recognize but then her race memory had another strong reaction.

Artifacts!  He had artifacts!  She stared in wonder as each item lit up briefly before the area was enclosed and she had a question occur to her that had never even remotely come to her before.

Where did this person come from?