Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 833 - 832 - Soul Endurance

"I see, so the longevity of a race does not impact the life of a soul so much as the effort of cultivation?"  Lind was now sitting as his Father-in-Law was now teaching him many things.  The first things he had learned were more about the etiquette between dragons of various clans.

Much like he had already learned, the purity of blood was a major factor but power was still king.  In that sense, Lind was not lacking but in pure strength he would still lose to a true Shard Tier with a deep foundation.

"Correct.  I have only lasted this long because I focused on cultivating my soul with all the rest.  Immortals refine their sliver but sometimes neglect the soul.  The 2 are tied together but do not strengthen each other like many assume."  Lind felt enlightened.

He carefully looked within and found his sliver was bathed in the light of Qi from the 6 facets but the 7th side glowed happily.  He felt his soul carefully and frowned.

He had not focused on it yet it was strong, far stronger than anything he had at his command.  He could jump tiers to fight but his soul felt a full realm stronger in comparison.

It was not, obviously, it was simply the feeling he had.

He was unaware that while he was delving into his soul, a faint dragon form was floating around his body.

The large man across from him was only a soul, but he smiled wide at what he saw.

[Excellent.]  Such a powerful soul meant his daughter was in good hands.

[How is this possible, Father-in-Law?]  Lind asked openly but the soul shrugged.

[I am not familiar with 6 elementals nor the transformation you have gone through.  Aside from that, you have overcome experiences that likely pushed your soul farther than anything you can imagine.  It would be stranger if you did not have a strong soul.]  He nodded at the words.

Lind finally stood up and looked at the fog for a moment before a thought occurred to him.  He let his awareness as a weaver spread and saw the battle was ongoing.  As weak as their souls had become, the fight had never stopped.

His eyes blazed and his body transformed to fill the cavern.  Emerald flames spread from him until all the remains were turned to ash save 1.  For the divine beasts and their allies, it was a welcome relief but to the Fiends and theirs, it was pain they could not withstand!

The fog thinned and Qi sparkled in the air before a gorgeous basin of crystal elemental Qi was revealed.  The various treasures and bodies had decayed into fuel for the crystal veins to grow exponentially.

Lind saw Hope poke her head out from the tunnel they came from with a wide smile on her face as she danced in the sparkling lights.  The dragon soul reacted instantly but then froze as both of them saw something wonderful.

Qi was dancing around her and the feeling of joy suddenly increased a thousand fold as pressure built until she broke through to the Moon Tier as if it was as easy as breathing.

For an instant, her young eyes became bottomless pools of wisdom and power.  She looked at Lind and smiled so innocently but it was one of gratitude before the Hope he knew snapped back into place.

[By the spirits, what is she?]  Lind smiled and relayed what he knew.  He was still limited at times as he felt tension from Heaven and Earth, but he stuck to the safe points.

[The Fiends were once like her?  What happened?!]  A valid question but one even Lind did not dare guess at.  One of them falling to the depraved path was one thing but an entire race vanishing overnight it seemed was different.

Something had happened that swept their entire race into it and wiped all knowledge from existence in the same move.  The few Ruins and Relics that predated it were all that remained but the Repository made it clear that those could likely be counted on only 2 hands at most now.

Once exposed to the wider world undefended, those would be wiped as well.

"Hope, this is my Father-in-Law.  Come say hello."  She danced across the cavern to the massive bones next to Lind and bowed to the soul.  She proceeded to ask many questions but like with him, his Father-in-Law apologized and said he could not answer those.

It was one of the restrictions dragons lived under once they died.  Their wisdom could be extracted far more easily in his current form so an Oath bound him in death.  Lind knew he and his family would be expected to swear similar Oaths but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

It was all pointless if he did not stop the crumbling.

"What is your name?"  Hope asked the question Lind had started with but like before, a series of roars came out that only he could understand.  It roughly translated as Fierce before Death and Flames rises on the Winds of Victory.

[Humans called me Razor, so you may call me that.]  Lind narrowed his eyes as he was not given such an option!  Using a dragon name was hard on his throat unless he was in dragon form!

Hope smiled wide and then touched him!  How did she do that?

Both were stunned as the once fairly faded shape of a man became far more solid.  She then fluttered her eyes and nearly collapsed before Lind caught her.

[My–my endurance has increased?!  I thought only the proper rituals would allow this?!]  Those words made Lind shocked but he understood instantly.  Hope's foundation, once unstable after so recently progressing, was now solid as a rock.

[Celestials advance through the manipulation or direct comprehension of the world.  While it seems easy, you can see they pay a price like all of us.  Further, her progress is capped but I hope to learn there is more to it than that.]  It was part of the dangerous knowledge but once seen, he found he could speak on it at last.

Razor looked floored and then excited.

[I can go home to rest!  The Scale Temple was where I left my love's remains!]  Lind frowned as he had explained the current state of the world.  How could the temple still exist?

Seeing his doubting face, Razor laughed and pointed to the very tunnel Lind came from.

[The intersection you described leads to the temple.  If you felt dragons, living dragons, then it is still there.  Further, the Sacred Paths are old, very old.  They were created by the Divine Beasts as a protection for all the realms.]  The words floored Lind.

He slowly looked around and something clicked into place.  It was not a million years of growth, but billions upon billions he was looking at.

[Protect how?]  He could not fathom what would need such a massive creation.

[The realms are far more fragile than any suspect.  The Fiends had always been a threat but they are not unique.  Humans, demons, and even aether children or beasts have tried to destroy what they could not possess.]  Razor spoke more solemnly now.  [On a small scale, you have seen that yourself, it is very harmful but limited.  Yet, the greater the power of a cultivator…]

He trailed off and Lind needed no further prompting.

Divine Realm was a threat but Heaven and Earth itself held them back.  Immortals, on the other hand, could act and only suffer afterward from the Wrath of Heaven.  It would not stop the act itself.

The Rakathi Wastes flashed in Lind's mind and he realized it was just a larger version of that that he was looking at.

Humans had done that in a single mortal realm and it removed most of a continent.  An Immortal or some other ally of the Fiends had done this.

[How do I get you home?]  Lind felt small.  He felt helpless, so he focused on the one thing he could do.  Bring Razor home.

The soul smiled and waved his hand.  The bones shimmered before shrinking to a size he could put in his ring.  He was not aware that would happen but the last thing he saw was his Father-in-Law smile.

He picked up Hope and made his way back to the turn.

He followed the feeling of dragons and came across other battlegrounds.  They were nowhere near as large but the souls were dissipated by him as well.  None were coherent, just fighting out of instinct.

He took in the tunnels and caverns before a feeling came over him.  The Sacred Paths were not for Immortals.  The power was terrifying from Immortals but others could fight them.  He slowly grasped he had been wrong.

The Sacred Paths were made by Divine Beasts to protect from EXTERNAL threats, not INTERNAL.

It made him think of what was beyond the borders of the Celestial Fields but he had no capacity to add that to his many issues.  It all made no difference if he was not alive to find out.

After a few days, Hope woke up but they were still in the tunnels.  It was huge!

Finally, after nearly 3 months, they felt a change.  The Laws and Qi was already dense but that was not the change that drew their senses.  The wind moved!

It brought the scents of grass, trees, and life.

Lind had Hope stand slightly behind him as the end of the Sacred Paths had come but he knew there was one last obstacle.

They rounded a corner and found him standing there.  He was an ancient man.  His head was bald but his vertically slit gold and crimson eyes left no doubt who was before him.

"So, you are the whippersnapper that hurt my granddaughter.  I respect what you did for that lass Ren so I know you are not a complete fool.  Now, think you can be so arrogant to me?"  Lind paled and Hope huddled against him.

Shard Tier.  Peak Shard Tier.  That was power Lind had never faced before without some kind of edge or other factor giving him a leg up.  He could not run away nor could he rely on others.

He prepared to fight for the very existence of the world.