Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 836 - 835 - Final Repose

The concept of a graveyard was mostly relegated to human needs for a place to pay respect to the dead or a place to honor the dead. It also was usually limited to powerful clans or powers to only bury the known dead under the auspice of glorifying their lives for all eternity.

Tombs existed for those that grew powerful enough to leave a pseudo Inheritance behind as well. It was usually a simple test for descendants compared to the general admittance to an Inheritance.

Yet, all those were human things. Demons may leave a marker for an ancestor or perhaps forge a weapon with the bones of the same but a graveyard was a foreign concept to them.

Tombs were not impossible but they were usually a simple life and death trial for the worthy to face or claim a powerful artifact/weapon.

Aether children and beasts fell into the category of a gray area. If aether children were treasured or joined to powerful humans, they valued graves stones or other markers left behind when they were gone.

Aether beasts sometimes made tombs as well but for possible human descendants to prove they were worthy of their blood.

If either were close to demons, they generally adopted the demonic philosophy as well.

Otherwise, they usually found graveyards a very strange concept altogether. Aether children were born from the will of Heaven and Earth, but aether beasts could find a desire to return to a certain place to die.

It became a collection of souls and remains but it was not a holy place in any way. It was simply the place that called them in death.

There were several variations but up to the Immortal Realm, that held true.

Immortals, however, do not die when the body does. If their soul is strong enough or if their body is killed well into the vital years, it can endure. Many humans try to possess a new body and demons share that goal.

Aether children do not do that at all. They instead wander the vast lands and skies until their time comes. They may return to a place of their choosing but overall, they simply allow themselves to disperse. Possession by an aether child is near impossible due to their unique nature as well.

Several humans have tried it and it was a near disaster.

Yet, as beasts had now gained intelligence as they progressed, many races chose to honor the souls that lived on or possibly offer themselves to let certain ancestors return to serve the race further.

Times of war had this happen so it became imperative in a battle between Immortals to shatter the soul when the body died. It was obviously not easy but artifacts and formation plates were created for the very sake of protecting the soul.

Aether beasts then chose to preserve their ancestors for as long as their souls could endure. Their wisdom would not be lost and if the opportunity arose, they could possess a vessel if the need was there.

As such, areas were designated to safely store the remains and souls of the dead. Despite how often cultivators die, they did not always leave a body behind. Beasts especially had that issue as humans, demons, and aether children used their remains for recipes.

Lind found the metal fence far more powerful than expected. It was inscribed with a formation that reinforced not only the strength of the fence but the spiritual Qi inside the perimeter.

He found skeletons laid out all over of various sizes. Some were no more than 3 meters long and others towered over him. He was stunned how much space there seemed to be when he noticed the formations in the ground explained it.

"They inverted space. It is bigger on the inside." It was a good use of space but the sheer size floored him. He had never seen an application of it like that.

Usually storage treasures and rings were the most common example but actually applying it to an open space was not something he had seen done.

The formation was massive and he wanted to study it but then he felt many auras lock onto him.

Some were weaker but others were massively more powerful than any he had encountered save his Mother-in-Law and the old man.

[Master, it is unwise to tarry here. The souls here are mostly Shard Tiers.] Haro's voice was a little late to warn him but then an odd thing happened.

Dragons began to appear in the sky but they were bowing. They were bowing at Lind.

What was going on? He then looked down at his right hand. The black ring with the flaring green dragon seemed to glow.

[Haro?] Silence greeted his question. It seemed clear but he pushed it aside until a woman appeared before him. She smiled and took his hand.

[They are waiting for you. You have brought hope, a rare gift in this place.] The features were blurry and out of reflex, he used his harmony.

Emerald light blazed from him and sigils blazed. It was not natural nor demonic Qi that answered his call but Celestial!

A wave passed outward and all the souls seemed to solidify more than before.

It was nowhere near on par with what Hope did, but it was clear he had an effect.

The woman was much more defined but her lithe figure remained the same. She smiled at him and led him far back into the area until he felt a familiar set of auras.

He could actually feel their excitement as he turned the corner around a massive set of rib bones.

A man and woman of incredible beauty stood before him. He was willing to bet they would have had pale hair and shimmering scales if they had colors shown. Souls were all shades of blue.

[Son-in-Law greets you.] Lind bowed low to the pair.

The woman rushed forward and a cool feeling came over his skin as she hugged him tight.

[No formalities. Tell us everything!] Lind had already told Razor but he started over and talked for days.

He knew they could not truly cry but a flow of tears were on both their cheeks.

[If I may ask, what happened to the senior that was your friend?] Lind had not heard from Razor and he saw his Father-in-Law turn to his wife as well. She looked sad and then turned back to her own bones that towered over them.

[I am only here because of his sacrifice. He saved our daughter and then died so I could flee to the temple to die. I had lethal injuries that none could heal but my soul was safe.] Razor looked sad.

[As I told you before, my battles seemed unending until we died in that cavern.] Lind nodded at his words.

[Still, we have a son who is–] His Mother-in-Law was about to say something when Razor stopped her and she looked guilty.

[I may not know the details but based on many clues, I seem to have become a candidate of some kind important to the dragon race.] Confusion crossed both their faces as they glanced at his ring.

[1 of 3] Haro's voice suddenly spoke up and their faces cleared.

Lind had many questions but knew no one would answer him so he simply pushed it aside.

[You have told us much about you, but let us tell you about ourselves!] His Mother-in-Law shifted the topic and began to tell him about a world he could only ever hear about from those in that place.

The current dead lands were all that existed but in their words he saw more.

Massive forests, jungle, swamps, and deserts in all combinations crossed massive continents.

Cities that spanned his entire mortal realm were commonplace and not even the pinnacle of the Celestial Fields.

Immortals were the true residents as all others had to live under their protection. Sects were in all directions but only the ones led by a Sliver Tier truly counted as a stand alone power.

White tigers dominated the plains with black shelled tortoises holding the seas and oceans as they wished. Very few pure bloods existed but sometimes an atavistic resonance would occur and bring out a bestial powerhouse.

Phoenixes were the rarest as rocs usually ruled the skies.

He also learned he was on the lowest level of the Celestial Fields. There were 3 more above that he had to attain Crystal Tier to advance to the next from where they currently were.

Apparently, it was not unusual for a Crystal Tier descending long ago but none had come since the Cataclysm.

He wondered about why that would be but one look at that devastated land in his mind and he could guess it was impossible to come down for them.

Still, it made him curious why Crystal Tiers could not exist in the current level aside from coming from a layer above.

[You need to go see the Head Priestess. She will have answers for you and the next steps you need to take.] Razor suddenly spoke up and his wife nodded. Lind bowed but then paused.

[Ethry does not have much race memory about you but I gave all I had from when I hatched her egg. I promise to do my best to let her see you again.] He bowed once more and left before they could stop him.

It was arrogant but he meant it. He would find the cause of what happened and if possible, fix it.

He left the final repose of the dragon ancestors and reunited with Hope before the acolyte led him back to the center of the area. The massive stone temple loomed over them all and he hoped to finally understand what was going on with the tests and hidden information that even Haro could not tell him.