Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 846 - 845 - Trial of Endurance

Time became meaningless to Lind. He was in another body but all he knew was the trials were focusing on different aspects of life. Some had been very instructional about his weakness but others broke him spiritually to finish.

Now, he was in his 1 millionth year in a hellish landscape as a drake. He was a water drake that had been left by humans in a burning land of molten rivers and simmering black stone.

He was unable to move or fly as his body was sapped of strength but he slowly scraped forward one millimeter at a time.

He had barely survived many attacks but his Sky Realm power was enough to fight back.

A trail of cool stone was behind him but only to a short extent until the stone heated back up. He was unsure if he was heading out the right way but he had chosen a direction and refused to bend.

Scales cracked and fell off as hunger haunted him. He refused to die again. He refused to be brought low by the world.

His aqua colored eyes were steely as he carefully came to a bridge over a chasm filled with lava. Only death awaited him if he fell but there was no other choice.

The immediate issue was instead of just forward, he had to go up. The bridge arched over to the otherside. He could not make out much but it did not matter.

How many narrow passages had he crawled through to get there? He could not clearly remember but no longer cared.

All that remained was his unbending will to advance. His limbs made cracking noises as he picked them up farther than ever before to step onto the incline of the bridge.

Weeks passed before he finally crossed the midway point but his body was shaking. He needed food!

Beasts relied more on food than humans and even at the Sky Realm, some food was needed.

He no longer recalled his name nor what was going on. All that remained was the hunger and his purpose. He roared as much as he could but water was also needed. Qi could create that but the current environment had no water at all!

Lind made his body move and only took a few days to go down hill compared to the snail's pace from before.

The ground widened out and finally became level once more. He kept moving his body forward when a change was noticed.

It was cooler! The scent of water in the air made his vision focus a bit but all he could see was the murky yellow fog everywhere in that land.

He stopped and carefully felt the flow of wind. If he made a mistake here, it would be his last. His body wanted to lay down, but he pulled up the dregs of his stamina until he confirmed the direction of the source of the scents.

He began to move but did not try to rush. He had little energy left so burning it up would only bring him to death.

Scales fell off even more than before and his mane was all gone as well. He just kept plodding until the sound of crunching was heard.

He looked down and was stunned to see a bush smashed beneath his claws!

He slowly looked around and found himself at the edge of a forest! He looked back and saw the swirling yellow fog behind his tail!

He looked terrible but water Qi finally flowed blessedly into him. The water soothed his body and throat. The water also gave him a second wind to move faster while still channeling the Qi.

Slowly, his mind came back to him. Lind was unsure how much time had passed really. He recalled appearing in the hellscape behind him and knew he was in the absolutely wrong type of drake for it and had to leave.

A wild beast would have panicked and tried to escape with all its strength but he paced it out and now had escaped.

It only took a little while for some rabbits to become his food. Raw meat was disgusting to him normally but at the moment, it was the sweetest food.

Months passed before a large enough lake was found. His body needed to be immersed to truly heal and while he wanted to sleep during the process, Lind was no fool.

The trial had not stopped, so there was more to it.

He made some arrangements with his claws and natural formations to hide his presence before blissfully diving into the lake.

There were some fish but nothing dangerous. The nearby hellish land likely had eruptions that wiped out the area periodically based on the high sulfur content of the forest.

It likely was due soon so he wanted to heal up fast and get to the skies!

Lind still restricted the desire of his body to forcefully draw in more water to heal but kept it stead so it would not draw eyes. A formation could only do so much!

His scarred flesh plumped up and the scales shed so fresh cerulean ones could replace them. His core burst with joy as it was full of water Qi for the first time in a long time.

It was on the day he finally confirmed he could fly that auras came into range. They were not coming to the lake but he took no chances.

He removed any signs of formations and dove deep into the lake. Thanks to his true cultivation, his soul could see far more than a Sky Realm could.

"Don't delay! We have a short window before the spirits of fire reclaim the valley for the next thousand years!" A voice came clear to him and made Lind frown.

That could not be good on several levels. It confirmed his theory but it also introduced a power regulating it as well. It meant they would have observers at least and he did not want to be caught again!

The group were gathering several herbs and other plants efficiently before a shaking drew all their attention.

"WE ARE DONE! LEAVE NOW!" The oldest man dropped the partially dug up yellow flower and began to run to the east. The rest followed suit but Lind dared not move.

He felt a powerful aura still lingering for some reason.

Rather than gamble when molten lava would come raining down on him, he looked at the sandy bottom around him.

Water was considered a passive and mostly healing element but Lind knew it was also an irresistible force in some cases.

His current one was a chance.

He focused and condensed water in his front claws before applying them to the bottom. The stone shattered instantly as it already had cracks but he did not consider side effects.

He could sense fire Qi was coming fast and the aura was still there. They were going to observe the whole process!

He did not panic and steadily drilled into the earth. The ground broke like glass under the powerful whirlpools of water drills he had created.

He pushed the density off the charts but it was still just high pressure water. He felt the temperature of the water suddenly spike and saw billowing bubble storms on all sides!

The lava had come!

Lind focused on his task and eventually vanished his whole body into a new tunnel he had created before sealing it behind him!

The world was now only darkness but he kept going down. He could not assume any safety but then he also moved east. Humans went that way, so there had to be a way out!

Time was now completely unknown as he knew only the dark. He also only could pull moisture from the earth around him and air was a limited resource.

Eventually, he had to take a gamble and head up when he could no longer create water as he took it in. If he ran out of Qi down there, it would be the end!

It was only when he felt humans again that he slowed and paused.

He was inside his soul's range but outside of the human's.

He could not make out their words but he was able to determine if they were in a sect or not. There were no formation resonance nor artificial flows of Qi aside from the cultivators trying to progress.

He slowly moved up and away from them until the light of the sun blinded him.

Lind carefully poked his head up and looked around for any enemies. No aura was looking but he did not assume that would not change.

The sky called to him but he moved along the ground until he was up in a tree nearby.

He waited a week, getting hungry once more, until finally a human flew down from the sky.

"Something came up out of here just as the Senior said but no trace of it leaving. Where did it go?" Lind's soul was not as restricted now that he had a clear head. He had dispersed the traces of Qi beasts put out but could only do so if he stayed still.

A communication jade stone was summoned and Lind focused to hear what he could.

"Senior, I found a hole in the ground where you expected but all traces are gone. Do you have a further update on where the drake could be?" His eyes narrowed. How did they know he was a drake and where he was?

A quick survey of his body found nothing but he also checked his soul. At first, he assumed it would be clean but there was a flickering sigil on him where there should not be!

Without pause, he used his weaving to shatter the sigil!

He only then looked at the young man as he waited for a response. Lind held his breath and kept calm until words came from the glowing stone.

[I almost found it but then it vanished. Either it died or was eaten. Come back and we will find a new sacrifice to satisfy the fire spirits.]

The young man nodded and Lind saw him leave.

Relief flooded him before the world turned gray once more.

[Well done. Many fail the Inheritance at this one. The will to endure is not easily found nor proven. Everyone breaks but you not only refused to bend but kept the goal in mind.]

Lind had had enough!

"What is the point of all this?! Why am I living other lives?!" His frustration was unable to be suppressed but all he heard was laughter.

[You can quit if you like but I suspect your goals will be forever beyond you if you do. What do you want to do?]

Lind shook with rage but a pair of young girls with an adorable fox snapped into his mind and he took a calming breath.

"Bring it on!" He roared as the space shifted once more.