Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 985 - 984 - Lifting the Veil

A young woman with braided brunette hair was tending her herbs when she heard the tone for a sermon. Her tanned skin showed she spent most of her days under the sun but the smile that spread on her face showed she was quite young.

It was odd given she was a peak Sky Realm but the blur of speed revealed she was not human. She was about to leave her living area when an old man suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Where do you think you are going, young lady?" His dark tan robes and metallic hair revealed he was an aether beast. The young girl pouted up at him.

"You promised I could go! I recall clearly–" She had her arms crossed until his Immortal aura washed over her.

"You swore to me to have all your duties completed before the sermon started. What do I see around us, exactly?" A drop of sweat trickled down her back as she looked around their living area.

Disciples and sect officers did not have quarters in the traditional sense. If a home could be grown as an extension of nature or with an Art that replicated such an effect, fine, otherwise it was about tending to an area assigned to each person.

The less important a disciple, the greater the list of chores they had to do. Entire kilometers were under their care as they had sheer numbers to devote to such a task, but it was only the pair living in the current area of the inner sect.

The trees and grass were fine but there was debris from fire pits with signs of rotted carcasses left around.

While that sounded perfectly fine in most places, the Eternal Blossom Sect had some expectations. A rotting carcass should be either consumed by appropriate wildlife or turned into fertilizer for plants.

It should not be wasted.

Fire pits could be built but never left up indefinitely.

Everything had to be restored to a balanced state. It was a minor thing but the pace of nature was not the point of the sect. It was about the rules of nature.

"B-b-but I can go!" She had tears in her eyes but the older man narrowed his vertically slit golden eyes.

"You may be higher than me in bloodline but in the sect you are only an inner disciple. You should be a core disciple by now!" His words struck her heart and she dramatically fell back.

"I am working hard! You know I am, but it is so hard to advance!" The old man sighed and could not argue that last part. The longer the Corruption lasted, the worse each generation seemed to suffer.

"Fine, go to the sermon but only because it is a guest. Do not be rude!" She smiled so large it made it hard to be exasperated as she ran off.

"Thanks Gramps!" Another tired sigh left the old man but it had a smile on his face.

She ran by groups heading to the auditorium but she felt her instincts scream at her to dive to the left.

She did so as an impact hit the area she had just been standing in. A young man with massive muscles stood up and sneered at her.

"You are too slow, Lost Princess. You would die if we were outside the sect." While natural rules were important in the sect, killing inside it was not allowed unless it was an outsider.

That little detail was not hidden but certain guests were protected like any sect would for important visitors.

"Dregul, you are a bully!" She screamed at him as she hated that nickname he used for her.

"His obsidian eyes narrowed in amusement before he launched at her again. No one interfered. So long as it was just a fight, no one would dare to stop it.

Battle was the way of the world but she rolled once more to the side as she kicked up the grass but the expected impact did not come.

"While I am not fully conversant on the rules, it is my sermon today. I would appreciate it if you behaved." A new voice reached her ears and she noticed the crowd had stopped that time as a man with long and vibrant emerald hair held Dregul's fist like he was a child.

A peak Star Tier was stopped so easily?

She did not recognize the human right away but then his scent was not coming to her so she could not be sure he was human too.

Dregul kept trying to free himself but nothing worked!

His dark hair whipped around like it was alive until she saw something unexpected.

The Qi in Dregul came to a screeching halt! Her Soul Eyes could see it clearly! She had never seen a cultivator so expertly disrupt the flow of Qi in another!

"I gave you a warning. Desist or you will be expelled." She rolled her eyes as that would have the opposite effect on Dregul. He hated to be ordered around!

"Old fool! I will not be–" In that instant, all felt danger spiked around them. The man that had been calmly stopping Dregul became a god to them!

[Leave.] A splitting headache slammed in her head. She took several steps forward but then stopped as her mind broke free. A mental attack?!

She realized it had gotten outside the rules of combat and wanted to warn the man but she was stunned at what happened next.

Dregul looked contrite and bowed deeply.

"I OBEY!" He then marched off as if it was perfectly normal! No mental attack could do that! How had that worked?!

"Sigh, are they all going to be so rowdy today?" She heard his question but then his face turned and her world froze.

His tanned skin was attractive to her but his face was like a scholar's. The dark rings under his eyes showed a man that studied a lot! His emerald eyes were human but matched his hair. How did that happen?

She also clearly felt his aura. An Immortal!

"You can run along. I will start the sermon soon." It was only when he said it again that it sunk in who was in front of her! It was the guest Crystal Tier Immortal!

The crowd parted and a much more subdued group made their way behind him.

Excitement bubbled up in her heart! He was worth listening to!

The audience was from all over the sect but the majority was outer sect disciples. A few elders were there but probably to keep things inline as the current guest was a Crystal Tier.

Offending an Immortal was always unwise. The young woman saw several derisive glances at her but she ignored them as she moved right to the front. At the heart of the auditorium was an old stump from a tree that was felled long ago.

The stump was all that remained of a grade 7 tree that was the last sign of cultivators harvesting in the plains. It was there at the founding of the sect but none knew who took that treasure so long ago.

On the stump were 2 young women. The girl recognized the robes of the Golden Vermillion Inn on one but the other had black robes she took a few moments to remember marked the assistant of a Maester! Such an honor was sought by all experts!

She settled in as the emerald haired Immortal took to the stage. He summoned a clear orb on top of a dark metal shaft that he set up on the stump. It glowed with Qi and he began to speak.

"Can you all hear me?" She nodded with the rest as his voice seemed like it was in her ear! She knew air experts could do something similar but she felt no movement in the air at all!

How had he done that?

"Excellent. I am going to use my artifact to be efficient but will reveal how I am doing this. A voice is a wave carried by the medium in the air. While it can be carried by manipulating the air or impeded by it as well, a voice itself can be manipulated. The wave can be manipulated to be enhanced to be louder or directed with the application of darkness and earth elements." He then began to explain what was a remarkably simple use of elements no one would have thought to use before!

Gravity, light, steam, and all sorts of natural phenomena were explained in ways she had never considered before!

"I have given you all these examples because I wanted you to understand the fundamental part I am about to speak to. The reason all those previous examples work is because the relationship between the 6 natural elements are not what you think. They are not independent of each other nor a counter. They are a concerto to your foundation. The world needs them all in every part working together to compose even Qi." Her head felt heavy as he spoke.

It was like something had been stripped away from her senses as he continued.

"It is not only that, but the relationship between natural and demonic Qi is the same." he then conjured the demonic elements to prove his point! Shadow, blue flame, darklight, and so forth began to enhance the forces he had just demonstrated before!

"The demonic are both a part of the natural world and a deeper focus. We call it blue flame but it is the fact that a burn is not caused by warmth alone. Cold can also burn you." He expounded on that with each element and a splitting headache assaulted her!

Her dantian began to swirl with elemental Qi. She had fire, earth, and air burning but it began to be refined into a more profound state! Her bottleneck to the next step of the 8th tier fell away and she broke through!

She was not alone! More than 70% of the audience had a breakthrough right there! The veil had been lifted from their eyes and excitement flooded the auditorium! It was just the start of the sermon, so what else could he tell them?!