Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 986 - 985 - Speaking on the Dao

Lind was not surprised by the wave of breakthroughs. It happened every time when he first espoused his elemental theories. Further, these were experts of a much higher realm so their comprehension was much higher.

Exposure to powerful beings like Immortals and their materials gave a lot more opportunities to see far more abstract aspects of cultivation with their own eyes.

He did not use his harmony at all but the 12 elements they were more than familiar with. Fiend Qi could have been included but he ignored it. It would not benefit them at all.

Celestial Qi was a secret for the moment but would be massively beneficial to them if he could include it.

He glanced up and noticed it was not even noon yet. He proceeded to walk them through how to consolidate their current gains and make sure all were stable before proceeding. It felt good to be a teacher again.

He felt a tug on his sleeve and saw Sorcha pointing behind him. He smiled to see Felicia in the lotus position as she seemed to have grasped something important as well.

"Once you are all settled, I will proceed." The various cultivators smiled as they all closed their eyes to focus on their gains until they were ready to go. It was dangerous to keep pushing too far too fast.

He saw they were all ready to go fairly quickly. Making the next step, unless a major cultivation realm, was not too difficult to stabilize.

"Very good, let us proceed to talk about primary elements and secondary elements…" He focused on how primary elements were not stronger because it was just what the cultivator was used to but because of the perspective the cultivator had.

In essence, even after acquiring the missing elements, cultivators often did not put too much importance on them aside from advancement. It was a mistake but an understandable one.

Aside from 6 elementals, no one could make the missing elements of the same quality as the one they had, but the way they incorporated them could make a world of difference. There were only a handful of Heaven Realm cultivators at the sermon.

It was not because there was no interest, it was just that incredibly difficult to make that step in the current world.

"The elements are not unrelated as I said before but even more so for those of you looking to become Heaven Realms. The Dao is not ignoring elements simply because you started with less than 6…" He explained more about how the Dao of Space was thought to always relate to darkness, shadow, or a combination of earth and metal to pull it off but that was wrong.

Lind talked about foundational science concepts but couched them in the cultivation world.

Trying to explain that light was both a wave and particle was hard until he made a LASER out of it. It spawned a lot of questions but he answered them as best he could.

It was basic though that cultivators never really pondered beyond what they could sense with Qi about the world.

The first day came to an end with incredible advancements all around but he also noted a few oddities.

The girl that had been in the fight against the dragon was like a little child but she broke through to the 8th tier of the Sky Realm from what he could feel. Her foundation felt odd to him. It was like he only sensed part of it.

He wondered why she had been targeted but the cultivation world was full of spoiled children that felt entitled to attack others like that.

A few others were ones that showed no progress at all. They were clearly trying but for some reason made not even the slightest advancement. It was true not all could grasp new ideas but he was not covering anything complicated.

He had started at the basics for the very reason of seeing how all would react but the handful that had no results was damned odd.

He filed it away as the group dispersed for the day as he kept guard over both Felicia and Sorcha. Both had multiple enlightenments during his sermon. Sorcha had been surprising but perhaps she had grasped something during the science portion he had not covered with her before.

"Maester Cord?" A voice called out and he turned to find the young woman from before. She had glowing brunette hair that framed a well tanned face. Her hands showed she worked a garden somewhere but robes were odd.

Most of the disciples were clear to him but she had on dark tan robes.

It normally indicated a direct disciple of some kind but he had not met such an elder. Most of the elders of the sect had colors conforming to their nature from what he could tell. Red for fire, blue for water, and so forth. Very basic but straightforward.

"If it is a question on the sermon, I have nothing else to give. I am currently watching over my guide and student." He played a bit aloof as he was unsure how much the sect master could watch things inside her sect.

Given the indulgence of the technique of the sect for people to pursue their true natures, it was wise to play close to the vest.

"No, it was about aether beasts. You did not cover them today." Lind actually was surprised. Very few noticed he would do that on his initial lectures. He had a damned good reason.

"Beasts are different in the foundations of cultivation. Their instinct and natural ability to absorb Qi from their prey and the world do not require my elemental theories. Do you know when they do?" He wanted to test this girl a bit. She seemed earnest but the feeling he got from her was almost like that of a young child excitedly playing with a new toy.

She pondered it for a bit and then her eyes went wide.

"When they gain sentience?" He smiled and nodded.

"More properly, when they learn to transform and incorporate new elements at the Heaven Realm. While they gain more intelligence at different stages, it is when they have to cultivate beyond their instinctual process." She slowly nodded but then became confused.

"What about those that gain human form before the Heaven Realm?" Lind smiled wider. It was a good question and showed she was truly understanding.

"Those are more rare but generally have predecessors to teach them how to advance. Unlike humans, they still benefit from the initial advantage of aether beasts to advance cleanly until the Heaven Realm. Still, they could apply my theories if they so wished." She got excited even more!

"Then is there anything I should know?! I gained my human form back in the Sand Tier but I was the first to do so in my bloodline!" Lind narrowed his eyes in shock. An aether beast was in front of him?!

He scented the air and extended his senses but could not tell at all! She felt totally human to him.

He knelt down and looked at her closely but no features aside from human were present.

"Fascinating. May I know your race?" Her face crumbled. He did not understand why but waved his words off. "If you can't, it is not critical, I am simply amazed at how perfect your transformation is."

Her face suddenly blushed deeply.

"Thanks! Nobody else likes me! They even say I am a liar!" He felt no lie from her but he had a way to confirm if she was human or not.

"If you like, I can settle the truth without knowing your race?" She looked up at him in awe.

"How?!" He patted her head with a smile and pointed at his eyes.

"I have cultivated my Soul Eyes to the Immortal Realm. So long as your cultivation is not too far beyond me, nothing can hide from it. I will only look at your dantian and nothing else. I will swear an Oath to it to allay your worries." She looked concerned but nodded.

Lind made a very explicit Oath that left no wiggle room for him and it made her more self assured.

He then activated his Eyes and focused only on her dantian as promised. Her meridians would reveal her race to him possibly but he did not want to break her trust.

It should have been a Sky Core if she was human but instead he found a beast core as she had said he would. Further, he felt it was odd. The taint had affected it badly but caused a reaction!

She had gained her human form due to her bloodline protecting her!

"Not only are you an aether beast, but you have a powerful bloodline that saved you from the Corruption destroying your core. Quite impressive." He shut down his Eyes and found her crying as she looked up at him.

She tried to wipe them away but they fell non-stop.

"Listen to me. The Dao of your race protected you. It is not alive but it means you had a very high chance of awakening it later. It just happened sooner and refined your body to a level it could become human early. You are just fine." He patted her head again and she nodded in joy.

"Thank you Maester Cord!" She ran off but it was like she was skimming across the grass. He was glad to have helped but confused. Why would no one believe her? It was easy to confirm with a deeper test even in the current world.

So why did people think she was a liar? He felt something off but could not investigate as it would invite issues. He made sure his companions were ok and proceeded to plan out his next sermon. It would become far more complicated as they advanced.