novelraw Chapter 994 - 993 - Lost
Chapter 994 - 993 - Lost
Lind had to nurse Delenn for 3 days before she finally woke up. She had a splitting headache but it passed quickly now that she woke up. The horses had also been made to advance to the peak of the Iron Tier.
The beasts kept a wide berth of them thanks to his wards and aura but he mostly saw dark furred lions and panthers. None of them were stronger than a Diamond Tier here or there.
The debris from his ship had rained down but it was hardly a danger by that time as it was basically pebbles.
"What happened in there?" Her question brought him out of his ruminations.
He had thought about it but honestly he was not sure.
"I would need to actually study one of those Gates to be sure but it is entirely different from my Law Gates. Those take 2 gates and make the space between them shrink to a single point. It takes a lot of Qi but not on the level these ones do." It was what confused him until he was inside the spatial tunnel.
The Gates actually created a bridge through the void. It was clear to him that was the only explanation for their limitations and the sheer power needed to work. Crossing the void directly like that was not easy at all!
An Immortal tore through space by the use of Laws and connecting to an imprint in places they have been to before or could sense inside their aura range.
It was more like taking a big step than traveling. It also relied heavily on the condition of the Immortal in question to cross any significant distance.
"The Gates operate on a much simpler principle but I think it is forced." Lind finished his comparison there. "I think they create a spatial tunnel between the 2 points using the stone of the Gates like a lodestone. It works but it is similar to having a molded sword and a specially made one."
The former was easy to create but suffered from weakness plus wear and tear as it is not tempered like a unique request or individually made sword. It was a massively simplistic comparison, but it was the feeling he got.
Teleportation arrays moved a person along the network of arrays. It literally shifted space which was why lower realms suffered such severe nausea when moving. It was like suffering from delayed g-forces in extreme flight.
His Law Gates were the closest thing he found to true teleportation but the requirements to make them were prohibitive.
The Spatial Gates of the 2nd layer had interested him but now he saw it was more the material than the refiners that were pulling it off.
"The kukan stone is how it all works, not the inscriptions?" He nodded as she grasped the issue. The material was what made the Gates possible. The inscriptions were all about direction, connection, and so forth.
If he was right, the kukan stone was much more useful in another way or it was likely something only Law Grade and above could truly use. He would need a sample to test.
"Basically, they are using what they can but I wish there had been a warning about touching the membrane!" Delenn nodded but then looked confused. He understood. "The path was made sturdy to walk on or it would be pointless. The rest of the tunnel was just very thin paper holding it all together. Once I tore it, the force of the void ripped it all apart."
He was curious what the backlash would have done. He worried he had broken both ends of the spatial tunnel!
He had messed up in experiments and Qi backlash could attack artifacts as much as it did cultivators!
There was nothing he could do about it as they had a deeper problem.
"So, you have no idea where we are either?" They had taken limited flights to try and determine any landmarks but the mountainous region was fairly uniform. No matter what direction, they simply found more stone and a few valleys.
The beasts were also similar everywhere but never above the World Realm.
The tainted Qi was also not restricted at all so Delenn was burning up her protection bracelet like mad.
She was not sure but if they truly had been traversing the void, it was not impossible they could be across the entire world, not just a month west as Lind had thought!
His sense of direction to where he felt the Fiends was also muddled. He suspected he had been completely disturbed by their exit!
The final oddity was the plant life. Robust trees were one thing, but some of them looked fairly new while others were extremely ancient but the method of spreading was a mystery. There were no insects or smaller animals at all. It also left the mystery of how the lions and panthers survived.
They could feed on each other but that ran into very limited nutrients for them. Also, the species should have wiped each other out if that was the case.
It all pointed to a rather grim possibility that there was something very powerful that lived in that land they had yet to encounter.
Delenn did state there were several dangerous areas off limits to humans that included mountainous terrains. Lind was willing to bet their luck had landed them in such an area but if so, where was the master of the place?
Had the Corruption destroyed the hierarchy of the wild beast clans?
It was possible. The loss of aura was the most benign side effect. It was entirely possible that after a million years, the once mighty beast packs and clans had been devastated to the brink of extinction.
The 1st layer had been in such a desperate state due to the refinement nearly consuming it but the tainted Qi was just as bad and worse, could not be eluded.
At least with the 1st layer, the Sacred Paths and the sabotage to the Realm Refiner made safe havens.
"You loss of sense of direction is normal by the way." Delenn suddenly spoke up and he looked surprised.
She smiled at him and shrugged.
"You are not the first Immortal to take blind leap through a spatial tear. If you do that, it works but since you could not control the exit, your sense of position gets all mangled up. Once we can figure out where we are, it should slowly recover." He felt relieved about that but it still felt frustrating to know he could not locate the source of the Corruption anymore.
How far away were they from it?!
They would have to make their way out but that presented a few problems. The Thunderhooves were essentially dependent on his Arts to get them down! It would drain his Qi like crazy and leave him with little freedom. Delenn was in need of his harmonic Qi on a regular basis just to keep the taint from causing further issues.
The harmonic tempering made the consumption less but that was all!
"When all else fails, we should head north. Either we will hit the Cloudsea or one of the major kingdoms' trade routes. It will at least give us direction and orientation." He nodded and they began to map out a path based on their flights.
They began to head north but the going was so damn slow to make it even more frustrating for them both. The poor horses also were getting restless. Lind calmed them as best he could.
They had no altercations with the local beasts as they ran away the instant he came in their range.
It was all going well for a few weeks when he froze.
A familiar scent had entered his nose!
"We are not alone anymore." He set up wards for the horses while the pair prepared for an encounter. Lind was unsure why the being he scented was near them yet he would not be unhappy if they were friendly.
Neither saw anything on the horizon but the peaks and cliffs could hide anything. The tension drew out for some time until Lind slammed out with a clawed hand at nothing. The sound of glass shattering was heard as a pair were revealed in shock staring at them.
The dark tan robes were more than familiar.
"Maester Cord?" The heavily tanned young girl from the Eternal Blossom Sect stood before them with an older man who was on guard. Lind narrowed his eyes at what he felt. A dragon!
"I don't suppose either of you know where we are?" He asked politely but kept his guard up. The old man was a peak Crystal Tier!
Even with the taint, his power was currently a direct threat in their current state.
"Of course! You are–" She was about to answer when the old man held up his hands.
"They are intruders in our lands. The Maester cannot be trusted!" Lind felt irritation rise but did not exert his aura. If they were truly in dragon territory, they were safe but he would have to reveal who he was.
"Tan robes, and able to turn human at a young age. We are in the Blessed Amber Scale Range. I know where we are." Delenn suddenly spoke and shock crossed the pair's faces. Lind slowly nodded at her but then the aura of the old man skyrocketed.
"None may leave here alive that intrude on our lands!" Neither Delenn nor Lind were afraid. Emerald scales flared across his skin and his eyes were vertical slits.
[KNEEL]
A single word was sent out and the old man found his Qi collapsed and his body slammed to his knees. While he was clearly surprised, a greater shock was on his face! The command was not an Art but simply the word!
Only 1 being could do that!
"T-t-true Lord!" Lind sighed but slowly nodded as he held up his right hand with the black storage ring. The old man then voluntarily slammed his face on the ground before panicking as the young girl was just confused.
"Kneel, Highness! This is the True Lords of the Dragons!" Lind held up his hand.
"Enough. We will have a discussion, but first I would like a shelter for my steeds to rest and recover. We have been heading north for a little under a month. Is that all right?" The pair nodded and began to lead them down a path.
No longer lost exactly, Lind hoped he would be able to orient himself with enough information. Another question he had was why an elder of the sect and a disciple were returning home together. More questions followed but he held them back as they came to a ravine and began to descend.
Lind hoped to get some answers to a lot of his questions.