novelraw Chapter 995 - 994 - Shift in Time
Chapter 995 - 994 - Shift in Time
The rocky terrain was still difficult to navigate but with the old man's help, Lind had far less burden on his Qi. The deference the old man gave him was a bit over the top but he was used to it from dragons that met him for the first time.
They traversed the treacherous path for a few days until they paused before a blank cliff wall. Lind sensed nothing odd about it until the old man transformed one of his arms into a similar dark tan scale claw.
He placed it on the cliff side and it began to squirm! He was fascinated as it was not an Art but a racial skill! Their race had an innate connection to the stone around them and it revealed a massive cavern entrance! It could easily allow for Lind's true form to coil up inside and have room to spare!
The party entered and the opening closed up behind them at the old man's command.
"We make a point of coming back to our ancestral lands. The ancestors still sleep deep in the mountains. Our Clan originally came from the Divine Lands according to our history." Lind arched an eyebrow at that comment.
Why would anyone leave the near mythical Divine Lands? It had the best conditions to cultivate from all the material he could read on it.
His question must have been apparent.
"You must have seen it in the Celestial Fields, True Lord. Many lands are already claimed and held by powerful beings or races. Breaking their hold is possible but then equally powerful rivals would invade to take their piece of the treasure. The only way to build a good foundation is to head to lower realms and begin to lay the groundwork there." It made some sense.
Lind was a perfect example. He had come from a mortal realm but his Moebius Sect had become a supreme powerhouse because of the foundation laid every step of the way until he created the Sanctuary Empire.
He had stepped back but his Frey Clan could not be considered weak at all thanks to all of that. If it continued, he would have a powerful force to lay claim as they rose with a constant stream of ascenders following in their wake.
It would take time but cultivators had such time.
"You said your ancestors rest here but I sense no dragons." His words caused the pair to look forlorn. Some pieces began to come together for Lind.
"You are not just picked on by the other disciples of the Eternal Blossom Sect as part of their technique, are you?" He now turned to the young woman. She blushed and looked down in shame but he did not understand why.
He approached her and knelt down. He truly examined her that time and saw what he had not before. Her body showed traces of severe trauma. It was also thick with Qi traces far superior to her own.
"They sacrificed their life for you?" She slowly nodded but the old man once more slammed his head onto the stone floor.
"Please forgive her, True Lord! The Ancestor simply did not want a promising seed to die so young! The Corruption is very severe to us. Many beasts have lost almost all their members unless they were able to erect Law Bindings like the humans and demons." Confirmation of his theory allowed Lind to truly understand the depth of the problem.
The Corruption was not only wrecking the world of cultivation but actively killing!
He understood!
Beasts advanced by instinct but the tainted Qi was not part of that equation. Adding it in wrecked the bodies, beast cores, and likely their minds on top of that. The young girl was likely promising thanks to her bloodline but the dragons were not immune to the Corruption more than anyone else.
When the bloodline acted up, the ancestral dragon had to act. The cost was its remaining lifespan to overcome the current world.
The old man, who had simply become Elder as the last surviving Immortal of his clan, explained that the dragon clans and other races had not let go of their lands. The result was only those capable of creating and maintaining Law Bindings survived.
The Corruption decimated them like they were wheat before the scythe. Things were worse than he had realized.
In other words, these 2 were all that remained of their clan.
"What will happen to her when you are gone?" The Elder was not dying exactly but his condition was not good either. Comparatively, the girl was doing much better.
"If I die, the truth will completely come out and she will likely be taken by the surviving clans as a bride of their young masters." Anger flared in Lind's heart. He knew the answer but had to ask to be sure.
The Temples of Soul and Fire had clarified for him how blood thirsty dragons could be to each other.
He had been a candidate as a True Lord but had faced an uphill battle on many fronts despite the seriousness of the situation they all faced.
All felt a shift in his aura as his emotions spiked before he spoke.
"I forbid it unless it is her will." Although it was said coldly, the Heavens actually rumbled! The Elder felt tears form as the command from the True Lord had gone out! None would know how effective it would be, but a serious worry had been lifted from his ancient shoulders.
"Your name?" Lind asked her but she looked to the Elder and he sighed.
"She still has her first name. It is a large part of why she is being bullied. However, even I can do nothing about that." Lind cocked his head in confusion. What the hell did having a different name mean? He had not heard of such a ritual in the 1st layer.
"Explain." Now he was calmer but the Elder did and it made some sense. Young dragons did not always have sentience. They could be clever but could not act beyond their instincts like most aether beasts.
As such, they were often only called Son of Ancestor A or something along those lines. It would be like saying outright she was still a baby!
What would a baby know about the world?
He sighed as frustration came from the fact the Elder could not give her a new name until she proved she could fight someone of her generation but her unique case made it difficult to summon Qi as she liked!
His eyes snapped on her and he could feel Delenn's amusement as if she knew what was coming.
"As True Lord of all Dragons, I acknowledge you. I have watched your dedication and struggle against impossible odds. Your name shall be Teegan." He saw a shock flash on the pair's faces but they should have realized Heaven could aid him at times.
He simply asked for inspiration from her bloodline race memory. He had seen a massive dragon with wings tipped in claws and could rend stone like paper! The name came after that.
A rumble was deeply felt but then it was Lind's turn to be shocked as the cavern came to life around them!
Qi flowed in intricate and wonderful ways as a Law Binding sprung up! Teegan smiled as she began to glow with the same amber color as the scales of the Elder had been.
The old man was weeping in joy as the ancestral home came back to life after being dead for decades!
"Princess, the Clan is saved!" Lind understood! She was the last in the line of her Clan! The Elder was a branch member! Without being recognized, her bloodline would not connect to the dragon formations and Law Bindings setup by the ancestors!
He felt satisfaction as the Elder educated her on what had just happened and took his own notes for the future. Delenn and the horses just rested after a rough month of travel.
Teegan knelt down to him at last as tears fell from her eyes.
"True Lord Cord. I thank you for this honor! If I can be of any aid, I will help!" He waved it off but smiled at her.
"You have already helped us immensely. I still wonder about the future but for now, a map would be helpful as we are still on a journey. I am not sure where we are exactly." The pair nodded and a jade slip appeared before being handed over.
A detailed mapping of the area was there and he passed it to Delenn as she knew more of where they were going.
"Thank you. Can you catch me up on the month we have been gone?" He expected an easy agreement but confusion crossed both their faces. They looked at each other before turning back to him.
"True Lord, did you say you have only been here a month?" He nodded but did not understand the problem with his question. Teegan looked concerned but the Elder seemed to consider something.
"True Lord, did you by chance breach the membrane of the spatial tunnel?" He confirmed it as he grimaced.
"I did not realize it was so fragile. I simply wanted to study it. It completely unraveled and I had to tear space to escape back to the world." Teegan went pale but the Elder seemed to accept it and move on.
"I am afraid you suffer from a misunderstanding. The Gates do connect over space but also time. I do not have a full grasp of it but the reason it takes so little time inside and out is due to the Laws of Time creating those tunnels." Lind felt floored but then he understood!
The fragility was not due to lack of understanding entirely but the combination of 2 very complex Laws! The Law Gates used a similar system to teleportation arrays with coordinates and a sending terminal to a receiving terminal.
No matter what, however, both only manipulated space itself to work.
If the Gates here used Time as well as Space, it was much closer to a true wormhole than his own Law Gates!
"How long have we been gone?" The Elder seemed to pause before considering how to proceed. Lind did not like that at all!
"First, the Gate you left from crumbled and collapsed not long afterward. It is currently being replaced but is at least 2 years away from that. Even if it was working, we could not use it to get here. Just to travel from the Eternal Blossom Sect to here takes 6 to 8 months depending on conditions between them." Lind could accept that. It was not so bad if they lost a few months.
"True Lord, we left the Eternal Blossom Sect 3 years ago." Teegan dropped a bomb on him but it was not over. "You left 4 years before that."
They had lost 7 years! Delenn was as shocked as him and was not sure how to react beyond that.
Lind sighed but took the silver lining that their enemies had no idea where they were at all! No wonder his senses were all mangled. It was not just space but time as well. He began to study the map in earnest and listened to all that happened since they vanished from Kun City.