Eternal Emerald Dragon

Lind watched as the path of emerald light retracted and brought the young woman to the beginning. She was not even a million years old but she was already showing signs of aging. It was due to how long she took to get through the mortal realms.

The fact she had come that far in such little time was a combination of her extreme effort and the currently rich favor of Heaven and Earth. Their worlds were relatively young and had the great fortune urging them on.

It was already slowing down in the mortal worlds to a level he well recognized, but the Heaven Realm Lands still had many blowing through the Star, Moon, and Sun Tier like they were nothing to worry about.

The corrected elemental theory only sped it up even more.

The Sage Lands, as he knew they were called, were a free for all of Immortals ascending left and right in the non-beast races.

He had seen how the beasts reacted to the "Great Saint" and had confirmed his simple spark had been permanently left on her. In other words, the beasts felt the favor of a Divine Lord on a human.

The birth of Harmonic Dragons had surprised him yet he should not have been. It was a world born from him with all 18 elements, it was normal for a new branch to be born there. He was more surprised the 6 elementals had struggled.

Still, he was not unhappy that the young mortal he had guided had made it the distance. She had come far and while she lacked the professions he possessed, she had been able to help demon and Celestial just as he had.

He had not given her that knowledge, she had worked it out on her own!

He had not been idle as he waited for someone to finally reach the trials he had created. He had consolidated his gains and used his harmony to further enmesh all his power as much as he could.

Still, the final condensation eluded him. He was a step away but it was no longer in his hands. He needed the woman in front of him.

He needed someone to affirm his path. It was as the kraken princess and Haro had said, his current path was not acknowledged as a true Mystery. He needed someone to prove it!

She slowly collected herself before looking up at his massive dragon body. He floated in midair as the kraken princess hid in his mane. There was a risk for an Immortal meeting a Divine Realm cultivator.

He was fairly safe but she could cause the poor Immortal Sovereign to die instantly.

[Congratulations on making it to the next step. I know others call you the Great Saint but what do you call yourself?] He was long used to others giving titles he did not particularly enjoy.

Fiend Slayer, Dragon of Fortune, and many others had plagued him. Thankfully, his true name had enough power to win out over them all.

He did have a Dao title, he could feel it, yet it was still obscured. It was so close!

A snort came from the human woman.

"I could never be called a Saint. The amount of corpses behind me negate that." He did not judge her. Based on what he could see, she had not killed wantonly. She defended or protected. She never did more or less.

"I have no Dao–" His claws raised up as his emerald eyes glowed. He smiled as he saw the truth. He wondered if he had been so exposed to the pair of women that greeted him when he died the first time.

[You do. You are the Songstress of Hope.] His words were not without weight. Once spoken, the Heavens rumbled and she stumbled as well. She felt the truth of it.

She bowed low to him.

"I have only come this far because of you. You came to me when I was struggling and–" Lind stopped her once more.

[I merely inspired you on the elemental theory. You did the rest. Do not neglect your own achievements. I was like you once. I was inspired by other ancestors that worked hard to resolve the difficulty you faced. We both rose on the work of those that came before. Yet, we made our path all on our own.] His words seemed to affect her.

She began to cry and then bowed once more. No words were needed.

"What is this place, senior?" Lind smiled at her question.

[Normally, a fierce tribulation would await you breaking through to the Divine Realm.] He paused but no backlash came to her. It was safe to proceed. [I have created another way. You must ascend the stairwell and the structures around them. You will not face rounds of lightning but face something far more difficult. You will face the power of a Divine Realm cultivator directly.]

She seemed to ponder his words and looked at the massive stone stairwell in front of her. Towers and other structures loomed in a misty horizon. He knew she could not quite see them.

"Can you ensure what I learn is passed on to those behind?" Lind laughed. He chuckled so hard it shook the very air!

He then tossed out a jade slip to her. She quickly sunk her senses into it before her eyes went wide.

[I told you, we have walked a similar path. If I so wished, I could touch many others. Yet, they would not benefit as much as you have. You came this far on your own after I showed you the elemental theory. You have done well.] It was not empty praise.

She had not held back and spread her discoveries all across the worlds. She never founded a sect or empire, but many respected her so much they invited her with open arms.

A few months passed before she seemed to wake up. She looked up at him with far more respect.

"S–s–senior! You have done so much for us all!" Lind snorted as he shook his head.

[You have done the same. I have had the advantage of my harmonic nature to do some extreme things but that is not your concern. You will learn in good time. You have your own tribulation to overcome.] She shook her head.

She looked up as the steps lay before her. It was not an Inheritance nor a special realm. She felt like she was looking at the black tribulation clouds she had faced so many times before. Yet, fear filled her as she tried to look to the top.

It was obscured by mists or something simply did not allow her to perceive it. She realized that what she faced was a choice. She could walk away but the chance would never come again.

She swallowed before she centered herself. She had not come so far only to falter now. Still, she paused as she looked up at the massive dragon. She noticed the emerald scales matched the 7th moon exactly.

It was not in the knowledge given to her. He had only shown her his path yet she seemed to piece it together. She bowed low to him.

"Thank you." She only said 2 words but he felt the heartfelt intent behind them. A silvery aura flared around her and he smiled. He pulled back and he let her face the next moment.

Lind watched as she took the first step and the environment changed. The area behind her sealed shut and she would advance or fail.

Unlike the horrifying tribulations he had witnessed in the Celestial Fields, it was more like she was experiencing what it was like to be a Divine Realm. He was curious how it would unfold and even he, the creator of the Divine Tribulation Moon was shocked.

The first round was forcing her to confront her life. All the decisions, failures, and everything was paraded before her with possible alternatives to tempt her to say her current life was not the right way.

It forced her to accept her regrets, successes, and the isolation she had chosen. She struggled and energies flared around her driving out impurities while she clearly did fairly well.

The shape of the tribulation became clear. Death and Samsara rounds were much like when he condensed his Mysteries but very different.

Rather than trying to define the path he had walked into facets to trigger condensation of Mystery energy, she was being refined just as tribulation lightning would do.

She was shedding her immortality!

The process was not more merciful at all. Lind saw that clearly as rather than grasping a Dao and breaking through at that point, a cultivator had to face 9 rounds of harsh tribulations focused on every aspect of their existence!

What made him struggle for so long as a Divine Realm cultivator, she faced in restrained form as an Immortal! It would be much harder for people to ascend if he was right.

Still, she endured. She was covered in blood but was restored after each round. Unlike the lightning, she was allowed to recover but the price to reach it was high.

The steps, towers, and all he had made were relentless. She finally overcame the Qi round. Now the true moment was upon her.

Unlike the previous 6 rounds, the final 3 would focus on the very thing all Immortals had to face, the Dao.

Time flowed and she was forced to face how tiny she was. Even millions of years were but an eyeblink to the totality of existence. She was nothing. Yet, she was everything.

Reality had to be observed to change. Without an observer, nothing happened. The dichotomy was put on full display. It made the cultivator realize that those mortals were just as important under Heaven and Earth as them.

Animals that never cultivated were just as important as the hunters that preyed on them.

It was humbling on an extreme scale. If she could not accept both views being true at once, she would never be able to face being a Divine Realm cultivator.

She passed after considerable struggle. Unlike previous rounds, it was not so much a change of the body or soul but of the mind. The final certain round would be the Tapestry Round.

Lind had a much stronger idea of what was about to happen. Up to that point, she had seen everything from her perspective or direct comprehension, now it was everything around her.

Lines of energy danced in his senses all shooting down into the Immortal World. Compared to the others, she quickly seemed to grasp the round. While connections existed, ascension came with the understanding that those bonds end.

Yet, they would endure. They would all be a part of her forever.

At long last, she survived to the final step. Her robes were ragged and her body was a patchwork of blood and healing flesh. He could not see her eyes but he would be a lot they were calm.

The true trial of his creation was at hand.

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