Eternal Emerald Dragon

The aftermath of the actions of Lind Frey made the Eternal Realm survivors band together. Mostly, they kept things to themselves. Their journeys were all bloody and hard. After reaching the pinnacle and affirming that fighting for resources was moot, they pulled inward.

Social people still reached out but others were happy to secluded away inside their holds. Eternal Realm cultivators could create life but it was not like the worlds they came from. Cultivation could only exist with Heaven and Earth.

The holds were more like comfortable homes made to pass time or ponder their personal path forward. If those from a similar realm ascended, they might welcome them or at least see some excitement.

Lind Frey broke all those rules.

He actively involved himself and built an alliance with as many as he could. His rather unique existence did pique the interest of those that usually would not care. Afterall, he died yet returned.

Death alone was rare but coming back was absolutely unheard of. It did not help that the main cause of that unique existence was another one.

A creature that consumed life and all energies to fuel their ascension. It proved they could both die and yet also be used as cultivation resources. None of them liked that.

Thus they became more active than anytime in the known history.

Goldthorn stood in an open air pavilion and enjoyed the sunshine of the Emerald Hold as he had come to think of it. It was a very peaceful place and the feeling of actual cultivators made a drastic contrast from the fairly stale holds he had visited before.

In the past, Lind Frey had somehow helped others follow him but only a handful. They all died in the end.

Yet now some he recognized were alive in front of him. They were vastly different, just like Lind now.

"Old Coot! They are gathering!" Normally he would rise to the verbal bait but he turned to the silver haired ape with a grave look. The normally snickering ape saw it and became serious too.

The Shattering Fist Eternal was a legend but he loathed most people. Fellow beasts were tolerated but only just. Goldthorn was his drinking buddy as they had a fight done via that contest.

They ripped into each other verbally but normally they got along fine.

They were part of those Eternal Realm cultivators that ascended when they were very old. Unending life but stuck as old people was not easy to relate to for younger people.

The pair caused the air to distort. It was a barrier to keep the hold safe from its many visitors. While outside the barrier was fairly simple, inside was a palatial room.

It had pillars holding up a crystalline roof as dense Eternal Qi flowed in the walls. Food, drink, and lounging chairs were setup in a rough circle. Goldthorn saw few were truly indulging and more just passing time.

Food, drink, and sleep were entirely behind them as necessities but enjoying life was still very much top of their lists. Now, however, they had a higher goal.

"Eternal Violet Cloud, how is he?" The aged ape got along far better with the old hag but Goldthorn perked his ears up. He saw she was a bit tired so that was a good sign.

"His resilience is shocking. That amount of damage and pain should have crippled him. It is like this Defiance Path refuses to yield even to common sense!" While it seemed like the gathering was broken into their own conversations, Goldthorn knew they were listening.

They were not transmitting so it was obvious they wanted to be heard too.

"He is also a terrifying Forger, weaver, and elixir master. Compared to before, it makes what we were given look like toys." That made the room become pindrop silent. While many had professions, they usually focused only on themselves.

It made auctions and trade non-existent. Lind Frey broke that mold too as he was able to craft anti-Fiend weapons long ago. Improvements were usually in the field of efficiency and strength but now she held up a Mystery Grade crystal casket.

It had the dregs of a grade 9 elixir but even a whiff made old injuries fade even faster than before!

What was more shocking for the room was the potency of the weaving engraved into the casket. It was the primary reason it held with the Forging underlying its foundation.

A demon and a phoenix quickly appeared to appraise it. The demon had a dark mace on his back while the phoenix had a shield of golden metal. Both flared with emerald light.

While the casket was far below those 2 items, it had a far more profound aura! How?!

"He is not like before then?" The phoenix looked up. Golden fire flared in his eyes but both Goldthorn and Violet Cloud nodded. Even without the last confrontation, the hold was just ridiculous.

"What was it that he did, exactly? I felt the vile Qi being purged but then he did something else. He used his Primary Path too." Goldthorn held out his hand to his rival. She sighed but nodded.

She then outlined all they had seen and shared their testing results of the hold. The fact a literal ascension pool now existed in a hold at all was flat out a miracle. They could feel the weak aura of Heaven and Earth coming from it.

Well, weak to them.

"If he is healing, I say we should get him to upgrade our armor and weapons." A woman with dark hair spoke up but Goldthorn held up his wrinkled hands. If he let them get started, they would get bogged down for centuries.

Centuries he suspected they did not have.

"We underestimated the Fiend. He could bypass our holds anytime he wished. He left some of us alive while marking us from what we understand. Lady Qing confirmed the Fiend has employed similar tactics but we all assumed we were beyond that as Eternal Realm cultivators." His words made pin drop silence fall on the room again.

They could not deny it at all as many of them had fought the Fiend over many battles but some beasts and demons stood up in anger.

"I never fought that monster and none of you have been to my hold. How was I affected?! I felt that creature rip away creatures I nurtured carefully all this time!" The question was valid but it was not Goldthorn that answered.

{You waste time. The enemy is clever and once he knows a system, he abuses it for his own gain. We failed to understand that and nearly paid the ultimate price.}

The chorus of voices were familiar to them. The spirits of Heaven and Earth were always many but the fact they could intrude on their meeting made all stiffen up.

"How are you able to hear us, spirits? You have no power to offer nor wisdom." Shattering Fist gruffly spoke but many nodded at his words. The ape was scornful of weakness and Eternal Realm cultivators were beyond Heaven and Earth.

{We are all with you, always. You are incomplete and stagnate. Only the enemy and the dragon are on the path to completion.} The words made many start to shout but Goldthorn and Violet Cloud were not surprised at all.

Shattering Fist noticed and was surprised. Slowly, the gathering realized the trio were silent and turned towards them.

"The spirits are right. The Fiend has the patience of the worst predators in the wild. Just when you think yourself safe is when they go for your throat. While we are all different from each other, the holds follow rules we never bothered to explore beyond our own safety." The words were a blow but he was not done.

"We do not have time to arm ourselves and honestly, I am unsure how effective we would be. It is clear now that the Fiend had been holding back because it knew the cycle would reset and possibly he needed reserves as a last resort to avoid death if Lind was close to winning." Fear finally filled the room.

They had lived beyond the fear of death for so long and now it had returned in force.

"As to what the spirits said about the Fiend and Lind, think about what they can do? They can benefit or harm us with seeming ease. I took all my path intent to help him but he is able to make elixirs that can help anyone of us." Violet Cloud held up a jade vial.

It was one of his other versions that made it but the potent aura was clear. Compared to the dregs, the full elixir eliminated any doubts. The current Lind Frey was nothing like the others they had come to know.

He was not even in the same league. That was good but it also meant that he was starting from scratch.

"Our job, then, is to help him grow strong and to master his power quickly. The Fiend may be injured or isolated, but it will not last?" The silver furred ape's voice was impossible to ignore. He was highly respected by all beasts and many demons.

Even the aether children and Elementals would yield to his opinion.

Goldthorn nodded.

"He is back to square one, as you saw. He has raw power but it is a double edge sword. He could win yet die in the same moment. Unless we are certain he can win, I really want that boy to live." There was no disagreement. Selfish as many of them were, karmic ties were powerful at their level.

They would pay back what was given. The corrupted demons were like gods of death and pain but nodded solemnly as others followed their lead.

They then began to plan and summon records. While there had always been teachers, it was true they had limits to how effective that teaching could be. If Lind Frey could truly learn from them without limit, they were going all out!

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