Chapter 1869 - 1868 - Renaissance of the Dao

Lind took another year to compile his gains and began to ask everyone for their Arts. Many thought he was crazy yet after a few more months that changed drastically. Not only was he able to unlock their Arts for use beyond themselves, it helped many realize how wrong their current use of their powers were.

He did not restrict the knowledge. He inscribed thousands of jade slips with the basis of how to recreate Arts from the ground up. Despite the vast majority having no access to their Harmonic Core, the process could help them make progress!

Their efficiency would drop dramatically but the quality would actually be greater than Path and Intent alone. Some even showed hints of grasping their Harmonic Core as well!

Violet Cloud could not replicate her daughter's feat yet she was now able to use her Path and Intent to far better effect. It was already a short term effect anyway so improving the quality actually lessened the burden on her far more.

Goldthorn, however, could only recreate his Art for others to maybe learn from one day. He could not sense his Harmonic Core at all and he was far from alone. The other beasts, despite being much closer to their Arts, all struggled to grasp even a hint of a Harmonic Core.

Lind could not solve that problem easily as it would require studying each and every Eternal Realm with as many aspects as he could grasp. The Arts were a start but they were only one part in the end.

Still, the effect on the Eternal Realm cultivators was several fold. Previously, while many were willing to help him, it was mostly for their survival. They enjoyed the new environment of his hold as well but it hardly helped them advance.

It was also novel to meet lower realm cultivators after so long for many.

The other holds could have life but it was more like echoes of their memories or simply life that was born from their own intervention. Many billions of years later, they could grow stronger but without Heaven and Earth, cultivation did not exist.

Thus they were simply nourished by Eternal Qi and lived longer lives.

Lind was the first person aside from Violet Cloud to have people follow him into the Eternal Realm over the epochs.

Once the Arts spread, many of the Eternal Realm cultivators found the need to teach to better understand the changes themselves. Meetings of the Dao sprang up spontaneously so much that they had to build areas to designate fixed spots for it!

Further, the Master Tiers were invited to safely experience the more advanced world of the Eternal Realm. Lind was no longer needed as he had taught them long ago how to incorporate new ideas from higher realm beings.

Unlike the Eternal Realm cultivators, those from his Divine Lands knew far more about harmonies. When that was confirmed, the reverse began to happen!

Eternal Realm cultivators were enraptured as 6 elementals and others explained how harmonies worked and could be tested. There was an amusing scene where the vastly more powerful Eternal Realm cultivators were taking notes from Divine Realm cultivators only at the Apprentice Tier!

Lind heard all of it but simply smiled and returned to consolidating his power. He no longer focused solely on killing the Bastard. He instead focused on ascending to the peak of the current tier.

The results spoke for themselves. He no longer ran into as many dead ends. His storm was slowly being replaced with all the facets or the ability to recreate them once more. Several key factors he had learned were that he could not create Arts that would work for him unlike ever before.

His harmony could be used to heal, for instance, but that was an effect of Defiance rejecting injuries, not actual healing. At the Eternal Realm, now, he could make Arts that he could use that were previously much harder to adapt to a 6 elemental.

Healing Arts were usually restricted to water, air, and light. That did not change no matter the elemental system. Lind had learned ways to adapt to an extent but in exchange, there were limits.

His mother, for instance, was a potent alchemist in her Primary Elements but hit a hard wall until he upgraded her Secondary Elements. Even then, she leaned into her old habits without realizing it.

Unlearning instinctual response was far harder than learning something new. Lind, on the other hand, had no limits on his elixirs. It was why his creations even as a Soul Realm were insane.

The Eternal Realm removed all such considerations. Lind now had many floating centers of power for each new tree of Arts. That led to an unexpected result and the following frenzy of Dao conventions.

A new corner had come together in his mind but unlike recreation, it was more about grasping the truth of the world. Laws, Daos, Mysteries, and now forces he did not have a name for but could sense in his aura.

Path and Intent were part of him but there was more. He tried to parse it out but it was difficult. The Eternal Realm had a tendency to try and fuse everything all at once. It made picking out new energies more difficult.

Still, he focused on completely filling his skull. Once that was done, he could explore more or even see if he was ready to fight the Bastard.

Spirit Calling Eternal was the only other person close to his level at the moment and she was not battle oriented. He could see if a group would fight him and how they did but it would not be as accurate.

He was in the midst of consolidating his current gains when he felt a disturbance in his very soul. His brow furrowed as he tried to find the source but it was vague. It was like a note was just off in a song.

It would be missed most of the time but to an expert, it would stand out like a sore thumb. It would irritate their ears until they found the source.

He emerged from his seclusion and froze. He had heard most of what was going on but he saw massive Dao discussions going on. It was not a simple exchange of ideas on the Dao or similar minds coming together in small groups.

It was stadiums! He saw Divine, Immortal, and Eternal Realm cultivators mixing in crowds as 6 elementals spoke about their harmonies! He actually paused long enough to take in a woman demonstrating her azure colored flames.

[My harmony has already shown how it can affect my resilience. I follow the Law of Tides. The cycle of night and day fall under my sway because of this.] Lind narrowed his eyes. Her words were not wrong but he had no doubt it mystified many of the cultivators present.

The Law of Tides was related to the cycles of the moon as it moved in the sky. As she had learned about multiple moons, it had deepened her grasp of it but words were not enough.

He cast his hands out and his own harmony altered the stage. She did not notice as her own harmony now danced brightly until the tide appeared as if it was there. As she swayed her hands, the moon moved at her will and the tide responded.

The feeling of the world bending to her will was felt by all. Enlightenment flared in many eyes as they grasped the true power of a harmony in front of them. Lind almost lost himself in the demonstration when the off note feeling hit him again.

He cut off the power but the host seemed to understand and took up the load. Compared to his effects, hers were far weaker yet a much higher quality in the sensation of the Tide.

He moved on and focused on his target. He had narrowed it down to the sky when a new stadium caught his attention.

It was not a discussion on the Dao but a direct battle with harmonies alone! He had never seen such a demonstration and even he was curious.

He spared a few moments to see a bright pink harmony take on the shape of several bladed weapons while a dark amber one took on the shape of stars.

"Dao of the Blade and Dao of the Stars? Interesting." He murmured but could not give any more time to it. He noted it down for later. He had met someone with a similar weapon Dao before but the star one intrigued him.

Could they manipulate gravity or was it some other aspect they had grasped?

He really felt the itch to explore as he saw even more stadiums as he rose into the sky. He had to push his curiosity away.

He quickly reached the limit and then paused. He closed his eyes to carefully sense the exterior of his hold. He could not detect any issue.

He frowned as it was clear the feeling came from the direction he was in but there was nothing inside. So only the outside remained.

Yet, there was nothing in range so what was he feeling?

He eventually emerged into the darkness and his eyes lit up. They were now both human but they lost nothing. He saw nothing but the holds. They were a bit farther apart but that was due to the tragedy where the Bastard consumed some.

He scanned carefully but nothing stood out. Still, a feeling of wrongness did come to him more clearly. He just could not pinpoint the source. Why was it so elusive and so loud at the same time?

He closed his eyes as he dismissed everything but the feeling. He focused solely on the discordant sensation.

Slowly, he turned until tears began to form in his eyes. He finally recognized what he was feeling. It was then that he summoned a golden medallion from his ring. It barely reacted but it showed he was not wrong.

"Master, what happened to you?" He went on full guard as years had passed but no sign of his Master or his older brother had survived the battle to obstruct the Bastard while he ascended.

A convenient appearance was not to be trusted!

Further, it was not a good resonance. A damaged soul was the only explanation yet the Bastard would not half complete the job!

He finally opened his eyes and lit up a flare of fire. A figure was revealed, withered and barely alive. Lind did not move as he carefully examined it. There were no signs of a trap but he was not a fool.

Emerald flames engulfed the body. Vile Qi was purged but only trace amounts. He frowned. That made no sense.

Why were there only trace amounts?

He sighed as he was about to incinerate the body as a final act of filial connection when it twitched. The eyes opened and a dim spark remained. Shock filled him. He was still there!

[Do–not–believe.] A faint voice reached him but he was confused. Why would Younger Twin say that to him? Lind wanted to go forward but was still wary. He then resumed his action and saw a smile on the ravaged face.

Just as he was about to ignite the flame, a piece of cloth floated into his vision. It was marked in blood and it was a name. The world froze as he saw it and every consideration fell away.

{Lanbao}