Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1800 - 1799 - Journey Resumes

The Celebration gave way to a general gathering after a few days. Lind slipped away because he well knew a few centuries could pass before any of the Divine or Immortal Realms realized it.

He could have interacted more but now that things were no longer strictly about beasts, it was highly probable they would grow lax about keeping people out. He had no need to get pulled into that morass!

Ryl was once more by his side but now they were much more talkative.

[This is very tasty!]

[I smell something tasty!]

[You make tasty things, Packleader!]

[Headpats!]

[I want to play more!]

It went on and on but revealed the very young mind inside the nearly millennia old body. It reminded him of Hei and his other long lived children a bit. They took so much longer to mature mentally compared to their bodies.

Ryl was, however, still a very powerful beast. Prey were hunted without mercy.

Lind had no cause for concerns but he helped guide the young male. The new perspective also needed addressing soon. Ryl’s previous existence was a complete lack of the instincts with either sex.

Yet now, with some amusement on Lind’s part, Ryl paused when certain beasts were found. Mostly anything from the wolf variance caught his eye but he seemed confused as to why. He was not hungry and wolves were not targets of his hunger anyway!

Lind saw the thoughts clear as day but Ryl could not put them into words yet. He was curious how the dragon bloodlines would be to him.

Technically speaking, Ryl’s bloodline should be higher than most serpents or other lower species. A flood dragon might be about his level or a little lower. It was hard for him to gauge without a direct comparison.

The Sky Realm had a much wider range to work with and he suspected it would be a longer realm for Ryl too. It was the first true realm with his current bloodline. It would not be too difficult yet it would likely involve more insight compared to the previous ones.

He recalled the Floating Isles and how as most beasts got closer to the Heaven Realm and how their mental abilities exploded.

Ryl was already able to understand and transmit along their bond. Lind was now able to directly teach him and it was his place to do so as well.

He was no longer a simple guardian overseeing the young life he helped bring into the world. He was the packleader until Ryl was ready to start his own.

It was a new experience for Lind in that regard.

Ryl was highly unlikely to have a true pack of his own kind. It was far more likely it would be direct family and mates. Whether that would be in his current realm or later, Lind did not know.

The immediate needs were to guide Ryl as he formed a greater intelligence. The young mental state had many dangers if scarred or influenced by events that once were performed on instinct alone.

Predators were notorious for falling into bloodthirsty states if not tempered. The more dangerous cultivators were those that seemed calm but were one trigger away from causing a bloodbath.

Years passed before the pair finally heard of something interesting. They were in a small forest in one of the warmer areas of the Northern Continent when they came upon a caravan.

They did not go near and Lind was far more powerful than the Shard Tier Immortal Realm leading the guards. Still, information was helpful.

There was no reason for a caravan to be so deep in the Northern Continent or at all. They were humans and some aether children. His eyes narrowed but found no signs of enslavement by artifact or weaving.

They seemed to be working both with the guards or the caravan as equals.

"I am telling you, the treasure is up here. The Northern Continent was buried in ice and storms for epochs. Even the space exposed is way too big for all of it to be confirmed if the old maps are true or not." An older looking man was arguing with some of the younger ones.

Roughly, it seemed as if they had spent the better part of 3 centuries exploring ancient maps of the old Northern Continent. It was the first Lind had heard of such relics.

In fact, such knowledge should have been lost long ago either by war, suppression, or simple lack of ability to find it in the ice wastes at the time.

So how did such a weak group hold on to such precious knowledge? Lind found that suspicious. Also, who would waste centuries wandering the Northern Continent?

These 2 facts seemed contrived.

[Play?] Ryl was getting excited but Lind held up his hands. He pondered before shaking his head.

[Trap.] The massive wolf head tilted in confusion. Lind sighed. The concept of a trap was not alien to Ryl but only in regards to hunting beasts. They would act weak or hide that they were not alone.

Beasts, Ryl understood. People were too alien.

Lind transmitted the concept via that path. Ryl became calm then it seemed he was more curious.

[Why?] That was a harder question. He highly doubted it was related to them. Yet, it was better to assume it could become related. Lind quickly engraved sigils into the air before they flew across the air to the caravan.

None were the wiser as some sigils hid the rest and the weaving took hold. Lind then closed his eyes and let his senses flow to what he had made. It was a simple weaving that would allow him to stealthily analyze what he could not see without exerting his aura.

There were the standard supplies of Qi stones, elemental crystals, pills, and so forth to support various scenarios. The fact they were not in storage treasures only deepened his suspicions.

It was like they were screaming, ’Rob me.’

He switched to the area around them for any oddities. There was nothing obvious but his Time Layer aided him in finding 3 areas of questionable nature.

One was natural. It seemed a real treasure was condensing but it was at least 4 or 5 thousand years away. It was also too weak for him. Ryl might want it if he was in the area depending on what it was.

The other 2 were not natural. One was very powerful. It indicated a special realm, Inheritance, or Relic. It was far to the north and well beyond the warm area.

It was likely buried beneath kilometers of ice still and never to see the sun based on the flow of energies.

It was still possible they really had a map, yet the last one was the most suspicious feeling. Someone was there. Several someones.

His emerald eyes opened and glowed as he looked to the east. The distortion was now visible to him and he pointed to the sky for Ryl. His dark blue eyes also glowed but he did not see what Lind did.

Lind touched his head and allowed Ryl to see. He got excited but it was limited as the pain quickly followed.

[Too strong?] Lind smiled and nodded. Ryl was smart yet he now looked back at him expectantly.

He sighed.

[I am stronger, yet I am only one.] He waited. He wanted to see if Ryl understood. Slowly the dark blue eyes clouded and his tail drooped.

[I am too weak to survive alone?] He smiled and shook his head. He then sent a few of his battles with others. The chaos and the openings that no matter how powerful he was, he could not cover everything.

Ryl calmed down and became happier. He understood. It was not a question of holding Lind back. Even if they were both Divine Realm cultivators, if the other side was also a Master Tier, openings would exist.

If they had any profession at the Grand Maester level was also a great risk. Lind had 3 professions but he was not infallible.

The only question that remained was the sensation of an ally of the trap caravan or the target. Given he felt no such oddities in the 3 wagons nor in the personnel left only the thought it was an ally.

The pair watched the play of tension as they camped out for the night. They sent out a hunting party but Lind did not see the need to let them pester innocent beasts for their own methods.

He also wanted to see how they would react. Ryl was now sleeping as he was bored. Lind patted his head and Ryl nuzzled closer even in his sleep.

His eyes narrowed as he felt transmissions. Someone was trying to communicate without the use of jade stones. He smiled as the weaving he made answered his call.

[--no signs of anyone. You are also sure there was nothing on your end, senior?] The same older man was now speaking but Lind noticed his power was higher than the peak Heaven Realm he had been showing before.

Lind placed him in the same Shard Tier as the leader of the guards.

[Nothing. The beasts seemed to leave on their own as well yet the complete absence means it was not natural. The demon princess must be nearby. She cannot skirt her obligations any longer.] Lind was only further confused.

How would such an obvious trap caravan tempt a demoness on the run? He reviewed the materials and they were all natural Qi. Useless to demons, what was the point?

[The fools following her have to be low on resources. Those traitors will fall to our blades!] Lind grasped it then. They had run a group repeatedly and the Northern Continent was both ideal for escape and a huge risk. Resources were scarce if one was not prepared.

He did know they were wasting their time in the current forest and he had seen no signs of any recent passing. Still, why had Ethry and the others been unaware of something that would draw the attention of a Journeyman Tier Divine Realm?

Questions bloomed and Lind knew he had to at least resolve where their prey were. He would not interfere unless they got aggressive for no reason. He collected Ryl and left.

He began his own hunt.