"So 17 shops were essentially compromised by those damned old coots?" Shoti read off the report to Lind and he sighed at her wording.
"For the last ti, they are not old coots, they are simply–" He saw her look at him mischievously and he just sighed. "Yes, we found signs of them embedding spies in our shops not to gather information but to try and place tainted products."
The weavers had been reporting products showing up in their storehouses that felt wrong. Lind had examined them and confird they were made by mixing souls. It was good that others could detect it but how they got there was the more disturbing part.
They had rigorous testing of all products made by their various shops around the layer. The only way sothing like that got through was if soone put them in a cleared batch after the fact.
To do that was not an easy thing either!
"So they raised legitimate weavers to mingle with ours? That is so long term planning on their part." He could only agree with her.
"Now, the official requests for evidence of terrorist attacks we knew were coming will hamper things further." The mont he confird the infiltrator was from the Sacred Ones, he knew what would follow after the trial.
The group had disrupted and killed many mbers of various organizations. Even the Divine Sword Sect wanted information but Lind really did not have it.
He had intentionally prevented that from happening. The Elental had taken an Oath in the trial and revealed all the nas of the Frey Clan mbers they killed.
Ethry had then burned them to ash in front of all. Compensation was obtained from the Sacred Ones after their own group sat down and t with them. The Sacred Ones also swore to no longer interfere with the Frey Clan but that was all the concession he could get out of them.
Even the envoy that ca only crushed a jade slip and then destroyed their own core before he could stop them! Fanatics! They were true fanatics!
Still, they had given a heartfelt thanks for his efforts. It had been a damned strange conversation from start to finish!
His hope of possibly disbanding them seed much farther away and the expected political attack had co. The various powers that learned he convicted a Sacred One of murder successfully wanted to know everything.
Revealing how he caught them by direct observation was a minor issue but the lack of complete evidence would not be accepted by anyone. It would an he intentionally did not go after it!
Still, that was the point.
He was suprely tired of backroom deals and indirect attacks. He was ready to go to war.
Shoti smirked at the glint in his eyes but timing was everything.
"Master! Master! Master! LOOK!" Abby suddenly appeared. She was jumping up and down so much, you would have mistaken her for a tiny child compared to the young woman she appeared to be.
He brought the cylinder out and summoned the current status of the Inheritance.
{Open slots - 17}
{Potential Inheritors - 1}
{Trial Progress - 63%}
{Legacy Claid - Three-edged Soul; Veil Master; Sylvan Order; Samsara Soul; Dancer of the Null; & Oblivion Buddha}
{Living - 37}
{Dead - 41}
{Resurrected - 4}
His eyes narrowed. For the last few years, more legacies had been unlocked but not much else had changed. The death rate had increased, if anything.
Yet now, finally, a potential inheritor had been found. In the grand sche of things that was very fast considering many Inheritances were still barely explored after millions of years.
"Abby, does the Inheritance spirit have any inkling on the potential person's odds?" He was curious but Abby stopped being excited.
"Umm, the old man said it just ans they et the requirents. They still have to clear the final trials and that could take a really long ti!" Lind relaxed as he understood that entry at last.
The legacies were for those to grow stronger or help create even more potential inheritors in the future if the current one failed. Still, it was a vast improvent.
"Well, I hope they survive and can make progress soon." It would relieve him of a massive burden. He was about to put the cylinder away when his eyes narrowed.
{Dead - 73}
It had changed just as he was about to dismiss it. The potential inheritor did not change but even the resurrected dropped to 0!
Abby suddenly paled as an aura swept outward from the direction of the Inheritance!
[INTERFERENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!] The spirit's voice shook their lands and even the storm of the Icy Path seed to pause. Lind grew stern but he felt the cylinder grow hot in his palm.
{Punished - 3}
Just what in the world happened?!
Abby looked pale and he quickly infused her with his Qi. She recovered quickly but looked afraid so he and Shoti comforted her until she cald down.
The cylinder grew warm and symbols lit up until Lind felt sothing at the entrance of the Frey Clan. He recognized it.
He shifted himself to the entrance and opened it for a tottering undead. It was much weaker than last ti but the eyes revealed who was driving it.
[You owe
more slots.] The Inheritance spirit was angry but he simply grabbed it and moved back to his office.
"I know you do not have much ti but what happened? It affected Abby too." The creature glanced at her and frowned but did not react otherwise.
[The restrictions normally do not allow certain items to enter the trials due to severe reactions but even my creator was not infallible. A Divine Realm cultivator is still a flawed being.] Lind nodded but still did not understand. What had happened?
"M–master, I don't feel good." Abby was becoming pale again. Lind frowned and examined the cylinder. It was only then that he noticed so of the arrays were damaged! How?!
[Give it here.] He handed it over and the spirit quickly looked it over before looking grim. [The keys were found but could not be claid. They had not beco the Inheritor. Still, they were there to see and strive for. Now, most of them are gone.]
Shock filled Lind. Damaging an Inheritance was taboo. Even when the soulless were sweeping the layer, the powers that held them had to argue about destroying them because it was so strongly ingrained not to do so.
It was one of the few things even Fiends wouldn't do!
"Would you just explain what happened?! How can we help her?!" Shoti was holding Abby tight but her shape was getting transparent in areas! Her artifact was severely damaged!
[They brought in an artifact of Creation! They simply summoned it and tried to leave it to damage the trials!] Lind narrowed his eyes. The security in a Divine Inheritance was nothing to sneeze at. Trying to bypass the restrictions should have been impossible for an Immortal.
The only way to do it would be with sothing on the sa level that could be hidden. No storage ring, no normal one, could do it.
"Haro?" He did not have to say anymore before his spirit appeared. The undead actually looked respectful at that point!
"You are right, Master. Only another grade 8 or Dao Grade artifact could bypass the restrictions. Even so, no Immortal could control it. Was the foundation damaged?" Haro turned to look at the undead but it shook its head.
[No, my foundation is safe but many legacies and trials were damaged. They can be repaired, yet, so cannot.] It looked at the cylinder in its hand and Lind felt dread fill him.
He snatched it back and saw the arrays were breaking down! His fingers lit up but Haro stopped him.
"You are not able to save her, Master. Only her creator could save her. Besides, you have touched on Dao but not the right kind. You would only hasten her destruction." Helplessness flooded him but then he looked at the fading young woman.
She had been part of his life for centuries. He had nad her! He had watched her be so happy not so long ago and his family and Clan welcod her.
He was too weak to save her? He was not able to do anything?
"To hell with that!" His fingers blazed as his harmony roared in his crystal. His eyes lit up and he began to study the damage to the arrays. He could not rebuild the cylinder, that was true, but he could do one thing.
He could fight fire with fire. If the power of Creation had been unleashed, that was sothing he was much more familiar with!
Sigils blazed as he poured all his Laws, comprehension, and even the light touch of Dao on the energy damaging the arrays. The damage slowed until it stopped. Lind was sweating as he felt like he was trying to push back a mountain.
It was so strong! Still, he found sothing familiar. It was but a tiny piece but he grasped in erald chains so tight and began to carefully extract it.
[Foolish dragon, it will kill–] Lind nearly lost control when the spirit spoke but Haro raised his arms. He resud the extraction.
Ti beca immaterial to him. His dantian emptied like there was no tomorrow but he never stopped or worried about his own foundation. The smiling face of Abby filled his mind.
He had broken his promise to his family once. He had shattered the bonds he should have held dear. By naming the new spirit, he created a new bond. He nurtured her, and helped her grow.
He knew one day they would part but not like that! She would go on! Damn anyone trying to take her away!
His harmony suddenly shifted. The faint traces of Dao he had felt before strengthened ever so slightly. His mind suddenly grasped more of the Creation Dao and he saw what it was doing.
The once opaque cylinder suddenly made much more sense and he was able to remove the energy that did not belong! It had to go sowhere and he knew just where to put it!
The folded space shimred as it grew infinitely stronger! The cylinder suddenly lit up with dark energies as the arrays repaired in an instant. The last thing Lind saw was Abby suddenly turning back to solid form and Shoti hugging her tight.
A smile crossed his face as he hit the stone floor. It was worth it, every ti, to see that kind of scene. He would never forget that again.
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