Lind had heard the words, but the actual place left him speechless as his ship finally made the months-long crossing to the Western Lant.
The Void Ocean, normally so dangerous to cross outside of teleportation arrays, presented no issue for them above the clouds.
Karu and Gaia were shocked by his revelation that a higher realm being had imposed a restriction on Heaven and Earth. Karu knew of the higher realm to an extent as it was safe to do so in her mories but not that they did such things like that!
As to why, none of them knew. It was never revealed and Lind had no guesses but there was a reason, he was sure of that.
Still, it was not of importance to their journey save that it facilitated it. They flew on and made good progress.
He knew the sa journey could take centuries for an artifact made to cross the Void Ocean so he chalked that up to superior design on his part.
He also warned them that flying without him was an extinction level threat. He was not sure how they would do it given his experience but likely it was inbuilt to the restriction.
After that, he took Karu aside and revealed the reason her health deteriorated as the tilines progressed. She was literally consuming the future to change the past.
That was why no alternatives still existed. She had killed them all!
She grew pale but told her she, herself in that mont, had done nothing. She had, in fact, done the only thing possible to give any future a chance.
It begged the question of how another version of the Bastard existed but Lind suspected Karu knew the answer to that better than he.
The final battle did not take place in the Divine Lands. It was the only way it was possible.
Yet, he had to change that! He had to rise up and kill the Bastard while he was still in the Master Tier!
All that bleak talk paled in comparison to the view of the Western Lant.
It had once been the Western Continent but had been ripped apart by forces running wild epochs ago. Only he knew why.
The birth of the Fiends had a severe backlash and most Celestials had lived in the Western Continent. It was a guess but it made sense. Heaven and Earth reacted violently to the presence of Fiends in lower realms but it had to have been spectacularly bad the day they were born.
The backlash from the corruption had shattered a continent that even a peak Master Tier could not scratch!
Now, he saw jagged cuts into the surviving land and voids of essence in all directions. Death and destruction on a scale he could not fully grasp was clear from their high vantage point.
Any island too small was swallowed whole by the Void Ocean or its residents. The smallest island could easily be considered a small nation anywhere.
Yet, even those were not safe. He saw several flashes of formations reacting to attacks from the Void Ocean.
The entire stretch they could see was barely hanging on.
Its na seed appropriate. The Western Lant was a place stubbornly holding on when everything else seed intent on wiping it from existence.
It was a shell of its forr self.
"It is said only 3 Master Tiers rule here, although that is a stretch. They rule the 3 land masses they reside on certainly but the rest is left to fend for themselves." Karu spoke with so authority.
She had never been there in any lifeti but they had certainly looked into it.
"Fiends?" She nodded.
"They are here, of course but to what extent I do not know. They would be limited. We do not want to draw attention from the Master Tiers yet. We need to avoid the Azure Isle, the Profound Blade Isle, and the Broken Steppes Isle for now." Lind quickly noticed a large mass with shattered mountain ranges.
The Azure Isle could either be the large island with a massive set of lakes or maybe the one riddled with rivers. They were similar in size.
The last one, though, he had no idea where it was. A map of the Western Lant was hard to co by as the residents had actively cut off the other continents.
It was, in part, necessary as all teleportation lines had been shattered in the destruction. Self sufficiency beca necessary and later, outsiders seed too intrusive.
Resources were still traded but actual diplomatic relations were left to wither and die.
Thus, the Western Lant beca separate from the rest of the world. A finer place for Fiends to flourish he could not imagine!
He guided the ship away from the largest landmasses and made for the next step down.
He infused his Qi into a panel and a shimr passed over the hull before it vanished from sight!
It was not his skill or creation but incorporating Annabelle's formation plate into the ship to let it blend into the world.
He was an incredible Triple Maester but her formations still left him in the dust!
They quietly landed in a clearing deep in an oak forest with trees over 50 ters tall. Beasts sensed sothing and quickly left as Lind let his aura flare out.
Apprentice Tier or more, he was still a full Divine Dragon. Bloodline held more sway than cultivation realm with beasts.
He was about to disguise them all when his eyes narrowed.
A burst of erald fla shot out to the branches overhead and a scream was heard before a figure tumbled from above.
Lind waved his arm and the wind moved at his command to slow them down. The curled tail and large limbs marked them as a kind of monkey but the humanoid features showed they were very advanced!
The man tumbled until he landed roughly on the grassy clearing. His leather vest left his chest and arms exposed while his cloth pants were loose but enough to let him move freely.
He had a staff on his back that made Lind cautious. It felt very powerful.
The encounter also tugged at his mory. Why did seeing a monkey with a staff seem familiar?
"You burned my cloak! I did not an any harm!" The man had dark eyes full of indignation but Lind noticed his stance was balanced. The man was ready to fight or flee in equal asure.
Lind did not assu any stance but Karu and Gaia summoned their weapons. Karu had 2 fans while Gaia had a staff like the monkey but hers was made by her entirely. It was not from any tree or plant.
The dark eyes narrowed on Gaia but went wide at Karu.
"A dryad and a nine-tailed fox with a Divine Dragon?! Just what kind of–" Lind seed to blink and suddenly appeared with his hand around the throat of the monkey as his tail stripped the staff away.
He grasped that the staff was too dangerous in his possession.
The monkey tried to break free but despite being also an Apprentice Tier at the Samsara Layer, he could not even make Lind budge!
"Do you know who I am? Lie, and it will be the last thing you do in this life." Lind could understand Karu and Gaia being recognized but a Divine Dragon was not sothing recognized on sight.
Lind restricted his aura long before disembarking from the ship too. So the only way the monkey knew what he was by recognition.
The monkey was quite strong but Lind was like a mighty oak of the forest with deep roots. He could not be moved by the feeble efforts.
The staff vibrated and tried to do sothing but he sealed it with his weaving. His erald hair danced with sigils and traces almost too fast for soone to follow.
"Cough, um maybe let
breathe?" The raspy voice did not affect Lind. His erald eyes narrowed as his hand tightened. A Divine Realm had other ways to talk than breath!
The monkey seed to realize it but his aura shifted. It was very familiar too.
[Release , erald snake!] Authority washed over Lind but he rely smiled back at the monkey. Shock filled his furry face before Lind let his aura out.
[Answer my question, now.] His own Authority slamd into the monkey and he truly appreciated the difference. A True Lord acknowledged by Heaven and Earth compared to not was night and day.
The monkey tried to resist but eventually his transmission ca through.
[I know who you are but do not care. The bastard Fiends killed many of my tribesn so if you are their enemy, you are my friend!] Lind then let the monkey go.
He gasped for breath and stared up in indignation at Lind.
"Was that so hard? Now, why are you here?" The monkey took a mont to collect himself before staring at his staff. Lind glanced at it before realizing the spirit inside was trembling. "I will not harm you. Let
fix you."
Before anyone could react, erald light flared around Lind as several ores, crystals, and cores appeared and fused with the staff. Its dull color was replaced with vibrant red and lined in gold patterns.
The spirit sang in joy as Lind smiled. He then passed the staff back to the monkey who held it in awe.
The laughter that followed echoed before he knelt before Lind.
"I will follow you boss to the ends of the world, all I ask is you kill the Fiends holding my people." Lind sighed but knew he had chosen a rough island to start his journey to rise once more.
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