Chapter 36 - Limit of the Elements

The Immortal Realm? The lesson from Solon only included physical places that Lind understood could be reached if he had enough time. What was this Immortal Realm? He had no time to absorb as the 6 shadows continued.

"We, like all cultivators, have incorporated 5 secondary elements into our original cultivation, but we know something is missing." The blue shadow continued to speak but then it paused as an image of all 6 elements appeared as they would in a Soul Realm dantian.

"Despite breaking through to the Heaven and Immortal Realms, many cultivators stumble without any hope of advancing. Pills and elixirs can push one forward, but the foundation is not as effective." The green robed shadow spoke as the elemental cores became more profound. Lind studied it but realized it was a representation only, not a guide of cultivation. His eyes grew round as the shapes changed.

Each core split open at the top and flattened partially in the middle as a spire of energy surged forth. He had read about this! Breaking through to the World Realm was taking the peak tier 9 Qi and transforming the elemental core into an elemental font. Lind hoped once he reached tier 8 or 9 that he could perceive World Realms better to learn how this worked.

"The problem many find is that the balance between primary and secondary elements is difficult to maintain. The best talents of a generation reach Immortality but that is not enough." Lind turned to the crimson shadow as it spoke. It was a woman's voice compared to the men before, but what were they indicating? If one could break through to a realm that was called Immortal, what was left?

The fonts grew brighter before a flash occurred and crystal shards formed. Lind saw that if the shards came together, they would make a large circle. The narrow tips were brighter than the wider end. As seconds passed, the brightness began to grow. That had to represent the Sky Realm! Lind felt overjoyed!

"What you see is only a theoretical scenario. No one truly understands the balance between the 6 elements. The issues found between Soul Realm and World Realm thwart 6 elementals. Foundations are ruined, breaking through to the World Realm following the known path." The black robed woman spoke as the crystals suddenly shattered and took on the shape of a human but no flesh, only energy.

Lind was not sure what this realm was supposed to be, it was too profound now, but he waited for the next revelation.

"We cannot reveal all, but know that it is critical that a 6 elemental make progress and break through in a different way. We came together to study our primary mono elements as we knew them better than anything else. The techniques we once relied on fail miserably once we have to cultivate the secondary elements." Lind saw the tan robed man was nearly brimming with frustration even as a recording. The illusory energy suddenly had a crystal form in its center. Lind felt a pressure now that was oppressive beyond anything he had ever conceived of before. That shard was not like the Sky Realm. It was not just the elements it represented and it was growing!

"The beasts and aether children become supreme in the higher realms. Demons strangely seem to not falter as much as humanity either, but none of us can stand up to ******." The white robed woman spoke of the races but the last word was lost. Lind thought his head would burst for some reason just trying to comprehend it. Why would a name cause such pain?

"The 6 of us devoted our lives to changing our fate. Humans suffer a fate of inferiority because we have forced our techniques and have to start over once we reach the Heaven Realm. Only a 6 elemental can solve this problem if they can overcome the World Realm." The 6 spoke at once and now Lind felt a stream of knowledge flow into his mind. It was a profound but strange tempering technique. "The 6 elemental staff and this technique are to be used together. It will allow you to break the shackles of depending on techniques like others but you will have to find a way forward to the World Realm."

The technique was a combat staff one. Lind was in awe of it. Even without knowing about harmonies, the 6 people in front of him found a way to use a tool to let all 6 elements increase their strength and use multiple combinations to achieve results. Lind could cast lightning with the staff!

The images began to fade from his mind but then one stayed solid. It was the white robed one.

"Know that we have not given up and have left a reliquary in the Immortal Realm. If you cannot reach that place, please leave an inheritance to guide the next generation. Humanity's limit of elements is in your hands!" Lind realized this was the equivalent of a hail mary. He perceived that while all living beings start out with whatever element they cultivate in the Soul Realm, once they reach the Heaven Realm, it is necessary to incorporate the missing elements they did not have before.

It did leave a question in his mind though. Why was this a problem in higher realms? A higher quality environment that requires all 6 elements should be a godsend for a 6 elemental. Lind could not solve this problem but he began to meditate on the technique he just learned. It was as if he had studied and memorized it for weeks, but it was only a moment.

His talent as an innate cultivator also triggered as he saw flaws in the technique. He was unsure if he should trust his instincts but there was only one way to test.

Lind grabbed the short cylinder and allowed his Qi to flow. Nothing happened. He was confused but then saw the filigree of silver and realized he forgot the elements!. It was actually hard to break the habit of the techniques he had attempted previously, but he had not practiced them aside from the tier 1 arts. Lind focused on his harmony and emerald flame lit up on the cylinder.

A click sounded and the staff appeared instantly in his hands. He had to maintain his flow of Qi but it worked! His instinct told him to use his harmony rather the forcing the elements one at a time or all 6 at once.

A frown passed over his face as he felt resistance. Lind had to practice until he realized the 6 experts had made an assumption about the 6 elements that most did, the opposing types had to be guided in certain ways to work together compared to those that enhanced each other. Lind did not need to do that but the built in compensation wasted Qi. Even so, he had no way to correct a physical issue like that.

Lind knew the best weapon refiners had no creations that used all 6 elements. He began to understand the problem. Humanity had no foundation in using all 6 elements at all! If the techniques through the Sky Realm followed similar principles to higher tier Soul Arts, cultivators would run into similar problems Lind ran into now when they reached the Heaven Realm.

Still, Lind wondered why they could not accommodate this problem since cultivation had existed for epochs. How had no one figured out the problem? If they could progress, did they just not care? Lind believed it had been studied deeply and maybe all of that culminated in what was in his hands now.

Lind then began the technique. It was literally blending 2 elements via the staff. For the first time in his life, Lind was able to cast lightning, mud, typhoons, and so forth without backlash! The staff allowed him to externally blend the elements at long last! It did not resolve his personal backlash issue but Lind felt the bottleneck of element tempering finally break loose like never before!

He was not at peak tier 5 tempering, but he could see reaching it within a year! The stone room filled with small-scale natural events as Lind smiled like a fool. It felt so good! As he twirled the staff he suddenly felt dizzy. The Qi consumption was very high but only because Lind had to learn to regulate it. It was the beginning!

Lind then had an idea. He realized his old life knowledge was far beyond the current world in some respects and he wanted to see if he could now pull off those ideas he could not before due to backlash.

Lind allowed the staff to retract and assumed a lotus position as he let his mind consider the next steps he had to put off for years. The smile on his face would not fade even as hours passed.

****

Cyntilla looked in her storage treasure on her wrist. A ring was more convenient but rings were rare. Bracelets or bags were far more common but capacity was much lower than any ring she knew of. Her current bracelet only held 2 cubic meters. She knew the crown prince of Darkmoor had a ring that had 8 cubic meters at grade 2 which far exceeded the biggest bags she knew of.

Her supplies were not bad but she was almost out of time. Lind had entered the Ruin 3 days ago and left her water that she quickly rationed. Unlike humans, demons could last far longer in extreme environments on less water and food. Demons preferred comfort, but could do far better if needed. Even so, she was almost out of time.

She had not seen a single beast since coming here and realized this must be the remnant of the inheritance one could reach by passing a trial. The trial was gone, but the reward remained. That was the draw of Ruins. Ruins were chances to bypass the normally brutal Inheritance trials. Some may retain the trial, but that was rare.

Some believed having the trial meant better results, but none knew for sure.

She was cultivating when she sensed several presences closing in. Her training honed battle instincts, but as cultivators progressed, they could better sense the world around them. Soul Realm was basic in that respect but also far less likely to be able to hide.

She pulled forth her short swords as 4 shadows appeared on the horizon. As the barrier hid the truth of the center, she considered bluffing her way out, but she noticed the mark on their clothes and frowned. It was not going to go well for her or Lind if he was here. It was the Shen Kingdom.

A once prominent power in the Darkmoor Kingdom, it had become a vicious tyrannical force. It had lost prestige in the last 100 years due to siding with the Kingdom of Altair. The abysmal reputation of that kingdom had caused Darkmoor royalty to interfere in the affairs of their subordinates because it had become counterproductive.

Altair had disregarded the protections put in place for royal clans in regards to their female members. It had instigated massive dishonor even by demon standards as it was not open battle but through subterfuge and cowardly means. Cyntilla sneered in her heart at the lackeys the Shen Kingdom had become due to their involvement in those affairs.

"A demon! Our luck is looking up brothers. What should we do with it?" Anger flared in her heart at their words. Poison slowly spread from her body on the desert winds. Sadly, these 4 men seemed experienced against demons.

"She is feisty, my antidote protection just went off!" She finally began to make them out. Brilliant white hair was on the current speaker with dark eyes and broad shoulders. The others had a mix of silver and white, but Cyntilla knew that the pure white hair was a mark of nobility, at least in Shen.

"I am Cyntilla Fang. Greetings fellow daoists." Her short swords were held at the ready as she assumed her stance. She enjoyed seeing the leader frowning at her name. He was not a fool at least but his 3 companions were clearly idiots.

"Your name is not important, just what use we have for you!" A nearly pure silver hair was on the youngest of the group. He leered at her but was then slapped by his leader into the sands. Aggrieved, the fool looked up only to blanch as his leader's anger.

"Your highness, why are you here alone?" The polite words and bow were not faked by the leader and his cronies instantly wiped the smirks off their faces. They may not know her family, but their leader's reaction told them enough.

"Do I need to be as weak as humans?" Cyntilla poured on the arrogance while she carefully stretched out her senses. She may not put most humans in her eyes, but any noble would have basic strategy in mind when searching for treasure. She smirked inside as an unstable swirl in the desert revealed itself.

Anger flared on all their faces but Cynitlla saw the arrogant sneer in their eyes. They thought they had her without any recourse at this moment.

Before anyone else could speak, lightning flared behind Cyntilla and a man was slammed far away. Lind emerged from the formation with a staff engulfed in emerald flames. His entire aura finally matched his cultivation.

"Sorry I was late." He smiled at her and she felt her heart skip a beat looking at him. The tension in her body faded as laughter escaped her. This was going to be fun!