The desert was home to more than the wurms. Lind and Cyntilla were huddled beneath an outcropping by a small mountain as a massive shadow swooped by once again. They had been into their 5th day after an uneventful 4th. The beast was too far away to make a positive identification but Lind could see its elements. It was only Soul Realm, but it was at the peak.
It had wind and fire as might be expected of a beast to survive in a desert, yet Lind suspected that like people, aether beasts could survive anywhere they wished if they put the effort in. This one had nearly caught them in the open but Lind had spotted the floating elemental cores in time by accident.
"It knows we are here somehow. It must use wind to feel us or fire to detect moving sources of heat even in this desert." Lind speculated as the day passed into its peak from the morning. They had wasted so much time here already but the damned beast would not give up. Cyntilla only nodded but did not say anything.
In grand total, she had barely crossed 10 words to him. Lind did not mind too much. This was a competition and she had already experienced the darkside of humanity to an extent. He had saved her in passing and not hidden this fact. Still, she did not separate from him either, so Lind took that as a good sign.
He had watched in joy as she practiced some techniques last night with her short swords. He stayed well away but was not told to move off beyond his ability to see. Lind began to grasp the nuance of acid and poison as she used them. It sparked ideas but he needed to see the other 4 in use to be sure he was right.
His Soul Touch worked just fine on her skills also. He had asked her to send some out and she had been shocked that he could handle it. Their sparring had been very instructive but Lind had nearly gotten poisoned by his own stupidity. He had kept pushing his skills but nearly missed an attack to his ribs she was able to slip in. This woman was a master of her craft on the level of Solon!
A craw filled the air as the massive beast brought Lind back to the present. It was expressing frustration that Lind assumed was knowing prey was near but unable to find it.
"No depth perception or ability to sense us beneath rock maybe?" Lind spoke more of his thoughts out loud but Cyntilla only nodded or stared at him. Lind conjured a flame and then packed it in an earthen sphere. He had to keep the Qi flowing but he wanted to test if his theory was right.
The ball of earth was tossed on the wind and flew far away from them. At first, the beast ignored it, but Lind increased the power of his flame to the sphere. Instantly, the beast dove towards it and Lind finally got a good look at it. It was a massive feathered bird like none Lind had ever heard of.
"Roc." Cyntilla only said one word but for a change it was in awe. The massive talons and force yellow eyes burned into Lind's mind. It was a mythic aether beast! A roc was on the same level as a phoenix or a dragon. It was not supposed to be here!
"I learned that rocs and other beasts cannot exist in our realm, is that wrong?" Lind looked at Cyntilla in his confusion but the woman only seemed in a daze at the power of the roc. The beast tore apart the decoy like it was puddy. It was not happy about being tricked but it had not yet reached the realm to gain intelligence.
Lind narrowed his eyes and had a thought. If the roc was truly a mythic bird, then its prey was the other issue in this distorted place. He looked into the nearby sands and had an idea.
"Wait for my signal, then we will need to run as fast as possible away from this place." Lind did not even wait for her nod before he ran out into the open. The roc instantly locked onto him but Lind did not mind. He cast out fireballs that distracted it and sure enough, it caused the predator to pause in confusion for a few moments. It was all Lind needed.
The sands exploded in front of him at last, but Lind smiled wide for once. Lind used darkness to encircle himself as wind blasted him back in the direction he ran from. Fireballs exploded around the wurm as it screeched into the air. The roc cried in joy instantly as Lind sailed through the air.
A pair of hands snatched on his robes to stop him from crashing into rocks and Lind looked in surprise at Cyntilla's angry face. She yanked him forward and they both sprinted as the sands were billowed into the air all around behind them as two beasts battled each other. Lind would have liked to look for a bit, but he had no desire to become lunch.
The pair ran for hours until they had to take a break. There were no convenient collections of rocks this time, but Lind scanned for any wurms to be safe. Rocs were not abundant but he kept an eye on the sky as they recuperated.
Lind barely had settled before he was yanked to his feet by Cyntilla.
"What was that?!" Lind was shocked she spoke more than one word but he was unclear on why she was angry. They had traveled together, but aside from his own actions to assist her in their first encounter, nothing else had happened between them.
"I saw the wurm and simply thought it would be the roc's preferred meal. Even though it was only at the peak of the Soul Realm, a mythic bloodline is nothing to scoff at. If nothing else, we had to distract the roc to escape." Lind knew he risked his life but they were already under threat from the Roc. He did not want to die, but waiting to die was not his style either. Lind looked at her until the world suddenly tilted.
She had used her full strength and cultivation to send Lind tumbling to the ground. He was able to stabilize his body with Qi, but his face throbbed in pain as he slowly stood up. The rage in her face was fully bloomed now. Those virulent green eyes could slay a thousand warriors if given power.
"You assumed I was useless! You acted without including me. I am not some delicate flower in need of protection, fool!" Lind stared in awe. She wanted to be included in his gamble? She wanted to risk her life on his desperate idea? Was she right in the head?
"I did not see the need for both of us to risk and only I can see the wurms underground. I did not plan to die but we are low on supplies. Even with water generated from my Qi, we only have a few days left at most before we need to turn around and get out of here." Lind was calm but he still was irritated at her irrational response. Of course he did not include her, he had no idea she would even trust him!
Her anger slowly dissipated, but frustration was apparent before Lind suddenly thought of something.
"Acid. You could have used your acid to rouse the wurm from the sands as it cracked a stone. I am sorry, I was in too much of a hurry to think of that." Lind had only recently got a good grasp of her elements and the wurms. They reacted to sounds of living things and a cracked stone would have easily aroused the wurm from its hiding place.
Silence descended on them but Cyntilla merely looked at him in confusion now. Lind thought hard and bowed to her.
"I rushed a plan and risked my life when we could have worked together. I will work on that, sorry." He turned away from her as he assumed a lotus position to recover his Qi. She said no words but suddenly she sat against his back and did the same. What was going through her head?
After they ate and recovered, they moved on. They had to be close to the center soon. The break in the wall between them though made Lind very curious.
"If I might ask, is there something you are looking for in this assessment? I might be able to help." He offered out of hope to build a bridge but he saw suspicion in her eyes and decided to offer up himself first. "I am a 6 elemental as you have seen. Remote as it is, I am hoping to find something to help me temper my elements as right now it is very difficult to keep them 1 tier ahead of my cultivation base."
Lind had been walking a few steps before he realized Cyntilla had stopped in her tracks behind him. She was staring at him now but he could not identify the emotion. She then produced an artifact that seemed to put light pressure on Lind but did not feel threatening.
"Mid tier 4 cultivation base and high tier 5 elemental tempering. Six elements at immortal level." Lind felt surprised at the last part. What did that mean about being at immortal level? He also noticed his harmony was not included but that was not too surprising. The Gu Clan was the first place he had truly learned of it.
"Why is that important to you?" Lind wanted to know what his cultivation had to do with his previous offer. He was surprised to see her smile suddenly. It lit up her whole face and for the first time in his life his heart skipped a beat.
"I seemed to have jumped to a conclusion about you. I apologize for that." Her words flowed so easily now, but Lind was still trying to wrap his mind around that smile. Even so, her next words focused him on her. "You gave me high grade 2 alchemical healing supplies. Do you have access to grade 4?"
Lind scrutinized her with his Eyes but saw nothing wrong with her. His long experience with his mother also confirmed she seemed quite healthy. His confusion was clear on his face but Cyntilla offered no further explanation.
"My mother is an alchemist, almost at peak grade 2. No one where I am from is even remotely grade 3 let alone 4." The disappointment was clear on her face but Lind did not stop. "What are the symptoms? I have studied extensively at my mother's side so I can at least confirm what you need."
Disappointment was clear on her face but she proceeded anyway.
"My mother suddenly became short of breath one day and then her strength was sapped away. Grade 3 pills seemed to help restore her vitality for a time, but she can not take a full breath anymore and it is merely getting worse." The once fierce eyes now looked lost. Lind did not like it but he continued to listen. The description sounded familiar. "When she tries to cultivate, she is unable to keep going for long as her breath bubbles just when she is about to make progress. She has stagnated at Sand Tier for the last 4 years!"
The frustration was familiar to Lind but the disease sounded damn similar to pneumonia yet, this was not a child in mid Body Refining Realm, but a World Realm cultivator. How could they come down with a disease like that? Lind then remembered his own mother's lessons that all things can be affected by Qi, even a disease. It was damned rare, but it could happen.
If that was true, then Lind had a solution. He took out a small notebook and flipped through the pages. He found the broth he had made long ago. While grade 2 would not have much effect, Lind could find the corresponding herbs and he had some with him.
Lind took out his herbs and then looked through them. In short order, he sorted it out. It was 4 herbs once again but he needed a cauldron or something equivalent. He saw Cyntilla staring at him before he smiled and finally found a far off collection of stones.
"Give me a moment." He used earth to mold the stones and then filled it with water. The ingredients were peak Soul Realm, but alchemy was about achieving synergy. In other words, even though the components were considered a certain realm, bringing them together could bump them up even if the alchemist was not in the same realm. His mother could become a grade 3 alchemist, for instance, while still in the Soul Realm.
The water quickly reached a boil before Lind added white root, then bark of thunder tree, followed by one of the forked crimson leaf had gathered on his trip to the capitol. He let the three melt and mix as he boiled it. Lind let his instincts take over as he had learned over the years it got the best result. The final ingredient was a little painful as it was a gift from his mother. It was a gift of spark of lightning. A much more powerful version of the original ingredient that cured Teyla.
His harmony suddenly seemed to spur his dantain forward and Lind felt his strength drain from him before the liquid cleared to a brilliant azure. This had never happened before. Something important had slipped through his fingers at the final moment, but it worked as it always had.
Cyntilla now stared openly at Lind as he put the liquid into a jade vial and handed it to her. He was able to bottle 4 more and gave them all to her.
"I had a friend once that suffered something similar and equivalent of this cleared it up. It will be rough for how long she has suffered, but it should address the issue." Lind saw her use the artifact again before frowning then shock flashed.
"You're an elixir master?!" Lind was about to ask what that was when he suddenly felt weak and collapsed. The last thing he knew was a pair of arms caught him and wetness struck his cheek. Darkness then claimed him as if he had exhausted himself beyond anything he had done before.