Lind had been on the right track but he had been fumbling in the dark. He needed an uninterrupted moment of blending the elements to feel it. He needed to see how fire and light came together to make lightning, how darkness and earth came together to create gravity, and so forth. The instant backlash never came but the artifact was limited. It could only allow Lind to go so fast and up to 3 elements, but it was enough.
Lind summoned the harmonic crystal once again but this time it was as if the piece missing clicked into place. The reason he had such difficulty with his elements was not simply having all 6, but the harmony at his center with all his cores acting at once.
The artifact went dark as Qi was no longer fed to it as Lind fell into himself. His dantian was his whole world. The emerald flame held an elemental spark at its center and Lind finally felt it. The crystal was a mirror reflecting it all for him as he saw the 6 strands flow into the spark.
This time Lind was pushing beyond simple understanding. He was comprehending the relationship between all 6 elements and his harmony. Most techniques only focused on blending the concerned elements as most cultivators only had those few. When they had an opposing or supportive element, they compensated with a supplement to the technique to regulate or repel the extra elements.
Lind could not do that.
A 6 elemental cultivator could not ignore any element or regulate the supportive elements alone as they had them all. The reason there was a backlash was due to the other elements being forced to conform to a shape or pattern they could not accept. Lind had been looking towards replicating the natural world as it was and he was correct!
He could feel it, but he was not entirely right either. Qing's discussions had revealed a more profound understanding of the elements as they relate to the world, but LInd was not at the World Realm yet. He needed to focus on the Soul Realm.
The elements were part of everything but he had seen a Ruin that revealed more. There were 3 kinds of elements, 18 cores in total. Lind had spoken with a Ruin Spirit in depth but only gleaned a surface level of the relationship between them. Now, that knowledge bloomed in his mind.
****
The battle had barely begun before Lind seemed to freeze. Qing watched serenely at first while Lind seemed to have been inspired by the new gift from Cyntilla. She grew concerned at the message behind it. Cyntilla had been clear she would address the coming issue with Crown Prince Ryu, yet she somehow got Lind a very precious and rare artifact. The style of this artifact was right up Lind's mindset with his love of puzzles. It was a powerful breakthrough for 5 elementals to learn control of more powerful techniques.
It had limited help for 6 elementals thus far, but Qing hoped Lind's abnormal ideas might finally break the shackles that held back 6 elementals. It was the final riddle no one could break. The higher ups in the Heavenly Maiden Sect were very interested in Lind now that he had become a grade 3 elixir master. Even at low grade 3 as he was, those elixirs could affect up to tier 2 Sky Realms.
This was no longer simply Shoti being kind, the Floating Isles were willing to invest into Lind despite him being a 6 elemental.
The harmonic crystal began to flare bright orange light suddenly after a while and Qing felt a strange pressure in the courtyard. Her pale eyes narrowed at the pressure coming off the harmonic crystal but it did not seem to be spiraling out of control.
"Resonance. By the spirits, it is the resonance of Dao!" He was in the Soul Realm. The spirits blessed Soul Realm! He was facing heart demons that normally only plagued Iron Tier cultivators and now the resonance of Dao. "How can your previous life have nothing to do with cultivation, Lind?"
Qing was in shock. Lind had described his old life and it sounded fantastical as well as impossible. A world without Qi was impossible for her to grasp, never mind it was known to Immortals as the Barren Realm. How could life even exist there?
Lind was showing characteristics that normally would only show up in the later realms. This was no longer a coincidence of his reincarnation. Only a truly powerful cultivator could create multiple miracles like she witnessed.
The pressure continued to build, but Qing only kept the wards stable so no one could disturb Lind at this time.
****
A storm. Lind was in a storm of Qi and his body. The elements were colliding and reacting. Lind saw forces that made up his body conflicting and corroborating all at once. Lind's science knowledge now came into play as he comprehended the cores in his dantian.
His superficial ideas were so tiny now. The heat of the body was more than metaphorical fire. It was what kept the flesh pliable and the blood easily flowing throughout the body. The heart blazed with life as it was carried to every finger tip to toe. His crimson core blazed like a sun to keep all of it comfortable and safe from freezing stone cold dead.
Water was the medium that made up every cell and organ of his body. The water cleaned out everything when he drank it and was a part of every single moment when he moved. Air was a catalyst that helped the body process its functions and broke down toxins to be expunged at the same time. It was pulled from outside his body to his lungs and spread throughout his body as well.
The earth was a combination of things but even the simplest vegetable to the beasts that were claimed from surviving on it as sustenance to the very gravity that allowed Lind's body to keep its shape and move around at his command.
Lind saw the duality of light and dark in his soul that made up his existence. No one could be just one or the other. For anyone to be a real person, they could not be dominated by just one side of their soul or their humanity would be lost. Lind could see 2 dark spheres in the darkness. There were scraps from the 3rd and one of the remaining ones was cracked, but for now Lind let them be.
He felt something. He felt like he was at the first step of something important as his consciousness finally arrived in front of a giant emerald flame. The 6 elements were easy to grasp, but this harmony was important. Lind could feel it.
The pressure was building and it was not a simple confluence of his elements coming together. This harmony represented something critical to himself. His cultivation only pulled it out so he could see it.
Lind reached out and put his ethereal hand into the flames. His mind was bombarded with images and memories. He tried to slow it down but nothing he did stopped it. Lind was afraid. He was afraid to be lost in his own mind, but the fear slowly fell away.
This was a part of him. This emerald flame was not an invader but a part of his path in life. Lind tried to enter, but some force kept him out. He was not ready. He was not ready for that step so kept his hands only inside.
The feeling flowed over him and the 2 heart demons began to wail as their power was greatly reduced. They were not gone, but Lind had accepted this aspect of himself even if he could not fully comprehend it.
His dantian fell away as Lind felt his foundation become more profound than ever before. Where once it was simply an altar upon which his dantain had seemed to sit metaphorically, it now seemed to manifest inside the emerald flame. His soul body was now inside as he unified his path of cultivation.
The world burst into bright light at that moment as he broke through.
****
Qing blocked her eyes as the harmonic crystal shattered into dust. The burst of orange flame was not like a true fire but closer to the quality Lind employed on his staff. Qing was unsure how she knew that, but a feeling of awe was in her as Lind suddenly exuded impurities far more than any time before.
The foul stench quickly filled the courtyard as his dark green eyes opened and she saw a profound maturity for a moment in his eyes before he nearly fell back. He had broken through to high tier 6 but his elements had reached peak tier 7 at the same time! How had he done that?!
"Lind?" Qing summoned some cleaning materials from her bracelet and began to clean his face at least as he smiled up at her. It was serene but the shadow of his heart demons remained. Even so, she was impressed. It was the first time he had broken through how most of the rest of the world did in the Soul Realm. What had he comprehended?
"It was so simple but so hard, Qing. I was almost right, but not quite. I think–" Lind stopped mid sentence as he passed out. Thanks to being an Innate Cultivator, Lind did not need to stabilize at this point, but it would be wise to cultivate when he awoke. She carefully picked him up and took him back to bathe him.
She suppressed her embarrassment as she undressed him and cleaned him. His body was very pale despite being outdoors so much for training as she had helped him temper it, thus it was as if it was brand new. The current situation had pushed that result even farther.
His body was not heavily muscled but it was very refined and wiry. Lind would never be a physical power house, but he would be agile and very difficult to catch. Qing blushed at the direction of her thoughts and quickly asserted control of her emotions. She was caring for a patient as she had many times before.
The fact she was so gentle as she looked at him was not noticed by her.
****
The northern boundary of the Lotus Empire was a massive forest. It was not unusual for the lower powers to leave active wilds open per the wishes of Darkmoor inside their borders. It allowed for an environment to encourage the strong to survive against the vicious world.
A group of 5 emerged from the forest covered in the stench of blood. Some wounds were cared for by bandages, but no other issue was noted. They all seemed invigorated as they had finally reached their goal.
Crown Prince Ryu had thoroughly enjoyed the trek from Darkmoor Fortress to the Lotus Empire. What would take years normally, had been only a couple of months for them as they had discovered a Ruin with an ancient teleportation array.
Their benefits had been great but he was still only at the peak of the Soul Realm. The necessary comprehension had not come to Ryu yet, but his other companions had advanced. They were all full of energy as they looked to the south and the as yet unseen Lotus Empire capital was beyond the horizon.
"Let's go and finish my business quickly." Ryu smiled wide as they took off into the open plains in front of them. Many beasts could smell the blood of World Realms on these 5 and avoided them actively while the smarter beasts quickly hid their packs from the monsters in the shape of men.
Lind's time was up.