The spray of salt water and quick wind was bracing as Lind sat on the deck of the small boat. It was a skimmer for coastal work but it was a powerful one from the guild. Nadia was currently leading the crew to the Ruin entrance.
He had taken the deal as anything that might lead to cultivation techniques for his 6 elemental dantian was worth looking into. The entrance to this Ruin was a little complicated.
It had been discovered by accident close to 10,000 years ago. A massive storm had closed down the harbor for weeks until the sky suddenly cleared and a shaft of profound Qi slammed into the waters not far from the coastline.
The guild had sent divers looking but nothing was found for years.
Eventually, some young Soul Realms found it fishing of all things as their boat was pulled inside. Of the 5 that went in, only 1 returned. He had entered a young man of twenty but came out a century later only a little over 30 when he came back. His realm had also increased massively to the peak of Iron Tier.
According to him, there were dangerous beasts that seemed to become stronger the less elements a cultivator had. Further, there were restrictions stopping those with less elements at the edges. The man had 4 elements so he had made it the farthest and returned rather than be greedy.
A 5 elemental had successfully returned but they were crippled as they had tried to cross a boundary near the center of the Ruin. This Ruin was clearly still more intact from an Inheritance than what Lind encountered at the Lotus Academy.
Even the anti-element Ruin Spirit puzzle had been only a trial left behind in the wreckage of something more profound around it. Lind wondered if he would ever get a chance at an Inheritance but that was only possible if he broke through to the World Realm and made it to Indelia or resumed being backed by the Heavenly Maiden Sect.
A wave made the boat rock but Lind was loving every minute of the ride. His mother had once taken him to Canada and they had ridden the ferry back to Maine. It had been a choppy ride due to a storm moving in, but while most got sick, LInd had been laughing as the ferry rocked like a boat in a bathtub.
A few of the crew were impressed by his resilience but Lind also allowed his water and wind elements to fortify his body. It made the trip even more stable for him.
As they got close, Lind finally saw a complicated formation setup on a floating platform. Hearing it described was one thing, but seeing what was about to happen to him was something else. It was essentially the equivalence of a torpedo. He was going to be shot into the Ruin!
They had tried other methods over the millenia, but the more time taken to enter, the more the time difference affected a cultivator. After several horrible deaths, it was figured out that the quicker, the better. Thus this launching method was used as a whirlpool was generated in the middle of the open platform.
To return, Lind would either crush a talisman Nadia had given him, or he could pass a trial in the Ruin. It seemed once a trial was passed, it would immediately eject the cultivator back out into the world. The talisman was a life saving last resort, but clearing a trial was the best way.
Given all Lind had been told, he desperately wanted to try for the inner area none had been able to enter. Such a clear division based on elements in a dantian had to mean something!
The platform was manned by several powerful low Gold Tier World Realms. Their power was not solely to guard the entrance to the Ruin but to power the platform itself. Qi was flowing almost in a storm to Lind's Eyes but it was flowing into the massive arrays as if they were bottomless pits.
Nadia waved at them and was pointing at Lind. All the eyes swiveled to him before an oppressive feeling washed over him. Lind let them sweep over him but frankly he was more curious about the setup of the platform as they arrived.
This entire city had a mix of the cultivation world he had come to know and signs of Earth reincarnators leaving ideas behind he recognized. The platform in front of him was a mix of the 2. Offsea drilling platforms had been in plenty of movies but Lind saw the bulky structures surrounding the whirlpool that seemed to mimic those same platforms.
The formations, however, were much more in line with the rest of the world as reinforcement arrays and what looked like some grounding arrays for storms as well. They were pretty much like any powerful building for a sect or kingdom as he was used to.
A ladder was created by a flow of Qi to connect to their boat and hold them steady as anchors took hold as well. Lind followed Nadia up the ladder as they reached the top of the structure that now looked down into the whirlpool.
Now that he was above it, he could see several things. The flow of the water was being maintained by peak Gold Tier formations that were being refreshed by the very guards on this facility. Lind noted that many of the crew were swapping places with a third of the people, clearly having a shift change.
Lind used his Eyes to pierce the whirlpool and instantly had to stop as the Ruin's distortion bubble was far more profound than expected. He had been curious about the time distortion created as well as the idea of more elements affecting the difficulty, but what he saw was simply something on par with Younger Twin, himself.
It was an Immortal Ruin then. Lind had learned far more about Ruins and their relationship to Inheritances at the Heavenly Maiden Sect. It was much similar to the Lotus Empire except that there could be Heaven Inheritances and Immortal Inheritances. Lind also suspected there were Divine Inheritances, but doubted they could ever reach this mortal realm from their lofty height.
The Ruins by the Lotus Empire were a mix of both Heaven and Immortal Ruins but the other key difference was Heaven Ruins tended to simply become empty husks rather quickly compared to Immortal Ruins. It may take centuries but no more than a 1000 years before they become dead.
Immortal Ruins, on the other hand, were more like the handful he had experienced in his 2 years at the Lotus Academy. The 6 primordials had identified themselves as Immortals and the anti-element puzzle was far beyond anything even the Heavenly Maidens had heard of so it was also likely Immortal.
This undersea Ruin's distortion field was far more profound than either of those but the time aspect was what likely gave Lind pain. That was a rule or law being used and Lind was nowhere near ready to perceive such powerful aspects of cultivation yet.
"Another sacrifice for the guild?" Lind's hearing was a bit better than most thought for a Soul Realm. Qing had taught him some tricks with air that could go unnoticed due to how little Qi it required. Nadia glared at the guard who spoke but did not deny the words. Lind frowned but knew she did not want to discuss what he was here for.
"Get 2 launchers ready." Nadia's orders surprised the men and women in front of them, save the crew that came with them. Nadia was going with Lind despite only having 4 elements herself. She had a fairly good combination of fire, light, air, and water. She was likely able to use all 4 of them to their maximum potential while living the life of a coastal Sub-guild leader.
Two dark dark tubes that looked very much like torpedoes to Lind, were manipulated from a storage building onto slotted parts on the inner ring of the platforms. Lind suddenly began to second guess his desire to enter this Ruin, but it was too late to change his mind. Of all the people present, he was the only Soul Realm.
Sighing internally, something he was growing very tired of, Lind followed Nadia towards the 2 tubes. The top half of each slid back and once more Lind saw incongruity because the layout inside was like a cockpit. There were arrays embedded that seemed similar to the jade slip LInd had used back at the guild.
Sure enough, displays popped up and the readouts were laid out in a way Lind had seen in several shows and movies George had dragged him to over the years. The urge to ask who made these arrays was almost impossible to hold back, but Lind did not want to reveal he found these things familiar.
"Everything is green. How long will you be inside Lady Nadia?" Lind noticed the address given to Nadia and saw a stern look pass over her face that made the guard pale. Still, time was tight if they wanted to be inside for the full month.
"Get in, Lind Frey. It will feel odd to drop in but we have done this successfully many times for thousands of years." Lind nodded and hopped in as he strapped himself into the chair inside. A glance of surprise passed over a few of the guards but no one commented on it.
"This array ejects the hatch, but do not press it until you feel the distortion pass over you. It is important to wait for all sensation to pass before opening the hatch, or you may die." Lind really wanted to start asking why anyone thought this was a good idea but his gains from previous Ruins answered that question. He nodded and the lid closed over him and sealed.
As soon as it was closed, a new screen appeared that displayed the outside, but Lind could see the World Stones powering this display were limited at low grade. It had to be the minimum power requirement for Qi while not wasting wealth excessively.
Praying to the spirits of Heaven and Earth, any God that would listen, and even the 2 women who guided him in his rebirth, Lind awaited his launch.
"This has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever done." Lind mumbled as a loud metal thunk was his only warning as gravity took over. He could only watch as the whirlpool closed in and the expected shock of impact did not come. As if guided by some invisible shoot, the tube entered into the flow of the whirlpool smoothly.
"Of course! That is why they have the whirlpool!" Lind now understood. The tube would pick up speed and sink at the same time until it was at an ideal speed to shoot into the Ruin. Lind was smiling at the enjoyable ride until he also figured out what the previous advice meant.
Before he could curse, the tube's speed increased massively and the distortion could now be seen as suddenly everything felt very wrong. Lind's mind felt pain as he was trying to breathe and see but something was very wrong with his body.
Lind almost panicked, but out of instinct he began to cultivate. He only wanted to use his cultivation aura to try and stabilize himself, but something entirely different happened instead. The exterior image flared emerald that matched his harmony and profound Qi permeated the tube he was in.
Lind was desperately trying to keep a lid on his foundation but he was barely able to do so, yet his elements seemed to suddenly finally move! Lind did not fight that part at all as he felt his cores reach the peak of tier 8 in only a few breaths!
The unexpected benefit was already worth it all, but the phenomenon was not over. The feeling of wrongness changed and Lind felt a pressure on his mind. It was similar to how Younger Twin tried to impart elixir master basics to him so long ago but far more powerful.
'Do not fight, young 6 elemental. You meet the criteria.' A gentle voice caught him off guard but Lind was suddenly shaken around inside the tube and his control slipped on his mind to maintain his Touch on his body.
Information flooded his mind that made pain spike as Lind could no longer hold on and passed out.
****
Nadia emerged from her tube that was impacted into a crater in the vast forest inside the Ruin. She looked around for Lind Frey but did not see his tube. This was not unexpected as the dilation could distort the landing of each tube no matter how closely they entered together.
She pulled out an artifact and infused her air Qi into it. An arrow popped up but it began to move as a screaming sound filled the air. Nadia looked up and was stunned to see the other tube still flying but it was not falling! It was heading right for the center of the Ruin!
"Blasted luck! Don't go dying on me, Lind Frey!" She called out to the Ruin as the tube howled away from her and passed through the barrier she could not cross. WIth a frustrated face, she crushed her talisman and vanished from the Ruin instantly. They had to be ready if and/or when Lind Frey returned.