In the blink of an eye, another thirteen hundred-odd Universal Epochs passed.
Beside the Constant Guard Headquarters stood Lin Yi's private floating island.
The Constant Source Tower hung high above it, its blue-gray surface covered in inscriptions that slowly flowed like living things.
The invisible Clear Void radiated from the stone tower, enveloping the entire floating island.
No cultivator dared approach.
The floating island was so quiet that it seemed to have been forgotten by the world.
Outside the island, however, the Constant Guard Headquarters never ceased its operations.
As a rule, a Path Source Realm Dao Lord always remained stationed at headquarters.
That rule had been established the day Lin Yi entered seclusion.
Over twenty-three hundred Universal Epochs had passed. The situation on the Black Mist Sea front had risen and fallen repeatedly, countless Dao Lords had been reassigned, and countless defensive lines had been redeployed. Yet no matter what happened, a Dao Lord always remained here.
Everyone knew why.
Because Lin Yi was here.
The hope of the entire Chaos Cosmic Sea rested here.
So no matter how desperate the front became, no matter how badly a defensive sector lacked manpower, no one dared withdraw this Dao Lord from headquarters.
Moreover, a small squad conducted routine patrols not far from the floating island.
It consisted of one Constant Lord leading ten Eternal Source Realm cultivators.
They flew slowly along the island's perimeter, circling again and again as though orbiting a silent volcano.
The Constant Lord leading them was named Yao Xing.
He was not tall or broad, and was even somewhat lean. His armor bore a star-patterned emblem on either side.
The ten Eternal Source Realm cultivators behind him all possessed steady, formidable auras, clearly marking them as powerful members of their realm.
Today's patrol was no different