After some discussion, everyone reached an agreement.
They set a limit of sixty years. If they still could not find the nine-tentacle divine conch, those who could enter the River of Rules in their physical bodies would try leaving first. If they succeeded, they would continue searching for it in the Star Ruins.
Then they would return to break open the node.
Still, Chen Lin remained somewhat worried. Leaving through the River of Rules involved too much uncertainty. It would be better to look for other ways out, such as those dimensional mirages or the methods held by the Major Factions.
Unfortunately.
Chen Lin contacted every Star Ruins faction he could reach, but none was willing to help. Even the Seven Passions Sect gave evasive answers. They could help in other matters, but not this one.
Chen Lin understood why.
They were simply wary of the Four Seasons Villa and the Lake-Fishing Old Man.
After all, Langdang Mountain had only stepped in to guarantee his safety for a thousand years and had made no further intervention. That showed his ties with Langdang Mountain were not particularly deep.
A thousand years was a very short time.
Every faction was watching and waiting.
The Seven Passions Sect was no different. For now, they were merely using his status to position a few pawns in the Seven-Star Realm. Once the thousand years were up, they would assess the situation before deciding whether to turn against the Four Seasons Villa and seize this realm.
Any faction capable of becoming a local overlord laid its plans on multiple fronts. They would never stake everything on him alone.
So Chen Lin stopped pinning his hopes on these factions.
He left White Moonlight and the others to guard the node, while he entered the Boundary River.
He