Shrouding the Heavens: The Years as the Empress's Strictest Master

"Heaven, our clan migrated here from the Ancestral Star over ten thousand years ago. Why has Heaven unleashed its killing intent today?!"

"..."

Tan Lin continued to wield his immense power, voraciously devouring vital essence. He remained indifferent to the wailing Demon Race creatures along his path.

After the Archaic Era ended, the major Demon Race tribes inhabited much of the Eastern Wasteland's Central Region, while humans were scarce.

That was also one reason he had chosen to reconstruct his body in the Central Region this time. There was no need for too many reservations.

Scrounging in Undying Mountain

Whoosh!

Crafting the Great Saint shell took Tan Lin three breaths.

In those mere three breaths, he had nearly drained most of the Eastern Wasteland's Central Region into an Earth-like Age of Dharma's Decline.

However, that was only temporary.

How vast was the Big Dipper?

It far surpassed the vast majority of life-bearing lands in this universe.

How could a mere Great Saint body truly drain it dry?

The laws of Heaven and Earth had not changed. The Eastern Wasteland's Central Region was still suitable for cultivation in this era, and its vital essence was slowly recovering. Still, conservatively speaking, it would take several days to return to its previous level.

Throughout the entire process,

Tan Lin manipulated everything while moving at high speed. At the same time, in the [Inverted All-Causes Vision] state, he closely monitored the movements of the Anchor Points at the ends of those several Causal Lines.

The body completely took shape.

With a thought, he promptly severed the unseen connection between himself and the Dao marks, then moved the incomplete Primordial Spirit carried within the Soul Pearl's barrier into the Immortal Platform in the head.

Boom...

The Primordial Spirit and body became one.

The pressure of a Great Saint erupted over a hundred thousand li away from that dark city in the northern Central Region. Yet even so, not the slightest trace of its aura leaked from the [All Causes Barrier].

Even Tan Lin found this scene somewhat unexpected.

However, he was already in the dual crimson state, so he was not overly surprised. It could only be said that the transformed Soul Pearl's wonders far surpassed those of his previous three lives.

Hiss... hiss...

At that moment, the sound of capillaries bursting across the surface of his skin rang out.

Tan Lin silently glanced at the bodily shell, whose surface had already begun to crack after the Primordial Spirit had inhabited it for just one breath.

He quietly shook his head.

Without an origin, nor the foundation of the bloodline essence that had undergone multiple transformations in his past life, a body created from nothing simply could not bear even his severely incomplete Primordial Spirit.

"It'll do for now..."

He had long expected this. Then, with the Soul Pearl's power, he separated his remnant true soul from the Primordial Spirit, remotely controlling the Primordial Spirit, which in turn controlled the body. Taking a single step, he shrank the earth into an inch and arrived outside the Undying Mountain forbidden zone.

Crimson-gray mist enveloped his remnant soul and cracked body. With one dive, he silently entered Undying Mountain.

During this time, he inspected the barrier of the All-Causes Soul Pearl. Seeing no extra changes aside from several Causal Line branches belonging to Undying Daoist, he finally understood the situation completely.

Ultimately, in his current state as a remnant soul after disintegrating his weapon, he simply could not truly probe the upper limit of the Soul Pearl's transformed wonders.

But today, he had learned that if the Soul Pearl maintained this maximum-output state at all times, then at least in terms of concealing aura, gathering causality, and blocking heavenly secrets, no one below a Red Dust Immortal—or even an Immortal King giant—could possibly see through it!

"Still, the consumption of Deep Crimson Light Points in this state is truly far too fast..."

Tan Lin said silently.

In just this short while, he had already used up half of the tiny "fireflies" accumulated over several months within the second Deep Crimson Light Point!

"I need to move faster..."

Within Undying Mountain, all was silent.

Standing here, it felt as though even time had sunk into viscous darkness, while intangible oppression rushed straight at him.

Those below the Immortal Platform realm, without treasures to protect themselves, would have their bodies and souls contaminated merely by taking a stroll around the outer entrance. Even if they were lucky enough to return, they would fall gravely ill; if they did not die, they would lose a layer of skin.

Amid the deathly silence, crimson-gray mist shrouded everything.

Tan Lin remotely controlled that body, which could only barely be maintained, silently moving through a patch of black haze so dense it could not disperse.

He moved extremely fast and soon gradually entered the inner region.

Along the way, he observed his surroundings.

During the Archaic Era, Undying Mountain had not existed among the great forbidden zones. It had risen only in the Early Desolate Era, hundreds of thousands of years ago.

As for how it had been established, and whose handiwork it was, that remained a mystery to the countless living beings outside.

"No. The farther away it gets, the thinner the crimson-gray mist becomes. I can't let this body stray too far from the Soul Pearl itself..."

During his experiment, Tan Lin discovered another limit of the All-Causes Soul Pearl in its current activated state.

His remnant soul had not truly entered Undying Mountain. He was merely having that incomplete Primordial Spirit control the bodily shell to undertake this risky venture.

Yet in the dual crimson state, even with over ten thousand li between them, a layer of crimson radiance still enveloped it from afar, preventing even the slightest aura from leaking out.

However, that was the Soul Pearl's current limit—or rather, his limit.

Any farther, and he would inevitably be exposed beneath the eyes of the Supremes within the forbidden zone.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Tan Lin's remnant soul also entered the forbidden zone, while the Primordial Spirit and body continued deeper.

At this moment, he was like matter that did not exist in this world, perfectly blending into this land where Supremes slumbered.

Before the eyes of his remnant soul and Primordial Spirit stood ancient palaces that had fallen from the heavens an unknown number of tens of thousands of years ago.

Broken giant mountains lay everywhere like the skeletons of mythical beasts. Even without approaching them, one could feel that heart-palpitating ancientness and deathly stillness.

As he went deeper, the indescribable oppression permeating the air grew increasingly intense.

In the darkness, it seemed as though countless eyes were watching him amid the silence. But Tan Lin knew this was merely a reverse sensation caused by the local law field. Even if something truly existed there, it could not possibly observe him.

Not to mention that his remnant soul itself was still only wandering around the outer area. Even if the Primordial Spirit and body were destroyed this time, so long as his true soul remained, he could simply spend more time and effort condensing another one.

After all, neither the Primordial Spirit nor the body retained their original forms from his past life.

The Primordial Spirit was incomplete, while the body was frail and would soon collapse. He did not feel the slightest regret over either.

Only this remnant soul carrying the All-Causes Soul Pearl was most important!

It was precisely thanks to the All-Causes Soul Pearl that his true soul and Primordial Spirit could be separated at any time, while his memories were also stored within the Soul Pearl. That was what made him special.

Crack... crack...

At last, the body reached the edge of Undying Mountain's core. The imperial field unconsciously emanating from the slumbering Supremes there was enough to instantly pulverize any existence below Saint realm.

The ground here was covered in pitch-black soil. Stepping on it would produce a metallic clang.

Naturally, Tan Lin was not foolish enough to let the body conduct such an idiotic experiment.

The body did not continue farther inward.

Here, one could casually spot strange vegetation glimmering with faint light. These were bizarre spirit medicines mutated by absorbing the deathly energy here, and they contained intense poison.

Yet for certain creatures, they could also be an immense tonic.

Tan Lin's objective for this operation was very clear. First, he would choose a nearby forbidden zone and gather some heavenly treasures for the growth of his next life. Second, when leaving the forbidden zone at the end, he would make some commotion to draw the attention of Undying Daoist and the others.

He knew full well the nature of these "Supremes" who had lived for endless ages. To them, all living beings were no more than bait.

The billions of living beings in Drill Tower and the cultivators who entered from outside could be slaughtered without them even blinking.

He did not claim to possess the same breadth of vision as the Lunar and Solar Holy Emperors. But since he had been embraced by all living beings in his past life, crowned with the title of Human Emperor, and inherited that causality, then within his abilities, he would also do some things.

Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree

Hiss... hiss...

The Great Saint bodily shell cracked even faster at the edge of Undying Mountain's core region.

Tan Lin's remnant soul remained as placid as an ancient well, without the slightest ripple.

The [All Causes Barrier] merely constructed a crimson screen that cut off perception. When a cultivator's divine sense swept over it, the feedback would be as though they were treading flat ground. That did not mean there was truly nothing there.

The erosion of the local law field was clearly acting upon the Great Saint shell. It was simply that the disturbance it caused had been isolated within the crimson-gray mist and could not travel outward.

Even something as miraculous as the [Inverted All-Causes Vision] merely gathered Causal Lines and concealed the memories concerning him within specific targets.

In reality, traces of his arrangements still existed. For example, the "Yin-Yang Mill Scripture" divine power within his young disciple Li Qingjue. That required Cloud Leopard to act on his behalf and erase it.

Whoosh...

Over the few breaths in which his thoughts rose and fell, the shell had already been walking a tightrope between the core and inner regions for some time.

When it reached a dried-up black lake, the divine sense of the Primordial Spirit within the Immortal Platform of the body's head, under Tan Lin's remote control, cautiously spread through the swirling crimson mist.

Naturally, he avoided the sleeping grounds in the core region that constantly emitted dangerous fluctuations. He searched only for "ownerless" objects scattered throughout the forbidden zone's inner region.

After all, he had no interest in the heavenly treasures in Undying Mountain's outer regions, while those in the core were beyond his reach. He could only set his sights on the middle area.

Very quickly, beneath the sweep of his divine sense, he found something.

At the bottom of this lake stood a rare treasure entirely black in color, yet bearing eighty-one leaves. It sparkled with star-like points of light in this land of darkness.

After examining it, Tan Lin immediately recognized its origin.

It was a variant born from the rebirth and transformation of Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass after reaching the limit of its medicinal age. It was exceedingly rare and could reverse innate deficiencies, soothe the soul, and strengthen one's foundation.

If paired with other treasures and refined into pills, it could also guard against the danger of Dao dissolution after failing an attempt at a cultivation technique or a breakthrough into a major realm.

He had once fortuitously obtained one such rare treasure in his past life. That was how he had successfully cultivated both the Lunar and Solar paths.

Unfortunately, his method had ultimately been a shortcut. He had not cultivated the Lunar and Solar paths to their extremes, truly balancing yin and yang to transform into chaos.

Rustle... rustle...

At this moment, the rare variant of Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass swayed quietly at the lake bottom, waiting for him to harvest it.

He did not hesitate. Controlling the body to withstand the surrounding field fluctuations, he arrived at the lake bottom. He first wrapped the treasure in crimson-gray mist within the barrier, then reached out and harvested it.

Buzz...

The instant the rare treasure was uprooted, the terrifying laws of the surrounding field trembled slightly.

Fortunately, Tan Lin had kept [Inverted All-Causes Vision] active the entire time and knew that he had not disturbed those slumbering existences.

Still, he swiftly changed locations. In a crack along another broken cliff, he found a new target.

It was a fist-sized piece of Dragon-Patterned Black Gold.

Natural dragon patterns lay within the divine gold, which exhaled wisps of chaotic energy and shone with a dim metallic luster, carrying an inherent weight of history.

"It is a little small, but it'll still be useful..."

Tan Lin controlled the body to pick up the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold, which was half-buried within the mountain, then moved on to the next place.

Over the next dozen or so breaths, he repeated the process. He first used the Soul Pearl's power to have crimson-gray mist envelop the target, then made his move.

In total, he obtained two supreme medicine kings, five great medicine kings, more than ten lesser medicine kings, and several pieces of Sub-Divine Gold.

In the end, he traversed most of the accessible areas in the inner region, yet failed to find the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, his greatest objective in coming here.

He had thought that even if he could not take away the entire tree, breaking off some branches and leaves would still prove useful during the growth of his next life. Yet unexpectedly, he had no such fortune this time.

One had to know that every Immortal Medicine was formed from the remains of a fallen Immortal King giant. The stronger ones became trees, while the slightly weaker ones became flowers, grass, and so on...

Though the gap between an Immortal Divine Medicine and an Immortal Medicine was not small, that was because they grew in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, where immortal laws no longer existed. So long as one brought them into the Immortal Domain, after a transformation and fusion with the shattered immortal laws, their medicinal effects would increase accordingly.

During the Archaic Era, the Immortal Divine Medicines had all been divided among the Ancient Emperors of the archaic clans.

Though Tan Lin had been revered as the Human Emperor in his past life, he ultimately failed to complete that final leap, merge with Heaven's Heart, and truly become an Ancient Emperor who looked down upon the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.