Scavenging in the Undying Mountain / The Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree

"Heaven! Our race migrated here from our Ancestral Star over ten thousand years ago. Why has heaven unleashed its killing intent today?!"

"..."

Tan Lin continued to draw in vital essence with his great power, remaining indifferent to the wailing Demon Race creatures along the way.

After the Archaic Era ended, the major Demon Race tribes inhabited much of the Central Region of the Eastern Wasteland, while the Human Race was scarce.

And that was one reason he had chosen the Central Region to reconstruct his body this time. He did not need to have too many reservations.

Extorting Undying Mountain

Whoosh!

It took Tan Lin three breaths to forge the shell of a Great Saint body.

And in those brief three breaths, he had nearly drained most of the Central Region of the Eastern Wasteland 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 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 Central Region of the Eastern Wasteland remained suitable for cultivation in this era, and vital essence was slowly recovering. Still, by conservative estimates, it would take several days before it returned to its previous level.

Throughout the entire process.

Tan Lin had completed his control while moving at high speed, all the while closely monitoring the movements of the Anchor Points at the ends of those few Causal Lines under the state of [Inverted All-Causes Vision].

The body was completely formed.

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 Barrier into the Immortal Platform within the head.

Boom...

The primordial spirit and body became one.

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

Even Tan Lin was somewhat surprised by this.

However, he was already in a dual crimson state, so he was not overly astonished. It could only be said that the transformed Soul Pearl was far more miraculous than it had been in 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 physical shell, whose primordial spirit had only taken residence for one breath, yet cracks had already begun spreading across it.

He shook his head inwardly.

Without Origin, and without the foundation of the bloodline essence that had undergone countless transformations in his previous life, a body formed from nothing simply could not bear even his severely incomplete primordial spirit.

"It will have to do..."

He had long anticipated this. Then, borrowing the Soul Pearl's power, he separated his true residual soul from the primordial spirit, controlling the latter from afar. The primordial spirit then controlled the body, taking a step with Shrinking Earth to Inches and arriving outside the Undying Mountain Restricted Area.

Crimson-gray mist shrouded his residual soul and cracked body. With a dive, he silently entered Undying Mountain.

Along the way, he examined the barrier of the All-Causes Soul Pearl. Seeing that no additional changes had appeared apart from several Causal Branch Lines belonging to the Undying Daoist, he finally understood the situation completely.

In the end, given the state of his residual soul after this disintegration, he simply could not truly explore the upper limit of the Soul Pearl's transformed abilities.

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

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

Tan Lin said silently.

In just this short while, he had already used up half 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, and an invisible oppression came crashing toward him.

Those below the Immortal Platform realm, if they lacked treasures to protect themselves, would have their bodies and souls contaminated just from walking around the entrance to the outer perimeter. Even if they were fortunate enough to return, they would fall gravely ill. If they did not die, they would at least lose a layer of skin.

Amid the dead silence, crimson-gray mist spread.

Tan Lin controlled from afar the body that could only barely be maintained, silently moving through a patch of black fog so dense it could not be dispersed.

He moved extremely quickly and soon gradually entered the inner perimeter.

As he traveled, he observed his surroundings.

During the Archaic Era, Undying Mountain had not existed among the major Restricted Areas. It had risen here only in the Early Desolate Era, several hundred thousand years ago.

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

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

Through this test, Tan Lin gained another understanding of the limits of the All-Causes Soul Pearl in its current state.

His residual soul had not truly entered Undying Mountain. He was merely using that incomplete primordial spirit to command the physical shell in this risky undertaking.

Yet in the dual crimson state, even with more than ten thousand li separating them, a layer of crimson radiance still shrouded it from afar, preventing even the slightest aura from leaking out.

However, that was the current limit of the Soul Pearl—or rather, his own limit.

Any farther, and he would inevitably be exposed before the eyes of the Supreme Beings within the Restricted Area.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Tan Lin's residual soul also entered the Restricted Area, while the primordial spirit and body continued deeper inside.

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

What his residual soul and primordial spirit saw were ancient palaces that had crashed down from the sky an unknown number of tens of thousands of years ago.

Broken colossal mountains stood like the skeletons of mythical beasts. Without even approaching them, one could sense the heart-palpitating antiquity and deathly silence they exuded.

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

In the darkness, it seemed as though countless eyes were staring at him amid the silence. But Tan Lin knew that was merely a reversed perception produced by the laws and field of this place. Even if something truly existed, it could not possibly see him.

Not to mention that his residual soul itself was only wandering the outer perimeter. Even if the primordial spirit and body were destroyed this time, as long as his true soul remained, he could simply spend some more time and effort gathering another one.

After all, neither the primordial spirit nor the body retained their original forms from his previous life.

The primordial spirit was incomplete, and the body was so frail that it would soon collapse. He did not feel the slightest heartache over them.

Only this residual soul carrying the All-Causes Soul Pearl was truly important!

And 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 carried within the Soul Pearl. That was what made him special.

Crack... Crack...

Finally, the body reached the edge of Undying Mountain's Core Region. The unconsciously radiating Imperial Dao field of the sleeping Supreme Beings there was enough to instantly crush any existence below the Saint realm into dust.

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 make the body conduct such a low-intelligence experiment.

The body did not continue deeper.

Here, one could casually spot strange vegetation glimmering with faint light. They were bizarre spiritual herbs mutated after absorbing the deathly aura of this place, containing potent toxins.

Yet to certain creatures, they might also be great nourishment.

Tan Lin's purpose on this expedition was very clear. First, he would choose a nearby Restricted Area and gather some heavenly materials and earthly treasures for the growth of his next life. Second, when he finally left the Restricted Area, he would make some noise and draw the attention of the Undying Daoist and the others.

He understood very well the nature of those "Supreme Beings" who had lived for endless ages. In their eyes, all living beings were nothing more than bait.

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

He knew he could not compare to the Lunar and Solar Holy Emperors in terms of grand vision. But since he had been revered by all beings in his previous life, bestowed with the title of Human Emperor, and inherited that causality, then so long as it was within his means, he would do certain things.

Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree

Hiss... Hiss...

The Great Saint body's rate of cracking increased a little further at the edge of Undying Mountain's Core Region.

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

The [All Causes Barrier] merely formed a crimson screen that cut off perception. When a cultivator's divine sense swept over it, the feedback would suggest level ground. That did not mean there was truly nothing there.

The erosion of this place's laws and field was plainly acting upon the Great Saint shell. It was merely that the disturbance it caused had been isolated within the crimson-gray mist and could not spread outward.

Even something as miraculous as [Inverted All-Causes Vision] merely gathered Causal Lines, concealing memories of him within specific targets.

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

Whoosh...

Over the few breaths during which his thoughts fluctuated, the shell had already walked a tightrope between the Core Region and the inner perimeter for some time.

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

Naturally, he avoided the sleeping grounds in the Core Region that constantly emitted dangerous fluctuations, searching only for "ownerless" objects scattered throughout the inner perimeter of the Restricted Area.

After all, he had no interest in the items on Undying Mountain's outskirts, while he could not reach those in the core. He could only set his sights on the middle ground.

Very quickly, his sweeping divine sense found something.

At the bottom of this lake stood a rare treasure, entirely black and yet bearing eighty-one leaves. It flickered with starlike points of light in this land of darkness.

After examining it, Tan Lin immediately recognized its origins.

It was a variant of the Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass, reborn through transformation after reaching the limit of its medicinal age. It was exceptionally rare, capable of reversing innate deficiencies, soothing the soul, and strengthening the foundation.

If paired with certain other treasures and refined into a pill, it could also prevent the danger of Dao Dissolution after failure in cultivating a technique or breaking through a major realm.

He had encountered one such treasure by chance in his previous life. That was how he had successfully cultivated both Lunar and Solar arts.

Unfortunately, his method had ultimately been opportunistic. He had not cultivated the Lunar and Solar arts to their extremes, thereby truly achieving the mutual aid of yin and yang and transforming into chaos.

Rustle... Rustle...

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

He did not hesitate either. Controlling the body to withstand the surrounding field fluctuations, he descended to the lakebed. He first wrapped the rare treasure within the barrier using crimson-gray mist, then reached out to harvest 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 sleeping existences.

Still, he quickly changed locations and discovered a new target within a crack in another broken cliff.

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

Natural dragon patterns lay within the Divine Metal, which exhaled wisps of Chaos Qi and gleamed with a dark metallic luster. It carried an innate sense of historical weight.

"It is a little small, but it will do..."

Tan Lin controlled the body to pick up the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold half-buried in the mountain, then moved on to the next location.

And so, over the next dozen breaths, he repeated the process. He first used the Soul Pearl's power to shroud his target in crimson-gray mist, then made his move.

In total, he obtained two Supreme Medicine Kings, five Grand Medicine Kings, more than ten Little Medicine Kings, and several pieces of Sub-Divine Gold.

At last, he traversed most of the inner perimeter that he could enter, yet failed to find the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, his greatest objective on this journey.

He had originally thought that even if he could not take away the entire tree, breaking off some branches and leaves would still be useful for his growth in the next life. Yet he had not expected to have no fate with it this time.

One had to know that every Immortal Medicine was formed from the death of an Immortal King giant. The stronger ones became trees, while the somewhat weaker ones became flowers, grasses, and so on...

Although there was a considerable gap between Immortal Divine Medicine and Immortal Medicine, that was because they grew in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, where immortal Dao laws no longer existed. So long as they were brought into the Immortal Domain and underwent a transformation, merging with the shattered immortal Dao 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 Ancient Race.

Though Tan Lin had been honored as the Human Emperor in his previous life, he had ultimately failed to complete the Ultimate Leap, achieve Heavenly Heart Unification, and truly become an Ancient Emperor who looked down upon the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.