Shrouding the Heavens: The Years of Being the Female Emperor's Strictest Master

Upon arriving, Tan Lin recognized the other's identity with a single glance.

It was the Undying Heavenly Empress!

Watching the alluring silhouette reflected in the water, a trace of doubt flashed through Tan Lin's deep eyes.

Inverted All-Causes Vision had not yet been deactivated. Through the multiple branch anchors extending from the karmic thread of the Undying Heavenly Emperor, he was not surprised to find her within Ancient Emperor Mountain.

But this was not supposed to be the time for her emergence. Why had she already come out of the Divine Source?

"Was she disturbed by the commotion at Undying Mountain earlier, or was there some other reason..."

At this moment, even Tan Lin's eternally unchanging state of mind rippled ever so slightly.

Perhaps the Undying Heavenly Empress had long been restless, periodically unsealing herself as early as the Ancient Era, and had already shown signs of forming ties with the Underworld during this period?

Or perhaps she was plotting something else...

Thoughts raced through his mind. With the limited clues he currently possessed, Tan Lin could not guess the specific reason for her unsealing herself.

In the depths of his mind, he had in fact already grasped a faint clue, but certain limitations from his "past life" still kept his thoughts trapped within that framework.

The wings of his butterfly had begun to flap as early as the Primordial Era. Their impact upon later generations undoubtedly existed.

For instance, the Human Emperor Hall in the Central Plains, the training ground in the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland... all these things would inevitably alter certain predetermined threads.

He could not guarantee that, over the nearly million years since his fall, the course of all matters in this world had still followed the story recorded in the memories of the Soul Pearl.

Moreover, the lineage of the Undying Heavenly Emperor had already indirectly crossed paths with him during the Primordial Era.

"That's right. Shrouding the Heavens from my past life was merely a novel, while the world I inhabit is real. Changes have already occurred; anything is possible... This habitual way of thinking won't do. How could I make the same mistake twice..."

For no apparent reason, Tan Lin thought of his death in his past life.

Just as when he had ventured deep into Undying Mountain, he had not expected the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree to have undergone nirvana, nearly causing him to miss it.

Splash...

Within the divine spring, the Undying Heavenly Empress had not noticed anyone watching her. Her slender jade-like hands gently scooped up a handful of spring water, letting it slide through her fingers with a pleasant tinkling sound.

Her wet, long hair cascaded down her back. Her side profile appeared and vanished amid the rippling light of the spring pool: a high nose bridge, moist and alluring red lips, long lashes...

It was not merely her facial features. Every part of her was exquisite, like Heaven's most perfect creation, meticulously sculpted and enough to make an ordinary person fall for her at a single glance.

Yet Tan Lin had no mind to admire such a sight.

As his thoughts turned, he gradually came to an understanding and swiftly composed himself.

Since she was no longer within the Divine Source, he knew this was not a place to linger.

Though the Undying Heavenly Empress was not a Supreme Being, her cultivation was still at the Quasi-Emperor realm. It was even possible that she had already entered the ninth level of the Quasi-Emperor realm during this era.

She was closely connected to the Undying Heavenly Emperor, while the Undying Daoist remained active in the Big Dipper. If he stayed here too long, trouble would surely arise.

Chirp...

Just as he was about to quietly withdraw, Tan Lin faintly heard the cry of an immortal phoenix and turned back once more.

At the bend where the pool water flowed upstream, vast life essence drifted about. Immortal light bathed the area, while chaotic aura circulated through it.

"Undying Divine Phoenix Medicine? What a pity. It seems I have no fate with it this time..."

Tan Lin shook his head and sighed.

Still, he knew he was being somewhat greedy.

He had already obtained the withered branch seed of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree in Undying Mountain, yet he still wanted to lay hands on the Undying Divine Phoenix Medicine.

Undying divine medicines had extremely demanding requirements for where they grew, and they possessed consciousness of their own. They judged people accordingly. If he had encountered anything other than a divine medicine seed on the outskirts of Undying Mountain, then in his state at the time, he could never have taken it away. At most, he could have plucked off a section of branch or a few leaves.

The Undying Divine Phoenix Medicine was the same.

There was a bubbling divine spring here, and the environment of laws was suitable. Even if the Undying Heavenly Empress were absent, the divine medicine would not leave with him. Even if he managed to take it away by luck, his current remnant soul would not be able to sustain it.

"Forget it. I only came to take away some divine liquid anyway."

Tan Lin no longer lingered. He fully activated the Soul Pearl, and his remnant-soul body drifted like green smoke along the path he had come, escaping Ancient Emperor Mountain and heading toward the secret land of the Heavenly Mystic Ancient Clan.

Yet at the spot he had left behind, a strand of his divine sense abruptly manifested after he had gone far away.

"Who is it?!"

In an instant, the Undying Heavenly Empress in the Immortal Pool paused slightly, her beautiful brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

She immediately sensed an unfamiliar aura suddenly appearing not far behind her.

Whoosh...

She abruptly turned around, her narrow phoenix eyes sweeping toward it.

It was a breathtaking face, beautiful enough to suffocate anyone. No words in this world could adequately describe her.

Her phoenix eyes shimmered with light, endlessly alluring and profound, as though they could reflect all things in the world. No wonder Ning Fei, the foremost divine general, was willing to be her lapdog even though she was already married.

However.

At this moment, as a man's figure reflected in her beautiful eyes, a cold and awe-inspiring killing intent erupted within them.

Yet even with murderous fury in her gaze, she still possessed a uniquely cold and captivating charm.

"Who are you? How dare you spy on me!"

The Undying Heavenly Empress's voice was incomparably cold, yet it could not conceal its naturally melodious quality, like immortal pearls falling upon a jade plate.

Splash!

At the same time, divine radiance bloomed around her, concealing everything.

She did not attack immediately.

With her cultivation, she naturally saw through the limits of the figure by the spring pool. It was merely an incarnation of divine sense; the true body might already have left.

Before erasing this strand of divine sense, she was more curious about the other's intentions in coming here.

He had done nothing. Could it be that he had come merely to watch her bathe?

But how had he known that she had loosened her seal and emerged from the Divine Source?

Uncertain thoughts surged wildly through her sea of consciousness. The Undying Heavenly Empress stared at Tan Lin, yet the longer she looked, the more familiar he seemed.

Her heart jolted in alarm.

Had she seen this person before?

Was he also someone from before the Ancient Era?

Or had some existence from a restricted zone emerged?

The earlier disturbance at Undying Mountain...

In the span of a single instant, the Undying Heavenly Empress thought of countless possibilities.

"Hehe, who I am is unimportant. I did not infiltrate this place because of you, either. Once the true owner arrives later, he will understand on his own."

Tan Lin's divine-sense phantom chuckled.

"I never expected to stumble upon such a spring scene of Madam bathing. And I certainly never expected that after so many years, Madam—who should have been a withered flower and fallen willow by now—would still possess such captivating beauty. Please give Brother Heavenly Emperor my praise. He truly is a fortunate man..."

Before the Undying Heavenly Empress could attack in furious rage, the divine-sense phantom exploded and vanished.

Yet as it dispersed, he glanced toward a certain corner of Ancient Emperor Mountain.

In the pool, the Undying Heavenly Empress followed his gaze. Her exquisite face immediately turned uncertain.

There lay an utterly inconspicuous stone.

Yet within the stone was the imperial offspring of her companion, the Undying Heavenly Emperor. It was still far from the time of hatching and remained only a phoenix egg.

Naturally, the imperial offspring within that egg had not been born to the Undying Heavenly Emperor and her.

If she had not emerged from the Divine Source this time, she might not have cared whether the Heavenly Emperor's Son within the egg lived or died.

"Did he come for the Heavenly Emperor's offspring? Yet he neither tried to seize nor destroy it. What exactly is he plotting?"

Splash...

At this moment, the Undying Heavenly Empress had already draped herself in a rainbow robe and stepped gracefully out of the water. Her jade feet touched the ground as she stood beside the Immortal Pool.

Her narrow phoenix eyes looked toward the direction in which Tan Lin had vanished, her gaze complicated.

There was killing intent, confusion, and a trace of inexpressible anger.

Was her body something he could simply look at?!

A withered flower and fallen willow...

"You had better not fall into my hands in the future..."

By the pool, the Undying Heavenly Empress murmured softly, her dark brows tightly knit.

"Why does he feel so familiar? Could it be... that person?"

Rumble...

After roughly two or three breaths, all the heaven-suppressing patterns within Ancient Emperor Mountain revived and began to roar.

Space twisted, and the Undying Daoist's figure entered directly.

He swept his gaze across the secret realm, then looked toward his true body's companion and asked in a somewhat inscrutable tone, "You came out of the Divine Source before he arrived?"

Hearing this, the Undying Heavenly Empress nodded openly in admission.

"The disturbance at Undying Mountain earlier was quite significant, and it partially woke me. I had also slept in the Divine Source for many years and grown restless from the stillness, so I wished to come out for a while."

After saying this, she stretched her snow-white lotus arms behind her and gathered up her wet, long hair. The movement fully displayed her proud and graceful figure before she asked, "Who exactly was that person?"

The Undying Daoist's gaze rested upon her for a moment, but he did not answer her question.

Once her voice fell, he walked toward the Heavenly Emperor's Son.

One could only say that women truly were born masters of lying. Once a lie left their lips, not even their emotions fluctuated. Half-truths and half-lies were the hardest to distinguish.

A Duel Between Arch-Enemies

At the same spot, seeing that the Undying Daoist remained silent, the Undying Heavenly Empress casually pulled a pair of icy silk gauze stockings over her slender jade feet, then slipped them into a pair of emerald spring-flower embroidered shoes.

Tap... tap...

"That person clearly has an old grudge with you, yet after infiltrating Ancient Emperor Mountain this time, he did nothing. His concealment and stealth techniques are exceptional. Had he not taken the initiative to manifest a strand of divine sense, I would never have noticed that he had been here..."

Her shoes touched the ground as she also arrived before the Heavenly Emperor's Son's stone egg, then softly continued, "He said you would understand once you arrived, and he glanced at this stone... What did he mean?"

Her beauty was peerless. A hint of serenity mingled with her holy aura. Beneath her noble and dignified bearing, she was seductive yet pure, like moon-white light capable of cleansing one's soul with a single glance.

Yet people often could not be judged by appearance. Perhaps someone of such unmatched beauty possessed schemes and calculations beyond imagination.

She no longer asked about that person's identity. She merely gave a general account of Tan Lin's strange actions, concealing his final frivolous remarks while outwardly appearing considerate as she helped ease his concerns.

A fragrant breeze lingered around him. The Undying Daoist paused before the stone egg, clasped his hands behind his back, and pondered.

"It was a warning, and also a kind of tacit understanding..."

Tacit understanding?

At those words, the Undying Heavenly Empress slightly raised her eyelids without revealing any emotion.

"He was able to infiltrate Undying Mountain and steal treasure, then enter this place as well. Doing so time and again already explains some things..."

The Undying Daoist clicked his tongue and said indifferently, "He could have destroyed this stone egg, yet he did not act. He does possess something of the bearing and magnanimity of a Human Emperor... In that case, it would not be appropriate for this Daoist to casually raze that Drill Tower in the Southern Region to the ground."

Drill Tower?!

Upon hearing this, the Undying Heavenly Empress immediately understood the key point. She asked in disbelief, "He is that Human Emperor from the Primordial Era? He is actually still alive?"

It was not surprising that she found it inconceivable. That scene back then had simply been too tragic.