Shrouding the Heavens: The Years I Was the Empress's Strictest Master

Tan Lin stood where he was and pondered for a long time. In the darkness, a faint thread of insight seemed to flash through his mind.

But that sudden spark of inspiration was far too elusive. He failed to grasp it and could only set it aside for the time being.

Then he turned his gaze to the other piece of Divine Source.

Within the Divine Source on the right was another woman of peerless beauty, breathtakingly gorgeous.

She too had purple hair, but her brows and eyes carried a fiery, domineering aggression. Her attire was also different: she wore a valiant suit of golden battle armor that perfectly outlined her proud, exquisite figure.

The inviolable aura of majesty around her was far weaker than Ancient Emperor's Daughter Tian Ling's, yet beneath her goddess-like nobility was an added edge of sharpness.

If Tian Ling was an empress seated high above the clouds, looking down upon all living beings, then she was a valkyrie sent by Heaven to inspect the world.

"Could she be... the Divine Silkworm Princess?"

After studying her, Tan Lin quickly arrived at a guess.

There were very few Divine Silkworms left in existence. Of those who matched these features, aside from the Divine Silkworm Princess he had read about in his "previous life"—a woman vivid on the page, who dared to love and hate—he could scarcely think of anyone else.

But if it really was her, why had she chosen to be sealed here?

And what was her relationship with Tian Ling?

What intersection had the two had at the end of the Primordial Era?

Could it be that the Causal Lines between Tian Ling and him... or rather, between her and a considerable portion of the outside world, had been concealed by Divine Silkworm Ridge through some method?

"Wasn't she the Fighting Saint King's fiancée? At the end of the Primordial Era, Kun Zhou threw a war spear that nailed her to death before a divine temple..."

As his thoughts turned, Tan Lin's remnant soul frowned again.

"Over the million years since my fall, just how much has the original course of events shifted?"

Two pieces of Divine Source, two peerless divine women.

One closely resembled the beauty he had lost, while the other was suspected to be the Divine Silkworm Princess.

His tiny Primordial Spirit floated silently before the Dragon Marrow Pool, staring at the two pieces of Divine Source as he fell into a long silence.

He had originally returned to this secret land merely to bury the starting capital for his rapid rise in his next life. Instead, he had unexpectedly uncovered a secret involving at least two great Primordial Emperor Clans.

"Should I break open the Divine Source containing the Divine Silkworm Princess? I'd know what happened with one question... No, it's empty... Her Immortal Platform is empty too..."

An Invisible War of Attrition with Xiaoyao Heavenly Venerable (3K)

Whoosh...

After confirming that there was no danger within the World Within World, Tan Lin's remnant soul personally entered the karst cave under the dual states of [Inverted All-Causes Vision] and [All Causes Barrier].

Having his Primordial Spirit investigate on his behalf was ultimately not as direct as the union of soul and spirit.

Soon, deep within the karst cave, beside the Dragon Marrow Pool.

The two massive pieces of Divine Source submerged in the Dragon Marrow reflected Tan Lin's illusory yet solemn face.

The appearance of Tian Ling's and the Divine Silkworm Princess's bodies, along with this secret land that had clearly become a hidden ancestral nest of Divine Silkworm Ridge...

The many clouds of doubt seemed to weave together into an airtight net that shrouded Tan Lin's heart.

The unknown and contradictory information left him utterly perplexed.

"The Causal Line Anchor Point points here, yet it is so vague and chaotic..."

Tan Lin's remnant soul slowly paced along the poolside, his thoughts racing like lightning.

This phenomenon undoubtedly matched the fact that Tian Ling's and the Divine Silkworm Princess's Primordial Spirits had vanished without a trace.

But logically speaking, compared to the connection between body and Primordial Spirit, the Anchor Point's exact location should have pointed to the Primordial Spirit rather than the shell.

"Perhaps that Causal Line with Tian Ling was never truly severed in the first place... It was merely hidden because of some change? And now that I've found this place, it has reappeared?"

"Heavenly secrets have been obscured, indirectly muddling the Causal Lines as well. It seems the vision granted by this All-Cause Vision still has its limits. It isn't absolute. Or perhaps, in my current state as a remnant soul, I cannot expand its range to the fullest..."

After a long while, the contemplation in Tan Lin's eyes abruptly faded.

He knew full well that he did not currently have the means to uncover too many secrets.

For now, his most urgent priority was still to accumulate two, or even three, complete Deep Crimson Light Points. Then he could head to the Central Plains, retrieve the largest fragment of his true soul, and begin his next life.

As for the secret here, at the very least, he could now conclude that the two people within the Divine Source had likely not truly died.

Their Primordial Spirits might have endured until this day by some means.

Everyone had their own fate. Knowing that Tian Ling was most likely alive was already enough.

As for anything more, once he returned to his peak in his next life—or even went further, made the ultimate leap, and merged with the Heart of Heaven—he would naturally be able to trace Tian Ling's Primordial Spirit.

"Strength... In the end, the prerequisite for everything is strength..."

After staying for who knew how long without discovering any further clues in the World Within World, Tan Lin simply turned and left the karst cave.

He had not forgotten why he had come here in the first place.

Everything was in preparation for a stronger next life.

He might seem capable of entering and leaving even a restricted zone like Undying Mountain after activating the Soul Pearl's dual state, but each trip inflicted an enormous drain on the "fireflies" within the Deep Crimson Light Point. It had also caught those Supreme Beings off guard.

The next time he entered, it definitely would not be as easy as the first. In the end, he might lose far more than just a body and a Primordial Spirit.

To forge iron, one needed to be strong oneself. Living like a sewer rat, sneaking about in the shadows, was no long-term solution.

Rumble...

Tan Lin's remnant soul flew out of the karst cave. The passage that had formed behind the stone wall vanished with it, while the two main Causal Lines connected to the Soul Pearl barrier grew increasingly blurred and dim.

He carefully committed every detail to memory before employing Source Arts to connect with the terrain here and arriving at a Dragon Vein Node in the secret land's pocket world outside.

Mystic Yellow Qi drifted through the node. Though it was not the purest Mother Qi of All Things, the terrain had formed naturally, creating a natural spirit-nourishing grand formation. It was ideal for nurturing spiritual objects and preserving the undying divinity within rare treasures.

Buzz...

However, before he could take out the harvest from Undying Mountain stored within a small jade jar, he discovered that a few fireflies had begun to form once more within the second Deep Crimson Light Point, which had already been drained into an empty shell.

Looking at the first Deep Crimson Light Point currently in use, the fireflies within it—namely, Causal Points—had already filled it to the brim.

Tan Lin's expression shifted slightly. He paused what he was doing, and under the broad vision granted by [Inverted All-Causes Vision], he quickly found the Causal Line that was generating and transmitting vast quantities of fireflies.

It was a thick, bright line utterly unlike all the pale crimson ones, its color lying between pale crimson and deep crimson.

Every vibration brought him an enormous gain of fireflies.

"So it really is that little girl..."

Tan Lin lowered his eyes, vaguely understanding what had happened.

When he had left the Drill Tower, he had casually left behind a strand of subjective will within the Quasi-Emperor Array Diagram and the small world. That earlier human-like handling had unexpectedly benefited him.

"The Soul-Killing Array outside the tower is still active, so it isn't convenient to connect and sense it directly with my thoughts. I'll investigate the details after I return..."

With his Soul Pearl fuel becoming somewhat more abundant again, Tan Lin's mood visibly improved, sweeping away the faint gloom brought about by the unresolved doubts here.

He did not delay any further and began handling the rare treasures stored within the small jar's inner space.

First were the withered branch seed of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree and the mutated rare specimen of Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass.

He meticulously used a small amount of Divine Source Liquid, also obtained from Undying Mountain, to seal them away before placing them within the Dragon Vein Node.

The Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree found it extremely difficult to survive after leaving an environment as special as Undying Mountain.

But this was only a seed that had yet to grow after nirvana. Once sealed in Divine Source, there was no need to worry too much.

As for how to cultivate it to life afterward?

He would have plenty of time and energy to try in his next life.

If constructing a small world resembling Undying Mountain's special law-filled environment with great divine abilities failed, then he could find an opportunity to cut several mountain peaks from Undying Mountain and plant the tree there...

There were always more solutions than difficulties, but the prerequisite was getting the Undying Medicine Seed into his hands first. Only then could he try.

In truth, it was also his good fortune. He had originally only intended to pluck a branch or leaf when entering Undying Mountain, but who would have thought he would encounter a divine medicine seed? That gave him a chance to bring it out of the restricted zone.

Otherwise, if it had been an already-grown Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, he truly would not have been able to take it away.

"There will always be a way to cultivate it..."

Tan Lin's thoughts shifted.

Undying Mountain had formed during a massive upheaval before the Primordial Era. Later, because of its unique environment, Supreme Beings gradually took up residence there in the Early Desolate Era, elevating it into a restricted zone.

Yet the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree had existed long before Undying Mountain was formed.

If it truly could not survive outside Undying Mountain, then how had the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree survived until then?

Nothing was absolute. Of the fifty aspects of the Great Dao, Heaven derived forty-nine, leaving one to escape.

Splash!

Under Tan Lin's spell, the Divine Source Liquid rapidly solidified after enveloping the withered branch seed and the mutated Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass.

For a moment, divine radiance blazed within the Dragon Vein Node.

However, there was not much Divine Source Liquid. After sealing these two items, it had been completely used up.

The remaining items, such as two top-grade medicine kings, more than ten medicine kings of various sizes, a fist-sized chunk of Dragon-Patterned Black Gold, many ten-thousand-year spiritual medicines, and several pieces of Sub-Divine Gold, could only be left within the Dragon Vein Node like this.

Still, spiritual energy filled this ancient clan's secret land. The medicine kings and spiritual medicines could take root there and grow normally.

At the end, Tan Lin used supreme Source Arts to inscribe Divine Marks, thoroughly concealing the auras of these rare treasures and merging them with the Dragon Vein, where they would await his next life.

However.

Not long after everything was completed, an unexpected change occurred outside, forcing him to remain in the secret land's pocket world for some time longer.

The reason was that, through [All-Cause Vision], he discovered that Xiaoyao Heavenly Venerable's Dao Body had emerged from the restricted zone once more. This time, after descending upon the Northern Region, it had turned toward the Central Region.

Thus, he was forced to lie low within the Heavenly Mystic Ancient Clan Secret Land, keeping watch over Xiaoyao Dao Body's every move.

Under [All-Cause Vision], he sometimes saw the Dao Body represented by that Anchor Point travel to the Central Plains, Southern Ridge, Northern Plains...

The other party had almost traversed the entirety of the Big Dipper. During that time, he frequently traveled back and forth to the Southern Region Drill Grounds, and eventually even made a round trip beyond the domain.

Of course, this kind of Dao Body could not compare with the Undying Heavenly Emperor's Faith Body. Since the true body was in a self-severed and self-sealed state, after manifesting, it could not remain active outside for very long at a time.

During that period, the Dao Body often vanished into thin air, only to emerge again from the Sea of Reincarnation.

Tan Lin alternated between [All-Cause Vision] and [Inverted All-Causes Vision], closely monitoring it while remaining ready at any moment to gather his causality and obscure heavenly secrets.

He suspected that the other party was conducting a carpet search for his location. Perhaps it was merely a search based on luck, or perhaps it was testing some conjecture of its own.

Did it want to know whether he could truly keep track of its movements?

Yet if this continued, Tan Lin would be unable to endure much longer.

Xiaoyao Heavenly Venerable was merely sending out a Dao Body—perhaps even just an incarnation formed from a wisp of divine thought—to wander outside and probe him. The cost was extremely low, while Tan Lin was continuously consuming the fireflies within the Deep Crimson Light Points.

Once the fireflies were exhausted, if an emergency arose, he would not even be able to reincarnate.

Even if nothing unexpected happened, rebuilding the supply would take an extremely long time, needlessly inviting further complications.

"Is this going to go on forever?"

On this day, as Xiaoyao Dao Body's frequency of flying through the heavens and surveying the land sharply increased, Tan Lin's Soul Pearl fuel began to fall short of its expenditures.

The rate at which fireflies formed was far below the rate at which they were consumed.

Several months later, even though he drove the Soul Pearl at its lowest power and conserved as much as possible.

Usually, he would switch to [Inverted All-Causes Vision] only when Xiaoyao Dao Body approached this secret land or the Southern Region Drill Grounds.

Yet the meager fireflies within the second Deep Crimson Light Point were inevitably exhausted, forcing him to use the first Deep Crimson Light Point once more.

Fortunately, compared to Tan Lin, who could keep track of the other party at all times, Xiaoyao Dao Body had wandered like a headless fly throughout the Big Dipper and beyond for a year before abruptly ceasing this behavior.

One day, a year later.

A gray-robed Daoist holding a jade bottle stood in the air above the Southern Region Drill Grounds. He paused high in the sky and stared beyond the nine heavens for a long time before finally sighing.

For the first time, that sigh carried a trace of helplessness. He felt as though his efforts had struck cotton.

"I hope you truly have the courage to go to the Central Plains..."

He shook his head. Clearly, he was the one pursuing the former Human Emperor, yet an inexplicable, stifling frustration rose within his heart.