A War of Attrition with the Carefree Heavenly Venerable

On the spot, Tan Lin pondered for a long time. In the dark, it seemed as though a faint clue had flashed through his mind.

But that fleeting spark of insight was far too vague and elusive. He failed to grasp it and could only set it aside for now.

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

Within the Divine Source on the right was another woman of peerless beauty, stunning enough to shake the soul.

She too had purple hair, but her brows and eyes carried a fiery, aggressive dominance. Her attire was different as well. Clad in a valiant suit of golden battle armor, her proud and graceful figure was displayed to perfection.

The inviolable majesty around her was far weaker than Ancient Emperor's Daughter Tian Ling's, yet beyond the nobility of a divine maiden, she possessed an added sharpness.

If Tian Ling was an empress seated high above the clouds, overlooking all living beings, then she was a valkyrie patrolling the world on heaven's behalf.

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

After studying her, Tan Lin quickly reached a guess.

There were only a handful of Divine Silkworms left in the world. Among those matching such features, aside from the Divine Silkworm Princess he had seen vividly depicted in novels in his "previous life," a woman who dared to love and hate, he could think of no one else.

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

And what was her relationship with Tian Ling?

What connection had the two formed at the end of the Primordial Era?

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

"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 churned, Tan Lin's remnant soul frowned again.

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

Two pieces of Divine Source, two peerless divine maidens.

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

The miniature primordial spirit floated silently before the Dragon Marrow Pool, staring at the two pieces of Divine Source as it sank into a long silence.

He had returned to this secret land merely to bury the startup capital for his rapid rise in his next lifetime. Yet he had unexpectedly uncovered a secret involving at least two major Primordial Emperor Clans.

"Should I break open the Divine Source containing the Divine Silkworm Princess? I could find out what happened just by asking her... No, it's empty... Her Immortal Platform is empty too..."

The Formless War of Attrition with Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao

Whoosh...

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

Having the primordial spirit investigate in his place was ultimately not as direct as soul and spirit becoming one.

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

Two enormous pieces of Divine Source submerged in Dragon Marrow reflected Tan Lin's illusory, solemn face.

The appearance of Tian Ling 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 countless mysteries seemed to weave together into an airtight net that shrouded Tan Lin's heart.

The unknown and contradictory information left him unable to make sense of it no matter how he pondered.

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

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

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

Yet logically speaking, compared to their bodies, the anchor's specific location should have pointed toward their primordial spirits rather than their shells.

"Perhaps the Causal Line connecting me to Tian Ling was never truly severed in the first place... It was merely hidden by some change? Now that I have found this place, it has reappeared?"

"Heavenly secrets have been obscured, which indirectly muddled the Causal Lines as well. It seems the vision granted by All-Cause Vision still has its limits. It is not absolute. Or perhaps, in my current state as a remnant soul, I cannot expand its vision to the fullest extent..."

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

He knew full well that his current self did not possess the means to investigate too many secrets.

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

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

Their primordial spirits might have endured until now through some method.

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

As for anything more, once he returned to his peak in the next lifetime—or went even further, made the Ultimate Leap, and achieved Heavenly Heart Unification—he would naturally be able to grasp the whereabouts of Tian Ling's primordial spirit.

"Strength... In the end, the premise for everything is still strength..."

After lingering for an unknown length of time without finding any further clues in the World Within World, Tan Lin simply turned and left the cave.

He had not forgotten why he had originally come here.

Everything was in preparation for a stronger next lifetime.

He might seem capable of entering and leaving even a Restricted Area like Undying Mountain after activating the Soul Pearl's dual state, but each trip inflicted enormous losses upon the "Fireflies" within the Deep Crimson Light Point. Moreover, he had only caught those Supreme Beings off guard.

The next time he entered, it absolutely would not be as easy as the first. In the end, he might lose more than just a body and primordial spirit.

One had to be strong oneself to forge iron. Living like a sewer rat and sneaking around was not a long-term solution.

Rumble...

Tan Lin's remnant soul flew out of the cave. The passage generated behind the stone wall vanished with it, while the two main Causal Lines connected to the Soul Pearl Barrier became increasingly blurred and dim.

He carefully committed every detail to memory, then used Source Arts to connect with the terrain here and arrived at a Dragon Vein Node in the secret land's miniature world outside.

Mystic Yellow Qi swirled within the node. Though it was not the purest Mother Qi of All Things, the terrain had naturally formed into a spiritual nurturing array, making it ideal for nourishing spiritual objects and preserving the undying divinity within rare treasures.

Buzz...

However, before he could take out the harvest from Undying Mountain from a small jade jar, he discovered that a few Fireflies had begun to grow once more within the second Deep Crimson Light Point, which had originally been exhausted into an empty shell!

Looking at the first Deep Crimson Light Point currently in use, the Fireflies within it—namely, Causal Points—had already overflowed.

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

It was a thick, bright line entirely different from all the pale crimson lines, its color lying between pale crimson and deep crimson.

Every pulse brought him enormous gains in 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 recent act of humanlike handling had unexpectedly benefited him.

"The Soul-Killing Array outside the tower is still active, so it isn't convenient to directly connect through thought and sense it. I should wait until I return before investigating the details..."

His Soul Pearl fuel reserves had become somewhat more plentiful again, and Tan Lin's mood visibly improved, sweeping away the faint gloom brought by the unresolved mysteries here.

Without further delay, he began handling the rare treasures stored within the small jar's space.

First were the dried branch seed of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree and the rare Variant Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass.

With utmost care, he used a small amount of Divine Source Liquid, also gathered from Undying Mountain, to seal them away before placing them within the Dragon Vein Node.

The Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree was extremely difficult to keep alive once it left an environment as special as Undying Mountain.

But this was only a seed that had yet to grow after Nirvana. With Divine Source sealing it, there was no need to worry too much.

As for how to make it take root and live afterward?

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

If creating a miniature world resembling Undying Mountain's special laws through 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 that the Undying Medicine Seed had to be in his hands first. Only then could he attempt it.

In truth, it had also been his good fortune. He had entered Undying Mountain intending only to pluck a branch or leaf, yet he had encountered a Divine Medicine seed instead, giving him the chance to bring it out of the Restricted Area.

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

"There will always be a way to make it live..."

Tan Lin's thoughts continued to turn.

Undying Mountain had formed from a massive upheaval before the Primordial Era. Later, due to its unusual environment, Supreme Beings gradually took up residence there during the Early Desolate Era, elevating it into a Restricted Area.

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

If it truly could not live outside Undying Mountain, then how had the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree survived before that?

Nothing was absolute. The Great Dao was fifty, heaven derived forty-nine, and one escaped.

Splash!

At that moment, under Tan Lin's spell, the Divine Source Liquid wrapped around the dried branch seed and the Variant Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass before rapidly solidifying into a block.

For a time, divine light shone brilliantly 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 rest—such as two Supreme Medicine Kings, more than ten large and small Medicine Kings, a fist-sized piece of Dragon-Patterned Black Gold, countless ten-thousand-year spiritual medicines, and several pieces of Sub-Divine Gold—could only be placed directly within the Dragon Vein Node.

But spiritual energy swirled here, and this was an Ancient Race secret land. The Medicine Kings and spiritual medicines could take root here and grow normally.

At last.

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

However.

Not long after everything was completed, an unforeseen change arose outside, causing him to remain within the secret land's miniature world for some time longer.

The reason was that through [All-Cause Vision], he discovered that Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao's Dao Body had left the Restricted Area once more. This time, after descending upon the Northern Region, it 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 the anchor travel to the Central Plains, the Southern Ridge, the Northern Plains...

The other party had nearly toured the entirety of the Big Dipper. During this time, it periodically returned to the Southern Region Drill Grounds, and in the end even made a round trip through the Outer Domain.

Of course, such a Dao Body could not compare to Undying Heavenly Emperor's Faith Body. Since its true body was in a self-severed, self-sealed state, it could not remain active outside for too long after manifesting.

During this period, the Dao Body would often vanish out of thin air, only to emerge again from the Sea of Reincarnation.

In response, Tan Lin alternated between [All-Cause Vision] and [Inverted All-Causes Vision], keeping close watch on it while remaining ready at any moment to restrain causality and obscure heavenly secrets.

He suspected that the other party was searching for his location in a sweeping manner. Perhaps it was merely a random search, or perhaps Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao was verifying some guess of his own?

Did he want to know whether Tan Lin could truly grasp his movements?

Yet if this continued, Tan Lin could no longer afford it.

Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao was merely sending out a Dao Body, perhaps even only a Divine Sense Avatar, to probe around outside at an extremely low cost. Meanwhile, Tan Lin was constantly consuming the Fireflies within the Deep Crimson Light Points.

Once the Fireflies were exhausted, should anything unexpected happen, he would not even be able to reincarnate.

Even if no accident occurred, accumulating them again would take an extremely long time and only invite further complications.

"Is this ever going to end?"

On this day, as Xiaoyao Dao Body's frequency of flying through heaven and burrowing through earth increased dramatically, Tan Lin's Soul Pearl fuel gradually began to run at a deficit.

The rate at which Fireflies grew was far behind the rate at which they were consumed.

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

He would usually switch into [Inverted All-Causes Vision] only when Xiaoyao Dao Body approached this secret land or even the Southern Region Drill Grounds.

Yet the meager Fireflies within the second Deep Crimson Light Point were inevitably depleted, forcing him to use the first Deep Crimson Light Point again.

Fortunately, compared to Tan Lin, who could track the other party at all times, Xiaoyao Dao Body wandered through the Big Dipper Domain and Outer Domain like a headless fly. After a year, this behavior abruptly ceased.

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 in the high heavens and gazed beyond the nine skies for a long time before finally sighing.

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

"I hope you truly dare to go to the Central Plains..."

He shook his head. Clearly, he was the one tracking the former Human Emperor, yet the one being tracked was the former Human Emperor. Still, an inexplicable sense of frustration welled up in his heart.