The Battle Banner of Old, the Human Emperor Banner of Today

He recognized exactly what the water in that well was.

During his Third Life, he had happened to encounter a great age of cultivation. The Myriad Races Ancient Road had opened, and he too had once set foot upon the Human Race Ancient Road, tempering himself through contests against the geniuses of every race.

In the end, he entered the Golden Ancient Road, and even traveled a long stretch of the Mythical Ancient Road, which at the time had not yet been severely destroyed.

Within the Mythical Ancient Road, in the Life Land formed from the five organs of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's Dao Palace, there was a Primordial Gods and Demons Forbidden Domain. Inside it lay a lake of Divine Soul Pool Water.

The Reincarnation Lake, the Soul Spirit Pond, and the Immortal Ascension Waterfall—these three extraordinary wonders, said to exist only in worldly legends, truly existed.

And this Soul Spirit Pond had been the work of the Undying Heavenly Emperor.

Records stated that its water could imprint a cultivator's soul fluctuations, then nurture them within the pond and recreate an identical soul.

However, Tan Lin knew that such rumors had merely been experiments conducted by certain beings in the endless ages long ago. There had not been a single successful case.

Yet it was true that it could imprint a cultivator's soul fluctuations, and it was equally true that it was the nemesis of all cultivators' souls.

The pond water came in three colors: golden souls, silver spirits, and the transparent kind, which was a fusion fluid that melted down and decomposed souls.

If a soul was exposed without the protection of a physical body, the moment it approached the pond water, it would be dragged into the pond and melted down into new Soul Spirit Pond water.

What was worth mentioning was that this pond water normally looked no different from ordinary lake water. But if one used divine sense nearby, then even if a cultivator had a body to contain their soul, their soul would be dragged out of the Immortal Platform and melted into the pond, resulting in death and Dao dissipation.

"It truly does target my current state... Two years ago, when I spied on them, this Soul Spirit Pond water clearly had not yet been brought from that secret land on the Ancient Road..."

Tan Lin pondered.

If not for those black, mixed Causal Points bred by tangled lines having settled over the years and been refined by the Soul Pearl into Fireflies—

And for the vast number of Fireflies born from Li Qingjue's special line, which had completely filled the second Deep Crimson Light Point, allowing him to develop the Soul Pearl's further miraculous ability to spy upon others and thus know himself and his enemy—

Otherwise, this trip to the Central Plains might truly have ended with him capsizing in a gutter.

Whoosh...

Crimson mist surged. Centering his view on the Undying Daoist within the fragment of the image, Tan Lin shifted his perspective and took the opportunity to inspect the surroundings.

The depths of the entire Human Emperor Hall were covered by a heaven-shaking killing formation. The ancient well was its formation eye. This was a carefully prepared killing trap meant specifically for him.

Hiss... hiss...

Within the Deep Crimson Light Point, the Fireflies burned rapidly, their consumption far too great. Seeing that he could not dig out any more information, Tan Lin cut off his observation of this line.

Next was the Sea of Reincarnation.

Perhaps knowing that Tan Lin could grasp his movements, Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao had made no move at all after the Drill Tower collapsed and its formation diagram beneath the tower foundation was taken away.

Tan Lin could only vaguely "see" that the aura where Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao had sealed himself was dim and obscure. He seemed to be waiting for Tan Lin to go to the Human Emperor Hall, after which he would emerge from the Restricted Area, head straight for the Central Plains, and strike him with thunderous force!

Interrupting the observation once again, Tan Lin turned his attention to the other three Supreme Beings in the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning, who had once divided and devoured his flesh and Origin.

These three were clearly in worse condition than Heavenly Venerable Xiaoyao and the Undying Heavenly Emperor. They had truly sealed themselves away; their vitality and blood were weak, and they were more thoroughly isolated from the world, leaving at most a wisp of divine sense outside to "stand watch."

No wonder that even though these three Supreme Beings might have guessed more than a decade ago that he had reappeared in the world after a million years, they had not even sent a Dao Body out of the Restricted Area to involve themselves.

Their condition was simply too poor. They could not withstand any trouble.

Of course, it was also possible that they believed that even if they involved themselves in the secret upon him, they could not compete with Xiaoyao and the other one, so they intended to observe for the time being.

Hiss... hiss...

The Fireflies continued to burn.

Having learned what he wanted to know, Tan Lin did not continue spying.

The consumption of the Deep Crimson Light Point caused by this kind of observation was terrifying. In merely a few breaths, the Fireflies within the third Deep Crimson Light Point had visibly diminished by a small circle!

"Since that is the case, then I shall place a few pieces as well. Let us see how you deal with them then."

Tan Lin's great sleeves fluttered as he abruptly withdrew from beyond the borders of the Central Plains and headed for the secret land in the Central Region where he had hidden treasures for his next Lifetime.

Plans could never keep up with changes.

Now that he had obtained the tower foundation formation diagram, he could use some Divine Metal and Sub-Divine Gold materials to re-engrave, refine, and repair its worn formation patterns, making another arrangement for his next moves.

Three months later, within the Heavenly Mystic Ancient Clan Secret Land.

Tan Lin examined the painting he had brought out from beneath the Drill Tower, repeatedly scrutinizing the deity within it.

The female deity was exceedingly restrained before him, at a complete loss for what to do.

After his scrutiny, the deity only knew that the Human Emperor had asked it some questions about its former master Tianling after her death. It naturally answered every one of them.

Who would have thought that afterward, he would probe around with several inexplicable questions? It was utterly baffled.

Then, as if to verify some conjecture in his heart, the Human Emperor used Source Arts to open the passage behind the stone wall and brought it with him into a sleeping ground filled with members of the Divine Silkworm Ridge Clan.

This was a winding, lengthy karst cave. The route was quite unfamiliar, and it did not know why the Human Emperor had brought it down here. Nor did it dare ask aloud.

At last, when it reached the end of the cave and saw a divine maiden sealed within Divine Source, its spiritual consciousness suddenly fluctuated violently as it cried out:

"M-Master?!"

It manifested from the painting through divine sense and floated before that block of Divine Source, filled with disbelief.

But very quickly, the emotions conveyed through its spiritual fluctuations turned sorrowful and grief-stricken...

At its side, Tan Lin silently observed.

After a long while, when he had not detected any additional movement from either the painting or Tianling's body within the Divine Source, he suddenly sighed. Then, with a wave of his hand, he put away the painting.

Recently, he had recalled that during a secret meeting with Tianling in the Primordial Era, he had mentioned a little about the possibilities of the Artifact-Person Longevity Method. He had then connected it to the "special nature" of this painting.

Unfortunately, the facts proved that even if Tianling's primordial spirit had truly vanished because she attempted the Artifact Person Technique, her primordial spirit had not merged into this painting.

"I made the matter too simple..."

Tan Lin remained in the secret land for another day. With [Inverted All-Causes Vision], he grasped the movements of the Anchor Points at the ends of every Causal Line.

Finally, he waited for the moment when the time was ripe.

Chirp...

Outside the World Within World.

A golden eagle containing a tiny fragment of his true soul was enveloped in crimson mist as it circled down. Using a divine ability, it clutched the formation diagram, whose radiance had been restrained, in its beak before vanishing without a trace.

On the day the tower collapsed, he had retrieved nearly all of the soul fragments outside, yet he had still left behind his three strongest pieces to cooperate with this operation.

Make the most of everything!

The opportunity was fleeting.

At last, Tan Lin did not hesitate. Crimson mist enveloped him, while [Inverted All-Causes Vision] and [All Causes Barrier] had long since been deployed.

Leaving the World Within World, he transformed into a Formless substance and directly passed through the boundary wall between the Eastern Wasteland and the Central Plains, charging toward the Human Emperor Hall.

The Central Plains were boundless.

Since ancient times, this region had been the source from which the myriad dragon veins of the Big Dipper extended. It had always been blessed with spiritual beauty, and most of the Human Race lineages that later migrated to the Big Dipper from the Outer Domain had chosen to settle here.

During this Ancient Era, Dark Turmoil erupted frequently.

The sects and lineages scattered throughout this region were harvested like leeks in one upheaval after another. After they were cut down, newcomers would gradually rise anew from the ruins.

Just like the present Hundred Schools of Thought, and even Qishi Mansion, which occupied the gateway through which the Ancient Road opened, none that still existed had survived for more than a hundred thousand years.

Even the Feathered Immortal Dynasty, which had once commanded the world, had only migrated to the Big Dipper after Emperor Yuhua attained the Dao several tens of thousands of years ago.

However.

Amid such harsh times, there was another colossal power here. From the middle to late Primordial Era until now, it had stood tall through the battering of the River of Time, remaining unmoved despite experiencing countless turmoils.

Deep within the Human Emperor Hall.

The once solemn and majestic great hall was now filled with an invisible oppression.

At the center of the palace complex, clear well water bubbled at the bottom of an ancient well roughly ten feet across. Mist lingered around its mouth, making it seem like the eye of an immortal spring.

The Undying Daoist, clad in an ancient and simple Daoist robe, sat cross-legged beside the well. His features were blurred, with hazy mist drifting around them. He looked no different from an ordinary Daoist of the mundane world.

Yet whenever his eyes opened and closed, divine light of Dao laws shot forth, faintly reflecting the endless killing intent within this place.

The outer and inner halls of the entire palace, whether the ground, pillars, relief-covered walls, or vaulted ceilings, were engraved with countless Soul-Sealing Patterns. Linked to the aura of the Soul Spirit Pond, they formed a net of heaven and earth aimed at souls.

The pond water did not exist only within that well. Scattered Soul Spirit Pond water had been spread throughout the hidden corners of the vast territory under the Human Emperor Hall.

Having seen the "Human Emperor" retain only a remnant soul after his fall, yet still dare enter and leave the Undying Mountain Restricted Area, the Undying Daoist knew that Tan Lin's concealment and infiltration methods were formidable.

Thus, he did not harbor the slightest contempt. He had even made a special trip to the Outer Domain to fetch part of the Soul Spirit Pond water. He had truly exhausted every possible measure.

The great hall was silent on all sides.

Under the strict order of Gong Xuan, the master of the Human Emperor Hall, not a single disciple of the Human Emperor Hall had appeared within this thousand-mile radius since the tower's collapse in the Southern Region of Eastern Wasteland.

Whenever the Undying Daoist had any daily needs, Gong Xuan, the hall master himself, had personally run around to attend to them.

Sometimes, he himself felt that after cultivating to his present realm, he was living worse than some of the menial disciples in the hall!

On this day, he once again entered from outside the hall with utmost respect, preparing to wait upon the Daoist.

He walked as silently as possible, scarcely daring to breathe.

Dong...

At this moment, the morning bell rang in the distance. He had just arrived beside the Undying Daoist. After hesitating for quite some time, he finally spoke softly and carefully:

"Your Majesty... This is, after all, where that Human Emperor once sat in meditation. At this time every day, the hall's disciples would normally face this place and bow in prayer for a while. Now that this thousand-mile area has been cleared for more than three months, the disciples below are already full of complaints. Do you think perhaps..."

"This is your affair..."

Before he could finish, the Undying Daoist cast a cold glance his way.

"If you cannot even suppress the resentment of a few cultivators below, and must seek instructions on every little matter, what use are you to me?"

Chapter 41: The Battle Banner of Old, the Human Emperor Banner of Today

"You cannot control their complaints and the resentment growing in their hearts. Then if some people voice their objections aloud, do you not know how to handle them? If killing one group is not enough, then keep killing. Eliminating dissidents was something you used to do quite skillfully, was it not?"

Beside the ancient well, the Undying Daoist slowly spoke while holding a gray-white whisk.

"If it truly comes to it, kill them all. Once that big fish takes the bait, this place will not be of much use anyway... Go. Do not come here these next few days."

"It is... it is because people from the Human King Hall lineage in the Ziwei Star Domain sent people to pay respects to the place where the Human Emperor sat in meditation that this trouble arose. Such a small matter should not have disturbed Your Majesty. I... I will deal with them now. I can still keep the hall's disciples under control..."

Nearby, Gong Xuan grew more terrified with every word. When the Undying Daoist finished, Gong Xuan's teeth chattered as he finally took his leave.

After he left, the great hall returned to deathly silence.

The Undying Daoist sat there calmly and slowly closed his eyes again.

Buzz...

The Faith Power gathered by the Human Emperor Hall from all over throughout the years beneath the foundation had already been entirely refined by him, becoming incomparably pure. Now, thread by thread, it entered his body.

Waiting by a stump for a rabbit was already taxing. Sometimes, watching his lackeys below panic about... the myriad states of living beings was rather entertaining.

The performance was over. Now it was time to wait again.

Wait for the "fish" that was certain to take the bait.

Suddenly, less than three breaths after closing his eyes, the Undying Daoist abruptly opened them again. Terrifying light burst from his gaze.

"He has come?!"

Whoosh!

At that instant, the space above the open ground before the great hall suddenly twisted.

Countless strands of crimson mist that even he could not see through swirled through the air.

Immediately afterward, a phantom yet incomparably solid remnant soul appeared without warning!

The figure stood incomparably tall, its eyes deep and profound. Scenes of yin-yang chaos being born and extinguished flowed within them, while its entire body exuded a vast majesty that made people want to prostrate themselves and worship.

Boom!!

The instant the figure appeared, every Soul-Sealing Pattern inside and outside the great hall lit up at once.