When the wind died down and the qi stilled.
His figure paused briefly as well, taking in the magnificent mountains and rivers, along with the current distribution of forces across the Big Dipper.
However, because the Northern Region of Eastern Wasteland was rich in Source Stone mines, its splendid lands had not yet become desertified everywhere as they would in the Post-Ancient Era.
Yet after the long years since the Ancient Era, mines had proliferated across the land. The little Primordial Qi that had briefly returned after the end of the Primordial Era had once again been ravaged beyond recognition.
Great clans and supreme lineages such as the Heavenly Martial Holy Land occupied the spiritual mountains and great rivers, and had the strength to carve out small worlds upon the foundation of Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands.
Small and medium-sized forces had become vassals of those lineages, able to divide up the remaining oases. As for ordinary people at the bottom and independent cultivators, their lives could well be imagined.
Tan Lin watched in silence.
It was always the same: the strong preyed upon the weak.
During the Primordial Era, the Human Race had been weak, and those exploiting them had been the Primordial Race.
By the Ancient Era, although most of the Primordial Race had sealed themselves away from the world, new "players" had taken their place. The upper echelons of the Human Race exploited those beneath them, throwing their weight around and indulging in tyranny.
In a world like this, weakness seemed to be the original sin.
Whoosh...
Another gust of sand-laden wind swept over, carrying Tan Lin to the grounds of a great clan in the Northern Region.
His deep gaze swept downward, then was suddenly drawn to the Vision rippling out from somewhere within the clan grounds. His interest piqued, he lingered a while longer.
Unlike those great sect lineages that occupied entire spiritual mountains and rivers at every turn, the ancestral grounds of this clan, known as the Chi Family, were rather well hidden.
They lay more than three hundred thousand miles southeast of Nine Dragons Embracing the Pearl, within a valley called Spirit Stream.
The stream murmured as it flowed, spiritual qi wreathed the valley, and countless spiritual plants and medicinal herbs grew within it. The place was tranquil and peaceful.
The current patriarch, Chi Tianfeng, was a refined-looking middle-aged man with a gentle bearing.
His cultivation stood on the eighth step of Immortal Platform Level Five. Though he was not among the absolute strongest in the middle and late Ancient Era, he was more than qualified to serve as the public-facing patriarch handling the clan's daily affairs.
In the current Big Dipper, if someone were called the "Holy Lord" of some great clan or holy land, their cultivation would certainly be at the Saint Realm or above.
It was nowhere near as laughable as the later generations, where a mere Immortal Second Realm could claim such a title.
Tap... tap...
"Suyao, be careful..."
At that moment, within the courtyard bathed in rosy radiance where Tan Lin's gaze had fallen.
Chi Tianfeng was carefully supporting a woman with a greatly swollen belly as she slowly strolled through the courtyard.
The woman was gentle and beautiful. A trace of helplessness surfaced in her eyes as she looked at her husband.
They were both Immortal Platform cultivators. How could she possibly be so delicate?
The realms of the Sea of Reincarnation, Dao Palace, Four Extremes, and Dragon Transformation had long tempered her physique until it was no weaker than a sentient dharma artifact.
Still, for certain special reasons, she understood why her husband was being so cautious.
She had been pregnant for over ten months, yet there was still no sign of delivery.
Even stranger, the child in her womb seemed naturally close to the Great Dao, and hazy Great Dao Visions would occasionally manifest on their own.
Sometimes, just as today, she would be walking in the courtyard when dead trees suddenly came back to life and flowers burst into brilliant bloom in an instant.
At other times, on starless nights, faint starlight would gather by itself and descend over her like a gauzy veil.
What Kind of Grand Era Is This?
Not only that, sometimes the clansmen in the valley could even hear faint, indistinct Dao chants echoing through the air.
A few clansmen had tried to trace them, only to arrive at this courtyard.
All these signs seemed to foretell the extraordinary nature of the child in Qin Suyao's womb.
Even the clansmen outside the courtyard had noticed such things. As the one carrying the child, Qin Suyao felt them even more deeply.
Until last month, when the pregnancy had reached ten months and there was still no sign of labor, she finally could not remain calm. She asked her husband to invite an elder of the clan with Great Saint cultivation to conduct a secret divination without affecting the child in her womb.
In the end, they concluded that the child she carried was an Innate Dao Embryo born of heaven and earth.
This left the entire Chi Family eagerly awaiting the child's birth.
Whoosh...
Suddenly, as the couple strolled through the courtyard, a divine light shot toward them. Chi Tianfeng caught it with a wave of his hand. His expression shifted slightly as he said to his wife:
"Suyao, word has come from the front corridor that an old friend has arrived in the valley. I'll go see him first..."
After saying this, he summoned a maid from the courtyard to attend to his wife, then hurried toward the outer residence.
"An old friend... Could he be from the Southern Region?"
Standing where she was, the beautiful woman watched her husband leave. Her eyes shifted as a thoughtful look emerged.
After all, aside from close relatives, there were not many people who could stir her husband's emotions so greatly even after his cultivation had reached the upper levels of the Saint Realm.
Whoosh!
The moment Chi Tianfeng left the courtyard, he transformed into a streak of light and arrived outside the Chi Family guest residence.
There, a white-haired little old man stood outside the guest residence. Seeing him arrive, he revealed a bitter smile tinged with apology, cupped his hands, and said, "Brother Tianfeng, I knew Sister-in-law was about to give birth, yet I still came to trouble you at such a time. Sorry for the trouble..."
Chi Tianfeng did not mind in the slightest. He reached out with both hands and pulled the other man up before he could bow.
Then he glared at him with tiger-like eyes and said irritably, "How many years has it been since we last met? We are both in Eastern Wasteland. Even if we are separated by the Northern and Southern Regions, we should still visit each other often. Not to mention that our families have deep ties, you and I swore brotherhood in our youth... You're being far too formal!"
Before the little old man could say anything bitterly.
Chi Tianfeng seized his wrist and pulled him inside. "You're being too much of a stranger. Why are you standing outside? Even if you came because of something important, there was no need for this."
"Such a terrible thing happened to Nephew Jun at the Drill Tower back then, yet after you returned, there was no word from you. I thought his injuries had healed. Who would have thought you would only come today to tell me the truth..."
As they spoke, the two entered the guest residence one after the other.
Chi Tianfeng's gaze immediately fell upon the gaunt young man slumped in a wheelchair.
Tap...
At the sight of the young man, his unfinished words abruptly stopped, and his steps halted at the doorway.
He remembered meeting this nephew over ten years ago. Seeing him again now, had his aura not remained unchanged, Chi Tianfeng would have almost failed to recognize him.
In barely over a decade, the other had gone from a broad-shouldered, vigorous young man full of spirit to a sickly wretch who could only slump in a wheelchair.
The young man's face was like golden paper, and his aura was utterly listless.
At that moment, several Xiang Family disciples with thin traces of the Indestructible Golden Body Bloodline flowing within them stood by his side, continuously channeling divine power into his body.
They were nourishing his shell of a body, which seemed on the verge of withering away at any moment.
"Uncle Chi, this body of mine is truly too frail now. I cannot rise to greet you. Please forgive me..."
As if hearing the commotion, the gaunt young man lifted his drooping eyelids and forced a faint smile at Chi Tianfeng standing at the entrance of the guest residence.
His Spinal Dragon seemed to have been broken, as though his Origin could not be restored. He could not fully lift or straighten his head, and could only speak to others with his head tilted to one side.
Seeing this, Chi Tianfeng's expression completely changed, and his eyes inexplicably grew wet. "Those damned Tyrant Bodies!"
Rustle...
The cold wind of early winter blew across the clouds.
Tan Lin paid no attention to what was happening in the guest residence at the front of the valley. He merely gazed for a while at the child in the womb of the woman named Qin Suyao.
Given his standing, he could naturally tell at a glance that she carried an Innate Dao Embryo.
Yet even among Innate Dao Embryos, even those likewise born of heaven and earth, there were differences.
For instance, the soul resonance of the child in her womb that did not belong to the realm of flesh and blood was so rich that even he found it somewhat unbelievable.
This was the first time he had ever directly perceived such a phenomenon in another person.
Soul resonance was an exceedingly ethereal substance contained within the soul, though perhaps it could not even be called a substance.
It was determined at birth and could not undergo later transformations like one's physique. Based on his own circumstances, Tan Lin had once guessed that the strength of one's soul resonance might, to a certain extent, represent one's talent, brilliance, and intelligence.
Nearly all cultivators in this world were incapable of perceiving it. Perhaps its fluctuations were only relatively distinct around the time of birth.
Perhaps because he possessed the All-Causes Soul Pearl and had undergone several reincarnations, with his Past-Life Wisdom and soul resonance layered together, he was sensitive to it and could vaguely capture the child's soul resonance fluctuations from afar.
"The future course of this grand era is becoming harder and harder for me to see through..."
Tan Lin's deep eyes flickered faintly.
For one brief moment, he thought of the mistress of Jade Pool, the Western Queen Mother.
But that peerless beauty, equally gifted beyond measure, should not appear for at least another hundred thousand years. It was impossible for her to exist in the same lifetime as the Female Emperor.
Still, the threads of events directly or indirectly affected by him, this Variable, were simply too extensive.
At that moment, he thought again of Tianling, of the Divine Silkworm Princess...
Whoosh...
Another gust of wind came then. He closed his eyes and drifted away with it, not dwelling on the matter any further.
Everything would become clear after his reincarnation.
Whoosh!
The cold wind swept over the hills and across the Gobi.
When Tan Lin opened his eyes again, he paused in slight surprise.
Ancient Emperor Mountain, the land of Nine Dragons Embracing the Pearl—he had somehow returned here?
As his thoughts turned, he withdrew from that enlightenment state of roaming the boundless world by commanding the Six Qi of Heaven and Earth, preparing to return to that hidden place in the Central Region.
But on second thought, although he had already taken the peak of Undying Mountain, the conditions for planting the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree were still far from complete.
"Fine. Since I'm passing by, I'll collect a little more interest before I leave..."
That was what he thought.
And acting as soon as the thought arose, crimson mist spread through the air. He took one step forward, and his figure flashed away from the spot.
Deep within the secret realm, the Immortal Pool swirled with mist as rosy light flowed.
This time, after being stirred awake from the Divine Source, the Undying Heavenly Empress had remained in the outside world slightly longer.
She seemed to be waiting for something.
Was she waiting to see whether the Human Emperor would cause another unknown disturbance before he completely faded away, or was she preparing to contact certain beings and make her move?
I Am Starting to Suspect Something
Perhaps it was a habit.
Every time the Undying Heavenly Empress emerged from the Divine Source, she would soak and bathe in this Divine Spring pool that nourished the Undying Divine Phoenix Medicine.
For one thing, the Divine Spring water could gradually nourish her body.
The immense life force contained within it could serve some of the same functions as Divine Source, slowing the effects of aging.
Furthermore, she was continuously trying to comprehend the Undying Divine Phoenix Medicine nearby through some method.
However, she was clearly still waiting for something and had not yet truly entered the pool to meditate upon it.
Before you continue