When the Female Emperor's Strictest Master

When the wind died down and the air stilled.

Tan Lin paused briefly, taking in the magnificent landscape and the current distribution of power across the Big Dipper.

However, because the Northern Region of Eastern Wasteland was rich in source stone mines, its beautiful lands had not yet become deserts everywhere as they would in the Post-Ancient Era.

Yet after the long years since the Ancient Era, mines had sprung up everywhere, and the little primordial energy that had briefly restored the land after the end of the Primordial Era had once more been ravaged beyond recognition.

One aristocratic family after another, along with supreme lineages such as the Heavenly Martial Holy Land, occupied spiritual mountains and great rivers. They even possessed the strength to carve out small worlds atop their blessed lands and grotto-heavens.

Small and medium-sized factions became dependents of those lineages, dividing up the remaining oases among themselves. As for ordinary people at the bottom and independent cultivators, their lives were easy enough to imagine.

Tan Lin watched silently.

It was always the same. The weak were prey to the strong.

In the Primordial Era, humanity had been weak, and the ones exploiting humans had been the various primordial races.

By this Ancient Era, although most primordial races had sealed themselves away from the world, new "roles" had taken their place. The upper echelons of humanity exploited those beneath them, flaunting their power and tyranny.

In such a world, weakness seemed to be the original sin.

Whoosh...

Another gust of wind and sand swept in, carrying Tan Lin to the grounds of an aristocratic family in the Northern Region.

Looking down with his deep gaze, he was suddenly drawn to the Vision rippling out from somewhere within the family grounds. His interest piqued, he lingered for a while longer.

Unlike those great sects and lineages that occupied spiritual mountains and mighty rivers at every turn, the grounds of this family, known as the Chi Family, were rather secluded.

They were located in a valley called Spirit Stream, more than three hundred thousand li southeast of Nine Dragons Embracing the Pearl.

The stream flowed gently, spiritual energy hung thick in the valley, and countless spiritual plants and medicinal herbs were cultivated there. The place appeared tranquil and peaceful.

The current family head, Chi Tianfeng, was an elegant-looking middle-aged man with a gentle temperament.

His cultivation stood on the eighth step of Immortal Platform Level Five. Though he was not among the absolute peak experts of the middle and late Ancient Era, he was more than qualified to serve as the public-facing family head handling the clan's everyday affairs.

In the current Big Dipper, if someone was called the "Holy Lord" of some aristocratic family or holy land, then that person's cultivation was certainly at the Saint Realm or above.

It was nowhere near as absurd as the later generations, where a mere Immortal Platform Level Two could hold such a title.

Tap... tap...

"Suyao, be careful..."

At that moment, within the courtyard suffused with rosy light where Tan Lin's gaze had settled—

Chi Tianfeng was carefully supporting a woman whose belly was swollen high with pregnancy, slowly taking a walk with her through the courtyard.

The woman had a gentle and beautiful face. As she looked at her husband, a trace of helplessness surfaced in her eyes.

They were both Immortal Platform cultivators. How could she possibly be so delicate?

The secret realms of the Sea of Reincarnation, Dao Palace, Four Extremes, and Dragon Transformation had long since tempered her body until it was no weaker than a psychic artifact.

Still, for certain special reasons, she understood why her husband was being so cautious.

She had been pregnant for more than ten months, yet there was still no sign that she would give birth.

What was even stranger was that the child in her womb seemed naturally close to the Dao. From time to time, hazy Great Dao Visions manifested on their own.

Sometimes, just as today, while she was taking a walk in the courtyard, dead trees would suddenly revive, and brilliant flowers would bloom in an instant.

At other times, on starless nights, faint starlight would gather of its own accord and drape itself over her like a light veil.

What Kind of Great Age Is This?

Not only that, but at times, members of the clan in the valley could even hear the faint echoes of Great Dao harmonies reverberating through the surroundings.

A few clan members had tried to trace the sound, 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 clan members outside the courtyard had noticed such things. As the one carrying the child, Qin Suyao naturally felt them all the more deeply.

Until last month, when her pregnancy had reached ten full months and there was still no sign of labor, she finally could not remain calm. She had her husband invite an elder of the clan with Great Saint cultivation to secretly conduct a deduction without affecting the child in her womb.

The final conclusion was that the child she carried was an Innate Dao Embryo, born of heaven and earth.

This made the entire Chi Family look forward greatly to the child's birth.

Whoosh...

After the couple had walked through the courtyard for a while, a divine light suddenly shot toward them. Chi Tianfeng raised a hand and caught it. His expression shifted slightly as he said to his wife,

"Suyao, word has come from the front hall. An old acquaintance has arrived in the valley. I'll go see them first..."

After saying this, he called over a maidservant to attend to his wife, then hurried toward the outer residence.

"An old acquaintance... Could they 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, apart from close relatives, there were not many people left who could stir her husband's emotions so deeply after he 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 gray-haired "little old man" stood outside the guest residence. Seeing Chi Tianfeng arrive, he revealed an apologetic, bitter smile and clasped his hands as he 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 between the Southern and Northern Regions, we should still visit each other often. Not to mention that our two families have deep ties, you and I became sworn brothers in our youth... Why are you being so formal?"

Before the little old man could say anything bitterly in response—

Chi Tianfeng seized his wrist and led him inside.

"You're being far too polite. Why are you standing outside? Even if you came because of something important, there was no need for this."

"When Nephew Jun suffered such a grave incident at the Drill Tower, there was no news after he returned. I thought his injuries had already healed. Who would have thought that you would only come today to tell me the true situation..."

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, the words Chi Tianfeng had not finished suddenly stopped, and his footsteps froze at the entrance.

He remembered meeting this nephew more than ten years ago. Seeing him again now, if his aura had not remained unchanged, Chi Tianfeng would scarcely have recognized him.

In just over ten years, the other had gone from a tall, burly, high-spirited youth to the sickly shell now slumped helplessly in a wheelchair.

The young man's face was ashen and waxy, while his aura was utterly listless.

At that moment, several Xiang Family disciples with thin traces of the Indestructible Golden Body Bloodline flowing through them were constantly sending divine power into his body.

They were nourishing his fleshly shell, which seemed on the verge of withering away at every moment.

"Uncle Chi, my body is truly in too poor a condition now. I cannot rise to greet you. I hope Uncle Chi can forgive me..."

As if hearing the commotion, the gaunt young man lifted his drooping eyelids and barely forced out a smile at Chi Tianfeng by the entrance of the guest residence.

His spinal dragon seemed to have been broken by someone, and 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.

At the sight of this, Chi Tianfeng's expression changed completely. For no reason, his eyes even grew moist.

"Those damned Tyrant Bodies!"

Rustle...

The cold wind of early winter blew through 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 naturally saw at a glance that she was carrying an Innate Dao Embryo.

Yet even among Innate Dao Embryos, even if both had been born of heaven and earth, there were differences.

For example, the child in the womb that he was currently examining possessed a soul resonance beyond the category of flesh and blood, so rich that even he found it somewhat unbelievable.

This was the first time he had directly sensed such a phenomenon in another person.

Soul resonance was an exceedingly elusive thing contained within the soul. Perhaps it could not even be called a substance.

It was determined at birth. Unlike a physique, it could not be transformed after the fact. Based on his own circumstances, Tan Lin had once speculated that the strength of one's soul resonance might, to a certain extent, represent a person's talent, brilliance, and intelligence.

For nearly every cultivator in this world, this thing was impossible to detect. Perhaps its fluctuations were only somewhat obvious around the time of one's birth.

Perhaps because he possessed the All-Causes Soul Pearl, had reincarnated several times, and possessed accumulated innate wisdom and overlapping soul resonance, he was sensitive to it. Only then could he vaguely sense the child's soul resonance fluctuations from afar.

"The future course of this great age is becoming harder and harder for me to see through..."

Tan Lin's deep eyes flickered slightly.

For a moment, he thought of the master of Yaochi, the Western Queen Mother.

But that peerlessly beautiful woman, equally brilliant and extraordinary, 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.

However, the threads of events directly or indirectly affected by his variable were simply too extensive.

At that moment, he thought of Tianling, then of the Divine Silkworm Princess...

Whoosh...

Another gust of wind swept in. 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 mountain ridges and across the Gobi.

When Tan Lin opened his eyes again, he was slightly stunned.

Ancient Emperor Mountain, the land of Nine Dragons Embracing the Pearl—he had somehow returned here?

His thoughts turned, and he withdrew from that state of enlightenment in which he rode the six breaths of heaven and earth to wander the infinite, preparing to return to that hidden land in the Central Region.

But on second thought, although he had taken a peak from Undying Mountain, the conditions for planting the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree were still far from complete.

"Fine. Since I'm passing by, I may as well collect a little more interest before I leave."

That was what he thought.

And as soon as the thought arose, he acted. Crimson mist spread out, and with a single step, his figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.

Deep within the secret realm, the Immortal Pool shimmered as rosy light flowed through it.

This time, after being disturbed awake from Divine Source, the Undying Heavenly Empress had remained outside for a little longer.

It was as if she were waiting for something.

Was she waiting to see whether that Human Emperor would stir up another unknown storm before completely fading away, or was she preparing to contact certain existences and make her move?

I'm Really Starting to Wonder

Perhaps it was a habit.

Every time the Undying Heavenly Empress emerged from 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 subtly nourish her body.

The immense life force contained within it could serve part of the function of Divine Source, slowing her aging.

Furthermore, she was constantly 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 on it.