When the Female Emperor's Strictest Master in Shrouding the Heavens

Tan Lin smiled faintly.

As he spoke, the Bronze Ring that had been lying quietly before the bonfire actually floated into the air, suddenly blooming with a gentle, mysterious radiance.

Whoosh...

The clear light flowed, not dazzling, yet carrying an indescribable ancient grandeur.

The light gathered within the slightly desolate air of the brick kiln, and then a phantom yet incomparably distinct figure slowly emerged from the ring!

It was unmistakably the figure of a man.

He stood tall and straight, as though towering above the starry skies of eternity.

Though only the manifestation of a remnant soul, he carried an imperial aura that looked down upon the universe. Crimson mist curled around him, while a glimmer of light from a reassembling Primordial Spirit shone at his center.

His face was so handsome that words could scarcely describe it, every feature dazzling as though shaped by the hand of Fortune itself.

Above that face, swordlike brows swept into his temples, and his eyes resembled a profound sea of stars where constellations rose and vanished. Though he was merely a phantom, he seemed capable of seeing through hearts and witnessing every cycle of worldly Reincarnation.

This was precisely how Tan Lin's remnant soul appeared externally!

Li Qingjue stood frozen on the spot.

Her small mouth hung slightly open as she gazed up at the figure before her, a figure beyond anything she had ever imagined.

During her years of begging, she had been fortunate enough to see the most exquisite portraits in Yan Capital, and she had heard storytellers describe the most handsome immortals, yet none could compare to the illusory figure before her.

It was a greatness and power that came from the level of the soul itself, making her instinctively feel reverence.

Yet strangely, she did not feel the slightest inferiority before him?

Her little hand, which had been clutching the corner of her clothes, unconsciously loosened.

"M-Master?"

Her voice trembled, carrying remnants of shock, as though she could hardly believe this was her master.

Before her, Tan Lin's phantom gave a slight nod. His calm gaze fell upon her without much emotional fluctuation as he said lightly,

"Now that you have entered my sect, how can you be hindered by such a trivial matter as literacy?"

With that, he raised his phantom right hand, held two fingers together like a sword, and pointed at Li Qingjue's brow!

The gesture appeared slow, yet it seemed to cross time and space.

Buzz...

"Focus your mind, calm your heart, open your sea of consciousness, and accept this method."

Hearing this, Li Qingjue instinctively closed her eyes and tried her best to cast aside distracting thoughts.

The next moment.

Tan Lin's remnant soul touched her brow with his fingertip. In an instant, a cool yet vast torrent of knowledge burst into her mind like a river breaking through its banks!

It was not merely the shapes and pronunciations of words, but contained the form, sound, meaning, spirit, and even the changes and mysteries of every character in different contexts.

Beyond ordinary human writing, there were also countless incomparably complex Primordial Era divine scripts containing fluctuations of Dao laws, Demon Race runes, and even illustrated records of obscure, ancient sacrificial symbols. Tan Lin compressed them all into a single point.

They would wait for his female emperor disciple to excavate them herself once her cultivation reached the Immortal Platform and her sea of consciousness became incomparably vast.

However, even though only knowledge of human writing was being imparted on the surface, the process was far from entirely pleasant.

The sheer amount of information made Li Qingjue feel as though her entire head were about to explode.

Waves of swelling pain struck her. Her little face instantly turned pale, and fine cold sweat seeped from her temples.

But she clenched her lower lip tightly and, relying on sheer ruthlessness, forcibly endured it as she tried to understand and digest everything.

A moment later, Tan Lin silently withdrew his finger.

Then, using the Soul Pearl, he quietly activated [All-Cause Vision] to observe whether the external manifestation of his remnant soul had likewise stirred certain beings.

"It seems that as long as I do not personally come into contact with the Dao traces and relics inscribed upon this world in my previous life... it is safe."

Everything remained calm. Tan Lin quietly let out a breath of relief.

No one knew how much time had passed. The night outside the brick kiln had grown quite deep.

Li Qingjue slowly opened her eyes. Confusion first flashed through them before it was replaced by immense delight.

At this moment, she looked once more at the "Devouring Source Scripture."

Rustle...

As she gently flipped through it, the characters she had once failed to recognize, as incomprehensible as heavenly scripture, now became utterly clear in her eyes, their meanings self-evident!

"Thank you, Master!"

Overjoyed, she bowed again.

This time, the meaning behind the word "Master" was different.

"No need for such formalities. A teacher imparts the Dao, teaches knowledge, and resolves doubts."

Tan Lin's remnant soul said indifferently,

"Literacy is only the foundation. The path of cultivation begins with the Sea of Bitterness. You possess a Mortal Body; opening your Sea of Bitterness will be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"But since you have entered my sect, you must face difficulties head-on.

"Now, follow my guidance and try to sense and open your Sea of Bitterness."

A teacher imparts the Dao, teaches knowledge, and resolves doubts...

Li Qingjue silently remembered those eight words.

They had known each other for less than a day, yet she found herself feeling increasingly close to him.

Though this apprenticeship had been described by her master as nothing more than a transaction, each taking what they needed.

How could she not be sensitive to the warmth and coldness of human hearts?

Even before accepting her as his disciple, he had reminded her twice to tend to her wounds, although his tone had not been very good...

"You dare let your soul wander while sensing the Sea of Bitterness?!"

Suddenly, Tan Lin's stern, bell-like cold voice exploded in Li Qingjue's mind. She jolted in fright, then immediately straightened her attitude.

With her five centers facing heaven, she gradually turned her awareness inward...

She mastered these basic cultivation techniques extremely quickly. After reading through the booklet once and combining it with Tan Lin's explanations, she performed them perfectly on her first attempt.

Her speed in sensing the Sea of Bitterness even left Tan Lin somewhat dumbfounded.

An ordinary prodigy would need at least three months of fasting before gradually getting the hang of it and locating the Sea of Bitterness.

Li Qingjue needed only the time it took half an incense stick to burn!

And what sort of environment was this?

However, her talent, the greatest among women throughout eternity, temporarily came to an end at this stage.

The subsequent process of opening the Sea of Bitterness was, just as Tan Lin had said, exceedingly difficult for her Mortal Body.

Following the foundational method from the Sea of Reincarnation section of the "Yin-Yang Mill Scripture," which Tan Lin had created after becoming a Quasi-Emperor in his previous life, Li Qingjue focused her mind upon her navel.

Then she tried her best to sense the location of that dead, empty Sea of Bitterness.

Time passed bit by bit. She devoted herself completely to it, sweat gradually soaking her clothes, while exhaustion and determination filled her thin little face beneath tightly shut eyes.

However.

No matter how hard and earnestly she tried, the Sea of Bitterness remained as firm as a rock, utterly unmoving. Not even the slightest ripple appeared.

This showed just how difficult cultivation was for the purest kind of Mortal Body!

If it rose by another level of difficulty, it would likely rival the difficulty of an Indestructible Golden Body opening its Sea of Bitterness in the Post-Ancient Era.

But an Indestructible Golden Body could be built up with resources, and considering the eventual returns, it was still worthwhile.

What about a Mortal Body?

If the same resources were poured into it, could it even defeat one finger of a Sacred Body?

Drip...

As time passed, the sweat on Li Qingjue's forehead, temples, nose, and everywhere else gathered beneath her chin before finally falling.

Just as her mental strength was greatly depleted and she was nearly unable to hold on any longer.

Tan Lin's voice sounded at precisely the right time, carrying a trace of subtle meaning:

"On the path of cultivation, one must balance exertion and rest. Blindly cultivating with hardship is sometimes less effective than a single trial. We will stop opening your Sea of Bitterness here for now.

"Come. Follow me somewhere."

"Where to?"

Li Qingjue raised her head in confusion.

Tan Lin's remnant soul faced away from her, gazing instead in the direction of the Feathered Immortal Dynasty station they had seen during the day.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the broken walls of the abandoned brick kiln as he said in a quiet voice,

"To see your brother one last time."

Tyrant Blood Arrives

"Brother?!"

At those words, Li Qingjue's entire body shook. Tears instantly welled up again in eyes filled with disbelief.

Tan Lin said nothing more. The crimson mist around his remnant soul slowly spread until it enveloped Li Qingjue as well, concealing every trace of their presence and aura.

Then, with the power of his Primordial Spirit, he grabbed his young disciple's little hand and shot into the sky.

This was [All Causes Barrier], Tan Lin's flexible application of the changes that had arisen in the All-Causes Soul Pearl. He had also named it himself.

In this state, if a cultivator's divine sense swept over their location, it would pass over them as though traversing flat ground, unable to discover them.

However, because it consumed very little of the Soul Pearl's power, its effectiveness still depended on the specific circumstances.

If that gray-robed Daoist from before personally investigated, Tan Lin estimated that they would have nowhere to hide.

But beings of that level were not cabbages growing everywhere, even on this Emperor-Burying Star. Most of them remained secluded within the restricted zones.

Whoosh...

The two silently left the abandoned brick kiln through the night sky, flying across the heights.

The girl covered her mouth with one hand as she watched mountains, rivers, and houses race backward beneath her feet. Only after the sensation of weightlessness gradually faded did her slightly stiff body relax somewhat.

Tan Lin offered neither words nor reminders throughout, but Li Qingjue consciously forced herself to behave in a way that would satisfy her master.

They were going to see her brother's corpse one last time. She had thought there would be no chance, yet things had unexpectedly taken a turn.

She... did not want to upset her master and lose this final opportunity.

Whoosh!

A few breaths later, the two had crossed twenty to thirty li and returned to the Feathered Immortal Dynasty station from the daytime.

The night was deep now, and the earlier torrential rain had stopped. Only a faint lingering scent of blood remained in the air. The station was brightly lit, and the sounds of carriages, horses, and cultivators could vaguely be heard. It had somehow regained a little life?

Li Qingjue did not know what had happened here after she left.

All she could see now was that the soldiers in the station seemed to have been replaced. A grim, murderous atmosphere permeated the place inside and out.

Formation patterns densely covered the station.

Tan Lin was unsure whether his [All Causes Barrier], which could evade detection, could ignore them as well. To be safe, he brought his young disciple to hover in the air.

He had chosen a very tricky angle. Looking down from this position, they could clearly see the open space within the station.

The coffin that had been kept in the cellar during the day had clearly been moved out. It now lay there, surrounded by a group of people whose auras were utterly incompatible with those of the Feathered Immortal Dynasty cultivators.

"Where is Zhou Jie? Why don't I see him?"