At those words, the Shrouding the Heavens Universe's summoning force truly began exerting itself, competing with another summoning force for him.
Seeing this, Lin Xian hardened his heart and decisively threw out the Ascension Talisman from his arms. It turned into a streak of light and landed steadily in Feng Baobao's hands.
No pain, no gain.
Sure enough, after he cast away the Ascension Talisman, the Shrouding the Heavens Universe's summoning force gradually gained the upper hand, carrying Lin Xian across endless time and space on a long journey.
In his daze, Lin Xian seemed to glimpse the supreme truth and witness the great terror beyond dimensions. A Red-Haired figure battled a tentacle at the edge of the Chaos Sea. Chaos shattered, primordial mist first opened, and even the Great Dao was ground away.
This was not the Human Dao Great Emperor's kind of annihilation, temporarily shattering the Great Dao Laws only for them to recover after a while. This was the true eradication of the Great Dao from its very roots.
Birth gave way to destruction, and destruction gave way to birth. It was so intricate and profound that words could not describe it.
"I am the Heavenly Emperor!"
"Becoming an emperor is forbidden here!"
"Chosen One."
"Step upon the Heavenly Heart and defy the Dao!"
It was a wondrous sensation, beyond speech and beyond description, something that could only be felt with the heart: great destruction, great creation, great terror, great majesty.
Lin Xian could neither comprehend nor understand it. He could not bear witness to the transformations of the Great Dao, so he could only do his utmost to imitate the changes of time and space, recording them with his Divine Runes and capturing those fleeting fragments of brilliance.
"The four directions above and below are called space; the past and present are called time!"
"The universe is the Dao of time and space, the Dao of life and death, the Dao of Yin-Yang, and the Dao of the Sea of Bitterness."
"Between Heaven and Earth, there is but one breath. Movement and stillness divide it into Yin and Yang."
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Xian slowly opened his eyes. A faint light shone in, and a magnificent landscape came into view.
"System, are you there?"
Lin Xian spoke softly.
"I am."
That familiar ethereal voice rang out, bringing him a measure of comfort.
"Have we returned to Big Dipper?"
Lin Xian took a deep breath, silently reciting scripture as he sensed the surrounding mountains and earth and drew in energy.
Although Big Dipper's cultivation world was in the Dharma-Ending Era, where the Great Dao was suppressed, it was still far superior to Under One Person World, an era that had come infinitely close to spiritual extinction.
Lin Xian had not been wrong to call the Shrouding the Heavens Universe an Immortal Realm. This world truly allowed one to become immortal. A few epochs earlier, it had also been flourishing, filled with Longevity Substance, Immortal Kings gathered like clouds, and True Immortals as numerous as rain.
It was only that, after suffering several great calamities, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had declined, seeming somewhat shabby in comparison to the Immortal Realm.
As he cultivated with all his strength, the spiritual essence between Heaven and Earth swept toward him like a storm, filling his body and washing through his entire Sea of Bitterness.
The divine power within him recovered rapidly. A Life Spring burst forth, truly giving him the feeling of an inexhaustible supply.
His bones crackled all over, as though shackles that had been sealed away for ages had been cast off.
When he rose again, the fourteen- or fifteen-year-old Lin Xian was bathed in radiance, like a solar god standing within the blazing sun. His gaze was sharp as torches as he looked toward the horizon, where rolling mountain ranges rose over a thousand zhang high and blocked his view.
Big Dipper Imperial Star, Eastern Wasteland—he had returned.
Rainbow light formed beneath his feet, like an Immortal Bridge spanning mountains and rivers. His mana flowed without end, free from the worry of running dry, and Lin Xian crossed several hundred li in one breath, fleeing into the distance.
In the end, he stopped in a prosperous mortal city and rested for another night. A white-haired elderly cultivator who had only recently opened his Sea of Bitterness was stationed in the city.
Lin Xian asked him for information and finally learned where he was.
He had not traveled far from the Desolate Antiquity Forbidden Zone. Instead, he had arrived in a nation called the Yan Kingdom.
The Yan Kingdom stretched two thousand li from north to south and three thousand li from east to west. Such territory was no more than a drop in the ocean in the Eastern Wasteland, where nations like this were countless.
Many mortal kingdoms would change dynasties without ever seeing a cultivator, worshipping them only as immortals.
The Yan Kingdom was special because it attracted cultivators.
That was entirely because one of the Eastern Wasteland's seven great forbidden zones, the Desolate Antiquity Forbidden Zone, lay at the center of the nation. Surrounded and enclosed by endless mountains, this primeval region covered more than eight hundred li.
Lingxu Cave Heaven, Golden Radiance Cave Heaven, Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven, Misty Radiance Cave Heaven, Purple Sun Cave Heaven, and Evening Moon Cave Heaven—these six blessed Cave Heavens all surrounded the outer perimeter of that primeval region.
"Senior, this junior is a registered disciple of Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven." The elderly cultivator, already over a hundred years old, cautiously asked, "May I ask whether you intend to settle in the Yan Kingdom? If you do, this junior can recommend you to Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven. With your cultivation, you will certainly receive resources on the level of an elder."
"Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven?" Lin Xian's heart stirred. He asked, "Since you are a disciple of Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven, why did you not remain there to cultivate?"
"Senior, this junior merely has a Mortal Body." The old cultivator revealed a bitter smile. "I am not like you, blessed with extraordinary talent and a vast immortal path ahead. Simply having the aptitude to enter the path of immortality was already incomparably fortunate."
"After passing fifty, I was never able to advance another step on the path of cultivation. I could see no hope of reaching the Life Spring, so I simply gave up cultivation. Since I was born into the royal family, I returned to the mortal world and stationed myself in this city, selecting talented disciples for the sect."
"Cultivation is difficult..." Lin Xian shook his head and repeated the word difficult three times.
This was the reality for the vast number of low-level cultivators in the Eastern Wasteland. If an ordinary Mortal Body lacked a fortunate opportunity, they would remain trapped in the Sea of Bitterness for their entire life, never even glimpsing the hope of the Life Spring.
In the Yan Kingdom, the Life Spring Realm already counted as an expert. The Divine Bridge Realm was an elder-level existence, while the Other Shore Realm belonged to the masters who controlled a Cave Heaven.
Above that, the Dao Palace, the second secret realm, was already legend—a foundation-level existence.
Lin Xian possessed the complete Sea of Bitterness section passed down by a Saint, and he had cultivated the Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens phenomenon according to Sage Tianxuan's scripture. Such treatment was beyond anything a Mortal Body could even dream of.
Even registered disciples of Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven had no right to possess the Life Spring scripture. They could only cultivate the Sea of Bitterness scripture. Only after rendering great service to the sect, such as selecting an Immortal Seedling, would they qualify to receive the scripture for the next realm.
Seeing this, Lin Xian gave the old cultivator a few pointers on the Life Spring scripture. The old cultivator immediately treated them as priceless treasure, becoming even more respectful.
Not to mention worldly gold, silver, and treasures, he offered all kinds of polygonatum, ginseng, and lingzhi as tribute as though they cost nothing.
On the third day, after receiving Lin Xian's approval, the old cultivator reported the news. At last, people from Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven arrived.
Three streaks of rainbow light flew over, and all three were at the Divine Bridge Realm. The leader was a white-haired old man with an immortal air about him.
"Are you the cultivator seeking to join our Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven?" An old woman on the left, her forehead marked with runes, bluntly asked, "Why are you hiding your face?"
To avoid causing too much of a stir because of his age, Lin Xian had deliberately put on a black robe and black cloak to conceal his figure.
Facing the old woman's interrogation, Lin Xian smiled calmly. Without even looking at her, he gazed directly at the leading white-haired elder and asked, "How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?"
"Of course." The white-haired, white-bearded elder smiled slightly. "I am Ma Yun, an elder of Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven. How should I address you, Fellow Daoist? And may I ask who your master is?"
"Lin Xian, a lone cultivator with no sect or school, making my home wherever the world takes me." Lin Xian raised a brow and asked in return, "Does Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven require a certain background when accepting people?"
"An itinerant cultivator from elsewhere?" The old woman on the left sneered, the contempt in her eyes growing heavier.
A stinking itinerant cultivator from somewhere else, coming to our Yan Kingdom!