[[Temporal Decree] activated, the previous epoch? [Supreme Dao Immortal Venerable]]

[The [Temporal Decree] in your robes continued to emit profound fluctuations of space and time,]

[Under the shroud of this power, your perception seemed to rise into an inconceivable dimension.]

[You "saw"]

[—several nearly tangible gazes, laden with boundless majesty and indifference, descending from indescribable heights and sweeping across the area you occupied!]

[They were [Nascent Soul True Lords]!]

[Sure enough, establishing such a heaven-defying foundation as [Heaven-grade Qi Refining] had ultimately drawn their attention!]

[Yet something extraordinary happened.]

[Under the interference of the [Temporal Decree]'s seemingly faint yet fundamentally exalted spacetime fluctuations,]

[You could clearly sense those terrifying gazes sweeping back and forth over the surrounding area like searchlights, probing and divining,]

[Yet they simply could not pinpoint your exact location, much less discern the traces left by your recent breakthrough or the trajectory of your fate!]

[They were like people searching through fog for a nonexistent target. Only after repeated fruitless attempts did that suffocating pressure gradually dissipate.]

[Lingering fear filled your heart, but you also gained a more tangible understanding of the [Temporal Decree]'s power.]

[It did not confront them directly. Instead, it employed a subtler method, distorting and concealing the "time" and "information" associated with you, leaving even True Lords with nowhere to begin their investigation.]

[The [Temporal Decree]'s fluctuations did not cease. After the True Lords' gazes withdrew, they grew even more violent, as though gathering the last of its energy.]

[An unknown amount of time passed before the spacetime fluctuations converged upon a certain peak—]

["Humm!"]

[A soft, stable Light Screen unfolded out of thin air before you, and the scene on its other side gradually became clear.]

["The [Temporal Decree] has reacted?" A warm, calm voice reached you, tinged with uncertainty.]

[You looked closely. On the other side of the Light Screen, the first thing you saw was a young gentleman dressed in a moon-white robe, holding a folding fan with jade ribs.]

[His features were handsome and refined, his bearing otherworldly. A faint smile hovered at the corners of his mouth, and he was dressed like an elegant scholar.]

[Between the distance, the intervening Light Screen, and the [Temporal Decree]'s own ability to isolate auras, you could not sense his cultivation at all. You only felt that he was unfathomable.]

[He seemed to have gotten a clear look at you as well. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes before he spoke first, his tone probing:]

["Are you someone from the next Era?" He paused, then, as though correcting himself, used a more precise term that sent a violent shock through your heart:]

["No, I should say you are an [Otherworldly Demon] from the next Era!"]

[Otherworldly Demon]!

[Those words exploded through your mind like a thunderclap!]

["Does he mean a Transmigrator?!" Towering waves surged in your heart. He had seen through your origins at a glance!]

[But despite your shock, you quickly calmed down.]

[This [Temporal Decree] was the "most suitable" object brought forth by the purple talent [Wish Echo], and now it had connected you to this being...]

[That meant he was most likely well disposed toward you—or rather, toward your identity as an "Otherworldly Demon." At the very least, he was neutral and open to communication.]

[In the flash of a spark, you weighed the pros and cons and decided to gamble]

[—on the Purple Talent's judgment, and on this "senior's" attitude. You suppressed the turmoil in your heart and nodded in outright acknowledgment:]

["Yes, I am!"]

[The scholar opposite you visibly froze at your blunt admission, then chuckled:]

["Are all youngsters these days so honest?" He studied you with interest. "Or... did you only transmigrate recently?"]

[Those words left you completely certain that "Otherworldly Demon" meant Transmigrator! And judging by how familiar he sounded with the subject...]

["Could he be a Transmigrator too?!" you exclaimed inwardly.]

[His words and manner, that directness and teasing humor so reminiscent of a modern person, made him seem far too much like a "fellow countryman"!]

[You did not explain at length how long you had been here, merely answering cautiously, "No. To be precise, it's been quite some time since I transmigrated.]

[But the way I obtained this [Temporal Decree] was rather unusual, so... I'm inclined to trust the connection it brings."]

[After hearing this, the scholarly senior gently waved his folding fan and smiled knowingly, his tone carrying a hint of teasing that seemed to see through everything:]

["It's because of your [Golden Finger], isn't it? You must have obtained it through your [Golden Finger]."]

[He nodded, his gaze seeming to pierce the Light Screen and see the wariness deep within your heart,]

[“You dared to admit outright that you're an [Otherworldly Demon], yet you don't dare reveal that you have a [Golden Finger]... It seems you've been here no more than a hundred years. Your mental composure still has a long way to go.”]

[As you listened to him expose your secrets one after another, even precisely estimating how long ago you had transmigrated—though the number was wrong, his reasoning was right—you immediately understood]

[—the man before you was not only a “fellow countryman,” but a seasoned Transmigrator from the previous Era, one who also possessed a [Golden Finger] and had lived for untold years, accumulating vast experience!]

[Silence lingered on both sides of the Light Screen for a moment. In the end, the scholarly senior opposite you was the first to break it.]

["What is your name? Do you have a Daoist title?" he asked casually, as though making ordinary small talk.]

[You grew slightly wary. After a moment's consideration, you decided that your name and the Lineage you came from were not information that demanded strict secrecy, so you answered truthfully:]

["My name is Chen Fan. I come from the cultivation Lineage, the [Chen Family]. At present... I don't have a Daoist title." Before a True Lord, how could a Qi Refining cultivator like you claim a Daoist title?]

["The cultivation Lineage, the [Chen Family]?" At this, he frowned slightly, seemingly finding the information too vague.]

[Before your eyes, he simply closed his eyes and formed subtle gestures with his fingers. Countless invisible threads seemed to spread and intertwine around him, as though he were performing a divination through some inconceivable divine ability...]

["There are more than three thousand [Chen Families] in this Era and the next. That's too many. Could you be a little more specific..." he said as he continued his divination.]

[But before he could finish—]

["CRAAACK—!!"]

[A bolt of lightning whose color and form defied description, seemingly filled with the fury of the laws of heaven and earth, tore through the sky on his side without warning and struck him with unerring precision!]

[You could not even sense the lightning's actual power, yet merely seeing the devastation wrought by its aftershocks through the Light Screen made your scalp prickle]

[—the area where he stood instantly became a terrifying crater. Everything within it, whether rocks, vegetation, or spiritual energy, was utterly annihilated!]

["Senior!" you cried involuntarily, horror filling your heart. You feared this "fellow countryman" you had just met had been destroyed in body and soul by a single bolt of heavenly lightning.]

[The dust slowly dispersed. Just as you thought the worst had happened, the scholar's slightly resigned voice came through clearly once more:]

["Tsk, [Karmic Law] punishment?" Seeming somewhat displeased, he brushed at his sleeves,]

["It seems those words of mine just now, trying to uncover your precise origins, interfered with too great a [cause], thereby affecting your [effect] at that point in time and provoking a backlash from the laws."]

[As he spoke, his figure became clear again within the Light Screen.]

[What left you dumbstruck was that, aside from a small scorched patch on the hem of his moon-white robe, he was completely unharmed. Not even his hair was out of place!]

["So powerful!" Storm-tossed waves surged through your heart.]

[He had endured such terrifying Heavenly Punishment head-on, and only the hem of his robe had suffered slight damage? Strength like that...]

[“At least a [Golden Core Powerhouse]!” You instantly reached that conclusion, and even suspected he might be more powerful still.]

[He seemed quite pleased by your shocked expression and casually brushed away some nonexistent dust,]

[His folding fan snapped open with a swish. He waved it twice and spoke in a tone as bland as if he were saying, "The weather is nice today":]

["In that case, to avoid getting struck by lightning again, I'll introduce myself first."]

[He paused, the corners of his mouth curling into a seemingly modest smile that actually held boundless pride:]

["My name is Lin Feng. I am at the [Nascent Soul True Lord] realm, attained the Dao in [Beyond Heaven], and am known as the [Supreme Dao Immortal Venerable]."]