Chapter 2007: Within Arm's Reach
"The opening time of the Lin Divine Realm is three hundred days. After three hundred days, everyone, whether alive or dead, will be expelled from the Lin Divine Realm."
"However, during this period, you may leave the Lin Divine Realm freely at any time. But once you leave, you cannot re-enter!"
Ximen Boyun coldly announced the basic rules of the Lin Divine Realm.
"Every moment spent in the Lin Divine Realm is a gift from the Abyss Emperor. I won't repeat any further warnings. I believe you are not foolish enough to waste this time on conflict."
Zhai Kexie quickly responded, "Please rest assured on this point, Knight. There has never been conflict within the Lin Divine Realm. Whatever breakthroughs or opportunities one can obtain are based on one's own ability. How would we dare to act recklessly in a place blessed by the Abyss Emperor?"
"Hmph, as if you would dare!" Ximen Boyun swept his gaze across the crowd. "Furthermore, the Lin Divine Realm is filled with various sandstorms and rock disasters. While receiving the blessing, you had better take care of your own lives! If you die here, you have no one to blame but yourselves."
With that, he touched the back of his hand, which shimmered with the Pure Land divine pattern, upon the barrier of the Lin Divine Realm.
Instantly, the barrier turned ethereal in a sudden flash of Profound Light, and the entrance to the Lin Divine Realm appeared before their eyes. The slightly rippling spatial waves overflowed with a dense aura of rock and earth.
"Finally!" His voice turned icy cold, and his expression became extremely solemn: "You all must know this, but I still have to say it... Do not, under any circumstances, approach the place where the Lin Shen dwells! If you dare to anger the Lin Shen, no one can save you!"
"Understood. Please rest assured, Knight." Ximen Borong responded.
Ximen Boyun stepped aside: "Enter. During this time, I will guard this place until the day the Lin Divine Realm closes."
The members of Helian, Worship Qilin, Rock Mystery, and Ten Thousand Ren were already filled with uncontrollable excitement. They paid their respects to the Abyss Emperor and the Abyss Knight, then stepped into the Lin Divine Realm in a relatively orderly fashion.
As Ximen Borong approached the entrance, he paused and sent a sound transmission to Ximen Boyun: "Boyun, are you really not going in?"
Ximen Boyun said, "Those above the Divine Lord Realm cannot enter. This rule has always existed, but it is rarely triggered, so few know of it."
"Whether it is my Demigod cultivation level or my status as an Abyss Knight, I am destined to be unable to enter. Moreover, the resources of the Pure Land far surpass this Lin Divine Realm. Brother need not think of me." He turned his gaze to Ximen Borong, his expression serious: "The Lin Divine Realm will cut off sound transmission and aura. If something unexpected happens, I will be powerless. So, if a danger that could threaten your life truly arises, the best choice is to leave immediately. Preserving your life is more important than everything else."
"I understand."
Ximen Borong nodded heavily, and his figure disappeared into the spatial ripples at the entrance.
The moment he set foot in the Lin Divine Realm, the world turned into a stretch of withered yellow.
The sky and earth were the same color, only withered yellow. Beneath his feet, shifting sand rolled, carrying an alarmingly dense force of sand and rock. If one's cultivation was insufficient, one could easily be sucked in and buried forever.
And in such a terrifying world of shifting sand, countless stone pillars stood in the distance, differing in shape and size, unmoving amid the eternally rolling, fearsome sand, reaching straight up to the sky.
The swirling dust in the sky wove into an endless, peculiar sandy mist. From time to time, high-level earth spirits roamed within, scattering deep or faint withered yellow rock light.
Occasionally, the wind would howl, and a sky-covering sandstorm would arise.
"Beware of the shifting sand! It is far more terrifying than you imagine!"
"Hiss... This truly lives up to its name as the Lin Divine Realm, the Lin sacred ground! The rock and sand aura here is so pure and dense to such a terrifying degree. I feel that my bottleneck, which has been stagnant for over a hundred years, is trembling."
All kinds of exclamations sounded around him... Yun Che looked around, and finally his gaze settled on the east.
No wonder Ximen Boyun had warned them not to approach the Lin Shen but did not tell them where it was. Because as soon as one entered the Lin Divine Realm, one would know at a glance.
To the east, the sea of sand and the sky were covered with a strange yellow glow. It seemed to be the legendary Lin Light, which, as it entered the pupils, carried an intangible spiritual pressure that penetrated deep into the soul.
"You absolutely must not approach the east. That is where the Lin Shen is!"
The elders of the four major forces were sternly warning the young disciples.
"The legendary Lin Shen... I wonder what it looks like."
"Such a terrifying pressure. Just how powerful a being is the Lin Shen?"
"It is said that this Lin Shen was once extremely powerful, but eroded by Yuan Chen, its strength dissipates year by year. It is already a miracle of the present age that it has survived until now. But after all, it is a Lin Shen. No matter how much its power has degraded, it is still beyond our reach... In any case, never step even half a step toward the east."
...
The sounds around him all entered his ears, causing Yun Che's brows to twitch slightly.
It seems that my various conjectures over this period are getting closer and closer to the truth.
Withdrawing his attention from the east, Yun Che quickly scanned the auras around him.
Helian He, Ximen Borong, Zhai Kexie, and Wan Wei were all there... These four were all stuck at the Half-step Divine Destruction Realm, and the Lin Divine Realm was their greatest hope to break through the bottleneck, so how could they not enter.
At a glance, the major forces were mostly composed of ninety percent young disciples. After all, most of the older generation had already settled, and the younger generation was the hope of the future.
Yun Che was more concerned about the remaining ten percent.
Besides Zhai Kexie, the Rock Mystery Sect had three other auras at the Half-step Divine Destruction Realm, presumably at the Elder level; the Ten Thousand Ren Sect was similar; even the Worship Qilin Alliance had another Half-step Divine Destruction cultivator besides Ximen Borong.
The vast majority of Abyss cultivators were forever stuck at this realm for life. They would become the foundation of a sect, but would never give up their longing to become a Demigod... In fact, as their lifespan increased, the longing grew stronger and more urgent.
Many members of the Helian Imperial Clan had entered, but most were disappointing. What surprised Yun Che was that Ku Xian had also entered the Lin Divine Realm.
Given his decrepit state, it didn't seem right...
But immediately, he understood. Ku Xian had come in to guide and assist the disciples of Helian Heavenly Mansion in their cultivation, especially Helian Lingzhu and Mo Cangying.
This old man had dedicated his entire life to the Helian Imperial Clan.
"Young Master Yun Che." Helian Lingzhu stood beside Yun Che, a flushed excitement on her face: "So many people entering at once... that's a sight that only existed during the heyday of the Helian Dynasty. I really don't know... how to thank you."
"Long Princess, you flatter me." Yun Che smiled faintly.
Mo Cangying also walked over: "Brother Yun, I plan to first cooperate with Master to help Lingzhu achieve the Divine Lord Realm. Would Brother Yun like to cultivate together?"
Yun Che shook his head: "I don't cultivate rock and earth. The aura here is of no benefit to me. I came here merely out of curiosity."
"I see." Mo Cangying nodded. "Then Brother Yun, please do as you wish. However... be careful. This is an independent space, and I'm afraid some people might take the opportunity to seek revenge. If anything happens, remember to send a sound transmission immediately. Lingzhu and I will bring all the Helian people over."
Yun Che showed gratitude: "Alright."
This place was indeed a good spot for killing and settling personal grudges. So the most sensible approach now was to quickly get out of everyone's attention.
The space here had not only sandy mist but also Yuan Chen.
As the most primitive destructive force of Chaos, its level was far too high. Even a self-created space could not isolate it.
He glanced at Long Jiang in the distance, then turned and walked away.
Helian Lingzhu instinctively raised her hand... but then slowly lowered it, and the words that were about to leave her mouth dissipated between her lips.
She vaguely sensed that after entering the Lin Divine Realm, the way Yun Che looked at her had changed.
The same expression, the same gaze, the same light, casual smile... but neither the look in his eyes nor the smile seemed to touch her heart anymore.
"Young Venerable Long." Ximen Borong gave a slight bow to Long Jiang: "Our Worship Qilin Alliance's entry into the Lin Divine Realm as the first group is all thanks to your help. I still do not know what you seek in the Lin Divine Realm this time. Please tell me, and our Worship Qilin Alliance will spare no effort to assist you."
Long Jiang had her back to him and said coldly, "No need. Our contract is already complete. From this moment on, we owe each other nothing, and we should not disturb each other."
It was the expected response. Ximen Borong said helplessly, "Very well, then I shall follow Young Venerable Long's wishes."
Long Jiang had already walked away alone without looking back.
The wind stirred around her, and Yun Che caught up, saying with a sincere expression, "Obviously, neither of us came for cultivation or breakthroughs. So, how about traveling together?"
Long Jiang paid him no attention.
Yun Che glanced sideways and seriously examined her, then said, "Actually, I think your name doesn't suit you very well. The character 'Jiang' has 'sheep' on top and 'woman' below. So-called..."
Chi!
A cold light stabbed out from under the gray robe, stopping right in front of Yun Che's throat.
"Take one more step toward me, and I'll kill you!"
Yun Che indeed did not follow her any further. He stood there as if frozen, silently watching her gray figure disappear into the sky-covering sandy mist.
The direction she went was south.
Yun Che turned and headed north. His aura was completely restrained, his presence suppressed to the minimum. And with the vast majority of people immersed in the excitement of their first entry into the Lin Divine Realm and making their subsequent plans and arrangements... it wasn't long before Yun Che silently vanished from the perception of everyone else.
With no more external auras touching him, Yun Che continued north for a thousand li, then suddenly changed direction and headed east.
His figure also began to slowly become ethereal, until, like his aura, he completely disappeared into the sandy mist.
At almost the same time, in the south where only one person was traveling alone, a gray-white figure also changed direction and headed straight east.
However, her speed was much slower than Yun Che's.
Because Yun Che had basically stopped being negatively affected by Yuan Chen, and his ability to conceal his aura was gradually approaching what it had been in the God Realm. Thus, while concealing his aura, he could also maintain a relatively fast speed.
But Long Jiang... she had to suppress and hide her aura with all her might, and her speed had to be reduced to the slowest.
The drifting dust was sometimes gentle, sometimes wild, which undoubtedly had a considerable impact on Yun Che's Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick, causing his form to occasionally flicker into visibility. However, Yun Che wasn't too concerned. He was sufficiently confident that the Qilin dwelling in the east should be in a deep sleep and would not wake up easily. So it was enough to conceal his aura to the greatest extent; the shadow concealment was just an extra layer of assurance.
Because waking up would hasten its death!
The yellow Lin Light was getting closer and more clearly imprinted in his pupils.
At that moment, Yun Che sensed something and raised his left hand.
In his palm, a hint of emerald green light flickered faintly.
In his profound veins, the five Evil God Seeds of water, fire, wind, lightning, and darkness also lit up with their respective divine lights at this moment... more intense than any previous sensation.
It was as if even they could not suppress the throbbing of anticipation for completion and rebirth.
Although he had been nearly a hundred percent certain, Yun Che's heartbeat still quickened a few times.
Sure enough, it's right here, right up ahead!!
His speed unconsciously increased, but he immediately calmed down and slowed again.
Endless yellow sand, rock formations, and dust were left behind him. He seemed to have become the only living being in the entire world. Having gone this deep, even if he shouted at the top of his lungs now, no one could possibly respond.
Finally, the light in his pupils became extremely intense. His feet touched the serene yellow Lin Light.
He canceled his shadow concealment state and stopped there, staring straight ahead. In just a few breaths, all tension and anxiety had vanished from his eyes, replaced only by cold determination and a pride that gradually emerged between his brows.
When in doubt, Yun Che was best at breaking through with force, while Chi Wuyue was best at probing and exploiting the human heart.
He had rehearsed countless times in his mind how to face this Qilin, how to obtain... no, reclaim the final Evil God Seed.
This Qilin, crowned with the name 'Lin Shen,' was unimaginably powerful.
If he tried to take it by force... with Yun Che's current cultivation, even a hundred or a thousand of him would be walking to their deaths.
In that case...
Then let this Qilin... obediently offer the Evil God Seed itself!
Because its nature was so distinct that in both ancient times and the present world, almost everyone knew it!
He stood proudly in the Lin Light, his profound energy surging around him, and let out a loud roar:
"Yun Che, successor of the Element Creation God, humbly requests an audience with the Qilin Spirit!"
This roar scattered the sandy mist, shook the space, and even the Lin Light that filled the air showed ripples that lasted for a long time.