Chapter 1204: Peak of the Cloud Sea, Flowing Moon

Time slowly flowed by, and in a blink of an eye, three days had passed. Wang Lin sat cross-legged on the massive stone gate, in that peculiar Realm, similar to comprehending the Dao, pursuing the changes of the ninth rule.

The Mosquito Beasts scattered around, densely packed but not dispersed, instead vigilantly watching their surroundings. The Mosquito King, in particular, simply lay on the stone gate beside Wang Lin, its pair of indifferent eyes slowly scanning the surroundings with icy coldness. All Mosquito Beasts that met its gaze immediately displayed expressions of extreme respect.

Only when the Mosquito King's gaze fell upon Wang Lin did it change; its indifference vanished, replaced by a sense of attachment, like a child clinging to its parents.

In fact, in the Mosquito King's heart, Wang Lin held precisely such a status.

Beside the Mosquito King were four Mosquito Beasts whose color had already reached deep blue, like guards, encircling it. An aura comparable to Nirvana Cleansing Great Perfection emanated from them.

It could be said that, led by the Mosquito King, a small swarm of about five thousand Mosquito Beasts had already taken shape. Similarly, these Mosquito Beasts had gradually accepted Wang Lin's presence, though this acceptance would immediately collapse without the Mosquito King.

Amidst bursts of hissing, Wang Lin remained seated cross-legged, silently sensing the rules on the stone gate. This stone gate contained eight types of rules within it, but in its aura, the marks of ancient time transformed into the ninth type.

Compared to the first eight, this ninth type could be said to be the strongest! Wang Lin didn't have time to comprehend all of them, so he abandoned the first eight and chose the strongest ninth type.

The desolation of the stone gate, the loneliness it exuded in this unfamiliar Wind Realm, resonated with Wang Lin's heart. He sat on the stone gate, as if he had become the stone gate itself, gazing at the vicissitudes of heaven and earth, at the changes in affairs, at tens of thousands of years sweeping across the sky, and at the undulating mountains and rivers of the earth.

His heart, too, seemed to gradually become ancient.

Nearly two thousand years of cultivation were insignificant compared to this stone gate, but at this moment, when his mind and the stone gate merged, he found a profound sense of time flowing within his heart.

Just as a painter observes mountains, waters, and life, always creating an illusory framework in their mind before internalizing it, Wang Lin sat on the stone gate, not looking down at it, but at some point opened his eyes and gazed forward.

His gaze was utterly calm, like the surface of a lake, like an undisturbed ancient well. Yet, within those calm eyes, a trace of recollection, unconsciously transforming into ripples, stirred Wang Lin's sealed memories.

Vaguely, he seemed to see on a Cultivation Planet, a father, with his child, walking between mountains and rivers, pointing with laughter at towering peaks and rippling rivers.

That father, with his child, continuously conquered one mountain after another, constantly traversed one mountain range, river, and lake after another. They even shouted to the heavens together in the sea, causing the ocean to roar in response, stirring up giant waves.

These scenes of memory, imbued with the taste of time, flowed past Wang Lin's eyes like water. It was his past, filled with both pain and joy, an indispensable part of his life's memories.

And at this moment, Wang Lin sat on this stone gate, retrieving memories while observing the heavens and earth, slowly imprinting everything before him into his heart.

"Cultivating the Dao… is actually about bringing the Dao into one's heart. This, is cultivation. The so-called comprehension and Concept are actually the same path; keeping a feeling of inspiration in one's heart, silently experiencing it, merging with the Dao, and ultimately, it becomes a Concept, a kind of thought."

Wang Lin seemed to be talking to himself, and in his murmur, he closed his eyes again. This time, even though his eyes were closed, he could still see the heavens and earth. In his mind, a majestic stone gate also stood tall.

The only difference was that on the mountain gate in his heart, he wasn't sitting there alone; beside him was another figure, a child, a child who seemed to never grow up. Perhaps in Wang Lin's heart, Wang Ping, no matter when, would always just be a… child.

Wang Ping wasn't truly there, but was brought forth by Wang Lin's memories, appearing as an illusion. He sat beside Wang Lin, just as he did in his childhood, silently accompanying his father, watching sunrises and sunsets together, traveling the world together, and together… enduring lonely solitude.

"If all of this could be eternal at this moment, becoming a fleeting moment of splendor, then perhaps life would not have so many regrets and choices."

In Wang Lin's heart, he and Wang Ping always sat on that massive stone gate. Below them was originally a blurry void, but now it gradually changed. Waves of sound echoed, rushing like ocean waves.

A boundless sea appeared beneath the stone gate. From afar, the stone gate seemed to emerge from the sea, piercing into the clouds, remaining majestic and unmoving despite the encroaching seawater.

The sound of the waves became everything in this silent world, until in the distant horizon where sea met sky, a rising sun emitted an orange-gold light, illuminating Wang Lin and his son, stretching their silhouettes.

"The sun rises over the Fading Night, time flows like memory… Eternity is not absent, but that momentary eternity can intoxicate, break hearts, make one unwilling to awaken, to smile and pursue it, until it becomes a dream of splendor, forever, eternally, dissipating in the dream.

Ping'er, my second Divine Ability shall be called Flowing Moon, how does that sound?"

Flowing Moon.

Flowing time.

Because it is always flowing, this time also becomes eternal. When a force causes this eternity to collapse, creating a moment of splendor, that is a terrifying destruction.

Wang Lin's comprehension continued. Time passed, and in a blink of an eye, another seven days had gone by. He had been sitting at this stone gate for a full ten days.

The Mosquito Beasts constantly encircled the area, appearing like a red cloud from afar, spreading and gradually surging. Wind blew through here, carrying whimpers, but it could not carry away the aura of time on the stone gate, nor could it disperse the red cloud formed by the Mosquito Beasts.

Throughout these ten days, the Mosquito King had always remained there, waiting for Wang Lin to awaken.

On the evening of the tenth day, more than ten long rainbows cautiously approached from the distant horizon. Within these long rainbows were all the elites from the eighth-rank Star Domain who were not participating in the grand ceremony.

Li Yuanlei was one of them. That day, they had waited outside the Wind Realm rift for their friends, but unexpectedly encountered Wang Lin and even witnessed the scene of Mosquito Beasts seemingly welcoming him, which deeply shocked them.

After their friends arrived, they discussed and, a few days later, carefully prepared themselves and entered the Wind Realm rift, arriving inside the Wind Realm.

However, along the way, although they were cautious, they strangely did not encounter a single Mosquito Beast. This made them more cautious in their surprise.

As they continued forward, they still didn't see half a Mosquito Beast. If they hadn't known they had entered the Wind Realm, they would have even doubted whether Mosquito Beasts had ever existed here.

The numerous ruins on the ground, many of which they previously couldn't enter due to the presence of Mosquito Beasts. In the past, when entering this Wind Realm, they only operated on the outer fringes. Such an act of gradually venturing into the depths, in countless years, this was the first time.

The deeper they went into the Wind Realm, the slower they became, and their minds grew more tense, constantly observing their surroundings. However, their gains were also quite substantial, far exceeding all their previous endeavors.

On this day, as they were flying, Li Yuanlei suddenly trembled, and at the same time, everyone around him constricted their pupils and stopped in unison.

Here, they dared not spread their Divine Sense too widely, but at this moment, there was no need to spread their Divine Sense at all. The almost sky-obscuring red cloud in the distance, and the faint buzzing sound emanating from it, immediately made their scalps tingle.

After nearly ten days of being here, the Mosquito Beasts, which seemed to have disappeared, appeared before their eyes.

But strangely, in the past, once Mosquito Beasts appeared, they would immediately hiss and attack. Yet now, these Mosquito Beasts were motionless, not even looking at the ten-odd people in the distance, merely circling around the stone gate.

This strange scene caused the retreating group to pause, each of them extremely vigilant, and ready to flee at full speed if anything went wrong.

"Those Mosquito Beasts are circling…" one of them gasped, staring at the dimly visible massive stone gate within the distant red cloud, and whispered.

"Even the elders of our sect have almost never come this far, and presumably have never seen such a stone gate structure. Judging by the appearance of the stone gate, it seems to have been a very important altar object in the Immortal Realm before it collapsed." A black-clothed youth among the group said softly.

"There's someone on that stone gate!" Li Yuanlei's cultivation was the highest, and he vaguely saw a figure sitting cross-legged on the massive stone gate amidst the thousands of Mosquito Beasts.

As soon as he spoke, everyone's minds were shaken, their eyes filled with disbelief. They cautiously looked over, and gradually, as their gazes converged, each of them vaguely saw Wang Lin sitting cross-legged on that stone gate!

"There really is someone sitting there!"

"Who is this person, able to calmly Enter Meditation while surrounded by Mosquito Beasts!"

"Even stranger, those Mosquito Beasts aren't attacking this person, but rather seem to be guarding him!!"

"This is impossible! Mosquito Beasts have always been untamable; when they encounter us Cultivators, it's a fight to the death. How could they be protecting someone!" For a moment, everyone's minds were shaken, revealing looks of horror, completely unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Don't forget the white-robed Cultivator we saw outside the rift. Look closely, although the person on the stone gate isn't clearly visible, their clothes are white." Li Yuanlei suppressed the shock in his heart and whispered.

"Someone can actually control Mosquito Beasts, this matter…" The surrounding Cultivators all fell silent, especially the newcomers. They hadn't seen Wang Lin, only heard about him from others, and originally didn't quite believe it, but now, they had no choice but to believe. Their shock was several times more intense than that of the others.