Chapter 1346, Chapter 1389-1390: The Statue’s Identity and Origin (Two-in-One)

"I actually forgot that he could cast this extremely overbearing Body Fixing Art!" Waves surged in Greedy Wolf's mind, and fear spread like ink in his eyes, occupying their entirety.

"This nemesis is too despicable. Since he possesses such a Body Fixing Divine Ability, he deliberately didn't act earlier, but waited until I brought out my strongest treasure before unleashing it, cutting off my last hope!" Greedy Wolf's body, including his Primordial Spirit and Primordial Power, and even his Divine Sense, couldn't move an inch. He could only watch Wang Lin gradually approach from afar.

The broken statue emitted no aura, quietly floating to Greedy Wolf's right.

Wang Lin's body gradually shrank as he moved forward. By the time he stood before Greedy Wolf, he had already returned to the size of a normal person. Without first attending to Greedy Wolf, Wang Lin reached out and grabbed the broken statue from the Void Realm into his hand.

Seeing Wang Lin take away his strongest Magic Treasure, Greedy Wolf felt as if a sharp sword had pierced through his heart and been pulled back, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times. The intense heartache filled Greedy Wolf with such rage that blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.

"It's merely a Magic Treasure. Senior Greedy Wolf, you wouldn't be so petty, I presume. In the past, Senior bestowed many Magic Treasures upon me, and upon meeting today, you've offered more. I, Wang, shall not decline and will accept them." A smile appeared on Wang Lin's face as he spoke, his gaze falling upon the broken statue, which he examined closely.

Upon seeing this, Wang Lin's expression immediately changed.

This statue looked very ordinary, with multiple areas of damage. Its appearance was rather strange, depicting a person.

This person appeared to be middle-aged, dressed in a flowing cloud Daoist robe, with an ordinary appearance, yet an indescribable majesty subtly emanated from him. This majesty was not intense, nor did it cause a sense of trepidation, but the moment Wang Lin's gaze met the statue's eyes, he trembled violently!

It was a tremor, a shiver!

Before Wang Lin's eyes, the Star Domain instantly collapsed within his vision, tearing everything apart. An indescribable power erupted from within the statue, directly rushing into Wang Lin's mind through his eyes.

In Wang Lin's ears, heaven and earth boomed, and even thunder was torn to shreds! The entire Star Domain, the entire heaven and earth, all existence collapsed in that instant, turning into nothingness. Furthermore, in that nothingness, Wang Lin lost his mind, his entire being struck by this power, falling into a state of bewilderment.

He didn't know how much time had passed—ten years, a hundred years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years… Until one day, Wang Lin saw a continent appear in the non-existent heaven, earth, and Star Domain ahead. This continent was boundless, and vaguely, Wang Lin had an epiphany: the scope of this continent already surpassed the entire Primordial Stars, surpassed the Inner Realm, and even if both were added together, they would not be one ten-thousandth of this continent!

Everything seen within his mind dissipated at this moment, turning into a void that gradually vanished. Wang Lin, with a shiver, awakened.

The Star Domain was still that Star Domain, the heaven and earth were still that heaven and earth, and Greedy Wolf's eyes were filled with intense fear, still immobilized by the Body Fixing Art.

Wang Lin was silent.

No matter how many years he had spent immersed in that strange state, in reality, the moment he awoke, Wang Lin understood that it had all been but an instant!

If one were to speak of distance, that distance was the moment his eyes met the statue's eyes!

"Was it an illusion…" Wang Lin's expression became complex. He couldn't understand it, but everything he had seen in his mind just now was deeply imprinted in his heart, never to dissipate or be forgotten throughout his life.

"What… was that…" Wang Lin's gaze fell upon the statue again. This second look brought a completely different feeling than before. The seemingly ordinary statue now seemed to have transformed, exuding an indescribable majesty!

This majesty could make all Cultivators appear as ants before it! Even heaven and earth would have to submit to it! Wang Lin could even vaguely sense that perhaps even Third Step mighty figures would… tremble before this statue!

"Who exactly is he…" Wang Lin was silent.

Among all the statues he had seen in his life, before this one, only that of Immortal Emperor Qing Lin in the Demon Spirit Land was the most shocking, capable of making one feel as if their mind would collapse upon seeing it. However, compared to the statue before him, although the feeling of mental collapse was not as intense, Wang Lin vaguely felt that compared to this statue, Qing Lin's image was like an ant!

The statue depicted an ordinary middle-aged man, with his head raised, his expression calm, devoid of joy, sorrow, or any emotion.

"Where did you obtain this statue?" Wang Lin continued to gaze at the statue, not looking at Greedy Wolf, and spoke slowly.

As he spoke, he waved his right hand, causing the Body Fixing Art on Greedy Wolf to loosen slightly, allowing him to speak.

"In an Ancient Tomb." Greedy Wolf was silent for a moment, then sighed inwardly and spoke.

"To enter the Primordial Stars, one must break through the Sealed Realm Formation. With your cultivation, it's absolutely impossible to open the Formation. How did you get in here?" Wang Lin's voice was cold, containing a hint of chill that invaded Greedy Wolf's mind, causing him to shiver.

"It's still that Ancient Tomb… All my Magic Treasures—the Floating Shock Sword, the Bone Protection Stele, the Mist Demon Spear, the Heavenly Emperor Furnace, and also the Myriad Ancient Wood Spirit, Ancient Breath Leaf, and Demon Soul Bottle—were all obtained in that Ancient Tomb," Greedy Wolf whispered, abandoning all resistance. He understood that if he told the truth, there might still be a chance to live; otherwise, the person before him was a figure of monstrous Evil Qi and would never be soft-hearted.

Moreover, if he aroused suspicion and the Soul Searching Art was used, even if he didn't die, he would become a person without sanity.

Wang Lin's eyes flickered as he looked at Greedy Wolf and slowly said, "What Ancient Tomb! Explain in detail, don't force me to search your Soul!"

Greedy Wolf dared not conceal anything and quickly spoke in a low voice.

"After I escaped from beneath the Moon Gazer back then, I didn't die. Instead, I hid on a half-abandoned Cultivation Planet in the Luotian Star Domain, avoiding your pursuit and fully healing my injuries.

After a long time, I didn't see you pursuing me, so I knew you might have thought I was dead. I then rested and recuperated on that Cultivation Planet until all my injuries recovered before choosing to leave.

By that time, you were no longer in Luotian. The entire Luotian Star Domain was extremely vast and empty, and most Cultivators had gone to the Alliance Star Domain to engage in war, which gave me an opportunity.

I traveled safely and, after much thought, did not want to return to the Alliance. Moreover, because my entire body, including my Primordial Spirit, had been tainted by that lingering stench after being swallowed by the Moon Gazer back then, which could be smelled from a great distance, I found it unbearable.

So I roamed the Star Domain, searching for a way to dispel the stench from my body, year after year, until one day, on the edge of the Luotian Star Domain, vaguely approaching the location of the Flashing Realm Barrier, I discovered a strange Vortex.

That Vortex appeared very suddenly, as if it had directly unfolded before me. I wasn't surprised by such a thing; I had encountered even stranger things in my life. Even when I was still at Core Formation, fighting someone, I was on the verge of defeat when a teleportation cauldron descended from the sky and directly smashed my enemy to death…"

Wang Lin frowned and said, "Get to the point!"

Greedy Wolf shivered and quickly said, "After that Vortex appeared, my mind immediately had an extremely strong feeling. This feeling was never so intense in my life, not even when that great cauldron smashed my enemy to death and landed before me, not even when I first saw the Moon Gazer…"

He had just gotten to this point when he saw Wang Lin frown again, and his heart turned cold. He immediately stopped rambling and directly said, "I rushed into that Vortex without hesitation. As soon as I entered, the Vortex immediately dissipated. From its appearance to its disappearance, it took less than three breaths of time."

Wang Lin's eyes flashed, gradually turning cold, as he stared at Greedy Wolf and slowly said, "It sounds like this Vortex was specifically opened for you…"

Greedy Wolf's face changed drastically, and he quickly said anxiously, "I'm not lying, every word is from the bottom of my heart. I know you might not believe such a thing when I say it, but it truly is like this, and it has happened to me more than once!

When I was eight, playing in the village fields, I could kick up ginseng. Falling off a cliff, I would obtain Vermillion Fruit, or the Primordial Thunder Dragon. When fighting others, a teleportation cauldron would descend from the sky. Others needed to compete for the Rain Cauldron to enter the Rain Immortal Realm, but I was flying outside, and the Rain Cauldron automatically flew to me.

When entering the Immortal Realm, others meticulously searched for Immortal Jade and obtained very little, but the first time I went in, I was teleported into an Immortal King's Immortal Cave… And an ancient ruin in the Alliance Star Domain from years ago, where others found it difficult to locate the entrance, but when I went there, I was teleported in after taking three steps…" Greedy Wolf was afraid Wang Lin wouldn't believe him. If these were lies, it would be one thing, but Greedy Wolf knew that everything he said was true.

Sometimes even he himself found it incredible.

"Continue telling me what you saw after entering the Vortex!" Wang Lin interrupted Greedy Wolf's explanation and slowly said.

"That Vortex was like another world, extremely chaotic, filled with spatial turbulence. One wrong step would lead to eternal damnation. There were countless floating giant rock fragments, encircling the area, and at the deepest part, it was shrouded in a mist, making it impossible to see clearly.

I couldn't find an exit there and was trapped for several hundred years. The Death Qi there was very dense, and upon my observation, I discovered that it seemed to be a tomb!

I even saw a head on one of the giant rock fragments. That head was incredibly massive, about a hundred zhang in size, extremely ferocious, and it even had star points on its brow… The Heavenly Emperor Furnace was discovered by me there. At that time, there was still Burning Incense rising within the furnace… as if in worship.

As I delved deeper, I gradually discovered more heads. All these heads exuded intense resentment and unwillingness, and some of them even had single or double horns! Before some of these heads, there were Magic Treasures placed!" Greedy Wolf's eyes showed reminiscence, subtly revealing fear.

Chapter 1389

"Aside from that statue and the Myriad Ancient Wood Spirit, my other Magic Treasures were all obtained from these heads. However, for several hundred years, I always cautiously moved around the periphery, not daring to enter the interior, and I didn't know what was inside.

One day, as I moved between two giant rock fragments, I encountered a large amount of spatial turbulence. With my cultivation, I would have surely died from the impact. In that crisis, I could only retreat hastily, stepping deeper into that place.

Upon reaching the edge of the deeper area, I immediately heard waves of mournful roars coming frantically from all directions. The sound made my body tremble, a tremor that came from my very Soul.

I dared not wander there until several years later when I gained a little courage, wanting to leave this deep area and return to the periphery. I vaguely felt that this deep area was not a place I could enter; if I proceeded, I would surely die!

But just as I was cautiously trying to leave, I was caught in a storm, severely injured and falling unconscious. When I awoke, I was in a vast, withered forest.

The forest was so immense that I couldn't see its end, even with my Divine Sense spread out, it couldn't cover the entire area. All the trees I saw were dead, without a single leaf.

I walked forward in fear, I don't know for how many years, until I saw the only large tree that hadn't completely withered. On that tree, there was only one yellowed leaf. This was the first leaf I had seen here! I later took this leaf… and even put the still unwithered large tree into my Storage Pouch.

I didn't know where in this mysterious place this forest was, so I could only keep walking forward. Gradually, I felt as if centuries or millennia had passed. The further I went, the more severe the desolation became. In the end, almost everything would turn to dust the moment I touched it… until one day, I arrived at the center of this forest. It must have been the center. There, I saw a statue. The moment I saw it, I had a vague guess: perhaps it was precisely because of this statue that this boundless forest had completely withered and died.

I sensed that the statue was a treasure, so I took it. The instant I picked up the statue, a Vortex immediately appeared before me. This Vortex was identical to the one I entered through. Overjoyed, I rushed into the Vortex without hesitation.

When I reappeared, it was an unfamiliar Star Domain. Later, I learned that I had arrived outside the Sealed Realm…” Tan Lang finished speaking and looked at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin frowned, his eyes showing a thoughtful expression.

A faint glint flashed imperceptibly in Tan Lang's eyes. He had noticed halfway through his story that his body was no longer restricted; the duration of the Body Fixing Art seemed to have passed.

Seeing Wang Lin deep in thought, Tan Lang felt extremely nervous, yet he slowly and subtly retreated, then suddenly rushed backward, attempting to escape. But the moment his body shot out, Wang Lin raised his right hand and casually grabbed.

Immediately, Tan Lang screamed. His body was instantly grabbed from a distance, heading straight for Wang Lin's right hand. Just as his heavenly spirit was about to be struck by Wang Lin's right hand, strange suction forces emanated from Wang Lin's palm, clearly entering Tan Lang's head.

Fear, like a flood, engulfed Tan Lang. He shrieked, “You promised not to kill me!!!”

No sooner had he spoken than Wang Lin's right hand landed on his heavenly spirit. Divine Sense surged out, sweeping through his Primordial Spirit to search his memories!

At the same time, under Wang Lin's vast Divine Sense, thunder rumbled, and lightning snaked through the starry sky, converging on Wang Lin's right hand and rushing into Tan Lang's Primordial Spirit, cleansing Tan Lang's Primordial Spirit as if washing it with Wang Lin's Origin of Thunder power.

Tan Lang's body trembled, and in a moment, he was drenched in sweat. In an instant, Wang Lin raised his right hand and, with a flick, threw Tan Lang far away.

“I won't take your Magic Treasure for free. You may leave!”

Tan Lang's face was pale. He immediately bit his tongue, spitting out fresh blood, and his speed instantly surged. He transformed into a long rainbow and rapidly flickered away, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

In the starry sky, Tan Lang's eyes showed the relief of having escaped death, mixed with a sense of grievance.

“This is the second time he's taken all my Magic Treasures! I swear I will never let such a thing happen a third time in this life!!! With most of my Magic Treasures gone, this Land of Falling is too dangerous. I must quickly return to my Immortal Cave to retrieve what I left behind and leave this Land of Falling!” As Tan Lang fled, his face was filled with grievance. After a long while, having teleported countless times and confirmed that Wang Lin was not pursuing him, his body flickered and vanished without a trace.

He reappeared on a Cultivation Planet. As soon as he manifested, he immediately flew straight towards a mountain peak ahead, transforming into a long rainbow and stepping into the mountain's periphery. With a flick of his sleeve, a rumbling sound came from the mountain, and a Rift opened in its middle.

Tan Lang stepped in without hesitation. But the moment he entered the Rift and stepped into the Immortal Cave, his entire body suddenly stiffened. A foul stench emanated from the Rift, assailing him and almost making him faint.

“Why is it so smelly…” Tan Lang cursed, then suddenly his body trembled, and he froze for a moment. He quickly raised his arm to his nose and, after a careful sniff, his expression showed disbelief.

“The stench on my body is gone!!!! Even my sense of smell has recovered! I had already grown accustomed to the smell in this Immortal Cave and couldn't smell it at all before!”

Tan Lang's eyes filled with pleasant surprise. For hundreds of years, he had dreamed of getting rid of the stench on his body. After meeting Wang Lin and losing the chance to obtain the Myriad Ancient Scorpion Corpse, he had already despaired, but now, he never expected the stench to simply disappear on its own!

“I won't take your Magic Treasure for free…” Tan Lang immediately recalled Wang Lin's words before he left, and his expression became complex.

After letting Tan Lang go, Wang Lin turned and stepped back to the Cultivation Planet where the Dark Scorpion Clan resided. Tan Lang, undeterred by the Inner Realm and Outer Realm barrier, had arrived at the Primordial Stars a step ahead to await him, offering the Magic Treasures he had painstakingly acquired. Coupled with the joy of meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land, how could Wang Lin possibly kill him?

“This Tan Lang is my lucky star. I cannot kill him; I must let him go. I still look forward to our third meeting; by then, he will surely offer more Magic Treasures!” Wang Lin smiled, shaking his head as he appeared on the Dark Scorpion Clan's Cultivation Planet.

The nearly one thousand Cultivators of the Cloud Escape Clan dared not leave and were still waiting there. Zhong Dahong had regained his vigor, acting arrogant and pointing at several seemingly high-cultivation Cloud Escape Clan Cultivators to treat his injuries, reclining there and constantly snorting.

With every snort, the surrounding Cultivators' hearts trembled.

Their gazes towards Zhong Dahong were filled with awe. They feared not Zhong Dahong, but the master behind Zhong Dahong! Especially the expression and words of their Clan Chief after seeing the jade pendant made everyone realize that they had provoked someone they shouldn't have, and a great disaster was likely imminent.

The Dark Scorpion Clan members who had been driven out earlier were also respectfully invited back by the Cloud Escape Clan, who even offered Medicinal Pills to treat their injuries. Even the old man surnamed Zhang, Zhong Dahong's attendant, was also invited back.

“If only you had known this earlier, why did you act as you did! Hmph, I already told you before, but you refused to believe me! What good are your eyes then!” Zhong Dahong had two female Cloud Escape Clan Cultivators standing behind him, massaging his shoulders. He looked very comfortable and spoke arrogantly.

“It's not that I look down on you, but your cultivation, let alone my master, even I wouldn't bat an eye at it. One slap would be enough to send all of you flying, like crushing ants!” Zhong Dahong raised his chin, scolding disdainfully.

The surrounding Cloud Escape Clan Cultivators nodded repeatedly in agreement. Even some arrogant ones, at this critical juncture when the entire clan faced a great calamity, couldn't help but lower their heads, not daring to retort.

The Cloud Escape Clan Chief and several Elders stood respectfully beside Zhong Dahong, their faces bearing fawning smiles, nodding incessantly.

“Please forgive us, Your Excellency. We truly did not know your identity. Please speak some good words for us. Afterwards, this junior will offer a generous gift.” The Cloud Escape Clan Chief felt bitter inside. His cultivation was clearly much higher than the other party's; ordinarily, a single finger would be enough to kill the other party a thousand times over, but now, he had to serve him cautiously.

Zhong Dahong, being massaged comfortably by the female Cultivators behind him, snorted at the words and spoke with great arrogance, “Since you know your mistake, you should be given a chance to repent, but…”

The Cloud Escape Clan Chief quickly stepped forward a few paces. With a flip of his right hand, he produced a jade bottle. A trace of heartache and reluctance flashed in his eyes, but gritting his teeth, he quickly offered it.

“A small token of my regard, please accept it, Your Excellency.”

Zhong Dahong took it, opened it, and his eyes lit up with joy. He put it in his怀里, coughed, and said arrogantly, “I shall try then.”

At this moment, ripples suddenly echoed in the sky, and Wang Lin's figure stepped out from within. The instant he appeared, Zhong Dahong's expression immediately changed. He suddenly stood up, fearing he would be too slow, pushed away the female Cultivators behind him, and put on a fawning expression.

“Welcome, Master, triumphant return! Master, Dahong has not seen you these past days, nor listened to your words, and his heart has been restless. He cannot even enter meditation, always feeling an emptiness inside. Each time, he needs to loudly chant Master's name a hundred times to enter meditation. But even so, it cannot compare to the junior's yearning for Master in his heart.

Only by seeing Master, by being by Master's side, can this junior's heart truly settle.” Zhong Dahong quickly stepped forward, bowing and looking up while performing his invincible divine skill, and also being extremely cautious, fearing that his words might be too exaggerated and displease Wang Lin.

At this moment, the arrogance he had shown before the Cloud Escape Clan was long gone, replaced by continuous flattery.

The Cloud Escape Clan Cultivators were seeing such a scene for the first time, and they were all immediately dumbfounded. Even the Cloud Escape Clan Chief, who had just offered a generous gift, was stunned for a moment. He couldn't imagine how a person could undergo such a drastic change in an instant.

“Why aren't you making way? What are you standing there for? Move aside, don't block my Master's path!” Zhong Dahong pushed aside several Cloud Escape Clan Cultivators before Wang Lin, and even pushed the Cloud Escape Clan Chief to the side, as if he had long forgotten the joy he felt when he received the generous gift just now.