Chapter 1562: Dominating the Inner Realm, A Visitor from the Snow Region

Wang Lin didn't know if his words would have any effect; even he himself was lost in confusion. After a long time, Wang Lin picked up the Medicinal Pill on the ground, remained silent for a moment, put the Medicinal Pill in his bosom, sighed softly, and turned to leave.

He walked alone through the lands of the Vermilion Bird Star, not confined to one mountain or one place. Instead, he traversed countless great mountains and crossed innumerable long rivers, bringing his understanding of the world and his philosophy to one kingdom after another.

Year after year, Wang Lin swallowed that Medicinal Pill. The medicine gave him endless energy, allowing Wang Lin more strength to fulfill his wish of traveling through all the kingdoms.

Along the way, he slept by the mountains and rested by the rivers, seeing countless unfamiliar faces—some kind, some fierce, some bewildered, and some obstinate.

He encountered bandits and mounted marauders, but every time he met them, simply by standing there, he allowed everyone to feel the vast and mighty Qi emanating from him.

His Wang Lin, could startle and repel even an Immortal with a single word, let alone ordinary people.

As he walked, Wang Lin's appearance grew older, but his eyes became increasingly bright, containing his boundless wisdom and enlightenment, causing his entire being to be reborn and elevated in thought.

He visited too many cities and saw too many people, even going to many capitals. In those capitals, before those dignitaries, Wang Lin's demeanor and words gradually earned the reverence of the crowds.

Even the emperors who enjoyed supreme power in the Mortal world—he saw many of them. In his eyes, all these people were exactly the same.

There was no difference.

It wasn't that no one wanted to harm him, but everyone who harbored such a thought was ultimately struck by an indescribable feeling of awe and retreated when facing Wang Lin.

In the State of Wu, inside the imperial palace, thousands of Imperial Guards surrounded him. With just an order from the Emperor of Wu, they would rush forth. He wanted to keep Wang Lin and make Wang Lin the Grand Confucian of Wu.

But in the end, with Wang Lin's smiling shake of the head, he turned and left. Thunder rumbled in the sky, and the weather changed drastically. Not one of the tens of thousands of Imperial Guards dared to stop him, and after he departed, they all bowed in unison.

In the State of Sun, the Emperor of Sun and countless officials escorted Wang Lin for a thousand miles.

In the State of Heavenly Dog, there were countless wicked people, but in the end, tens of thousands were reformed when Wang Lin left.

As he continued walking, the four characters "Grand Confucian Wang Lin" stirred up a storm on the Vermilion Bird Star, growing increasingly intense and remembered by countless people.

Along his journey, Wang Lin saw countless mountains. Standing on those mountains, he looked up at the heavens and earth, sensing their vastness. He also encountered Immortals, meeting many figures, some strange, some familiar.

On the Vermilion Bird Star, within the numerous cultivation Countries, there were many sects. Most of these sects were built among mountain peaks or in scenic areas, but similarly, some were located in desolate, rugged lands.

For every mountain he climbed and every place he visited, if his heart felt a connection, Wang Lin would not deliberately search. Relying only on the enlightenment of the heavens and earth in his heart, he could walk into the mountain gate of every sect on those many peaks.

Although the strength of the Mountain Guardian Arrays varied, not a single one could impede Wang Lin's steps. He often strode right in, startling the Cultivators within the various sects who noticed him.

Even the Elders who had been in secluded meditation for countless years within the sects would be awakened from their sitting practice by the vastness of the heavens and earth emanating from Wang Lin.

Wang Lin arrived calmly and departed calmly. He only looked at the mountains, appreciated the scenery, and gained insight into the heavens and earth. As for everything else, all things were the same in his eyes.

Gradually, even within the Cultivation World of the State of Zhao, the name of Wang Lin, a Mortal Grand Confucian, slowly spread. Those Cultivators knew that on the Vermilion Bird Star, there was a Mortal who was the contemporary Grand Confucian, and even Cultivators often felt awe in his presence.

What they revered was not his strength, but his thought!

"Whether they are Cultivators or Mortals, all are but fleeting beings…" Wang Lin's words were left behind wherever he went.

Among the Cultivators, many held long conversations with him, were inspired by him, enlightened about the heavens and earth, understood the Concept, and gained hope for Soul Transformation. Even those whose cultivation surpassed Soul Transformation would vaguely feel their minds shaken during those long talks.

Year after year, time flowed by. In the blink of an eye, twelve years had passed.

In those twelve years, Wang Lin visited many, many places, and his name unconsciously spread to even more places he had not been.

Twelve years ago, he left the State of Zhao alone. Twelve years later, he was still alone, walking on the Vermilion Bird Star.

On this day, during the season when winter snow fell, Wang Lin arrived at a capital city whose country name he did not know. The country's territory was vast, equivalent to three States of Zhao combined.

Wang Lin had visited this capital city in a dream. Standing outside the city gate amidst the falling snow, a trace of melancholy appeared on Wang Lin's aged face.

He tightened the fur coat on his body and walked into the city.

Stepping on the accumulated snow on the ground, amidst the crunching sounds, Wang Lin walked onto a street within the city. This street was very quiet, with few pedestrians. Although there were shops on both sides, the shops themselves had very few people inside.

Looking at this familiar place, the scene from his dream became increasingly real, seemingly overlapping with his own eyes, causing Wang Lin to walk forward silently in a trance.

"Clang, clang… clang…" Sounds of hammering iron came from afar. Wang Lin followed the sound, looking with his aged eyes, and saw a blacksmith shop not far away.

Inside the shop, a middle-aged man, bare-chested and robust, was hammering iron with a hammer.

Although snow was falling outside, the man didn't feel cold at all, continuously swinging the hammer and producing the clanging sounds.

Next to the man was a small stool, upon which sat a boy of seven or eight. He wore a thick cotton jacket, his small face flushed red as he excitedly watched the man.

"Da Niu…" Wang Lin's vision seemed to blur. He gently shook his head; that child was not the Da Niu from his dream.

"Old man, you've been standing outside for a long time. Come in and warm yourself." The big man put down his hammer, wiped his sweat, and gave Wang Lin outside the shop a simple, honest smile.

Wang Lin paused, then smiled as well, nodded, and walked into the blacksmith shop. A wave of heat rushed over him, melting much of the snow on his body.

"Xiu Niang, bring some warmed wine." The man put on a jacket, and seeing Wang Lin's old age, helped him sit down before taking a seat himself nearby.

"Old man, you're not from around here, are you?" the big man asked with a smile.

"I've been here before. I was passing by this time, so I came to take a look," Wang Lin said in a soft, hoarse voice, looking at the furnishings inside the shop.

The seven or eight-year-old boy sat not far away, looking at Wang Lin curiously. After hearing his mother's voice from inside, he got up and ran over. Before long, he reappeared with a middle-aged woman holding a wine pot. The woman looked gentle and virtuous as she poured a cup of wine for Wang Lin, pity evident in her eyes.

"Old man, the weather is cold. Drink a cup of wine to warm yourself. Did you come here looking for relatives?"

Wang Lin smiled but said nothing. Instead, he picked up the wine cup, took a small sip, and then drank the rest in one gulp.

"Old man, the wine from my Zeng Family is pretty good, isn't it? Haha, my grandparents weren't blacksmiths back then; they sold wine. It only became a blacksmith shop when it got to me."

The big man picked up his own wine cup, took a drink, and laughed.

The furnace fire inside the shop was strong, forming a dizzying contrast with the falling snow outside, and driving out the cold air carried by the snow.

Wang Lin sat there, drinking the Zeng Family's wine, somewhat unable to distinguish whether this was a dream or not.

After a long time, when the snow had lessened slightly, Wang Lin stood up to take his leave. The big man felt pity for Wang Lin's age and gave him a pot of wine to keep warm.

As he left, the sky gradually darkened, but the ground was bright in the snow, allowing him to see far. He walked and walked, his figure under the moonlight, framed by the candlelight of the blacksmith shop behind him, growing farther and farther away.

After the brief stop, Wang Lin seemed to understand something. He continued walking on the Vermilion Bird Star, passing through unfamiliar places. In the fifteenth year after leaving the State of Zhao, Wang Lin was already over seventy.

His back was more hunched, and a sense of twilight emanated from him. Yet, his eyes were bright like the sun, making people afraid to meet his gaze. Those eyes contained Karma, contained life and death, contained truth and falsehood… Even his former master, Su Dao, did not possess this kind of presence.

In the summer of the fifteenth year, in an unfamiliar kingdom, amidst a continuous rain, Wang Lin stood inside a pavilion beside an official road. Looking at the rain outside, he could vaguely see, far beyond the rain, a vast ocean.

The sea was immense, separating two continents.

On the other side of the sea were many more kingdoms. That was the last place Wang Lin intended to go—there was a woman, another lifelong love from his dream, whom he wanted to see once.

The rain poured down, forming continuous lines, blurring the world until only rough outlines were visible. Wang Lin stood there, watching the rain, listening to the sound, and slowly closing his eyes.

Just as he closed his eyes, a woman's figure emerged far away in the rain, walking step by step. Her entire body seemed to emit endless coldness, and as she approached, the rain around her instantly turned into ice crystals with crackling sounds, falling onto the ground.

In her arms, she held a baby. The baby was wrapped in a thick quilt, completely untouched by the rain, sleeping soundly and sweetly.

The woman stopped in front of the pavilion. She was already middle-aged, yet her face was still beautiful, but permeated by that coldness, she appeared fierce and murderous like a Raksasha.

"Are you the Grand Confucian Wang Lin!"

Wang Lin opened his closed eyes, looked calmly at the woman, and nodded.

The two of them—one inside the pavilion, free of rain; the other outside the pavilion, also free of rain. The rainwater had turned to ice, and with dense sounds, completely enveloped the sky behind the woman, turning it into a frozen landscape.

"I come from the Snow Region, seeking you to ask a question." The woman's voice, like her words, came from the Snow Region.