Chapter 1775: Immortal Astral’s tenth sun—Overestimating One’s Abilities?

“Well… I, Du, have only been to Yuntao Continent, Kangyang Continent, and Ningshen Continent in this lifetime. That area is only half of the entire Eastern State. Within these three continents, there is no Lightning Vein location.”

“I truly do not know about this matter… However, I can inquire on your behalf. Perhaps some people within the Great Soul Gate might know. After all, the Great Soul Gate is one of the Nine Sects and Thirteen Gates, and their Disciples who go out for experience often report all their sightings and knowledge back to the Sect; this is part of their training.” Du Qing shook his head. The Immortal Astral Continent is boundless. Few people have traveled across the entirety of just the Eastern State. Including Tianniu Continent, he had traveled across four continents in his life, which was already quite remarkable.

Wang Lin nodded slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. After a moment, he looked at Du Qing and spoke slowly, as if casually.

“Which continent is the Donglin Sect located in?”

“Donglin Sect?” Du Qing's expression tightened. After pondering for a moment, he slowly began to speak.

“The Donglin Sect is also one of the Nine Sects and Thirteen Gates. It is located in the northern part of the Eastern State, within Dasheng Continent. Rumor has it that this Sect is extremely mysterious, and few Disciples venture out.”

After Wang Lin asked a few more questions, he showed a hint of fatigue. Du Qing, being an old fox, immediately understood and quickly got up to excuse himself. Before leaving, he made a solemn promise.

“Fellow Daoist, please rest assured. I will immediately mobilize the full power of the Sect to search for the location of the underground fire branch sub-vein. If we can personally retrieve its soul, I will certainly have the Sect's Disciples bring it to you.”

After Du Qing left, just as he had told Wang Lin, he immediately issued a series of Sect orders. Instantly, three Great Divine Ability Cultivators, led by the three Elders, dispersed with Azure Dragon Sect Disciples, heading toward three different directions.

Furthermore, the Elder who had been turned into wood and punished with a Seal was also released by Du Qing and given a chance to atone by performing meritorious service by searching for the underground fire branch sub-vein.

Wang Lin sat cross-legged alone inside this rather luxurious Immortal Cave, enveloped by the glow of the Luminous Pearl. He looked unreal, as if wisps of mist were swirling around his body.

His eyes remained deep in thought, and Du Qing's previous words echoed in his mind.

“The Lightning Origin also needs to condense its Origin True Body… I cannot place all my hopes on the Donglin Pool of the Donglin Sect… After all, the memories of the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable Su Dao might contain some exaggerations.”

“If the Lightning Origin is to condense its True Body, the required power of thunder will be immense… Since this Immortal Astral Continent has underground fire veins, it must also have Lightning Veins…”

“However, the most important thing right now is the condensation of the Fire Origin True Body… I might have to personally visit the Great Soul Gate…” Wang Lin frowned slightly. In his view, the Great Soul Gate resembled a behemoth that would be difficult to shake.

“Du Qing said that the Great Soul Gate Old Ancestor's cultivation is unfathomable, and he has also condensed an Origin True Body…” Wang Lin rubbed his forehead and sighed inwardly.

“My cultivation is still insufficient… However, it's not like I have no options…” A sharp light flashed in Wang Lin's eyes. He thought of the Guiyi Sect, since that old man surnamed Ma knew about his relationship with Xuan Luo… But soon, Wang Lin abandoned the idea of seeking help from the Guiyi Sect. That idea involved too many unknowns, and given Wang Lin's nature, he was unwilling to rely on others for his actions.

“I must rely on myself. Although it will be difficult, if I can use Shrinking the Ground into an Inch on this Immortal Astral Continent, it might not be impossible…” Deep in thought, Wang Lin closed his eyes. He stopped thinking about the Origin True Body and instead released his Divine Sense, slowly searching for a method to fuse with the world and execute Shrinking the Ground into an Inch.

This Divine Ability was extremely important for Wang Lin's future actions on the Immortal Astral Continent. Once he could regain it, his confidence would multiply.

As his Divine Sense spread out, it slowly extended beyond the Immortal Cave, swirling between the surrounding heavens and earth. But no matter how Wang Lin tried, he was consistently unable to completely fuse with the world.

At most, he could only integrate a single thread. This thread of Fusion was insufficient for shifting space; he could only execute short-distance Instantaneous Movement. But this was not what Wang Lin wanted.

It was as if an invisible barrier always existed, preventing his Fusion. This barrier was both the Law of the Immortal Astral Continent and an invisible pressure. Under this pressure, it was fundamentally difficult for a person's Divine Sense to squeeze in.

This place was unlike the Immortal Cave Realm. In the world of the Immortal Cave Realm, there was no barrier and no pressure, so as long as a Cultivator could comprehend Shrinking the Ground into an Inch, they could generally fuse with the world and move through it.

But currently, under this pressure, his Divine Sense could not squeeze in, naturally preventing Fusion and the execution of Shrinking the Ground into an Inch.

Wang Lin vaguely understood that this pressure was definitely not aimed only at him, but was pervasive across the entire Immortal Astral Continent. Therefore, even with Du Qing's cultivation, he couldn't achieve it.

“Perhaps only when one's cultivation is higher, reaching a certain Peak level, can one forcefully squeeze into this pressure and move through space…” Several days later, Wang Lin had tried multiple times, but still failed to succeed.

But he did not give up. Wang Lin's character was always like this: the more difficult the challenge, the more it ignited his determination. His Divine Sense shifted within the Azure Dragon Sect, constantly attempting to squeeze into the pressure.

Time slowly flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

During this month, Wang Lin was effectively in secluded cultivation, but the whistling of his Divine Sense caused the Azure Dragon Sect Disciples remaining behind to fear approaching the Immortal Cave on the back mountain.

Du Qing remained within the Azure Dragon Sect. He had noticed when Wang Lin's Divine Sense first spread out, but after watching for a long time, he couldn't figure out what Wang Lin was doing.

It wasn't until several days of observation that he suddenly realized and understood Wang Lin's intentions.

“He is trying to fuse his Divine Sense with the world, and then, after Fusion with the world, use this method to shift space… This is fundamentally impossible… Instantaneous Movement can be done, but his method clearly exceeds the distance of Instantaneous Movement by far. This kind of thing can only be achieved by old monsters whose cultivation has reached the Empty Tribulation Realm Peak, who understand the Immortal Astral Laws deeply, and whose cultivation can withstand the pressure.” Du Qing shook his head and gradually stopped observing Wang Lin's actions.

In one month, the Azure Dragon Sect Disciples were still unable to find the location of the underground fire branch sub-vein that was beyond the range of Wang Lin's Divine Sense. Even the four Elders could not achieve it.

They continued searching in a wider, more distant range.

Wang Lin forgot the passage of time. Cross-legged, he tried to fuse with the world again and again, tirelessly—if he failed once, he tried twice; if he failed twice, he tried ten times!

Another three months passed. Wang Lin himself couldn't remember how many times he had tried, but the result remained the same.

In the four months that had passed, some Azure Dragon Sect Disciples had found underground fire branch veins that had not withered, but most Disciples were still searching.

Wang Lin persistently continued his attempts. He absolutely had to find a way to use Shrinking the Ground into an Inch, otherwise, his subsequent series of plans would be very difficult to accomplish.

Du Qing had grown accustomed to Wang Lin's Divine Sense swirling around the Azure Dragon Sect's world. Watching the other party attempt countless times every day, looking unwilling to give up, disdain slowly rose in his heart.

Although he would never show it externally, the contempt in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

“This is fundamentally impossible. This person is too stubborn, wasting all this time for nothing. If fusing with the world were that simple, wouldn't everyone be able to do it?… Clearly, his cultivation is insufficient, yet he insists on trying. I truly don't know why the Great Heavenly Venerate values him so highly… How foolish.” Du Qing shook his head.

Time flew by, and another three months passed!

Wang Lin had been in secluded cultivation pondering this Divine Ability for a full seven months. He had almost forgotten everything else. Sitting cross-legged, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with exhaustion, and his Divine Sense carried a faint irritability.

When Du Qing observed this scene, he couldn't help but sneer.

“I truly don't know whether to call him overestimating his abilities. Even if he is valued by the Great Heavenly Venerate, and even if he possesses many Magic Treasures and remarkable Vicious Beasts, his current actions are truly overestimating his abilities!

I'd like to see how much longer he plans to try, and what kind of expression he will have when he still fails in the end…” Contempt flashed in Du Qing's eyes, but there was even more jealousy.

“Why doesn't I, Du Qing, receive the Great Heavenly Venerate's regard?… Does the Great Heavenly Venerate only favor people who are this foolish?” Du Qing was extremely unconvinced.

Over the course of seven months, Wang Lin's seemingly foolish actions slowly changed Du Qing's perception. In his eyes, Wang Lin seemed to have some mental deficiency.

Inside Wang Lin's Immortal Cave, the blood vessels in his eyes were even more pronounced. Seven consecutive months of Divine Sense diffusion without any rest was taxing even for him, but he still didn't give up. At this moment, he seemed to still be constantly attempting to fuse with the world, but in reality, he was forcing himself!

To be precise, he was using this method to stimulate the Clone growing inside the stone shell within the Void Layer, which was connected to his spiritual mind!

After trying for several days earlier, Wang Lin understood that with his current cultivation, even if he tried for ten, a hundred, or even more years, he would definitely be unable to shake this pressure from the heavens and earth.

But he still had a final resort: this growing Clone! This Clone was born within the Immortal Astral Laws, and could even be said to be a part of the Law itself. Thus, the crucial point of whether his Divine Sense could fuse with the world rested on the Clone.

However, in Wang Lin's spiritual perception, his Clone was already dormant and could not be awakened. To wake it, extraordinary means were required. Therefore, during these seven months, Wang Lin continuously spread his Divine Sense, exhausting himself to the point where even his Primordial Spirit slowly began to show signs of wilting.

On the last day of the seventh month, at the exact moment Wang Lin's Primordial Spirit showed signs of wilting due to the lack of replenishment, an extremely bright light suddenly erupted from his eyes.

At the same time, somewhere within the boundless, pitch-black Void Layer between the Immortal Cave Realm and the Immortal Astral Continent, Wang Lin's Clone, which had been sitting cross-legged in dormant meditation inside a massive stone shell floating in the void, suddenly trembled and sharply opened its eyes.

The instant the Clone opened its eyes, Du Qing, who was inside the Azure Dragon Sect, sneering with contempt and preparing to watch Wang Lin make a fool of himself, suddenly had a change in expression, revealing the shock he hadn't shown in seven months!

He abruptly stood up, his expression nearly vacant, as if the scene he currently perceived made him forget how to breathe.

“This… This is impossible!!”