Chapter 1879: The tenth sun of Immortal Astral, The First Acquaintance

The Immortal Emperor’s Imperial Decree summoned Wang Lin to the Imperial City for an audience. Since it did not specify a time, Wang Lin naturally would not go immediately.

Three years passed in a flash.

During these three years, Wang Lin opened up an Immortal Cave beneath a boundless desert in Mengtu Continent, where he sat cross-legged in secluded cultivation, comprehending the gains from his battle with the Dao Demon Sect Heavenly Venerate Old Ancestor.

Three years later, inside the Immortal Cave beneath the desert, Wang Lin opened his eyes. They held a deep, dark hue, seemingly containing stars within them.

“Limited by my cultivation, without wearing the Soul Armor, I can only infuse a maximum of nine Divine Abilities into a single punch.” Wang Lin raised his right hand, placed it in front of him, and when he clenched it, a muffled roar emanated from his palm.

“Even so, this punch of mine is considerably stronger than it was three years ago. If I were to face the Dao Demon Sect Heavenly Venerate Old Ancestor again, I could match his first punch without wearing the Soul Armor!”

When Wang Lin faced the Dao Demon Sect Heavenly Venerate Old Ancestor's first punch back then, he was forced to retreat three steps. Now, three years later, his cultivation remains the same, but his combat power has increased significantly.

“Unfortunately, based on my observation and research over the past three years, the Speed God Art can, at most, allow me to open up a sixth Divine Meridian, and that requires nine Gold Venerates!” Wang Lin clearly felt the power of the Speed God Art during his battle with the Dao Demon Sect Heavenly Venerate Old Ancestor.

The reason this technique is so powerful is that the quality of the Divine Meridians Wang Lin condensed is extremely high, but the higher the quality, the more difficult it becomes to open up new Divine Meridians after a certain point.

The Primordial Spirit of the Dao Demon Sect Sect Master back then could open up the fourth and fifth Divine Meridians, but to open up the sixth Divine Meridian, nine Gold Venerates are required!

“For the Speed God Art to open up meridians in this way, it is truly… too difficult. The sixth requires nine Gold Venerates, the seventh requires nine Heavenly Venerates. For the eighth, could it require nine Ascendant Heavenly Venerates? If that’s the case, does the ninth require nine Great Heavenly Venerates… Perhaps for the ninth Divine Meridian, one Great Heavenly Venerate is enough…” Wang Lin gave a wry smile.

“I must continue Cultivating the Speed God Art. This technique is extremely powerful and represents the peak of my combat strength!”

“My actual cultivation is only at the Early Stage Empty Tribulation Realm. Limited by my cultivation, I can only integrate a maximum of nine Divine Abilities into one punch. Therefore, I must quickly obtain the Gold and Wood Origins, condense my True Body, and achieve the Fusion of the Five Elements True Body, raising my cultivation to the Middle Stage Empty Tribulation Realm.

If I do that, I can integrate even more Divine Abilities. I just don't know how many more I can integrate once I reach the Middle Stage Empty Tribulation Realm!”

“In addition to that, I need to fight more Heavenly Venerates to attract the attention of the remaining Great Heavenly Venerates… Furthermore, during these multiple battles, I must also investigate whether the method to enter the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana is as the Dao Demon Sect Heavenly Venerate Old Ancestor described.”

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed, and he stood up from his three years of cross-legged meditation.

“I must go to the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana Trial Grounds to see how many levels I can pass with my cultivation!”

Wang Lin’s body flickered, and he appeared above the desert Immortal Cave. With a flick of his large sleeve, a massive Sea Dragon immediately appeared beneath him. After roaring toward the sky, the Sea Dragon lowered its head to Wang Lin, its eyes showing respect.

Wang Lin looked calm as he stepped onto the Sea Dragon’s head. The Sea Dragon’s body flashed, transforming into a long rainbow that rushed forward, disappearing instantly.

“Within Mengtu Continent, there are two Sects: one is the Earth Gate, and the other is the Mengtu Sect! Both are among the Nine Sects and Thirteen Gates of Eastern Continent. However, these two Sects only have Gold Venerate Cultivators, not Heavenly Venerates!” Wang Lin sat cross-legged on the Sea Dragon’s head. As they traveled, the introduction to Mengtu Continent contained within the tortoise shell appeared in his mind.

“Although I currently need the Primordial Spirits of Gold Venerate Cultivators, these two Sects have no grievance with me, so forget it!” Wang Lin’s eyes flashed. After sending out his Divine Thought, the Sea Dragon beneath him turned and headed toward Tian Continent, which connects to Mengtu Continent.

The tortoise shell vaguely indicated that within the Heavenly Gate of Tian Continent, there were rumored to be Heavenly Venerates!

“However, the map on the tortoise shell seems large, but it is actually only partial. I still need to go to the Earth Gate and the Mengtu Sect in Mengtu Continent to obtain their Sects’ map Jade Slips.”

If Wang Lin had entered Mengtu Continent with his cultivation back then, both the Earth Gate and the Mengtu Sect would have been behemoths he dared not provoke, forcing him to be cautious. But now it was completely different; these two Sects held no terror for him, appearing merely as ordinary Schools.

“The Earth Gate is closest to here, I’ll go there first!” The map on the tortoise shell flashed in Wang Lin’s mind. After a brief thought, he changed direction, and the Sea Dragon beneath him shot straight toward the east, vanishing in an instant.

The terrain of Mengtu Continent is mostly desert. The continuous deserts resemble a sea, and when a storm rises, the vast amounts of sand and earth stirred up form terrifying sandstorms within Mengtu Continent.

These dust storms vary in strength. When weak, they can shake the mortal world; when strong, even Cultivators turn pale at the sight and immediately flee, daring not to approach. This is because the powerful sandstorms contain a strange magnetic force. This force has an extremely strong effect on Cultivators, capable of instantly sucking them in, preventing even their Primordial Spirits from escaping.

Fortunately, sandstorms containing this magnetic force are rare, and their momentum is immense, visible from afar, allowing time to avoid them. However, in the eastern part of Mengtu Continent, there is an area almost perpetually covered by sandstorms. The storm there unleashes its greatest power once every hundred years, and whenever this happens, human figures are rarely seen within countless miles around.

Normally, the sky and earth here are dim, filled with endless dust storms, making it difficult to enter without special methods.

Within this strange dust storm region in the east of Mengtu Continent is a Sect famous throughout Mengtu Continent. This place is called the Earth Gate!

There are countless Sects in Mengtu Continent, but only the Earth Gate and the Mengtu Sect are the true giants of the entire continent, whom no one dares to provoke. These two massive Sects hold sway over all of Mengtu Continent.

At this moment, within the dust storm area where the Earth Gate resides, the dim sky and earth were distorted. A massive Sea Dragon manifested, and Wang Lin sat upon its head. As soon as they appeared, fierce winds tore and whistled toward them.

Although the wind was unusually violent, when it hit Wang Lin, it couldn't even ruffle his hair, as if Wang Lin's figure were illusory and lacked a physical body.

As for the Sea Dragon, it paid no heed to the blowing wind, its eyes flashing with cold light as it looked into the depths of the dust storm.

Sensing the dust storm here, which contained the Origin power of Wind and Earth, Wang Lin calmly directed the Sea Dragon to fly forward. The wind raged before him, but the sand and earth, the instant they approached Wang Lin, immediately scattered as if in submission.

They flew neither fast nor slow toward the center of this dust storm region, where a layer of earthy yellow light barrier enveloped an area spanning tens of thousands of miles, preventing the dust storm from spreading inside.

That place was the location of the Earth Gate Sect.

The entire Earth Gate resembled a paradise hidden from the world, appearing exceptionally unique amidst the dust storm. Inside, there were high mountains, flowing water, and countless pavilions, with numerous Earth Gate Disciples busily flying back and forth within this tens of thousands of miles radius.

The Earth Gate has fewer than thirty thousand Disciples, a point that drastically differentiates it from the other Nine Sects and Thirteen Gates. The Earth Gate only accepts those with exceptional talent, rejecting ordinary members!

The hierarchy among the Disciples in the Earth Gate is strict, divided into nine ranks. Simultaneously, the residences and monthly stipends given to each Disciple far exceed those of other Sects, precisely because the Earth Gate only has thirty thousand Disciples!

They spare no expense in fully nurturing these thirty thousand Disciples, especially those with even more exceptional talent, to whom the Earth Gate provides unimaginable resources.

Within the Earth Gate, First Rank members are the rarest, numbering fewer than a hundred, while Ninth Rank members are the most numerous, exceeding twenty thousand.

At this moment, within the area designated for Fifth Rank members in the Earth Gate, inside a beautiful pavilion, two Cultivators sat cross-legged in one of the rooms.

These two Cultivators, one male and one female, sat together. The man looked to be around thirty years old, extremely handsome, but exuded a cold aura. His cultivation was not high, placing him in the second step, the Nirvana Scryer Realm.

The woman beside him was not meditating, but was instead looking gently at the man next to her, her expression filled with devotion.

But at that moment, the man who was sitting cross-legged suddenly began to tremble violently, his face contorted as if in extreme pain, and he let out muffled roars.

This sudden change caused the woman’s expression to shift. She immediately rushed forward, placed both hands on the man’s chest, and continuously poured her own cultivation power into him.

After a long while, the pain on the man’s face slowly receded. He suddenly opened his eyes, his entire body already drenched in sweat in that short time.

“You… you’ve tried so many times. Don’t try again… Is that dream really that important?” The woman looked at the sweat dripping from the man’s forehead, bit her lower lip, and spoke softly.

The man remained silent, gazing out the pavilion window. After a long time, he completely calmed down.

“That dream is very important!!”

“Is it more important than me!!” The woman’s lower lip seemed to be bitten until it bled.

Confusion appeared in the man’s eyes.

“This dream has accompanied me for nearly two hundred years… There is a person in that dream whose face I cannot see, but I can feel that my existence seems to be for her… She seems to be my wife from a previous life…”

“It’s just a dream, Qing, it’s just a dream!!!” Tears seemed to gather in the woman’s eyes as she looked at the man she had deeply loved for over a hundred years.

“Is it a dream…?” The confusion in the eyes of the man named Qing deepened.

“It’s only a dream…” The woman cried as she hugged the man, seemingly afraid of losing him, and kept repeating that phrase beside him.

“Is it really just a dream…?” The man closed his eyes.

At this moment, while the man was lost in confusion, outside the Earth Gate’s light barrier, Wang Lin looked as usual. He flew through the raging dust storm and even sensed the magnetic force contained within it, but this force was negligible to him.

He stopped there. Beneath Wang Lin was the massive Sea Dragon. The Dragon held Wang Lin steady in the wind, but its huge Dragon eyes stared at the Earth Gate Sect ahead, revealing a chilling glint.

“Earth Gate Sect Master, Old Ancestor, come forth immediately!” In the sky where the dust storm was most violent, Wang Lin released his Divine Thought. His Divine Thought was like thunder, instantly echoing throughout the entire Earth Gate, entering the minds of every member and Disciple, including the confused man named Qing.