Chapter 1904: Immortal Astral’s tenth sun, the bursting bubble

The illusory Donglin, under the morning sun, seemed to refract beautiful colors. While enveloping the mountain gate, it caused the reflections outside the Donglin Hall to continuously shrink under the sunlight.

The Disciples of the Donglin Sect sat in silent meditation in this early morning, seemingly absorbing the power of heaven and earth, cultivating within themselves.

The entire Donglin was like a bubble blown by a mortal child, emitting dazzling light between heaven and earth, yet at the same time, it was so fragile, as if a touch of a hand could shatter it.

The more beautiful something is, the more illusory it sometimes becomes.

In the rear mountain of this illusory Donglin Sect, birds sang and flowers fragrant. Amidst the chirping of small beasts leaping in the early morning, there was an extremely grandly constructed altar.

This altar was tower-shaped, about a thousand zhang in size and a hundred zhang high. It was paved with bluestone, which, under the sunlight, reflected an indistinguishable cold hue.

Above the altar was a hundred-zhang platform, and in the very center, there was a small pool. The pool was somewhat dry, but still held a shallow layer of water, which rippled as the wind blew across it.

Some vegetation floated on the water, moving with the ripples.

Wang Lin stood outside the pool, looking at it with a confused expression. Liu Jinbiao was behind Wang Lin, his eyes darting around, scanning the surroundings. But if one looked closely at his eyes, one could see fear in his pupils.

"This damned place definitely isn't what I'm seeing right now. Maybe I'm stepping on a skeleton… This pool water looks clear, but it might actually be rotten inside, filled with countless corpses…" The more Liu Jinbiao imagined, the more terrifying he found this place.

He wasn't afraid of corpses, but rather of the unknown.

Lost in this fear of the unknown, he didn't notice that the confusion in Wang Lin's eyes was growing deeper. Wang Lin stared at the pool on the altar, silent for a long, long time.

"Why is it like this…?" Wang Lin closed his eyes, and in his mind, the Donglin Sect he had seen in the Immortal Cave Realm's illusion, the Donglin Pool he had seen, reappeared!

"Why is this Donglin Pool completely different from the one I saw in the illusion formed by the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable's memories?"

"The Donglin Pool in the Seven-Colored memories was also in this location, but there was no altar, only a very large pool. Yet here, it is like this… Which one is real, and which one is fake…?" Wang Lin suddenly opened his eyes, a strange light appearing within them. With the power to break through all dream barriers, his gaze swept around.

Where his gaze fell, it was dramatically different from before. He swept his gaze over the altar, and immediately, decay appeared on it, along with cracks, and even a large amount of dried bloodstains.

Under his gaze, the area was surrounded by Death Qi. It wasn't until his gaze reached the pool water that his expression softened slightly; the pool water hadn't changed.

Except for the pool water, everything else around had changed.

"This should be the Donglin Sect's true Donglin Pool… Looking at the age of this altar, it has existed for a very long time. But if so, why is it different from the Donglin Pool in the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable's memory… Or rather, if this place has remained unchanged, then what changed is the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable!" Wang Lin fell silent.

As he stepped onto the Donglin Sect in the Immortal Astral Continent for the first time outside of an illusion, it was as if a layer of mist had appeared out of thin air between heaven and earth. This mist swirled in his mind, causing Wang Lin to doubt his self-perceived understanding of the Immortal Cave Realm.

"Did I truly grasp everything within the Immortal Cave Realm…? Heavenly Fate Child's aura, the stone tablet containing the Dao Scripture… and the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable's erroneous memories… What kind of astonishing secret is hidden within all of this?"

This Donglin Sect is by no means an ordinary place. The Donglin Great Heavenly Venerate once appeared in this sect, but for what reason did this Great Heavenly Venerate perish, so much so that even his corpse cannot be found…? And who destroyed the entire Donglin Sect…? Was it Heavenly Fate Child? Was it the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable? Or was it someone with a deep connection to the Immortal Cave Realm whom I have always overlooked…?" Wang Lin was silent.

Gazing at the Donglin Pool, after a long while, Wang Lin took a deep breath, raised his foot, and walked over. Outside the pool, he looked down at the water's surface, where a reflection appeared under the sunlight, allowing Wang Lin to see himself in the Donglin Pool.

The moment he saw himself, looking at his white hair and white robes, Wang Lin's body suddenly trembled. It was as if lightning roared through his mind, and vaguely, he seemed to have thought of something.

"One thing is very strange, and I've had some suspicions about it… Regarding my Heaven Defying Bead, why was it taken by the Seven-Colored Immortal Venerable when Dao Yi Great Heavenly Venerate and Master were fighting, without these two Great Heavenly Venerates noticing…? Why could Lan Meng and others, and that Seven-Colored, see that I had Heaven Defying within me in the Immortal Cave Realm… but here on the Immortal Astral Continent, no one has seen it until now…? Why did even my Master Xuan Luo not see it after going to the Immortal Cave Realm, or perhaps he saw it but didn't say anything?

If that's truly the case, then I've also met Dao Yi Great Heavenly Venerate, so why didn't he say anything or try to snatch it…? Compared to that, I'm more inclined to believe they didn't see it!

What exactly is Heaven Defying? Who made the Heaven Defying Compass, and what is its purpose…? Why could people from the Immortal Cave Realm see that I possessed it, but not here on the Immortal Astral Continent…? I remember when absorbing that Scorpion Soul, it once said 'white bead'… 'white bead'… Does that mean there's also a black bead? What exactly is contained within all of this?

If this matter can be linked to the destruction of the Donglin Sect, perhaps I will understand what astonishing secret is hidden within the Immortal Cave Realm!" Wang Lin's expression changed as he looked around.

"Actually, I have another method that might allow me to see what happened to the Donglin Sect back then, and who destroyed it… But even Great Heavenly Venerates couldn't deduce it, and even the Imperial City's Imperial Advisor lost this memory after three days of confusion. Can I… do it…?"

Wang Lin hesitated for a moment, but soon his eyes showed resolve. This matter was not just about the Donglin Sect, but was greatly related to him, as Wang Lin came from the Immortal Cave Realm and possessed Heaven Defying.

Wang Lin had thought he had lifted the curtain, but he hadn't expected to have only lifted a corner, still having his eyes obscured. What he needed to do now was to clearly pry open the invisible hand covering his eyes, creating a gap through which he could see the universe clearly!

Taking a deep breath, Wang Lin sat down cross-legged by the pool. He didn't look at the Donglin Pool, but instead gazed at the distant Donglin Hall. Clouds and mist slowly swirled in his eyes, and his entire being seemed to lose all aura, immersing himself in a peculiar state.

Liu Jinbiao, standing nearby, suddenly turned around. In his perception, Wang Lin seemed to have vanished into thin air, but looking back with his naked eyes, although he could see him, there was a sense that Wang Lin's presence was out of place, as if this world and Wang Lin were repelling each other, like fire and water.

"With my body, merge with this place… With my spirit, assimilate with the void… With my soul, spread across the firmament, with my dream, dream a passage of time…" Wang Lin's Dream Dao art, combined with the Flowing Moon Divine Ability, could produce an extremely unfathomable power, allowing him, just as in the Immortal Cave Realm, to return to the past and witness the events that transpired back then!

Wang Lin didn't know if others possessed this Divine Ability. Among everyone he had encountered, only he could wield it, and it still required the power of the Great Soul Gate's Ghost Soul Banner!

The moment Wang Lin immersed himself in the Dream Dao, his right hand silently lifted. With a wave, the Ghost Soul Banner immediately appeared, encircling Wang Lin and continuously spinning.

A dream of a thousand years… In Wang Lin's dream, time reversed, a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years… until even he himself didn't know how much time had passed, the Donglin Sect was still the Donglin Sect… The mountains remained, the water was still clear, and countless Donglin Sect Disciples, on a similar morning, absorbed the power of heaven and earth, causing the entire Donglin Sect to be enveloped in a hazy morning mist.

A scene of peace, of tranquility… Within the Donglin Sect, from the main hall, sounds of a lecture drifted out, with many Disciples listening intently.

In the distance, long rainbows flew, coming and going between the small mountains, and numerous immortal cranes danced… On the ground, there were also small beasts kept in captivity, chirping joyfully. A beautiful woman smiled as she held Medicinal Pills, feeding the small beasts.

Further away, in the Donglin Sect's Medicinal Courtyard, several Disciples were tending to the herbs as instructed by their Master.

On the stone steps of the mountain, there were also Donglin Sect Disciples, some going up, some going down. When they met, if they encountered a Senior Brother, they would immediately respectfully greet him. At the foot of the mountain, several Outer Sect Disciples, chatting and laughing, carried water buckets, wiping away sweat, moving as fast as flying.

This tranquil Donglin Sect, under the morning sun, gave Wang Lin a similar feeling, like a bubble emitting brilliant light… The sky suddenly darkened the next moment. This dark sky didn't attract the attention of anyone in the Donglin Sect, but just then, the few Disciples carrying water buckets at the foot of the mountain trembled and collapsed to the ground.

On the steps, the Disciples who had respectfully passed each other let out agonizing screams, their bodies mangled, turning into remains… In the sky, the Medicinal Courtyard, the woman feeding the small beasts, and the sound of the lecture all transformed into horrific wails in that instant.

The entire Donglin Sect was like a bubble, but at this moment, a hand touched this bubble, causing this beautiful bubble to shatter… As it shattered, all living beings within the bubble died!

As the people of the Donglin Sect successively died, a blurry figure appeared in the sky, under the sunlight. That figure was backlit, completely dark, making it impossible to see clearly… Like a dream, Wang Lin raised his head in that dream, wanting to see the figure's appearance clearly, but he only saw a blur. Before he could see clearly, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his mind, a pain he had never experienced in his life, surpassing all others!