Chapter 1957: The tenth sun of Immortal Astral, a Plea from Eons Past! (Third Update)

The destruction of the Imperial Palace in Ancestral City and the demise of the Immortal Emperor were not publicized due to the suppression by Jiu Di. The Imperial Palace, which had become ruins, quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

The Immortal Emperor entered seclusion again.

This generation's Immortal Emperor, Lian Daozhen, often entered seclusion for indefinite periods, so the Cultivators of the Immortal Clan did not associate too much with this particular seclusion.

Wu Feng returned to Northern Continent, where he immediately sealed himself in ice in the glacial region, immersing himself in the eternal cold Qi to silently dispel the Cursed Art within his body.

Since he had never used his power after being afflicted by the Cursed Art, dispelling the technique was easier for him than for Dao Yi and Jiu Di. Furthermore, having obtained the Immortal Ancestor's ears, once he dispelled all the Cursed Art's black Qi and integrated the Immortal Ancestor's ears, his cultivation would advance significantly.

Dragging his damaged body, Dao Yi endured the intense pain spreading through his mind, suppressing his screams and the humiliation within his heart. After returning to the Dao Yi Sect, he immediately chose to enter seclusion.

However, the Cursed Art had fully erupted inside him, and ordinary methods could not dispel it. But Dao Yi, as a Great Heavenly Venerate, was not who he appeared to be; the Gemini once called him the Masked Man!

To dispel the Cursed Art within his body without affecting his cultivation upon recovery, he gathered the Heavenly Venerates and several Sky-Leaping Venerates under his command within the Dao Yi Sect, and even summoned many Golden Venerate experts, forcibly dispersing the Cursed Art again and making everyone share the burden!

The Cursed Art was so powerful that any Golden Venerate Cultivator who touched it would surely die. Even Heavenly Venerate Cultivators would immediately suffer full-body rot and let out agonizing screams upon contact; although they could last slightly longer, the final result was still death!

Only Sky-Leaping Venerates, relying on their formidable cultivation, could barely survive under the shared power of the Cursed Art, though the cost was still immense.

After all the Heavenly Venerates and Sky-Leaping Venerates under Dao Yi had dispersed the Cursed Art, Dao Yi frantically began searching for Third Step Cultivators, as even sharing a trace of the curse would greatly benefit him.

Under this cruel distribution, the Dao Yi Sect almost became a Dead Sect… Jiu Di returned to Imperial Mountain with Hai Zi and immediately chose to enter seclusion. His cultivation was originally very strong; although black Qi lingered, he could slowly dispel it himself. Furthermore, with Hai Zi's help using the Art of the Mourning Clan, the power of the Cursed Art within Jiu Di's body would gradually dissipate over time.

Only the Gemini Great Heavenly Venerate, who were not greedy, avoided this technique. After returning to the Purple Sun Sect, the two young girls chose to enter seclusion to fuse with the Immortal Ancestor's eyes. When they emerge from seclusion, they will have completely repaired the weakness accidentally caused during their previous Reincarnation.

The Immortal Clan still had five Great Heavenly Venerates, but the Fifth Great Heavenly Venerate slept beneath the spatial underground palace that overlapped with the Imperial Palace. In that Heavily Restricted Forbidden Palace, he transformed into a golden mountain peak, standing there to suppress the spirits of the Seventy-Two Continents.

Beneath that mountain peak, the Madman remained unconscious, seemingly waiting for Wang Lin's next arrival.

Half a year later.

Eastern Continent of the Immortal Clan, Tianniu Continent.

The Tianniu Continent, a land of mountains, saw many of its peaks collapse during the war with the Green Devil Continent many years ago, altering the entire geographical landscape of Tianniu Continent.

However, the structure of the Sects in this continent remained largely unchanged. The Great Soul Gate and the Gui Yi Sect were still the strongest, with many smaller Sects dependent on these two major Sects.

The Disciples from the two Sects who were sent to Ancestral City years ago had long since returned to their Sects. They each had different fortunes and would become the future pillars of their respective Schools.

The Great Soul Gate.

After Wang Lin left years ago, Immortal Master Qing Niu remained in seclusion, ignoring worldly affairs. The internal matters of the School were handled by the various Elders. He only made one request: to preserve the mountain peak he had bestowed upon Wang Lin and convert it into a Forbidden Land, forbidding outsiders from entering.

Many people did not understand this matter, but when Wang Lin's reputation soared in Heavenly Venerate Nirvana, and rumors about him were rampant, the people of the Great Soul Gate, who were skeptical about the identity of the white-haired Sky-Leaping Venerate, gradually realized from various signs that the white-haired Sky-Leaping Venerate was indeed Wang Lin. They then vaguely understood the reason why Immortal Master Qing Niu had kept that mountain peak.

Yan Luan, who was an Elder back then, now held a high position within the Great Soul Gate and could even make decisions on major matters. She could have moved away from her mountain peak to choose a better Immortal Cave deep within the Great Soul Gate.

But she never left. From the top of her mountain peak, she could faintly see Wang Lin's Immortal Cave from back then. Whenever she recalled those scenes of the past, she would stand alone on the mountaintop, silently gazing at Wang Lin's mountain peak.

Fan Shanlu and Fan Shan Meng were still her Disciples. The personal grudges with Wang Lin from back then had already been resolved, and now, after many years, they had faded to the point of being forgotten.

Among the many Elders within the Great Soul Gate, one person was added over the years. This person was named Du Qing. His body was not flesh and blood, but a piece of wood that became his body after his Primordial Spirit condensed it.

He was personally selected by the Great Soul Gate Old Ancestor and became an Elder despite not having the required cultivation level for an Elder. Over the years, his life had been very comfortable, much better than before.

As the years flowed by, the Great Soul Gate, amidst the repeated sunrises and sunsets on the Tianniu Continent, seemed to undergo no major changes. The mountains were still the same mountains, and the pavilion remained as it was.

Wang Lin stood outside the Great Soul Gate, looking at the familiar Sect before him. When he first arrived here, his understanding of the Great Soul Gate was naive. When he slowly thought he understood it, and after leaving and experiencing event after event, finally learning in the Imperial Palace about the deep connection between this remote Great Soul Gate and the Palace, he realized that there were still things he didn't understand about the Great Soul Gate, even now.

"The Mourning Clan… a Prodigy unmatched throughout the ages… This Old Ancestor of the Great Soul Gate, perhaps he is dead, perhaps not… but his plan spanned countless eons, calculating today's changes even back then. His plan manipulated everyone; every person was a chess piece in his eyes… Step by step, this plan successfully unlocked the confinement Seal of his clan, causing the Immortal Ancestor lineage to be severed, and allowing his only remaining clansman to regain freedom…"

Wang Lin looked at the Great Soul Gate, his expression complex. He had been on the Immortal Astral Continent for many years, but only now did he understand that this seemingly insignificant Great Soul Gate, located in the remote Tianniu Continent and overlooked by many powerful experts, concealed secrets that could be traced back countless millennia.

With a soft sigh, Wang Lin lifted his foot and stepped toward the Great Soul Gate.

His cultivation now far surpassed Immortal Master Qing Niu and all the Cultivators within the Great Soul Gate. His arrival went unnoticed by anyone.

Inside the Great Soul Gate, Wang Lin saw Du Qing, and he saw Yan Luan, standing on the mountain peak, wearing a red gown, fiery like flame. He also saw Fan Shan Meng and Fan Shanlu.

Wang Lin did not stop, walking toward the depths of the Great Soul Gate—the Soul Storage Pavilion he had visited years ago!

Back then, Wang Lin could only find the Soul Storage Pavilion after Immortal Master Qing Niu opened it. But now, Wang Lin took a single step and appeared instantly outside the Soul Storage Pavilion.

This was a seven-story pavilion, shrouded in thin mist. Outside the pavilion, two massive Vicious Beast statues were coiled, lifelike in appearance.

The pavilion doors were closed, and silence reigned all around. Above the entrance, three large characters were inscribed vertically.

Soul Storage Pavilion!

This pavilion appeared to have seven stories, but in reality, it had an eighth story, a ninth story… and the tenth story! Immortal Master Qing Niu had said back then that even he could not enter the tenth story, which was the place where the Great Soul Gate Old Ancestor attained Nirvana.

Wang Lin's expression was calm as he looked up at the top of the Soul Storage Pavilion. He had come to seek answers, to find the item left for him by the Mourning Clan Prodigy.

Pushing open the tightly shut door, Wang Lin walked inside. Everything here was familiar to him. Taking one step per stair, Wang Lin calmly ascended.

A creaking sound echoed within the silent pavilion. Wang Lin walked up to the second story, the third story… all the way to the eighth story from back then.

The Restrictions present here did not need to be broken by the current Wang Lin; they dissipated as he walked past them.

Looking at the stairs leading to the ninth story, Wang Lin slowly walked up, step by step, reaching the ninth story. Floating above this story were several Jade Slips, which recorded the Great Soul Gate's strongest Divine Ability.

The complete Multilayer Illusion Art that Wang Lin had sought back then was here.

With a glance that swept over the Jade Slips, Wang Lin saw everything recorded within them, then walked toward an ancient staircase not far away.

This place led to the tenth story!

Thirteen steps. Wang Lin lifted his foot and walked over them one by one, arriving at the topmost story of the Soul Storage Pavilion, the tenth story.

The moment he entered the tenth story, Wang Lin saw a scene that left him silent for a long time. He gazed at it, his expression becoming complicated. After a very long time, Wang Lin let out a long sigh.

"So this is what you left for me… and this is the scene you insisted I come here to see… Mourning Clan Prodigy of an era… the matter of you using me, and my promise to Hai Zi, are hereby canceled!" Wang Lin did not look at the tenth story again, turned around, and walked away, his figure gradually disappearing.

As Wang Lin departed, the complete scene inside the tenth story was revealed.

The tenth story was small, only about ten zhang in size. There was a statue and a skeleton there.

The statue was of a man. He stood there, his gaze looking down, his eyes seemingly containing a power capable of destroying the heavens. He exuded dignity without anger, coldly staring at the skeleton before him.

The skeleton was kneeling entirely before the statue, its expression showing pain and pleading. Its head was split open with a gap, and there was no brain inside… Its chest had a dug-out cavity, with no heart inside… Its hands were raised; on the left hand lay its withered brain, and on the right hand lay its unwavering heart. It looked at the statue, seemingly hoping for forgiveness, having knelt there for countless millennia… This was no ordinary skeleton, but the soul that had imprisoned this person. This soul was a thought, a thought pleading for forgiveness.

The statue was carved in the likeness of Wang Lin.

This skeleton was the Great Soul Gate Old Ancestor, the Prodigy of the Mourning Clan!

Chapter 2000!!! A diligent Chapter 2000!!