806: Chapter 84 Help Me Be Free (Happy New Year's Eve!)

Walking out of the Human Ancestor Hall, Lin Yang's heart still could not settle down.

The information about the Samsara Tribulation, the Old Monsters slumbering in the Ancient Ruins, and so on, had all left him deeply shaken.

After calming his emotions, Lin Yang went to find Clear Source again.

He wanted to try telling Clear Source about the Samsara Tribulation.

The Hall Master Yanhuo had just said that the other Hall Masters had worked together to restrict the spread of this news from the level of the Dao and the rules of Heaven and Earth.

He wanted to test it for himself.

Clear Source was somewhat surprised to see Lin Yang finish his meeting with the Hall Master Yanhuo so quickly.

Before he could speak, Lin Yang tried saying, "Fellow Daoist Clear Source, do you know about the Samsara Tribulation?"

However, as the words left his mouth, Clear Source seemed as if he hadn't heard a thing, showing a look of bewilderment as he said, "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, did you just speak? Why didn't I hear what you said?"

Lin Yang frowned slightly; he had spoken the words himself, yet Clear Source couldn't hear them.

This restriction was indeed ingenious.

As he spoke, he also faintly felt the restriction of a certain rule.

Immediately, he waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. I was saying that the Hall Master Yanhuo told me that the Human Ancestor Hall will provide the resources I need for my future cultivation. Therefore, I will likely be in long-term secluded meditation. If anything in the Space-Time Tree requires my attention, you can send me a message."

Clear Source wasn't surprised and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, please focus on your meditation. We will handle matters within the Space-Time Tree. Cultivate diligently and do not let down the Hall Master's nurturing."

"Mm." Lin Yang gave an acknowledging sound and then returned to Baichi City.

Xia Shuang had been killed by the Old Monster from the Ancient Ruins of Baichi City; for now, this matter could only be suppressed.

With the Human Ancestor Hall providing resources with all their might, what he needed to do was take the opportunity to improve himself.

He would only be able to consider settling the score with that slumberer in the Ancient Ruins once he reached the level of a Hall Master at the very least.

He made some corresponding arrangements and then went to the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm.

Sitting cross-legged in the secluded cultivation chamber, Lin Yang wondered whether he should contact Yue You to ask if the person he saw in the River of Time was really her.

After his breakthrough, he could faintly sense a mark that Yue You had left on him.

Through the mark, he could actively call out to Yue You.

"I wonder if Senior Yue You is available right now."

Ultimately, Lin Yang decided to try contacting her because he was simply too curious.

After reaching out through the mark, Lin Yang hadn't expected to get a reply from Yue You so quickly, so he prepared to enter a shallow state of meditation first.

However, not long after he tried calling through the mark, there was a response from Yue You's side.

"Lin Yang, why have you called for me?" Yue You's voice seemed to come from a far-off place, yet it rang clearly in his ears.

"Senior Yue You, I have broken through to the Heng Realm."

Lin Yang first mentioned his breakthrough, and then said:

"When I broke through to the Heng Realm, for some unknown reason, I entered a brilliant river of stars. That river is suspected to be the River of Time. I traveled upstream along that River of Time and saw some things."

Hearing this, Yue You seemed somewhat surprised. "The River of Time? You entered the River of Time?? Are you sure?"

Lin Yang hesitated slightly and said, "I can't be one hundred percent sure, but it likely was. Because when I walked upstream to a certain point, I heard a warning saying 'Ancient history lies ahead, descendants are forbidden from entering,' so it should be the River of Time."

Hearing these words, Yue You was silent for a moment before saying, "Since you heard that warning, then it indeed was the River of Time. What did you see?"

"Some images within the starlight. In one of those images, I saw a... being with a very high similarity to you, one could even say identical. So..." Lin Yang didn't hide anything and directly spoke of everything he had seen.

Yue You chuckled. "So, you want to ask if the person you saw was me?"

"Yes." Lin Yang nodded.

"Oh..." Yue You didn't answer immediately but asked back with a smile, "Then do you think it was me?"

Lin Yang couldn't help but be taken aback.

He wanted an answer, but Yue You had asked him in return.

This left him unsure of how to answer for a moment.

After a pause, he said honestly, "I don't know."

Yue You gave a soft laugh and didn't say much more, smiling as she said, "If nothing unexpected happened, the person you saw should be me, but also not entirely me."

"Ah?" Lin Yang was stunned.

It is but also not entirely her?

What does that mean?

Yue You didn't explain, only saying, "You will naturally know in the future."

Lin Yang didn't ask further but said, "Senior Yue You, if it was you, does that mean you have lived through many reincarnation eras?"

After Yue You admitted it, his heart was deeply shocked.

Because according to what Yan Huo said, the old fellows who could live through many reincarnation eras were basically all slumbering in Ancient Ruins.

Yet Yue You was not.

Of course, he hadn't dismissed the possibility that Yue You was only a person from the last one or two reincarnation eras.

But he had seen Yue You only after traveling upstream for a long time in the River of Time.

That meant it was almost impossible for Yue You to be from the most recent few reincarnation eras.

The further one went upstream in the River of Time, the more it represented an ancient era.

Therefore, Lin Yang was somewhat puzzled. If Yue You was someone from many reincarnation eras, why could she remain so unaffected by the Samsara Tribulation?

Yue You said indifferently, "Lin Yang, you don't need to think too much or speculate about my identity right now. Once you reach the Ancient Realm, everything will naturally become clear."

"Understood." Lin Yang sighed in his heart.

Yue You saying this proved that she was indeed someone who had lived through multiple reincarnation eras.

Then her strength... Lin Yang suddenly grew puzzled again.

Because from the time he first met Yue You, her strength didn't seem to be that powerful back then.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Yue You had hidden it on purpose.

But as a being who could survive multiple reincarnation eras without needing to slumber in Ancient Ruins, her strength must be unimaginably powerful.

Why then would she be trapped in the Extreme Sea?

Yue You's performance back then didn't seem like she was intentionally hiding her strength at all.

This was somewhat eerie.

Especially, since Yue You was an incredible figure who had lived through multiple reincarnation eras, then what about Feng?

Could Feng be one as well?

If Feng wasn't, it would be impossible to explain why Yue You had such deep feelings for him.

So, Feng should be one too.

But if Feng was, could he still be killed by Chu Country?

Or was the one who killed Feng back then actually someone else, and Chu Country was just a scapegoat?

Or perhaps the true backer behind Chu Country was also an Old Monster who had lived through multiple reincarnation eras?

In short, everything was very complicated.

He also simultaneously thought of the White Fatty Old Man, his master Zhu Cang.

If he remembered correctly, Zhu Cang often called Yue You 'Girl Yue'.

Then could Zhu Cang also be an Old Monster who had similarly lived through multiple reincarnation eras?

Thinking of this, Lin Yang couldn't help but feel an unspeakable hope rise within him.

If Zhu Cang really was an Old Monster, then perhaps he hadn't completely perished back then.

At this thought, he blurted out, "Senior Yue You, then what about my master? He..."

Before he could finish, Yue You seemed to know what he wanted to ask and immediately said:

"Lin Yang, my situation is somewhat complicated, and you will understand in the future. But Old Man Zhu is not the same kind of person as us. He was just an ordinary practitioner of this era. Therefore, he truly did perish back then."

Lin Yang's heart immediately stung, and he felt miserable.

"Alright, Lin Yang, I have some things to do. You've broken through to the Heng Realm so quickly, which is very impressive. Since you know about the Samsara Tribulation, then work harder. This reincarnation era is about to end, with roughly two million years remaining. Every bit of strength you gain before the end will help you better survive the Samsara Tribulation. I'll find you after I finish my business." Yue You said a few words and then disappeared.

Lin Yang felt a sense of loss.

He had gotten the answer he wanted, but the other answer regarding Zhu Cang made him feel terrible.

"Master..." Lin Yang whispered, a flash of determination in his eyes. "I will find a way to reverse time and resurrect you!"

The existence of the River of Time gave him more confidence and motivation.

Afterward, he began to focus on his cultivation.

The Human Ancestor Hall's supply of resources was continuous, so he didn't need to worry about resources.

He was even more single-minded during his cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, over two hundred thousand years passed.

But for Lin Yang, it was almost just a snap of the fingers.

With his current realm and cultivation, a few hundred thousand years indeed wouldn't cause much change.

Advancement after the Heng Realm was even more time-consuming because, theoretically speaking, once one became an eternal lifeform, time basically lost much of its meaning, and the difficulty of improving one's cultivation naturally increased manifold.

Previously, a few hundred thousand years were enough for him to advance several levels.

But now, over two hundred thousand years hadn't yielded much improvement.

Lin Yang emerged from his meditation once, went to the Human Ancestor Hall to collect another batch of resources, and then returned to secluded cultivation.

Repeating this cycle twice, over seven hundred thousand years had passed.

"Seven hundred thousand years, yet it feels like only seven days have passed. Reaching the Wei Realm is truly too difficult," Lin Yang lamented.

He estimated that it might take several million years to perhaps reach the Wei Realm.

"Hall Master Yan Huo said that there might be nearly ten million years left in this reincarnation era, but Senior Yue You said there are only about two million years left. Clearly, Senior Yue You's words are more accurate. The remaining two million years probably won't be enough for me to break through to the Wei Realm."

Lin Yang pondered.

He finally understood why there were so few Hall Master-level existences.

Advancement after the Heng Realm was indeed too difficult, often taking millions of years to improve just one minor level.

And this was considered fast.

If things didn't go smoothly, one might not even improve a minor level in ten million years, let alone a major realm.

Starting from the Heng Realm, the difficulty of breakthrough was absurdly high.

To be precise, the difficulty rose exponentially from the Dao Wulou Realm to the Heng Realm.

A reincarnation era was 129.6 million years.

A Dao Wulou Realm Practitioner had a lifespan of about eighty million years, and with some life-extending methods, they could nearly live through an entire reincarnation era.

If they reached the Dao Wulou Realm in the middle or late stages of a reincarnation era and happened to survive the Samsara Tribulation, they could experience two reincarnation eras.

But this reincarnation era only had him as a single Heng Realm practitioner, which showed how difficult it was to reach the Heng Realm.

As for Hall Masters, one might not even appear in a single reincarnation cycle.

The current five Hall Masters were all survivors from previous reincarnation cycles.

"Starting from the Heng Realm, it's a watershed. Below the Heng Realm, a person with good talent might reach the Dao Wulou Realm in several hundred to ten million years. But after the Dao Wulou Realm, if one wants to break through again without a special opportunity, there are plenty who have no hope for their entire lives."

Only now did Lin Yang truly realize that low-level realms and the Heng Realm and above were two completely different concepts.

It was a complete cliff-like difference.

He also understood why the Samsara Tribulation would specifically target those with high cultivation.

The higher the cultivation, the more resources and energy one needed to take from the world.

The energy taken from Heaven and Earth by one Heng Realm practitioner was equivalent to many Dao Wulou Realm Practitioners.

By the same token, the power taken from Heaven and Earth by one Dao Wulou Realm Practitioner also equaled the total of a large number of practitioners below the Dao Wulou Realm.

Lin Yang didn't plan to continue his secluded meditation; the remaining time wasn't enough to continue breaking through to the Wei Realm.

He intended to find an opportunity and a way to return to the Space-Time Tree.

It had been two or three million years in total since he came to the Primal Ancient Continent.

Previously, he had deliberately avoided thinking about it.

But now he had to face the reality that his family and friends might no longer be around.

He ended his meditation.

He planned to wait for Yue You to come find him and see if she could help send him back to the Space-Time Tree.

During the rest of the time, he intended to continue studying the power of the Great Dao of Time.

He wanted to possess the ability to re-enter the River of Time, at least to make it easier to fish for the fragments of the small bronze tripod.

Days passed, but Yue You did not arrive.

However, on this day, Lin Yang received a message from an old friend.

It was from Yu Qing.

Yu Qing hadn't contacted him much for about a million years.

Aside from congratulating him on his breakthrough, Yu Qing hadn't easily disturbed him.

Now, suddenly receiving a message from Yu Qing, Lin Yang had a premonition that it was likely time for him to fulfill his promise.

He connected the transmission and said, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, we haven't met for a million years. Are you still doing well?"

Yu Qing's voice carried a hint of a smile. "Thanks to you, I'm doing quite well. However, I should probably call you 'Senior' now; I wouldn't dare use the term 'Fellow Daoist' anymore."

"Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, there's no need to be so formal. Let's just address each other as fellow daoists. It would feel quite awkward if you called me senior," Lin Yang said.

"Then... I'll follow your lead." Yu Qing didn't hesitate for long and went straight to the point. "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, you are now in the Heng Realm. I have a matter I'd like to ask for your help with."

As expected!

Lin Yang thought to himself and said, "Please speak, Fellow Daoist. As long as I can do it, I won't refuse."

Yu Qing took a deep breath. "I would like to ask you, Fellow Daoist, to help me gain my freedom!"

"Huh? Help you gain freedom? What do you mean by that?" Lin Yang was somewhat confused.

Yu Qing explained with a bitter tone, "To tell you the truth, I come from the Ancient Forbidden Domain and am not of the human race, but a member of the Gu Ling Clan. Within my clan, I have a marriage contract, but I truly cannot fulfill it. The other party... I don't like speaking ill of people behind their backs, but he really is too disgusting."

"It's just that due to the clan's rules and the other party's status, I couldn't resist, so I fled here."

At this point, Yu Qing didn't continue, but Lin Yang already understood what Yu Qing meant.

He was quite surprised. "So, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, you are from the Gu Ling Clan? And you want me to help you cancel that marriage contract?"

He was very surprised.

Yu Qing was actually a member of the Gu Ling Clan from the Ancient Forbidden Domain.

Furthermore, the matter he was asked to help with was also different from what he had originally imagined.

He had originally thought Yu Qing had some enemy, but it turned out he wanted help with calling off a marriage.

This... PS: It's New Year's Eve. Xiao Hu wishes all the great readers a Happy New Year, wealth and prosperity, good health, and that everything goes your way! (End of Chapter)