I Can Recognize Everything, But the Information is Wrong

Tian Lin was now in the middle of an illusion, unlike those elders, he had not yet reached Foundation Establishment cultivation, thus the illusion of the second section still affected him.

He retreated one step into the illusion of the twenty-seventh stone step almost at the instant the woman in white appeared.

Even though he withdrew quickly, as soon as he entered the illusion, he felt the space of the entire world start to twist.

Just as he was about to be annihilated both physically and spiritually, the sound of the Dao Bell suddenly rang out, and the world returned to normal; the injuries on his body also disappeared.

"This Nine-Life True Man must have followed the trail of these characters," Tian Lin thought.

He slapped his Storage Bag, and the six blood characters instantly appeared in his hand again.

With gritted teeth, he decisively stuffed the characters into his mouth.

The hard characters turned into sweet 'spring water' as soon as they entered his mouth.

Without further hesitation, Tian Lin flew directly on his sword from high above to the Immortal Sinking Pond.

He had already considered the problem of Foundation Establishment before entering the tomb of the Nine-Life True Man and had deliberately left the Earth Spirit Vein of the twelfth meridian incomplete.

Now as soon as he entered the Immortal Sinking Pond, Tian Lin earnestly began to absorb the Earth Spirit Foundation Establishment water without any further hesitation.

Time passed in a flash, and nearly 24 hours had gone by, but Tian Lin had still not completed his Foundation Establishment.

His face looked slightly troubled when he saw Deputy Hall Master Yang rushing towards him from afar.

As soon as Deputy Hall Master Yang entered the Immortal Sinking Pond, he instantly sank towards the seabed.

Without personally taking any action, Tian Lin watched as his target perished in such an unclear and indistinct manner.

The illusion disappeared, and Tian Lin reappeared on Dao Seeking Mountain.

He looked up warily and was about to retreat into another illusion when Liu Xuanfeng's voice sounded behind him:

"Tian Lin, stop hiding. Where is your female master?"

The Nine-Life True Man was no longer visible in the sky. Once Tian Lin entered the illusion, he had no idea what was happening outside.

"My female master—my master, of course, has important matters to attend to," Tian Lin replied, looking down at Zhou Shoufan.

To his surprise, he saw that Elder He was beside Elder Xiao, but the Great Elder of Heart Inquiry Sect who was supposed to duel with Elder He was nowhere to be found.

"Could you mention to your female master for me, ask her to return my Daoist Child?"

Liu Xuanfeng's tone suddenly seemed somewhat resentful, and Tian Lin quickly turned around to salute him, saying, "Master, I..."

"Don't call me master; I couldn't possibly teach such a precious disciple like you."

Liu Xuanfeng raised his hand to interrupt Tian Lin and didn't bring up the matter of helping him find his Daoist Child, but instead said to Tian Lin:

"Your master took my Daoist Child away, perhaps it is a fortunate opportunity for the little fellow. Tian Lin, no matter what relationship you have with that female cultivator, hand over the Token and the Binding Immortal Rope, and I will ensure your safety."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted down to Zhou Shoufan.

Zhou Shoufan frowned and said with amusement, "Liu Xuanfeng, you haven't reached Golden Core Cultivation yet, and yet you mimic the tone of your ancestor from the Yao Yue Sect to make tall promises?"

Liu Xuanfeng stepped forward and looked at Zhou Shoufan, "Aren't you also yet to recover your cultivation? Do you really think you have me completely at your mercy, as well as my fellow disciples?"

"Let's try it out then—"

Before Zhou Shoufan could finish his words, Liu Xuanfeng suddenly turned to Tian Lin and said, "Tian Lin, I once asked you if you truly wished to practice cultivation. You told me you wanted to go to the moon and take a look—

I don't have the means to let you see the moon, but I can point you to a clear path. On the second platform, the stone table that's placed there is a stone formation. The Token of the Zhou Family that you hold can take you to Cangzhou, Central State, and many other states."

Tian Lin immediately understood Liu Xuanfeng's implication, and he rushed up the steps. With his current level of cultivation, to reach the second platform, he would still need to fight for his life in the illusion.

But with his current level of cultivation, he was just one step away from Foundation Establishment.

The second section of the stone steps would at most waste some of his efforts. He didn't need to reach Foundation Establishment to set foot on the second platform.

Soon, Tian Lin reached the ninety-second stone step.

Below, Liu Xuanfeng clashed with Zhou Shoufan, and both retreated a step.

Tian Lin reached the ninety-third stone step.

Elder Xiao and Elder Feng joined forces, blocking Zhou Shoufan's path.

Tian Lin ascended the ninety-fourth stone step as Elder He was repelled by Zhou Shoufan.

The previous ninety-four steps weren't particularly difficult for Tian Lin, but from the ninety-fifth step onwards, it became much less easy.

At the ninety-sixth step, he began to help the Daoist Child Gou drive away those who came to cause trouble at their door.

When he reached the ninety-seventh step, he went out to gather herbs with the Daoist Child Gou, where they encountered many Great Demons.

Tian Lin knew that each level in the illusion represented at least a year's worth of time.

When he reached the ninety-eighth step, he saw in a mirror that the ancestor of the Yao Yue Sect was already covered in age spots.

Finally, Tian Lin arrived at the ninety-ninth step.

It was still the small fish temple. As Tian Lin opened the door, he directly killed the target person for this occasion.

However, what was strange was that even after killing the target person, he could not escape the illusion.

A bad premonition rose from the depths of his heart, and Tian Lin swept his gaze coldly around the surroundings.

He did not find the figure of Nine-Life True Man, only saw an old man with a basket of medicinal herbs on his back climbing up the mountain path.

Looking at this white-haired and dusty-faced old man, Tian Lin first frowned, then quickly proceeded to offer a salute: "Junior Tian Lin greets Elder Yu."

The old man stroked his beard, smiling at Tian Lin: "You must be Huang Ping'an's disciple, right?"

As the old man spoke, he had already walked into the Daoist temple.

There was a 'woof, woof' of barking, and Daoist Child Gou's figure did not appear. Instead, a little milk dog ran out from the main hall.

The little milk dog had a collar around its neck, which Tian Lin recognized. It was indeed Daoist Child Gou's lifebond magical treasure.

"Haha, during my absence, you didn't force anyone to eat your excrement, did you?"

The old man first set down his basket of herbs, then bent over to pick up the little milk dog.

The little white dog in the old man's arms stuck out its tongue and licked the old man's face.

While carrying the little dog inside, the old man turned to Tian Lin: "Help me bring in the basket of herbs."

Tian Lin hurriedly picked up the basket of herbs, to his disappointment, it was just an ordinary basket, and the herbs inside were truly ordinary as well.

However, his face did not show any hint of disappointment, and he respectfully carried the basket and the firewood into the house.

The old man had put down the little milk dog; Tian Lin, quite observant, fetched a basin of water for the old man.

While washing his hands, the old man looked at Tian Lin: "If I'm not mistaken, the resources of Yulong Continent should have been exhausted by now? That you could achieve Five Elements Foundation Establishment is no easy feat."

Tian Lin immediately responded with respect: "Junior was merely fortunate. However, Yulong Continent's Foundation Establishment Pool has been depleted. And someone has cut down all the thousand-year-old wood, making it impossible for the people of our continent to cross Immortal Sinking Pond."

The old man nodded: "Zhao Tianyang of Central State indeed acted quite domineeringly. But after all, he is a righteous cultivator; he didn't slaughter all of the people of Yulong Continent, that can still be seen as leaving you all with a way to live."

Upon hearing these words, Tian Lin inwardly sneered. How much hatred would it take to slaughter the people of an entire continent?

Moreover, having cut down all the thousand-year-old wood, resulting in countless people dying in search for a way out over a thousand years, and now causing people to refine potions with human blood in pursuit of even a sliver of opportunity—

Shouldn't all such karma fall upon that Zhao surname? Does this count as the conduct of a righteous cultivator?

He harbored such inner sneers, but dared not show it on his face.

After all, he neither knew Zhao Tianyang nor intended to seek justice for the people of Yulong Continent.

He himself was not a person from Yulong Continent.

"Even with successful Foundation Establishment, crossing the sea will be difficult. However, you have a Teleportation Talisman in hand. Luckily, Lai State has a Transmission Array that could help teleport you to Central State or Lai State."

Stunned by these words, Tian Lin could not help but ask the elder: "Predecessor refers to the tomb of Nine-Life True Man?"

The old man nodded: "Each time Nine-Life dies, she leaves a Transmission Array in her tomb. She has lived nine lives, and thus, there is a Transmission Array she left in all nine states of this world."

Tian Lin immediately said: "Junior has met Nine-Life True Man once. She, doesn't seem very approachable."

The old man was slightly taken aback: "You offended her?"

He did not wait for Tian Lin to answer, and added: "Well, I'll give you some thousand-year-old wood, you can use it to cross the sea to Lai State after you leave."

Upon hearing this, Tian Lin promptly saluted and thanked him.

By this time the old man had washed his hands and wiped them dry with a handkerchief, suddenly speaking to Tian Lin: "Tian Lin, would you be willing to take me as your master?"

Was there even anything to consider?

Tian Lin knelt on the ground and saluted: "Disciple Tian Lin, greets Master."

The elder sighed, did not help Tian Lin up, just looked at him and said:

"I do not casually take disciples. It is only because I made a promise to Huang Ping'an; he hit the Dao Bell for me for five thousand years, so I agreed to take his successor as my True Disciple. Thus, this opportunity is earned by Huang Ping'an!"

Tian Lin, still kneeling on the ground, looked up at the elder in disbelief before bowing his head again.

If he had not miscalculated, how long had the ancestor of Yao Yue Sect been dead?

Merely a thousand years.

How long had the ancestor of Yao Yue Sect lived in Wendaos Sect?

Tian Lin didn't know, but no matter how he calculated, he was aware that the total time from the ancestor's visit to Lai State and his return from Lai State was merely thirteen to fourteen hundred years.

"Does my ancestor still have to strike the bell for over three thousand years?"

After hesitating for a moment, Tian Lin still asked this question.

"Yes, his Divine Soul is bound by the Dao Bell. Only after striking it for the remaining three thousand years will he be liberated."

Upon hearing this, Tian Lin pictured the figure of the old man under the pavilion in his mind.

For a thousand years, the old man had mechanically waited under the pavilion for sunrise and sunset and then struck the bell punctually.

For a thousand years, without a single lapse.

"Why would my ancestor exchange five thousand years of restlessness just to make me your disciple?"

Fearing a hidden plot, Tian Lin felt it best to ask for a clear explanation.

The elder was not annoyed and said: "Perhaps he was reluctant from the bottom of his heart? Have you ever heard that immortals and mortals are eternally separated, and that humans and ghosts have no intersection?"

Tian Lin nodded: "Carved on the gate of my Yao Yue Sect is this very couplet, purportedly inscribed by the ancestor himself."

The elder said: "These eight characters on his gate are also the rules of Dao Seeking Mountain. And because of these rules, he, being a mortal descendant, remained an Outer Disciple his entire life. Perhaps he harbored some resentment."

Tian Lin, do you believe that immortals and mortals are truly forever apart? He did not believe it, now I wonder if you do."