Wang Xianyu conceded defeat as he gazed at the male on the stage.
Not only could An Lin flex, but he could also stir up the crowd’s emotion. He was truly no match for An Lin’s abilities.
The commendation ceremony concluded to an extremely enthusiastic atmosphere.
An Lin returned to his room and continued to swallow immortal pills in order to stabilize his cultivation base.
He wasn’t short on money now, so he could use all kinds of immortal pills and spirit medicines to nourish his body. This way, he would be able to stabilize his cultivation base and truly become a supreme being of the Return to Void Initial Stage.
In the following days, Xu Xiaolan would be responsible for cooking and making money.
An Lin would be responsible for stabilizing his cultivation base.
His beast pets would be responsible for cheering him on.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, one month had already passed.
An Lin ascended the Full Moon Mountain and gazed at the dazzling galaxies as well as the two moons in the sky.
The “battle of moons” between Chang’e and that mysterious being still hadn’t come to an end. No one was able to conclusively say who would emerge victorious either.
After breaking through to the Return to Void Stage and swallowing two powers of the heavenly gods, An Lin was able to roughly sense the battle situation between the two sides.
“The red moon is almost about to succumb.” The corners of An Lin’s lips curled up into a slight smile. “What’s so bad about integrating one’s dao honestly and without causing trouble? Why cause a commotion and try to duke it out with Chang’e? Chang’e has been preparing on the moon for heaven knows how long, yet that being still chose to challenge her. Is it tired of living?”
A purple meteor streaked through the sky.
However, it didn’t disappear in the opposite end of the sky. Rather, its reflection became larger and larger in An Lin’s eyes!
That’s right, it was hurtling toward the Full Moon Mountain!
There was a momentary flash.
When An Lin refocused his gaze, a purple-robed and aloof looking male had already appeared before him. An air of might and dignity emanated from this male.
“Emperor Ziwei.” An Lin saluted respectfully.
“Battle God An Lin.” Emperor Ziwei returned his salute.
Right now, An Lin’s standing was equal to the five emperors of the Heavenly Court.
“Did you bring the item?” Emperor Ziwei asked.
An Lin’s storage ring flashed, and countless treasures instantly flew out from it.
The energy fluctuations that they released caused heaven and earth to change color and caused the void to tremor.
Emperor Ziwei’s eyes lit up. “Intermediate-rank items, Mysterious Snow Heavenly Ice Root and Demonic Emperor’s Skeleton. Divine-rank item, Dao Integration Stage True Dragon’s Bone Marrow Essence. Divine-rank item, Dark Blood Divine Flower. Intermediate-rank immortal tools, Divine Flame Badge and Blood Soul Cross…
“Nice, very nice!
“These treasures can be used to forge a sealing-type divine tool. However, its rank will probably be lower than the divine tool forged from the treasures that you gave me last time.”
An Lin smiled cheerily. “No problems. As long as it’s a divine tool, then I’m fine with it. I’m of the Return to Void Stage already. It’s time for me to upgrade my treasures to the divine rank. Otherwise, my treasures won’t be able to reflect my cultivation base.”
Emperor Ziwei grimaced upon hearing this. If those Dao Integration Stage cultivators without divine tools hear this, how will they react?
“Got it. If you’ve got nothing else to add, then I’ll take my leave! Lately, I’ve almost become your personal tool refiner!” Emperor Ziwei truly couldn’t bear watching An Lin flex. Thus, he urgently wanted to bid farewell and leave.
All the students and teachers of The United University of Cultivation had received rewards during the commendation ceremony. An Lin was the only one who had received nothing. This was because he owned too many treasures already. The university genuinely didn’t know what to reward him.
Then, An Lin suggested for Emperor Ziwei to help him refine a divine tool. Moreover, he would provide the materials himself.
Just like that, Emperor Ziwei suffered the misfortune of becoming An Lin’s personal tool refiner.
Refining one divine tool was already enough to tire him out. Now An Lin was having him refine two!
Emperor Ziwei felt tired just thinking about it!
“That’s all. Thank you, Senior Ziwei. Adieu!”
An Lin waved his hands and happily farewelled Emperor Ziwei.
After farewelling Emperor Ziwei, An Lin didn’t leave right away. Instead, he continued to meditate atop the Full Moon Mountain.
…
In the dead of night.
The surroundings were extremely silent, bar for the occasional chirps of insects carried over by the chilly breeze.
Two hours later.
The clouds in the sky dispersed, and a graceful figure materialized before him.
This figure was as round as a ball, and he was dressed in a magnificent red and white pill refinement robe. His bulging belly seemed like it was going to burst the pill refinement robe, and the smile on his face caused his eyes to become barely-visible slits.
“Pill Refinement Ancestor, the preparation took me quite a while. Sorry for the long wait!” The fatty waved excitedly as he descended toward the ground. When he landed, the entire Full Moon Mountain appeared to quake under his weight.
An Lin’s expression darkened. “If you call me Pill Refinement Ancestor one more time, I’ll break off all relations with you!”
The fatty before him was none other than the Dou Shuai Palace’s top pill refiner—Yi Xi.
“Okay, okay… I won’t call you that anymore.” Yi Xi grinned. “Brother An, calm down… Anyway, are you prepared now? I’m referring to all kinds of ‘preparations’.”
An Lin nodded. “I’ve already farewelled all my friends. I’m ready now. Let’s go.”
Yi Xi’s hands suddenly turned gold. He stabbed them into the void and ripped out a spatial door.
An Lin followed Yi Xi into the spatial door.
The space distorted and warped fiercely. When An Lin could see clearly again, he had already arrived in a peculiar realm. Below him was a sea of galaxies, and above him was a boundless stretch of darkness.
A white-haired elder stood upright atop the galaxies. He was dressed in a white daoist robe, and he gazed down upon the myriad of matter in the galaxies.
He turned around upon sensing Yi Xi and An Lin’s arrival. There was a kindly smile on his face, and his voice was as calm and refreshing as the spring breeze. “An Lin, welcome to the peak of the Tai Chu Galaxy.”
An Lin saluted respectfully. “Junior An Lin pays his respects to the Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue.”
That’s right, the elder before him was the supreme being who had the title of “Ancestor of all Immortals” and “Teacher of all Saints”—Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue!
When Xu Xiaolan had been reduced to a mortal, he had accepted An Lin’s request and personally helped her reconstruct her dao foundation. As such, An Lin owed him a favor.
At that time, the Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue had signaled that he would seek An Lin for help when the time was right.
Now was the right time, because An Lin had already reached the Return to Void Stage.
Now, it was time for An Lin to repay the favor.
“To be honest, An Lin, your speed in reaching the Return to Void Stage was astonishing. It was much faster than what I had anticipated.” The Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue smiled warmly as he looked An Lin up and down with his clear eyes. There was a clear hint of approval in his voice.
“Senior, you flatter me. In reality, I don’t really know how to cultivate.” An Lin scratched his head modestly.
The Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue: “…”
“Ahem… I’ll fill you in regarding what I need your help for first.” The Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue waved a hand, and a map of the Tai Chu Continent materialized beneath their feet.
He tapped his finger, and an inland sea in the center of the map lit up.
“You might not know this, but there’s a little-known place in the Tai Chu Continent. That place has grotto-heaven, and it’s a rare divine abode. That place is located within the Bai Qiong Sea.”
An Lin looked at the map and asked, “Senior wants me to complete a task there?”
“That’s right. There’s a Great World within the Bai Qiong Sea. It’s called the Divine Source Continent. Because of the restriction in the spatial tunnel between that realm and ours, only cultivators under the rank of Dao Integration Stage are able to enter. Thus, I’m asking for your help.
“Back then, you could fight against Return to Void Stage cultivators even though you were still at the Soul Formation Stage. However, you were still too weak at that time. Now that you’ve reached the Return to Void Stage, there’s a chance that you can complete this mission of mine.”
An Lin frowned and rubbed his chin.
Back when I was at the Soul Formation Stage, I could already challenge most supreme beings of the Return to Void Stage. Yet the Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue still had to wait until I reached the Return to Void Stage before allowing me to accept this task. It seems like this task is going to be extremely challenging…
“What do I need to do in this Divine Source Continent?” An Lin asked.
The Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue stroked his beard and chuckled. “One thing. Obtain the fragment of the Heavenly Dao!”
