"Splash..."
Bai Zihe's mind was constantly working.
Meanwhile, the water in the Purification Pool continued to be poured in.
It flowed into Bai Zihe's dantian, completely "refurbishing" the true essence within him, bestowing upon him a brand new power.
However, this refurbishment had its limits. After about half an hour of tempering, Bai Zihe sensed that the pool water no longer contained any pure energy for him to absorb. To be precise, the pure energy, upon reaching the pores of Bai Zihe's body, seemed to be blocked from entering, as if encountering an impenetrable barrier.
Bai Zihe understood. This meant he had reached saturation.
"Shua..."
At the same time, the last drop of water flowed out from outside the Chaotic Treasure Box. The entire box, compared to before, had shed its mundane appearance, becoming ethereal and exceptionally agile, as if it had come to life. This greatly surprised Bai Zihe.
"Splash..."
Simultaneously, Bai Zihe's body was lifted by the buoyancy of the pool water, floating on the surface of the Purification Pool.
"Brother Bai, you can come out now," Lin Hu, standing by the shore, called out with a smile upon seeing this.
"Alright," Bai Zihe nodded, not lingering in the pool. He leaped out, landing by the shore, his true essence surging, and his wet clothes instantly dried of all moisture. Immaculate. Spotless.
"Lin Hu..." Bai Zihe suddenly thought of the power of time and space and inquired, "In this forbidden land, are there any peerless geniuses who wield the power of time or space?" Regarding the forbidden land of ancient clans, ever since Bai Zihe learned that the ancestor was a being of the Half-Saint level, he dared not show the slightest disrespect. The ancestor was a Half-Saint! Below that, there might be various immortals. The most ordinary were cultivators like Lin Hu, at the Tribulation Crossing realm, relegated to guarding the entrance outside, only returning once every decade or so.
"Yes." Lin Hu's answer made Bai Zihe overjoyed. There really were such powers! The power of time, the power of space! Then he could completely try to master these powers, thereby opening the Chaotic Treasure Box, or perhaps merging them with the five elements, ultimately mastering chaos!
"Our ancestor," Lin Hu continued, "once exhibited the power of time. The feeling..." "It was as if everything around had stopped, all laws ceased to exist. At that moment, time was the sole ruler between heaven and earth." Bai Zihe was instantly filled with excitement. This feeling... Wasn't it the same feeling of time pausing that he had just experienced in the Purification Pool? However, the Lin family ancestor was a Half-Saint. If only Half-Saints could wield such power, it would be as good as saying they couldn't. Bai Zihe was merely a lowly cultivator at the Tribulation Crossing realm now, not even considered an immortal, let alone a Half-Saint, who was many realms beyond an immortal.
"Let's go, I'll take you to see the ancestor." Lin Hu asked nothing further, merely complying with his previous instructions.
"Alright." The two returned to the grand hall.
"Bai Zihe..." The moment they appeared, a figure materialized on the throne above. However, he was shrouded in mist, his form completely indistinct. Such a method was truly astonishing.
"Ancestor!" Towards a being of the Half-Saint level, Bai Zihe still harbored reverence, and moreover, he was the Lin family's ancestor, essentially half an elder to him.
"You have traveled from afar, are you here for the Lin family's treasure box from years past?" The mass of mist churned, and the voice reached Bai Zihe's ears. Bai Zihe quickly nodded in affirmation, "Replying to the ancestor, it is indeed so." "A dark invasion catastrophe is occurring in the outside world. I wish to open the treasure box and master the legendary supreme power to repel the darkness." In truth, Bai Zihe wanted to say that with the current strength of the Lin family's ancient clan, they could sweep away everything outside.
"Opening the treasure box..." A blurred face appeared within the mist, looking down at Lin Tianxuan from above, and slowly said, "You are still missing the most crucial powers: the power of time and the power of space." "As long as you master these two powers, you will have infinite possibilities." "The dark invasion in the outside world..." "Will pose no difficulty for you whatsoever." Bai Zihe's heart stirred. Hearing the ancestor's tone, there was a great chance! Thus, he quickly asked, "Ancestor, how does one master these two powers? Truthfully, I have never heard of anyone possessing such incredible abilities." Although he had already heard from Lin Hu that the ancestor possessed such power, it was clearly not appropriate to mention it now.
"Within the ancient clan, there is a forbidden land." The ancestor said slowly, "This forbidden land can only be entered by each member of the Lin family once. Inside, there are all sorts of opportunities." "At its end lies the power of time and space." "As for whether you can comprehend it, that depends on your fortune." It's really possible! Bai Zihe immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Ancestor, where is this forbidden land? I am willing to go and try!"
"Lin Hu." The ancestor looked at Lin Hu and instructed, "You shall escort him there." "Yes!" After Lin Hu promised, he said to Bai Zihe, "Brother Bai, please follow me." Exiting the hall, Lin Hu led Bai Zihe towards the back mountain.
"What the ancestor spoke of is our ancient clan Lin family's forbidden land trial. Each Lin family member has only one chance to enter in their lifetime." "Generally speaking..." "Everyone chooses to enter only after becoming an immortal, to obtain powerful divine abilities or profound cultivation techniques." Immortals! Bai Zihe couldn't help but marvel inwardly and asked curiously, "Lin Hu, since the ancient clan Lin family even has immortals, why not directly dispatch a few immortals to sweep away everything and eliminate the darkness?" Ever since learning that the ancestor was a Half-Saint, Bai Zihe had this thought.
"Brother Bai, you think too simply." Lin Hu said with a wry smile, "Our ancient clan Lin family appears powerful, but in reality, it is also constrained by the great Dao of heaven and earth." "Firstly, the outside world no longer even has an immortal realm. It is known as the most spiritually impoverished era of the Dharma-ending, where even immortals' strength is greatly diminished. Secondly, darkness and chaos, while born from and opposed to each other, also complement each other. But overall, they are essentially evenly matched existences." "If immortals were to join the chaos faction, the dark faction would also produce beings with combat power equivalent to immortals after continuous devouring." "At that time, the situation would be even more dire." "There is only one situation." "After the great decisive battle, whether the chaos faction wins or the dark faction wins, only then will the balance be broken." "Therefore, even if immortals were to intervene, they could only do so after the chaos has completely collapsed." Bai Zihe was stunned. To think there was such a situation. He blurted out, "Hypothetically, if I also break through to the immortal realm, would I then face invaders of immortal strength in the future?"