Lingwei Buddha led a group past the chaotic void currents where Song Lin resided.

Their imposing presence immediately startled Song Lin.

"What's going on?" Song Lin opened his eyes.

The commotion outside triggered the restrictions he had previously left in the chaotic void currents, just as he was returning, leading to its discovery.

Traversing with his true body meant physically entering the story world.

Once in the story world, Song Lin's presence would vanish from reality, and likewise, returning to reality would remove him from the story world.

This method was relatively safe.

However, Song Lin still retained his old habit of checking the restrictions every day at fixed times, taking only two or three seconds to see if they had been triggered or recorded anything.

This time, an unexpected discovery awaited him.

When he saw the passerby, he was stunned to find that it was none other than Lingwei Buddha.

"Wasn't this guy's physical body shattered by me?"

Song Lin spoke in surprise.

Not only was he alive, but he had also regained the cultivation of a Heavenly Immortal, although still far inferior to his prior state.

It appeared to be the handiwork of the Great Sun World Venerable.

Even for skilled masters, including those at the Heavenly Immortal level, it was nearly impossible to restore a person whose Dao Fruit had been shattered.

The only plausible explanation was that the Great Sun World Venerable intervened.

"Haha, what a coincidence."

Song Lin transformed into a wisp of green smoke and followed behind.

In the past, before becoming a Heavenly Immortal, Lingwei couldn't defeat him.

Now that Song Lin had achieved the Taoist Realm of a Heavenly Immortal, his combat strength was at the forefront of the Heavenly Immortal's first tier. Lingwei—let alone fighting him—couldn't even discern his presence if he used Transformation Techniques to stand right in front of him.

Song Lin blended into the Buddha Soldiers' formation, using his Divine Thought to probe Lingwei's location.

"The Venerable said there might be another ancient corpse here. Pass down the orders: leave no corner unchecked, and make sure no one discovers our movements—kill all witnesses!"

Lingwei Buddha's words carried dense murderous intent.

There was precedent for this—along their path of pursuit, they had encountered multiple secret realms inhabited by living creatures. Out of caution, Lingwei still chose to silence them, even if they hadn't provoked him.

Since his resurrection by the Great Sun World Venerable, Lingwei, knowing his future path was hopeless, had become increasingly consumed by hostility, turning more brutal over time. Not only outsiders, but even many Arhat Monks who irritated him met violent deaths.

The Great Sun World Venerable seemingly indulged him, offering no punishment, but rather assigning him unsavory tasks.

After all, the promotion of the Western Pure Land was centered on goodness, and not all Bodhisattvas and Buddhas could accept certain darker aspects.

Lingwei was the most suitable candidate to carry out such clandestine work.

"Buddha, what exactly is the ancient starry corpse?" a disciple asked nearby.

"Don't ask unnecessary questions!" Lingwei glared at the disciple.

The disciple dared not press further, but perhaps sensing the need to provide his trusted subordinates with some context, Lingwei revealed a fragment of information.

"The origin of the ancient starry corpse is unknown. Approximately two Jiazi ago, outside the Great Sun's Medium Thousand World, someone discovered an ancient corpse drifting in the void. The corpse showed no signs of life and its Spirit Platform was sealed. Though it was seemingly dead, there appeared to be a chance of awakening."

"In its lifetime, this corpse possessed the cultivation of a True Immortal. Now, even the Venerable isn't certain whether it is truly dead or merely in deep slumber."

The Medium Thousand World contains countless things—including this one corpse—but what if it truly is a True Immortal?

One must understand that even within the Pure Land Middle Thousand, the Great Sun World Venerable was the only True Immortal.

If another combatant at the True Immortal's level were added, it could dominate All Heavens Court.

After all, the world where the Pure Land Middle Thousand resides is not the domain of a single faction.

Aside from the Pure Land, there are several forces on equal footing, all vying for supremacy within the same massive Medium Thousand World.

"The Venerable has also discovered there may be more than one ancient starry corpse—including another at the True Immortal level."

Lingwei didn't elaborate on the details.

Sharing only a rough outline, he kept the most classified parts hidden.

According to the Great Sun World Venerable, the ancient corpses might originate from a Medium Thousand Heavenly Court that collapsed due to a Demon Tribulation upheaval. This was deduced from clues found scattered throughout the Great Thousand Void.

After obtaining the ancient corpses, the Great Sun World Venerable specifically traced their drifting path, unearthing fragments of jade scrolls and jade talismans. These contained military mobilization orders and battle reports.

From this, a rough reconstruction was made.

Two True Immortal-level ancient corpses, possibly accompanied by the legacy of a Medium Thousand Heavenly Court—what does this mean?

Acquiring all of it would cause a faction's influence to swell several times over, making domination of the world easily attainable.

If this information leaked, it would undoubtedly lead to allied strikes from rival forces.

Thus, the Great Sun World Venerable entrusted the mission to Lingwei, whose methods were particularly ruthless and merciless.

Especially with the promise of studying his future path after securing the Medium Thousand legacy, Lingwei had grown even more unhinged.

Lingwei believed that only he and the four confidants beside him were privy to these secrets, as everyone else was kept at a distance.

Little did he know, a Divine Thought had already uncovered everything.

Song Lin's current realm was beyond their comprehension.

"Keep searching—split into four groups."

Lingwei revealed a dharma image, his Divine Thought transforming into golden waves as he scoured for any suspicious traces.

...

"An ancient starry corpse, a True Immortal-level cultivator..." Song Lin murmured to himself.

This was certainly a treasure. The physical body of a True Immortal undoubtedly hid countless cultivation secrets. Even refining it into a zombie would make for an immensely powerful asset.

However, two True Immortal ancient corpses—why did this sound a lot like Ermao and the others?

Sanmao Heavenly Court had three True Immortals in total.

The Yuan Shi Heavenly King and Ermao.

Yuan Shi Heavenly King had repented before his death, perishing alongside a Heavenly Demon to buy the Sanmao time to escape. Ermao, gravely injured, had been left with an uncertain fate, entirely out of contact with Mao Zhong.

Could the two ancient starry corpses be Ermao?

The more Song Lin thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

True Immortals are exceedingly rare in the Great Thousand World. For the Sanmao Heavenly Court to have three was already remarkable, making it a significant power in the Great Thousand.

Of course, it couldn't compare to the Heavenly Courts in the story world.

The Jade Emperor was near the Golden Immortal realm and at the pinnacle of True Immortals. Other True Immortal powerhouses included the Five Directions Five Elders and Zhen Yuanzi of the Earth Immortal Realm.

However, none of these figures heeded the Jade Emperor, each owning personal domains and forces, making them difficult to command cohesively.

Unlike the more unified Buddhist Sect, which could act as one.

"No matter, I'll infiltrate and see if it's Ermao and the others."

Song Lin's gaze settled on the ranks of Buddhists splitting into groups.

A plan to infiltrate began to form.

Currently, one ancient corpse was with the Buddhist Sect, while the other wandered in the void.

Song Lin intended to sneak into the former group—first, to locate the corpse, and second, to uncover the Pure Land Middle Thousand's secrets.

In the past, the Pure Land Middle Thousand had cast greedy eyes upon the Donghua Dao lineage. Now that the Donghua Dao lineage had risen into a Medium Thousand Heavenly Court, it, too, had a right to scrutinize the Pure Land.

The task of finding the second corpse was delegated to Mao Zhong and his team. If it truly was Ermao, Mao Zhong would have a better chance of locating his brother than an outsider.

Song Lin transformed into a Buddha Soldier once more.

Taking action was the priority—regardless of whether Ermao awoke and joined Donghua later, for now, they shared a common enemy in the Great Sun World Venerable.

Having a common foe provided a basis for cooperation.

Such were Song Lin's thoughts.

...........

(Eight thousand more words tonight—a total ten thousand updated today.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.