"How do you like my answer?"
Zilin Ling asked, smiling at the woman in green.
The woman in green smiled freely and said, "I am indeed very satisfied. You are worthy of being the chosen one. I acknowledge you as my master. However..."
"However, what?" Zilin Ling raised an eyebrow.
"My true form is this Nine Lifetimes of Ultimate Love Flower. If I leave the nourishment of the waters of Repentance Heart Lake, I will soon wither and fall into slumber. Therefore, if you wish to take me with you, you must take the entire Repentance Heart Lake as well," the woman in green said calmly.
Zilin Ling nodded. "That's no problem!"
The woman in green couldn't believe it. "No problem? Are you sure?"
Zilin Ling nodded and then her soul entered the nascent world.
Within her nascent world, on the peak of the tallest mountain, she used her intent to excavate a colossal pit.
Then, her soul returned to her body. She silently willed, "Collect!"
The entire waters of Repentance Heart Lake were instantly collected into the giant pit in her nascent world, forming a mountain-top lake.
The woman in green only saw a blur before her eyes and then the Repentance Heart Lake was dry. This shocked her greatly.
After all, the Repentance Heart Lake was vast, spanning eight thousand li in circumference and over three hundred zhang deep. Even with a spatial container, it was impossible to collect every last drop.
"You... what did you use to collect the lake water?" the woman in green asked in shock.
Zilin Ling smiled mysteriously. "Once you acknowledge me as master, won't you know?"
The woman in green gave a wry smile. "I never intended to renege on my promise, and now, it's even more impossible to refuse you as master! Come then!"
As she spoke, she opened her mind to Zilin Ling.
The Ultimate Love Flower belonged to the spirit race. Therefore, acknowledging a master could not be done in the same way as a beast.
Thus, Zilin Ling had to split off a wisp of her soul, which transformed into a soul imprint, branding itself onto the woman in green's mind.
The moment the soul imprint formed, Zilin Ling and the woman in green both felt a connection between them.
Zilin Ling smiled. "Since you acknowledge me as master, I naturally won't treat you poorly. I will send you into the waters of Repentance Heart Lake!"
With a thought, the woman in green and the large flower beneath her appeared together in the nascent world.
The woman in green immediately felt the purest and cleanest spiritual energy. She exclaimed happily, "It seems acknowledging you as master was a great bargain! This place is so beautiful, I'll settle down here from now on!"
After saying that, she joyfully jumped into the waters of Repentance Heart Lake.
Suddenly, she seemed to recall something and popped her head out of the water. "From now on, this lake shall be called Ultimate Love Lake!"
Then, she sank into the depths of Ultimate Love Lake.
Zilin Ling watched her smug demeanor with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Was her master less appealing than this nascent world?
Never mind!
Zilin Ling's soul withdrew from the nascent world and she said to Xuanyuan Xun and the other three, "Now that Repentance Heart Lake is dry, there's no issue of 'coming ashore' or not. You should all focus on solidifying your cultivation as soon as possible!"
"Alright!"
Xuanyuan Xun, Rong Guang, and Shen Liuxing responded and went to cultivate separately.
Shangguan Yulin, having nothing to do, was about to strike up a conversation with Zilin Ling when he saw her close her eyes as well.
Helplessly, he also dejectedly went to cultivate.
With her eyes closed, Zilin Ling's mind raced.
The Tears of Ultimate Friendship and the Tears of Ultimate Love were fine, but she had no idea how to find the Tears of Ultimate Familial Love.
Ye Lingyuan's parents were dead, and his relatives were all slain by him during the unification of the Tian Yuan Empire.
Now, where could she find the Tears of Ultimate Familial Love?
"Child, the Way of Heaven is compassionate. Life finds a way in despair! Do what you must, and all will be as fated!"
The voice of the Azure Star Soul suddenly echoed in Zilin Ling's sea of consciousness.
A flash of inspiration struck Zilin Ling. "Senior, do you mean that Ye Lingyuan still has relatives alive?"
The Azure Star Soul smiled meaningfully. "All is fated! You should first go and seek out the reincarnation of the other guardians!"
Zilin Ling was overjoyed. Although the Azure Star Soul had not affirmed it directly, the implication was very clear.
"Okay!"
She agreed and entered her cultivation state.
Her soul had been trapped in the Other Shore Space for half a month, and her cultivation had stalled at the late stage of the Great God realm.
Now, she needed to break through to the peak of the Great God realm in the shortest possible time.
After all, no one knew how many dangers awaited them on the continent of Divine Relics.
Time flew by, and soon it was morning again.
Zilin Ling opened her eyes and looked towards the west, a newfound determination in her gaze.
Xuanyuan Xun, Rong Guang, Shangguan Yulin, and Shen Liuxing had also finished their cultivation.
"Let's go!"
With Zilin Ling's command, the group set off on their path once more.
The Endless Wasteland truly lived up to its name.
The group traveled at full speed for three days, covering vast distances, yet they still saw no end to it. However, they did spot a tribe.
"There are people living in the Endless Wasteland?" Shangguan Yulin asked in surprise.
Xuanyuan Xun frowned. "That's not right. Ancient texts record that there are no humans in the Endless Wasteland."
Rong Guang also nodded. "Exactly! It is said to be a forbidden zone for humans."
Shen Liuxing chuckled. "There are always exceptions. Aren't we here ourselves?"
Zilin Ling nodded. "When something is out of the ordinary, there's usually a reason. Everyone be careful!"
"Mm!"
The four nodded and followed Zilin Ling towards the tribe.
However, as soon as they approached the tribe, they were surrounded.
Zilin Ling looked closely and saw that they were indeed surrounded by people.
However, these people were twice as tall as normal humans, wore only animal skins, and carried weapons that were not particularly sharp.
The animal skins were fine, but the not-so-sharp weapons were made from extremely precious materials used to forge divine artifacts.
However, to avoid trouble, Zilin Ling smiled and said, "Hello, we are just passing through. We have no ill intentions."
A man with bird feathers in his hair seemed to be the leader of this group.
He looked at Zilin Ling curiously and chattered in a language that sounded like: "＆％*？☆！..."
Hearing the man speak, Xuanyuan Xun and the other three were dumbfounded, as they couldn't understand a word.
To Zilin Ling's surprise, she understood what the man was saying.
Moreover, she had encountered a race that spoke this language before – the Stone Clan of the Land of Exile.
Back then, she could understand but not speak, and it was only through soul-sharing with Yiran that she had overcome the language barrier.
This language was indeed an ancient one.
The man's words translated to: "Halt! Who are you?"