In the primordial chaos, there existed a peculiar region known as the Time Void Realm.
The Time Void Realm was vast, its expanse equivalent to three Tianyi Universes… and within it, there was only one continent, half bathed in perpetual daylight and the other half in eternal night, with no alternation of sun and moon.
Within the Time Void Realm, time was stagnant. There was no past or future, only the present.
The Time Void Realm also harbored vibrant life forms. However, the beings here differed from those in other universes of the primordial chaos. Their time did not flow; upon their birth, all beings had their time frozen, never to change.
Some beings were born as adults, while others were born as the elderly or infants… the fate of all beings in the Time Void Realm was, from the outset, decided by the power known as "Time."
In truth, the Time Void Realm was not always called the Time Void Realm; it was once a normal region.
Long ago, when the Watchers invaded the primordial chaos, the Primordial Time-Space King resisted them in this very place, battling against the Heavenly Mechanism.
After the Primordial Time-Space King was defeated and sealed by the Watchers, the Watchers did not clean up the residual power of the Primordial Time-Space King before withdrawing from the Time Void Realm. Consequently, the Time Void Realm had been continuously influenced by the Primordial Time-Space King's residual power, eventually transforming into its current state.
At this moment, outside the Time Void Realm.
Ye Ling, holding a parchment scroll, stood amidst the endless chaotic storm, gazing at the time-frozen region ahead. He sighed, "Such powerful temporal and spatial energy. Even without entering, I can already feel the influence on the time around me."
"If there's any place in the primordial chaos most suited for the Primordial Time-Space King, it would likely be here."
From the information provided by Mr. Bai, Ye Ling learned that the Primordial Time-Space King had long since secretly allied with "Brain," broken free from his seal, and now served "Brain."
The Primordial Time-Space King currently sealed was merely a past phantom.
Most of the Watchers, and even some of the Seven Pillars, were unaware of this. They all still believed the Primordial Time-Space King was sealed.
And this Time Void Realm was the Primordial Time-Space King's fiefdom within the primordial chaos, as well as an important stronghold for the Watchers in the primordial chaos.
As long as the Time Void Realm existed, the time in the primordial chaos would forever belong to "Brain," and the flow of time in all universes would be determined by "Brain."
The reason the Watchers were unaffected by time was also due to the existence of the Time Void Realm.
"Mr. Bai can be considered a high-ranking member of the Watcher faction. He knows many secrets that many Watchers are unaware of… If Mr. Bai hadn't told me about this place, I would never have known the Primordial Time-Space King was hiding here."
"It seems I must continue to foster a good relationship with him. To deal with the remaining three Primordial Kings, I will still need his help."
Ye Ling muttered to himself, opening the parchment scroll again. Inside, there was a map of the Time Void Realm.
On that map, a bright red dot was marked.
"The disciple Mr. Bai wants me to take is in the eternal night zone of the Time Void Realm. I need to find a woman named Bai Lan… Judging by her name, she must have a significant relationship with Mr. Bai. Perhaps I can also obtain some information about Mr. Bai from her."
Ye Ling decided to fulfill his promise to Mr. Bai first, then search for the Primordial Time-Space King.
Putting away the scroll, Ye Ling no longer hesitated and transformed into a beam of light, entering the Time Void Realm.
Ye Ling also mastered the Great Dao of Time and Space and was highly sensitive to the flow of time. The moment he entered the Time Void Realm, he felt his own time cease to flow.
The giant sun in the sky hung motionless, still.
The entire world seemed to have come to a standstill.
Ye Ling casually picked up a stone from the ground and then released it. The stone froze in mid-air, not falling.
Ye Ling then ascended, looking into the distance. He saw a city, and within it, there were still many living beings.
A frozen world, coupled with freely moving beings, made everything here extremely strange.
"A world where time has stopped flowing, yet the people within it can move freely. Truly bizarre…"
"However, the temporal and spatial forces in this region are too strong. The Great Dao of Time and Space that I possess is utterly unusable. It seems I cannot alter the time within the Time Void Realm, only adapt to it…"
After Ye Ling slightly adjusted to the peculiar environment, he transformed into a beam of light and headed towards the eternal night zone to the west of the Time Void Realm.
Along the way, Ye Ling heard no sound.
Everything in this world was frozen, including sound.
Even if Ye Ling spoke, his voice could not propagate. It would simply freeze where he spoke. Only those who passed by the place where Ye Ling spoke would hear his words.
Furthermore, Ye Ling's words would not disappear with time; they would remain frozen in place forever.
This peculiar experience also made Ye Ling feel incredibly novel.
The Time Void Realm was vast, but Ye Ling's speed was great. Coupled with the absence of any obstacles along the way, Ye Ling easily reached the location marked on the map.
"So this is a mine…" Ye Ling landed on a small hill, looking at the mine ahead. Illuminated by the moonlight, it was brightly lit.
Although he couldn't hear the sound of mining, Ye Ling could see many people active within the mine.
"Mr. Bai only gave me a name. I still have to find her myself."
Ye Ling scanned the entire mine with his divine sense, confirming that everyone in the mine was an ordinary miner. Only then did he disguise himself slightly and enter the mine.
Inside the mine, it was still eerily silent.
Many miners were using pickaxes to excavate a type of ore that emitted a white light. However, their pickaxes striking the ore produced no sound.
Since Ye Ling entered the mine without making a sound, and he deliberately lowered his presence, none of the miners noticed him.
Ye Ling walked up to a mine cart filled with ore and casually picked up a piece of the glowing stone. He could hear the echo of pickaxe strikes on the ore's surface, and within the ore, a considerable amount of energy was contained.
"It seems that the people and objects in this world can also make sounds, but the sounds cannot propagate; they are all frozen."
Ye Ling put down the ore and scanned the square. Finally, his gaze fell upon a resting miner, and he walked towards him, transmitting his voice, "Hello, I need to ask something."
The miner seemed to have never heard a human voice before. Upon hearing Ye Ling's transmitted words, he abruptly stood up, his pupils trembling violently, his eyes filled with terror.
Before Ye Ling could ask his question, the miner fainted on the spot due to the intense emotional fluctuation.
"This…"
Seeing that the miner had fainted just from his transmitted voice, Ye Ling was also speechless.
Helplessly, Ye Ling had no choice but to search the miner's soul without his consent to view his memories.
"It seems the people in this world communicate using sign language and writing. However, this miner's memories contain no information about Bai Lan… I'll ask someone else."
After Ye Ling gained a preliminary understanding of the Time Void Realm's situation through the miner's memories, he found several other resting miners. However, without exception, none of them knew of Bai Lan's existence.
"Strange… The miners in this mine don't know Bai Lan. Could Mr. Bai's map be wrong?"
After repeatedly questioning several miners with no success, Ye Ling paused and began to analyze.
"No… I must be looking in the wrong direction. A woman connected to Mr. Bai would never be ordinary. It's normal for the miners in this mine, who are common folk, not to know Bai Lan."
"Since Mr. Bai marked this place, it means there must be a clue to Bai Lan here… Is there anything special about this place?"
Ye Ling muttered to himself, finally fixing his gaze on the glowing white ore.
In this entire mine, the most precious thing was the ore that the miners called "sunlight."
This ore, known as "light stone," was the energy source for the eternal night zone, its importance comparable to oil and natural gas on Earth.
"The light stone internally contains extremely powerful energy. The energy contained in a single piece of light stone could likely satisfy the annual energy consumption of a family on Earth. Moreover, this energy does not contain temporal and spatial forces; it doesn't seem to be naturally born in this world…"
"It seems the clue I'm looking for is within the light stone."
With his target confirmed, Ye Ling immediately "borrowed" a piece of the best-quality light stone from a mine cart and attempted to decompose the energy within it using the Source Text to trace its origin.
Just as Ye Ling was decomposing the energy contained within the light stone, the moonlight illuminating the entire square was suddenly covered by a large shadow, and the miners in the mine became agitated.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the miners in a commotion, Ye Ling looked up. He saw a giant bird, resembling a bat in appearance but with the size of a Kunpeng, descending from the sky and landing on a hill outside the mine.
Its immense size exuded a powerful sense of oppression.
The giant bird had crimson eyes, but its surrounding time was also frozen. Ye Ling could not feel any aura emanating from it; he could only use his divine sense to gauge the giant bird's strength.
"This is the downside of this world. Both sound and energy cannot propagate actively. Whether it's ordinary people or powerful demonic beasts… they can't emit any aura, which greatly affects judgment… It seems I need to constantly maintain my soul power expansion."
The giant bird that had descended upon the mine for now was not particularly strong and posed no threat to Ye Ling.
However, if it were the Primordial Time-Space King or one of the Seven Pillars, Ye Ling's inability to sense their presence would be troublesome.
After landing at the mine, the giant bird let out a sharp cry, then flapped its wings and took flight, attacking the mine carts.
With a flash of black light, the giant bird seized a mine cart filled with light stones with its talons, soared into the air, and flew towards the distance.
"A demonic beast that steals ore but doesn't harm people… I'll chase after it!"
Seeing the giant bird carrying the mine cart and fleeing, a glint flashed in Ye Ling's eyes. He immediately pursued the giant bird.