Ye Ling gazed at the empty valley, his thoughts in disarray.
Though Xuan Yu had spoken little, the information conveyed was unimaginably vast…
"The Earth's great tribulation is imminent… what exactly does that refer to? The threat of the Tongtian Clan?"
Ye Ling murmured to himself, then shook his head. "No… it can't be the Tongtian Clan. Xuan Yu likely knew the strength I displayed, yet still spoke of mortal danger. With the Tongtian Clan's level of civilization, threatening me is still far from it."
"Meaning… the threat comes from a civilization of the same level as the Eastern Profound Continent, or even higher?"
"The Eastern Profound Continent is already one of the top cultivation civilizations in the universe. If there are civilizations in this universe superior to the Eastern Profound Continent, why would they specifically target this extremely remote Earth?"
Ye Ling found it impossible to analyze the source of the great tribulation that Earth was about to face.
Earth was already a rather remote region in the universe, so much so that even the Eastern Profound Continent's influence did not reach it. It was a thoroughly primitive civilization.
To put it bluntly, in such a world, a Saint could already dominate. The resources within could at most support one person to become an Emperor. No top-tier civilization would even glance at such a place…
"Is Xuan Yu spouting nonsense?" Thinking of this, Ye Ling shook his head again, dismissing the hypothesis.
If he hadn't stumbled upon the "Great Transformation Heavenly Derivation Heart Technique" here, and if he hadn't had a whim to eliminate the mastermind behind the scenes, he and Xuan Yu would have had no interaction, and their interests likely wouldn't have clashed.
Xuan Yu had no reason to lie to him.
There was no point in doing such a thing.
"Forget it… perhaps there are still secrets on Earth that I haven't discovered. Thinking about it here is useless. I'll take it one step at a time; we'll face whatever comes."
Soon, Ye Ling gave up dwelling on Xuan Yu's words and composed himself.
He had spent sixty thousand years in the Eastern Profound Continent, always challenging opponents of higher levels and climbing out of piles of corpses. If he were to lose his composure over someone's words, he wouldn't have achieved what he had today.
Moreover…
Over these sixty thousand years, besides his own cultivation, he had accumulated many trump cards. Although he hadn't used them, it was because no one in the Eastern Profound Continent was qualified to make him go all out.
If he were to unleash his full power, Ye Ling himself didn't know what he could achieve.
"This Emperor… will wait here, properly."
Ye Ling looked up at the sky, his gaze growing deeper. The blood in his veins began to boil.
Shortly after Xuan Yu disappeared, Ye Ling reburied the remains of the Purple Thunder Qilin and placed seals around its grave.
No more malevolent spirits would be able to approach this place.
Ye Ling looked at the repaired grave of the Purple Thunder Qilin and said softly, "Today, I borrowed your bones and gained much. I owe you a great debt."
"Your soul has long entered reincarnation, and I can no longer repay you. From now on, I will protect your Qilin clan, ensuring a lifetime of peace."
As Ye Ling's words fell, specks of luminescence lit up from the Purple Thunder Qilin's grave, transforming into a butterfly that flew towards the sky. Finally, under Ye Ling's gaze, it slowly dissipated.
Ye Ling knew that was the last trace of the Purple Thunder Qilin's power.
After the butterfly vanished, it signified the complete departure of the Purple Thunder Qilin from this world.
As for what its soul reincarnated into, and what kind of life it lived, that was another story.
Ye Ling cast a deep look at the Purple Thunder Qilin's grave, placed a white jade gourd filled with his favorite wine before it, and turned to leave.
Over at the Living Swamp, the battle between the sludge and the evil spirits continued.
The sludge had not absorbed the power from the treasure bone, and the white-robed swordsman evil spirit had devoured all the evil spirits in Jianlong Divine Mountain. Now, both sides were evenly matched. It might take days and nights to determine a victor.
"My Lord, you're back!"
The Blood Slaughtering Qilin on the shore of the Living Swamp noticed Ye Ling's return, and the worry in its heart instantly vanished. It quickly led Di Zhui to greet Ye Ling. "What happened over there? Are you alright, my Lord?"
Ye Ling caught Di Zhui, who leaped towards him, and smiled at the Blood Slaughtering Qilin. "Just handled some minor matters. No need to worry."
Hearing Ye Ling say this, the Blood Slaughtering Qilin no longer showed excessive concern and smiled foolishly at Ye Ling. "It's good that you're alright, my Lord."
Ye Ling did not dwell on that topic. He looked at the sludge abyss dragon and the white-robed swordsman evil spirit locked in their fierce battle in the swamp, his eyes narrowing slightly.
After interacting with Xuan Yu, Ye Ling had ruled out the possibility that she was the one who taught the white-robed swordsman the "Great Transformation Heavenly Derivation Heart Technique."
Someone else had taught the white-robed swordsman.
The white-robed swordsman had cultivated the "Great Transformation Heavenly Derivation Heart Technique" and was capable of leaving behind a wisp of remnant soul. His backer must also be a powerful individual who was proficient in the Eastern Profound Continent's script and understood the true purpose of this cultivation technique.
Perhaps the person behind the white-robed swordsman had some connection to Xuan Yu's warning.
"If that's the case, investigating this matter isn't entirely without leads…"
Thinking of this, Ye Ling glanced at the white-robed swordsman evil spirit and then asked the Blood Slaughtering Qilin, "How is it here?"
The Blood Slaughtering Qilin dared not delay when Ye Ling inquired and quickly replied, "I've been guarding here. The sludge abyss dragon and the evil spirit have been locked in an indecisive battle, with no clear winner in the short term."
Ye Ling shook his head. "I'm not asking about that. I'm asking if anything strange has happened here."
"Strange things?"
Hearing Ye Ling's question, the Blood Slaughtering Qilin was startled and fell into thought.
However, its mind had been mostly focused on Ye Ling, so Ye Ling had genuinely stumped it for a moment.
Seeing the Blood Slaughtering Qilin's dazed expression, Ye Ling knew he wouldn't get anything from it. He sighed slightly, then placed his hand on Di Zhui's head. His palm lit up with a white glow, and spiritual energy flowed into it.
Di Zhui was his spirit pet, and their memories could be shared.
During the time he was away, everything Di Zhui had seen here could be replayed in Ye Ling's mind from Di Zhui's perspective.
This was the fundamental reason he had left Di Zhui here.
This little Qilin was equivalent to a recording device.
Di Zhui's eyes lit up with a white glow, and all the scenes it had witnessed in the Living Swamp flashed through Ye Ling's mind.
From Di Zhui's perspective, the battle between the Mud Abyss Dragon and the evil spirit was indeed unremarkable…
The two sides exchanged blows, utterly mundane.
"Hmm… what's that?"
Just as Ye Ling was about to dismiss it in disappointment and exit Di Zhui's perspective, he discovered something surprising in the footage Di Zhui had recorded.
For a split second, in the sky behind the white-robed swordsman evil spirit, two dark shadows flashed by!
Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. "What was that?"