I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Lin Che's consciousness sank into the ancient storage ring.

The interior space wasn't very large, and it neatly contained about fifty mid-grade spirit stones with insufficient spiritual energy, several jade bottles with labels, a sword-shaped magic weapon with restrained spiritual light, and a small packet of unknown spiritual plant seeds with weak vitality.

And a thick notebook made of a special material, tanned from a certain type of animal hide.

He didn't check the spirit stones and magical artifacts first, but instead, with a thought, he took out the notebook.

He casually found a smooth bluestone next to the cave and sat down. With the help of the light filtering through the mist, he slowly opened the book that contained the memories and obsessions of a cultivator's life.

The first half of the notebook, written in a slightly hasty but emotional style, records how this rogue cultivator, who calls himself "Wandering Cloud," went from being an ordinary mortal who accidentally obtained a chance encounter with immortality, went through hardships and difficulties, and finally succeeded in establishing his foundation.

Between the lines, one can feel the writer's sighs and emotions as he reminisces about the past in his later years.

However, when Lin Che's gaze fell on the latter half of the notebook, which contained the record of the true secret of the island in the middle of the lake, his breath suddenly caught in his throat, and his pupils contracted uncontrollably!

"This...this place really nurtures such a divine object?!"

He suddenly stood up from the bluestone, his hand holding the notebook trembling slightly with excitement, his face filled with unbelievable joy and shock.

Beside him, the vortex dragon turtle, immersed in the familiar aroma of "Drunken Flower Wine," was startled by his movement. It slowly raised its massive head, its cloudy yet wise eyes looking over with a questioning gaze: "Young man, you... know the secret of this place?"

Lin Che took a deep breath, trying to calm his turbulent emotions, his voice still trembling slightly: "I think... I probably understand."

He quickly put away his notes and storage ring, his eyes flashing like lightning, and began to search urgently on the not-so-wide island in the middle of the lake.

He did not rely on divine sense; the notes clearly stated that the divine object could evade all forms of detection.

He used a most primitive, yet perhaps only, method: touching every inch of the island with his own hands!

The reason is simple: on this seemingly ordinary island in the middle of the lake grows a spiritual plant that transcends the concept of ordinary quality and can be called a divine object, the Hidden Mulberry!

According to the notes, Yun Youzi discovered it by sheer chance back then.

It was after a fierce battle with a demonic beast that he was exhausted. He casually leaned back and unexpectedly leaned against a tree that should not have existed, thus catching a glimpse of its true form.

If it weren't for this coincidence that could be described as a twist of fate, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have had a hard time discovering this tree.

Because Kong Yinsang possesses a concealment ability that is almost at the level of a law:

It "absolutely does not exist" in any visual, spiritual, or even higher-level causal investigation.

Even if someone stands in front of it, their perception will be naturally distorted by an invisible force, causing them to believe that there is nothing there.

Back then, the wandering soul spent countless hours consulting a vast sea of ​​ancient books before finally confirming the origin of this mysterious tree, which was none other than the legendary Kongyin Sang!

This tree has no fixed grade; rather, its grade depends on the spiritual vein to which it is rooted.

It is rooted in the core of a several-tier spiritual vein, and is itself a several-tier divine object, with virtually no limit to its growth potential.

Its most incredible ability is not just to hide itself, but to create its own secret realm within its body!

This is a mirrored secret realm that can perfectly replicate all the geographical information of the spiritual vein it is located in at the current moment. Mountains, rivers, plants, and rocks will all generate corresponding projections made of pure spiritual energy in the secret realm.

More importantly, the core of the secret realm will generate a "mirror spirit vein" that is completely identical to the outside spirit vein in terms of grade, attributes, and total amount of spiritual energy!

Furthermore, this spiritual vein can change synchronously with the upgrading or downgrading of external spiritual veins!

It is this incredible ability that makes Kong Yinsang a top-grade raw material capable of refining portable magical artifacts!

In his previous life, Lin Che had read many cultivation novels. Some of the protagonists possessed heaven-defying magical treasures that allowed them to grow spiritual herbs and raise spiritual beasts, thus becoming rich. These treasures were made from the Kongyin Sang.

This is the fundamental reason why it is hailed as the "divine tree"—the magical treasures it produces are truly incredibly powerful!

As for why Yun Youzi didn't take it, but instead lived in seclusion there until his death.

The answer is somewhat surprising.

It takes a full three thousand years for the Hidden Mulberry to grow from its first appearance to full maturity! But the Wanderer of the Clouds back then didn't know how many years the Hidden Mulberry had been growing in this place, or how many more years it would take to mature.

Thus, Yun Youzi waited bitterly for countless years, until the golden elixir was no longer in sight and his lifespan was exhausted, but he still could not wait for the day when the divine tree matured.

In the end, he chose to die here, guarding this secret until his death, which can be considered the end of a kind of obsession.

Lin Che didn't know if Kong Yinsang was already an adult, but he had a system!

Using the system's detection capabilities, he touched and examined each tree and open space one by one. Finally, he touched the mysterious tree, and a prompt clearly appeared on the system interface.

At the same time, the introduction of Kong Yinsang also includes the words "adult".

Lin Che suppressed his overwhelming joy and, following the instructions provided by the system, placed his hands firmly on the invisible tree trunk. At the same time, he activated his divine sense and carefully enveloped the entire tree.

He held his breath and focused intently, carefully sensing...

Suddenly, at the top of the tree canopy, which is invisible to ordinary people, a faint silver light quietly appeared on a seemingly ordinary branch, rippling like water and outlining a mysterious rune!

Lin Che's eyes sharpened, and without hesitation, he rode his qi to rise and reached out to touch the silver rune.

The moment their fingertips touched, a gentle yet powerful spatial force instantly enveloped their entire body.

The surrounding scenery distorted slightly, like a reflection in water, and the next moment, Lin Che disappeared from the spot.

……

The light and shadow shifted before his eyes, and once he settled down, Lin Che found himself in a strange space.

At first glance, this place looks almost exactly like the island in the middle of the lake outside!

The same blue sky, the same sparse trees and rocks, even the misty water vapor on the distant lake surface are exactly the same.

However, upon closer inspection, one can discover significant differences.

First and foremost is spiritual energy!

The spiritual veins from the outside world are hidden at the bottom of the lake, their aura obscure.

And here, that second-tier spiritual vein was clearly visible on the surface!

The pure and rich spiritual energy almost turned into a tangible mist. With each breath, it was refreshing and invigorating, and every pore on the body unconsciously opened up, greedily absorbing this pure energy, making people feel unprecedented comfort and vitality.

With a thought, he touched the silver runes on the projection of the Hidden Mulberry Tree in the space again, and in a flash, he reappeared on the island in the middle of the lake outside.

"Master!" The Burning Heaven Sacred Sparrow immediately let out a soft cry filled with anxiety, its golden eyes filled with worry. It only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Lin Che was safe and sound.

The vortex dragon turtle's massive head drew closer, its once calm eyes now brimming with barely suppressed excitement and anticipation: "Well? You...you've found out? What...is there?"

Lin Che looked at it, a smile of undisguised excitement spreading across his face.

He didn't explain further, only saying, "Senior, relax, I'll take you inside and you'll see."

After saying that, he activated Kong Yinsang's spatial runes again. This time, silver light enveloped himself, the two spirit beasts, and the enormous vortex dragon turtle.

Spatial transformation.

When the vortex dragon turtle adapted to the brief spatial fluctuations and saw the scene before it, its massive body trembled violently, and its millennia-old composure seemed to be shattered at that moment.

"W-Where is this...?" Its enormous eyes were filled with disbelief as it felt the real, even more intense spiritual energy beneath its feet than the outside world, and this world that was no different from the outside world yet existed independently.

"This is the mirrored secret realm inside Kongyin Sang," Lin Che's voice rang out from the side, filled with emotion.

"This is the secret your master has guarded for hundreds of years. When he discovered this tree, it was far from mature."

So he chose to live in seclusion here, silently waiting for the tree to mature, but alas... he never witnessed the completion of this secret realm before his death.

The Whirlpool Dragon Turtle listened quietly, its enormous head slowly turning as it surveyed this magical, secret realm.

After a long while, it let out an extremely complex sigh, a sigh that contained both a sudden realization and endless lament.

"So that's how it is... Haha, I knew it! That's why that old guy used to stare blankly at that empty space for days on end... Alas, fate is truly cruel!"

Its words were filled with lamentations about the fickleness of fate and deep regret for the unfortunate fate of its old master, Yunyouzi.

Heaven is unjust! It truly is unjust!!

Excitement and intense emotional fluctuations accelerated the depletion of its already dwindling life force.

Its massive body began to tremble slightly, and its bright eyes, which had once contained wisdom and power, were now losing their luster at a visible speed, becoming heavy and cloudy.

Lin Che, who had been closely monitoring it, immediately noticed the rapid decline in its condition.

"Senior!" he called out softly, not daring to delay, and immediately activated the secret realm inscription, instantly teleporting the vortex dragon turtle and spirit beasts back to the island in the center of the lake.

Back in the outside world, the vortex dragon turtle's aura weakened even more noticeably, like a candle flickering in the wind.

It lay prone on the ground, the luster on its carapace rapidly fading, its breathing becoming extremely faint and prolonged.

In the lake, the armored alligator snapping turtles seemed to sense the passing of their ancestor's life, emitting mournful low cries as they swam restlessly, poking their heads out of the water and looking this way, their eyes filled with sorrow and helplessness.

With its last ounce of strength, the Whirlpool Dragon Turtle struggled to lift its eyelids and look at its offspring, at Lin Che.

On that aged, wrinkled face, a faint smile of relief and peace, yet tinged with final concern, appeared.

"It...is...nothing..." Its thoughts, though fragmented, clearly reached the hearts of every armored alligator snapping turtle and Lin Che, "I...have no regrets...from now on...you...must...obey...his...words..."

These final words, along with the final dissipation of its life essence, flowed like gentle ripples into the depths of the souls of every alligator snapping turtle in Shattered Star Lake.

The voice gradually faded away.

The vortex dragon turtle's enormous head finally drooped limply, resting gently on the damp ground by the lake.

Those eyes, which had witnessed a thousand years of vicissitudes, slowly closed, and the last trace of life returned to calm like ripples.

A lake breeze swept by, bringing a touch of coolness and stirring its still body.

This ancient spirit beast, which had guarded Shattered Star Lake for a thousand years and witnessed countless changes over the years, finally passed away peacefully after learning its master's ultimate secret and finding a place for its descendants to rely on.