While the Martial God Mountain's powerful figures assembled, Lin Lei himself had not yet departed!
Over a year had passed since Lin Lei entered seclusion. The magic crystal ore vein had long since been fully excavated, and now an ancient-style castle covering several miles of land stood in its place. This castle belonged to Lin Lei. Every day, many admirers came to its gates to gaze upon it.
Beneath the castle, within the micro-realm chamber.
Beyond this micro-realm raged terrifying spatial turbulence, with spatial rifts appearing everywhere. Yet Lin Lei sat serenely cross-legged, quietly cultivating.
*Thump! Thump!…*
The Earth Pulse beat like drum strikes against his heart, then roared through his mind like thunder. His comprehension of the Earth Pulse's profound mystery deepened further, and within the vast ocean of theoretical deduction, specks of insight surged to his awareness.
The 256 layers of Earth Pulse were transforming toward the 128-layer realm.
"Done." After an indeterminate amount of time, a flash of joy lit Lin Lei's eyes. "After deducing for so long, I've finally compressed the 256 layers into 128. In terms of sheer power, it has increased several times over."
Though the number of vibration waves decreased, their power was far greater.
This 128-layer Earth Pulse was incomparably more powerful than the original 128-layer vibration wave. After all, this new 128-layer pulse now contained the complete profound mystery of the Earth Pulse. If he could condense all of it into a single wave...
That would be the level of a god.
"Continue." Without hesitation, Lin Lei immersed himself once more in that unique state, tirelessly deducing. But this time, the difficulty was markedly higher, requiring nearly ten times the effort just to barely merge two layers into one.
In the castle's living room, a large group had gathered: Wotton and his wife, the five Bak brothers, along with Tyler, Sasha, and many other children—including the Bak brothers' own offspring. The entire group was waiting for Lin Lei.
"When will Father come out?" Tyler asked impatiently. He was already 1.7 meters tall now, having grown rapidly over the past year.
Wotton smiled calmly. "Tyler, don't rush. Your Uncle Bei Bei went to fetch your father. He should be here any moment." Today was March 2nd. The Martial God's command required arrival at Martial God Mountain by March 3rd, so Lin Lei had to leave at least by tonight.
"Bak, are you preparing to go as well?" asked Cesler, sitting to the side.
Bak nodded slightly.
A green light flickered in Cesler's eyes. "To be honest, I'd also like to explore the legendary Tomb of the Gods. Unfortunately... I entered the Saint Realm too recently. My ability to protect myself is still far insufficient." Cesler sounded reluctant; these strong individuals all yearned for the pinnacle of cultivation.
None would fear a little danger. If their will wasn't firm enough, how could they have reached the Saint Realm?
"He's here." Cesler was the first to notice Lin Lei's arrival.
Everyone turned toward the living room's side entrance. When Lin Lei and his companions emerged from the underground chamber, they would naturally enter through there. Sure enough... a moment later, Lin Lei and Dilia walked hand in hand into the room, Bei Bei perched on Lin Lei's shoulder.
Lin Lei was surprised by the crowd. "Why so many people?"
"Boss, spend some quality time with everyone. Next time we meet, it'll be in ten years," Bei Bei's voice chimed in.
"Ten years?" Lin Lei was utterly shocked. *Isn't this just entering the Tomb of the Gods?* he thought. *Going in and coming out, even a month would be too long. Why ten years?* He looked at Bei Bei in confusion, and the others in the room were equally bewildered.
Bei Bei said with absolute certainty, "The Tomb of the Gods opens once every millennium. Everyone inside must remain for ten full years before they can emerge... of course, if you die in there, that's that."
"Bei Bei definitely learned this from the master of the Dark Forest. It must be true." Lin Lei understood this, but it still made him frown.
Suddenly, he felt his hand tighten. He turned to look at Dilia beside him, her eyes full of reluctance.
"I'm sorry," Lin Lei whispered.
Departing for the Tomb of the Gods meant separating from Dilia for ten years.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me," Dilia reassured him. "We'll have plenty of time together later. But you must be careful, Lin Lei." She didn't try to stop him from going, because she knew...
Lin Lei harbored the goal of reaching the pinnacle of cultivation.
The Tomb of the Gods was a place countless experts had longed to enter without opportunity. How could Lin Lei abandon such a chance now?
"Thank you." Lin Lei felt a wave of emotion.
"Stay with the children for a while," Dilia said softly. Lin Lei turned to look at his two children, Tyler and Sasha. "They've grown so much already. When I return from the Tomb of the Gods, they'll both be over twenty."
Knowing he'd be gone so long, Lin Lei spent extra time with his son and daughter.
He waited until dusk finally fell.
"Tyler, Sasha, you should head back," Lin Lei said, ruffling both their heads.
"Mm," Tyler and Sasha nodded obediently.
Bak, standing nearby, looked at Lin Lei as well. "Lord Lin Lei, please help me with this matter." Lin Lei nodded after hearing him. Bak also wished to enter the Tomb of the Gods, but the spots were limited. Lin Lei would need to inquire about it to find out.
"Dilia." Lin Lei and Dilia stood together.
"Be careful," Dilia said softly.
Lin Lei nodded slightly, and they shared a brief kiss. Then he and Bei Bei took flight, leaving the castle and heading directly toward Martial God Mountain in the west.
The fierce wind howled as Lin Lei and Bei Bei became two streaks of light, shooting across the sky.