Ji Xiaoyu vomited for a while, her lively eyes brightening slightly, offering some consolation.

"That thing is made from the silk of Heavenly Cold Ice Worms. In ancient times, only the earliest Ancient Ancestors who aligned themselves with the Ancient God Clan could use it. They were the oldest royal family, dating back nine thousand years."

Gu Jianlin said earnestly, "Due to its unique material, this type of silk scarf was mostly used for wrapping feet."

Ji Xiaoyu yanked the scarf from her neck and threw it on the ground, spitting furiously.

Pei! Pei! Pei!

When she raised her head again, she angrily bit into a handkerchief.

"You were sent by my grandmother to disgust me, weren't you?!"

She roared.

"You're absolutely right."

After saying that, Gu Jianlin paid no attention to the irritable child and instead turned to gaze into the depths of the dense forest.

Tang Ling glanced at his back and followed him.

At least on the first layer of the Qilin Immortal Palace, there was no distinction between day and night.

Yet the time on their phones showed it was already one o'clock in the morning.

They had been inside the Qilin Immortal Palace for half a day now.

A deep mist shrouded the dark forest, extending as far as the eye could see.

The living corpses that had climbed out of the tree burials seemed to have lost themselves in the woods and didn't pursue them further.

Gu Jianlin stood before a smooth rock wall, gently brushing his hand against its patterns.

At the top of the wall was a massive, ancient sculpture.

It looked like an ancient monk draped in a sacrificial robe, bowing his head to gaze at them with hollow eyes.

Above, seawater flowed in the air, faint luminous strands cascading down like countless threads.

"So, this is the world where the Ancient God Clan once lived?"

Gu Jianlin murmured softly.

What he felt here was a sense of raw primitiveness and wilderness, along with the sediment of endless years.

Beyond that was a profound and intense religious atmosphere.

Mystical. Eerie.

"Yes, the legendary Ancient Supreme beings were born by devouring a planet. Each Ancient Supreme had their own world. The Qilin Immortal Palace is the world that belongs to the Qilin Venerable."

Tang Ling paused. "But its Wedge was shattered during a battle two thousand five hundred years ago. No one knows where the fragments are scattered. If the Wedge were successfully implanted into Earth, this world would fully merge with reality. At that point, its laws and rules would completely fall under the control of the Qilin Venerable."

Gu Jianlin froze. Wouldn't that turn the place into his private backyard?

"Your father said that the descent of the Qilin Immortal Palace is a trap. Who knows what that means?"

Tang Ling said flatly, "But that likely has nothing to do with us. That's a concern for the higher-ups."

Thinking of this so-called trap, Gu Jianlin felt a bit uneasy.

What sort of trap would the First-Generation Qilin Venerable have set?

Hopefully, the trap wouldn't end up ensnaring him.

"Do you have any thoughts about this situation?"

Tang Ling suddenly asked.

Gu Jianlin thought for a moment. "My ideas will likely require your cooperation."

Tang Ling narrowed her beautiful eyes. "Oh?"

"Your great-grandfather, Tang Zijing, suddenly went insane back then, didn't he?"

Gu Jianlin asked abruptly. "During the earliest observation period of the Qilin Immortal Palace."

Tang Ling hesitated, then gave a faint acknowledgment. "Yes. He used to love me dearly, but for some unknown reason, he suddenly seemed like a completely different person, eventually succumbing to madness."

She seemed to recall something, her eyes growing pensive. "Many people said he couldn't resist the temptations within the Qilin Immortal Palace and chose to betray humanity's camp. We always thought he had died, but unexpectedly..."

"Unexpectedly, he became a Divine Servant, didn't he?"

Gu Jianlin mused.

Tang Ling looked at him suspiciously and asked, "How did you profile him as a Divine Servant?"

After all, she had only seen a red mist at the time, not clearly identifying anything.

It was only because Gu Jianlin managed to sketch her great-grandfather's demeanor, physique, and even capture the emotion in his eyes that she couldn't dismiss it as nonsense.

Though it was admittedly absurd.

Nonetheless, Gu Jianlin drawing someone unknown to him lent credence to the idea, making the Candle Dragon Clan features appear valid.

"I'm not sure. Ever since my car accident, I've been able to perceive the truth of these things."

Gu Jianlin paused for a moment. "It's just a feeling."

"But I don't believe your great-grandfather went mad because of greed for the treasures of the Qilin Immortal Palace."

He stopped briefly. "He had another reason."

Tang Ling was momentarily stunned, then gave him a meaningful look. "Why?"

"Because your great-grandfather's situation is eerily similar to that of a Nightmare Master. Both went insane for no apparent reason when the Qilin Immortal Palace was first observed, and both were nearing the threshold for advancing."

Gu Jianlin's gaze turned cold as he spoke. "According to Hasegawa Shinichi's testimony, the Nightmare Master was controlled by a mysterious organization and eventually chose to become a Divine Servant of the Candle Dragon Clan to resist that control. Your great-grandfather was also a Divine Servant of the Candle Dragon Clan. It's highly likely that the two were working together."

Tang Ling's beautiful eyes narrowed. "Hasegawa Shinichi?"

That man had been killed by the boy before her near the Qilin Immortal Palace's perimeter.

"The Soul Comforting Bell."

Gu Jianlin raised his right hand, revealing a black bell hanging from it. "I enslaved his soul."

Tang Ling's eyes widened in shock. "You're revealing such a secret so easily?"

"Since you've chosen to trust me, I will trust you."

Gu Jianlin smiled faintly. "I'll also tell you about the other artifact—the Lock of Nonexistence. Even if I didn't mention it, you'd probably guess. After all, its functions are already known to you."

As for betrayal, he genuinely didn't fear it in the slightest.

If Tang Ling turned out to be a problem, Gu Jianlin would rather she showed her true colors sooner.

After all, this was the Qilin Immortal Palace.

Originally, Gu Jianlin thought he'd feel some fear visiting such an unfamiliar realm for the first time.

Unexpectedly, despite the place's primitive wilderness and heavy religious mystery...

He wasn't scared at all.

Instead, the ancient god's power evoked a strange sense of kinship.

"Hasegawa Shinichi's soul is in your possession?"

Tang Ling said seriously, "That's crucial evidence. Don't reveal it lightly."

Gu Jianlin replied, "I understand. The reason I'm sharing this with you is to tell you that your great-grandfather, the Nightmare Master, Uncle Mu, and my father—they all faced similar situations."

"I suspect they're being targeted by the mysterious organization Hasegawa Shinichi mentioned."

He paused briefly. "And that organization is also observing us."

A gleam flashed in Tang Ling's beautiful eyes.

"I asked around earlier. Jing Shangxiu and his team spent three days here. They walked the same paths we did, yet weren't attacked. Why were we specifically targeted as soon as we arrived?"

Gu Jianlin chuckled. "Both the tree burial and stone burial sites were deliberately awakened. This is the Living Burial Area, where a legendary ancient ruin is said to exist. Uncle Mu had his accident here, followed by ten subsequent Omega casualties. So, what do you think—will we also encounter trouble?"

At this point, Tang Ling understood. "You mean there's a traitor!"

"Precisely."

Gu Jianlin turned around. "Get some rest. If everything goes as expected, the culprit will surface soon."

Tang Ling stared at his back, suddenly asking, "Aren't you afraid?"

Gu Jianlin paused mid-step.

"I'm tired of searching for clues."

He said, "Why bother looking one by one when they'll come to us themselves?"

[PS: Sorry for being 20 minutes late.]