Tang Wulin didn"t know how long it would take before he returned from this journey, and his thoughts strayed to Gu Yuena again. Was she going to come to Skysea City again? Even if she did, she wouldn"t be able to find him there.
At this point, he was deep in the ocean, and he didn"t know if she could still sense his existence through the silver dragon scale pendant.
Tang Wulin reflexively laid a hand on the pendant, and a surge of warmth flowed through his heart.
Once he returned with his parents, he was going to peel back the layers of mystery surrounding her. He was going to figure out just what connection she had with Na"er, and when he returned with his parents, he would have a complete family with her as his wife. What could make him happier than this?
With that in mind, Tang Wulin"s heart was filled with motivation, and he gradually entered a meditative state.
“Wulin, Wulin, Wulin,” After an indeterminate period of time had pa.s.sed, a gentle call rang out from deep within his mind, waking him from his meditative state.
However, after he opened his eyes, he was surprised to discover that he had entered that golden world again.
The last time Old Tang had awakened was when he had sensed the existence of that Vast Sea Cosmic Crystal, and he quickly fell into hibernation again thereafter for some unknown reason. Ever since then, he would often sense an extremely distant calling during his meditation, but the voice wasn"t particularly clear. However, he had never arrived in this golden world that belonged to Old Tang before without being summoned here.
After arriving here once again, his heart was filled with elation. Could it be that Old Tang had reawakened?
However, on this occasion, Old Tang didn"t appear. The only thing that greeted him was the same voice ringing out incessantly from all around him, and the voice seemed to belong to Old Tang, but it was also somehow different.
"Old Tang, is that you? Are you there?" Tang Wulin called out as he inspected his surroundings.
Old Tang was still nowhere to be seen, but right at this moment, Tang Wulin caught sight of something that was familiar to him. The Vast Sea Cosmic Crystal had expanded to many times its original size, and it was hovering up ahead. The golden light in the area surrounding it was slightly dim, but the crystal itself was brighter than it had been in the past.
It was now around the same height at Tang Wulin, and a beam of golden light was shooting up into the heavens from the top of the crystal with no end in sight. Faint light was emanating from the surface of the Vast Sea Cosmic Crystal, and Tang Wulin reflexively reached out to lay a hand onto it.
All of a sudden, he was struck by a rush of dizziness, and everything around him abruptly became extremely abstract and peculiar. It was as if a giant path had appeared, from which an extremely enormous burst of suction force was emanating, dragging his body toward the distance.
The sense of dizziness struck Tang Wulin with waves of vertigo and the urge to throw up. With his current physical const.i.tution, this was almost an impossible occurrence!
He wanted to struggle free from this terrible feeling, but he couldn"t muster up any strength.
"Wulin, Wulin, my child..." The voice became clearer and clearer, and Tang Wulin was surprised to discover that it was no longer just a single voice. Aside from the voice that resembled that of Old Tang, there seemed to also be another female voice.
"Who are you?" Tang Wulin wanted to cry out, but he couldn"t make any sound. Within this abstract world, he could make out white clouds, rivers, and mountains, and he could sense life force energy that was even richer than that of the seed of life. He could also see a ma.s.sive palace, in front of which stood a man and a woman. The man had a head of long blue hair that spilled down the back of his head, and those voices were coming from none other than those two people.
However, Tang Wulin couldn"t make out their exact appearances. He could only barely make out the man"s eyes, which was a pair of eyes that were extremely clear and seemed to be able to illuminate everything. Deep within those eyes, Tang Wulin saw himself.
A burst of sharp pain suddenly speared through his mind, and everything around him crumbled before quickly vanis.h.i.+ng.
"Argh!" Tang Wulin let loose an agonized cry, and when he could make out his surroundings again, he discovered that he had returned to the golden world from before. Old Tang was standing right next to him.
Tang Wulin panted heavily, and he was struck by an intense burst of feebleness that made him feel as if his mind were about to crumble.
Old Tang pressed a hand against his forehead, and faint golden halos of light revolved around his head, bringing a cool and refres.h.i.+ng feeling that made him feel a lot better.
"What happened? What was that, Old Tang?" Tang Wulin asked in a slightly breathless manner.
Old Tang appraised him with a smile, and replied, "That was a call from afar. I"ve finally completed a connection with them. I don"t know why I had to do that, and I don"t know where this connection leads to, but I can tell you that this is extremely important for you."
Tang Wulin was very perplexed. "I don"t understand what you"re saying!"
Old Tang elaborated, "To put it simply, right after you absorbed the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, the urge to contact something in the distance automatically appeared in my mind. The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was to be used as an intermediary to facilitate this contact, and all I know is that this is my mission. It"s very important, and it"s also the most important thing that"s embedded deep in my memory. Hence, I began to attempt to contact those in the distance and finally established the most basic connection. After that, I brought you here as my power alone isn"t enough to complete this connection; only your aura can accomplish this."
Tang Wulin stared at him in a flabbergasted manner. "I still don"t understand."
Old Tang shrugged in response. "I don"t understand, either. Perhaps we"ll only be able to understand the situation once you complete the connection and get into contact with them. For now, you don"t need to understand too much anyway."
A wry smile appeared on Tang Wulin"s face. "I"m only getting more and more confused. Is this supposed to be very important to me?"
Old Tang nodded in a serious manner. "This is an extremely important matter for you. I don"t know why that"s the case for now, but you have to contact that distant place, and that requires you to become sufficiently powerful. This type of contact takes place across planets, and the other planet is an extremely distant one. The ones on the other side will be bearing the brunt of the energy expenditure required to facilitate contact, but you also have to be powerful enough to connect with the signal from the other side. To put it in simpler terms, you still need to make drastic improvements in your physical abilities and spiritual power."
Tang Wulin was still quite befuddled. "What level do I need to reach before I can complete this contact?"
Old Tang had no answer for this. "I still don"t know yet, but what I can tell is you is that your current power level is only enough to complete the basic contact that you saw earlier. It allows you to sense those on the other side, and as you grow more powerful, this connection will become clearer and clearer. I suggest trying again after you break your 12th Golden Dragon King seal or you make some other ma.s.sive improvement, such as attaining a spiritual domain. When that time comes, perhaps you"ll be able to understand why this connection is so important, as well as who"s on the other side."
Tang Wulin shrugged in a resigned manner. "Alright, then, I"ll be sure to give it a try in the future. That feeling really wasn"t all that great, though."
A contemplative look appeared in Tang Wulin"s eyes as he spoke. He had been struck by an indescribably horrible feeling when he had heard those voices. It was as if something had gotten stuck in his throat, and the feeling was quite prominent, but also rather difficult to pinpoint and substantiate.