"The path to the main timeline has finally been found."
Ye Ling stood in the void, looking at an inconspicuous spatial rift hidden among countless temporal fissures. A slight smile curved his lips.
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire, upon seeing the spatial rift, let out a sigh of relief and quickly urged Ye Ling, "Kid, quickly retrieve the Pearl of the Upper Realm, and let's make a getaway!"
"No rush!"
Ye Ling marked the spatial rift before retrieving the Pearl of the Upper Realm from the Grand Tutor.
As the Grand Tutor lost the Pearl of the Upper Realm, his cultivation rapidly plummeted back to its original state.
With the Grand Tutor, the embodiment of the dark mother, stripped of his power, the surrounding dark energy quickly dissipated. The dark matter that had permeated Earth was rapidly absorbed by the Pearl of the Upper Realm, and the entire planet returned to its original state.
The surrounding space stabilized, and those spatial rifts slowly vanished, becoming imperceptible once more.
All except the one Ye Ling had marked.
Seeing that Ye Ling had no intention of leaving, the World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire asked, "Kid, what do you mean? Why are you still lingering in this timeline? The dark creatures are coming!"
Ye Ling replied, "There are still things to do."
"What things?" the World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire was taken aback.
Ye Ling stated, "A Yu's mother, Bai Qing, is still in this timeline."
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire exclaimed, "Damn it... I almost forgot about that. Bai Qing is a remarkable woman. It would be too much of a pity if she were to perish in this timeline! But kid, be careful. Our use of the Pearl of the Upper Realm just now has alerted the dark creatures that have arrived in this timeline. Many dark creatures are heading our way, and we don't have much time left."
Ye Ling nodded, "Don't worry, I have it under control."
As he spoke, Ye Ling transmitted a message to Buzhishi, Bai Xuanxuan, and the others, inquiring about the specifics of their search.
Buzhishi replied, "My lord, I found information about Bai Qing in a place called the East Profound Continent. However, I've encountered some trouble and may need you to come personally."
"East Profound Continent?"
Upon hearing Buzhishi's reply, Ye Ling's eyes flickered slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and transmitted a message to Buzhishi and the others, "Yes, I'll be there shortly. Buzhishi, wait for me at your current location. Also, Bai Xuanxuan and Old Yu, you will both head to the East Profound Continent. I'll take you with me when I arrive."
Buzhishi exclaimed, "We're leaving again?"
Ye Ling replied, "Yes... The Chaos Battlefield has already descended upon this timeline. We cannot remain in this universe. I'll explain the details when I get there!"
With that, Ye Ling glanced down at Chang'an below, pondered for a moment, and finally set up a rune barrier on the outskirts of the solar system, concealing the entire solar system to prevent it from being found by dark creatures. Simultaneously, Ye Ling established an unnamed void within the barrier, severing the time of the solar system from the outside.
Although this action was not of great significance, as the Earth would still be destroyed once the dark creatures arrived, due to Ye Ling's alteration of the time flow, tens of thousands of years would have passed on Earth by the time the dark creatures reached the solar system.
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire looked at the rune barrier enveloping the solar system and sighed, "I don't know what to say about you, kid. Even in such a dire situation, you still remember to add a layer of insurance for Earth, even though this Earth has nothing to do with you."
Ye Ling replied, "After all, I was born on Earth, and I already promised the Grand Tutor to save the country. Doing this can at least ensure ten thousand years of peace for Earth."
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire said, "Alright... We should go."
"Yes."
Ye Ling wasted no more time, tore through space, and descended upon the East Profound Continent.
In the Divine Province of the East Profound Continent, Tianzi Mountain.
The headquarters of the Demonic Palace.
Ye Ling stood in the sky, looking at the mountain gate of the Demonic Palace below, and mused, "I didn't expect there to be a Demonic Palace in this subsidiary timeline. I wonder who founded the Demonic Palace here."
"My lord!"
At this moment, Buzhishi and the other two flew over from a distance and greeted Ye Ling.
Ye Ling looked at Buzhishi and asked, "Tell me the specifics. Where is Bai Qing?"
Buzhishi explained, "I investigated Bai Qing's identity. After reincarnating in this timeline, she became a renowned physician. However, she offended the East Profound Demonic Palace and was suppressed beneath the mountain gate of the Demonic Palace."
Old Yu interjected, "What's the trouble with that? With your strength, wouldn't it be simple to rescue Bai Qing?"
Buzhishi shook his head, "If it were that simple, I would have rescued Bai Qing long ago... However, the Palace Master of the East Profound Demonic Palace..."
Old Yu scoffed, "What about the Palace Master of the Demonic Palace? Is he very strong?"
Buzhishi pursed his lips before replying, "He looks exactly like you, my lord."
Upon hearing Buzhishi's words, Old Yu froze and immediately shut his mouth, no longer mentioning teaching the Palace Master of the Demonic Palace a lesson.
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire exclaimed in shock, "Kid, that's not right... You are already independent of the river of time. Among the myriad timelines, you should be unique. How can there be someone exactly like you?"
"I'm not sure either."
Ye Ling shook his head and then asked Buzhishi, "Did you truly see someone who looked exactly like me?"
Buzhishi nodded, "It's absolutely true. I even probed his soul, and his aura is exactly the same as yours!"
"This is interesting..."
Ye Ling lowered his eyelids and scanned the Demonic Palace with his divine soul. Indeed, he found someone who looked exactly like him.
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire, upon seeing the Palace Master of the Demonic Palace, also exclaimed in shock, "Damn it, kid! That guy, apart from his strength being at the Supremacy level, is identical to you in every other aspect. Even I can barely distinguish between you!"
Ye Ling frowned, "I'm afraid this subsidiary timeline is not as simple as we imagined. We didn't come to this place by chance."
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire was taken aback, "Kid, are you suggesting... someone deliberately guided us here?"
Ye Ling nodded slightly, "I'm afraid so... As for who the mastermind is, whether they are friend or foe, and what their purpose is, we'll have to investigate to find out."
The World-Extinguishing Spirit Fire lamented, "If that's the case... we might not be able to return to the main timeline easily. An invisible hand is manipulating us from behind the scenes. Just thinking about it is terrifying!"
"Yes, no matter what, let's first meet the Palace Master of the Demonic Palace in this world."
Ye Ling raised his hand, opened his small world, and said to Buzhishi and the other two, "You've done very well. I will reward you. Your part is done now. Return to my small world."
"Thank you, my lord!"
Buzhishi and the other two bowed to Ye Ling and then entered the small world.
Ye Ling put away his small world and looked at his "other self" in the Demonic Palace below. He took a deep breath and said, "Let me see... who exactly is this person?"