Sect Master Yan Wuhan, the cracking egg.

Liang Chen and Yan Ling both climbed onto the golden chariot, Yan Ling filling it with Spirit Stones that supplied it with enough energy to take off and fly through the air, heading for the Floating Rose nation. Liang Chen sat down, his back leaning against the side of the chariot as he started to focus on healing his wounds.

Yan Ling didn't have any more of those miraculous talismans they had used earlier, so he had to rely on his own regenerative ability, as well as plenty of pills and medicines. This method was far slower, so Liang Chen opted to focus on healing his wounds on the superficial level first, making it look like he was fine. Once they returned to the sect he could lock himself up in his abode and focus on fully healing everything.

They were already a bit of a distance away from Snow Mirror nation, so they managed to reach Floating Rose nation after only another five days of flying. Both Yan Ling and Liang Chen were wounded and weak on the inside, so they simply flew past the soldiers that guarded the tower that held the spatial formation that would return them to the clan. They flashed their sect identification as they flew past, so none of the soldiers dared to stop them.

The two swiftly entered the spire and activated the spatial formation, both of them blinded by a flash of light as they were flung through space. Once they regained their vision, both of them were standing in the Mission Castle, in the empty room with the peach-colored door that they had used to leave the Storm Wolf sect.

But the moment they returned, Liang Chen already felt that something was wrong. It was simply too quiet, there were no sounds of people talking or moving around within the castle, as if it had been completely emptied. Yan Ling also seemed to notice that things weren't quite right, her gaze scurrying all over the place as they were slowly making their way through the castle, heading for the exit.

Just like they both thought, the castle was completely empty, not even the people who were supposed to work there were present. The uneasy feeling they felt only grew stronger and stronger, reaching a peak when they opened the gates of the castle and saw a lone man standing outside, his hands behind his back as he seemed to calmly wait for them.

The man was rather tall and had strong features that produced a strangely calming charm. He had glimmering silver eyes and somewhat short hair that was cyan in color. Just by standing there, he seemed to melt into the surrounding space, as if it was all a part of him. He was looking at Yan Ling with a rather stern gaze, causing her to cower slightly.

Even without getting an introduction, Liang Chen could guess at who this man was, Sect Master Yan Wuhan, Yan Ling's father. Seeing his stern gaze, it was clear that he likely knew about what Yan Ling had tried to do earlier. Yan Ling knew she was in trouble, so she quickly did her best to toss part of the blame onto Liang Chen, taking cover behind him as she spoke up.

"I couldn't help it! I saw Little Freak use his bloodline power and got envious, so I had to try awakening mine!"

Liang Chen could feel the corner of his mouth twitch after hearing her accusations. He didn't know if her words were true, but even if they were, she should have at least waited a bit longer before she threw him to the wolves like this. Yan Wuhan continued to look at them with a stern gaze for a bit before he eventually let out a sigh, speaking up him a soft voice.

"Do you now see why I didn't want you to try awakening it? Had it not been for Liang Chen, you would have died there and then."

Yan Ling could only meekly lower her head after hearing her father's words. She had been too confident and hasty in trying to awaken her bloodline, not preparing well enough. She stepped out from her hiding spot behind Liang Chen, giving a slight bow to Yan Wuhan.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

Yan Wuhan let out another sigh when he saw the meek actions of his daughter. How could he possibly stay angry at her when she acted like this? He stepped forward, interrupting Yan Ling's bow and embracing her in a hug. Only he knew how worried he had been when she tried to awaken her bloodline, when he saw those dark clouds gather. But there was nothing he could do, the tribulation would reach an unbearable level if he were to interfere, she would turn to dust just from standing near it.

Liang Chen looked at this father and daughter pair hugging. His gaze was calm, but he had to admit that he was feeling a tinge of envy. What the two of them were sharing now was something he might never feel again. But at the same time, he was wondering where her mother was. She had already told him about how she had lost her little brother and sister, but she had never mentioned her mother.

But even if he was curious, it was clear that it was a rather sensitive topic, so he didn't plan to ask about it, waiting for her to be ready to talk about it on her own. The father and daughter pair finished their hug, Yan Ling stealthily wiping away a tear. Yan Wuhan's eyes landed on Liang Chen, who suddenly felt like all his secrets were seen through. His body quietly tensed up, but Yan Wuhan simply waved him over.

"Follow me, we can't have the two of you walking around with those injuries, not with the Hall Competition coming up."

The Hall Competition would start in only a few days, the disciples of the two halls getting the chance to compare their strength. Liang Chen didn't even get the chance to nod his head, Yan Wuhan waving his hand once more. Liang Chen didn't feel anything, nor did he see them move, but before he knew it, they had vanished from their previous location.

The group of three had suddenly appeared on a quiet meadow, a stream of crystal clear water meandering past them not far from their current location. Various trees and flowers were in full bloom, a delicate fragrance covering the entire area. But the thing that caught Liang Chen's attention was the sheer amount of Qi present in the area. There was so much Qi here, and it was so thick, that it had formed a fine mist that covered the entire area, giving it an ethereal charm.

Here, Liang Chen didn't even have to make a conscious effort to absorb any Qi, it sank into his body of its own accord. Yan Wuhan seemed to notice Liang Chen's astonishment, giving a short explanation.

"This is one of the sect's herbal gardens, one of the smaller ones. That stream is what you will be using to heal for the next few days, the water flowing in it comes from a very rare and very powerful tree known as the Immortal God's Vein."

Liang Chen didn't know exactly what sort of treasure this Immortal God's Vein was, it wasn't even mentioned in any of the books he had read in the sect, but for Yan Wuhan to describe it as rare and powerful, it was clear that it was far from normal.

Yan Wuhan led the two over to the stream and set up a screen of warped space around a small portion of it, preventing anyone from looking through it. He let Yan Ling enter this screen of warped space and then led Liang Chen further down the stream, taking him to a spot that was a few hundred meters away from Yan Ling. He set up another screen of warped space, indicating for Liang Chen to enter it.

"You can just focus on recuperating here. If you haven't fully healed when the Hall Competition starts, just ignore it and focus on recuperating. The energy in the stream is very potent, so it will allow you to cultivate with three times the efficiency, it will also make it easier to use certain techniques, like the Chaos King technique. Consider it my thanks for saving Ling'er."

Yan Wuhan knew that Liang Chen had suffered those wounds because he chose to protect his daughter, so he of course had to reward him. Very few people got the chance to cultivate in this stream, as doing so would weaken the Immortal God's Vein, so it was considered a great privilege.

Liang Chen cupped his hands in gratitude and stepped into the screen of warped space, submerging himself in the stream. The water was surprisingly deep, at least several hundred meters. As his body started to sink, he heard a soft mutter released by Yan Wuhan, and the words he heard caused his heart to nearly skip a beat.

"Of course she's much better than the Song sisters, she is my daughter after all."

Cold sweat started to quickly gather on Liang Chen's back when he heard this soft mutter. For Yan Wuhan to speak those words, it could only mean that he knew about the fact that Liang Chen had seen Yan Ling naked, even teasing her about it. Liang Chen was utterly astonished and shocked, had Yan Wuhan been observing them the entire time? Luckily, it didn't seem like Yan Wuhan was planning on pursuing it, vanishing from the area.

Liang Chen let out a relieved breath. If Yan Wuhan wanted to do anything to him, there was little Liang Chen could do to stop him. Liang Chen closed his eyes to focus on the energy in the stream around him, quickly noticing that it was indeed as potent as Yan Wuhan had said.

If Liang Chen were to use his law of time here, he felt confident that he could increase the speed of time by at least eight times, and keep it active at all times. The moment he realized this, he immediately implemented it, as the more time he had here, the better.

With time speed up in a small area around him, the speed at which his wounds were healing drastically increased, reaching a point where it would nearly be visible to the naked eye. But Liang Chen didn't continue this healing for too long, a sound from his dantian drawing his full attention.

The black egg that was the reward he had received from the third trial in the Mystic's Hidden Realm had moved, a crack appearing in the shell. The egg had absorbed a portion of all the energy Liang Chen had absorbed ever since he had received it, it also absorbed part of his blood at all times, using it to nourish itself and build a bond between both of them. Even his Dragon Lotuses were connected to the egg, their roots sinking into it.

It had absorbed a large amount of energy as time passed, and thanks to the lightning energy he had absorbed from the recent tribulation, it seemed like it was time for it to hatch, more and more cracks spreading on the surface.