Instructor Zhu once said that when Gu Jianlin and Tang Ling crossed over to the Qilin Immortal Palace, their consciousness would briefly be drawn into a place called the Soul Skywell to obtain the knowledge they needed.

Meanwhile, their physical selves would already be within the Qilin Immortal Palace.

In other words, they would access knowledge in a purely conscious state.

It was truly miraculous.

No one knew exactly what the Soul Skywell was.

But it was clear that this place was utilized by the Ether Association to store forbidden knowledge and data.

Gu Jianlin felt an invisible pull and, in his conscious form, appeared in a dim space.

Meanwhile, a tall, graceful silhouette materialized by his side.

"So this is the Soul Skywell?"

Tang Ling glanced around and asked calmly, "It's my first time here. Fascinating."

Gu Jianlin made a faint sound of assent, also examining his surroundings.

The place turned out to be a library of an extraordinarily unique architectural design. Countless towering bookshelves were arranged in a matrix-like formation according to some arcane logic, appearing as a massive labyrinth, interwoven, encircling, and in perpetual motion.

The ceiling was a seemingly endless skywell, with dim skylight spilling down softly.

It conveniently illuminated the black wooden table before them.

On the table lay two documents.

One was thick and bore the sword-and-saber emblem of the Night Watchers.

This was likely the intelligence that Gu Ci'an had uncovered—his final report before entering the Immortal Palace.

The other was an ancient sheepskin scroll inscribed with illegible characters.

Beyond that, a cluster of mist hovered above the table.

Within the depths of the mist, something indistinct could faintly be seen.

"These are the two archives we need, plus the Destiny Mud Tablet."

Tang Ling extended an ethereal hand toward the ancient sheepskin scroll. "Can you read this?"

Gu Jianlin fell silent immediately. "I can't."

In the real world, he was an academic overachiever—but his knowledge was confined to that of ordinary humans.

When it came to the ancient script of the Extraordinary World, he was entirely lost.

"I can. Let me handle this one," Tang Ling said lightly.

Gu Jianlin nodded slightly. "Alright."

He reached for the archive.

Though the document should have been tangible, in this moment it became surreal, its seal dissolving under his touch as he began reading through it.

The sensation was indeed peculiar.

Gu Jianlin had guessed correctly: this was a compendium of Old Gu's investigation into the Qilin Immortal Palace.

This time, it seemed to contain nothing but crucial information—no fluff at all.

Nor any proverbial poison hidden among the lines; otherwise, he'd feel like punching someone.

Moreover, the archive had been carefully refined, with slight differences from the information he'd seen earlier.

Thus, it required a dialectical approach to fully understand.

"I am Gu Ci'an, codename Nanli. Based on several surveys and scientific investigations over the past six months, I have finally completed the first comprehensive guide to the Qilin Immortal Palace. In summary, regarding the danger level of the Qilin Immortal Palace, from a rational and academic standpoint, I believe it should be assessed as Unknown Level."

"In other words, the descent of the Qilin Immortal Palace this time could either brew a threat capable of destroying the world or pass peacefully without any incidents."

"However, from an emotional standpoint, I am inclined to rate it as Absolute Forbidden Level—the highest and most dangerous category."

"My reasoning is that the Qilin Immortal Palace involves secrets among multiple Supremes. The Human World could be facing, for the first time, a scenario where it must contend with numerous Ancient Supremes simultaneously. Regardless of the intentions of these Supremes and the ultimate outcome, they would inevitably sow seeds of disaster for the Human World."

"What is currently known is that the conflict between Qilin and Candle Dragon began when Qilin Venerable was secretly preparing a ritual in the East Sea. This ritual was meant to create a lethal weapon to deal with Candle Dragon Venerable."

"Judging by Candle Dragon Venerable's actions, their level of threat surpasses even the Ghost Valley Secret Treasure."

"Therefore, when the ultimate secret of the Qilin Immortal Palace surfaces, Candle Dragon Venerable is highly likely to return."

"Though the President, the Catastrophes, and predictions from Yun Mengze provide evidence that Candle Dragon Venerable has always been searching for something and undergoing some kind of metamorphosis, they are now at a critical juncture and likely stretched thin. Still, I believe they will find a secretive way to manifest."

"Additionally, my initial exploration of the Qilin Immortal Palace has uncovered a shocking truth."

"The relationship between Vermilion Bird and Qilin is not as simple as we imagined. First off, we know these two Supremes descended together into Chu during the Pre-Qin Period. The people of Chu revered Feng Shangchi, worshiped fire, and paid homage to the Sun. They believed themselves to be descendants of the Sun God and legitimate heirs of the Fire God, and they venerated the Divine Sun God."

"However, the problem lies in the fact that their supreme deity, Donghuang Taiyi—the pinnacle of the divine path—was actually Qilin Venerable! The Chu people's penchant for Wu practices and fondness for ghosts also stemmed from this."

"This confusion in faith should not have occurred."

"From the Heavenly Master Path derived from Vermilion Bird Venerate, which symbolizes feathered transformation and rebirth, representing vitality and sacred nature, to the Divine Path derived from Qilin Venerable, associated with Wu and ghosts, plundering life, and devouring souls—the contrast is striking."

"Yet in Chu culture, Qilin was mentioned only in fragments, while Vermilion Bird Venerate was deified and worshiped. This strikes me as peculiar. Based on my profiling, I believe that during the Pre-Qin Period, Qilin Venerable had fallen into a deep slumber and was exploited by Vermilion Bird Venerate to resist Candle Dragon Venerable!"

"Subsequently, Qilin Venerable awakened in some manner. Interestingly, this coincided with the period when Vermilion Bird Venerate, having lost their greatest support, was pushed into dormancy by Candle Dragon Venerable."

"Candle Dragon, Vermilion Bird—these two Supremes share a common thread. I think they are both in pursuit of something, and their powers are intimately tied to the Sun."

"If Vermilion Bird Venerate represents the Sun of the mortal world, then Candle Dragon Venerable represents the Sun of the netherworld. Both belong to the Sun lineage. In ancient times, the Sun was known as the Candle Light God!"

"The Sun Candle corresponds to Taiyin Youying, symbolizing two other Supremes."

"So what role does Qilin Venerable play in this? I theorize that Qilin Venerable's position is exceedingly unique, and their purpose differs from those of the other Supremes."

"To this day, we still don't know what transpired among the Ancient God Clan in those times. But throughout history, there have been only five Ancient Supremes; it's unlikely there will be more."

"From the remnants of Qilin Venerable's mental domain within the Qilin Immortal Palace, I can still sense emotions belonging to them. Savagery, madness, wrath, coldness, and a crazed desperation born of betrayal. For two thousand years, they have been trying to break free of their shackles and once again lord over the world, unleashing their fury."

"For two and a half millennia, they have spread their power, using the promise of immortality as bait to lure successive generations, and even people worldwide, into the palace."

"Most of these individuals have become nourishment for Qilin Venerable, helping them recover their strength."

"Finally, from the remnants of their spiritual domain, I sensed one more thing. While it may not be reliable, I suspect that the descent of the Qilin Immortal Palace is a deliberate act by them, one that consumed much of their power."

"This is bizarre. If they had preserved their strength instead, the palace would still have appeared in the real world in a few centuries, at which point they could have broken free with their power intact."

"So why would they do this?"

"I suspect it's a trap."

Gu Jianlin fell into a long silence upon reading this.

"What's wrong?"

Tang Ling glanced at him and asked softly.

Gu Jianlin shook his head, resting a hand against his forehead. "There's too much information. I need time to process."

Clearly, this document was written after that file in the sewer's secret chamber.

But one thing wasn't mentioned.

Back in the Qilin Immortal Palace, Old Gu had discovered a secret.

A secret so shocking that he cried out in terror.

However, that part of the text had been erased through some mysterious method by an unknown entity.

Given Old Gu's personality, he likely deemed it unsuitable for the association to know.

Instead, it was left within the underground base.

It was reserved for the Moon Princess.

Or perhaps, for his future self, upon entering the Extraordinary World.

That erased portion might not be critical on its own.

But following its trail could uncover some earth-shattering secret.

Both Gu Ci'an and Gu Jianlin inherited the talent for profiling—what the father could uncover, the son could too.

This realization made his skin crawl.

Who exactly erased that part of the text?

Clearly, someone didn't want him to see it.

Another pressing question: where had Qilin Venerable gone?

Gu Jianlin's first thought was possession, yet he remained perfectly normal with no signs of abnormality.

Moreover, no one had ever heard of an Ancient Supreme possessing human hosts. If that were possible, the war between the Human Clan and the Ancient God Clan would have ended early, with the Divine Race ruling supreme.

In this Extraordinary World, the concept of possession simply didn't seem to exist; otherwise, the Ancient Gods could have easily circumvented the rules' restrictions.

Even the Catastrophes couldn't discern anything unusual about him.

Not even Candle Dragon Venerable, powerful as they were, could see through him.

Nevertheless, Gu Jianlin did have some insight as to why Qilin Venerable was in such a rush to descend.

Because Candle Dragon Venerable had mentioned that something was about to happen, and none of the Supremes would be absent when it occurred.

By "none," they were clearly referring to the Supremes.

"This sheepskin scroll contains information about Qilin Venerable," Tang Ling said after studying the scroll for a long while. "Their unique authority is Devour."

Gu Jianlin was slightly taken aback. "Devour?"

His feelings became inexplicably complicated.

For someone who had been Qilin Venerable for a month, he hadn't even been aware of having an authority.

Nor did he have the faintest idea how to wield it.

Worse still, he only learned about it through others.

What terrible luck.

But then, he suddenly recalled something.

Back then, the old monster Candle Dragon Venerable had demanded something be returned to them.

What had Qilin Venerable taken from them?

[PS: This book is exclusively available on the Qidian Reading App. The next chapter update will be around 11:30.]