Devour: Can you also draw entries from clone projection worlds?

Instead of answering the sweeping monk's question, you countered with, "How many years have you been here, senior?"

The old monk thought for a moment and said, "I can't remember, it's been more than forty years."

"For over forty years, all alone, weren't you lonely?"

The old monk glanced at you, a hint of surprise in his eyes. No one had ever asked you this question before.

"Lonely?" The old monk smiled. "With Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist canons for company, you are not lonely."

"But Buddhist scriptures are dead, people are alive," you said. "You've been here for over forty years, without anyone to talk to. Aren't you lonely?"

The old monk remained silent for a while, then put down his teacup and looked into your eyes.

"You didn't come here today just to ask me if I'm lonely, did you?"

You nodded: "I'm here to tell my senior something."

"What is it?"

"In a few years, someone will come to Shaolin Temple. He will cause a huge disturbance here; people will die and people will be injured. Senior, you will then intervene, save two people, and then disappear with their bodies, how about that?"

The old monk narrowed his eyes slightly, but remained silent.

"I'd like to ask you, senior, to think about this question before you act," you said. "Is the person you're saving worth saving? Is the person you're killing someone who deserves to die?"

The old monk remained silent for a long time. The moonlight from outside the window shone in and fell on your gray eyebrows, like a layer of frost.

"How do you know these things, benefactor?" you ask.

"I know a lot of things," you said, "but some things are useless to know, because what's meant to happen will happen. I just hope that when the time comes, you'll think things through and not rush into action."

The old monk fell silent again. After a long while, you suddenly asked a question that surprised you: "What do you think Buddha is?"

You paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and said, "I think Buddha is not a god high above, but an enlightened being. He saw the suffering in the world and also saw the path to liberation. He didn't come to save anyone, but to tell others that the path is there, and they should walk it themselves."

The old monk smiled, not in a polite way, but a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart. Your smile made that aged face look much younger.

"You're right, benefactor," you said. "Buddha is not a savior, but a guide. The path is there; whether or not one walks it is one's own business."

You stand up, clasp your hands in a gesture of respect, and say, "Thank you for your guidance, senior. I will take my leave now."

The old monk also stood up and saw you to the door.

As you walked out of the library, the moonlight shone on you, casting a long shadow. After a few steps, you suddenly turned around.

"Senior," you said, "you're a person too. Sometimes, it's okay to live for yourself."

The old monk stood at the doorway, watching your figure disappear into the bamboo grove, motionless for a long time.

When you walked out of Shaolin Temple, the moonlight shone directly on the mountain gate.

Standing outside the mountain gate, looking at the vermilion gate, you suddenly remember something: the entries for this year haven't been drawn yet, and it's almost been ten years.

It's been ten years; you've been in the world of Tian Long Ba Bu for a full ten years.

Based on past experience, the quality of entries tends to improve after a full decade.

This is not an absolute rule, but it is indeed the case in terms of probability.

In your twentieth year in the world of Swordsman, you drew the blue attribute "Sword Intent Minor Success". Now it is the tenth year in the world of Tian Long Ba Bu.

You found a rock to sit on, closed your eyes, and opened the keyword extraction interface.

[Detected that the host has stayed in the world of Tian Long Ba Bu for ten years, achieving the hidden achievement "Ten Years of Honing a Sword"...]

[Detected that the host had an in-depth conversation with the Sweeper Monk of Shaolin Temple (a top-tier figure), resulting in an improvement in their mental state...]

[High-quality keywords have not been detected in recent keyword extractions of the host, triggering the safety net mechanism...]

[This affix draw triggered a critical hit... Congratulations, host, you have obtained the purple affix: Northern Sea Returns to the Ocean]

[Effect: When the Northern Darkness Divine Art is cultivated to its highest level, it can absorb all types of internal energy, true qi, and genetic energy, with an assimilation speed increased by 300% and conversion efficiency increased by 200%. The absorbed energy will not burden the user's meridians and can be stacked indefinitely.]

[Additional Effect: The quality of the Northern Darkness True Qi is greatly improved, increasing explosive power, endurance, and defense by 100%. When using martial arts techniques powered by the Northern Darkness True Qi, the effect is increased by 50%.]

[Note: This is a unique entry and cannot be upgraded. The entry "北冥归宗" has been automatically merged.]

[Quality: Purple Epic]

You open your eyes and are completely stunned.

Purple?! An epic poem?!

You stared at those words for a long time, making sure you weren't seeing things.

The Northern Sea returns to the ocean; it is not blue, not green, but purple.

It can absorb energy of all types, including internal force, true qi, and even genetic energy.

The assimilation speed is increased by 300%, the conversion efficiency is increased by 200%, the absorbed energy will not put any burden on the meridians, and it can be stacked indefinitely.

What does this mean? It means that in the future, in the main world of Devouring Stars, you can also directly absorb the genetic energy of others to improve yourself.

It's not cultivation, it's absorption, like how the Northern Darkness Divine Art absorbs internal energy, absorbing the original energy of genes.

Moreover, it will not have any side effects, will not cause the body to explode and die, and will not cause the person to go into a state of demonic possession.

Absorb as much as you want, transform as much as you want, and it all becomes yours.

You took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming joy in your heart.

This purple entry not only helps you become stronger in the world of Tian Long Ba Bu, but also helps you become stronger in the main world.

You can absorb the genetic energy of those powerful beings, whether they are planetary, celestial, or cosmic.

If you are strong enough to defeat others, you can turn their power into your own.

The Northern Sea returns to the ocean, a purple epic—it was worth it.

[System Prompt: Current term statistics]

[White entries: 28]

[Green entries: 6 (Body Refinement Genius, Sword Heart Clarity (Beginner), Agile Movement, Combat Instinct, Carefree Wanderer, Compassionate and Merciful)]

[Blue Attributes: 2 (Sword Intent Completion, Danger Perception)]

[Purple Entry: 1 (Northern Sea Returns to the Ocean)]

You put the entry away, stand up, the moonlight shines on you, and the night wind rustles through the pine forest.

Standing outside the gate of Shaolin Temple, looking at the undulating mountains in the distance, a surge of heroic spirit suddenly wells up in your heart.

Ten years later, you finally have a purple entry.

[Second stop, Leigushan.]

It's not far from Shaolin Temple to Leigu Mountain. It took you three days to walk there. When you arrived, it was afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and a large patch of golden wild chrysanthemums covered the hillside.

Instead of going up the mountain, you sat down by the river at the foot of the mountain.

Do you remember the description in the original work? The Valley of the Deaf and Mute is deep in Leigu Mountain. The entrance is a cave, and there is a secret passage inside the cave. At the end of the secret passage is the place where Wuyazi was trapped.

You waited for ages, until it got dark, before finally climbing the mountain in the dark.

The entrance to Deaf-Mute Valley is very hidden; you won't find it at all unless you know its location.

You squeezed sideways into the cave and walked along the dark passage.

The passageway was long and winding, and in some places it was so narrow that you could only pass sideways.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the space suddenly opened up in front of you, revealing a stone chamber.

An oil lamp was lit in the stone chamber, its light dim and only able to illuminate a small area.

A man sat under the lamp, his hair white and his face withered. He wore a tattered Taoist robe and sat cross-legged, motionless.

Wu Yazi.