On Lin Chen’s side,

  A sharp, unpleasant killing intent brushed against his senses.

  It wasn’t subtle at all. Anyone with even a bit of cultivation could feel it clearly.

  Lin Chen turned his head, already half-expecting trouble—and his gaze immediately met that of a handsome man staring at him as if he wanted to skin him alive and hang the hide as a warning.

  The man didn’t bother hiding his hostility. His eyes were cold, possessive, and openly hostile, like Lin Chen had committed some unforgivable crime simply by existing in the wrong place.

  Lin Chen frowned slightly.

  '…Who the hell is this asshole now?'

  He was certain of one thing—he hadn’t messed with this guy. No argument, no grudge, not even a passing interaction.

  And yet, the man was staring at him with naked hostility, as if Lin Chen had stolen something precious right out of his hands.

  Did I offend him in a previous life or something? Lin Chen wondered, baffled.

  He let out a quiet sigh, rubbing his forehead.

  “Why do I always attract this type of person?” he muttered inwardly. Does he have some kind of hidden passive skill—Young Master Provocation?

  “Hey, Lin Chen,” Yan Shou whispered, nudging his shoulder. “Did you do something to piss off Li Zhen?”

  Lin Chen blinked, genuinely puzzled. “No. I have a personal policy—don’t mess with people unless they mess with me first. Especially not people with obvious main-character syndrome.”

  He just wanted a peaceful cultivation journey. No unnecessary grudges, no dramatic vendettas, and definitely no Young Masters screaming about honor and face every other day. Staying far away from that type was practically a survival strategy.

  Yan Shou paused. “…Main-character syndrome?”

  “Nothing,” Lin Chen waved it off casually. “Some kind of mental disease.”

  Yan Shou chose not to press the matter. “Whatever you call it, don’t provoke him. Li Zhen is at the seventh stage of Pulse Convergence. He also possesses a Sword Heart—an actual sword genius. On top of that, he’s the chief disciple of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.”

  Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. “Sword Heart?”

  He also noted a coincidence. Same sect as the guy who’d escaped him earlier.

  “It’s a unique constitution,” Yan Shou explained. “Those born with it have an unparalleled affinity for the sword. Their comprehension is frightening. Sword Intent comes to them almost naturally.”

  Lin Chen’s lips twitched.

  Sword Intent… yeah, that checked out. Another classic template. Genius talent, high cultivation, trash personality.

  Even so, he quietly raised Li Zhen’s danger level. High cultivation paired with a Sword Heart wasn’t something to take lightly. More importantly, he’d already offended someone from that same sect.

  Best if this Li Zhen knew nothing about him

  “So,” Lin Chen shifted topics. "What about the formation? Didn’t you say you’re good at those?”

  “I am,” Yan Shou replied honestly. “But not that good. This formation was clearly set by a Celestial-level cultivator. Breaking it directly is impossible.”

  “Then it’s useless to stay here?”

  “Not exactly,” Yan Shou said. “There seems to be a way to open it—but it’s like a riddle. No one’s figured it out yet, so everyone’s stuck.”

  “A riddle?” Lin Chen’s interest was instantly piqued. “Then let’s take a look.”

  He squeezed through the crowd and stopped before the cave entrance. The formation shimmered faintly, and strange symbols floated across its surface—ancient, twisted, completely unfamiliar.

  “…What kind of language is this?” Lin Chen frowned. It didn’t resemble any language he had encountered until now.

  'Aiva, scan the symbols.'

  [I am already analyzing them. I have identified preliminary clues.]

  'As expected of you, What did you find?'

  [These are elemental symbols. I observed identical markings while analyzing cultivation techniques.]

  'Then why doesn’t anyone recognize them?'

  [Because these symbols are often ignored. They are not directly part of techniques, so most cultivators overlook them.]

  “…Figures,” Lin Chen muttered.

  [So far, I have identified four elements: Lightning, Wood, Earth, and Soul. Two symbols remain unregistered.]

  Lin Chen stared harder at the formation. Beneath the symbols, a single readable line floated in the air:

  “All living beings come from the same place, and all return to the same place in the end.”

  “…What the hell kind of riddle is this?” he murmured.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “You think you can solve it?” Bai Yuexin’s voice came from beside him. “Give up. Even I couldn’t find anything.”

  Lin Chen glanced at her. “Your appearance really doesn’t match your pers—”

  He stopped himself just in time.

  “You were saying?” Bai Yuexin raised an eyebrow.

  “…Nothing.”

  He turned back to the symbols.

  Then—suddenly—something clicked.

  They came from the same place.

  'Aiva. Add Death and Void as the remaining elements.'

  [Confirmed. That completes the pattern.]

  Lin Chen’s eyes sharpened.

  Wood—birth.

  Earth—growth, existence, the span of life itself.

  Death—the inevitable end.

  Lightning represented Heaven. Judgment. The force that sends all things back where they belong.

  Void was severance—forgetting. The erasure of identity, memory, and form. The point where all traces are stripped away.

  And at the center of it all—

  Soul.

  Not power. Not flesh. Not cultivation.

  The soul was the anchor, the only constant that passed through every stage without being destroyed.

  Life was born.

  Life was lived.

  Life ended.

  The soul returned to Heaven.

  Passed through the Void.

  And emerged once more—reborn.

  "All living beings come from the same place… and return to the same place in the end."

  The answer to the riddle was simple, yet profound.

  Reincarnation.

  “Hm.” Yan Shou narrowed his eyes, a grin tugging at his lips. “That look on your face—don’t tell me you’ve already figured it out.”

  Lin Chen snorted. “No. But if you keep trying to read my mind, I’ll bury you somewhere even your soul can’t crawl out of.”

  Before Yan Shou could retort, Lin Chen hooked an arm around his neck and dragged him away from the bustling crowd, straight into the woods.

  Yan Shou laughed softly. “So? Am I right?”

  “Yes.” Lin Chen released him and glanced around, his voice dropping. “And you know why I brought you here, don’t you?”

  Yan Shou’s smile turned knowing, almost smug. “To cause distraction. Draw all those idiots away so we can slip inside that place.”

  His expression clearly said: Do you even need to ask?

  Lin Chen chuckled. “As expected of you. Once that’s done…” His eyes gleamed. “We clean the place out.”

  “Heh, as expected of my brother,” Yan Shou laughed, the sound carrying a faintly sinister edge.

  The two laughed together, eerily in sync—like a pair of seasoned thieves who’d found each other at last.

  “Wow,” a calm voice cut in, laced with faint amusement. “Those are some truly unpleasant laughs.”

  The two froze.

  They turned—and saw Bai Yuexin standing five steps away, arms folded, eyes bright with interest.

  “…Did you hear all that?” Lin Chen asked slowly.

  She raised a brow. “What do you think?”

  “I think this is all a hallucination. And that you heard absolutely nothing.”

  Bai Yuexin looked at him as though he’d just insulted her intelligence—and possibly her cultivation.

  Silence stretched.

  Then Lin Chen sighed. “Fine. You’re in.”

  A faint smile curved her lips.

  ***

  As the crowd continued struggling in front of the cave—arguing, testing seals, and throwing all kinds of techniques at the formation with zero results—

  Suddenly—

  A pillar of blue light erupted from deep within the forest, shooting straight into the sky like a beacon.

  The light pierced through the clouds, carrying an unmistakable fluctuation of dense Essence Qi.

  For a split second, everything went silent.

  Then—

  “Heavenly treasure!”

  Someone shouted, voice full of greed.

  That single cry was enough.

  In an instant, the cultivators surrounding the cave abandoned all restraint. No one cared about the formation anymore. After hours of failing to open it, patience had long run dry.

  A visible sign like that blue pillar? That was cultivation common sense—only true treasures caused such phenomena.

  Within moments, the area in front of the cave was empty.

  “Have to admit,” Lin Chen said as he stepped out of the forest, “that illusion formation of yours worked like a charm.”

  Yan Shou walked beside him, looking rather pleased with himself. Bai Yuexin followed a short distance behind, with her two junior sisters close at her side.

  “It only worked because your timing was perfect,” Yan Shou replied. “That light was irresistible. You baited them exactly where it hurt—their greed.”

  Lin Chen shrugged lightly. “I just gave them something shiny. They did the rest themselves.”

  In truth, the so-called heavenly treasure was nothing more than an illusion formation layered on top of a simple message carved into stone.

  No spirit weapon. No divine inheritance. Just a few blunt words:

  Never fall for such obvious traps.

  Anyone with half a brain would’ve stayed back to verify. Anyone who rushed in blindly…

  Idiots.

  Lin Chen could already imagine the scene—faces darkening, curses flying, veins bulging as those cultivators realized they’d been played.

  “Now,” Lin Chen said calmly, stepping forward, “let’s open this formation.”

  As he spoke, the strange symbols hovering over the cave wall began to move. With a flick of his fingers, Lin Chen pulled them apart one by one, rearranging them in a steady, deliberate sequence.

  To anyone watching, it looked almost ridiculous—like he was randomly grabbing glowing characters and shuffling them around.

  Bai Yuexin frowned. “Hey—are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked. “From where I’m standing, you’re just waving your hands.”

  Lin Chen’s brow twitched—just slightly.

  “My name is Lin Chen,” he said without looking back. “Not ‘hey.’ If you want answers, at least address me properly.”

  “…Alright, Lin Chen,” Bai Yuexin said, arms crossed. “You look confident—but can you really open it?”

  At that exact moment, Lin Chen placed the final symbol into position.

  The formation trembled.

  Light surged across the cave entrance as the symbols locked into place, lines of energy connecting smoothly. The oppressive pressure vanished, replaced by a deep, resonant hum.

  Lin Chen dusted his hands. “Already did.”

  The cave entrance slowly split apart, revealing a dark passage within.

  He turned his head slightly. “Now let’s go, Missy."

  Bai Yuexin froze, staring at the opened cave.

  She couldn’t hide her shock.

  For hours, disciples from three ancient sects—so-called geniuses—had tried and failed.

  Yet Lin Chen, someone claiming to be from a first-rate sect, solved it in minutes. And that wasn’t even the strangest thing about him.

  Is there really something different about this guy?

  Is he truly from a first-rate sect?

  As soon as they passed through the cave entrance, the solid earth beneath them dissolved into nothingness.

  “—!”

  There was no time to react.

  The five of them dropped straight down, as if the world itself had opened its mouth and swallowed them whole.

  Darkness twisted around them, then stretched—pulling, folding, distorting—until they found themselves drifting through something like a dimensional tunnel. Colors blurred past their vision, space bending in unnatural angles.

  “Hm,” Lin Chen muttered calmly, arms crossed as he floated. “That’s a new feeling.”

  No wind. No weight. Just a strange sense of being dragged forward by an unseen force.

  Before anyone could comment—

  WHAM!

  They were violently spat out.

  Four figures adjusted midair and landed cleanly on their feet.

  The fifth—

  SMACK.

  Yan Shou face-planted straight into the stone floor.

  “—Ack!”

  He groaned, lifting his head with a pained expression. “Brother Lin… why didn’t you catch me?”

  Lin Chen glanced at him, unimpressed. “Who would’ve thought you couldn’t handle something that simple?”

  Yan Shou: “……”

  Bai Yuexin snorted, clearly holding back a laugh.

  Lin Chen ignored him and lifted his gaze.

  They were standing in the courtyard of a massive mansion. The space was wide and open, paved with ancient stone, silent and undisturbed. Ahead of them rose the main hall—grand, old, and imposing.

  At the entrance stood towering pillars, each one wrapped with dragon carvings that coiled upward, their stone eyes sharp and lifelike, as if watching anyone who dared step inside.

  The dragons’ bodies were etched with deep grooves, worn by time, yet still carrying an unmistakable sense of authority.

  “This looks like an inheritance site… I’ve read about places like this in books,” Bai Yuexin said, clearly not expecting to encounter such a place within the secret realm.

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