In a cavern deep within a remote and nearly unreachable part of the realm, where even cultivators at the Great Emperor level struggled to tread, silence reigned supreme. Only the faint sound of dripping water touching the surface below could be heard, like the mountain itself was gently exhaling.
At the deepest point within that cave, a glowing blue spring shimmered in the darkness, as though it had been forged from the light of the stars themselves. Its waters were so clear, they mirrored the heavens.
There, Ye Lin's body lay submerged, hovering lifelessly within the spring. He was caught between life and death, his robes in tatters, limbs twisted unnaturally, and the wounds left by pushing his body beyond its limits still embedded deep within him, refusing to fade.
The spring he lay in was known as the Moonlight Aquafount, a lost healing elixir from the Upper Realm, forgotten for tens of thousands of years. It possessed a single miraculous property: it could heal anything. Even a shattered soul, if not fully extinguished, could be restored.
Ye Lin's body floated gently in the glowing water. Light from the spring bathed him, cleansing his wounds, purging bruises, and slowly dissolving the remnants of curses and demonic energy that clung to his dantian.
Hours passed… then a familiar voice echoed through his consciousness.
"Hey, boy. Ye Lin… can you hear me?"
Duan Lingchen's voice carried urgency, but it was laced with concern.
"Wake up… wake up, quickly!"
But Ye Lin remained unresponsive. His mind had sunk into a deep dream.
In that dream, he awoke in a cave that looked nearly identical to where he currently lay. His body was fully healed, without a scratch. Even Duan Lingchen, whose soul fragment resided within him, appeared revitalized.
In Ye Lin's dream, everything was perfect, like a serene illusion. After regaining his strength, the two of them set out on their journey once again cultivating, seeking rare materials, uncovering hidden treasures in ruined dimensions, braving forests filled with beasts, and overcoming trials with ease.
But then, while they were resting at a teahouse, rumors began to spread across the world.
"Did you hear? Wu Zhao is getting married!"
"Fifteen brides, they say. But the most interesting one has to be Hua Jinru. Wasn't she once a member of the Ten Thousand Oceans Trading Hall?"
Upon hearing that, Ye Lin felt nothing. He continued his journey in search of opportunity and fortune. But the very next day, unexpected news shook the world.
Hua Jinru was dead...
Wu Zhao was dead...
The Wu Clan had been wiped out...
The body of a great Elder from the Immortal River Holy Land had been strung up for display along with his entire family…
The moment he heard the news, his mind shattered. The dream turned into a nightmare. The cave floor trembled, and explosions rang through his skull. The dream began to warp and distort. Mountains he had crossed, treasures he had uncovered all of them melted away into mist and smoke.
Ye Lin's eyes snapped open in the real world.
His body was still submerged in the glowing spring, its blue light surrounding him like a gentle shield. But his face… it felt colder than anything he had ever known.
Ye Lin jolted upright, his breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened as he shot out of the luminous pool in the depths of the cave, gasping frantically as though waking from an endless nightmare. Yet as his gaze swept across his surroundings… everything looked exactly the same as in his dream.
Not a single detail was different. The cave, the spring, the blades of grass, even the atmosphere exactly as he had seen.
His lips moved slightly.
"What… the hell is this?"
Suddenly, a soft laugh echoed through his consciousness.
"I thought you weren't going to wake up… kid." The voice of Duan Lingchen sounded faint, but filled with relief.
Ye Lin frowned deeply, but before he could respond, a ring shot out from the void in front of him and clattered to the ground with a metallic clang. He snatched it up immediately, then looked up with determined eyes. This ring had been in his dream too.
"Ancestor… what about Elder Han?! Is he all right?!"
Duan Lingchen went silent for a moment, then gazed down at Ye Lin with a profound look in his eyes. A thread of golden fate stretched visibly from the heavens down to Ye Lin's body. The power of destiny wove itself tightly around him.
Duan Lingchen's voice softened slightly. "Don't worry. The only thing that can kill him is if he chooses to die himself."
Ye Lin lowered his head. At this moment, he felt overwhelmed by a deep discomfort, then muttered, "But…"
Duan Lingchen interrupted him at once. "Even if you saw him in such a terrible state, he'll still find a way to survive believe me. Right now, worry about yourself first."
"Thank you, Ancestor," Ye Lin said respectfully.
He fell silent for a moment, then steadied his breathing and took out a communication stone. A voice immediately played from within it was his grandfather's.
"Ye Lin, run. Just run and don't look back, no matter what news you hear. Just remember, we'll always be here for you, and we'll support you forever."
"Huh… this wasn't in the dream…"
Ye Lin stood in stunned silence as the final image from his dream flashed through his mind the death of his grandfather, and the others of the Ye Clan. Their corpses hung in public, disgraced and stripped of all honor.
Suddenly, he looked around once more, trying to confirm whether the dream had truly ended. But the pool, the stalactites, the grass, the air everything matched the dream exactly. Not a single detail was out of place. Confusion began creeping back into his mind.
He steadied himself, then picked up the communication stone and tried to reach his grandfather again. "Grandfather… Grandfather…"
A man's voice suddenly responded. "Oh… finally got through, did you?"
Ye Lin immediately spoke, his voice urgent. It wasn't his grandfather's voice. "Who are you?"
The voice on the other end replied, "You want to know? Come to the Wu Clan today and I'll tell you. Don't be late, or you won't make it to hell together with the others."
Then, the scream of Ye Lin's grandfather burst out, followed by a sharp cut in the signal. "Aaaaaaaaahhhh—"
Ye Lin froze in place as if time itself had stopped. An overwhelming fury surged through him, so strong it threatened to burst from within. Demonic energy began pouring out of his body uncontrollably. Duan Lingchen, having listened closely and pieced together what had happened, spoke up.
"Calm down, boy. Think it through. I'll help you."
Ye Lin regained his senses at the sound of Duan Lingchen's voice and dropped to one knee with reverence.
"Thank you… Ancestor."
Duan Lingchen gave a satisfied nod. His gaze shifted to the spatial ring in Ye Lin's hand, and he raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That spatial ring… did Han Ming give that to you?"
Ye Lin paused for a moment before replying.
"I'm not sure, sir. It fell from the void just as the rift closed."
Duan Lingchen let out a low chuckle, then spoke slowly.
"Looks like that kid Han's taken quite a liking to you."
Ye Lin froze slightly, then asked seriously,
"Then… is it possible for me to become Elder Han's disciple?"
Duan Lingchen shook his head gently. He paused for a moment, then spoke with a weight in his tone.
"That kid Han… he has his own way of choosing disciples. From what little I've seen, all seven of them are monsters. I'm sure of this if Han Ming gave the order, not one of them would hesitate to kill an enemy… or even someone close to them."
Duan Lingchen looked at Ye Lin for a long moment.
"But you… as you are now, you don't have that kind of heart."
Just before Duan Lingchen's eyes narrowed, he caught sight of something inside Ye Lin's spatial ring… a faint glow reflected off a bluish-green orb etched with ancient formation patterns. It was an Immortal-grade Soul-Nurturing Ring.
"Boy, hand me that ring for a moment," Duan Lingchen said quickly, urgency in his voice.
Ye Lin didn't hesitate. He held the ring out immediately, and in that instant, a fragment of Duan Lingchen's soul darted into it with incredible speed.
Within the span of a single breath, the ring pulsed faintly with light before Duan Lingchen's voice echoed out from within, full of cheerful amusement.
"Haha, perfect. Han Ming… I never really had a choice from the beginning, did I? Even if this power isn't enough to withstand beings at the highest level, taking down ten or twenty Great Emperors should still be well within reach."
His voice brimmed with power and confidence.
"Oh? This ring even has an Immortal-tier concealment array embedded in it. As long as I don't burn my soul energy recklessly, no one will ever detect my presence."
Ye Lin clenched the ring tightly, feeling a warmth radiating from it an unfamiliar but reassuring warmth, as if whispering that he was no longer alone.
"All right, boy," Duan Lingchen said again, "you can be sure of this… you'll save your family. Let's go."
Ye Lin nodded at once, his eyes burning with determination. "Thank you, Ancestor…"
Duan Lingchen chuckled softly in satisfaction before continuing.
"Listen carefully. Inside the spatial ring that kid Han gave you, there are still many important items hidden away. One of them is a stockpile of peak-grade spirit stones enough to sustain an entire large city."
"There's also an Immortal weapon: a soul-nurturing armor. It reduces the loss of soul energy during battle, allows your recovery to speed up, and can even be used to sustain souls without physical bodies."
"There are healing pills, enhancement pills, warp stones, and more… but the most interesting would be the five Great Emperor Pills. If consumed, they temporarily awaken the full power of a peak-stage Great Emperor for five minutes. If a Saint-level cultivator takes it, their cultivation will slightly decrease after the effects wear off. But if someone below that level dares to consume it…" his voice turned solemn.
"…their cultivation will collapse completely once the effects fade."
Ye Lin listened carefully, his hand still clutching the ring tightly as though afraid it might vanish.
"Lastly," Duan Lingchen said, "there's a special set of sealing talismans. They can mask your presence from even the most powerful cultivators of the Upper Realm. They can conceal your bloodline, your power, and even your destiny."
He paused for a moment before speaking again in a slow, thoughtful tone.
"While we're on the road, if you have any information about the Wu Clan, share it with me. I'll need it to plan properly."
"Understood," Ye Lin replied firmly.
Without delay, Ye Lin set off. He gave a slight nod, and his eyes sharpened with renewed determination. As he traveled, he began recounting everything he knew about the Wu Clan to his ancestor.