Back to the present,
Yang Zhai finally stepped out of the left area of the Forest of Mist. Emerging from the depths of the ocean, he rose to the surface and exhaled deeply, releasing the tension pressing on his body from weeks of being in the water. The salt-laden air filled his lungs as he swept his wet hair back with both hands, his sharp gaze drifting across the horizon.
Behind him lingered the mist, still curling like a phantom veil, obscuring everything hidden in it. Ahead, there was nothing but a boundless expanse of ocean, stretching endlessly in every direction.
It was night. The moon hung high in the sky, its silver light spilling across the dark waters, turning them into a shimmering sea of liquid crystal. Stars scattered across the heavens like a million dots, embellishing the night sky into something both lonely and wondrous.
He stood alone amidst that vast emptiness. Not a soul around him, not even the faint shadow of a bird or a drifting vessel. The silence was absolute—an eerie, oppressive quietness that seemed to seep into the bones. Yet Yang Zhai remained composed, his face betraying neither fear nor unease. If anything, he looked as though such isolation was nothing unfamiliar, his expression steady, his presence calm, as if solitude itself had long become a companion.
With a quiet splash, he submerged into the depths once more. The water enveloped him in silence as he drifted downward, his eyes scanning the darkness while he waited patiently for the gate to the inheritance ground to open. Dawn was an hour away. He had no desire to entangle himself in a battle in the final fleeting moments of night; better to wait, better to enter the inheritance space just before the break of light when risk was minimal.
He returned and rested for a few hours, conserving his strength.
"My food is nearly finished…" he thought. "Usually, I prepare rations that can last weeks without spoiling, hunting wild beasts on land and gathering fruits along the way. But this time, I've been stranded in the ocean for over a month. I couldn't replenish anything. If I don't find an island soon, I'll have no choice but to risk hunting rank four or lower water beasts. Not to mention that in this area of the I ocean, finding low rank beasts is extremely difficult. The food I have left won't last beyond two days."
"For now, I should suspend my training and preserve as much strength as possible. If I run out of food while already weakened, forget hunting a rank three beast—even catching a rank two will become a struggle."
A pause. His gaze sharpened slightly. "Until then, I should examine the items I obtained from the inheritance near Ma Mountain."
He never used the inheritance ground carelessly here—whenever the gate opened, seawater rushed in by the tons, and it wasn't worth the risk. So, he always entered the inheritance space rather than the ground whenever entering from inside the ocean.
Reaching the place, Yang Zhai pulled out a chain from within the urn. It was short, only six inches long, colored in a dull black hue. Yah Yan and Ina Ya had already informed him what it was—an ire, a chain that could only be refined with void power.
The texture was rough, patches of rust corroding its surface, yet beneath that decay, it still retained a solid metallic weight. Though he knew it was useless, he still tried channeling the aurora's aura into it. As expected, nothing happened. With a faint exhale, he stored it away again.
One by one, he examined the items, deliberately skipping over the Forbidden One's scroll. At last, his gaze settled upon the cage that imprisoned the Heaven's Container.
He pulled it out—a small cage only three inches tall. But the moment it left the urn, it expanded, increasing in size until it expanded to nearly a foot size. Inside, sealed in stillness, a woman slumbered.
Her beauty was striking, almost unreal. Long black hair cascaded down like silk threads, brushing past her knees. Her face was delicate, flawless, as if carved by the hand of a divine sculptor. Her skin radiated a soft, pale glow that hinted at a touch gentler than clouds. She wore a pristine white Hanfu, elegant and conservative, covering her from the curve of her neck to the very tips of her toes. Except for her face, not a single inch of her skin could be seen.
Yang Zhai's expression did not shift as he scrutinized the cage, but his mind was focused, his eyes calm, free of any desire. He leaned forward, running his hands along the cage, feeling its texture, tracing its structure, searching for any subtlety he might have overlooked.
After some time, he muttered under his breath. "Sigh… no matter how much I look, it's pointless. These things are beyond me. Unless I climb much higher in cultivation, I won't be able to truly probe into their mysteries."
He was about to store the cage back when a faint flicker caught his eye.
"Did… her eyes just move?"
For a moment, he was silent, uncertain. Still, instead of dismissing it, he placed the cage on the ground and sat cross-legged before it, watching in silence.
Minutes passed. Then, unmistakably, her eyelids fluttered.
"So they did move," Yang Zhai's gaze narrowed. "Is she waking up? She's bound in this cage—imprisoned here for centuries. If she had the ability to escape, she wouldn't still be trapped. And not only that, even her size has been forcibly suppressed. Which means this cage… is without doubt stronger than her. But still…"
"Yah Yan, Ina Ya."
His voice was calm, but it carried command.
"What is it, master?" their voices answered from within the ring.
"This cage—can it be refined from within? I still haven't refined it myself, but even so, she shouldn't be able to influence it… correct?" He asked an obvious thing without hesitation, discarding any thought of embarrassment.
"Do not worry, master," Ina Ya's voice replied softly. "Her powers are sealed. No matter what she does, she cannot act against you."
Yang Zhai inclined his head slightly, reassured. He turned back to the cage, waiting.
Slowly, the woman's eyes fluttered open—then closed again. This happened several times before at last, they remained open.
Yang Zhai's gaze deepened. Her eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen.
One iris shimmered like the boundless night sky, dotted with countless tiny stars. The other gleamed with the brilliance of molten gold, intricate patterns webbed across its surface like the dawn breaking through the horizon. Both were so vivid, so alive, they seemed less like eyes and more like gateways into two opposing worlds.
One eye seemed to carry the weight of the past. The other seemed to reflect the unseen future.
From both, faint streams of glittering dust fell continuously, starlight-like specks drifting downward in a ceaseless cascade.
Even Yang Zhai, unmoved by beauty, could not deny that her gaze held an awe-inspiring wonder.
Her eyes shifted, landing on him, before sweeping across her surroundings. Finally, they lingered on the bars of her cage.
Her lips parted slightly. A soft murmur escaped.
"Rui Zhe… so you imprisoned me…"
Yang Zhai caught every word.
"Rui Zhe? So, the owner of this inheritance is Rui Zhe… a great destruction rank cultivator. Now that I recall carefully, he should be the one who wielded the Last One. No wonder the inheritance was at such a high level," Yang Zhai muttered.
The woman inside heard him and frowned faintly.
Her voice was steady, but there was confusion in her tone. "What do you mean by owner of the inheritance? And the one who wielded the Last One?"
Yang Zhai fell silent, thoughts flickering like lightning through his mind.
"She knows nothing? Did Rui Zhe place the inheritance immediately after sealing her? Or… did he never awaken her later? I'll have to test her."
Outwardly, he said, "You don't know? Centuries have already passed. Rui Zhe is long dead."
As he spoke, he watched her face carefully.
But her expression did not waver. Calm, silent. She neither panicked nor grieved. Not even happiness or flicker appeared across her face.
Still, she went quiet after his words.
Is she suppressing her reaction? Or does she truly not care? Yang Zhai thought, his gaze steady.
!|!*****!*****!|!