A strange resonance echoed from the depths of the mine shaft, like a pebble tossed into an ancient well, sending ripples across Lin Xuan's heart. The faint yet unmistakable tremor emanating from the undying demonic soul pointed toward the darker depths of the mine.
"Let's go."
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Xuan suppressed the surging qi and blood within him, caused by the forced mobilization of power. Rising to his feet, he headed straight toward the source of the resonance. His injuries and exhaustion were cast aside in that instant. Any clue that might lead to restoring his strength was worth the risk of exploring.
Zhang Xiaoshan, though bewildered, saw Lin Xuan's resolute stance and immediately followed. Yet, his palm gripping the demon core began to sweat again. The deeper they ventured, the thicker the darkness grew, the air becoming increasingly damp and chilling. The faint, lingering stench seemed to grow more complex, mingled with a hint of... an ancient, dormant scent.
Along the way, they encountered several scattered groups of bone-corroding rats, but their numbers were small. Lin Xuan dispatched them effortlessly with his masterful combat skills and the sharp stone blade in his hand. Zhang Xiaoshan, too, gradually shed his initial fear, growing calmer. He even began assisting by throwing pebbles to distract the rats, their coordination growing increasingly seamless.
As they delved deeper, the mine began branching into labyrinthine abandoned tunnels. Yet Lin Xuan seemed guided by some innate instinct, choosing each path without hesitation, advancing resolutely toward the direction where the soul resonance was strongest.
Finally, after crawling through an exceptionally narrow crevice requiring them to crawl on their hands and knees, the scene before them suddenly opened up.
This was a vast underground cavern, clearly man-made, with a dome soaring dozens of meters high. The surrounding rock walls still bore remnants of long-dulled illumination crystal sockets. At the cavern's center lay a dried-up pool, its bottom covered in thick dust. The most striking feature was the massive rock wall directly facing them. Smooth as a mirror, it was densely covered in ancient, twisted runes.
Most of these runes had faded, some even chipped away, yet they still emanated a desolate, obscure aura. Directly beneath the wall sat a complete, grayish-white skeleton! Covered in thick dust, it maintained a seated meditation posture, having remained there for an unknown number of centuries.
That peculiar soul resonance emanated from this rune-covered wall—or rather, from the skeleton itself!
Lin Xuan's gaze was instantly drawn. He strode forward, ignoring the skeleton, and fixed his eyes on the runes etched into the rock. He had never seen these runes before, yet their construction and the patterns of energy flowing through them faintly echoed certain ancient demonic scripts he had encountered in his past life.
"What... what is this? And... a dead body!" Zhang Xiaoshan followed in, recoiling in horror at the sight of the skeleton, his face turning pale.
Lin Xuan offered no reply. He extended a hand, his fingertips lightly brushing the cold, stone-carved runes. The instant his touch grazed the inscriptions—
"Hum!"
A few runes on the rock wall, not yet fully dimmed, suddenly glowed with a faint, faint light! Simultaneously, a faint, dark light flickered and vanished from the center of the skeleton's brow. An extremely fragmented, nearly dissipated soul imprint drifted out like a candle flickering in the wind, merging into Lin Xuan's brow!
Boom!
A torrent of fragmented information flooded Lin Xuan's mind!
The Nine Deaths Nirvana Technique... Embracing death to rebirth... Severing cause and effect... Breaking the cycle of reincarnation... Ascending to immortality through nine deaths...
Countless profound and obscure scriptures, energy circulation pathways, and blurred scenes of cultivators enduring life-and-death trials, breaking through to rebirth, flashed by like a kaleidoscope. Yet this inheritance was profoundly fragmented. Only the cultivation methods for the first three tiers remained relatively clear, while the subsequent sections lay in tatters, riddled with gaps.
Simultaneously, an energy—pure yet carrying an extreme aura of death and destruction—forced its way through his fingertips into his parched meridians!
"Ugh!"
Lin Xuan grunted, his face instantly turning deathly pale as his body began to shake violently. This energy resembled the demonic essence he had cultivated in his previous life, yet it was far more extreme and domineering, filled with the contradictory essence of destruction and rebirth. It raged wildly through his fragile meridians, inflicting pain that far surpassed the sum of his previous injuries, as if it were tearing his body apart and obliterating it completely!
"Senior Brother Lin! What's wrong?!" Zhang Xiaoshan gasped in alarm, rushing forward only to be repelled by the chaotic, dangerous aura suddenly radiating from Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes. He could feel his body teetering on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of this violent energy!
"Nine Deaths Rebirth Technique... Embrace death to be reborn..."
In this desperate hour, inspiration struck. He forcibly gathered his nearly scattered consciousness, following the fragmented teachings in his mind. He guided the destructive energy within his body along a bizarre and perilous path!
This wasn't cultivation—it was dancing on the edge of a knife, teetering on the brink of life and death!
Each surge of energy felt like a slow, agonizing torture. His consciousness blurred in the excruciating pain, only to be forcibly凝聚ed by the Demon Sovereign's unyielding will. He felt his life force rapidly draining away, his internal organs seemingly crushed and reshaped...
Zhang Xiaoshan paced frantically beside him, utterly helpless, forced to watch as Lin Xuan's vital energy grew fainter and fainter, until it flickered like a candle in the wind, nearly extinguished.
"Senior Brother Lin! Hold on!" Zhang Xiaoshan cried out, his voice breaking.
Just as Lin Xuan's consciousness was about to plunge completely into darkness—
Snap!
It felt like shackles breaking, like a seed bursting through its hard shell!
The raging destructive energy abruptly transformed, becoming a colossal surge of vitality. Like life-giving rain, it nourished his nearly withered flesh and meridians! Broken bones began to mend, blocked meridians were forcibly cleared, and impurities within his body were expelled, forming a layer of murky blood scabs.
His previously precarious Qi Cultivation stage cultivation began to surge wildly!
Third layer, fourth layer, fifth layer... finally stabilizing at the peak of the sixth layer!
Within his mind, the inheritance of the Nine Deaths Nirvana Technique grew clearer. The first layer, "Seeking Life in the Realm of Death," was complete!
Lin Xuan's eyes snapped open, a piercing light blazing from them like tangible beams, flickering briefly in the dim underground chamber. He rose slowly, flexing his limbs. A series of cracking sounds echoed within his body as a sense of power far greater than before filled his entire being.
Though his injuries weren't fully healed, the most severe damage had been repaired. More importantly, this body's innate potential seemed to have undergone a faint, subtle enhancement through the baptism of destruction and rebirth.
"Lin... Senior Brother Lin? You... you're okay?" " Zhang Xiaoshan stammered, staring at Lin Xuan, who seemed like a completely different person. The aura emanating from him was several times stronger, and his gaze had grown deeper and sharper.
"Mhm." Lin Xuan nodded faintly, feeling the power coursing through his veins. A thread of admiration welled up in his heart for the predecessor who had created the Nine Deaths Nirvana Technique. This art truly defied the heavens. He now understood the source of that soul resonance. The predecessor who had attained enlightenment here was likely the previous inheritor of the Nine Deaths Nirvana Technique. After passing away in this place, the remnant soul and the imprint of the technique had waited here, awaiting the destined individual to restart the inheritance.
He walked to the skeletal remains and bowed solemnly. Regardless of the other's identity, he would remember this debt of inheritance.
Having gained the inheritance and restored some of his strength, the purpose of this journey had been more than fulfilled. Lin Xuan lingered no longer. He took Zhang Xiaoshan, who was still in a state of shock and confusion, and retraced their steps along the original path.
Emerging from the narrow crevice and traversing the maze-like mine tunnels, when the two once again saw the sky light streaming through the cave entrance, it felt like they had stepped into another world.
Yet, barely out of the mine and before they could draw a breath of the relatively fresher air outside, a sneering voice rang out:
"Well? You've got some luck, didn't die in there after all?"
Zhao Hu, accompanied by his two henchmen, was blocking the mine exit not far ahead, clearly having waited there for quite some time. Zhao Hu's arm was still suspended by a cloth sling, his face bearing undisguised malice and... a hint of astonishment. He hadn't expected these two useless fools to actually survive their descent!
Zhang Xiaoshan instinctively cringed at the sight of Zhao Hu, but seeing Lin Xuan beside him, his aura steady and composed, he summoned his courage and straightened his back.
Lin Xuan's gaze remained calm as he watched Zhao Hu, as if observing a fly incessantly buzzing before his eyes. With his strength partially restored, he sensed even more clearly that Zhao Hu was merely at the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation. In his eyes, the man was no different from an insect.
"Seems yesterday's lesson wasn't enough," Lin Xuan's voice carried not a hint of emotion.
Zhao Hu felt uneasy under his gaze, but relying on his numbers and certain that Lin Xuan, even if not dead, must have been severely drained in the mine shaft—perhaps even more gravely injured—he sneered savagely. "Lesson? Today I'll show you what a real lesson looks like! Get him! Cripple him!"
The two henchmen behind him felt uneasy about facing Lin Xuan, but they dared not defy Zhao Hu. Gritting their teeth, they charged forward.
Lin Xuan didn't move at all. Only when the two were close did he sidestep like a ghost, evading their attacks. His hands shot out like butterflies flitting through flowers, snapping precisely around their wrists. He gave a slight tug!
"Snap!" "Snap!"
The bone-chilling sound of cracking bones echoed!
"Aaah—!" The henchmen let out blood-curdling screams as their wrists bent at unnatural angles, clearly snapped clean off!
Lin Xuan flung them aside like discarded trash, sending them crashing to the ground where they wailed incessantly.
The entire sequence unfolded with extreme speed and ruthless precision!
The savage grin on Zhao Hu's face froze instantly, morphing into boundless terror. He saw clearly that Lin Xuan's speed and strength far surpassed yesterday's! How was this possible?! How could he have improved so drastically in a single day?!
"You... you..." Zhao Hu stumbled backward in terror, his words stumbling out incoherently.
Lin Xuan walked toward him step by step, each stride feeling like a stomp on Zhao Hu's heart.
"Seems keeping you around will only cause trouble in the end." Lin Xuan's tone was matter-of-fact, as if stating an inevitable truth.
Zhao Hu's soul nearly fled his body. His voice cracked with feigned ferocity as he shrieked, "Lin Xuan! How dare you touch me! My uncle is the Outer Sect Steward! He'll never let you get away with this!"
A cold curve touched Lin Xuan's lips. He was about to strike and eliminate this nuisance once and for all.
Suddenly—
"Stop!"
A cold, commanding voice rang out from behind.
Lin Xuan frowned slightly and turned to look.
Liu Yunyuan had appeared nearby at some point, still clad in her pristine white robes, radiating ethereal beauty. Her delicate brows were furrowed as she observed the scene.
"Within the sect, private duels among disciples are forbidden, and harming fellow disciples is strictly prohibited! Lin Xuan, you have violated the sect's rules!" Liu Yunyuan's voice carried an authority that brooked no argument. Her gaze fixed on Lin Xuan, filled with scrutiny and puzzlement. She had merely been passing by when she sensed spiritual energy fluctuations here. She never expected to see this outer sect disciple who had caught her attention—and witness him committing violence and injury.
Zhao Hu, as if seeing a savior, scrambled over and clung to Liu Yunyuan's back, wailing, "Senior Sister Liu! You must stand up for me! Lin Xuan... he practices heretical arts, harming fellow disciples! He even tried to kill me to silence me!"
Liu Yunyuan's gaze sharpened further as she fixed it on Lin Xuan.
Zhang Xiaoshan, desperate to defend himself, was silenced by a stern look from Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan looked at Liu Yunyuan, then at Zhao Hu, who hid behind her with a smug expression. His gaze remained calm and unruffled.
He spoke in a level tone, his words carrying clearly to every ear:
"Senior Sister Liu, are you aware that yesterday they beat me to the brink of death? Today they lured us into a deadly mine shaft, using demon beasts to slaughter us?"
"Does this not also count as harming fellow disciples?"