The moment the words Heavenly Stone left Mu Chen's mouth, Lin Chen felt a faint chill crawl up his spine.
'Wait a minute…'
His thoughts immediately jumped back to everything he knew about cultists.
Divine Continent. Heavenly Stone. Grand plan.
'Don't tell me… that so-called Divine Continent is just another name for the Upper Realms?'
And more importantly—
'Those bastards were also searching for the Heavenly Stone.'
A cold realization slowly formed in his mind.
'Those lunatics are trying to repeat the same thing that destroyed the Southern Region two thousand years ago…'
Meanwhile, Mu Chen continued, his voice steady, unaware of the storm inside Lin Chen's head.
"The Heavenly Stone," he said slowly, "is exactly what its name suggests. A divine stone formed from the laws of the heavens themselves, born in the vast universe beyond mortal realms."
His tone grew solemn.
"Even in the Upper Realms, such an object would be considered a supreme treasure. Entire sects would wage wars that span across eras just to obtain one fragment of it."
"And our continent," Mu Chen added, "was not without fortune. Long ago, a Heavenly Stone fell from the sky onto this land."
He paused.
"It was eventually obtained… and guarded by the Starfall Sect."
"…Huh?"
Lin Chen's brain froze for a second.
"My sect?" he blurted out, genuinely confused.
Mu Chen's projection suddenly turned and stared at him with sharp interest.
"You are from the Starfall Sect?"
"Yes," Lin Chen replied. "I'm a disciple of Starfall Sect."
For a moment, Mu Chen was silent.
Then he suddenly laughed.
"Hahaha… fate truly plays strange games," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "To think that after two thousand years, the one who inherits my legacy is actually a disciple of the very sect that once held the Heavenly Stone."
Lin Chen blinked.
"Is Starfall Sect… supposed to be that great?" he asked honestly. "Right now it's just a first-rate sect. Not even close to the ancient sects."
Mu Chen's laughter stopped abruptly.
He stared at Lin Chen as if he had just heard something absurd.
"How can it not be great?" he said. "In our era, the founder of Starfall Sect was a legendary figure whose name shook the entire continent."
Lin Chen's eyebrows shot up.
"Our sect founder… was that powerful?"
Mu Chen folded his hands behind his back, his expression turning respectful, as if recalling an old hero.
"What kind of disciple are you," he said, half amused and half exasperated, "to not even know the history of your own sect's founder?"
He let out a light sigh.
"Very well. Let me enlighten you."
"That man was not born into nobility, nor into an ancient clan. He was a mere commoner. A farmer's son who rose step by step through sheer will and talent."
"He cultivated from the lowest rung of society," Mu Chen continued, "yet in a few short centuries, he broke through realms one after another, eventually stepping into the Celestial Realm through his own efforts."
"And after reaching that height, he founded the Starfall Sect."
His voice grew heavier with admiration.
"At its peak, Starfall Sect stood on equal footing with ancient sects. No one dared to look down on it."
Lin Chen felt his worldview quietly cracking.
"Our founder… rivaled ancient sects?"
Mu Chen nodded slowly.
"He was also one of the heroes of our generation. One of the few who stood at the forefront during the era of the Azure Pavilion."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"And among those heroes, only a handful knew his greatest secret."
"He possessed the Heavenly Stone that fell from the sky."
'Holy…'
His mind instantly recalled the legends recorded in the sect's ancient archives—stories about the founder being "enlightened by a heavenly object that descended from the skies."
Most disciples treated it as exaggerated story.
But now—
'So that legend wasn't fake,' Lin Chen thought, a faint chill running along his scalp. 'The object that fell from the sky… was actually the Heavenly Stone?'
'He really had the full protagonist template,' he thought dryly. 'Random heavenly object, sudden rise, legendary achievements… the usual cheat package.'
But unlike those romantic stories, the consequences here were anything but glorious.
If the Heavenly Stone was truly capable of making even Celestial Realm experts attempt to steal the origin of an Upper Realm… then it was less a blessing and more a ticking disaster.
'And those cultist bastards are also searching for it…' his eyes narrowed slightly. 'This thing is dangerous enough to make monsters go crazy.'
His expression turned more serious.
'I definitely need to warn Master about everything I've learned so far…'
After a brief pause, his thoughts shifted.
'…Well, maybe not everything. Some parts are better kept to myself.'
Just as he was thinking, Mu Chen suddenly turned his head sharply, his projection flickering for a split second as if sensing something beyond the inheritance space.
"Huh…?" he murmured, brows knitting together. "Something feels wrong."
Lin Chen's instincts immediately flared.
'Uh-oh.'
'That is definitely a bad flag.'
He didn't hesitate even for a breath.
Without wasting another second, his gaze swept across the hall where dozens of treasures floated in midair—spiritual weapons, jade slips, pills, ancient artifacts, and unknown relics radiating dense Essence Qi.
The next moment—
He moved.
Like a bandit spotting an unattended treasury, Lin Chen dashed forward and began sweeping everything into his storage ring with alarming efficiency.
One swipe—three jade slips gone.
Another grab—two pill bottles vanished.
Even the floating spiritual artifacts were forcibly stuffed away without the slightest courtesy.
"Successor, you should—" Mu Chen began, intending to tell him to carefully select suitable treasures.
But when he turned back and saw Lin Chen already looting the entire inheritance hall at lightning speed, his words froze mid-sentence.
Lin Chen's eyes were practically shining as he packed things away, his movements smooth and practiced, as if this were not his first time emptying someone's legacy.
Mu Chen's expression turned complicated.
'…This successor of mine is quite diligent.'
A beat later, he corrected himself internally.
'Too diligent. He didn't even pretend to hesitate.'
"Did you say something, senior?" Lin Chen asked innocently, while casually tossing the last floating treasure into his storage ring as if nothing unusual had happened.
The inheritance hall was now… completely empty.
Mu Chen looked at the barren space, then at Lin Chen, then let out a faint sigh.
"…Nothing."
His gaze turned serious again.
"There is disturbance in the core space. Our meeting must end here."
Before Lin Chen could react, Mu Chen flicked his sleeve.
A scroll of light shot toward Lin Chen. He instinctively raised his hand to catch it, but the moment it touched his palm, the scroll dissolved into countless streams of light and merged directly into his consciousness.
Lin Chen's body stiffened slightly.
"That," Mu Chen said calmly, "contains the inheritance of my lifetime—techniques, insights, and records of my cultivation path."
"Use it wisely."
Before Lin Chen could even ask another question, the entire space distorted.
The next instant, he was forcibly expelled from the inheritance hall.
***
Elsewhere.
In a silent, boundless white space that seemed detached from the secret realm itself, Mu Chen's projection reappeared, his figure slightly more transparent than before.
Not far away stood a child.
The child's appearance was young, almost harmless, yet his eyes were ancient and calm. In front of him floated an enormous scroll wrapped in countless chains formed from condensed laws, each chain emitting a faint oppressive aura.
Mu Chen's expression changed the moment he saw him.
"I truly did not expect," Mu Chen said slowly, his tone heavy, "that after two thousand years… you would still be alive, Ling Hao."
The child turned at the sound of his voice. When his eyes fell upon the projection, a serene smile appeared, as though he were greeting an old friend rather than a lingering remnant.
"It is good to see you again, my friend," Ling Hao replied gently. "Even if what stands before me is only a projection."
Mu Chen's brows furrowed, the light of his form flickering more violently.
"Then you should know," he said, his voice growing colder, "that I am furious about what happened two thousand years ago."
Ling Hao did not deny it. His gaze merely drifted toward the chained scroll, as if it contained the answer to everything.
"Yes," he said calmly. "I failed. My plan brought catastrophe to the continent and turned the Southern Region into a dead land for two millennia."
Despite the admission, his composure remained unchanged, which only deepened Mu Chen's anger.
"And now," Ling Hao continued, resting a hand lightly near the sealed scroll, "I am trying to correct that mistake."
Mu Chen's projection trembled, his aura surging as if he were barely restraining himself.
"Correct it?" he repeated, disbelief and anger mixing together. "Do you even understand what you are saying?"
His gaze locked onto the chained scroll.
"You and I both know what that method is," Mu Chen said heavily. "Madness disguised as ambition."
He stepped forward, his unstable form flickering harder.
"That method already failed once. It drained the vitality of an entire region and shattered the continent's spiritual balance. And now you are preparing to attempt it again."
His voice rose, no longer restrained.
"Do you intend to gamble with the fate of the whole continent just to prove your idea wasn't wrong?"
Ling Hao remained unfazed, his expression detached, almost gentle, as if he had expected this reaction long ago.
"My friend," he said softly, "you are still the same."
Mu Chen's expression darkened.
"And you," he replied sharply, "are still the same stubborn lunatic who refuses to accept failure."
He stared directly at Ling Hao, frustration and anger restrained within his fading form.
"I may only be a projection, but I carry the memories and judgment of my main body. I can see exactly what you are trying to do with that scroll. That technique already reduced the Southern Region to ruins, yet you still cling to it as if repetition will somehow lead to a different outcome."
Ling Hao's faint smile deepened slightly.
"I do not deny the failure," he said. "But failure does not mean the path itself was wrong. It only means the execution was incomplete."
"Ling Hao, wake up," Mu Chen said through gritted teeth. "I do not know how you survived for two thousand years, but you are walking down the same path again."
His voice dropped, heavy with restrained frustration.
"You always had this flaw—overwhelming confidence that refuses to admit the possibility of being wrong. Your plan failed. You must accept that."
Ling Hao did not argue.
"My friend," he said quietly, "it seems our conversation ends here."
The chains around the scroll trembled, faint cracks spreading along their surfaces as if the suppression was weakening.
Mu Chen's projection began to dissipate rapidly, his outline turning translucent.
"The core of the secret realm has been damaged," Ling Hao continued evenly. "Your projection can no longer remain."
Even as he faded, Mu Chen's eyes burned with anger.
"You damned self-centered madman," he said, his voice echoing despite his unstable form. "If you attempt that method again and fail…"
His gaze sharpened, and for the first time, genuine fear surfaced within it.
"…then it will not be a single region that turns into a wasteland."
"It will be the entire continent that pays the price for your obsession."
A sharp cracking sound echoed in the white space.
One chain after another shattered, the runic bindings losing their glow as the seals finally gave way. The scroll trembled for a brief moment before slipping free from the last fragments of restraint and floating steadily in front of him, its surface pulsing with a quiet, dangerous aura.
Mu Chen's fading figure watched in silence.
Ling Hao raised his hand and lightly steadied the scroll, his expression calm to an unsettling degree.
"I will not fail," he said softly.
"This time, I will succeed."
*****
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