The night forest was silent.
A cool wind moved gently through the tall trees, carrying the scent of earth and leaves. The clearing where the spatial crack had appeared earlier was now calm again, as if nothing unusual had happened.
But Lin Tian knew better.
Standing in the center of the clearing, he looked around carefully. His sharp eyes scanned every corner of the forest.
The spirit crystal he had found earlier was still warm in his pocket.
That tiny crystal proved that the strange phenomenon was real.
"Something definitely happened here," Lin Tian murmured.
He closed his eyes and focused his senses.
After reaching the First Stage of Cultivation, his perception had become far stronger than that of ordinary people. Even the faintest trace of spiritual energy could not escape his awareness.
Slowly… carefully… he expanded his spiritual senses.
The forest became quiet in his mind.
He could feel the movement of the wind.
The life energy of the trees.
Even the tiny insects hidden beneath the soil.
Then—
A faint trace appeared.
Lin Tian's eyes opened instantly.
"There it is."
The energy was extremely weak, almost impossible to detect. But it was different from the natural spiritual energy of the forest.
It was older.
Ancient.
And it was coming from somewhere underground.
Lin Tian walked slowly toward the northern side of the clearing. The energy became slightly stronger with each step he took.
After a few moments, he stopped in front of a large rock formation.
Several massive stones were stacked together, forming what looked like a natural wall.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.
But Lin Tian's gaze sharpened.
The spiritual energy was coming from behind those rocks.
He stepped forward and placed his hand on the surface of the stone.
Cold.
Rough.
But something about it felt wrong.
Lin Tian pressed gently.
Nothing happened.
He tried again, this time pushing with a bit more strength.
Still nothing.
Lin Tian frowned slightly.
"In my previous life, ancient ruins often hid their entrances carefully," he thought.
Many ancient cultivators created secret formations to protect their treasures and techniques.
Even after thousands of years, those formations could remain hidden.
Lin Tian stepped back and examined the rocks again.
Then he noticed something.
At the bottom of the largest stone was a faint symbol carved into the surface.
It was extremely small and nearly invisible in the darkness.
But his enhanced vision caught it immediately.
Lin Tian crouched down.
His fingers brushed away the dirt covering the symbol.
As the soil fell away, the shape became clearer.
It looked like an ancient character.
A symbol used by cultivators long ago.
Lin Tian's eyes widened slightly.
"This…"
He recognized it.
The symbol meant "Seal."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So this really is a hidden entrance."
Lin Tian placed his palm directly over the symbol.
He slowly circulated the spiritual energy inside his body.
A thin stream of energy flowed from his palm into the carved mark.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
Click.
A soft mechanical sound echoed from inside the rock formation.
The ground trembled slightly.
Dust fell from the stones.
Lin Tian quickly stepped back.
The large rock in front of him slowly moved.
It slid to the side with a heavy grinding sound, revealing a dark opening behind it.
A hidden tunnel.
Cold air flowed out from the darkness.
Lin Tian stared at the entrance quietly.
His heart beat slightly faster.
"This place has been sealed for a long time," he thought.
Judging by the thick dust and the ancient spiritual energy, the ruin might be hundreds—or even thousands—of years old.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Lin Tian stepped forward.
He entered the tunnel.
Inside the Ruin
The tunnel was dark and silent.
The only sound was the echo of Lin Tian's footsteps.
The walls were made of rough stone, and strange symbols were carved along the surface.
Although most of them had faded with time, Lin Tian could still recognize their purpose.
"They are formation markings," he muttered.
In ancient cultivation sects, formations were often used to protect important locations.
But most of these markings were damaged.
Which meant the formation had lost its power long ago.
Lin Tian continued walking deeper into the tunnel.
After several minutes, the narrow passage opened into a large underground chamber.
Lin Tian stopped at the entrance.
His eyes widened slightly.
The chamber was enormous.
Stone pillars surrounded the room, and ancient carvings covered the walls.
At the center of the chamber stood a large stone platform.
Everything looked extremely old.
Dust covered the ground, and parts of the ceiling had collapsed over time.
But something still remained.
Something powerful.
Lin Tian slowly walked toward the center.
The spiritual energy in this room was far stronger than outside.
Even stronger than the energy near the spatial crack.
"This place must have been a cultivation site," he thought.
Perhaps a powerful cultivator once lived here.
Or maybe it was part of an ancient sect that existed on Earth long ago.
Lin Tian climbed onto the stone platform.
At the center of the platform was a small pedestal.
And resting on top of it—
Was a book.
The cover was made of dark leather, and strange characters were written across the surface.
Despite the age of the ruin, the book was completely intact.
Lin Tian carefully picked it up.
The moment he touched it—
A faint wave of energy spread through the room.
The carvings on the walls glowed slightly before fading again.
Lin Tian opened the book slowly.
Inside were ancient cultivation instructions.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"A cultivation technique…"
Even though the language was old, Lin Tian could still understand most of it.
The technique described a method for absorbing and refining spiritual energy.
However, compared to the powerful techniques Lin Tian knew from his previous life, this one was extremely basic.
Still—
On Earth, it was priceless.
If ordinary people obtained such a technique, they could begin cultivating.
Lin Tian flipped through the remaining pages.
Near the end of the book, he discovered something even more interesting.
A map.
The map showed several locations across the world.
Each location was marked with the same symbol he had seen outside—the Seal symbol.
Lin Tian stared at it thoughtfully.
"These must be other ruins."
If this map was accurate, there were many hidden cultivation sites scattered across Earth.
Which meant Earth once had its own cultivation civilization.
But at some point in history…
That civilization disappeared.
Lin Tian closed the book slowly.
His expression became serious.
"This world is hiding far more secrets than I expected."
The appearance of the spatial crack.
The spirit crystal.
And now this ancient ruin.
All of these events were connected somehow.
Lin Tian placed the book inside his jacket.
Then he looked around the chamber one more time.
"This place will be useful."
The spiritual energy here was thicker than outside.
It would be the perfect location for cultivation.
Lin Tian sat down on the stone platform.
He took out the spirit crystal from his pocket.
The crystal glowed softly in the darkness.
Lin Tian closed his eyes.
"This ruin… this crystal…"
"They are the first steps toward regaining my true power."
He slowly began circulating his cultivation technique.
The energy inside the spirit crystal started flowing toward him.
And deep inside the ancient ruin—
A new cultivator had begun his path to power.
Far away, unknown forces were already beginning to awaken.
But Lin Tian did not know that yet.
For now, he simply focused on one thing.
Growing stronger.
Because in the universe…
Only the strong could survive.
And Lin Tian planned to become strong once again. 🔥