Inside the cramped wooden room, Lan Nan sat cross-legged in stillness, his body a silent statue. Jin'er hovered beside him, her gaze fixed on the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. She knew he was at a critical juncture.
"To gain the approval of a Forbidden technique, it all depends on Young Master's will and character," Jin'er murmured, her small face etched with worry. She understood that Forbidden techniques possessed their own sentience. If Lan An failed to earn its recognition, even the System's suppression wouldn't stop it from choosing mutual destruction.
A Forbidden technique would rather perish than submit to an unworthy master.
Suddenly, Lan An's body trembled.
To Jin'er's astonished eyes, his soul force surged at an astonishing rate. The feeble soul force of a mortal skyrocketed, reaching the level of an Early-Stage Qi Refining cultivator in an instant. It didn't stop there—Mid-Stage, Late-Stage, Peak Qi Refining, then Early-Stage Foundation Establishment…
Jin'er's small mouth gaped wider with each leap. Only when Lan An's soul force stabilized at Peak Foundation Establishment, teetering on the cusp of Golden Core, did she stammer, "What kind of heaven-defying legacy is this? Young Master has no cultivation, just a mortal body, yet his soul strength surpasses most Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators!"
"Phew…" A long exhale snapped Jin'er out of her daze.
"How long was I under?" Lan An's low voice rumbled as he rose, feeling no change in his mortal body. Yet, with his current soul force, he was confident he could face Foundation Establishment cultivators head-on.
"Three… three hours," Jin'er replied, still in a stupor.
"Only three hours?" Lan An gave a wry smile. To him, it had felt like eons.
"What exactly did you receive? With soul strength like this, you could become a soul cultivator without issue!" Jin'er's curiosity burned.
"The Immortal Genesis Scripture—consider it my reward for passing its trial," Lan An answered. Beyond the massive boost to his soul force, this transmission had granted him the cultivation method for the first layer of the Immortal Genesis Scripture.
As Jin'er had warned, Forbidden techniques were too potent for him to absorb fully without exploding. Receiving just the first layer was enough to thrill him. The Immortal Genesis Scripture was miraculous, defying all expectations.
It was a triple cultivation technique.
In the cultivation world, with its 3,000 great Daos and countless minor paths, cultivators pursued at least one of three paths:
Spiritual Cultivation: Enhancing strength through spiritual energy, reliant on spiritual roots to absorb heaven-and-earth spiritual energy. The type of root determined the energy absorbed—Lan Wu, with Ice and Lightning roots, cultivated by absorbing Ice and Lightning spiritual energy.
Physical Cultivation: Brutal in offense and defense, physical cultivators endured grueling training to temper their bodies over years, achieving unparalleled resilience. Their defenses were nearly impenetrable.
Soul Cultivation: Focusing on the soul, this path was fragile due to the soul's vulnerability, yet it was the most feared. Soul attacks targeted the opponent's soul directly, nearly impossible to defend or heal.
This knowledge came from the Immortal Genesis Scripture's transmission.
In the Bing Tian Continent, spiritual cultivation dominated, physical cultivation was rare, and soul cultivation was unheard of for someone of Lan An's lowly status in his current life. Soul cultivation required an innately powerful soul force, rare soul-focused techniques, and countless elixirs to bolster soul strength.
The first layer of the Immortal Genesis Scripture, Cauldron Condensation - Soul Forging, enabled simultaneous cultivation of spiritual, physical, and soul aspects.
In other words, Lan An could become a triple cultivator, an immense advantage in combat. In the future, he could become a nightmare for any opponent.
Of course, cultivating the first layer was no simple task, and the Lan Clan's oppressive environment was entirely unsuitable.
"It's time to leave this filthy clan," Lan An thought. With his Peak Foundation Establishment soul force, he had enough strength to protect himself, especially with three Minor Teleportation Talismans for instant escape in emergencies.
With a thought, a Minor Teleportation Talisman appeared in his hand.
"Wait… I can't leave like this," Lan An muttered, his eyes narrowing. Though his strength had grown, taking revenge on an Eighth-Tier behemoth like the Lan Clan was a distant dream.
Reflecting on the indignities this body had suffered, he refused to slink away without leaving a mark.
His mind raced, formulating a plan.
Moments later, he reached out to the System. "Can you loosen the seal just a fraction to let a wisp of the Immortal Genesis Scripture's Forbidden aura leak out?"
"No! That's too dangerous! You could be obliterated by the Heavenly Dao!" Jin'er shrieked, her connection to the System revealing Lan Nan's reckless intent.
"Just a faint wisp, released for a split second," Lan An insisted, his face resolute. "I want the Lan Clan to feel the Heavenly Dao's gaze."
His plan was clear in his mind.
"This is madness! You're gambling with your life!" Jin'er protested, her voice trembling. Lan An's audacity could only be described as insane.
"From the Immortal Genesis Scripture, I've learned some cosmic truths. The Bing Tian Continent is a low-tier world, and its Heavenly Dao isn't overly powerful. It likely can't detect the System's existence," Lan An said, his tone calculated. He wasn't foolish enough to risk his life recklessly.
Clang! "The Forbidden technique belongs to the host. The host has full authority to decide," the System's emotionless voice declared, cutting through Jin'er's hesitation.
"Fine. A future Overlord like me won't leave like a whipped dog," Lan An said, his voice cold with fury. "This is just collecting a bit of interest."
"System, release and retract the aura swiftly—within half a breath," he ordered, taking a deep breath. A mere wisp of Forbidden aura in the Lan Clan's territory for a fleeting moment would suffice.
Clang! "Request confirmed. Initiating aura release: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"
BOOM!
The instant the countdown ended, a wave of energy surged outward with Lan An at its center. He sensed a tranquil, intimate aura, yet the space within a hundred-mile radius trembled violently, as if on the verge of collapse.
Clang! "Aura retraction complete."
Wasting no time, Lan An's figure vanished from the room, activating the Minor Teleportation Talisman. He knew staying would mean a gruesome death. As the System's prompt ended, he crushed the talisman without hesitation, uncaring of the Lan Clan's fate.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The moment Lan An vanished, endless dark clouds engulfed the Lan Clan's territory, plunging it into shadow. Flashes of lightning, crackling with boundless oppressive force, illuminated the sky like the wrath of a celestial deity.
"What's happening? The weather was clear moments ago!"
"Is it going to rain?"
"Why do I feel such dread?"
"What in the world is this eerie phenomenon?"
Panicked voices echoed among the Lan Clan's members. As cultivators, they had a keen sensitivity to the heavens and earth, and they felt the fury of the skies directed at their clan.
"Everyone, stay calm! Activate the Clan Protection Array immediately!"
A commanding, icy voice rang out, brimming with authority.
Over a dozen figures appeared in the sky, their auras vast and earth-shaking, capable of toppling mountains and shifting stars. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a purple robe embroidered with a dragon, his eyes dark as the night, with flickers of lightning in his pupils. His stern face and flowing azure hair exuded the presence of an unrivaled emperor.
"It's the Patriarch and the Elders!"
A clansman shouted in relief. The Lan Clan's upper echelon rarely appeared together, either secluded in cultivation or executing covert clan missions. Their collective presence was a rare spectacle.
"By the heavens, the Patriarch and Elders together!"
"Quick, deploy the Clan Protection Array!"
Regardless of the cause, Lan Po Lei and the Elders' appearance was a calming balm for the clan. They swiftly activated the Clan Protection Array.
"Patriarch, what's happening?"
An elder in a black cloak, his posture rigid, spoke up—Lan Qing Lie, the Grand Elder, a Mid-Stage Void Refining powerhouse with Ice and Wood spiritual roots. Even a titan of the Bing Tian Continent like him couldn't decipher the situation. The other elders looked to Lan Po Lei, awaiting his judgment.
"We'll see soon enough," Lan Po Lei replied, his voice calm but his eyes betraying a flicker of unease.
BOOM! BOOM!
The thunder grew fiercer, drawing the attention of countless powerhouses across the Bing Tian Continent, who hovered in the sky, staring toward the Lan Clan. The commotion was impossible to ignore.
When they saw a colossal array resembling nine towering ice mountains rise over the Lan Clan's territory, their expressions turned grave.
"What's happening to the Lan Clan to warrant activating their Clan Protection Array?"
That question echoed in the minds of every powerhouse witnessing the spectacle.
"Patriarch, the Clan Protection Array is active!"
A Spirit Transformation-stage guardian reported respectfully.
Lan Po Lei nodded. The Nine Frost Unyielding Array, a legacy from the Lan Clan's ancient origins, was powered by nine Spirit Transformation guardians and countless Ice-attuned clansmen. Since the clan's founding, it had been activated only a handful of times and had never been breached.
Lan Po Lei, a shrewd patriarch, recognized the gravity of the situation and had decisively deployed the array.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thunderclaps roared like a drumroll heralding a sovereign's arrival. Amid the endless dark clouds, a massive eye suddenly opened.
Majestic, emotionless, supreme.
The moment it appeared, Lan Po Lei's composed facade shattered. His shocked voice thundered across the territory:
"The Eye of the Heavenly Dao?!"