[Warning: Extreme Danger!]
[What in the world happened? How did the host end up meeting the Annihilation Demon Ancestor Lin Xinglan?]
[Four hundred years ago, Lin Xinglan used the Heaven's Mandate Emperor's power to restore her soul and returned to the Primordial God Realm. But over time, she lost her humanity, went mad, and slaughtered countless beings. She became known as the Annihilation Demon Ancestor.]
[The current Lin Xinglan is so terrifying that even if the Heaven's Mandate Emperor encountered her, she'd probably kill him without hesitation.]
[Host must survive at all costs. Do not let the path of the Late Bloomer end here.]
[Note: The host's strength is far below Lin Xinglan's. Crushing the host would be as easy as stepping on an ant for her. This task difficulty has reached epic heaven-defying level.]
[Special mission reward: one of the five Square Inch Source Seeds.]
Square Inch Source Seed?
What was that? The system actually marked it as a special mission reward.
Also, Yang Cheng didn't expect that Lin Xinglan went insane after returning to the God Realm.
But that happened 500 years in the future.
Right now, she was still in the Wasteland Realm, not the God Realm, and hadn't gone mad yet.
The system messages didn't distract Yang Cheng from his plan. He still had things to do.
"If that's the case, then why is Senior so fixated on my Sixth Brother?"
Yang Cheng said, "My Sixth Brother is actually quite talented. But he's still not worthy to be your disciple. Even a skilled craftsman needs decent jade to work with. Poor material limits the master's potential."
"Sixth Brother has had your support all this time, yet he's still mediocre. Instead of that, why not choose me?"
He didn't actually expect to convince Lin Xinglan so easily.
But if he could plant a seed of doubt between her and Yang Xiu, it would still be worth it.
"Yang Cheng, you've gone too far!"
Yang Xiu's eyes turned red.
Yang Cheng really was trying to steal his master.
Lin Xinglan frowned.
She had enlightened Yang Xiu before. Logically, he should've been more composed than Yang Cheng.
But in reality, Yang Xiu was nowhere near his level.
"Yang Cheng is only three years old. How can he be so calm and mature? If I hadn't examined him many times over the years, I'd have thought he was some old monster reborn."
She sighed inwardly.
Even as a damaged soul, her perception was still sharp.
If Yang Cheng had been possessed by some ancient monster, she would've noticed right away.
But his soul was incredibly pure, without a trace of external interference. He hadn't even been enlightened like Yang Xiu had.
That could only mean one thing—Yang Cheng was just born this way.
"I've gone too far?" Yang Cheng shook his head. "Sixth Brother, don't be so selfish. Senior thinks for your sake. As her disciple, shouldn't you think about her too?"
"I can tell that Senior's strength is damaged and her vitality is weak. She needs resources to recover."
"I am the Crown Prince of Great Zhou. I can mobilize far more resources than you. I can help her recover faster."
"If I were you, I'd encourage her to follow me. That would be the better choice for her."
"You… you…" Yang Xiu was at a loss for words.
"Yang Cheng, I appreciate your kindness," Lin Xinglan said calmly. "But I've already chosen Xiuer as my disciple. I won't abandon him so easily. There's no need to say more."
Even as she spoke, her impression of Yang Cheng grew more favorable.
Yang Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.
He had truly feared that she might pick Yang Cheng and discard him.
That very thought proved he subconsciously believed Yang Cheng was better.
Yang Cheng looked slightly regretful. "Your decision, Senior, is not for me to question. But the offer still stands. You're always welcome."
As he spoke, he took out a small bottle.
"Senior, this contains a drop of Xiantian Spirit Liquid. I asked my mother to spend enormous resources to buy it."
"This liquid is said to be extremely helpful to the soul. Honestly, it would be wasted on me. Today, I'd like to give it to you."
"What? Xiantian Spirit Liquid!"
Lin Xinglan was shocked.
The tiny bottle couldn't block her senses at all.
She immediately sensed it—the bottle really did contain Xiantian Spirit Liquid.
Even in the God Realm, this was an extremely precious treasure.
Yang Cheng must've paid a heavy price to obtain it.
She wanted to refuse, but found herself unable to.
If she were still in the God Realm, getting something like this would've been effortless.
But now, it meant everything to her.
"I already turned you down. Why are you still giving me something so valuable?"
She asked.
Yang Cheng smiled lightly. "If I said it's because Sixth Brother is still my brother, and I appreciate the effort you've put into raising him, you'd probably think I'm being fake."
"So instead, just consider it me trying to build goodwill with you."
Lin Xinglan was moved.
Yang Xiu burned with jealousy. He wanted her to reject the gift.
But he couldn't say it.
"Senior, I'll take my leave now."
Yang Cheng knew he'd achieved his goal and decisively walked away.
He had the Innate Gourd. Every month, it produced one drop of Xiantian Spirit Liquid.
After he left, Lin Xinglan stood there, her expression unreadable.
"Master, is that Xiantian Spirit Liquid really that rare?"
Yang Xiu asked nervously.
"Rare doesn't even begin to describe it," Lin Xinglan sighed. "In the Wasteland Realm, it's a priceless treasure."
Yang Xiu's heart sank. His resentment toward Yang Cheng deepened.
Seeing his reaction, Lin Xinglan frowned and asked with subtle meaning, "Xiuer, do you think I should use this Xiantian Spirit Liquid?"
"Of course not!"
Yang Xiu blurted out.
Then he regretted it and quickly added, "Master, it's not that I don't want you to get better. I just think Yang Cheng might have ulterior motives."
Lin Xinglan shook her head. "This is real Xiantian Spirit Liquid. There's no harmful energy in it."
"Xiuer, I hadn't really interacted with Yang Cheng before. I misunderstood him a bit."
"But after speaking with him today, I think… he may not be as bad as you believe."
To Yang Xiu, those words struck like lightning.
What was going on?
Even his master was starting to be won over by Yang Cheng?
"Master, he's the Crown Prince. He's the biggest obstacle in my path. I must remove him."
Yang Xiu said through gritted teeth.
"You don't need to worry about that," Lin Xinglan said flatly. "With my help, no matter how monstrous Yang Cheng is, fate still rests with you."
"I just want you to understand—achieving great things doesn't always mean being heartless and cutting off your loved ones."
Yang Xiu's breathing grew rapid.
Was Master implying that wanting to eliminate Yang Cheng made him heartless and ungrateful?
In that moment, he wanted to scream at Lin Xinglan: 'If you think Yang Cheng is so great, why don't you just go with him!'
But reason stopped him from saying it out loud.
Still, he had clearly underestimated Lin Xinglan.
Her perception was terrifyingly sharp. She saw right through his emotions.
Disappointment flashed through her eyes.
As a master, she clearly recognized Yang Cheng was more outstanding, yet she had still rejected him and chosen to stand by Yang Xiu.
Was that not an act of deep care?
And yet, Yang Xiu couldn't appreciate it. Instead, he resented her.
To put it bluntly, this wasn't just childish—it was being a born ungrateful bastard.
"I'll say it one more time. Since you're my disciple, I will train you with full dedication. Stop second-guessing everything."
After speaking, Lin Xinglan used her spiritual power to open the bottle and absorbed the Xiantian Spirit Liquid inside.
Then, her soul sank back into Yang Xiu's sea of consciousness.
Seeing this, Yang Xiu nearly cried out, 'If you're so firm in your stance, why are you still using what Yang Cheng gave you?!'
But he was terrified of losing her, so he buried all his dissatisfaction deep inside.
Outside Radiant Sunlight Hall.
Ding!
[Host has successfully escaped alive from Lin Xinglan, turning the impossible into reality.]
[Honestly, I gotta ask… with such heaven-defying skills, how did you end up so pathetic before you met the system?]
[Could it be you got drained by that enchantress Hua Jingyan? If so, you'd better learn your lesson—stay far away from her.]
[Anyway, congrats on completing this epic-level heaven-defying mission.]
[Special reward has been issued. Please claim it, host.]
Yang Cheng was too tired to even respond to the system's sarcasm.
"Claim it."
He silently accepted the reward.
A moment later, a white seed appeared in his sea of consciousness.
"So this is the Square Inch Source Seed? Doesn't look that special."
He had no idea what it did or why the system treated it with such importance.
Then, he touched it with his spiritual sense.
Buzz!
Strange and profound information immediately surged into his mind.
"The Square Inch Source Seed is one of the five fragments of the Square Inch Mysterious Realm… and the Square Inch Mysterious Realm was once controlled by the Lord of Mist and the Dao Ancestor of Great Divination?"
Yang Cheng's breath hitched.
This seed had an absolutely insane background!
More information continued flowing into his mind.
"Refining the Square Inch Source Seed allows you to manifest one-fifth of the Square Inch Mysterious Realm and become its master."
Back at Splendid Radiance Hall, Yang Cheng rushed into his personal side hall.
Nearly three years old now, he already had a small hall of his own.
Then he started refining the Square Inch Source Seed.
Since it was a system reward, the refining process was easy.
An hour later, it was done.
Buzz!
Suddenly, Yang Cheng sensed a tiny patch of mist forming in his sea of consciousness, just about the size of a square inch.
When his spiritual sense touched the mist, the world spun. He was pulled into a boundless space of pitch-black void.
"What is this?"
He quickly noticed a tiny star slowly forming beneath him. He sat cross-legged on it.
Around that star were two more tiny stars.
Yang Cheng immediately understood something. "This means I can pull two people into this space?"
He instantly saw the value.
In this Square Inch Mysterious Realm, he was the sole ruler. No one could resist him here.
He could pretend to be some mysterious expert—or no, disguise himself as a great being—and easily acquire two loyal followers.
Curious, he tried something.
He imagined a blazing sun, and instantly, a bright sun formed in the sky above the space.
Then he imagined mountains and rivers, and they too appeared.
Once he pulled back his intent, everything vanished.
"Haha! This is basically a world shaped by my will—a mental illusion space I fully control!"
"But if that's all it is, it still seems a bit underwhelming for an epic-level reward."
Yang Cheng figured this Square Inch Realm had more hidden powers. He just hadn't discovered them yet.
Realizing he'd been in there for a while, he tried to exit the space.
In the next instant, his mind returned to his body.
But something felt… off.
"I was in the Square Inch Realm for over an hour, but outside, the sky hasn't changed much?"
He checked the water clock nearby and confirmed the current time.
"The clock shows that only a few moments passed since I entered?"
This shocked him.
He realized one of the realm's most broken features—time flowed differently inside.
According to the water clock, the Square Inch Mysterious Realm and the outside world had a time ratio of about 300 to 1.
One quarter-hour in the Square Inch Realm was just one breath in the real world.
Or to put it another way, one hour in the realm was just eight breaths outside.
While his physical body couldn't enter, his mind could, which was more than enough to make use of this.
If he needed to comprehend a technique, he could enter the realm and have 300 times the time others did.
If he wanted to train a martial art, he could simulate endlessly inside the realm first.
Now this—this truly deserved to be called a heaven-defying epic reward.
The next day.
Yang Cheng headed to the Autumn Water Courtyard.
The moment he stepped inside, he sensed something different.
There were guests today.
He looked around and spotted a familiar face.
The Fourth Prince, Yang Heng.
Yang Heng was being raised by the Madam of Duke Wei from the Yun clan. What was he doing here?
Then he saw who stood beside Yang Heng—and instantly understood.
Xu Yanci!
It had been a long time.