Before the statue stood a small stone pedestal.
Atop it lay a stone book. Wang Yu approached with anticipation, only to find it blank. Faint traces of characters remained, but they had long faded.
He could barely make out four or five glyphs—ancient script imbued with mysterious power, utterly unfamiliar to him.
"So this is what Jin Miaoshan took…"
He weighed the book in his hand. It showed no unusual traits. With his true essence and spiritual sense sealed, and his storage pouch inaccessible, he tucked it into his robes.
Circling the statue yielded no further discoveries. He tried moving it with brute force, but it didn't budge. Shrugging, he moved on.
Three more tunnels. Three more directions. No need to linger here.
Still—
He had questions. If Jin Miaoshan had retrieved the inheritance here, why was there no pit leading to the surface?
Like the deep crater he'd seen earlier—the mark left by the inheritance light pillar.
"Unless… they're not on the same spatial layer?"
That thought reminded him of Goldfull Pavilion's intelligence on the Eastern Polaris royal estate. Though said to span half a city, it appeared as a mere 500-mu courtyard.
Clearly, expanded spaces or hidden realms were involved. That matched the logic of this world.
Capital Suppression Prison might be the same—a semi-open, expanded spatial structure.
He'd found traces of Asura. What about Rakshasa?
The secrets of these ancient nemeses were deeply compelling. Chasing their shadows might reveal the truth of this world.
This drive came from his past life—or rather, a lingering sense of insecurity.
Across both domains, ancient demons lay buried and sealed.
[Life], [Desire], [Blood], [Slaughter]—four already. Add the perilous Endless Icefield and the beast-filled Ancient Chaos Sea.
Despite its vastness, this world had only two domains: Lakeheart and Crimson Kite.
Extinct Buddhist paths, lost ancient sects, fallen immortal dynasties, and tales of lower-realm immortals…
All of it made this realm feel like a place exiled from the true world. A prison. The buried demons were like dormant warheads.
No telling when they might detonate.
This looming threat gave Wang Yu—once a man from a safe society—a fierce drive to survive and adapt.
It was likely the root of his relentless pursuit of change, even after becoming a spiritual slave.
His personality had transformed.
At some point, he developed a deep hunger to uncover historical secrets—a desire born of unease.
But—
That was for later. For now, he needed strength to survive.
Leaving the eastern tunnel, Wang Yu entered the northern one. Its formations were the second most degraded—almost entirely inert.
Past a familiar corridor, he reached a torture chamber reeking of decay. The ancient dynasty's tools of torment were more elaborate here.
He approached a seamless bench. At its center was a five-foot-long black spike. Anyone seated…
"Ugh—"
Just imagining it made his skin crawl.
Touching the edge, he pinched it lightly—it crumbled into dust. The decay of time was far worse than expected. Exposed to the surface, it would've disintegrated completely.
Admiring the grim ingenuity of the ancients, he continued his circuit.
No major finds—until he spotted a sword rack base. Though the weapons were gone, the stand radiated hidden killing intent.
He took it as a souvenir.
He felt like a scavenger.
Exiting the tunnel, he turned to the western passage. Its formations were damaged but still partially intact.
Their power had waned significantly.
Inside—
He deliberately triggered a broken formation glyph. A blood-colored sword beam, the size of a pinky, shot from behind.
"Pfft—"
It struck like a pebble. Just a tickle. Its strength was barely Qi Refining level—utterly harmless.
The predecessors had cleared the way. What remained couldn't stop even novice cultivators.
At the end of the western tunnel was a storeroom.
Clean. Completely looted. Footprints everywhere.
Clearly, multiple groups had passed through. No gains here either. Wang Yu wasn't discouraged—one tunnel remained.
The southern passage.
Its formations were pristine—untouched. At the entrance, Wang Yu grew cautious.
This might be the one place Jin Miaoshan hadn't reached.
He stepped forward.
The entire corridor was shrouded in blood mist and killing intent. Thick crimson fog blocked his path. Wang Yu paused.
He withdrew his foot.
Instantly, the terrifying mist vanished—like an illusion.
"A mirage… a mind-based barrier?"
He understood the formation type. No wonder it hadn't been breached.
Due to the tunnel's integrity, the formation glyphs couldn't be observed from outside. Remote disruption would likely fail—possibly catastrophically.
But stepping inside triggered a mind illusion, preventing any view of the glyphs. Only by breaking the illusion could one study the formation.
Yet if the illusion was broken, what was the point? Might as well leave it to frustrate future explorers.
That was likely why the southern tunnel remained untouched.
After a moment's thought—
Wang Yu decided to proceed. He hadn't seen any corpses inside. Death seemed unlikely.
He stepped fully into the passage.
The blood mist engulfed him. He didn't resist.
The world shifted. Wang Yu entered a mind illusion.
He found himself in a city of iron and blood. No civilians—only armored soldiers.
And he… was a prisoner.
Not alone. He stood in a long line of captives, flanked by guards with fierce eyes.
They were boxed in.
The line moved forward. Wang Yu studied his surroundings.
This illusion was utterly real.
He felt the wind, smelled the stench of prisoners, tasted the metallic tang of blood on his tongue.
Unlike the [Lunar Nether Eye]'s emotion-based illusions, this was built on a different foundation—another path of illusion.
"No—"
Wang Yu murmured.
"These are two distinct roads. Different evolutions of illusion power… like the path of mind."
The Path of Mind.
A rare inheritance in this world. The only mystical power that didn't require spiritual energy to cultivate.
It demanded high aptitude—not spiritual roots, but sentience. Only beings with self-awareness could learn it.
Mind brought willpower. Willpower strengthened mind. Two sides of the same coin.
Much like the relationship between soul and spiritual sense.
The "Dao Heart" often mentioned by cultivators was part of the mind—but it only affected oneself. A true mind cultivator could influence reality and others.
Even perform miracles—turning impossibility into possibility.
Wang Yu knew this from his extensive reading. The placement panel had excellent memory for pure knowledge.
He didn't need to understand—just remember.
Especially in the Blood Reversal Sect's scripture hall, where he'd searched for ways to improve his aptitude. He'd read a quarter of their library.
A sect with ten thousand years of history.
Even the historical anecdotes had taught him much. Now, facing a mind illusion, he recognized it instantly.
Given the location—
He instinctively deduced that the [Asura Saint-Slaying Canon] was likely a supreme mind-path scripture aimed at Soul Formation.
Its rarity and value skyrocketed. It might be unique in this world.
Like pure body or soul cultivation techniques, it could be practiced alongside other paths—without hindering progress, and even enhancing it.
That was likely why Jin Miaoshan chose it. Even Goldfull Pavilion lacked mind-path techniques of this caliber.
"A heaven-sent opportunity… but beyond reach. Even possessing it could bring disaster. I might not even qualify to cultivate it."
Wang Yu sighed.
His [Ancient Soul Chant] represented spirit. [Dark Serpent Spine] represented essence. [Coldblood Yin Technique] represented qi.
Seemingly chaotic—but all aimed at one goal:
Forming the Golden Core.
This stage's challenge of essence, qi, and spirit was far harder than Foundation Establishment.
If Wang Yu could attain tier-three spiritual sense and physique early, his breakthrough would be smooth.
Even without a breakthrough treasure, he could grind for a century or two. His true essence might evolve into spiritual power—crossing the chasm.
The Path of Mind wasn't in his plan.
Even if he obtained the [Asura Saint-Slaying Canon], he couldn't cultivate it yet. The placement panel lacked capacity. And mind techniques could warp personality.
Leading to obsession—or madness.
Jin Miaoshan was already in that phase. If she couldn't resist the killing intent, her best outcome would be becoming a slaughter-driven demon.
If unlucky, she might lose her mind entirely—becoming a Kill Thrall.
With his thoughts sorted—
Wang Yu refocused on the illusion.
(End of Chapter)
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