Yan Chi's flames filled the collapsed chamber until the entire underground space became a furnace.
Broken chains glowed red from the heat. Cracked stone pillars blackened one after another, and the ancient formation lines carved across the floor flickered like dying veins beneath the violent firelight. Even the black mist drifting near the ceiling twisted uneasily, as if the flames had disturbed something that had been sleeping inside the ruins for countless years.
At the center of it all, Fang Lin stood alone.
His robes were torn and scorched. Blood slid down from his fingers and dripped onto the cracked ground. His breathing was heavier than before, and every breath drew pain through his ribs like a dull blade. Yet his eyes remained clear.
Before him stood three Middle Spirit Foundation Realm geniuses, even suppressed by the Talismans, yet terrifying.
Lu Han's white robes were stained with blood, and his shattered right shoulder forced him to grip his sword with his left hand. Even so, the silver-blue river sword Qi surrounding him remained sharp and cold, flowing with a dangerous elegance.
Yan Chi's dark red robes fluttered wildly within his own flames. Ember-gold patterns crawled across his sleeves like burning insects, and his red-orange aura had become violent enough for black sparks to appear inside it.
Guo Zhen stood like a black mountain. His black-brown armor was cracked in several places, but his dark-earth aura still pressed down on the chamber with terrifying weight.
Three geniuses. Three sects. Three hunters.
All of them had come for the legacy within Fang Lin's hands.
Yan Chi's eyes burned with rage as he raised both hands. "I will burn the inheritance out of your bones!"
The flames behind him condensed into a massive burning wheel, its edge spinning so violently that waves of heat screamed through the air. At almost the same moment, Lu Han stepped forward, and silver sword Qi flowed along the ground like a cold river, sealing Fang Lin's escape routes. Guo Zhen's skin darkened further, gaining a faint iron sheen as the pressure from his body alone forced new cracks through the stone floor.
Fang Lin lowered his eyes for a brief moment.
Inside his spiritual sea, the grey stone pulsed steadily. Beside it, the dark flame formed from the Nine Abyss Shadow Scripture burned deeper than before.
His body was injured. His Qi was being consumed too quickly. His soul had already been strained from forcing the ruins' power and fighting beyond his limit again and again.
If he continued fighting carefully, he would lose.
If he fled, the three of them would chase.
And if they survived until the Demon Sealing Ruins expelled them, the Core Formation elders outside would learn everything.
The legacy. The altar. The fact that the ruins had responded to him.
Once that happened, Fang Lin would no longer be facing three Spirit Foundation geniuses. He would be facing Core Formation cultivators, and perhaps even the combined force of the three Rivercloud sects.
At that point, escaping would become nearly impossible.
Fang Lin slowly opened his hand.
Several pills appeared in his palm. There were healing pills, Qi recovery pills, and even two red-lined pills taken from Huo Lan's storage ring. Those pills radiated a faint flame aura and were clearly dangerous. Used carelessly, they would harm the meridians.
Fang Lin looked at them for only one breath.
Then he swallowed them all.
Yan Chi's eyes widened slightly. "He swallowed everything?"
Lu Han's expression changed. "Stop him."
Guo Zhen moved first, his body shooting forward like a collapsing wall, but before he could reach Fang Lin, the aura around Fang Lin changed.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body erupted fully.
For the first time since entering the Demon Sealing Ruins, Fang Lin no longer used it with restraint. Deep grey mist spread from his body. His muscles tightened, his bones released low cracking sounds, and his skin seemed to become denser, as if every inch of flesh had been tempered beneath ancient pressure.
The faint white life force beneath his skin brightened.
The pills dissolved violently inside his body, and medicinal energy rushed through his meridians like floodwater. Pain exploded through Fang Lin's flesh, causing his face to pale, but his eyes stayed cold.
The grey stone pulsed, and threads of cosmic energy flowed out. The chaotic medicinal force was seized, refined, and forced into his body and meridians.
At the same time, the Nine Abyss Shadow Scripture began to circulate faster. Darkness Qi poured through his meridians, and the dark flame in his spiritual sea trembled. Shadow Breath no longer merely concealed his presence; it wrapped around his body like a black robe, while faint death force gathered around his fingertips, blade, and shadow.
Life and death moved together inside him.
One repaired. One devoured.
One sustained him. One killed for him.
Guo Zhen's fist arrived.
Fang Lin met it directly.
Palm struck fist, and the entire chamber shook.
This time, Fang Lin did not fly back. His feet sank into the stone beneath him, but his body remained standing. Guo Zhen's eyes changed.
Fang Lin's left hand slowly tightened around Guo Zhen's fist.
A cracking sound rang out.
The stone aura covering Guo Zhen's knuckles split.
Fang Lin stepped forward and slammed his shoulder into Guo Zhen's chest. Nine Nether Phantom Body, Wind Break Palm, and death force erupted together. Guo Zhen was forced back seven steps, and a black mark appeared on his chest armor. Around that mark, the armor began to decay silently.
Guo Zhen looked down, and his expression finally shifted.
"Death Qi?"
"Do not let him breathe!" Yan Chi shouted.
The massive flame wheel descended, and Lu Han's sword moved with it. A silver river of sword Qi cut through the flame, hidden inside the burning light.
Fang Lin turned.
Frost Wind rose.
The blade was no longer covered only in cold Qi. A thin layer of shadow wrapped around it as Fang Lin struck upward, gathering frost, shadow, life, and body force into a single slash.
The flame wheel split apart.
The silver sword Qi hidden inside shattered.
Yan Chi staggered, and Lu Han coughed blood. Fang Lin also shook, blood rising to his throat, but he did not retreat. Instead, he stepped forward.
With that step, the aura inside him surged.
The pills were burning through his body. The grey stone refined what it could, while the rest became pressure pressing against every part of him. Qi pressure, body pressure, soul pressure.
Fang Lin had already reached Late Qi Conjunction. His foundation had been strengthened repeatedly by cosmic energy, outer sect battles, the Frost Trace Sword Art, the inheritance of the Demon Sealing Ruins, and now the collision of life and death force within his body.
Under the pressure of three Spirit Foundation geniuses and the violent medicinal energy surging inside him, the wall before the next stage finally began to crack.
Late Qi Conjunction was no longer enough.
Peak Qi Conjunction was calling.
Fang Lin felt it.
So did the three geniuses.
Lu Han's eyes narrowed sharply. "He is breaking through."
Yan Chi's face twisted. "In battle?"
Guo Zhen's voice became heavy. "Kill him now."
The suppression talismans on all three of them began to burn brighter. They no longer cared about hiding themselves. More of their Middle Spirit Foundation power erupted, and the ruins immediately reacted.
Black formation lines lit up across the chamber, and a repelling force appeared around the three geniuses.
Yan Chi looked up, then laughed coldly. "The ruins are rejecting us."
Lu Han's expression darkened. "How long?"
Guo Zhen glanced down at the talisman cracking against his chest. "A few minutes after the talismans shatter. Then we will be expelled to the entrance."
Fang Lin heard every word.
His gaze became terrifyingly cold.
Expelled to the entrance meant leaving the ruins. Outside the ruins, the Core Formation elders were waiting.
If these three left alive, everything would be exposed. The legacy, his strength, his methods, and the ruins' response to him would all be known. The elders would be prepared.
They would seal the entrance, surround the valley, and turn the outside world into a death trap.
Fang Lin's killing intent surged.
He could not let them leave.
Not one.
Yan Chi noticed his expression and laughed. "You understand now?"
Flames rose around him.
"If we leave, you are finished."
Lu Han wiped blood from his lips. "Even if you survive us, Core Formation elders will be waiting outside."
Guo Zhen stepped forward. "Hand over the legacy. That is your only chance, and maybe we could let you live."
Fang Lin looked at the three of them, his eyes calm and cold.
"You have no chance."
The moment those words fell, his aura broke through.
Peak Qi Conjunction Realm.
A powerful wave spread from Fang Lin's body. The grey mist around him thickened, the white life thread beneath his skin brightened further, and the black death shadow coiling around Frost Wind deepened.
His Qi surged through his meridians, no longer stopping at the limit of Late Qi Conjunction. The final stage before Spirit Foundation had opened before him, and the moment the breakthrough completed, his entire battle power changed.
His injured body stabilized. His exhausted Qi refilled violently. His sword aura sharpened, his movements became lighter, and his perception became clearer than before.
Lu Han's pupils contracted. "He broke through."
Yan Chi's smile disappeared.
Guo Zhen clenched his fists.
At the same time, the suppression talismans on the three geniuses cracked together.
The ruins' rejection intensified. Black light wrapped around their bodies, and a faint pulling force appeared. They would be expelled soon.
Yan Chi's expression turned ugly. "Then we kill him before it happens!"
He no longer held anything back. His flame aura erupted completely, and the suppression talisman on his body shattered. A red-orange pillar of fire rose behind him, vaguely taking the shape of a burning beast. His fire affinity revealed its true nature: violent, devouring, and relentless.
"Crimson Devouring Wheel!"
A giant flame wheel formed above him, three times larger than before.
Lu Han also shattered his restraint. Silver-blue sword Qi surged upward, and his aura became like a river beneath moonlight, elegant yet lethal.
"Moon River Severing Sword!"
A silver crescent formed along his blade.
Guo Zhen roared for the first time. Dark-earth aura covered his entire body, and his cracked armor fused with stone-like Qi.
"Black Mountain Collapse!"
The three strongest attacks descended together.
The chamber could no longer endure. The ceiling cracked, the ground sank, and ancient chains snapped one after another.
Fang Lin stood beneath the three killing moves without wavering.
He raised Frost Wind.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body pushed to its limit, and his body screamed beneath the pressure. The Nine Abyss Shadow Scripture circulated violently. Darkness gathered around him, the grey stone pulsed, the dark flame burned, and threads of life and death intertwined through his flesh and Qi.
For an instant, Fang Lin felt as if his body had become the border between dawn and night.
One side carried life.
The other carried death.
His flesh endured.
His shadow hunted.
Then he stepped forward.
Not to block.
But to kill.
Flowing Wind Steps and Shadow Breath moved together. Peak Qi Conjunction Qi erupted beneath his feet, and Fang Lin's figure vanished.
The three attacks crashed into the place where he had been standing.
The chamber exploded.
Stone shattered, fire spread, silver sword Qi tore through the air, and mountain pressure crushed the floor. But Fang Lin had already appeared behind Yan Chi.
Yan Chi's eyes widened.
Impossible.
His flames had locked the entire area. How had Fang Lin passed through?
He turned desperately, but he was too slow.
Frost Wind pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.
Cold Qi froze his meridians.
Death force entered his heart.
Yan Chi's body stiffened, and his red-orange aura flickered wildly.
"You…"
Fang Lin's voice was cold.
"First."
He pulled the sword free.
Yan Chi fell.
The flames around him collapsed.
Lu Han's expression changed drastically. "Yan Chi!"
Guo Zhen charged toward Fang Lin. His fist descended with Black Mountain pressure, but Fang Lin did not block with his palm. Instead, he stepped inside the punch.
Guo Zhen's fist struck Fang Lin's shoulder.
Bone cracked.
At the same time, Frost Wind entered Guo Zhen's abdomen.
Black death force erupted.
Guo Zhen's eyes widened, and his heavy aura pressed down at close range, trying to crush Fang Lin where he stood. Fang Lin swallowed the blood rising in his throat. His broken shoulder burned with pain, and white life force surged desperately through his body, barely holding him together.
He raised his left hand.
Wind Break Palm struck the hilt of Frost Wind.
The sword drove deeper.
Death force spread through Guo Zhen's body, causing his dark-earth aura to decay from within. Guo Zhen roared and grabbed Fang Lin's arm, his grip nearly crushing the bone.
Fang Lin's eyes stayed cold.
He released Frost Wind, then struck Guo Zhen's throat with his left palm.
Wind Break Palm.
Peak Qi Conjunction.
Nine Nether Phantom Body.
The blow landed with brutal force.
Guo Zhen's throat was crushed. His massive body staggered, and Fang Lin pulled Frost Wind free before stepping back.
Guo Zhen fell to one knee holding his throat.
Then he collapsed.
"Second."
Only Lu Han remained.
His face was pale. His right shoulder was shattered, his chest was injured, and his suppression talisman had completely broken. Black light wrapped around him as the ruins' expulsion force began pulling at his body. A faint spatial ripple had already appeared behind him.
Lu Han suddenly laughed.
The sound was hoarse, bitter, and full of hatred.
"You are too late."
Fang Lin looked at him.
Lu Han's eyes were filled with unwillingness. "I will be sent out soon. The elders will know. Everything about you will be exposed."
Silver sword Qi gathered around him again. It was weak and unstable, but desperate.
"I do not need to kill you anymore." His smile twisted. "I only need to survive."
Fang Lin's killing intent became icy.
Lu Han retreated toward the spatial ripple. His figure had already begun to blur.
Fang Lin moved.
Lu Han swung his sword with a roar. "Stay back!"
Moon River sword Qi erupted.
Fang Lin cut through it.
The sword Qi tore into his body. Blood sprayed across the air, but he ignored it and stepped through the silver light. His flesh split, his meridians burned, and his soul trembled, yet his gaze remained locked on Lu Han.
He could not let him leave.
If Lu Han left, the Core Formation elders would know. If the elders know, the entrance would become a death net. If the entrance became a death net, then the path toward Uncle Wei, his parents, and the truth buried beyond this small world would be cut off before he had even truly begun.
A silent roar rose inside Fang Lin's heart.
No.
Not here.
Not now.
Not after coming this far.
Shadow Breath wrapped around him. The dark flame in his spiritual sea flared, and for one instant, Fang Lin's shadow stretched beyond the spatial pull.
A black thread wrapped around Lu Han's ankle.
Lu Han's expression changed. "What?"
Fang Lin pulled.
The thread nearly snapped. Lu Han's body blurred further as the ruins tried to expel him.
Fang Lin clenched his teeth.
The grey stone pulsed violently. The fragment of ruin authority inside him trembled.
Fang Lin did not truly control the Demon Sealing Ruins, but he had passed the legacy trial. He had obtained the key.
He forced that tiny authority into the shadow thread.
The black thread tightened.
Lu Han's expulsion slowed for half a breath.
Only half a breath.
But half a breath was enough.
Fang Lin arrived.
Lu Han screamed and stabbed forward. The blade pierced Fang Lin's left side, and blood flowed down the silver sword.
Fang Lin did not stop.
He stepped closer.
Lu Han's eyes filled with horror.
Fang Lin raised Frost Wind.
"You should not have come."
The sword cut across Lu Han's throat.
Silver-blue aura scattered.
Lu Han's body fell out of the spatial ripple, and the expulsion force vanished. His eyes remained open, filled with unwillingness until the very end.
Fang Lin stood over him with Frost Wind still in hand.
Blood dripped from his body onto the broken ground.
Yan Chi was dead.
Guo Zhen was dead.
Lu Han was dead.
The three Middle Spirit Foundation Realm sect geniuses had all fallen before the ruins could eject them.
For a moment, the chamber was silent.
Then the pain arrived all at once.
Fang Lin staggered. His broken shoulder, pierced side, torn meridians, burned skin, and exhausted soul all screamed together. He fell to one knee, driving Frost Wind into the ground to support himself.
The white life force within him moved desperately, but it was too weak to heal everything quickly. The dark flame in his spiritual sea dimmed slightly, while the grey stone continued to pulse with a steady, ancient rhythm.
Fang Lin breathed heavily.
He had won.
But it had been close.
Too close.
If his breakthrough had come a little later, he might have died. If Lu Han had escaped, the Core Formation elders outside would already know everything.
Fang Lin slowly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, but calm.
The three sects had sent hunters into the ruins.
Now the hunters were dead.
But this was not over.
When the three-day deadline arrived, the survivors would be ejected. The elders outside would still learn that something had happened. They would learn Huo Lan was dead. They would learn Lu Han, Yan Chi, and Guo Zhen never returned.
They would search.
They would suspect.
They would rage.
Fang Lin had only bought time.
Not safety.
He forced himself to stand and walked to Yan Chi's corpse first, taking the storage ring. Then he collected Guo Zhen's, and finally Lu Han's. Each movement sent pain through his body, but he did not stop.
Spoils mattered now.
Resources mattered.
Every spirit stone, every pill, every talisman could decide whether he lived after leaving the ruins.
After collecting everything, Fang Lin looked across the broken chamber. The ruins trembled faintly around him, and somewhere deep within, the dark legacy seemed to be watching in silence.
Fang Lin swallowed another healing pill.
His face remained pale, but his eyes were sharper than ever.
He had reached Peak Qi Conjunction.
He had killed three Spirit Foundation geniuses.
He had kept the legacy.
For now.
Fang Lin turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Behind him, the bodies of the three hunters lay beneath broken chains and dying formation light.
Outside the ruins, the Core Formation elders still waited calmly.
They did not know yet.
That their knives had already been broken within the ruins.
-