The stars above the Azure Lotus Sect glittered like scattered diamonds, but none shone as brightly as the flame within Lin Sheng's soul. The day following his Mirror Void triumph, news had spread like wildfire throughout the sect. Whispers of a disciple with otherworldly composure and impossible power were everywhere. Some revered him. Some feared him. Others plotted in the shadows.
Yet Lin Sheng remained unchanged, continuing his daily sign-ins and cultivating under the ancient pine that overlooked the Immortal Spring Garden. Each day brought new rewards—spiritual treasures, rare elixirs, ancient scriptures, and stat-boosting pills—and yet, the one thing Lin Sheng wanted most remained elusive: the truth behind his reincarnation.
The system hadn't revealed the full picture. Who had given him the system? Who had cast his soul from Earth into this world of Qi and eternity? There was more to his rebirth than chance.
That was when Elder Qiyan summoned him.
The sect's Grand Archive Pavilion was built atop floating jade islands that orbited a celestial array. Inside, scrolls and tomes from forgotten eras lay preserved by spatial formations. Only inner elders, sect heads, and the most trusted disciples had access.
Lin Sheng bowed upon entry. "Elder Qiyan."
The woman before him, hair silver with strands of emerald, radiated a presence that made space bend around her. She opened her eyes slowly.
"You have awakened something ancient," she said. "I do not refer to your strength alone, but the echoes it leaves. The Mirror Void responded to your soul not as a guest, but as a vessel."
Lin Sheng's heart beat faster. "What do you mean?"
"A ruin has reappeared," she replied. "Buried for ten thousand years in the Serpentspine Mountains. A Forgotten Temple of the Ancients. The last time it opened, a sect was erased from existence. The temple only responds to those who've touched the Mirror Void's core. You will go."
He nodded. "When?"
"At dawn."
By morning, Lin Sheng stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the great Serpentspine Range, accompanied by two other inner disciples: Xue Jian, a dual-blade cultivator known for her precision, and Bo Tian, a burly fire-user with more brawn than wit.
The trio descended into the mist-covered gorges, where every breath tasted of iron and rot. Demonic beasts roamed these lands. Even the bravest core disciples dared not come without backup.
After half a day's trek, the fog parted to reveal an obsidian structure embedded into a black mountain wall. Symbols pulsed faintly across its door—runes in a language no one had spoken in millennia.
"System," Lin Sheng whispered. "Translate runes."
"Translation complete: 'He who seeks the origin must first lose his self.'"
Bo Tian scratched his head. "That doesn't sound good."
The door creaked open with a groan like the death of stars.
Inside was not darkness, but a strange twilight, as though time itself moved slower. The halls were lined with stelae etched with glowing glyphs. Floating candles lit their path. Shadows moved where light could not reach.
Lin Sheng felt it immediately—the pulsing of ancient power, like a drumbeat echoing from the deep. He closed his eyes, activating Soul Echo Perception, a reward from the Mirror Void trial.
The temple spoke in whispers—shadows of memories. He saw visions of ancient cultivators meditating, entire sects kneeling before a golden throne, and a man in black robes shattering the heavens with a mere gesture.
As they passed into the inner sanctum, the ground quaked.
A stone colossus rose from the central altar, eyes blazing with primordial fire. Its voice echoed like thunder.
"Only one may claim the Mark of Beginning. Prove your truth."
The trial began.
Xue Jian attacked first, blades shimmering with wind and lightning, carving glowing lines into the beast's stone skin. Bo Tian followed with roaring fire that exploded like comets.
The colossus shrugged it off.
Lin Sheng stepped forward. "System: Activate Runic Interface."
A glowing circle appeared beneath his feet, and thousands of script-like characters flowed into the air, forming a mandala of energy.
He had studied the Divine Soul Array Blueprint in secret. Now, he unleashed it.
"Runic Seal—Stellar Convergence!"
The formation activated. Gravity reversed, and the colossus stumbled, limbs compressing inward under the weight of collapsing space.
"Voidstep Mirage!" Lin Sheng appeared in ten places at once, striking all at once with Twilight Fang.
The colossus let out one last roar before crumbling to dust.
In its place appeared a small sphere of golden light.
"The Mark of Beginning," Xue Jian whispered.
Lin Sheng reached for it. As his fingers touched the light, images flashed into his mind:
—A throne atop a world tree. —A robed figure holding galaxies in his palm. —A familiar voice whispering: "Awaken, Heir of the Origin Flame."
His eyes snapped open. The mark burned itself into his palm.
"System Alert: Hidden Lineage Detected. Unlocking Origin Path. New quests available."
They left the temple in silence.
Back at the sect, the elders gathered.
"The Origin Flame has chosen a bearer once more," murmured one.
"Prepare the Grand Sky Trials," said another. "The heavens must be tested."
And high above, in a realm beyond realms, a sealed being stirred from slumber.
Lin Sheng had touched the edge of something vast.
The Immortal World was about to change.
To be continued in Chapter Nine...