[When you received the news, you quickly headed toward the location where the Ancient Ruins appeared.]
[There is no fixed place for the Ancient Ruins to open within the Xuantian Realm, but one thing is certain: it always appears every 100,000 years and remains open for 100 years.]
[This time, it had opened within the Eastern Wilderness.]
[You arrived outside the Ancient Ruins and saw many people from different regions and races gathered.]
[There were people from the Barbarian Tribe, Xuanwu Clan, Poseidon Clan, Zilei Holy Land, Hundred Battle Alliance, and many major forces from other regions.]
[You also met several old acquaintances, including Yu Rong, Liehuo, Ling Yujian, and the young master of the Shen Family, Shen Mo.]
[Over the years, you had encountered Shen Mo a few times. His personality matched your wife Shen Qingyao's description—cold, indifferent, and emotionally restrained.]
[Ling Yujian had broken through to the Peak of Nascent-Soul Realm with a Supreme Foundation. Considering that the Golden Era of Cultivation had begun, many resources that were rare before no longer seemed so scarce.]
[In the dense crowd, you also spotted another old friend, Feng Chen, though he didn't seem to recognize you at all. This was fortunate. You didn't know how much his grandfather had recovered in these years, but he must have grown very powerful.]
[Soon, the Ancient Ruins opened. After exchanging wishes of good luck, you stepped in and were teleported to a random location.]
[Upon entering the secret realm, you noticed that the place didn't resemble a battlefield where large-scale wars had occurred. Instead, it was covered in lush green grass and trees.]
[As you admired the beautiful scenery, you turned your head in another direction and were surprised to see a large number of third-grade herbs—rare even in other secret realms. Their quantity far exceeded your expectations.]
[You could only conclude that this was truly a holy place of cultivation for the younger generation.]
[Before harvesting any herbs, you changed your appearance to the one you wore when you met Yu Rong, because another killing spree was about to begin.]
[Later, you placed all the herbs you found into your storage space, while continuing your journey deeper into the Ancient Ruins.]
[Four years later, in a deep forest, unknown to others, two figures lay on the ground—one a human, the other a beast.]
[In front of them stood a towering figure, as tall as a mountain. Looking down at them, if not for his crooked nose, he could have been mistaken for a person of peerless temperament. That figure was unmistakably you.]
["Don't you dare kill me! Don't you know I'm the Holy Son of the Beast Holy Land?" the young figure roared, trying to intimidate you.]
[Without hesitation, you killed both him and his beast with a swift strike of your sword.]
[After killing them, you looted all their belongings.]
[The reason they couldn't escape by using a Life-saving item was because the space within the Ancient Ruins was sealed so tightly that only extraordinary measures could bypass the Heavenly Dao of the Xuantian Realm. In this place, survival depended solely on strength.]
[From them, you obtained the Beast Cultivation Manual—a guide that allowed you to tame a beast. Each cultivation progress of the beast would also grant you a small cultivation boost. As the bond grew, the bonus would expand further.]
[This was also why people of the Northern Sea and the Hundred Battle Alliance harbored deep hatred toward the Beast Holy Land of the Western Wasteland.]
(Note: The Hundred Battle Alliance consisted of many beast races.)
[During these years, while your cultivation remained at the Peak of Nascent-Soul Realm, you comprehended the Sword Law up to the 9th Level. However, the difficulty of comprehending the 10th Level Sword Law had increased dramatically. It was like an impassable chasm—you couldn't estimate how many more years it would take.]
[In the 14th year of exploration, you had killed many people using the Blood-Devouring Demonic Sword and upgraded it to the Spiritual Weapon Grade.]
[Your Killing Intent had reached the 7th Turn, and consequently, your Killing Sword also achieved the 7th Level.]
[Now, your sword began attacking your mind.]
[Although its effect was still slight, it was undeniable. At the same time, something unusual occurred—a force you had nearly forgotten reappeared: the Righteous Intent. It reduced the pressure on your mind and suppressed your Killing Intent to a certain degree.]
[A thought arose in your mind: 'If I can cultivate Righteous Intent to match the level of my Killing Intent, the Blood-Devouring Demonic Sword's effect on my mind will become almost negligible.']
[Thinking of this, you decided to hold off on using the Blood-Devouring Demonic Sword for now. Instead, you would explore the Ancient Ruins first, and maybe after exiting, decide to cultivate the Righteous Intent.]
[In the 18th year, you still hadn't found the Holy Medicine of Spirit, but you discovered a rare spiritual herb: Beast Blood Lotus.]
[It was a rare Seventh-Grade Spiritual Herb used to increase the qualifications of beasts or possessors of the Beast Bloodline, like you, who possessed the Taotie Bloodline.]
[After eliminating some competition, you plucked the herb and began alchemy to refine it into a pill.]
[Coincidentally, over the years, you had collected all the resources needed to refine the Beast Blood Pill.]
[While refining it, you aimed to increase your qualifications as much as possible and decided to refine the best pill possible: Daowen Grade.]
[Daowen Grade represented a pill of the highest quality, with more Dao patterns signifying better quality.]
[Because you had gained the skill Master of Alchemy from the system itself, you knew that a Thunder Tribulation was necessary for a Daowen Grade pill. This trial could even attract the attention of many powerful people.]
[The reason you chose to undergo the tribulation within the secret realm was that only cultivators under the Void-Refining Realm could enter the Ancient Ruins. In the outside world, many Old Monsters might notice the event and attempt to capture you, forcing you to refine pills for them. But within the secret realm, you still had confidence in your strength.]
[After three full months of alchemy, you successfully refined 10 pills from one batch, all of Daowen Grade.]
[Right after refining them, a thunder tribulation arrived, and your pills began to endure the trial as you stood alert against any ambush.]
[Some time later, the Thunder Tribulation ended. Only three pills survived.]
[As you examined the three surviving pills, you murmured, "Is the tribulation too weak, or is my plot armor too strong?"]
[What you didn't know was that millions of miles away, two figures were blocking the path of millions drawn by the tribulation, effortlessly dominating the crowd.]
[You were very familiar with both figures.]
[One was the Mysterious Figure, and the other was your own brother-in-law, Shen Mo.]
[You pushed those thoughts aside and focused back on refining the Beast Blood Pill. You consumed the one with the most Dao patterns—a total of 4 patterns.]
[After half a day, you successfully refined a higher-grade pill and felt your blood grow purer, though you still couldn't find anyone to test your Devouring abilities on.]
[You decided to refine another pill to see its effect, but unfortunately, after refining it, you found no further effect. You assumed it was the pill's limit.]
(System: You upgraded your talent Descendant of Taotie (Purple) to Successor of Taotie (Gold) within the simulation. Congratulations, Host.)
[You stored the remaining pill and headed in another direction, coincidentally toward where the fight had been occurring.]
[By coincidence, you met Shen Mo on the road. After seeing you, he approached and handed you something, saying, "Brother Lin, this was given to me by someone who specifically told me to deliver it to you." He then walked away.]
[Just before checking what he gave you, you recalled that you were still using the 72 Transformation Technique. Shocked that he had seen through you, you hurriedly turned toward the direction he disappeared, only to find no trace of him—as if he had vanished into thin air.]
[You then turned your attention to the letter in your hand, sealed by its owner so that only you could open it.]
[As you broke the seal and read the first sentence, its content shocked you greatly.]
["Lin Chen, it's me, the mysterious figure you speak of."]
[First sentence:]
["You have done a very nice thing by killing Mo Tianxuan, or else he would have been difficult to control in the later phases."]