A massive, swirling storm of chaotic gray and red Yuan Power erupted from the point of collision, spreading through the mountain air like a plague. The wind screamed, and the entire plain of gathered cultivators was forced back several steps by the sheer, concussive force of the resulting energy backlash.
Then, with a terrifying, ripping CRACK! that sounded like the fundamental fabric of reality tearing, a vein of gray-colored energy spread across the shimmering array. It looked exactly like a spiderweb of cracks spreading across a colossal pane of glass.
The next moment, the entire protective seal shattered inward, the massive, invisible barrier dissolving into millions of swirling motes of light, revealing the dark, fog-shrouded passage leading up the summit to the tomb's heart.
The spiritual barrier was broken.
Ling Qingzhu's composure finally broke as well. Her crystal-clear pupils shone with an intense, bright light. She looked toward Lin Yi, offering a quick, decisive nod of thanks, her subtle movement being the only formal acknowledgment of the overwhelming feat.
Without a second to waste, she kicked her foot gently on the blue lotus, and the flower immediately shot forward, a streak of azure light soaring up the mountain toward the summit.
Lin Yi, ignoring the slack-jawed expressions of the Lin Clan and Wang Family contingents, casually raised his hand. The massive gray pillar of the Heaven-Suppressing Pin instantly shrunk, returning to its needle size, and vanished back into his meridian space.
He followed immediately, his flying sword a silent, crimson streak behind the ethereal blue lotus.
Wang Yan, Qin Shi, and the rest of the elite cultivators from the four great clans immediately followed, their initial plan to slowly breach the seal utterly ruined by Lin Yi's single, devastating move.
"Follow them! Get to the summit!" The crowd below roared, leaping through the barrier and tearing up the mountain path.
The hundreds of minor cultivators on the plain, seeing the path open and the top five experts already inside, surged forward in a chaotic, desperate stampede. The Nirvana Tomb had officially opened.
Inside the mountain, the pathway was a labyrinth of ancient stone and overgrown vegetation. Lin Yi maintained a silent, steady pace, following Ling Qingzhu's ethereal aura. The mountain path was immediately guarded by low-level Demon Beasts and ancient, stone-golem puppets, but Ling Qingzhu's passage was a blur of untouchable purity, her massive Yuan Power clearing the way without pause.
Lin Yi did the same, completely ignoring the distractions. He knew every treasure outside the summit was minor, and his focus was on the returns from Lin Dong.
Ling Qingzhu finally reached the main, colossal gate of the inner Tomb at the summit. Without hesitation, she unleashed a wave of terrifying Yuan Power, her attack condensed into a piercing azure blade that sliced through the ancient stone locks. The gate shuddered violently and then swung inward on grinding hinges, revealing a maze of more than a dozen dark, distinct pathways leading deep inside the mountain.
Ling Qingzhu immediately chose the central, first pathway and flew inside.
Lin Yi stopped dead at the entrance, his red pupils sweeping across the array of potential routes. He paused at the fifth pathway, a faint, cold smile appearing on his lips as his spiritual sense located a specific, familiar fluctuation deep within it.
'The Demon Spirit Swamp area,' he mused, recalling the path where Lin Dong would soon be collecting a massive quantity of high-grade demon spirits, a critical move for nurturing the Celestial Demon Marten. 'That location is the perfect, concealed space for the final planting of the Yang Chaotic Qinglian Petal.'
Just as he was about to move, he noticed the commotion behind him. Lin Langtian and Wang Yan arrived, their powerful auras immediately dominating the entrance hall. They glanced briefly at him, a mix of wariness and hidden grudge in their eyes, before choosing separate paths… Wang Yan took the second, and Lin Langtian took the third. They clearly wanted to avoid direct conflict with the man who had effortlessly shattered the seal.
Ignoring them, Lin Yi flew directly toward the fifth path.
He moved with surgical precision through the dark, winding passage. He passed several small, dusty courtyard areas, rooms filled with stacked spirit pills, and cottages containing high-grade martial arts scrolls. He did not touch a single item.
'Soon,' he thought, his path unerring. 'All of this will be mine through the unlimited return. No need to waste time.'
He flew until he reached the pre-determined building: a small, concealed pagoda tucked away in the deepest, most dangerous area of the path, where the demon spirit energy was thickest.
He stopped, his hand rising. A small, exquisite jade box, identical to the one he gave Qing Tan, appeared from his Chaos Talisman space. He released the lid, and a petal of obsidian-like metal, but this one veined with pure golden veins, shot out.
The Yang Petal of Creation Qinglian was released. It soared through the pagoda's window, its red light instantly dimming as it shot into the central, hidden core of the structure, resting silently amidst a massive concentration of high-grade demon spirits. The ambush was set for Lin Dong.
Lin Yi closed the jade box, securing it. He then moved onward, deeper into the tomb complex, traversing several more passages. He even flew past several powerful, ancient puppet guards, letting them remain active. 'A minor headache for the people coming behind me is always beneficial.'
Finally, he stopped in front of a section of the stone wall that pulsed with an almost invisible, shimmering light. It was an ancient, invisible array, radiating a dim, complex spiritual pattern.
He walked forward without pause, his figure disappearing into the light.
The world instantly dissolved. When his vision returned, he was standing in the center of a boundless, terrifying sea. Not a sea of water, but a vast expanse of countless, different-colored flames… azure, white, black, and gold… all swirling and rising into the air like an endless inferno.
He ignored the overwhelming, suffocating heat. His blazing red pupils, empowered by the integrated Blazing Ancestral Symbol Pattern, saw through the complex illusion instantly. These were not real flames, but a highly effective, advanced illusionary barrier.
He walked forward, his steps unhurried, moving directly toward a single, faint, utterly innocuous-looking patch of dim, normal fire in the distance. He had instantly located the formation's single, critical weakness.
As he walked through the distant fire, his surroundings shimmered and dissolved again.
He found himself in a large, circular, stone-domed hall. In the center of the hall, a high, pristine stage dominated the space. Floating above the stage, within a field of subtle, golden light, was a fist-sized orb of pure, stable nirvana qi… the Nirvana Heart, the most powerful and crucial treasure in the hall.
Lin Yi did not approach it as he isn't interested in it, he will just receive the return from the person who will absorb it, it will definitely allow him to break through the next bottleneck of Nirvana.
He walked to the exact middle of the hall, directly beneath the floating Nirvana Heart. With a cold, calculated sigh of satisfaction, he sat down, crossing his legs on the smooth stone floor.
As soon as he settled, the first notification of his unlimited return talent appeared, shimmering directly in his spiritual vision, a confirmation that the chain of destiny was already in motion.
[Target Character, Lin Dong has gained twenty-three thousand Pure Yuan Pills.]
[10000x achievement return Initiated.]
[You have gained twenty thousand Nirvana Pills and three thousand Xuan Yuan Pills.]
'Twenty thousand Nirvana Pills and three thousand Xuan Yuan Pills,' he calculated, a cold satisfaction settling in his core. 'Pure Yuan Pills are the currency of the Heavenly Yuan and Yuan Dan realms. Nirvana Pills, however, are the true cornerstone of the Nirvana Stage, containing the Nirvana Qi necessary to survive the Tribulations and refine the body.'
He mentally reviewed the pill hierarchy. Nirvana Pills were the base requirement for any cultivator aiming for the Nirvana Stage; the sheer quantity needed to survive even the first Tribulation was astronomical. The upgraded Xuan Yuan Pills were rarer, containing a purer, more condensed form of Nirvana Qi, making them exceptionally difficult to refine, even for Nirvana stage practitioners. Most cultivators spent centuries hoarding Nirvana Pills in preparation for their breakthrough.
…