The tsunami came.
It devoured the horizon.
Sky and earth dimmed beneath its shadow.
Li Xian didn't retreat.
Instead—
A saber appeared in his hand.
Cold.
Sharp.
Absolute.
He stepped forward.
Then—
He slashed.
A blinding arc of saber light split the world apart.
Heaven—
Earth—
Divided.
The tsunami—
—was severed.
**BOOM!**
Water exploded into chaos, torn into two towering walls. For a single breath—
The world froze.
Then—
It collapsed.
The ocean roared back with vengeance.
Relentless.
Unyielding.
Li Xian didn't move.
Didn't dodge.
His gaze flickered.
A thought—
—and flames were born.
Behind him, a firebird erupted into existence, wings spanning the sky. Its cry echoed like a primordial beast awakening from endless slumber.
Heat surged.
Flames devoured the air.
The returning tsunami hissed violently as steam engulfed everything.
But Li Xian frowned.
*Not enough.*
Water suppressed fire.
This… was inefficient.
His thoughts accelerated.
Then—
His eyes turned cold.
"Freeze."
The world obeyed.
In an instant—
Temperature plummeted.
Absolute zero intent swept outward.
The collapsing tsunami—
—froze mid-fall.
Silence.
An ocean—
Reduced to ice.
Li Xian stepped forward, walking across the frozen wave as if strolling through a quiet garden.
No hesitation.
No resistance.
Ahead—
The pillar.
It pierced the heavens, ancient and eternal. An invisible pressure radiated from it, tugging at his soul.
Closer—
Stronger—
Unavoidable.
"This is it…" his voice dropped. "The source of the calling."
He approached.
Then—
He saw them.
Jade steps.
Leading upward.
Plain.
Unadorned.
Yet each step carried an indescribable weight, as if countless existences had once walked this path… and vanished.
Li Xian didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward.
The moment his foot landed—
Reality shattered.
His vision blurred—
—and information flooded in.
His body froze.
Shock.
Real shock.
"This pillar…"
His voice trembled.
"…is made of inheritances."
Countless.
Endless.
Layered like stars in the void.
In his previous life, he had fought, bled, and schemed for a single inheritance.
Here—
They were everywhere.
Like dust.
Like air.
Untouchable—
Yet suffocatingly close.
Just as he stood there—
A white sphere shot toward him.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
It pierced his forehead—
**BOOM!**
Information exploded within his mind.
Li Xian's pupils shrank.
"So that's it…"
His voice turned heavy.
"This place… evaluates."
Every battle.
Every decision.
Every ounce of will—
Judged.
Measured.
"...and this…"
He exhaled slowly.
"Is my reward."
Seven inheritances.
Seven paths.
Only one—
Could be chosen.
Silence fell.
Then—
His gaze sharpened.
No hesitation.
"Beast God Dao."
The moment he spoke—
His blood roared.
A path of the body.
A path of evolution.
A path—
Meant for him.
In his previous life, he had wandered countless roads, chasing power he could never fully grasp.
Only at the end—
Did he understand.
His talent…
Was never in techniques.
It was his body.
But by then—
He had already lost everything.
This time—
He wouldn't repeat that mistake.
"I choose this."
The world responded.
A golden statue descended from the void.
Ancient.
Majestic.
Before he could react—
A colossal phantom crashed into him.
**BOOM!**
His consciousness shattered.
Darkness swallowed everything.
---
Li Xian's eyes snapped open.
He was back.
Slumped over a table.
Breathing heavily.
"That dream—"
Pain struck.
His vision blurred violently.
His mind trembled.
But he didn't faint.
No—
He felt it.
Something vast.
Something ancient.
Descending into his consciousness.
"What… terrifying means…"
Shock filled his eyes.
The sea of consciousness—
The most sacred domain of a cultivator—
Untouchable.
Yet this inheritance had entered it directly.
Without resistance.
Without permission.
Only now did he understand.
"Those who fell into comas…"
His voice lowered.
"They weren't unlucky."
"They were too weak."
The inheritance didn't choose gently.
It devoured.
Spirit.
Will.
Mind.
Without strength—
One would simply… break.
Li Xian steadied himself and looked inward.
There—
He saw it.
A golden beast statue floating silently in his consciousness.
Sealed.
Ancient.
Layer upon layer.
Only one seal—
Had opened.
Glowing characters emerged—
And carved themselves into his mind.
**Mortal Chapter.**
His heart trembled.
Just one chapter—
Yet its profundity eclipsed everything he had ever known.
No—
There was no comparison.
"They're not even on the same level…"
His voice turned hoarse.
This—
Was a true inheritance.
Complete.
Perfect.
Terrifying.
He clenched his fists—
Then slowly relaxed them.
"Not yet…"
He could feel the limitation.
Without Stellar Energy—
This power was crippled.
Dormant.
But soon—
That would change.
"The Stellar Storm…"
His eyes sharpened.
Half a year.
When it arrived—
The world would transform.
Energy would surge.
Order would collapse.
Chaos—
Would reign.
"I need to go back."
Immediately.
No delay.
His family.
His home.
Everything—
Was there.
And more importantly—
That tree.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
In his previous life—
After his family died—
That place had changed.
A tree had awakened.
Mutated.
Transcended.
It became an enlightenment ground.
A sacred land.
But it had never been his.
He was too weak.
Too late.
He could only watch—
As others took it.
Claimed it.
Ruled it.
Eventually—
It shook the world.
"Dream Mountain…"
A forbidden land controlled by a peak existence.
Second only to one.
A legend.
But beneath that legend—
Lay his home.
His family's graves.
This time—
His gaze turned icy.
"That place…"
"I'll take it."
Before anyone else.
Before the storm.
Before fate itself.
Whatever secrets it held—
He would uncover them.
Whatever power it contained—
He would seize it.
This time—
He wouldn't lose everything.
He stood.
Excitement surged.
Urgency burned even stronger.
"It's time…"
His voice was low.
Steady.
"To go home."
He took a step forward—
—and suddenly froze.
The air turned cold.
A presence—
Appeared behind him.
Ancient.
Silent.
Watching.
Li Xian's pupils shrank.
A voice echoed in his mind—
calm…
indifferent…
inhuman—
"You… should not have chosen that path."