Darkness.
A cruel formation—countless blood-red chains twisting like serpents, tearing flesh, devouring soul.
Inside it, Lin Ye coughed up blood, his eyes burning with hatred.
"Lin Ye. Hand over the Saint Realm Secret Scroll."
A man stepped forward—tall, noble, smiling as if he were granting mercy.
Lu Jue.
His "brother" of decades.
His friend.
And the one who had personally carved this death trap just for him.
Lin Ye's voice shook, not from fear, but disbelief.
"For a scroll… you're willing to erase me completely?"
Lu Jue's laughter was cold and sharp.
"Brother? Don't insult me."
"I'm a prince of the Heaven-Blessed Imperial Bloodline."
"And you… are nothing."
Lin Ye clenched his fists so hard his nails tore skin.
"So that's it."
"Decades of loyalty… for nothing."
Lu Jue's eyes narrowed.
"Be smart."
"Give me the scroll, and I'll spare your life. You can continue making pills for my royal clan."
Lin Ye stared at him.
Then he smiled.
A smile full of madness, grief… and absolute killing intent.
"Spare me?"
"You want the scroll?"
"Come take it from my corpse."
His aura surged violently.
"Lin Ye—! Don't—!"
Someone screamed.
But it was too late.
Lin Ye detonated everything he had.
A genius Ninth-Grade Alchemist. Return-to-Abyss Realm. One step away from Saint Domain…
He chose self-destruction.
If he couldn't live…
then Lu Jue would never get what he wanted.
BOOM!
The world collapsed into endless black.
—
Splash.
A boy suddenly sat upright in a pool of blood.
Rotten damp air rushed into his lungs, forcing him to cough violently.
He stared down at his hands—thin, bruised, trembling.
His pupils shrank.
"I…"
"I'm alive?"
No.
This wasn't his body.
This wasn't Shenchuan Continent.
This place was colder. Dirtier. Weaker.
And the memory flooding into his brain belonged to someone else.
A sect trial.
A deep well.
A spiritual herb.
A palm strike to the chest.
Bones breaking.
Falling.
Darkness.
A boulder sealing the opening…
Leaving him to die.
Lin Ye closed his eyes slowly.
Two lives.
Same ending.
Betrayed. Discarded. Buried alive.
His gaze turned icy.
"Fine."
"If Heaven wants me alive…"
"Then I will climb back to the peak."
"And when I return to Shenchuan…"
His lips curled, murderous.
"I will crush the Heaven-Blessed Imperial Bloodline under my feet."
"And Zhou Taian…"
"I'll kill you first."
He looked inward.
Cultivation: Spirit Spring Realm, Sixth Layer.
Both legs broken. Ribs fractured. Internal organs shredded.
A pathetic body.
But Lin Ye didn't panic.
In his previous life, he had stood above countless nations and sects.
If he could rebuild once…
He could rebuild again.
He was about to circulate his old technique—
When—
His vision drowned in crimson.
BOOM!
A vast Blood Sea erupted inside his mind.
It was endless. Roaring. Alive.
And from its depths…
A towering crimson mountain rose.
Carved into its surface were four ancient characters:
Nine Revolutions Asura Art.
Below it, a single line:
[When the Nine Revolutions are complete… even Saints can be slaughtered.]
Lin Ye's whole body trembled.
Not from fear—
From excitement.
His breathing grew heavy.
"The Saint Realm Secret Scroll…"
"It wasn't a map."
"It wasn't treasure…"
"It was a cultivation art."
He laughed, hoarse and crazed.
"Hahaha… Lu Jue…"
"You wanted this so badly…"
"And now I'm the one who owns it."
Lin Ye memorized the first layer instantly.
Then he cultivated.
The moment the art circulated—
A thread of power rose from the Blood Sea like a dragon awakening.
It poured into his meridians.
And in a heartbeat…
BANG!
Spirit Spring Realm — Seventh Layer!
BANG!
Eighth Layer!
BANG!
Ninth Layer!
Cracking sounds echoed as bones mended. Flesh reformed.
The external wounds healed completely.
His internal injuries still throbbed…
But the path was clear.
Lin Ye opened his eyes.
Red light flickered around him.
Along the damp stone walls grew clusters of Blood Spirit Grass—thick, ancient, heavy with medicinal qi.
Lin Ye's eyes lit up.
"Thousand-year Blood Spirit Grass."
"Perfect."
He crushed three roots and swallowed them.
Pain scorched his organs like fire.
Sweat poured down his face.
But he didn't make a sound.
Half an hour later…
His breathing steadied.
He moved.
His figure shot up the well wall like a shadow.
Thirty meters.
A sealed boulder above.
His palms pressed against it—then he smirked.
"You sealed me in…"
"Now watch me crawl out of hell."
BOOM!
A single punch shattered the rim of the well.
The boulder lost balance and rolled down with a thunderous crash.
Lin Ye flipped upward—
And landed under daylight again.
The moment his feet touched the ground—
Four men surrounded him.
Earthfire Sect.
Bandits.
All of them Spirit Spring Ninth Layer.
The leader sneered.
"Heh. Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect brat…"
"Hand over whatever treasure was inside that well."
He leaned forward, eyes full of malice.
"Do it, and we'll let you keep a whole corpse."
Lin Ye stared at them.
Then smiled faintly.
"Perfect."
"I'm in a foul mood."
He stepped forward.
A single finger thrust out.
Sky-Shattering Finger.
PFFFT!
The bandit leader's throat burst open.
His head exploded into gore.
The other three froze.
Too late.
Two more finger thrusts.
Two corpses fell.
The last man turned pale, panic exploding in his eyes.
"T-this—!"
He swung wildly.
Saber qi flared.
But Lin Ye vanished.
In the next moment—
Lin Ye's hand clamped onto his throat.
"I'll ask once."
"Who told you to wait here and ambush me?"
The bandit trembled violently.
"I… I swear I don't know—!"
CRACK.
Lin Ye crushed his neck.
His corpse dropped.
Silence.
Then—
ROAR!
A shadow leapt from the forest.
Crimson eyes. Steel bristles. Fangs like daggers.
A Second-Rank feral beast—Tusked Hyena-Boar.
It stared at him like prey.
Lin Ye slowly turned.
But instead of panic…
His smile deepened.
"Oh."
"So Zhou Taian wasn't the only one who wanted me dead."
He looked into the trees.
His voice turned cold.
"Come out."
"I can smell you."