The deeper reaches of the Whispering Bamboo Forest grew colder, the air thick with unrefined spiritual essence that made Lin Xuan's pores tingle. He moved silently, bare feet barely disturbing the fallen leaves, every sense tuned to the faint pulse of the spirit spring he had glimpsed in Lin Hao's jade slip.
He had no illusions of safety. The three bodies he left behind would be discovered—eventually. The Lin Clan might not care much for a dead servant or even a spoiled young master's disappearance in a danger zone, but questions would arise. And questions invited investigation.
Good.
Let them come. Let them bring stronger cultivators, better gu, more resources. Every obstacle was merely fertilizer.
After half an hour of cautious travel, the bamboo thinned, revealing a small clearing bathed in pale moonlight. At its center bubbled a spring no larger than a bathtub, its surface shimmering with motes of liquid starlight. Rank-two spirit spring at minimum—enough to greatly accelerate aperture opening and gu refinement for a beginner.
But he was not alone.
Three wild gu insects hovered above the water, drawn by the dense essence: a Moonlight Gu (illusion path, rank one peak), a Black Skin Gu (defense path, rank one middle), and—most temptingly—a tiny translucent cicada perched on a bamboo leaf, its wings faintly vibrating with the rhythm of time itself.
A wild Spring Autumn Cicada variant? No—merely a lesser Time Cicada Gu, rank one initial. Still… the resemblance sent a cold thrill through his soul. Fate truly enjoyed its little jokes.
The three gu sensed his approach and scattered in alarm.
Lin Xuan did not chase. He simply sat cross-legged at the spring's edge, closed his eyes, and began circulating the basic qi-gathering technique from the stolen manual. His aperture—already cracked open by the Venom Thorn—drank greedily from the ambient essence.
Minutes passed. The gu, curious and greedy themselves, began drifting closer again.
Fools.
When the Time Cicada finally settled on his shoulder, testing him with a faint temporal ripple, Lin Xuan's hand snapped up like a striking snake. His fingers clamped around its delicate wings.
The insect buzzed frantically, trying to rewind time by a breath to escape.
Lin Xuan's lips curled into a thin, emotionless smile.
"You think you can run from me?" he whispered, voice low and devoid of warmth. "I have died three times already. What is one more betrayal from fate?"
He crushed the gu's resistance with sheer will, forcing his spiritual sense into its core. The Time Cicada shrieked silently in his mind—then submitted.
[Time Cicada Gu acquired. Rank one initial. Effect: Can rewind personal time by up to three breaths at rank one. Severe backlash on failure or overuse.]
Satisfaction bloomed in his chest, cold and sharp. Not the legendary Spring Autumn Cicada, but a seedling of the same path. With nurturing, refinement, and a few key sacrifices… it could grow.
He swallowed the other two gu without hesitation. The Moonlight Gu merged smoothly, granting him a basic illusion cloak—enough to bend light around his form for short periods. The Black Skin Gu reinforced his flesh, turning it slightly tougher, darker, like oiled leather.
His cultivation rose to rank one middle stage in a single sitting. The spring's essence was that potent.
As he opened his eyes, the moonlight caught the faint scar on his cheek from Lin Hao's sword. He touched it absently, then licked the trace of blood from his fingertip.
"Pain is a reminder," he murmured to the empty clearing. "Weakness invites pain. Therefore, weakness must be eradicated."
He stood.
The bamboo rustled—not from wind.
A low growl echoed. Yellow eyes gleamed from the treeline. A pack of Ironjaw Wolves—five adults, one alpha at rank two initial—emerged in a loose semicircle. They had scented the blood from earlier and followed the trail. Or perhaps they simply guarded this spring as their territory.
Lin Xuan regarded them calmly.
The alpha, a massive beast with metal-like fur and fangs that glinted like blades, took a step forward and bared its teeth.
Lin Xuan tilted his head slightly.
"You want to eat me?" he asked the wolf, tone almost polite. "Very well. Come. Let us see whose appetite is greater."
The pack lunged as one.
He didn't move at first—then activated Moonlight Gu.
His form blurred, splitting into three illusory copies. The wolves' jaws snapped through empty air.
In the confusion, Lin Xuan closed on the weakest wolf from behind. His hand—now reinforced by Black Skin Gu—clamped around its throat. Venom Thorn activated again, green threads burrowing deep.
The beast thrashed once, then went limp.
He dropped the corpse and faced the alpha.
The remaining four circled, wary now.
Lin Xuan raised his bloodied hand.
"I have no grudge against beasts," he said softly. "Only against those who stand between me and eternity."
He stepped forward.
The alpha roared and charged.
Time Cicada Gu pulsed.
The world stuttered—three breaths rewound.
The alpha's leap reversed mid-air, returning to its original position as if never having moved.
Lin Xuan was already there, waiting.
His palm struck the beast's forehead with every ounce of strength his new body could muster, amplified by the spring's residual essence.
Crack.
The alpha's skull caved. It collapsed without a sound.
The remaining wolves froze, instincts screaming danger.
Lin Xuan looked at them.
"Run," he said, voice flat. "Or join your alpha."
They broke and fled into the darkness.
Silence returned.
Lin Xuan exhaled slowly, feeling the backlash of the Time Cicada—his vision swam for a moment, meridians aching like fire. Rank one was too weak to use it freely. He would need to rank it up, refine supporting gu, stockpile healing resources.
But the taste of power lingered on his tongue, sweeter than any spirit wine.
He knelt beside the alpha's corpse and began carving out its core with a sharpened bamboo shard.
"This world does not reward kindness," he said to no one, carving methodically. "It rewards results. And I intend to produce nothing but victory."
He raised the bloody core to the moonlight.
"From now on, every breath I take is one stolen from fate itself."
Somewhere deep in his soul, an ancient laughter echoed—his own, from five hundred years ago.
To be continued...