More than fifteen days had passed since the opening of the Treasury Realm.
The colossal golden gate still stood between heaven and earth like an ancient monument left behind by forgotten gods.
Countless cultivators had already emerged.
Many had gained treasures.
Many had suffered losses.
Some had returned with opportunities that could change their destinies forever.
Yet one person still had not appeared.
Lin Shuan.
Not a single trace of him could be found.
Not a single message had emerged from within the realm.
Near the gate, Qin Yue sat cross-legged in silent cultivation.
His breathing was calm.
His aura flowed steadily.
Yet beneath that calm exterior, concern lingered.
Even he occasionally opened his eyes and glanced toward the golden gate.
Not far away, Zu Lin paced back and forth.
His brows were tightly furrowed.
His gaze never left the entrance.
After staring at it for a long time, he finally sighed.
"Why hasn't Lin Shuan come out yet?"
"Does it really take this long?"
His voice contained genuine worry.
The three elders standing nearby exchanged glances.
Normally they would have scolded him for his impatience.
But this time—
none of them spoke.
Because they too were worried.
The Treasury Realm was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
Even geniuses could fall inside.
Even monsters blessed by heaven could disappear forever.
One of the elders slowly stroked his beard.
His expression was unusually solemn.
"He should have returned by now."
Another nodded.
"Something feels wrong."
The third elder remained silent.
His eyes never left the gate.
Farther away—
Protector Yi stood alone.
The wind gently moved her robes.
Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the golden entrance.
Unlike the others—
her concern had already become anxiety.
Because she knew something nobody else knew.
Lin Shuan always found trouble.
No matter where he went.
No matter how impossible it seemed.
Trouble always found him.
She clenched her fist slightly.
"Why is it taking so long...?"
Her heart became increasingly restless.
A terrible possibility surfaced in her mind.
What if—
No.
Immediately she shook her head.
Her eyes hardened.
"No."
"That didn't happen."
"I'm overthinking."
"He'll come back."
"He always does."
Yet despite those words—
the unease remained.
At that exact moment—
a messenger appeared.
He rushed forward at full speed.
The moment he arrived before Protector Yi—
he dropped to one knee.
His head lowered respectfully.
No words were spoken.
Yet the instant she saw his expression—
Protector Yi understood.
Something had happened.
Her eyes narrowed.
The surrounding air became colder.
She looked once more toward the Treasury Realm gate.
Then—
she vanished.
Without warning.
Without leaving behind even a trace.
One moment she stood there.
The next—
she was gone.
Zu Lin's eyes widened.
"Eh?"
He looked around frantically.
"Where did Empire Protector go?"
"She was just standing there!"
None of the elders answered.
Because even they had failed to see her departure.
Far away...
Beyond mountains.
Beyond rivers.
Beyond imperial territory.
A city covered in black mist stood beneath a gloomy sky.
Black Swamp City.
A place feared by countless cultivators.
A place where sunlight rarely reached the ground.
Within the depths of the city—
inside a dark chamber—
a mysterious figure sat upon a black throne.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
His fingers lightly struck the armrest.
The rhythm echoed throughout the silent room.
Nobody could see his face clearly.
Only his silhouette.
Only his eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then—
black liquid emerged from the floor.
It slowly gathered together.
Forming arms.
Legs.
A torso.
Finally—
a human figure appeared.
The liquid cultivator.
However—
his condition was terrible.
Blood stained his robes.
Several wounds remained visible.
His aura fluctuated violently.
He had clearly suffered heavily during the battle.
The mysterious figure smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"At last..."
"We obtained it."
The liquid cultivator nodded weakly.
"Yes."
"We got it."
Then he coughed.
Blood spilled from his lips.
"But the price was heavy."
His eyes darkened.
"Everyone died."
The room became silent.
The mysterious man's fingers stopped moving.
For the first time—
his expression changed.
"And that boy?"
"Shuan Hao?"
The liquid cultivator smiled faintly.
Though blood continued dripping from his mouth.
"Do not worry."
"He is dead."
Silence returned.
Then—
a cold chuckle echoed through the chamber.
Meanwhile...
Inside the Treasury Realm.
Inside the ruined Primordial Medicine Garden.
Lin Shuan still floated in midair.
Golden streams of Luo Essence continued pouring into his body from every direction.
Ancient herbs.
Ancient trees.
Ancient treasures.
Everything was feeding him.
Yet his consciousness was elsewhere.
Far away.
Deep within his dantian.
A figure made entirely of golden light stood before him.
The same light that had descended from the heavenly eye.
The same existence that had entered his body.
Lin Shuan's consciousness remained bound by mysterious power.
Unable to resist.
Unable to move.
Then—
the light raised its hand.
The surrounding world vanished.
Stars appeared.
Planets appeared.
Galaxies appeared.
Space stretched infinitely.
Lin Shuan felt himself ascending.
Passing planets.
Passing stars.
Passing countless galaxies.
Traveling beyond everything he had ever known.
Eventually—
even the stars disappeared.
Only endless darkness remained.
Only the Void.
Boundless.
Silent.
Infinite.
Lin Shuan's consciousness trembled.
He could not comprehend what he was seeing.
He could not comprehend where he had arrived.
Then—
a voice emerged from the light.
Ancient.
Primordial.
As though it had existed since the beginning of existence itself.
"Listen to the Void."
"And make it part of yourself."
Lin Shuan froze.
Those words...
He had heard something similar before.
A distant memory surfaced.
The cave universe.
Tian Wuchen's teachings.
"Lin Shuan..."
"Listen to the silence of the Void."
His pupils contracted.
Immediately—
he looked toward the golden light.
"Who are you?"
"How did you enter my dantian?"
The light chuckled softly.
"Hehehe..."
"That is not important."
Then the voice continued.
"You are already dead."
"If you wish to live again..."
"You must embrace the Void."
Lin Shuan's expression changed.
Dead.
Yes.
Only now did he fully remember.
The attacks.
The blood.
The collapse of his body.
The overwhelming injuries.
He truly had died.
For a long moment—
he remained silent.
Then slowly—
he sat down.
Cross-legged.
Within the endless darkness.
And began cultivating.
At first—
he heard nothing.
Only silence.
Pure silence.
Then gradually—
he began noticing things.
His Frost Divine Heart.
Its rhythm.
Its existence.
Its connection to him.
Then—
he felt stars moving.
Galaxies turning.
Planets forming.
Planets collapsing.
Life appearing.
Life disappearing.
Everything flowed naturally.
Everything existed within the Void.
Unlike Tian Wuchen's cave universe—
this felt real.
Terrifyingly real.
This was not an imitation.
This was existence itself.
Time passed.
One day.
Ten days.
One month.
One year.
One hundred years.
One thousand years.
Ages passed.
Epochs passed.
Lin Shuan remained seated.
Listening.
Observing.
Understanding.
Meanwhile—
his body remained within the Medicine Garden.
Day after day.
Month after month.
Sunlight fell upon him.
Rain washed over him.
Snow buried him.
Yet he never moved.
The endless Luo Essence continued nourishing him.
Healing him.
Transforming him.
Then—
one day—
something changed.
Pain.
A sudden pain erupted inside his consciousness.
Lin Shuan frowned.
The pain intensified.
Then—
he heard voices.
His mother's voice.
His father's voice.
Clan members.
Friends.
Family.
One after another.
Calling him.
"Lin Shuan..."
"Wake up..."
"You promised..."
"Take revenge..."
"Destroy Yu Long Sect..."
"Don't give up..."
The voices echoed endlessly.
His heart trembled.
His closed eyes slowly opened.
The moment they opened—
everything changed.
His right eye had become golden.
The same golden eye that had entered his body.
Instantly—
his vision expanded.
Beyond imagination.
He saw through the first region of the Treasury Realm.
He saw mountains.
Rivers.
Ancient beasts.
Cultivators.
Secrets.
Everything.
Then his sight moved farther.
Toward the second region.
The Ancient Inheritance Region.
He saw ancient ruins.
Ancient tombs.
Ancient inheritances hidden throughout the land.
Then—
his gaze continued deeper.
Deeper.
Deeper.
Toward the forbidden depths.
Toward a place almost nobody had ever reached.
The Lost Divine Region.
The moment his vision arrived—
his soul trembled.
The first step.
Only the first step.
Yet everything there was gone.
No mountains.
No rivers.
No ruins.
Nothing.
Absolute nothingness.
Everything had already merged into the Void.
Everything had ceased to exist.
And then—
he saw it.
A sword.
An ancient sword.
No.
Ancient wasn't enough.
Primordial.
It seemed older than time itself.
Older than civilizations.
Older than heaven and earth.
It stood embedded within a gigantic stone.
Silent.
Motionless.
Yet merely looking at it made Lin Shuan's soul tremble.
It felt as though every cultivator in existence would instinctively kneel before it.
Not from fear.
Not from pressure.
But because existence itself acknowledged its supremacy.
The sword was terrifying.
Not because it released power.
But because it didn't need to.
Its existence alone was enough.
Lin Shuan's breathing became erratic.
Then—
he saw something behind it.
Two eyes.
A pair of eyes.
Watching.
Ancient beyond imagination.
The moment they looked toward him—
fear exploded within his heart.
A fear unlike anything he had ever experienced.
His soul trembled.
His mind shook.
His entire consciousness nearly collapsed.
Then—
BOOM!
Within reality—
his Frost Divine Heart suddenly pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His eyes snapped open.
He awoke.
The Medicine Garden returned.
The ruined valley returned.
Reality returned.
Lin Shuan immediately sat upright.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
He breathed heavily.
"Haa..."
"Haa..."
"Haa..."
His pupils trembled violently.
"That..."
"What was that...?"
His voice shook.
"Why was it so ancient...?"
"That sword..."
"What kind of sword was that...?"
Inside the pendant—
Tian Wuchen immediately noticed his awakening.
Relief appeared on the old monster's face.
At last.
Lin Shuan was alive.
Yet when he saw the terror in the young man's eyes—
his expression changed.
"Lin Shuan!"
"Lin Shuan!"
"What happened?"
Lin Shuan slowly turned toward the pendant.
His voice trembled.
"Master..."
"That..."
"That..."
"A sword..."
"There was a sword..."
"An unimaginably ancient sword..."