Forbidden Ground Disturbance, Remnant Dao Transforms into Origin to Protect Its Master

The wind and snow had stopped, yet the cold seeping from the cracks at the edge of the Forbidden Ground had grown even heavier. I leaned against a bluestone beside the Formation Eye, my breathing so faint it was nearly imperceptible. The golden patterns beneath my back were still slowly spreading, as though something flowed under my skin, but I dared not touch them or let them become too active.

I had caused that tremor just now.

Afu's blood-stained lips flashed through my mind as he was dragged away. I had not saved him, nor could I save him. All I could do was watch his retreating figure while lying here, my face pale as paper, as though I might breathe my last at any moment.

Footsteps came again.

There was more than one person. Their boots made little sound on the frozen earth, yet they carried an oppressive weight. They moved slowly, as if searching for traces. I closed my eyes and suppressed my heartbeat to its lowest point. Not even my fingertips trembled.

An aura swept over me.

Cold—more piercing than the chill within these stone cracks. It was battle intent, pure and razor-sharp, surging into my Sea of Consciousness with an aura of slaughter. I recognized it—Ji Hantian.

He had come.

I did not open my eyes, but I could feel his gaze fall upon the mouth of the crack. He did not enter. He merely stood outside, lightly tapping the edge of his folding fan with his fingers, his voice unhurried. "This place... is rather interesting."

A guard stepped forward half a pace. "Young Master, the Forbidden Ground shook earlier. There are bloodstains near the fissure, as though someone hid here."

"Oh?" Ji Hantian chuckled softly. "Then search."

He spoke lightly, but his battle intent did not withdraw. Instead, it deepened by several degrees. Like a blade, it scraped across every inch of the rock walls, trying to force out the slightest trace of living breath. My Pseudo-Primordial Body reacted instinctively. The golden patterns along my spine heated slightly, actually attempting to absorb those scattered Battle Intent Fragments.

No.

I suppressed it at once. If absorption caused any fluctuation, even the briefest rise and fall of aura would expose me immediately.

But at the instant my divine sense tensed, the system moved.

There was no prompt, no sound. Only an invisible force rose from within me, quietly drawing in the Battle Intent Fragments, breaking them apart, transforming them, and funneling them into the Heaven-Slaying Origin. The entire process was silent. Even I nearly failed to notice it. The golden patterns continued spreading, yet not a hint of aura leaked out.

So that was it... the system had already begun protecting its master automatically.

I loosened up slightly, but I still dared not lower my guard. Ji Hantian was no ordinary person. He possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and his perception far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. If my disguise had not been flawless at this moment, he would have seen through me long ago.

"The blood has already dried." Another guard crouched down and rubbed the dark red stain on the rock between his fingertips. "It has been there for quite some time. It probably was not left recently."

Ji Hantian paced closer. The hem of his Purple Gold Python Pattern Robe swept across the snow as he stopped less than ten paces from where I hid. He lowered his head to look at the bloodstain, then raised his gaze toward the depths of the fissure, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Three years ago, I also saw blood nearby." He suddenly spoke, his tone as calm as casual conversation. "That night, a piece of trash fell from Dragon-Severing Cliff. They said he died on the spot. But I have always felt... he should not have died so cleanly."

My heartbeat remained steady, and my breathing did not change. Yet somewhere in my chest, it felt as though iron pincers had clamped down, leaving a dull ache.

Did he know? Or was he merely testing me?

He did not move or speak again. He simply stood there in silence. That battle intent continued sweeping through the area, wave after wave, covering the entire region like a spiderweb. My Pseudo-Primordial Body kept passively absorbing fragments, while the Heaven-Slaying Origin gathered like a thin stream. The first strand was about to reach completion.

But the closer it came to completion, the less I could afford any abnormal movement.

Just then, a muffled boom came from afar.

Firelight followed.

Orange-red light reflected across the stone wall, flashing past in an instant. Someone shouted, "Fire! The drapes in the western corridor are burning!"

Ji Hantian frowned and turned toward the sound. The blaze was not large, but the smell of smoke was thick. It was clearly caused by spilled lamp oil. He said coldly, "Who was on watch there?"

"It... it was Afu." A guard hurried over. "He was carrying lamp oil when he passed by. His hand slipped, knocking over a candlestick and setting the curtains alight."

"Idiot." Ji Hantian raised a hand and struck with his palm.

I did not hear the sound, but I knew that palm had landed. The instant the force of the strike rang out, the Heaven-Slaying Origin within me jolted violently, as though it had resonated with some kind of pain. The golden patterns beneath my back spread sharply by another stretch, nearly reaching my waist.

While Afu was being beaten, I clenched the dagger hidden in my sleeve within the stone crack.

My knuckles turned white, my nails dug into my palm, but I did not move.

I could not move.

That palm strike had not been dealt casually. It was a warning, and a show of force. Ji Hantian stood before the firelight, his robes fluttering fiercely. A smile still rested on his face, but his eyes were black enough to terrify. He glanced at the burning corridor, then looked back toward this stone crack. At last, he waved a hand. "Seal the entrance. Suspend the search. We will wait until the Forbidden Ground stabilizes."

Everyone answered and withdrew.

Before leaving, he gently snapped his folding fan shut and tapped the ground with it. "This place... I will return another day."

The footsteps gradually faded, and the firelight was extinguished as well. Silence returned outside the stone crack.

I still lay there without changing my posture, my face as pale as ever. Yet only I knew that the first strand of Heaven-Slaying Origin had already condensed within me. An extremely subtle force flowed through my meridians—steady, heavy, unlike Spiritual Power. It was more like a foundational support.

The Pseudo-Primordial Body was taking shape.

I slowly opened my eyes. A glimmer of gold passed through the depths of my pupils, gone in an instant.

Afu had been taken away. I did not know how they would interrogate him. But he would not speak. He knew what I meant when I said, "The act has to be more convincing." He also understood that if either of us was exposed, neither of us would survive.

I raised my hand and lightly touched the formation markings on the ground with my fingertips. The fluctuations of an ancient formation still lingered there. That tremor earlier had been caused by me disturbing it with a thread of Origin. Though weak, it had been enough to make the guards mistake it for instability within the Forbidden Ground.

I could not remain here much longer.

This place was hidden, but now that Ji Hantian's suspicions had been stirred, he would return sooner or later. I needed medicine—real healing pills, not the coarse-grain porridge stolen from the kitchen. The manor's pharmacy had third-grade Tendon-Mending Pills, which could accelerate the healing of broken bones. As long as I could hold on until I got the medicine, the Pseudo-Primordial Body could cover my entire body faster.

But if I went out now, I would be walking into death.

I closed my eyes and began guiding the Origin in circulation. Every time I absorbed Residual Dao Power, the golden patterns became a little more stable. I could feel my body growing stronger—not in an explosive surge, but through a slow reshaping from the deepest roots of my foundation.

After an unknown amount of time, the ground trembled again.

I had not caused it.

This time, the fluctuation came from the depths of the Forbidden Ground. Its rhythm was slow, as though some seal were breathing. Loose stones rained down from above the crack, and a faint gray mist emerged in the air, carrying the scent of decay.

I abruptly opened my eyes.

That was not ordinary Remnant Dao leakage.

That was... Chaos Aura.

The system in my Sea of Consciousness suddenly accelerated. The Heaven-Slaying Origin surged toward my spine of its own accord, and the golden patterns instantly stretched to my tailbone. My entire back burned as though branded by a hot iron. An indescribable attraction came from deep within the Forbidden Ground, as though something was calling to me.

Bracing myself against the rock, I slowly sat up.

My knees bent and my feet pressed against the ground. For the first time, I stood firmly in this darkness in a complete stance. My legs were still somewhat numb, but they no longer trembled. I looked down at my hands, spread my five fingers, then clenched them again. The movement was smooth, without the slightest stiffness.

My injuries had healed by more than half.

But just as I was about to take a step, the sound of chains dragging across the ground came from outside the stone crack.

The guards were changing shifts.

Two men carrying spears walked past, their armor clanging with sharp metallic sounds. One of them stopped and spat in this direction. "What an unlucky place. It ought to be sealed shut sooner or later."

The other sneered. "You think no one has died here? Three years ago, some Young Master fell down here. His corpse probably rotted away inside long ago."

"Do not mention it. I heard the wind and snow were especially fierce that night. Someone saw a figure standing by the cliff, smiling the entire time..."

Before he could finish, a bell rang in the distance.

The two immediately fell silent and hurried away.

I stood where I was, saying nothing and not moving.

But that "Young Master" they spoke of was me.

And the figure who had been "smiling the entire time" was Ji Hantian.

I slowly raised my right hand, palm facing upward. A faint strand of golden light flowed beneath my skin, then vanished. The first strand of Heaven-Slaying Origin was full, and the Pseudo-Primordial Body had initially formed—enough to support brief movement.

I bent down, picked up a piece of rubble, and carved a mark into the rock wall.

One mark represented one day.

Tomorrow, I would visit the pharmacy.