Opportunity Knocks

A dark silhouette emerged at a slow pace from the depths of the dense forest, the thick fog roiling around it. Its murderous aura swept across the entire Bone-Eroding Forest like a rising tide, bending the dead trees around it beneath its weight.

The giant beast was several yards long, its appearance savage. Black scales covered its entire body, each etched with fine patterns that gleamed like metal—clearly nigh-indestructible. Its four legs were as thick as pillars, and every step made the ground tremble faintly. Its huge scarlet eyes locked onto Lin Ye, filled with nothing but bloodlust and frenzy.

Its head resembled a lizard's, and dense black poison fog poured from its snout. A row of blue bone blades stood straight up along its spine.

"A peak second-level beast—the Bone-Eroding Beast King!"

Lin Ye's heart clenched. Every hair on his body stood on end, and a bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

A peak second-level beast was comparable to a ninth-level True Qi Realm cultivator! The gulf between their cultivation levels was like a sheer chasm. There was no way he could fight it.

"Roar—"

The Beast King threw its head back and howled. Its violent roar exploded through the air, scattering the fog in an instant. Dozens of thick dead trees snapped, sending splinters flying everywhere. A tremendous pressure bore down on Lin Ye like a mountain. His body sank under its weight, and the True Qi that had flowed freely within him abruptly turned sluggish, almost impossible to summon.

"What overwhelming pressure!"

Lin Ye's face turned paper-white. His lips quivered as he clenched the Azure Edge Sword in his palm.

This was an enemy he couldn't stand against—not even if he gave it everything he had.

"I can't stay here. I have to run!"

Without another moment's hesitation, Lin Ye pulled several specially made poison-smoke bombs from his robes and hurled them all at the Bone-Eroding Beast King. They exploded on impact, and thick gray smoke billowed out at once, stinking of poison and blocking the Beast King's view.

Seizing the opening, Lin Ye drove his True Qi into a frenzied circulation. His figure blurred as he fled toward Meteor Lake at full speed!

He pushed his speed to the limit, heedless of how quickly his True Qi was being depleted. He raced through the Bone-Eroding Forest, with only the wind howling in his ears and the Beast King's furious roars behind him.

He didn't know how long he ran. By the time Lin Ye felt that more than half his True Qi had been spent, his limbs had grown weak and his speed had begun to falter. Just then, the gray-white trees ahead grew sparse, and a wave of damp air washed over him.

He'd made it! The edge of the Bone-Eroding Forest!

The view before him suddenly opened up.

A vast lake stretched out before him. Its waters were deep blue, still as glass.

This was Meteor Lake, marked on the map.

Lin Ye collapsed onto a black boulder and gasped for breath, his chest heaving. He glanced back at the gray-white forest, then at the dark blue lake before him, his heart growing heavier.

He didn't dare waste time. He quickly took a Qi Recovery Pill from his robes and tended to his wounds.

Once he'd finished, the True Qi within him recovered a little. Only then did Lin Ye rise and warily survey Meteor Lake, marked as a "secret-realm legacy site." He didn't dare let his guard down for even a moment.

"Where exactly is the legacy marked on the map?" Lin Ye furrowed his brow. The map only showed Meteor Lake, with no other clues. He could only search the area bit by bit.

After searching carefully for a while, he suddenly stopped. His gaze fixed on a spot ahead.

Beside a waist-high black boulder along the shore, a faint light flickered, conspicuous against its surroundings.

Lin Ye's heart stirred. He slowed his pace and quietly circulated his True Qi as he approached, one step at a time.

When he drew near, his pupils contracted.

Beside the boulder sat a skeleton, cross-legged!

Its clothes had long since crumbled to dust. The skeleton itself had taken on a jade-white hue. Though worn by the passage of time, it still gave off a faint glow—clear proof that the deceased had possessed tremendous cultivation in life, refining their bones into something entirely new. On the rock to the skeleton's left lay a palm-sized jade pendant, a rich green carved with intricate cloud patterns. To its right, a long sword still sheathed in a plain, mottled scabbard stood embedded in the ground, covered in rust.

On the ground directly before the skeleton, a line of ancient characters had been carved with a sharp implement. The passage of time had blurred them, but they remained legible:

"Whoever comes after me, take my jade pendant. It can keep the Star Soul Fish at bay for a quarter of an hour. My legacy lies on Lake Heart Island, but the dangers there are great. Be careful, be careful."

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the green jade pendant. He could feel faint spiritual energy radiating from it, and the cloud patterns shifting across its surface. Clearly, it was a spiritual treasure containing a protective formation.

"Star Soul Fish..." He slowly turned to look at the calm, dark blue water beneath his feet, his expression grave. The senior who'd left behind the legacy had issued such a solemn warning. That alone was enough to show that the Star Soul Fish in this lake were far more dangerous than the beasts in the Bone-Eroding Forest.

He stood still for a moment, regarding the jade-white skeleton with deep respect. Then he stepped forward and bowed solemnly.

"Senior, I'm Lin Ye. I've come seeking an opportunity. Forgive me for the intrusion."

Only after speaking did he reach out and take the green jade pendant. It felt smooth and cool in his hand. A clear, gentle warmth flowed through his palm and into his body, easing his exhaustion.

But the instant he lifted the pendant—

"Splash!"

The once-still lake erupted in a massive spray, shattering the silence around him.

A translucent shadow shot out of the water with a sharp whistle, hurtling straight toward Lin Ye's face! It moved faster than he could react. He saw only a flash of starlight and had no time to dodge.

At the very last moment, Lin Ye barely managed to twist aside and instinctively raised the jade pendant in his hand before him.

"Hum!"

The green pendant instantly lit with a sturdy halo that spread rapidly, forming a shield of light around Lin Ye's entire body.

"Chhk!"

The shadow slammed hard into the shield with a sharp, faint crackle and bounced away, turning into a streak of light that plunged back into the water and vanished in an instant. The green shield around the pendant had visibly dimmed.

Cold sweat soaked Lin Ye's back, and his heart hammered wildly. Without the pendant's automatic protection, that strike would have pierced straight through him and left him dead on the spot! The Star Soul Fish's speed and ability to hide were terrifying. It was almost impossible to guard against them.

"That was only one Star Soul Fish. If they came in a swarm..." Lin Ye stared at the placid lake, his expression grave. He didn't dare finish the thought.

He lowered his gaze to the pendant in his hand. The shield was slowly recovering, but the pendant's energy was limited. It wouldn't withstand many attacks from the Star Soul Fish.

The legacy was hidden on Lake Heart Island, but the dangers were impossible to predict. Should he go or not?

Lin Ye looked toward the center of the lake. White mist churned there, stretching in every direction; he couldn't make out anything within. The hidden danger weighed on his heart. He lowered his head and ran his fingers over the smooth, warm pendant, felt the True Qi returning to his body, then touched the last of the pills and talismans in his robes. His hesitation vanished, replaced by resolve.

Fortune favored the bold.

The Xuanhuang Secret Realm was a place where danger and opportunity went hand in hand. If he wanted to grow stronger quickly and control his own fate, he couldn't shrink back. This opportunity had been deliberately pointed out by the senior. To turn away now would be to refuse a gift from heaven—and betray himself.

Lin Ye gripped the green jade pendant, took a Golden Armor Talisman from his robes, and held it in his left hand, True Qi surging in his palm as he prepared to activate it at any moment. His right hand clutched the Azure Edge Sword, while his True Qi gathered, poised to erupt.

Ready at last, Lin Ye took a deep breath and leaped into the lake.

The icy water closed around him, its chill piercing to the bone. He was just about to circulate his True Qi to keep the water at bay when a dense chorus of shrill cries suddenly burst beside his ears!

The Star Soul Fish the pendant had repelled had summoned every one of its kind in the lake. They swarmed toward him from all directions!

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