"The third trial: comprehend the formation."
Before the words had even faded, the dim runes on the altar linked together, forming an incomplete formation diagram above it.
Almost at the same instant, a torrent of information crashed into his mind: the incomplete formation's basic principles, the distribution of its energy nodes, and several obscure formation calculations.
"Within one hour, find the three weakest energy nodes while this formation is operating, and deduce three possible changes to its configuration."
"This is the Incomplete Star Trapping and Killing Array..."
Lin Ye stared intently at the formation diagram, his head spinning.
The art of formations encompassed countless intricacies, and he had never studied it before. The knowledge flooding into him now might as well have been a heavenly text. The complex nodes, circulating energy, and obscure patterns dazzled him. He had no idea where to begin.
Time rushed by: one breath, two breaths, ten breaths...
The oppressive atmosphere grew heavier, pressing down on his chest until it felt stifling.
Lin Ye's heart sank. He braced himself for the worst.
At that critical moment—
Deep within his sea of consciousness, a line of pale golden characters abruptly lit up.
[Incomplete formation information detected. Spend 50 points to perform a basic analysis?]
"That's wonderful!"
Lin Ye's heart leaped with joy. He barely hesitated before shouting inwardly, "Yes!"
The formation knowledge that had been obscure and incomprehensible suddenly fell into clear order. The tangled lines of starlight became distinct meridians of spiritual energy in his eyes; the flickering energy nodes revealed their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Lin Ye fixed his gaze on the formation diagram and rapidly began to calculate. His breathing never wavered.
With each rotation of the formation diagram, energy flowed once between the nodes, strength and weakness alternating as its patterns gradually emerged.
Thirty breaths passed in the blink of an eye.
A brilliant gleam flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. He abruptly raised his hand and pointed to three spots on the star chart above.
"Here, the spiritual energy isn't flowing smoothly."
"Here, the runes are incompletely joined."
"And here, the energy is leaking noticeably."
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately listed three possible changes based on the formation diagram's patterns.
Hum—
The formation diagram overhead suddenly froze, then dissolved into a shower of light.
The runes on the altar went dark one by one, and the formation surrounding them completely collapsed.
"You have passed all three trials."
The starry figure slowly turned around.
His face, formed from starlight, belonged to a middle-aged man. Weariness showed between his brows, and his deep gaze seemed to pierce through endless stretches of time and space.
He gazed quietly at Lin Ye, his voice calm and even.
"You are worthy to inherit my way."
The astral illusion crumbled. Lin Ye's vision blurred, and his consciousness returned to his body.
He was once again standing before the black jade altar.
The crystal skeleton remained seated cross-legged. In front of it floated a ball of gentle white light, about the size of a fist.
Lin Ye stepped forward and lightly touched the orb with his fingertip.
The white light instantly flowed into his palm, and a vast flood of information poured into his sea of consciousness. At the same time, several physical objects slowly appeared and drifted down onto the altar.
The inheritance had officially begun.
Lin Ye closed his eyes and began to absorb the vast wealth of memories.
The master who had left this legacy called himself Daoist Xinghe. Eight hundred years ago, he had been a powerful Rogue Cultivator who dominated a region. His cultivation had been unfathomably deep; he had long since reached the peak of the Hua Yuan Realm and stood just one step away from touching an even higher realm.
Back then, while pursuing a "forbidden object," he had ventured into the Xuanhuang Secret Realm. When his investigation led him to Star Burial Valley, powerful enemies ambushed him. After a fierce battle, he was gravely wounded and on the brink of death. Summoning the last of his strength, he fled here, where he passed away and left behind his inheritance, waiting for someone destined to find it.
Replacement: The core inheritance consisted of three treasures, each bound to the life's work of Daoist Xinghe.
The first three stages of the Star-Drawing Art, an incomplete high-grade spirit-ranked manual.
This art could draw the power of the stars throughout the heavens into the body, tempering the bones and cleansing the meridians. The "star-origin true qi" it produced was sharp and versatile, far more powerful than ordinary true qi of the same rank. But the power of the stars was overbearing and violent. The slightest mistake during cultivation could bring its backlash, and the incomplete manual concealed numerous dangers in its later stages.
The first three forms of the Star-Shattering Sword Art, a middle-grade spirit-ranked technique.
They were "Star Fall," "Star Burst," and "Star Vortex."
The three sword forms were peerlessly powerful, each aimed straight at the enemy's vital points. But once used, they consumed a terrifying amount of true qi and placed a far greater burden on the body than ordinary techniques.
The secret technique "Star Concealment Technique."
It was a supreme art of concealing one's aura. Once mastered, it could mimic the stillness of extinguished stars, completely hiding one's aura, cultivation, and fluctuations of spiritual energy without leaving the slightest trace.
The inheritance also included Daoist Xinghe's insights into formations, records of his explorations of the Xuanhuang Secret Realm, and, in particular, a detailed account of the outskirts of Star Burial Valley—enough to save those who came after him from countless wrong turns.
But what shook Lin Ye to his core most was a secret passage in the records.
The "forbidden object" Daoist Xinghe had pursued was an eerie black crystal, about the size of a fist.
It was an artificially crafted "Source of Calamity." Behind it stood a vast and terrifying organization. He had even suspected that someone inside Qingyun Sect had already colluded with that force, working from within to smuggle the crystal out of the secret realm.
"Forbidden crystal... Star Burial Valley... a traitor within the sect..."
He drew a deep breath, forcibly tamping down the tempest in his heart, then turned his gaze to the objects on the altar.
A palm-sized storage pouch, several bottles of pills with blurred labels, three strange ores emitting a faint starlight, and, last of all, an ancient sword of dark gold.
Lin Ye's gaze came to rest on the ancient sword.
He reached out and grasped its hilt. It was cold and heavy in his hand, with an extraordinary feel. He applied a little force and drew the ancient sword from the jade.
"Zheng—"
A long, clear sword ring sounded.
The sword was called Star-Shattering. It had once been Daoist Xinghe's life-bound spirit sword, but had suffered grievous damage in the battle at Star Burial Valley. Its sword spirit had perished, its blade had broken, and its rank had plummeted. Even so, the material of the blade remained far superior to ordinary iron, and it naturally enhanced star-based cultivation arts and sword techniques.
"What a fine sword!"
Lin Ye was overjoyed, almost laughing aloud.
He immediately circulated the Star-Drawing Art he had just comprehended, condensed a wisp of star-origin true qi, and slowly poured it into the blade.
Hum—
The Star-Shattering Sword glimmered faintly, and a tenuous connection formed between it and Lin Ye.
Lin Ye was just about to follow the inheritance's instructions and activate the Star-Bewildering Mist Formation around the island, hiding himself for the moment so he could calmly absorb the inheritance.
Then disaster struck!
"Rumble—!!"
The ink-blue lake surrounding the island, calm only moments before, suddenly churned and roared with monstrous waves.
Beyond the dense fog came a cacophony of shrill, piercing cries.
The cries of Star Soul Fish! But they were more frenzied than ever before, surging in from every direction like a rising tide.
A terrifying aura brimming with destruction and corrosion swept out from the deepest part of the lake, instantly blanketing the entire Lake Heart Island!
Its strength far exceeded the limits of the True Qi Realm. It was unmistakably at the Hua Yuan Realm!
"The Lake Heart Island's overlord! The waves from the inheritance must have awakened it!"
Lin Ye's expression changed drastically, alarm bells ringing in his heart.
But misfortune never came alone. Almost at the same moment, an overbearing, powerful aura tore through the dense fog on the other side of the island!
A crimson figure, like a flaming meteor, streaked through layer upon layer of mist and landed firmly on the black rocks at the edge of Lake Heart Island.
It was Li Yan, an inner disciple of Chiyan Peak!
The pressure of the fifth level of the True Qi Realm poured from him without restraint, faintly meeting head-on the ferocious might of the Hua Yuan Realm creature beneath the lake.
His eyes flashed like lightning as they locked onto Lin Ye in the center of the altar, the scattered treasures, and the crystal skeleton that symbolized an unparalleled inheritance.
Greed, killing intent, and wild delight churned together in his eyes.
Li Yan's lips split into a cruel, excited grin, and his voice rang out, cold and arrogant.
"Outer-sect minnow, you're pretty lucky. You managed to stumble into a godforsaken place like this and actually found a legacy."
"Hand everything over obediently, and I might just show mercy and leave your corpse intact."
Lin Ye straightened.
He tightened his grip on the ancient Star-Shattering Sword. The remnants of his Qingyun true qi and the wisp of star-origin true qi he had just refined began to quietly merge and circulate faster.
Faced with the deadly threat of the Hua Yuan Realm beast beneath the lake and the fifth-level True Qi Realm enemy before him, Lin Ye showed not the slightest fear. Instead, fierce fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.
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