The Inheritance Begins

"The third trial: Array Comprehension."

Before the words had even faded, the dim runes on the altar interconnected, forming an incomplete array diagram above it.

Almost at the same instant, a torrent of information crashed into his mind: the fundamental principles of the incomplete array, the distribution of its energy nodes, and several obscure array variations.

"Within one hour, identify the three weakest energy nodes while the array is active, and deduce three possible array transformations."

"This is! The Incomplete Star Trapping and Killing Array..."

Lin Ye stared intently at the diagram, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed.

The path of arrays was all-encompassing, and he had never dabbled in it before. The knowledge flooding in now felt like an incomprehensible heavenly script; the complex nodes, the flowing energy, and the obscure patterns left him dazzled, with no idea where to begin.

Time slipped away rapidly: one breath, two breaths, ten breaths...

The pressure in the air grew heavier, weighing down on his chest until he felt stifled.

Lin Ye's heart sank, and he prepared for the worst.

Just at this critical, hair-trigger moment—

Deep within his sea of consciousness, that line of pale golden text suddenly lit up.

[Incomplete array information detected. Consume 50 points for basic analysis?]

"That's perfect!"

Lin Ye felt a surge of joy. Without a moment's hesitation, he roared in his mind: "Yes!"

The previously obscure and difficult array knowledge instantly became clear and logical. The intricate lines of starlight transformed into distinct meridians of spiritual energy in his eyes; the flickering energy nodes revealed their varying degrees of strength.

Lin Ye fixed his gaze on the diagram and began to deduce rapidly, his breathing not even faltering.

Every time the diagram rotated, the energy flowed through the nodes, alternating between strength and weakness, revealing a hidden pattern.

Thirty breaths passed in the blink of an eye.

A sharp light erupted in Lin Ye's eyes. He suddenly raised his hand and pointed at three spots in the mid-air diagram.

"Here, the spiritual energy flow is obstructed."

"Here, the rune connection is incomplete."

"Here, there is significant energy leakage."

As he spoke, he immediately followed up by reciting three subsequent variations based on the trends of the diagram.

Hum—

The array above suddenly froze, then dissipated into a sky full of light particles.

The runes on the altar extinguished one by one, and the array that had shrouded the area completely collapsed.

"All three trials passed."

The starry figure turned slowly.

A middle-aged face formed from starlight appeared, his brow etched with weariness, his eyes deep as if they had seen through endless time and space.

He looked at Lin Ye quietly, his voice calm and ripple-free.

"You are qualified to inherit my path."

The starry illusion collapsed, and Lin Ye's vision blurred as his consciousness returned to his body.

He was standing once again before the black jade altar.

The crystal skeleton remained seated in a cross-legged position, and directly in front of it hovered a fist-sized orb of light emitting a soft white glow.

Lin Ye stepped forward and touched the orb with his fingertip.

The white light instantly merged into his palm, and a vast amount of information poured into his sea of consciousness. At the same time, several physical objects slowly emerged and landed lightly on the altar.

The inheritance had officially begun.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and began to digest the massive amount of memory.

The master of this legacy called himself Daoist Xinghe, a powerful rogue cultivator who had roamed the world eight hundred years ago. His cultivation was unfathomable, having reached the peak of the Hua Yuan Realm, just one step away from touching a higher realm.

Back then, he had ventured into the Xuanhuang Secret Realm to track a "forbidden object." While pursuing it to the Star Burial Valley, he was ambushed by powerful enemies. After a great battle, he was left mortally wounded and used his last ounce of strength to flee here, where he sat down to pass away and leave his inheritance for someone fated.

The core of the inheritance consisted of three treasures, all tied to the lifelong cultivation of Daoist Xinghe.

The first three levels of the Star-Drawing Art, a high-grade spirit-tier incomplete manual.

This technique could draw the power of the celestial stars into the body to temper the bones and cleanse the meridians. The "Star Origin True Qi" it produced was sharp and versatile, far exceeding the power of ordinary true qi of the same level. However, the power of the stars was tyrannical and violent; any carelessness during cultivation could lead to a backlash, and because the manual was incomplete, subsequent cultivation harbored many hidden dangers.

The first three forms of the Star-Shattering Sword Art, a mid-grade spirit-tier technique.

These were "Star Fall," "Star Burst," and "Star Vortex."

The three forms were peerlessly powerful, with every strike aimed at vital points, though once unleashed, the consumption of true qi was terrifying, and the burden on the physical body far exceeded that of ordinary techniques.

The secret technique "Star Concealment Technique."

This was a top-tier breath-concealment method. When cultivated to a deep level, it could simulate the phenomenon of a star's extinction, completely hiding one's aura, cultivation, and spiritual energy fluctuations without leaving a single trace.

In addition, the inheritance contained Daoist Xinghe's insights on arrays and his exploration records of the Xuanhuang Secret Realm, especially a detailed description of the outer perimeter of the Star Burial Valley, which would save his successor countless detours.

What shook Lin Ye to his core most of all was a hidden record.

The "forbidden object" that Daoist Xinghe had been tracking was a strange, fist-sized black crystal.

It was a man-made "Source of Calamity." Behind it lay a massive, terrifying organization. He even suspected that someone within the Qingyun Sect had long since colluded with that force, working from the inside to plot the removal of the crystal from the secret realm.

Forbidden crystal... Star Burial Valley... sect traitor...

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the raging waves in his heart, and cast his gaze toward the physical items on the altar.

A palm-sized storage bag, a few bottles of pills with faded labels, three pieces of strange ore emitting a faint starlight, and finally, that dark gold ancient sword.

Lin Ye's gaze ultimately locked onto the ancient sword.

He reached out and gripped the hilt; it felt cold, heavy, and possessed an extraordinary texture. He applied a slight force, pulling the ancient sword from the jade stone.

"Zheng—"

A long, resonant sword hum rang out.

This sword was named Star-Shattering. It had once been the life-bound spirit sword of Daoist Xinghe, but it had suffered heavy damage during the great battle in the Star Burial Valley, resulting in the annihilation of its sword spirit, the shattering of its blade, and a plummet in rank. Yet, even so, the material of the blade remained far superior to ordinary iron, and it possessed a natural amplification effect for star-attribute cultivation techniques and sword arts.

"A fine sword!"

Lin Ye was ecstatic, nearly laughing out loud.

He immediately circulated the Star-Drawing Art he had just comprehended, condensing a wisp of star-origin true qi and slowly injecting it into the blade.

Hum—

The Star-Shattering Sword instantly glowed with a faint light, establishing a weak connection with Lin Ye.

Lin Ye was just preparing to follow the inherited techniques to activate the Star-Bewildering Mist Formation around the island to temporarily hide his presence and digest the inheritance in peace.

A sudden change occurred!

"Rumble—!!"

The ink-blue lake surface, which had been calm and waveless around the island, instantly churned and roared wildly, sending massive waves into the sky.

From beyond the thick fog came dense, sharp, and ear-piercing screeches.

Those were the cries of Star Soul Fish! But they were more frenzied than ever before, surging in from all directions like a tidal wave.

A terrifying aura, filled with destruction and erosion, swept out from the deepest part of the lake, instantly shrouding the entire island!

That aura was so strong it far exceeded the limits of the True Qi Realm; it was clearly at the level of a true Hua Yuan Realm entity!

It's the overlord of the lake island, disturbed by the fluctuations of the inheritance!

Lin Ye's expression changed drastically, alarm bells ringing wildly in his heart.

But misfortune never comes singly; at that very same instant, the thick fog on the other side of the island was forcibly torn apart by an overbearing and tyrannical aura!

A crimson figure, like a flaming meteor, tore through the layers of mist and landed steadily on the black rocks at the edge of the island.

The newcomer was none other than the inner sect disciple of Chiyan Peak—Li Yan!

He released the pressure of his fifth-layer True Qi Realm without reservation, which actually formed a faint standoff against the Hua Yuan Realm ferocity rising from the bottom of the lake.

His gaze, sharp as lightning, instantly locked onto Lin Ye in the center of the altar, the treasures scattered on the ground, and the crystal skeleton that symbolized the supreme inheritance.

Greed, killing intent, and wild joy intertwined crazily in his eyes.

Li Yan's mouth curled into a cruel and excited arc, his voice cold and arrogant.

"A loach from the outer sect, your luck is truly good to have stumbled into such a godforsaken place and actually found this legacy."

"Hand everything over obediently, and I might show mercy and leave your corpse intact."

Lin Ye stood up straight.

He gripped the Star-Shattering ancient sword tightly, the remaining Qingyun true qi in his body and the wisp of star-origin true qi he had just refined beginning to merge quietly, circulating at high speed.

Facing the lethal threat of the Hua Yuan Realm beast from the lake bottom and the pincer attack of the fifth-layer True Qi Realm enemy before him, there was not a shred of fear on his face; instead, a raging battle intent ignited.