[Parchment, a shocking turn! Chen Qingyan had never reincarnated?!]

[You asked Chen Qingyan whether he had any news about his Venerable Master's injuries. The [Karmic Law Punishment] just now had been far too ferocious; it must have wounded him.]

["My Venerable Master's condition..." Chen Qingyan sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion opposite you, his brows tightly knitted and a rare bewilderment surfacing in his eyes. "I don't remember."]

[Your heart sank, but you were not surprised.]

[If Chen Qingyan could truly remember the details of Lin Feng's injuries clearly, that would have been the anomaly.]

[—The corrections imposed by [Karmic Law]: this ironclad rule had been verified repeatedly in previous simulations.]

[But then his next words made you pause.]

["Still, I seem to vaguely remember that Master left something beneath the [Chen Family]'s old locust tree for his juniors..."]

[The "[Chen Family Old Locust Tree]" again?]

[It seemed this was the aid Lin Feng, the [Supreme Dao Immortal Venerable], had left behind. After all, he had endured such a savage [Karmic Law Punishment]...]

[Without the slightest hesitation, you immediately rose.]

[You went to find the old tree and began digging at once.]

[This time, the process was entirely different from before.]

[Without the faint fluctuations unique to the [Spacetime Token] that you had expected to guide you, you could only rely on memory and instinct,]

[Continually expanding the area you excavated amid the old locust tree's tangled roots.]

[At last, you unearthed a scroll case and opened it. Inside lay a yellowed Parchment, its surface coarse and its edges worn, clearly weathered by many years.]

[By the moonlight, you focused your gaze on it.]

[The writing on the Parchment had not been written in ink. Rather, it seemed to have been branded directly into it by some power imbued with dao resonance. Faint light flowed between the strokes, but the writing as a whole appeared indistinct, as though it might dissipate at any moment.]

[You deciphered it word by word:]

["If thou bearest [Heaven's Mandate], thou must remember these three admonitions:"]

["First, trust no one, not even Chen Qingyan! The so-called '[Supreme Existence]']

[Must be this world's [Spirit Transformation Dao Master]. Their fleshly vessel and [Dao Fruit] have been banished beyond the Present World and cut off from it. Yet [Heaven's Mandate] is peculiar, akin to an 'anchor.']

[They will surely make a move, most likely 'transforming into' or 'assimilating' someone familiar and dear to thee, awaiting the chance to siphon [Heaven's Mandate] and use it as a bridge to return to the Present World!"]

["Second, I have exhausted all that I can do to pave a slender path to 'survival' for thee.]

[Yet, owing to the connection forged by the [Spacetime Token], I cannot intervene directly to alter events 'destined to occur.']

[Thus, being vested with [Heaven's Mandate] has become thy inevitable fate. There is no escaping it."]

["Third, thou must break through to [foundation establishment]!]

[Remember, thou must achieve [foundation establishment]!]

[Only then mayest thou use [Heaven's Mandate] to seek a [major divine ability] suited to thyself. This is the key to breaking the deadlock. Remember! Remember!"]

[The writing ended abruptly there, with nothing but blank space below.]

["Trust no one... not even Chen Qingyan..." Lin Feng's warning seemed to point directly to a possible problem with Chen Qingyan.]

[[Spirit Transformation Dao Master]... using someone familiar as a medium... siphoning Heaven's Mandate... returning to the Present World...]

[Silently, you put away the Parchment, filled in the pit, and restored the ground to its original state.]

[You found Chen Qingyan and activated the [Eye of Illusion] to examine his information template, only to find nothing unusual.]

["Just as I thought?"]

[You sighed inwardly. The [Eye of Illusion] was still far too constrained by rank. At your current qi refining cultivation, you essentially still could not obtain the information you wanted.]

[At that moment, a flicker of regret passed through your heart—if you had used your Ascension opportunity to improve the [Eye of Illusion] back then, would you have been able to see more clearly now?]

[But the thought passed in an instant. You quickly steadied yourself.]

[After all, the opening of this simulation could only be called a dream come true. Not only had you inherited the limit-breaking ninth-level qi refining cultivation from the end of the previous simulation, but you also possessed the purple talent [once and for all], practically a "god-tier idle skill."]

[I have to verify this. I have to obtain more information. I have to find a way out, you thought.]

[After weighing it over and over, you made your decision.]

[You needed a "testing ground," somewhere you could both test the effects of your Heaven's Mandate and luck, and potentially obtain more clues or resources.]

[You thought of the secret realm you had explored with Chen Qingyan in the previous simulation.]

[By all ordinary logic, bearing [Heaven's Mandate] should raise your fortune to heights unimaginable to ordinary people. Perhaps you really could find an opportunity suited to you within that secret realm.]

[After thinking for a long time, you still decided to have Chen Qingyan take you to the secret realm from your previous life.]

[The two of you agreed to set out the next day.]

[But as you cultivated quietly in the latter half of the night,]

[An aged figure appeared at the entrance to your meditation chamber, unnoticed until then.]

[It was the [Chen Family Ancestor].]

[But now, the composure he once wore was gone from his face, replaced by solemnity, and even... a trace of alarm he could hardly conceal.]

[He laid down several layers of soundproof restrictive wards, his movements swift and discreet.]

["Chen Fan," the ancestor said, his voice lowered to the faintest whisper,]

["Do not trust that Chen Qingyan! He is a fake! The real Chen Qingyan... died long ago!"]

["!!!"]

[Your pupils abruptly contracted.]

[A fake? The real Chen Qingyan was dead?]

[You forcibly suppressed your roiling emotions and drew your brows together. Rather than answering immediately, you fixed the Chen Family Ancestor with a searching stare.]

[You wanted to find some sign of lies or outside control on his face, but his aged eyes held only a heavy anxiety.]

[The [Chen Family Ancestor] did not seem to expect you to believe him immediately either. He took something from inside his robes and held it out to you.]

[Another sheet of Parchment!]

[You reached out and took it.]

[Its material, its size, even its ancient texture were almost identical to the sheet tucked inside your robes, the one you had dug up beneath the old locust tree!]

[You unfolded the Parchment and focused your gaze on it.]

[It began with the same familiar sentence:]

["If thou bearest [Heaven's Mandate], thou must remember these three admonitions:"]

[Yet what followed chilled you from head to toe, standing in sharp and utter opposition to the first Parchment!]

["First, trust no one! Remember, 'no one' means anyone!]

[Above all, beware Chen Qingyan! He has never truly 'reincarnated'! If thou encounterest him, leave at once!]

[For he must undoubtedly be a 'counterfeit'... Ever since that [severe Karmic Law Punishment] aimed at 'Beyond Heaven' descended, everything has changed.]

[[Beyond Heaven] may have suffered corruption by 'that being.' Some 'things' beyond our perception must have been altered. Yet I, too, am affected by the corrective power of [Karmic Law], and cannot discern the details.]

[Thus, at the final moment, I shall seal off [Beyond Heaven] completely, cutting off this corruption.]

["Second, there is no path to survival! Remember, there is no path to survival! If thou hast some special means to rely upon, expend everything to 'preserve' thyself.]

[I shall secretly plant a 'seed' that even 'that being' will struggle to perceive. Perhaps, amid utter desperation, it may wrest a slender chance of 'continued existence.'"]

["Third, thou must never attempt [foundation establishment]!]

[Remember, thou must never establish thy foundation! The moment thou condensest a [divine ability] and fully triggerest the descent of [Heaven's Mandate] upon thyself shall be the moment thou art 'harvested in full'!"]