The power of [Heaven's Mandate]-how enviable

``` [[Heaven's Mandate]'s influence grew increasingly outrageous.]

[You were merely passing the old grounds of a cultivation family, long since fallen into ruin with nothing left but broken walls, hoping to see whether any texts remained.]

[The moment you stepped into the abandoned Ancestral Hall, a hunched figure in the corner slowly straightened.]

[It was an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in rags and still clutching a battered broom.]

[At first, you thought he was an ordinary mortal servant, but when his cloudy eyes turned toward you, pressure as heavy as a mountain came crashing down!]

[Your entire body stiffened, and your spiritual power nearly froze.]

[[Foundation establishment perfection]!]

[He was definitely at [foundation establishment perfection], and certainly no ordinary rogue cultivator!]

[You were now at [qi refining perfection Ninefold Limit-Breaking], with [once and for all] continually raising your cultivation and rank,]

[So even against someone at [foundation establishment late stage] with a life-bound divine ability, you could put up a fight.]

[Yet before this deranged old man, you could barely even move.]

["Don't go... don't go..." the old man muttered, his gaze unfocused yet fixed stubbornly on you as he approached step by step.]

[Alarm bells rang in your heart. A head-on fight meant Certain Death.]

[You forced a smile. "Senior, I was merely passing through. Could I visit you another day?"]

[The old man tilted his head, seemingly trying to understand. After a long while, he grinned, revealing his broken yellow teeth:]

["Good... in a couple of days... come..."]

[With trembling hands, he drew a Jade Pendant from inside his clothes and thrust it into your hands.]

[The Jade Pendant was dull gray, without any ornamentation, and cold to the touch. It gave no response when you poured spiritual power into it.]

["A token... a