"Wuying, watch out!"
The Grand Elder was startled. His body erupted with Spiritual Light as he instantly unleashed his Beast Soul Power. Shielding Zhang Wuying behind him, he stared warily at the man hovering above them like a Divine King.
However, the man merely looked down at the two without launching an attack.
"Motherfucker!"
Suddenly, the figure spoke. And his first words were a classic string of profanity.
This immediately left both the old man and the youth completely dumbfounded. What was going on? Why did he start cursing out of nowhere?
Amidst their bewilderment, the figure spoke again.
"The inheritance here was set up over a thousand years ago, and finally, someone has arrived! A thousand years... even though I am but a wisp of Divine Sense, it still feels like an eternity. To let you in, I even removed all the remaining trials ahead.
"Forget it, I won’t waste my breath. Go on, go claim my inheritance."
Seemingly unwilling to say more, the figure pointed at a nearby bookshelf. Resting on the shelf was a bamboo slip, and right beside it lay a ring.
"The inheritance, it’s the inheritance!"
Zhang Wuying instantly lost his composure, but he didn’t dare to move just yet because the figure was still present.
"What are you waiting for? Are you not even eager to receive an inheritance? Sigh, with a blockhead like you, who knows if you’ll even be able to learn it. Fortunately, I established hundreds of similar inheritance grounds."
With those words, the figure’s body turned ethereal before finally vanishing into the void.
Zhang Wuying’s eyes lit up. He was just about to reach for the bamboo slip and the ring when the Grand Elder beat him to it. Seeing this, Zhang Wuying subconsciously clenched his fists. He thought, "As expected, the Grand Elder is going to steal my lucky encounter."
"This is... a Storage Ring!"
The Grand Elder picked up the ring, his expression filled with profound shock. A Storage Ring was absolutely a higher-tier item than a Qiankun Bag, and far more convenient to carry. More importantly, its internal space was vastly larger.
"This bamboo slip must contain the inheritance."
The Grand Elder put down the Storage Ring and was about to reach for the bamboo slip when his body suddenly slumped to the floor, completely drained of strength. The aftereffects of the Celestial Ascension Lotus had struck. Now, he was weak all over, his Spiritual Qi exhausted—nothing more than a cripple.
"Wuying, you..."
The Grand Elder turned his head, intending to tell Wuying to take the bamboo slip and accept the inheritance. But the moment he looked back, he saw Zhang Wuying wielding a longsword, thrusting it straight at his heart. Even though the Grand Elder possessed formidable cultivation, without Spiritual Qi or the strength to resist, he was nothing but a lamb to the slaughter.
STAB! STAB! STAB!
Zhang Wuying swung his sword repeatedly like a madman, his eyes filled with nothing but pure frenzy. If one strike couldn’t pierce the Grand Elder’s body, then he would stab him a few more times. Blood began to pool.
Eventually, the Grand Elder’s heart was punctured, and his life force drained away rapidly. At this moment, he didn’t even have the strength to swallow a Spirit Medicine.
"Mine, it’s all mine!
"No one can take it from me!"
Zhang Wuying had lost count of how many times he had stabbed the old man. Covered in blood, he looked like a Wild Beast.
The Grand Elder stopped breathing entirely. His eyes were wide open in death; never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would die by Zhang Wuying’s hands.
He had watched Zhang Wuying grow up, showering him with precious gifts since childhood. Even the Profound Level Treasure Sword Zhang Wuying held in his hand was a gift from him. When no one in the Zhang family believed Zhang Wuying could ever surpass Zhang Wuzong, it was the Grand Elder alone who encouraged him, telling him that as long as a person worked hard, nothing was impossible.
But now, for the sake of a fortuitous encounter, Zhang Wuying had used that very sword to murder him in cold blood. He died a restless death, full of lingering grievances.
"Grand Elder... I... what have I done?"
Perhaps frightened by the Grand Elder’s wide, unblinking eyes, Zhang Wuying dropped the Treasure Sword and stumbled back onto the ground. The Grand Elder’s death glare was terrifying—more horrifying than a ghost.
"I killed the Grand Elder... I killed the only person in the family who believed in me, who treated me well."
Zhang Wuying began to blame himself, but soon, his gaze hardened with resolve.
"No, he was trying to steal my lucky encounter! This destiny is clearly mine. Anyone who tries to steal my destiny or obstruct my growth must die!
"He deserved to die! He deserved it! He can’t blame me."
Zhang Wuying stood up, having completely shed any remorse for killing the Grand Elder.
"Mine, it’s all mine.
"I, Zhang Wuying, am a man blessed with great destiny. Brother, just wait to be defeated by me."
He walked toward the bookshelf and was just about to touch the bamboo slip when a young man’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"It’s quite rare to see a junior so utterly deranged as to brutally murder his own elder, but I must say, it was a spectacular show. You were so caught up in your killing spree that you didn’t even notice me standing at the door, did you?"
The one speaking was none other than Ye Xuan.
He had traveled down the right-hand passage without encountering any further danger. Soon, he reached the end of the path, which appeared to be a dead end. However, he discovered a hidden switch on the pitch-black stone wall. Upon pressing it, the wall ahead revolved, granting him access to this very room.
When he entered, he had heard noises coming from the thatched hut. Approaching it, he happened to witness the exact moment Zhang Wuying murdered the Grand Elder.
"Who are you?" Zhang Wuying asked, his eyes filled with surprise upon seeing Ye Xuan. But then, he let out a laugh. "You’re not from the Zhang family; your clothes don’t have our clan’s crest! That means you must be from one of our subordinate factions. To think someone from a subordinate faction managed to sneak in here! But how dare you not kneel when you see this young master! Are you courting death?"
Ye Xuan chuckled. "Kneel? It would be more fitting for you to kneel before me. But even if you do kneel, it won’t change the fact that you’re going to die today."
"What do you mean? Don’t tell me... you actually dare to raise a hand against me? You want to kill me?"
The smile on Ye Xuan’s lips suddenly turned bloodthirsty. "Why wouldn’t I?"
As his voice fell, golden Spiritual Qi materialized into a giant hand that grabbed at Zhang Wuying. Zhang Wuying tried to block it, but resistance was futile. Ye Xuan’s cultivation was an entire major realm higher than his. In an instant, his head was firmly clamped within the golden hand.
"No, don’t kill me! Don’t kill me, I can’t die!
"I, Zhang Wuying, am a man of great destiny! I’m the one who discovered these ruins! I’m not supposed to die here. I shouldn’t die here!"
Ye Xuan replied coldly, "Were you the one who discovered these ruins? You might have a bit of destiny, but unfortunately, it’s not enough."
With those words, a muffled BOOM rang out, and brains splattered across the room. Once Ye Xuan decided to kill someone, he never showed mercy. Thus, Zhang Wuying died.
He had murdered his friends and his elder along the way, only to unexpectedly hand the ultimate prize over to Ye Xuan. Had he possessed even a shred of kindness in his heart, Ye Xuan wouldn’t have been able to swoop in and reap the spoils so easily. If the Grand Elder hadn’t wasted time in the Killing Array, they might have already secured the inheritance. By the time Ye Xuan arrived, it would have been too late.
After killing Zhang Wuying, Ye Xuan picked up the ring. It was indeed a Storage Ring. The space inside was over ten times larger than that of a Qiankun Bag. However, there were no cultivation resources inside. It was entirely filled with palm-sized flags. Aside from those, there was absolutely nothing else.
Frowning, Ye Xuan then picked up the bamboo slip. When he unrolled it, he found that there were no words written on it.
"What’s going on?"
Ye Xuan paused in slight surprise before releasing his Divine Sense. The moment his Divine Sense blanketed the bamboo slip, the scenery around him abruptly underwent a drastic transformation.