Chapter 6

In the outside of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, in a small and ordinary mountain village at the foot of the Wuji Sect, the villagers were busy. Some were forging iron, some were watering and sweeping the courtyard, and some were lying in the center of the square, basking in the sun with a spread of grain. At the village entrance, an old man squinted his eyes, sipping tea leisurely while playing with a turtle shell. Children were chasing and playing in the village, young men and women were doing what they liked, and the whole village was filled with the sounds of cooking smoke, laughter, and the clanging of tools.

Then, in the next moment, the villagers' expressions changed. Those who were forging iron put down their hammers, those who were basking in the sun got up from the ground, and the busy adults in every household pushed open their doors and gathered in the square. The old man at the village entrance put down his teapot, picked up a white banner inscribed with "Understanding the Will of Heaven and Resolving the Bonds of Earth," and continued to play with the turtle shell as he slowly walked into the village. The people in the square saw the old man slowly approaching, their gazes shifting to the distant Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and they all smiled strangely in unison. However, the children and young people in the square remained unmoved.

...

In the back mountain of the Wuji Sect, a hot spring was misty, and the sound of playful chatter echoed continuously, making one's heart itch. The rocks by the hot spring held the girls' clothes, and the girls had set up several layers of protection around the hot spring. If anyone tried to approach, they would immediately be alerted. Suddenly, a bony black hand stretched out from behind the rocks, slowly reaching towards a pink piece of clothing. After grabbing it, the hand instantly retreated as if it had never appeared.

Behind the rocks, a lecherous old man was holding the pink piece of clothing and laughing to himself. Suddenly, his expression changed, and his lecherous eyes sparkled with a golden light. In the next moment, the old man's figure flashed, the pink piece of clothing slowly fell from the air, and the old man disappeared from the spot.

...

Speaking of Lin Zheng, he was carefully advancing step by step in the cave. The cave was not completely dark; occasionally, there were glowing stones on the ground. The ground inside the cave was soft and spongy, and a faint red light emanated from deeper inside, providing a bit of illumination. Lin Zheng carefully moved forward with the help of the faint light. After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Lin Zheng came to a stone wall that emitted a faint red light. He pushed it but it didn't budge, indicating that he had reached the end of the cave. Lin Zheng took out a firefly from his pocket and, using its weak light, began to search the ground inch by inch.

Finally, at the bottom of the stone wall, he found a few small grasses emitting a soft blue light. The delicate blue light, the fine roots, and the three leaves per plant were clearly visible. Lin Zheng, suppressing his excitement, took out a small jade spade from his pocket and carefully placed the four plants into a jade bottle. He then stood up and took a deep breath. He had finally obtained them; all that was left was to return safely and try his best to pass the third stage of the assessment!

However, he still didn't know what the Three Lives Stone mentioned by the divine fortune-teller three years ago was. If he didn't pass the third stage of the assessment, he wouldn't receive any rewards from the sect, which was confusing. With five days left until the ten-day deadline, he decided to leave as soon as possible, return to a hiding place, and wait until the last day to reappear, to avoid any unexpected events. After all, his strength was still too weak.

Lin Zheng held the firefly in one hand and a jade talisman in the other, and quickly walked out. Since there was no danger when he entered, and he had carefully examined the area, he could now move faster. The dark cave gave him a creepy feeling, and his spiritual senses were completely ineffective here. The few spiritual senses he had emitted when he first entered were absorbed by the walls, making him hesitant to use them again.

As he walked, Lin Zheng realized something was wrong. When he entered, he had made many marks on the walls and ground to prevent getting lost, but now, as he retraced his steps, he couldn't see any of the marks he had left. Lin Zheng felt a chill from his feet to his scalp. Damn, he had encountered the situation he least wanted to happen. If he encountered wild beasts or traps, he could handle them calmly, but this sudden, inexplicable situation was beyond his current experience and strength.

After walking for a while, the ground no longer felt soft and spongy; it became increasingly hard. Lin Zheng didn't hesitate and crushed the jade talisman given to him by the fat man, teleporting out. It was better than being trapped and dying here. In the narrow, dark cave, if he encountered danger, he wouldn't have a chance to dodge, but outside, he could use his spiritual senses and the experience he had gained over the past three years to handle various dangers.

With a snap, the jade talisman broke! Lin Zheng was stunned. Could the fat man have given him a fake? That didn't make sense; his spiritual senses had detected no malice from the fat man at the time. So, the problem must be with the cave. If the walls could absorb his spiritual senses, it wasn't surprising that they could block the teleportation of a jade talisman.

After some thought, Lin Zheng decided to return to the stone wall that emitted a red light. At least there was a bit of light there, and with three walls around it, he would only face danger from the front. Fortunately, the path back was unchanged. Lin Zheng leaned against the wall and began to think carefully. After a while, he stood up and started walking out again, but this time, he soon found that the ground was becoming increasingly soft, as if he would sink with each step.

Lin Zheng quickly returned to the red-lit stone wall and sat down. After resting for a while, he stood up again and started walking back. The road was now bumpy, with some pits so deep that he couldn't hear a stone he threw in hit the bottom.

Lin Zheng was frustrated, extremely frustrated. He returned to the stone wall and decided not to go back. Sitting by the wall, he thought to himself that even a fool would know someone was playing with him. Every time he tried to go out, problems arose, but when he returned, there were none. What was going on? Did he have to spend his whole life facing this wall?

Wait, could this have something to do with him? Why did the cave always obstruct him from going out? Could there be something behind the wall? Thinking this, Lin Zheng stood up, took out the firefly, and began to carefully observe the wall that emitted a soft red light.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed extremely fine golden lines densely covering the wall, emitting a faint light. If he hadn't looked closely, he wouldn't have noticed them. The lines were very regular, forming small patterns that covered the entire visible part of the wall, seemingly forming a larger pattern.

Lin Zheng stepped back a few steps to get a better overall view. He felt a sense of familiarity from the patterns, not just familiarity, but a deep, innate connection. Unfortunately, stepping back didn't help him see the small patterns clearly.

It seemed he would have to memorize each line and see if he could form the entire pattern in his mind. After some thought, Lin Zheng returned to the wall and used his fingers to feel the golden lines, carefully memorizing them. The lines were extremely complex, some circling the entire wall. However, the more he felt, the more familiar they became, and his dormant spiritual energy began to flow slowly in his body. Eventually, Lin Zheng closed his eyes and let his fingers move over the wall by feel.

Time passed, and Lin Zheng was completely pressed against the wall. His spiritual energy flowed faster and faster, but it was no longer under his control. It moved throughout his body, following the same path as the golden lines on the wall. If Lin Zheng had been conscious, he would have noticed that the path of his spiritual energy matched the golden lines perfectly.

Slowly, the golden lines on the wall began to glow and converge on Lin Zheng. His body was covered in intricate patterns, from his toes to his face, as if he were covered in tattoos. Then, the patterns began to sink into his body, as if coming to life.

The pain was unprecedented. With a tearing sound, Lin Zheng's skin couldn't withstand the pressure of the golden lines and began to tear, blood splattering everywhere.

Lin Zheng had woken up, but the pain was so intense that he would have preferred to faint. No, he couldn't die like this! He hadn't found himself yet! He hadn't found his family! He couldn't die like this!

Lin Zheng gritted his teeth, his body trembling uncontrollably. The golden lines slowly entered his body, and the pain was like being cut into a thousand pieces. Lin Zheng felt his body about to shatter, and blood flowed from every inch of his body, turning him completely red.

As all the golden lines sank into his body, Lin Zheng's trembling stopped. His spiritual energy flowed rapidly, following the path of the golden lines. Each cycle made him feel warm and full of strength in every muscle and vein.

However, before the comfortable flow of spiritual energy could continue, the patterns formed by the golden lines suddenly exploded. Lin Zheng felt as if his entire body was exploding, his heart crushed, and he could no longer feel his heartbeat. After the intense pain, he fell forward, his head smashing through the wall, which no longer had the golden lines. As he closed his eyes, he found himself falling into an endless black hole.

PS: Some readers asked about my gender and expressed doubts! I just want to say, being called "Xiaohua" as a man is a tragedy! "Ahua" is no good either! Tears streaming! Please give me red votes and add to your favorites!

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