CHAPTER 65 — The Saint's Legacy & The Secret Realm Beyond Time
The morning mist clung to the valley long after the sun should have burned it away. It was a quiet, heavy stillness—one that Lin Xuan knew didn't belong to nature alone. Sheng Tianya's tomb had always radiated an ancient presence, but now that the Saint's soul had departed, the silence felt… final.
Lin guided the others back toward the cracked valley wall, where the remnants of the tomb still lay sealed behind stone and dust.
Bai frowned. "We heading back in?"
Lin nodded. "There are things left behind. And I owe the Saint more respect than to simply walk away."
Mu smiled faintly. "You don't need an excuse. We trust you."
Wen added, "And if there's treasure, even better."
Bai elbowed him. "Shameless."
Wen shrugged. "I learned from you."
Lin ignored their antics.
He placed his palm against the stone.
His qi pulsed gently.
The wall parted like shifting sand, opening into the Saint's tomb once more.
---
The Saint's Silent Resting Place
The chamber within was unchanged, lit softly by luminous spirit pearls embedded into the walls. The sarcophagus remained at the center—no longer housing a soul, only a memory.
Lin walked forward, bowing deeply.
"Senior Sheng… I will safeguard your legacy until the day we meet again."
Then he stepped around the coffin.
Behind it, as if waiting for him, lay a pile of carefully arranged items:
What the Saint Left Behind
Ancient jade slips sealed in stasis light
A cracked but still-powerful saint-grade robe
Two battered weapons from centuries of battle
A set of formation flags with patterns long lost
A talisman glowing faintly with spatial distortion
A dusty manual labeled: Heaven-Earth Soul Refining Art
A crystal vial containing a faint trace of Saint Qi
And a small box holding an unfinished ring
Bai's jaw dropped. "This is… a fortune."
Mu whispered, awe coloring her tone, "No. This is history."
Lin didn't touch the robe or the weapons—they were Sheng Tianya's personal relics. They would return to him after reincarnation.
But the manuals, talisman, formation flags, and the ring—these were things the Saint likely intended to pass on.
He gathered them carefully into his storage.
"Let's go," Lin murmured. "We still have a mission."
As the door resealed behind them, the tomb returned to silence.
---
Into the Ancient Forest
The group continued toward the next marked location—a region known in legends as the Verdant Ancient Forest, a massive expanse of living qi and forgotten beasts. Few entered. Fewer returned.
As they stepped into the towering green labyrinth, Wen shivered. "Feels like something's watching."
Mu nodded. "The qi density is… unusual. Too concentrated for a normal forest."
Bai tightened his grip on his spear. "Everyone stay alert."
Lin walked slowly, letting the solar system in his consciousness adjust. The forest's qi flowed toward him involuntarily—like tree roots drinking from the earth.
He suppressed it carefully.
He didn't want to disturb the ecosystem.
But then—
A ripple surged through the air.
Reality trembled.
A rift of shimmering blue-purple light opened between two colossal trees.
Wen pointed. "Uh… is that supposed to happen?"
Bai blinked. "Absolutely not."
Mu gasped. "A space rift!"
Lin narrowed his eyes.
Inside the rift lay lush greenery… floating stones… swirling qi… and a faint, ancient presence.
A secret realm.
And not just any secret realm—but one overflowing with untouched spiritual energy.
---
The Realm of the Fallen Sect
Lin stepped forward cautiously.
"Everyone stay behind me."
They entered the rift together.
The moment they crossed the boundary, the world shifted. The air shimmered with golden motes. The earth hummed softly. Every breath felt like inhaling liquid qi.
But what truly stunned them was the sight ahead:
Ancient stone pillars covered in runes.
Collapsed pagodas half reclaimed by vines.
Training platforms carved with martial symbols.
Floating arrays suspended in frozen cycles.
A broken archway reading Sky Ascension Sanctum.
Mu whispered, "This… this was a sect."
Wen breathed out, "A high-level one at that."
Bai murmured, "Then what wiped it out?"
Lin stepped into the courtyard—and the solar system in his mind shivered as Sheng Tianya's voice echoed faintly through the dantian.
"Little sun… I sense where you've stepped.
This place… was the training ground of the Sky Ascension Sect."
Lin's heart tightened.
They hadn't spoken since the reincarnation process.
"Senior Sheng? You can still talk to me?"
A faint warmth pulsed in his dantian—like sunlight touching water.
"Only as a dream echo. When you forged my pocket dimension into your inner world, a sliver of my consciousness lingered. My true soul is already reincarnating, but this fragment can still guide you."
Lin exhaled with relief.
"Senior… this place holds a rare ingredient for our mission. But why does it feel so untouched?"
"Because time flows differently here. The sect that built this realm died out nearly eight hundred years ago."
Lin's eyes widened.
"Their herbs… might still live?"
"Not just live… thrive."
A soft tremor ran through the earth.
Mu pointed ahead, eyes wide.
"Lin… look!"
---
The Spirit Herb Sanctuary
Before them stood an enormous cultivation garden—rows upon rows of glowing plants, each one vibrant with life. Spirit trees, flowers, vines, and fruit-bearing stalks shimmered with rare medicinal power.
Wen gasped. "Half of these species are… extinct!"
Mu nearly cried. "Some of these ingredients aren't even mentioned in modern texts!"
Bai grinned. "We hit the jackpot."
Lin scanned the garden.
His heart raced.
He recognized several herbs from the Sect Master's ingredient list.
The Missing Ingredients
Moonlight Jade Orchid – used to stabilize a weakened core
Shrouded Phantom Vine – enhances soul recovery
Goldenleaf Vermilion Root – rare fire-aspect medicinal herb
Starry Dew Mistflower – critical for forming longevity elixirs
Voidscale Moss – extremely rare spatial attribute herb
Mu gasped. "These… these are the ones missing on the list! All of them!"
Bai fist-pumped. "Then the heavens haven't abandoned us!"
Lin, however, wasn't finished.
He knelt beside the garden's boundary and pressed his palm gently to the earth.
His solar system appeared behind him in faint outline.
He could feel it.
His world could hold life.
It could sustain life.
It could store life.
He whispered, "Senior… can I… relocate these herbs?"
Sheng Tianya's faint echo responded:
"Your world is still young. But yes. It can hold flora. One day it will hold fauna. Even civilizations, if you desire."
A shock ran through Lin's spine.
His world…
could become a realm.
A true realm.
But now was not the time for that path.
He focused on the garden.
"Then I'll take these herbs with me. They deserve a world where they won't rot away."
---
Transplanting a Lost Legacy
Lin placed both palms on the ground.
Qi surged.
His solar earth expanded in his consciousness—lush forests forming, rivers flowing, skies shimmering.
And then—
With careful precision, he wrapped the entire spirit garden in spatial qi.
The soil shimmered.
The plants glowed.
The air sang.
Mu watched, speechless.
Wen mouthed, "He's… he's taking the whole garden."
Bai muttered, "At this point I'm convinced he's secretly a god."
Lin lifted the entire thousand-year-old spirit herb garden…
…and transplanted it into his inner earth.
The moment it landed, his world brightened.
A garden from a dead sect…
now had a chance to live again.
---
Cultivation Fortunes for the Group
Lin turned to the others.
"You three should take advantage of this realm. It's filled with stray treasures."
Bai grinned. "Don't have to tell me twice."
They split up to explore the surrounding ruins.
Bai's Fortune
He found an ancient spear manual imbued with battle intent.
It resonated with his qi instantly.
By the time he returned, he had already broken through two levels.
Mu's Fortune
She discovered a dormant alchemy flame sealed in a formation.
The moment she approached, the flame awakened and merged with her cauldron.
Her alchemy cultivation surged to 4-star potential.
Wen's Fortune
He found a sword inheritance stone.
The sword aura nearly sliced him in half—but recognizing his potential, it branded a sword pattern into his chest.
His sword intent rose sharply, boosting his realm by three levels.
---
Lin's Breakthrough Preparation
As the others consolidated their gains, Lin sat beneath a great spirit tree.
His solar system glowed brightly inside his consciousness.
Sheng Tianya's faint echo spoke again.
"Your foundation is complete, Lin Xuan.
Now you must prepare for your Golden Core.
Your path will not be like others."
Lin inhaled deeply.
"How should I form my core using the solar system?"
The Saint responded:
"Your core will not be a core."
Lin frowned. "Then what—"
"Your core will be a star."
Lin's heart stopped.
"A… sun?"
"Yes. Your dantian already mimics one.
When you reach peak Foundation Establishment…
compress your qi not into a sphere…
but into nuclear ignition."
Lin swallowed hard.
"That sounds… incredibly dangerous."
"It is. Most would die.
But you are not most."
Lin closed his eyes.
"I understand."
---
The secret realm pulsed with ancient power.
Lin's group had grown stronger.
The missing ingredients were found.
And Lin now carried an ancient garden—and a future Saint—inside his world.
As the rift trembled softly behind them…
Lin whispered:
"Let's go. The Sect Master's life depends on us."
And the secret realm faded behind them like the closing of a forgotten dream.
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