In the Tianyuan Continent, Yunyang City is a bustling city where various cultivators gather. Lin Yu, only sixteen years old, is just an unremarkable grocery store clerk in the city. He lives a repetitive and monotonous life every day, barely making ends meet. However, the monthly rent collection at the end of each month weighs heavily on him like a mountain. The landlord announced a few days ago that the rent would increase by fifty percent next month, plunging Lin Yu, who was already in financial straits, into a deep predicament.
One day, Lin Yu, as usual, went to the mountain forest outside the city to gather some materials for making groceries. When he was searching for herbs in a remote valley, he suddenly noticed a strange - glowing object under an ancient tree ahead. As he approached, he found it was an antique token emitting a faint blue light. There were some runes on the token that he had never seen before, which looked mysterious and eerie.
The moment he picked up the token, the bright sun in the sky suddenly dimmed without any warning, as if covered by an invisible black curtain. Strangely, there was no sense of darkness approaching. Instead, a strange light, like daylight but with an eerie tinge, enveloped the surroundings. This abnormal scene filled Lin Yu's heart with a strong sense of unease.
Just as Lin Yu was full of doubts, he sensed a slight movement behind him, as if someone was deliberately walking softly and following him. Lin Yu was shocked. He turned around abruptly, only to see a silent mountain forest with no one in sight. But his cultivator's intuition told him that danger was approaching quietly.
To get rid of this feeling of being followed, Lin Yu quickened his pace and headed back. After returning to the grocery store, he couldn't wait to study the mysterious token. When he injected a trace of spiritual power into the token, the token glowed brightly, and an illusory light screen appeared in front of him, with some blurred words and images emerging on it. Lin Yu tried hard to make out what they were, but could only tell that it seemed to be related to the opening of an ancient ruin.
At this moment, there was a rapid knock on the door. Lin Yu opened the door warily and saw that it was his usually kind - looking neighbor, Uncle Zhao. Uncle Zhao said anxiously, "Lin Yu, I just heard a piece of news in the city. It is said that a group of mysterious black - clothed people have been asking around about your whereabouts recently. They seem to have bad intentions. You have to be careful!" Lin Yu was startled. He didn't understand how he could have offended the mysterious black - clothed people.
After Uncle Zhao left, Lin Yu felt that things were getting more and more wrong. He recalled what had happened in the mountain forest today: the strange change of the sun, the feeling of being followed, and this mysterious token. All these seemed to be somehow connected. Could it be because of this token? Lin Yu decided to hide the token first and wait and see what would happen.
However, trouble didn't let Lin Yu go. That night, in his sleep, Lin Yu suddenly heard a strange sound, like someone was chanting an ancient spell in a low voice. He sat up abruptly from the bed and found that a faint mist filled the room. In the mist, a vague figure loomed. Lin Yu clenched his fists warily and shouted loudly, "Who? Come out!"
The figure slowly approached. Lin Yu could then see clearly that it was a haggard old man. The old man stared at Lin Yu with piercing eyes and said slowly, "Lad, the token in your hand is the key to opening the ancient ruins. If you hand it over obediently, I can guarantee your life. Otherwise..." Before the old man could finish, a powerful sense of oppression emanated from his body, making it almost impossible for Lin Yu to breathe.
Lin Yu knew in his heart that since the token was so important, he might not survive even if he handed it over. He endured the pressure and gritted his teeth, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any token at all!" The old man snorted, "Humph, still stubborn! It seems I have to teach you a lesson before you'll tell the truth!" As he spoke, the old man waved his hand, and a black spiritual power shot towards Lin Yu.
Lin Yu quickly dodged to the side. The spiritual power grazed his clothes and hit the wall, instantly blasting a big hole in the wall. Lin Yu secretly叫苦 in his heart. He was just a grocery store clerk, and his daily cultivation was just for keeping fit. He was no match for this old man at all. But he was not willing to give up the token just like that.
At this critical moment, Lin Yu suddenly noticed that the mysterious token in his arms emitted a strong light, which actually blocked the old man's black spiritual power. The old man's face changed greatly when he saw this, "I didn't expect this token to recognize you as its master! But do you think you can keep the token like this?" After that, the old man quickly formed seals with his hands and muttered something. Suddenly, a huge black vortex appeared in the sky, and countless black spiritual powers shot towards Lin Yu like sharp arrows.
Lin Yu looked at the dense rain of spiritual power arrows and felt extremely desperate. Was he going to die here today? At this moment, the token glowed brightly, forming a huge light shield that protected Lin Yu inside. The spiritual power arrows hit the light shield, making a crackling sound, but they couldn't break through the light shield.
Seeing this situation, the old man knew that he couldn't take the token from Lin Yu for the time being. He snorted coldly, "Lad, you're lucky! But don't think you can rest easy. The secret of this token is not something you can bear. I'll be back!" After that, the old man turned into a black light and disappeared into the night.
Lin Yu slumped to the ground, his clothes soaked with sweat. He looked at the token in his arms, whose light was gradually fading. He felt both lucky and worried. He was lucky to have saved his life for the time being, but he was worried that the old man would surely not give up, and there were also those mysterious black - clothed people eyeing the token in the dark.
After some thought, Lin Yu decided to leave Yunyang City to find a way to unlock the secret of the token and also to avoid those who were coveting the token. He simply packed his luggage and quietly left Yunyang City under the cover of night.
Along the way, Lin Yu endured hardships, traveling and sleeping in the open, and moving towards the north. He had heard from an old man who traveled around that there was an ancient academy in the north called Star Academy, where there were countless books about ancient ruins and mysterious artifacts. Perhaps there, he could find clues to unlock the secret of the token.
A few days later, Lin Yu came to a small town. The town was bustling with people coming and going. As soon as Lin Yu entered the town, he felt an unusual atmosphere. It seemed that there were pairs of eyes staring at him in the dark. Lin Yu became vigilant. He pretended to be nonchalant and walked around the town, secretly observing the situation around him.
Suddenly, Lin Yu noticed that the owner of a fortune - telling booth on the street was staring at him intently, with an indescribable strange look in his eyes. Lin Yu had an idea and decided to go forward and test him. He walked to the fortune - telling booth, sat down, and said, "Sir, can you help me fortune - tell?" The fortune - teller smiled slightly and said, "Sir, I see that there is a dark aura between your eyebrows. It seems that you are in great trouble. However, there is also a strange aura around you, as if you are hiding a great opportunity." Lin Yu was shocked. This fortune - teller actually pointed out his situation at once. He pretended to be calm and asked, "Sir, in your opinion, how can I resolve this trouble and seize this opportunity?" The fortune - teller smiled mysteriously, took out a brocade bag from his arms, and handed it to Lin Yu, saying, "Open this brocade bag, and there will be an answer inside. But remember, don't open it unless it's absolutely necessary." Lin Yu took the brocade bag, full of doubts. He paid the money and was just about to leave when the fortune - teller whispered again, "Sir, be careful of those around you." After that, he ignored Lin Yu.
Lin Yu left the fortune - telling booth with a lot of questions in his mind. He didn't understand what the fortune - teller meant by "be careful of those around you". Could there really be someone around him who couldn't be trusted? But he had been alone all the way and hadn't contacted anyone.
Just as Lin Yu was thinking, he suddenly heard a commotion ahead. He went up to check and saw a group of people gathered around a notice, talking about it. Lin Yu squeezed in and saw that it was a wanted poster, and the person being wanted was actually himself! The wanted poster described his appearance in detail and said that he was carrying a mysterious treasure. Whoever could catch him and send him to a certain mysterious organization would receive a generous reward.
Lin Yu secretly thought it was bad. It seemed that his whereabouts had been exposed. He quietly squeezed out of the crowd and prepared to leave the town as soon as possible. However, just as he turned around, he found that there were several black - clothed people in the crowd staring at him with cold eyes. Lin Yu's heart tightened. He knew he had been targeted.
Lin Yu pretended to be calm and walked, while quickly thinking of countermeasures in his heart. He knew that if he fought with these black - clothed people, he would surely be in great danger. He had to find a way to get rid of them. Suddenly, Lin Yu had an idea. He saw a restaurant on the street, so he strode into the restaurant.
Lin Yu found a seat by the window in the restaurant, ordered a few side dishes and a pot of wine, and pretended to eat and drink leisurely. The several black - clothed people also followed into the restaurant and sat at a table not far from Lin Yu, staring at him intently. Lin Yu was anxious in his heart but remained calm on the surface. He ate and drank while observing the situation in the restaurant.
At this moment, Lin Yu noticed that there was a passage in the backyard of the restaurant leading to the outside. He got an idea. Lin Yu deliberately called the waiter over loudly, saying that there was a fly in his dish and asking the waiter for an explanation. The waiter apologized repeatedly, saying that he would make a new one for Lin Yu immediately. Lin Yu refused to let it go and started arguing with the waiter. The people in the restaurant were all attracted and gathered around to watch the excitement. The several black - clothed people were also a bit at a loss due to this unexpected change.
Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn, Lin Yu quietly stood up from his chair and slipped into the backyard of the restaurant. He ran along the passage and soon got rid of the several black - clothed people.
Lin Yu didn't dare to stay in the town for long and ran towards the outside of the town. However, when he ran to a forest outside the town, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him. Lin Yu looked back and saw a group of black - clothed people on horses chasing after him. Lin Yu secretly thought it was bad. He still hadn't completely shaken them off.
Lin Yu desperately ran in the forest, and those black - clothed people chased closely behind. Suddenly, Lin Yu slipped and fell into a hidden trap. The trap was very deep, and Lin Yu fell hard, feeling pain all over his body. He struggled to climb out but found that the walls of the trap were very smooth and there was no place to exert force.
Just as Lin Yu felt desperate, he suddenly heard voices above the trap. "Big brother, that kid fell into the trap. What should we do?" a black - clothed person said. "Humph, don't be in a hurry. Wait until he's exhausted in the trap, and then we'll go down and catch him," another black - clothed person said. Lin Yu knew in his heart that these black - clothed people wanted to wait until he was exhausted before taking action.
Lin Yu was not willing to just sit and wait for death. He groped around in the trap, hoping to find something that could help him escape. Suddenly, he touched a raised stone with some strange symbols engraved on it. Lin Yu had an idea. He remembered that he seemed to have seen similar symbols on the mysterious token.
Lin Yu tried to inject spiritual power into the stone. Unexpectedly, the stone emitted a faint light. Then, a hidden door appeared on one side of the trap. Lin Yu was overjoyed and quickly got into the hidden door. Inside the hidden door was a narrow passage. Lin Yu ran along the passage.
After running for an unknown amount of time, Lin Yu finally saw a glimmer of light. He ran towards the light and found that he had come to a valley. The valley was beautiful, with flourishing flowers and plants. Lin Yu was about to catch his breath when he suddenly heard the sound of a melodious zither. Lin Yu was curious and walked in the direction of the sound.
In the depths of the valley, Lin Yu saw a woman in white sitting on a huge rock, playing the zither. The woman was extremely beautiful and had an otherworldly temperament. When Lin Yu approached, the woman stopped playing the zither, looked up at Lin Yu, and smiled slightly, saying, "You're finally here." Lin Yu was stunned and asked, "Miss, do you know me?" The woman nodded and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. The token on you has a great connection with me." Lin Yu became vigilant and said, "Miss, who exactly are you? Why do you say this token has a connection with you?" The woman stood up and said slowly, "My name is Su Yao. I'm the owner of this valley. This token was left by my ancestors of the Su family. I don't know why it was lost outside. Now that you've obtained it, perhaps this is the arrangement of fate."
Lin Yu was half - believing and half - doubting, saying, "Miss Su, it's hard for me to believe you just based on your words." Su Yao smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter. I can take you to a place where you can find the answer." After that, Su Yao turned and walked towards one side of the valley. Lin Yu hesitated for a moment and finally followed.
Su Yao took Lin Yu to an ancient cave. The stone door of the cave was closed, with some mysterious runes engraved on it. Su Yao reached out and gently pressed on the stone door, and the stone door slowly opened. Lin Yu followed Su Yao into the cave. Inside the cave, there were many ancient bookshelves and artifacts. Su Yao walked to a bookshelf, took down an ancient book from it, and handed it to Lin Yu, saying, "Take a look at this ancient book, and you'll know if what I said is true."
Lin Yu took the ancient book and opened it. It recorded the history of the Su family and the origin of the mysterious token. It turned out that this token was obtained by an ancestor of the Su family by chance. It could open an ancient treasure hidden in the world. But opening the treasure required certain conditions, and the token also had the ability to choose its master on its own. After reading the ancient book, Lin Yu's doubts were slightly reduced.
At this moment, suddenly a noisy sound came from outside the cave. Su Yao's face changed, saying, "Not good, someone's coming!" Lin Yu was shocked. He and Su Yao quickly walked out of the cave. They saw a group of black - clothed people coming towards the valley, and the leader was the haggard old man who had tried to snatch Lin Yu's token before.
The old man saw Lin Yu and Su Yao, and a ferocious smile appeared on his face, saying, "Lad, I didn't expect you to really find this place. Today is your death day! After that, the old man waved his hand, and a powerful spiritual power shot towards Lin Yu and Su Yao.
Lin Yu and Su Yao quickly dodged. The spiritual power hit the ground, instantly blowing up a big pit. Lin Yu knew in his heart that this time it was probably very dangerous. But he was not willing to give up just like that. He clenched the token in his hand, ready to fight to the death.
Just as the two sides were in a tense stand - off, a strange light suddenly appeared in the sky. In the light, a mysterious figure slowly emerged. The figure's face could not be seen clearly. Only heard him say coldly, "Stop! The secret of this token is not something you can pry into at will!" Everyone was stunned by this unexpected change and looked up at the mysterious figure in the sky.