106: Chapter 106 Ruthless Man's Legacy, Bronze Ghost Mask

The mist of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land was as thick and cold as ever.

Lin Ye, Su Qingyue, and Shi Potian were moving rapidly through the mist, heading clearly toward the periphery of the Forbidden Ground.

Underfoot was grayish-black humus, which emitted an unsettling crunching sound when stepped upon.

The ghost-like ancient trees all around loomed in the mist, their twisted branches seeming ready to come alive at any moment and drag intruders into eternal darkness.

"Maintain Formation, do not scatter," Lin Ye whispered, his Divine Sense spreading out like a net, covering a radius of a hundred zhang.

On the middle finger of his left hand, the bronze finger ring obtained from the Bronze Ancient Palace was emitting a faint warmth.

This was a special accessory; its stats weren't top-tier, but it had a rare special effect: [Faint Resonance: May resonate with certain ancient relics under specific environments].

Lin Ye had been wearing it since his Rebirth, but he had never seen it truly "resonate" before.

Until now.

The warmth of the ring was gradually rising, turning into a distinct burning sensation, as if something was calling out to it.

Lin Ye paused his steps slightly.

"What's wrong?" Su Qingyue keenly sensed his anomaly, her ice-blue eyes looking over.

"The ring is reacting." Lin Ye raised his left hand. Fine, dark golden patterns were emerging on the surface of the bronze finger ring, moving like living creatures and pointing toward a direction on their right. "Over there... something is calling to it."

Shi Potian looked in that direction but could only see thicker mist: "That's deeper into the Forbidden Ground, right? Boss, we just finished trading with the Demon Jiao, shouldn't we quit while we're ahead?"

Reason told Lin Ye that Shi Potian was right.

They had already obtained five Flat Peaches, established a century-long contract with a Level 65 boss, and picked up some loot from a Level 63 boss for free.

The gains from this trip to the abyss had far exceeded expectations, and the wisest choice now was to leave the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land immediately and return to Chaos Valley to digest their gains.

But the burning sensation on his fingertip was becoming increasingly intense.

In Lin Ye's memories of his Rebirth, there wasn't much information about this bronze finger ring.

He only remembered a top player mentioning it on the forums in his past life, saying it was one of the keys to unlocking the "ruthless ones inheritance".

But that player was vague, deleted the post and disappeared shortly after, and never logged on again, their ID permanently grayed out.

The Ruthless Empress—that legendary existence in the original "Covering the Heavens" work who was breathtakingly talented, achieved Dao and became an Emperor with a mortal body, and created the "Heaven Swallowing Demonic Technique" and "Undying Heavenly Technique".

In the game settings of "covering the heavens era", her Legacy was classified as a "unique hidden Legacy", and at most one person in the entire server could obtain the complete Legacy.

In his past life, this Legacy had never been unlocked by anyone.

"The source of the resonance is no more than three miles away." Lin Ye sensed the information transmitted by the ring. "Let's go take a look. If the danger level is too high, we will withdraw immediately."

Su Qingyue nodded: "I sense that the cold air in that direction is exceptionally dense; there might be some ice-type treasure."

Shi Potian grinned: "Alright, I'll listen to the Boss. Anyway, our condition is fine right now; if we can't beat them, we can at least run."

The three changed direction and headed toward the source of the resonance.

The further they walked in that direction, the more obvious the environmental changes became.

First was the temperature—the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land was already cold, but the cold here had exceeded normal limits.

Su Qingyue's Vast Cold Spirit Body activated spontaneously, and a faint halo of moonlight appeared on her skin. Instead of discomfort, she looked comfortable: "The cold air here... is very pure, like some kind of Innate ice-attribute environment."

Next was the ground. The grayish-black humus was gradually replaced by grayish-white permafrost, on which grew a type of ice-blue moss that emitted a faint, eerie fluorescent glow.

The twisted ancient trees became fewer and fewer, replaced by clusters of crystalline ice, some as tall as a person, others as delicate as a palm.

"This place is a bit wicked." Shi Potian rubbed his arms, his Hegemon Blood circulating automatically to resist the cold. "My Hegemon Blood actually feels a hint of... oppression?"

Lin Ye's Divine Sense scanned the surroundings with even greater vigilance.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted.

Thirty zhang ahead, the mist suddenly thinned, revealing a circular clearing with a diameter of about ten zhang.

The center of the clearing was not ground, but a bottomless pit, with thick layers of ice frozen around its edges.

In the air, three feet above the pit, an object was floating.

It was a mask.

Made of bronze, it was ancient and heavy, its surface covered in the mottled rust of time.

The mask's design was eerie—it was not a human face, but an expression that seemed to be smiling yet not smiling, crying yet not crying. The left eye was a hollow void, while the right eye was carved with intricate patterns that, upon closer inspection, resembled an immortal flower bud about to bloom.

The mask floated there quietly, with no support around it and no energy fluctuations radiating from it; it looked just like an ordinary ancient artifact.

But the bronze finger ring on Lin Ye's finger was now as hot as a branding iron!

"This is it." Lin Ye lowered his voice. "bronze ghost mask... one of the Legacy tokens of the Ruthless Empress."

Su Qingyue and Shi Potian also saw the mask, and both held their breath.

Even from thirty zhang away, and even though the mask appeared unremarkable, a palpitation originating from the depths of their Souls told them—this thing was definitely not simple.

[System Prompt: Special Legacy item 'bronze ghost mask' (sealed state) detected. Current environment is 'Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land · Cold Abyss Ruins'. The item is under the protection of a spatial interlayer; direct contact will trigger a Restriction.]

There was indeed protection.

Lin Ye carefully observed the area around the pit. His Chaos Divine Power penetrated the surface layer, seeing complex patterns hidden in the Void Realm—there were at least three layers of spatial Restrictions, plus one layer of Soul-deterrence Formation.

Triggering any one of them could lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Can you retrieve it?" Su Qingyue asked.

"It needs time to crack." Lin Ye sat cross-legged. "Qingyue, you are responsible for guarding the surroundings, especially below the pit; I sense life energy there. Brother Shi, watch the path behind us to prevent anyone from playing the oriole behind the mantis."

Both nodded and took their positions.

Lin Ye closed his eyes, his Chaos Divine Power probing toward those Restriction patterns like threads.

The first layer was a spatial folding Restriction. This Restriction folded the small space where the mask was located seven times. If one reached out to grab it directly, their hand might be teleported thousands of miles away, or even shredded by spatial turbulence.

The method to crack it was to use stronger spatial power to fold it in reverse, or to find the nodes of the folds and unravel them one by one.

Lin Ye chose the latter. His comprehension of spatial Laws was currently less than 1%, so forcibly resisting was unrealistic. However, the characteristic of Chaos Divine Power was "analyzing all things"; as long as there was enough time, he could find the weak points of the Restriction.

Time passed minute by minute.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Lin Ye's forehead. Cracking a Restriction of this level consumed a massive amount of Divine Sense. Fortunately, he was supported by the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, and his Divine Sense recovery speed was more than five times that of an ordinary player.

Half an hour later.

"Found it." Lin Ye opened his eyes and pointed his right index finger into the air seven times.

With each point, a ripple spread through the Void Realm. After seven points, the space around the mask rippled like water, and the sensation of folding disappeared—the first layer of the Restriction was cracked.

[System Prompt: Successfully cracked the first layer of the spatial Restriction; the spatial folding effect has been removed. Triggering second layer of Restriction: Void Blades.]

Almost the instant the prompt sounded, dozens of translucent blades suddenly appeared around the mask! Those blades were silent, yet radiated a sharp aura capable of cutting through all things, flying within a three-zhang radius around the mask in irregular trajectories!

"It is the manifestation of spatial rifts." Lin Ye's expression was grave. "Any object entering that range will be cut into pieces. Unless... it is guided by spatial power of the same Origin."

He took an item from his Storage Pouch—[void stone (Excellent)]. This was a drop from a previous dungeon, containing weak spatial attributes. He had originally planned to use it to upgrade equipment, but now it came in handy.

Lin Ye injected his Chaos Divine Power into the void stone. The stone emitted a hum, and silver spatial ripples appeared on its surface. He carefully tossed the stone toward the mask.

The void stone entered the range of the blades.

Those Void Blades were like sharks smelling blood, instantly swarming toward the stone! The stone was cut into dozens of pieces in mid-air, but each fragment radiated spatial fluctuations, acting like bait to draw the blades away.

Now is the time!

Lin Ye's figure moved.

[Void Step (Excellent Skill)] activated! His body turned into an afterimage, passing through the gaps between the blades by a hair's breadth, his right hand reaching toward the bronze ghost mask!

His fingertips touched the cold surface of the mask.

[System Prompt: Contact with 'bronze ghost mask' made; triggering third layer of Restriction: Soul Interrogation. Please answer the following question within three breaths; an incorrect answer will result in a Soul shock (Intensity: Xiantai Realm).]

Lin Ye's consciousness was instantly pulled into a pure white space.

A blurry figure stood before him. The figure could not be seen clearly, but one could only feel a majesty that towered above all living beings. A voice resonated directly in the depths of his Soul: "What is the Dao?"

Three words, yet as heavy as a thousand jun.

Lin Ye knew this was a Legacy test. The Dao of the Ruthless Empress was the obsession of "not for Immortal Ascension, but to wait for your return in the Mortal World," the domineering spirit of "with one thought, flowers bloom and I rule the world," and the defiant will of "my fate is determined by me, not by the heavens."

But he could not copy these. The Legacy test required one's true heart.

Lin Ye took a deep breath. In his consciousness, all sorts of things since his Rebirth emerged: the first clear of the Bronze Ancient Palace, the establishment of Chaos Valley, the following of the Heavenly Court members, the deal with the Demon Jiao, and the tragic memories of his past life...

"My Dao—" he slowly opened his mouth, every word carrying determination, "is protection. To protect those worth protecting, to protect the undying fire within my heart, to protect a future that has even a sliver of light. For this, I can trample the heavens, reverse time and space, and Solely Deciding the Ages."

The pure white space was silent for a moment.

The blurry figure seemed to nod slightly.

"Good."

The space shattered, and Lin Ye's consciousness returned to reality.

[System Prompt: Passed the Soul Interrogation; the third layer of Restriction is removed. Obtaining 'bronze ghost mask'...]

His hand tightened around the mask.

But at this very instant, an unexpected change occurred!

From the depths of the pit, that life energy monitored by Su Qingyue erupted suddenly! A black shadow rushed out at a speed difficult to capture with the naked eye, pouncing straight toward the mask in Lin Ye's hand!

"Watch out!" Su Qingyue shouted, waving her ice-jade staff, and dozens of ice walls instantly condensed in front of the black shadow.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The ice walls shattered one after another, but the speed of the black shadow was slowed for an instant.

Lin Ye then saw clearly what it was—a snake that was pitch black all over! Its body was only as thick as an arm and no more than three feet long, but on its head grew a pair of crystalline jade horns, and its eyes were blood-red!

[Warning: Encountered 'Cold Abyss Jade Horned Snake' (Lord)!] [Level: 58] [Type: Yao Beast / Exotic Species] [Traits: 1. Body of Extreme Cold (Immune to 90% ice-type damage, attacks carry 'Freeze' effect); 2. Jade Horn Law-Breaking (The single horn can penetrate most energy shields); 3. Spatial Glide (Short-distance spatial movement); 4. Soul Scream (Emits sonic attacks targeting the Soul).] [Status: Guardian Beast (Duty: Guard the bronze ghost mask)]

A Level 58 Lord! And an exotic species with spatial abilities!

"This thing has been hiding at the bottom of the pit!" Shi Potian roared as he rushed over, his giant axe carrying the golden light of the Hegemon Body as he slashed toward the black snake.

The black snake twisted its body in an eerie way and actually vanished from the spot, appearing three feet behind Shi Potian the next moment, its jade horn stabbing straight at his heart!

"Brother Shi, duck!" Lin Ye waved his left hand, and the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo flew out with a whistle, blocking in front of the jade horn.

Clang—! A harsh ringing sound of metal striking metal echoed. The cauldron embryo was knocked back, and the black snake was also repelled by the recoil force. But Lin Ye saw clearly that a shallow white dot had actually been pierced into the surface of the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo by the jade horn!

What terrifying penetrating power!

"Qingyue, restrict its movement!" Lin Ye quickly put the bronze ghost mask into his Storage Pouch while fully opening his Chaos Domain. "Brother Shi, contain it from the front, don't let it use its spatial abilities!"

Su Qingyue held her staff high, and the Moon Palace Projection reappeared! This time, she compressed the range of her Domain to only ten zhang, but the concentration of cold air within the Domain increased tenfold! The ground, the air, and even the space began to freeze into ice crystals.

The black snake's movement speed dropped significantly, and white frost hung on the black scales on its body.

Shi Potian took the Opportunity to close in, fully activating his Hegemon Body. His giant axe danced into a sheet of golden light, and every axe strike was heavy and powerful, forcing the black snake to take them head-on. But the black snake's jade horn was simply too sharp, leaving deep gouges on the giant axe with every clash.

Lin Ye did not rush to join the battle; he was observing.

His Chaos Divine Power locked onto every movement of the black snake, analyzing its attack patterns, movement habits, and energy circulation trajectories...

Three breaths later, he found a flaw.

This snake's Spatial Glide ability was not unlimited. After each use, the light on the jade horn on its head would dim for an instant, about 0.3 seconds. Moreover, it seemed very concerned that the bronze ghost mask had been taken away, and its attacks carried obvious agitation.

"Now!" Lin Ye moved.

He did not attack the black snake but flashed, appearing at the edge of the pit, making a move as if to jump down.

The black snake indeed fell for it! It hissed, gave up fighting with Shi Potian, activated Spatial Glide, and instantly appeared in front of Lin Ye, its jade horn stabbing straight at his glabella!

But this was the exact moment Lin Ye had been waiting for.

"Chaos Earth · Tenfold Gravity!"

His defensive skill, which he had long been charging, exploded instantly! Centered on him, the gravity within a three-zhang radius increased tenfold! The black snake's body suddenly sank, its Spatial Glide was forcibly interrupted, and the trajectory of the jade horn's stab also deviated.

At the same time, Su Qingyue's finishing move arrived. "Vast Cold Spirit Body · Ice Soul Divine Needle!"

She bit the tip of her tongue and sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto the staff. The ice jade at the tip of the staff instantly shone like stars. Countless ice needles, as fine as cow hair, condensed from the Void Realm. Each one contained extreme cold and piercing power, shooting towards the Black Snake like a rainstorm!

The Black Snake tried to dodge, but the tenfold gravity slowed its movements, forcing it to barely curl its body and withstand the attack with its scales.

Chi, chi, chi, chi—!

The dense sound of ice needles piercing flesh rang out. The Black Snake's scales did indeed have formidable defense, but the Ice Soul Divine Needles were specialized in breaking armor, and Su Qingyue had fueled them with her essence blood, causing their power to surge. At least thirty ice needles pierced through the scales and embedded themselves into the Black Snake's body.

The extreme cold aura spread instantly.

The Black Snake's movements became stiff, and a thick shell of ice condensed on its body surface.

"Brother Shi!"

"Coming!"

Shi Potian's strongest strike, which he had been charging for a long time, finally erupted. He gripped the axe with both hands, pouring all his Hegemon Blood qi into the blade, and the whole person crashed into the Black Snake like a golden meteor!

"Hegemon Blood Nine Strikes: Mountain Breaker!"

The axe blade hacked at the seven-inch mark on the snake's neck—the spot Su Qingyue had deliberately weakened with her ice needles.

Crack—!

The ice shell shattered, scales flew off, and flesh was torn apart.

The Black Snake let out a shrill hiss, its body sent flying backward by this axe strike, crashing heavily into the ice crystal clusters, which exploded into fragments filling the sky.

But it was not dead yet.

The vitality of a Level 58 Lord was terrifyingly tenacious. Even though its neck was almost severed, it still struggled to lift its head, aiming its jade horn at the three of them, and began to condense a heart-palpitating energy.

"It's going to self-detonate its jade horn!" Lin Ye's expression changed. "Retreat!"

The three of them retreated rapidly.

But the Black Snake's jade horn had brightened to the extreme, and a black beam of light, as thick as a thumb, shot out! Wherever the beam passed, subtle cracks appeared in space, and it was so fast that it was impossible to dodge!

The target—Lin Ye!

At the critical moment, the Storage Pouch in Lin Ye's embrace suddenly opened on its own.

The bronze ghost mask that had just been stored inside flew out, automatically blocking in front of Lin Ye.

The black beam struck the ghost mask.

There was no explosion, no impact.

That beam, capable of piercing through the Void Realm, was absorbed by the ghost mask like a clay ox entering the sea. The mottled rust on the surface of the ghost mask began to flake off, revealing a dark cyan metallic luster underneath, and the immortal flower patterns at the right eye bloomed one after another.

One, two, three...

A full nine immortal flowers bloomed at the right eye of the ghost mask, forming a profound and mysterious pattern.

[System Prompt: The bronze ghost mask has absorbed the Origin strike of the 'Cold Abyss Jade-Horned Snake', Seal released 10%.]

Seeing this scene, a trace of... relief? appeared in the Black Snake's scarlet eyes.

It stopped attacking and slowly curled its body, the light on its jade horn completely extinguishing. Its snake body began to dissipate into specks of black light, and in the end, only a pitch-black snake gallbladder and that crystalline jade horn remained on the spot.

[Obtained: Cold Abyss Snake Gallbladder (Rare) x1, Jade Horn (Fine) x1, High-Grade Spirit Stone x50.]

The battle ended.

Lin Ye reached out, and the bronze ghost mask slowly fell into his palm.

This time, the mask was no longer cold; instead, it had a warm, smooth texture, as if it possessed life. The nine immortal flowers at the right eye of the mask slowly rotated, emitting a faint cyan light.

[Item: bronze ghost mask (Legendary)]

[Type: Face Accessory / Legacy Token]

[Wearing Requirement: Divine Sense ≥ 5000, pass Soul Interrogation]

[Base Attributes: Spirit + 300, Divine Sense Strength + 50%]

[Special Effect 1: Faceless (Passive) — Conceals one's own aura; the effect increases with Divine Sense strength, current concealment: 80%. Can shield against the vast majority of detection-type skills.]

[Special Effect 2: Thousand Faces (Active) — Consumes Divine Power to change appearance, physique, and temperament; the transformation effect lasts for 12 hours, cooldown 24 hours. Can simulate the appearance of any race's creature not exceeding one's own by two major Realms, but cannot replicate their abilities.]

[Special Effect 3: Ghost Mask Soul Protection (Passive) — Immune to mental control effects, reduces Soul attack damage by 30%.]

[Special Effect 4: Legacy Resonance (Special) — This item is one of the clue items for the 'ruthless ones inheritance'. Collecting all three Legacy tokens (bronze ghost mask, Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar Replica, Bronze Immortal Palace Key), can unlock the unique hidden Legacy quest chain.]

[Item Description: Seemingly smiling yet not, seemingly weeping yet not. Separated by one face, two paths of Yin and Yang. Legend has it that this is a mask worn by the Ruthless Emperor in her early years, stained with a trace of her Dao charm. The holder will embark on a path of Legacy filled with opportunities and dangers.]

[Binding Status: Soul Bound (Cannot be traded, cannot be dropped, will definitely return to the binder upon death)]

Legendary grade! And it was a top-tier Legendary item with four special effects and one special effect!

More importantly, it opened up the "ruthless ones inheritance" path. In his past life, Lin Ye knew that there were a few top-tier hidden legacies in the game, and the ruthless ones inheritance was one of them, and very likely in the strongest tier.

"Divine Sense requirement 5000..." Lin Ye checked his attribute panel.

[Lin Ye (Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body)]

[Level: 50 (Dao Palace Peak)]

[Qi and Blood: 182350 / 182350]

[Divine Power: 152800 / 152800]

[Attack: 9280-10840]

[Defense: 8640]

[Dao Law Bonus: + 235%]

[Divine Sense: 3870 / 3870]

3870 points of Divine Sense, still a significant gap from 5000. According to normal progress, one would need to reach at least the Late Stage of the Four Extremities Realm, or even the Dragon Transformation Realm to meet the standard.

"Looks like I can't wear it for now." Lin Ye was not disappointed. It was normal for items of this level to have high thresholds. Moreover, just holding it in his hand, he could feel the unique Dao charm contained within the mask—it was a Concept of transcending life and death, reversing Yin and Yang, which faintly resonated with his Dao of Chaos.

Su Qingyue and Shi Potian gathered around, looking at the ghost mask in Lin Ye's hand, both revealing looks of astonishment.

"This mask... makes one feel creeped out just looking at it." Shi Potian spoke the truth. "But one can't help but want to look a few more times."

"It has a contradictory sense of beauty." Su Qingyue said softly, "Crying and laughing, life and death, reality and illusion, all merged into this one face. The Ruthless Emperor... what kind of person was she exactly?"

Lin Ye was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "A person who attained the Dao through obsession."

He did not say much more, carefully putting the bronze ghost mask into a specially made jade box, placing three layers of Restrictions on the box, and only then putting it into the deepest part of his Storage Pouch.

This thing was too important, so important that once the news leaked, it could attract a siege from the top players of the entire server. The temptation of the ruthless ones inheritance was enough to drive anyone crazy.

"This place is not suitable for staying long." Lin Ye glanced at the Black Snake's remains, which were slowly dissipating. "The commotion from the battle just now was not small; it might attract other things. We must leave immediately."

The three of them did not linger and retreated towards the outer perimeter at full speed.

The return journey was much smoother than the journey there. Perhaps because the bronze ghost mask had already been taken, the cold aura in this area was gradually fading, and those ice crystal clusters were also beginning to melt.

Half an hour later, they finally walked out of the fog range of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land.

Looking back, the grayish-black fog was still churning, like a giant mouth, devouring all intruders.

"Finally out." Shi Potian let out a long sigh of relief. "I never want to enter this damn place a third time."

Lin Ye smiled but didn't speak.

He knew in his heart that he would come to the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land again. Not now, but there would definitely be such a day—when his strength was sufficient, he would explore the deepest part of the Forbidden Ground to see what secrets were hidden there.

There were also two other Legacy tokens of the ruthless ones inheritance: the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar Replica and the Bronze Immortal Palace Key. According to vague memories from his past life, these two items seemed to be hidden in two other Forbidden Grounds—the Undying Mountain and the Sea of Reincarnation.

Those were all places even more dangerous than the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land.

"Step by step." Lin Ye collected his thoughts and looked towards the direction of Chaos Valley. "Let's go back and digest this harvest first. The Flat Peach, the ghost mask, and the contract with the Demonic Flood Dragon... these are enough for the Heavenly Court to usher in a leap forward."

The three of them turned into three streaks of light and disappeared at the end of the wilderness.

Not long after they left, deep within the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land, beside the pit where the bronze ghost mask had been taken, space suddenly rippled. A blurry phantom slowly condensed. The phantom's face could not be seen, only a white robe and black hair like a waterfall. The phantom looked down at the pit, then gazed in the direction where Lin Ye and the others had left, seemingly sighing softly.

"bronze ghost mask... have you finally waited for the right person?"

"It's just that this path is more difficult than you imagine..."

The phantom slowly dissipated, as if it had never appeared.

Only at the bottom of the pit, the melting ice water reflected the setting sun in the sky, which was gradually slanting westward. It was as red as blood.

Returning to Chaos Valley, it was already dusk. The glow of the setting sun plated the entire valley in gold. The runes on the defensive works circulated in the light. Patrol players saw Lin Ye and the others return and bowed in greeting.

"Valley Master!"

"Elder Su! Hall Master Shi!"

Lin Ye nodded in response, not stopping, and led the two directly to the secret chamber in the deepest part of the valley.

This secret chamber was only accessible to him and a few core members. The walls were engraved with isolation Formations, so even the Divine Sense of a Xiantai Realm expert could not penetrate it.

"This harvest needs to be kept strictly confidential." Lin Ye placed another layer of sound-insulation barrier before taking out the items one by one.

Two jade boxes—one containing five Flat Peaches, the other containing the bronze ghost mask.

There was also a pile of Materials obtained from the Thousand-Legged King and the Cold Abyss Jade-Horned Snake.

Su Qingyue and Shi Potian sat opposite, their expressions serious.

"Regarding the distribution of the Flat Peaches, I have mentioned before that this is a strategic resource." Lin Ye opened the first jade box, golden light overflowing, the rich life aura causing the Spiritual Qi concentration of the entire secret chamber to rise by a notch. "I suggest sealing them for now, to be used when hitting key Bottlenecks like the Four Extremities Realm or the Dragon Transformation Realm. Of course, if someone is critically injured and dying, it can also be used to save their life."

Shi Potian scratched his head: "I have no opinion. Anyway, I don't need it; I'm a Hegemon Body, and I level up fastest by fighting."

Su Qingyue mused: "I suggest establishing a contribution point redemption System. Core members can redeem the usage rights of the Flat Peaches with accumulated contribution points, but it must be strictly reviewed to ensure it is used at the most critical moment."

"That works." Lin Ye nodded. "Leave this matter to Zhao Wuji to formulate the details. He is a business Genius and good at designing such Systems."

He closed the first jade box and opened the second.

The bronze ghost mask lay quietly in the jade box, the nine immortal flowers rotating slowly, emitting a mysterious Dao charm.

"As for this..." Lin Ye took a deep breath. "Except for the three of us, do not let a fourth person know for now. The temptation of the ruthless ones inheritance is too great; once leaked, the Heavenly Court might become a target for everyone."

"I understand." Su Qingyue said seriously. "My Vast Cold Spirit Body Legacy is enough for me to study; I will not covet others' opportunities."

Shi Potian patted his chest: "Boss, don't worry. If I, Shi Potian, say even half a word, may my Hegemon Body shatter, and may I never be reincarnated!"

Lin Ye smiled: "No need to make such a heavy oath. I'm just reminding you that this thing is too involved."

He resealed the jade box and put it into the deepest part of his Storage Pouch.

"Next, our focus will be on three things." Lin Ye said sternly. "First, improve our strength as soon as possible. I am preparing to go into seclusion to break through to the Four Extremities Realm, and Qingyue, you should also prepare to break through to the Dao Palace Peak. Brother Shi, your Hegemon Body needs combat to temper it; you can take the brothers of the Azure Dragon Hall to grind more high-level dungeons."

"Second, the expansion of the Heavenly Court cannot stop. Zhao Wuji is already preparing the Chu State branch, and Chen Hao is leading a team there to expand. We need more manpower and more resource points."

"Third..." Lin Ye's gaze was profound. "The meeting for the Ten Thousand Races Covenant is about to start. That will be our Opportunity to officially step onto the server-wide stage. At that time, prodigies from all major forces and all races will appear. We want everyone to know that the Heavenly Court is not a small force in the Yan State, but an existence that can influence the entire game's landscape in the future."

Fighting spirit burned in the eyes of Su Qingyue and Shi Potian.

"Alright, that's it for today." Lin Ye stood up. "Everyone go and rest. Starting tomorrow, perform your respective duties."

The three of them left the secret chamber.

When they walked out of the building, night had already fallen. Chaos Valley was brightly lit; players were either cultivating, trading, or discussing tactics in groups, a scene of prosperity.

Lin Ye walked alone to a cliff edge of the valley, overlooking the thousands of lights below.

The night wind blew his robes, making them flap loudly.

He took out the bronze finger ring and put it back on his middle finger. The ring had returned to normal temperature and no longer had that burning sensation. But Lin Ye knew that a certain connection between it and the bronze ghost mask had already been established.

The ruthless ones inheritance...

One of the supreme legacies that no one had unlocked in his past life.

In this life, how far would he go?

Lin Ye looked up at the night sky. The starry sky of the game world was exceptionally bright, the big dipper hanging high in the firmament, emitting eternal light.

And in the depths of that starry sky, in areas where players had not yet set foot, there were countless secrets, countless dangers, and countless opportunities waiting.

"One-year Fusion countdown..." Lin Ye muttered to himself. "Not much time left."

He clenched his fist, and the Chaos Divine Power slowly circulated within his body.

The bronze finger ring on his middle finger faintly shimmered with a trace of cyan light in the moonlight.

As if responding to something.

And as if predicting something.

The night was still long.

And so was the road.