98: Yang shear

"This way, Senior Brother! There are plenty of good things over here!"

Shi Suiyan led the way for Zhou Yan with great enthusiasm.

After the two met, they shared their respective experiences with each other.

Zhou Yan learned about the danger they faced from the Soul Cultivator, and Shi Suiyan also saw Zhou Yan's new mount, Yuan Chenling.

However, Yuan Chenling didn't have a good impression of Shi Suiyan, and Shi Suiyan felt the same about him.

But for the sake of Zhou Yan's Face, things were currently very harmonious.

In this way, Zhou Yan's team size returned to a trio.

It had to be said that having a guide while exploring was indeed comfortable; Zhou Yan finally experienced the joy of having a team.

If Yuan Chenling knew what he was thinking, he would probably point at Zhou Yan and question him.

"Am I not a person?"

Oh wait, he actually wasn't human.

From Shi Suiyan's mouth, Zhou Yan learned that this space was both a reward for those who passed the trials and a test in itself.

How much and what quality of treasures one could take from here would have a significant impact on the next floor.

If one was satisfied with just picking up gold and silver, they would likely miss out on the true treasures.

Hearing this, both Zhou Yan and Yuan Chenling became interested and followed Shi Suiyan toward the location of the true Treasure Trove.

On the way, to pass the time, Shi Suiyan began to share some of her knowledge with them.

"Speaking of this great tomb, isn't Senior Brother curious as to why I know so much about it in such detail?"

"Not curious."

Zhou Yan always gave this standard response to people who spoke in riddles.

But Shi Suiyan didn't remain silent or fly into a rage like other riddle-speakers he had met; instead, she continued talking to herself as if the previous question had just been a casual remark.

“The Recluse of Spiritual Stream lived in the ancient Middle Stage.”

“Before then, the path of cultivation only consisted of five Realms: Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, and Void Refining.”

“It wasn't until the birth of the first Mahayana Cultivator in the world and the confirmation of the path of Laws that today's cultivation system came into being.”

“And the time this system truly became widespread in the cultivation world was precisely during the ancient Middle Stage.”

“At that time, Law cultivation had already been established as the orthodox path. The Daoist and Buddhist sects, along with various Dynasties that still adhered to the old methods, were already in decline.”

“Because of their special Legacies, the Daoist and Buddhist houses could still go into seclusion and seal their mountains, maintaining a transcendent status.”

“But the nature of the Dynasties determined that they could not back down; conflict with the new system was inevitable.”

“The result was obvious. The path of Laws was too powerful; there was no need for a Mahayana Cultivator to even step in.”

“A Body Integration Stage of the new system could easily suppress a Peak existence of the old system—that is, the old Void Refining Stage.”

“There were even records of a Soul Transformation Stage of the new system defeating an old Void Refining Stage.”

“Even if the opponent was at the bottom of the Void Refining Stage, such a feat of defeating an enemy across Realms was enough to be sensational.”

“It was also from then on that the absolute authority of the new system was thoroughly established.”

“The Recluse of Spiritual Stream lived in such an era of transition between the old and the new.”

“He found it hard to part with the old system he had cultivated all his life, yet he also craved the supreme power of the new system.”

“This lack of a clear path forward once hindered his Dao path.”

“But it was also in that era that countless new trends of thought and conflicts gave him a deeper understanding of Laws instead.”

“One day, he suddenly had an epiphany.”

“He stopped obsessing over choosing between the new and old systems and instead dedicated his life to studying the Laws themselves.”

“Thus, he became a Disciple of the Cultivator with the most profound understanding of Laws at the time.”

“That person was Feng Xu, who was then at the Peak of Soul Transformation and was hailed as the number one person below Body Integration.”

“But what does this have to do with you knowing the details of this tomb?” Zhou Yan couldn't help but interrupt.

“Isn't there always a prologue when storytelling? Saying it this way makes the following explanation easier,” Shi Suiyan replied and then continued.

“At that time, Feng Xu was in the prime of his life, single-mindedly studying the limits of the Law of Time, even willing to exhaust every moment for it.”

“And the reason he was willing to waste precious time to take on a Disciple...”

“...was that he was already prepared to sacrifice himself for the Dao, only seeking someone to inherit his teachings so they could continue his path after he failed.”

“The Recluse of Spiritual Stream was one of those successors.”

“He inherited his teacher's will. Even though Feng Xu later abandoned the Law of Time for unknown reasons and turned to create the Law of Wind, the Recluse of Spiritual Stream did not change his ambition.”

“As Feng Xu's last Disciple to persist in the path of Time, he received all of his teacher's true teachings regarding this path.”

“Later, he founded an organization called 'Time Controller' to assist in the research.”

“Following his passing, Time Controller continued to study the Law of Time according to his Legacy, until the inheritance was nearly severed.”

“My foster parents' ancestors were once members of the Time Controller sect.”

“I obtained the last remaining parts of the Legacy from them, which included information about this great tomb.”

Mentioning her foster parents, a hint of reminiscence flashed in Shi Suiyan's eyes.

Zhou Yan hesitated whether to interrupt her.

After all, they had been running for a good while, and aside from some tempting but untransportable riches, he hadn't seen any real good stuff yet, which truly pained him.

Fortunately, Shi Suiyan's daze only lasted for a moment before she continued to lead the way.

On the way, she told some anecdotes and trivia about the Recluse of Spiritual Stream, such as how he once hid in a withered tree for a whole year to conceal his aura because he was afraid of death, only to run into the enemy who had been waiting for a year as soon as he came out.

Zhou Yan just listened to them as interesting stories, but Yuan Chenling listened with fascination, looking like he had found a role model for his generation.

The two people and one lion walked and talked like this, soon arriving at the edge of this space.

"Senior Brother, we've arrived."

Zhou Yan looked around and saw that it was completely empty; even the shadows of gold and silver jewelry were gone. He couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"There's nothing here?"

Yuan Chenling beat him to it and voiced Zhou Yan's question.

This almost made Zhou Yan choke on his own blood from frustration.

Shi Suiyan ignored Yuan Chenling and said to Zhou Yan.

"Senior Brother, please stand on that open space over there."

"This treasure requires one to battle a mirror image stronger than oneself, and it will only appear after victory."

"I can't even beat a version of myself at the same level, so I have to ask you to take action."

Seeing her expression of 'my Senior Brother is invincible under heaven,' Zhou Yan secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

Why did every single one of them have such blind trust in him?

Fortunately, his expertise matched the task this time, but what would he do if he encountered this situation again in the future?

However, Zhou Yan didn't explain much. After all, not many Prodigies had normal mental circuits; even if he said something, they might not listen, and they might even come up with some even more bizarre ideas.

But just as he stood in the center of the open space, preparing to earn some more experience, an accident occurred.

The formation beneath his feet lit up and then instantly dimmed, then flickered again, and finally went dark.

The situation was just like a faulty electrical circuit.

Then, a pair of scissors with only half remaining, wrapped in golden light, slowly drifted down from the air.

Zhou Yan subconsciously reached out and caught it.

[yang scissors] (Unidentified)

Unidentified again?

Ever since the panel was updated, unidentified items were rarely seen.

A flash of surprise crossed Shi Suiyan's eyes.

Zhou Yan was studying the half-scissors, Shi Suiyan was observing Zhou Yan, and Yuan Chenling was wary of Shi Suiyan.

This person doesn't come with good intentions.

Could she be trying to steal the powerful thigh I'm clinging to?

"Alright, Senior Brother, we've already obtained the most important treasure of this floor. Now, let's hurry to the fourth floor to seize the initiative!"

Shi Suiyan didn't give Zhou Yan time to react and pulled him straight toward the exit.

Although Zhou Yan knew that the further they went, the greater the harvest, and he had even scolded Yuan Chenling for being worthless and having no future if he only stayed on the third floor...

...when it was actually his turn, seeing a floor full of treasures that he couldn't take all for himself still pained him deeply.

As for whether this was equivalent to slapping his own Face?

That was naturally different!

His was called being frugal, while Yuan Chenling was just worthless; how could they be mentioned in the same breath?

Heavenly Venerable Zhou's double standards were displayed to the fullest.

The exit wasn't far and was reached in a moment.

After arriving, Shi Suiyan suddenly turned to look behind her.

"Fellow Daoist, you've followed us all this way and watched all this way. Isn't it time to show yourself?"

"Huh?"

Zhou Yan looked behind him and then glanced at the mini-map.

He didn't see anyone?

Did the map bug out again?