The news that he could leave filled Lin Fan with elation. Finally, I can escape this lunatic and explore the vibrant world beyond!
But his joy quickly soured as reality sank in. How was he supposed to leave? The wilderness teemed with dangers, and he, a mere fledgling with only brute strength, was practically a walking meal for predators.
Lin Fan turned to Ye Qing Xian, his expression earnest, flashing a radiant smile. "Boss, don't worry, I'll train hard out there and never disgrace you. Just… how do I get out of here?"
"Easy peasy!" Ye Qing Xian's lips curled into a sly grin, her breathtaking beauty now tinged with an eerie edge that sent chills down his spine.
Lin Fan shivered. That look—every time she wore that expression, disaster followed. Her angelic face, which could steal one's breath, now seemed like the mask of a devil. Beauty hides an abyss.
"Uh… haha… no need to trouble you, Boss! I'll figure out a way myself!" Lin Fan stammered, edging backward as if she were not a fairy but a ferocious beast.
"No trouble at all. This is the Uninhabited Zone, full of perils. Let this fairy give you a lift!" Ye Qing Xian's smile was enigmatic, a glint of mischief in her eyes that screamed trouble.
Crack!
With a casual flick of her jade hand, radiant light bloomed, mystic runes flaring. She tore open a rift in the void, its emptiness exuding an unsettling aura.
In a flash, she grabbed Lin Fan by the collar, hoisting him like a chick. Then, with no hesitation, she tossed him into the void rift like discarding trash.
"Aaah! Ye Qing Xian, curse your ancestors!" Lin Fan's childish screams and curses echoed through the spatial tunnel, shrill and desperate.
Inside the rift, time seemed to stretch like an endless river. Spatial forces swirled, forming a storm of razor-sharp blades that slashed at Lin Fan, drawing blood in sprays of crimson.
"Oops, forgot he hasn't learned runes to shield himself from spatial turbulence. Hope he's fine," Ye Qing Xian mused, her cherry lips forming an "o" as she tapped her forehead, feigning regret.
But she quickly shrugged, chuckling. "Eh, he's a cockroach—tough as nails. He'll be fine. Besides, he deserves it for scaring me when I was a kid."
Reflecting on her childhood, Ye Qing Xian shuddered. Those memories were unforgettable, and not in a good way.
_
The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were vast, boundless beyond measure, home to countless beings. For most, traversing even a single heaven or land—let alone a nation, domain, or province—was a lifelong impossibility, the distances too immense. Measured in light-years, these expanses were traversable only by great cultivators. Even Sect Masters struggled to roam every corner.
Spatial teleportation was thus invaluable, shrinking vast distances far beyond the swiftest divine techniques. Yet, traveling through the void was perilous, especially for those of low cultivation, as the unstable void could be deadly.
"Aaah! Ye Qing Xian, just wait, I'll make you pay!" Lin Fan cursed hoarsely in the tunnel, his voice fading to a whisper. Bathed in spatial forces, he became a bloodied figure, his clothes soaked red.
He knew it—her crooked smile always meant trouble. What kind of person does this? I'm four years old, a kid! How am I supposed to cross the void safely?
Worse, she hadn't taught him cultivation. He had only his raw strength and vague, self-taught fumbling. This is a death sentence!
"Am I, fresh out of the gate, about to die again?" Lin Fan's consciousness blurred, the tunnel's end nowhere in sight.
Silvery light lashed at him like metallic blades, slicing his body, threatening to tear him apart. Cracks riddled his frame, exposing muscle and bone.
"It hurts so much… I'll die of pain before the cuts finish me!" Lin Fan groaned, his four-year-old body pushed beyond what most could endure, sustained only by his older soul.
Hum!
Suddenly, his chest glowed, emerald light surging through his limbs and bones. A vibrant life force stabilized his battered body, slowly mending it.
"Such warm power… my Supreme Bone! It's awakened under this pressure, activating on its own!" Lin Fan felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, enveloped in comfort.
This power was miraculous, like a mother's embrace, anchoring his near-shattered form and gradually restoring it.
He'd long known of the bone in his chest. In his past life, it'd be called hyperostosis—a condition to be surgically removed. But here, it was different. Known as a Primordial Trait, it marked him as one in ten thousand, a prodigy destined for supremacy. Discovering it had thrilled him, proof of his extraordinary talent.
It was a head start, a step ahead of others, ensuring his potential was exceptional. But without cultivation methods or mastery of bone runes, he couldn't harness it, unaware of its divine ability.
Now, he realized it was a healing technique. Not the devastating attack he'd imagined, but still a Supreme Technique—better than nothing. Without it, he'd be dead, forced to reincarnate again.
"When will this end? Agony on one side, comfort on the other—it's torture!" Lin Fan wailed, staring down the endless tunnel. Spatial blades ravaged him, while his innate technique healed.
After what felt like an eternity, the tunnel exploded with a boom, a breach forming. Lin Fan tumbled out, glimpsing the vast world beyond.
Whoosh!
He streaked across the night sky like a radiant meteor, trailing green light, illuminating the stars as he plummeted toward a primal mountain range.
His descent was swift, his clothes sparking from friction. At this height, even his healing technique wouldn't save him from being smashed to pieces.
"No way! I just escaped, and now I'll die from a fall? Why am I so cursed?" Lin Fan's hope dimmed. Why did I cross paths with that menace Ye Qing Xian? She's out to kill me, no mercy!
As the ground loomed closer, he could only curse Ye Qing Xian a million times, extending his wrath to her ancestors, especially that fraud Ye Feng Chu.
Closing his eyes, Lin Fan awaited death, sighing inwardly, What a pity, my brilliant life, over before it began.
At that moment, deep within the mountains, a pair of profound eyes opened. An elder, astonished, gazed skyward. "A Primordial Being with no cultivation? Falling into my sect's domain—is this heaven's gift to my Supreme Dao Field?"
Clad in a golden dao robe, his white hair like snow, the elder exuded an otherworldly grace, seated atop a peak.
With a flick of his sleeve, a golden hand materialized, catching the child before he could become a splatter of mud.
"Remarkable. A mortal crossing the void and surviving—fated to join my orthodoxy." The elder's smile was kind as he summoned the boy, examining him closely.
Lin Fan, stirring, opened bleary eyes. Realizing he wasn't dead, his joy was cut short by the sight of a strange old man studying him. With white hair and a youthful face, the elder's gentle smile somehow made Lin Fan feel utterly exposed, goosebumps rising as uneasy thoughts crept in.