Chapter 255: The Beginning Is the End

"Master, is it really you?"

An Ci, leaning on a cane, had a glimmer of light appear in their lifeless, gloomy eyes.

"Hmm."

The figure in a purple robe standing ahead turned around.

"Master!"

An Ci immediately bowed to pay respects; the figure in the purple robe approached and steadied them, "Now I have a new position, no longer the founder of the Purple Star Emperor Sect, so there is no need for grand ceremony."

"But you are still my master; this grateful disciple dares not forget," An Ci continued.

"Thousands of years have passed; you have endured hardship."

The figure in the purple robe sighed, "I have come to take some items and will not stay long; do not tell the others in the sect about my return."

The figure in the purple robe was none other than Lin Yangyang.

After awakening a lifetime of memories, she and Ye Xue arrived in the Tianlong Star Domain, sensed a resonance, immediately bid Ye Xue farewell, entered the Ziwei Star Domain, and arrived at the Purple Star Emperor Sect.

Here, she obtained the life-bound Immortal Weapon she had forged in her Past Life—the Mysterious Heaven Purple Pillar.

Her cultivation surged as a result.

What concerned her even more were not these, but the memory of another life!

It is a memory of yet another life after the one of Tianmo Chuan in the ancient era!!

Her identity remains Yang Zu.

Only in the primordial era did she stand higher and travel farther.

In the primordial era, she once ascended to the Immortal Realm, but the outcome was tragic; in the next life, she still could not protect Chuan.

In the end, it was Chuan who sacrificed his life to protect her.

Too many relatives and friends perished in that battle, with no future lives.

The war of the primordial era was heavier than that at the end of the ancient era.

"Now Chuan still does not know that life's memory, does he? When he recalls it, how heavy and how desperate it will be?"

Yang Zu has plotted a lifetime, devising countless schemes.

Many matters are within her plan, yet some have deviated.

Her disciple An Ci is also one of the contingencies she left behind, after all no one knows what the situation will be upon returning.

There must always be a few usable people left.

"Master, are you not planning to return to the sect?" An Ci asked.

"The flourishing of the Purple Star Emperor Sect makes no difference whether I am present or not, but some matters must be done by me."

Lin Yangyang gazed into the distance.

"Perhaps it is better that Chuan cannot recall it."

"He already bears enough, yet Chuan seems poised to enter the Ancient Ruins, perhaps having guessed some things."

After a long while, Lin Yangyang suppressed the thoughts in her heart and looked at her own 'closed-door disciple',

"An Ci, I will close my cultivation for a period; I have a matter to ask you to help with."

"Please give your command, Master."

"Go to Dao Tian Zhou and protect a man named Lin Chuan; this is his Qi essence talisman."

Lin Yangyang handed a Jade Talisman to An Ci.

"I will faithfully follow your command, Master."

An Ci took the Jade Talisman and dared not be negligent.

The master specifically indicated that the person to be protected must have great significance.

Lin Yangyang sighed, "An Ci, you refuse to accept the founder's inheritance, thus never able to step into the Wangxian Realm; are you truly willing?"

Why have the founders of the Three Teachings throughout the ages, as well as the emperors of the Cloud Kingdom, all been able to enter the Wangxian Realm?

All rely on the inheritance of destiny.

As long as one sits in that position, one will inevitably step into the Wangxian Realm.

Those who truly reach the Wangxian Realm by their own merit remain few.

"I have no regrets,"

An Ci said firmly, "I have followed my master's steps all my life; if I cannot break the realm by myself, I would rather dissolve into the passage of time."

Back then, she was not unlike a spirited Heavenly Pride.

In less than a hundred years, she seized the champion of the Three Thousand Prefectures Genius War, dominating a generation.

The master's radiance guided her, urging her onward, unwilling to abandon her pride.

"Your mindset is thus; I will not press further."

Lin Yangyang said no more.

"Thank you, Master."

A smile appeared on An Ci's face; her appearance, at some unknown time, had become that of a young woman, "When the master emerges from seclusion, I will enter the Star Ring Realm for a trial, and would die without regret."

"As long as there is no regret, that's fine."

A death without regret is a luxury for many living beings.

Lin Yangyang took slow steps toward the deepest space of Zixuan Mountain.

After seeing the 'Master' depart, An Ci resolutely turned, gazing toward the Mortal Earth of the Three Thousand Prefectures, and clenched the Jade Talisman in hand.

"Lin Chuan?"

"Why does this name feel so familiar to me?"

…

Dao Tian Zhou.

Yun Tai.

The Immortal Weapon, the Sphere of All Beings, floating in the heavens, emits a brilliant glow, like a blazing sun.

After three months of preparation, the Three Thousand Prefectures Genius Tournament is about to begin.

Layer upon layer of Yun Tai is filled with cultivators from all over the Three Thousand Prefectures.

"All participants, please prepare yourselves."

"The first round of the Three Thousand Prefectures Genius Tournament, the Spatial Cage Battle, is about to start."

"Within the cage, the victor becomes king."

"Losers will be eliminated; as the strongest genius, defeat every opponent you see inside the cage."

The spirit of the Sphere of All Beings sounds, echoing throughout every corner of Yun Tai.

"It's finally starting."

"Husband, does this count as bullying a child?"

Tu Shan Jiao Jiao teases.

"It doesn't count."

Lin Chuan laughs: "Honestly, there are few participants younger than me; I call this suppressing my peers."

As soon as his words fell, a streak of light descended, enveloping Lin Chuan's body.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, Lin Chuan found himself in a special space.

The cage space is not large, only ten thousand li.

For cultivators of the Legend Realm, crossing ten thousand li is a simple matter.

But in Lin Chuan's perception, the hundreds of cultivators in this space are all below the Legend Realm; his luck seems decent.

"Everyone is deliberately staying away from me?"

Scanning with his gaze, Lin Chuan sees the nearby cultivators watching him warily, constantly flying farther away.

Clearly they see he is not to be trifled with.

Lin Chuan calculates in his mind.

"All are Mortal Dust Eight Realms cultivators; even united they can't beat me. Let's clear the field directly."

"Burial Spirit Domain."

Lin Chuan softly chants a Fazi.

Boom!

Netherworld Power from Di Yu surges wildly, and a massive Hell Gate rises from the ground at the center of the ten‑thousand‑li space.

Countless Netherworld ghostly entities pour out from the Hell Gate.

Also, Xiu Luo and Ye Cha accompany the illusory Underworld, slashing forward.

"What is that?"

"Whoa! Is this also part of the assessment?"

The geniuses sharing the same space with Lin Chuan are all stunned; this Netherworld force far exceeds their comprehension.

Some even mistakenly think this is part of the assessment.

"That's wrong!"

"It's that person."

Soon, someone discovers the originator: a terrifying domain spreading like a rolling black ocean, all emanating from beneath Lin Chuan's feet.

"Who is he?"

"Which superpower's genius?"

The question barely arises when the Netherworld monsters already begin a massive slaughter.

Even if not truly to kill, being eliminated at the start is a heavy blow to these participating geniuses.

After a few breaths, the black ocean completely envelops the ten‑thousand‑li space.

The outcome is already predetermined.

The clearing is over!

The spatial power again envelops Lin Chuan, transporting him out.

Meanwhile, on the Sphere of All Beings, a line of large characters slowly appears.

"Cage Space 3,612, the victor is Qingyun Prefecture's wandering cultivator, Lin Chuan."