Chapter 47: Nether Ruins? I Outsmart the Inheritance!

The corridor was deep and dark, leading to unknown places. The faint, eerie light from the gems on the walls cast pale halos, stretching Lin Xuan’s shadow in flickering, distorted ways that added to the sinister atmosphere. The Nether death energy permeating the air grew increasingly dense; were it not for the Turtle Breathing Technique and the system’s protective field, an ordinary Golden Core cultivator would likely have had their spiritual power eroded after staying here for long.

Lin Xuan dared not be careless, keeping his Eye of Truth active at all times to scan the path ahead and the walls on both sides. The walls of the corridor were covered in blurred murals depicting scenes of sacrifice and warfare. The protagonist seemed to be an ancient Nether creature with a tall physique and a single horn on its forehead, bearing some resemblance to the demon-race creatures he had seen outside the valley, though its aura was more ancient, pure, and filled with the essence of death.

"It seems this ruin is related to the ancient Nether race, rather than the Nether Sect that emerged later," Lin Xuan realized. The cultivation techniques practiced by the Nether Sect likely originated from this place or similar ruins.

After traveling for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, he had not encountered any living things, but scattered dry bones began to appear on both sides of the corridor. Some were human-shaped, others beast-shaped, their bones blackened as if eroded by death energy for countless years.

Finally, the corridor reached its end, and a massive, tightly shut stone door appeared ahead. The stone door was primitive, carved with a ferocious ghost-head pattern. The ghost’s eyes were hollow, radiating a heart-palpitating pressure.

Lin Xuan tried pushing it with force, but the stone door did not budge. He probed it with his spiritual sense, only to discover that the surface of the door was covered in a layer of powerful restrictions that his spiritual sense could not penetrate.

"System, scan the stone door and its surroundings. Find a way to open it or identify weaknesses in the restrictions."

[Ding! Scanning... The stone door is cast from 'Nether Profound Iron' mixed with 'Yin Soul Stone,' making it exceptionally sturdy. Its surface is covered by the 'Nine Nether Sealing Array.' Forcing it open requires the strength of at least the late Nascent Soul stage. The ghost-head pattern is detected as the core restriction node; it requires the injection of energy with specific attributes or a token to open.]

Specific energy or a token? A thought stirred in Lin Xuan’s mind, and he took out the black token he had obtained from the Nether Sect deacon. He attempted to simulate the Nether aura using a wisp of Chaos spiritual power, injected it into the token, and then pressed it against the ghost-head pattern.

Hum—!

The flame patterns on the token suddenly lit up, resonating with the ghost-head pattern! The restrictions on the stone door rippled outward, and the ferocious ghost head seemed to come alive, its hollow eyes shooting out two beams of eerie light that scanned the token.

Click... Creak...

The heavy stone door slowly opened inward, revealing a space even deeper and darker behind it.

Lin Xuan put away the token and, without hesitation, stepped inside!

Behind the door was not the grand hall he had imagined, but a relatively small, circular stone chamber. In the center of the chamber floated a mass of rolling, abyss-like black flames. The flames burned silently, yet they radiated an extreme chill that could freeze the soul and an incredibly pure aura of the Nether origin! Just by approaching it, Lin Xuan felt as if his soul were about to be frozen and sucked away!

[Warning! High concentration of 'Nine Nether Soul Fire' detected! It is highly aggressive and assimilative toward the souls of living beings! System protective field is operating at overload! Energy consumption increased to 5%/minute!]

"Nine Nether Soul Fire?!" Lin Xuan’s expression changed in shock. This was a legendary item, specifically used to burn the soul; it was a terrifying flame that could only be condensed by reaching the highest realm of Nether cultivation techniques! He immediately retreated several steps to put some distance between them, while simultaneously circulating his cultivation technique with all his might to resist the soul-level suction and chill.

His gaze moved past the dangerous soul fire to the back of the stone chamber. There stood a stone platform, upon which three items were placed:

On the left was a black jade slip, its surface flowing with eerie light.

On the right was a black gourd the size of a palm; its mouth was stoppered, and faint, shrill soul-wails could be heard emanating from within.

In the very center was a dark red token, about a foot long and made of a material that was neither metal nor wood. The token was of a primitive style, engraved with a complex rune that looked as if it were formed by the entanglement of countless wronged souls. The Nether origin aura it radiated was even purer and more ancient than that of the Nine Nether Soul Fire!

"Inheritance jade slip? Soul-Nurturing Gourd? And... that token!" Lin Xuan’s gaze was instantly drawn to the dark red token in the center. The feeling it gave him was of the same origin as the holy relic statue fragments and the Nether blood core fragments he had obtained previously, but it seemed... more complete and of a higher rank!

Without a doubt, these three items were the core inheritance of this ruin! And that mass of Nine Nether Soul Fire was both a test and a guardian.

To obtain the inheritance, one had to pass the obstruction of the Nine Nether Soul Fire!

Take it by force? The power of that soul fire was such that even a Nascent Soul old monster would have to think twice; with his current cultivation base and system energy, he wouldn't last long at all.

"There must be another way..." Lin Xuan forced himself to stay calm, his Eye of Truth analyzing the soul fire and the layout of the entire stone chamber with full intensity.

He noticed that the soul fire was not completely stationary but was slowly circling according to a specific trajectory. On the ground beneath it, one could faintly see an extremely complex micro-array connected to the aura of the soul fire. The dome of the stone chamber was painted with a map of the celestial stars, and the positions of several main stars corresponded exactly to the array nodes below.

"This is a test array... not a death trap." Lin Xuan had a sudden realization. The owner of the ruin left the inheritance clearly not to kill all intruders, but to screen for a suitable successor.

"System, deeply analyze the array structure of this place and the movement patterns of the soul fire. Deduce a safe plan for retrieving the treasures."

[Ding! Command confirmed. Starting overclocked analysis, consuming 8% energy... Analyzing...]

[Analysis complete! This array is called the 'Nine Nether Heart-Refining Array,' with the 'Nine Nether Soul Fire' at its core. The array attacks and tests the intruder's soul strength, resilience, and affinity for Nether power. Two feasible plans have been deduced:]

[Plan 1: Use pure Nether power to protect the soul and force a path through the range covered by the soul fire to reach the stone platform. Requirement: Soul strength must reach the early Nascent Soul stage, or possess a high-quality Nether protective treasure. Success rate: Less than 10%.]

[Plan 2: Utilize the characteristic of the 'Nine Revolutions Chaos Scripture'—where Chaos spiritual power can simulate and transform into all things—to simulate a Chaos Nether aura that is of the same origin as the soul fire but possesses more 'inclusivity.' This will deceive the array's perception, allowing for a slow approach. Requires precise control of spiritual power output and aura simulation; demands extremely high control over spiritual sense. Success rate: Approximately 65%.]

The second plan! Lin Xuan made his choice immediately. His Chaos spiritual power indeed had this potential, and his control over his own spiritual power and spiritual sense, after numerous battles and cultivation, had reached a very high level.

He acted at once! He sat cross-legged, held his breath, and focused his mind, circulating the Nine Revolutions Chaos Scripture with all his might. He carefully guided a wisp of Chaos spiritual power, beginning to attempt to simulate the aura of the Nine Nether Soul Fire.

This was an extremely delicate and dangerous process. If the simulation was not similar enough, it would be identified by the soul fire as an attack by foreign energy; if it was too similar, he might invite disaster and truly be assimilated by the soul fire. Lin Xuan’s concentration was at its peak, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

Once, twice... failure, the spiritual power dissipated.

Adjust, try again... closer, but there was still a discrepancy.

Time ticked away second by second, and the energy of the system’s protective field was continuously being consumed.

Finally, after the umpteenth attempt, the wisp of gray airflow swirling at Lin Xuan’s fingertips gradually became tinged with a deep black, radiating a unique aura that was of the same origin as the central soul fire, yet possessed an extra hint of chaos and an extra hint of inclusivity!

"Now is the time!"

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, maintaining the simulated "Chaos Nether Aura" to shroud his entire body like an invisible cloak of camouflage, and then slowly, step by step, walked toward the central soul fire.

The closer he got to the soul fire, the more intense the bone-chilling, soul-burning sensation became. Even with the Chaos Nether Aura camouflage, Lin Xuan felt as if his spiritual sense were being pricked by needles, and his soul was trembling.

But he gritted his teeth and persisted, his pace steady, his spiritual sense holding firmly to the clarity of his spirit.

Ten steps, nine steps, eight steps...

The soul fire was within reach; he could even see countless tiny wronged souls struggling and wailing within the black flames.

Five steps, four steps, three steps...

He had reached his limit! Lin Xuan felt his spiritual sense was on the verge of collapse, and the system’s energy was down to less than 30%!

Just as he was about to lose his support, the restless soul fire seemed to acknowledge the "same-origin" and "harmless" aura on him. Its aggressiveness dropped sharply, and the chill and suction force surrounding him weakened by more than half!

Success!

Lin Xuan was ecstatic, but he dared not be negligent. Enduring the discomfort, he lunged forward, crossed the final range of the soul fire’s influence, and stepped onto the stone platform!

In an instant, the pressure around him lightened.

He dared not look at the soul fire so close at hand and quickly reached for the three items on the stone platform!

First was the dark red token! It felt cold and heavy in his hand, and a Nether origin force, far purer and more vast than the blood core fragments, surged into his body, causing his Chaos Golden Core to tremble slightly, as if it were extremely "thirsty" for it!

[Nether Soul-Suppressing Token (Damaged)]: ??? (Rank too high, partial information missing), contains a wisp of complete Nether law origin; it is a token for governing the Nether and suppressing ten thousand souls. Status: Severely damaged, artifact spirit dormant. Can resonate with the holy relic statue fragments and Nether blood core fragments already in the host's possession, completing partial information and functions.]

It was indeed a good item! Lin Xuan put it away without hesitation.

Next was the black jade slip. As his spiritual sense probed inside, a massive flow of information surged into his mind—"Nine Nether Soul-Devouring True Scripture" (First Part)! This was a top-tier Nether cultivation technique that led directly to the Soul Transformation stage; it was profound and mysterious, but the cultivation requirements were extremely harsh, necessitating a Nether constitution or the refining of Nether origin.

Lin Xuan naturally would not switch his cultivation, but the methods within regarding soul cultivation, the control of ghost creatures, and some Nether divine abilities were of great reference value to him. He put it away as well.

Finally, there was the black gourd.

[Soul-Nurturing Gourd (High-grade magic treasure)]: Contains an internal space; can nurture ghost creatures and Yin souls, accelerating their growth, and can also imprison and refine living souls.]

This item was of little use to him at the moment, but it was still a decent magic treasure. Lin Xuan accepted it with a smile.

With the three treasures in hand, Lin Xuan dared not linger. He glanced at the mass of Nine Nether Soul Fire behind him, which seemed slightly restless because he had taken the items, and turned around without hesitation. He once again activated the Chaos Nether Aura camouflage and, at a speed faster than when he arrived, rushed out of the soul fire’s range and returned to the entrance of the stone chamber.

The moment he stepped out of the stone door, the door behind him slammed shut, sealing the terrifying Nine Nether Soul Fire away once more.

Lin Xuan leaned against the cold stone wall, gasping for air. His face was pale, and his spiritual sense was severely depleted, but his eyes were filled with an excited glow!

The harvest was too great! Especially that Nether Soul-Suppressing Token!

He rested briefly, preparing to return the way he came. Although the entrance was sealed, he believed that since there was a way in, there must be another exit.

However, when he returned to the corridor filled with dry bones, he discovered that the path he had taken was, at some point, completely sealed off by an invisible, tough energy barrier!

At the same time, the system sent an urgent warning:

[Warning! High-intensity space lockdown detected! Ruin self-destruction program has been initiated! Countdown: One stick of incense!]

Lin Xuan’s expression turned incomparably ugly in an instant.

(End of Chapter 47)