Chapter 3: Elder Chen Takes a Disciple

The light and shadow on the Remnant Jade receded like a tide, leaving only the smooth, yet bone-chillingly cold jade fragment in Chen Lao’s hand. It trembled faintly in the darkness, pulsing like a heart slowly waking up. The luminescent glow flowing across its surface was unstable, flickering between the ghastly blue of ghost-fire and the intense heat of molten gold. Each flare and fade caused the air around it to warp slightly.

Night fell deep, and the air inside the ancient tomb had congealed into something suffocating. Chen Lao stared fixedly at Lin Wan’s empty eyes, his gaze as sharp as a falcon’s, searching for any flaw—any crack in her mask that he hadn’t even realized was there. His breathing was incredibly light, yet audible in the dead silence, each inhale carrying a heavy, suppressed weight.

Xiao Jiu swallowed hard. The sound of his Adam’s apple bobbing was startlingly loud in the vast, empty stone chamber. He wanted to break the horrifying stillness, opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a sharp, harsh bark from Chen Lao. The sound wasn’t loud, but it hit like a thunderclap, freezing Xiao Jiu in his tracks. Cold sweat instantly soaked through the fabric on his back.

Xiao Jiu hunched his shoulders, muttering with a whiny, aggrieved tone, "Chen Lao, what on earth is wrong with that jade? I’ve watched Sister Lin just stare at it, zoning out, and it’s making me uneasy." He unconsciously shuffled behind Chen Lao, wanting to hide in the old man’s shadow to avoid becoming the next target of a warning.

"Shut up." Chen Lao’s voice was cold as ice. He didn't even look at Xiao Jiu; his eyes remained locked on Lin Wan’s face. "What is she looking at?"

Lin Wan’s fingertips twitched. Her nails dug deep into her palms, causing a sharp sting. The pain actually snapped her out of that eerie trance. She forced down the storm raging in her chest, kept her expression neutral, and replied softly, "I'm watching it come to life."

"Nonsense!" Xiao Jiu panicked, his voice pitch-shifting from tension. "Jade is dead! How can it come alive? Sister Lin, are you blind or what? Seeing halos? That’s just a hallucination!" He pointed at Lin Wan’s blank pupils, his eyes full of worry and confusion, as if questioning why fate was tormenting his once-proud senior sister like this.

"This is not a hallucination. It’s the precursor to the Shaqi awakening." Chen Lao cut Xiao Jiu off with a fierce shout, then turned back to Lin Wan, his tone a mix of probing and threat. "Lin Wan, your eyes are blind, but your heart is frighteningly clear. What did you see that makes you claim there’s life inside the jade?"

Lin Wan fell silent for a moment. Deep in her mind, that world shrouded in darkness hadn’t stopped moving just because of the outside noise. Her mind quickly organized the evolution of her Fierce Omen Vision.

Behind that blurred halo, she had clearly seen a clump of dark red qi energy, coiling around Chen Lao’s vital meridians. That was karma suppressed for thirty years, and it was her only chance to turn the tide right now.

The clump of energy was like a parasite, latching tightly onto Chen Lao’s chest, pulsing in rhythm with his breathing and emitting a nauseating, sweet, bloody stench. She took a deep breath and decided to bide her time, first stabilizing her footing.

If I exposed this now, Chen Lao would kill me on the spot. If I pretended not to know anything, I might still find a sliver of survival in this massive web.

Suddenly, a light, floating laugh drifted from the depths of the cave, breaking the stalemate. Zhang Beichuan’s figure flickered in and out of the moonlight, wearing a mask of fake kindness while his eyes were cold as a snake’s. He was dressed in a crisp, traditional Tang suit, looking completely out of place in this dust-covered ancient tomb. He walked carefully, every step light as if he were stepping on fragile porcelain.

"Junior sister, no need for so many words." Zhang Beichuan stepped out of the shadows, cupping his hands in a bow. His tone was gentle but hidden a blade. "Master, she’s nothing but a cripple. She can’t even see; how could she possibly洞察 heavenly secrets? Better to expel her from the sect early, lest she corrupts our Dao heart and attracts unclean things."

The corner of his mouth twitched up. His gaze swept over the Remnant Jade in Lin Wan’s hand, a flash of greed crossing his face before it was masked by false concern.

"Zhang Beichuan, you’re overstepping." Chen Lao let out a cold laugh. With a wave of his hand, a burst of invisible wind, packed with dark internal power, lunged at Zhang Beichuan’s face. The wind made no sound, yet carried the momentum of destruction. Zhang Beichuan’s face went white, and he stumbled back several steps, barely managing to stand firm. The residual force shattered the blue stone tiles beneath his feet, cracking them slightly.

Chen Lao turned his head, his gaze falling back on Lin Wan. His tone was still cold, but with a hint of unyielding firmness, "Lin Wan, I’m making an exception today. I’ll take you as my last disciple."

Lin Wan’s heart skipped a beat, then quickly smoothed out. "Why me?"

"Because your destiny can anchor this land." Chen Lao said heavily. "But before you become my disciple, you have to pass my test."

"What kind of test?" Xiao Jiu poked his head out curiously, his body pressed tightly against Chen Lao’s leg, not daring to move an inch.

"Listening to Omen and determining position." Chen Lao clapped his hands. The stone wall behind him rumbled open, revealing a black, winding underground passage. Mist poured out from the depths, spreading across the ground like a living thing. The path was thick with traps. "Go in. Walk out alive."

Lin Wan closed her eyes. The Fierce Omen Vision in her body activated instantly. To her, the mist was no longer an obstacle but a flowing stream of bloody sand. The trajectory of every wisp of Shaqi was clearly visible. The red lines pulsed like blood vessels, marking dangerous paths and safe blind spots.

She felt her heart pounding violently. This was a precursor to her vision evolving, but also a warning of danger. Her blood roared in her ears. The world became both crystal clear and distorted.

"Xiao Jiu, follow me." Lin Wan’s voice was calm. "Three steps to the left. There are hidden spikes. Jump over them."

Xiao Jiu’s eyes went wide. He thought she was crazy, but seeing Lin Wan’s confident back, he gritted his teeth and followed. "Sister Lin, how do you know there are spikes if you can’t see?"

"Trust me." Lin Wan offered only two words. Her steps were light and precise, dodging three nearly invisible iron chains as she charged straight for the core area.

In the shadows, Zhang Beichuan narrowed his eyes, a mocking smirk on his lips. "Even a blind fool can hit a bird with a shotgun. Let’s see how you die." He quietly pulled out a dagger, ready to swoop in and take the Remnant Jade the moment Lin Wan fell. Instead, Lin Wan’s figure moved like a phantom, and she landed unharmed in the center of the stone chamber.

"Amazing!" Xiao Jiu gasped, looking at the complex, spiderweb-like trap array behind Lin Wan. "Sister Lin, did you predict the future or something?"

"This is just the beginning." Lin Wan looked down at the Remnant Jade in her hand, which was warming up slightly. A vague sense of unease stirred in her heart. The heat of the jade seeped through her skin, reaching her bones, as if calling to some dormant bloodline.

Chen Lao emerged from the shadows, his eyes deep and complex. He appreciated his new disciple’s talent, but there was also a hidden, deep-seated fear. He watched the obscure black qi swirling around Lin Wan. He understood that this spirit-touching constitution was both a golden cheat code and a fatal lightning rod. The black qi spread and contracted around her like ink dropped in clear water, making his heart race.

"The formal discipleship is complete." Chen Lao pulled an ancient jade pendant from his robe and tossed it to Lin Wan. "This is a protective secret technique. It’s engraved into your bones and can save your life three times."

Lin Wan caught the jade pendant, feeling the massive internal power contained within. Her mind settled a little. "Master, thank you."

"But remember," Chen Lao’s expression turned serious, "The Fierce Omen Vision is a double-edged sword. It shows you weakness, but it also shows you death. One slip-up, and the backlash will be more painful than blindness."

Lin Wan gripped the jade pendant tightly. "I can handle it."

Chen Lao was silent for a long time, then suddenly pointed toward the pitch-black void deep in the cave. "Thirty years ago, I went to the Miao Forbidden Land. Buried there are secrets far larger than this tomb."

Lin Wan shuddered, her gaze drifting toward the darkness, as if seeing countless eyes peering out.

"The image in this Remnant Jade is just the tip of the iceberg." Chen Lao’s voice dropped, sounding as if it came from the nine hells. "The true abyss has only just opened."

Outside the cave, the moonlight was entirely swallowed by black clouds. Zhang Beichuan hid in the shadows, slicing his palm with a dagger. Blood dripped down, but he didn’t make a single sound of pain. The dripping blood hit the stone floor with a faint *plink*, like the ticking of a countdown clock.

And on a cliff edge in the distance, a figure in Miao traditional dress flickered in and out of the wind. They radiated an ancient, mystical wave of spell-craft, quietly watching everything, as if waiting for a certain omen to come true.

Lin Wan turned and walked out of the cave. Her footsteps echoed in the silent stone room, each step like a drumbeat on destiny’s rhythm—steady, yet lonely. She knew that from this moment on, she was no longer an ordinary blind tomb raider, but a spy walking the boundary between life and death, and the mist of the Miao Forbidden Land would eventually shroud all her escape routes.

The wind at the cave mouth gusted, whipping Lin Wan’s robes to snap and crack. The figure in the Miao dress became blurrier in the wind, leaving only a faint scent of sandalwood that slithered into her nose like a ghost. Lin Wan didn’t stop. She deliberately slowed her breathing, allowing that invisible malice to coil around her.

In her mind, she silently recited the "Listening to Omen" method Chen Lao had taught her. Her fingertips trembled as she tried to catch the source of the hidden hostility in the windy noise. But in that pitch-black visual field in her brain, it was eerily empty. It was as if an invisible giant hand had wiped out all her perception, leaving only a heart-pounding, white void.

"Lin Wan," Chen Lao’s voice came from behind her again, carrying a barely noticeable tremor that broke the dead silence. "Don’t look back. You, as you are now, cannot bear to see what is there."

Lin Wan’s body stiffened. Cold sweat slid down her spine. She gritted her teeth, forcing down the chill that permeated her bones, and pressed her hand firmly on the Remnant Jade in her chest. The jade was ice-cold to the touch, yet it sent a faint stream of heat through her, like a heartbeat, resonating weirdly with the spell-craft waves from the figure in the Miao dress in the distance.

The bloodstain on the stone slab was picked up by the night wind, drawing a wailing red streak in the air before vanishing into the deep darkness, like the seal of an ancient contract taking effect.

"Master," Lin Wan’s voice was hoarse, barely holding back her fear. "That shadow... what is it waiting for?"

Chen Lao didn’t answer immediately. He stared at Lin Wan’s back, his eyes a mix of pity and resolution. After a moment, he whispered, "It’s waiting for the 'door' to open, and for you to awaken. Remember, beneath the Miao Forbidden Land, what is buried is not secrets, but a living 'god.' Once it wakes up, you and I are both dead."

Lin Wan whipped her head around. Her pupils constricted violently. On the cliff edge, where the darkness had just been empty, a turbid, vertical pupil slowly opened. It blazed with dazzling gold, locking onto her. In that moment, time seemed to freeze. The Remnant Jade in her chest suddenly grew scorching hot, threatening to burn through her skin.

In horror, she realized that the "blindness" in her mind was, under the gaze of that vertical pupil, clearly visualizing a giant hand made of countless corpses. It was slowly rising from the earth, reaching for her throat.