With a shift in power, Wang Lin unleashed his Yuan force not with gentle persuasion, but with a mountainous weight, crushing the middle-aged man at point-blank range.

Yet, as the blow was about to land, the man threw back his head, his face contorted in a savage grimace. A wave of destructive energy shimmered within him, threatening to erupt.

Wang Lin’s gaze remained glacial. After releasing the crushing force, he summoned a spatial rift with a flick of his wrist. The iron sword materialized in his grasp, and he swept it forth in a deadly arc.

The sword’s song echoed, and the man, poised for self-destruction, shuddered. A crimson line bloomed upon his neck, and blood sprayed forth. It was not just the flesh that perished, but also the weakened spirit within.

His eyes, wide and unseeing, remained fixed on Wang Lin, a mask of fury frozen on his face. His severed head rolled for several paces across the ground, the faded gaze still burning with malice.

His final gambit, a pitiful attempt at deception, might have tempted those seeking knowledge of the jade slip and the medicinal formula, but Wang Lin remained untouched by its lure. He knew nothing of such things.

More importantly, upon entering the valley, Wang Lin had observed the first corpse, and the four that followed. Though they appeared similar—rotted by poison—subtle differences betrayed the truth. Wang Lin, ever cautious, had noticed these distinctions, however small.

The first body had truly succumbed to poison. The others had been slain before their flesh began to rot. Moreover, the arrangement of the corpses hinted at a darker truth.

The middle-aged man had slain these four disciples for reasons unknown. Perhaps they were his own students, or perhaps they belonged to the old crone of poison.

The why of it all mattered not to Wang Lin. What he knew was this: the middle-aged man’s claim of depleted power was a lie.

A dying man who still clung to deceit harbored a purpose. And for such a creature, Wang Lin offered only death.

“You were destined to die, one way or another. You simply arrived at your end a few breaths sooner.” Wang Lin glanced at the headless corpse, now festering in a spreading pool of blood. Its garments dissolved into tattered rags. “The jade slip and the formula…” He mused. “The Old Crone sought to trap this man. Surely, it was for these very objects. But what secrets do they hold, that would incite a battle between Nascent Soul cultivators, and embolden a mid-stage cultivator to ensnare one of later stage?”

“He planned to detonate himself, a final act of spite. In death, his storage space would collapse, its treasures lost forever. But with sufficient power, one could break through its defenses, even after death.

His words suggest that he mistook me for something more than a single warrior—a sect, perhaps. If this were true, the battle for the slip and formula may not be a battle of individuals, but of factions. Before he was felled, he spoke of his disciples, poisoned by the Old Crone. The hag I put to the sword must have been she, from the Venom Sect.”

“Moreover, she attacked me at first sight, as though expecting me. In her eyes, I represented a rival sect.

And, most importantly, she cried out, ‘You’re here so soon…’ before engaging me in battle.” Wang Lin abruptly turned his gaze skyward, his pupils contracting.

“Could it be that the various sects are converging on this place? If that were so, the value of the jade slip and formula must be immense!” He drew a sharp breath, his eyes gleaming.

“If my deductions are even partially true, then this middle-aged man valued the slip and formula above all else. Knowing that his storage space could be breached, he would not have kept them there.” Wang Lin’s eyes scanned the valley and rested upon the bones of the fallen disciples, and his eyes narrowed.

“If I were him, what would I do? Continue to hide them in the storage space, or secreted somewhere else?” Wang Lin sank into contemplation, closing his eyes as he tried to become one with the man he had slain.

After a long moment, Wang Lin snapped open his eyes, and fire danced in his left eye. He swept his spiritual sense across the skeletal remains of the fallen disciples but found nothing. He refused to give in, though. He unleashed a torrent of flames that engulfed them all.

The bones, laced with potent poison, shimmered under the inferno. Soon, they were reduced to ash.

Within the ash, a single jade slip and a fragment of bone, no larger than a man’s palm, emerged!

A spark of elation flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes. With a gesture, he drew the slip and the bone fragment into his hand. He scanned the jade slip, his expression changing in an instant.

“Eighth Order Heaven Piercing Sect!!” Wang Lin took a deep breath, calming himself. Turning his attention to the fragment of bone, even Wang Lin, with his iron will, could not suppress the pounding of his heart. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he stared at the fragment. “Nir… Nirvana Reaching Pill…” He may not have known the true properties of a Nirvana Reaching Pill, but he knew the meaning of the words ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Reaching’ to cultivators such as himself.

Inscribed upon the pill formula was a single sentence, that like the tolling of a great bell, shook him to his core. He clenched the bone fragment, a savage light igniting in his eyes. Whoever dared to challenge him for it would face his unbridled wrath.

“Upon consuming this pill, one has a 10% chance of converting the Law to its Origin, and ascending to the Third Step of cultivation! Upon consuming this pill, one has a 50% chance to overcome the First Tribulation of the Celestial Decay! Upon consuming this pill, one has an 80% chance of entering the Realm of the Divine Beginning!”

After a while, Wang Lin regained his composure. He stared at the fragment and, without hesitation, he stored it away, along with the jade slip. There was no time to dwell on it. At that moment, Wang Lin was utterly certain that the treasure he held could spark a calamity throughout the cultivation world.

For now, news of the formula had not yet spread. But as the struggle intensified, it would soon shake the entire Cloud Sea Starfield.

It had been a long time since Wang Lin had felt such thirst. He licked his lips, meticulously erasing any traces of his presence within the valley. He even took the bodies of the middle-aged man, and the one disciple who succumbed to poison.

Having ensured that he had left nothing behind, Wang Lin transformed into a streak of light and shot from the valley. He raised his right hand to gather the eight skulls, but with a moment of hesitation, he crushed one into powder.

His thoughts raced. Wang Lin stored the remaining seven skulls, retrieving the poisoned corpse from his storage space and returning it to its original position.

He carefully gathered the fragments of the broken skull, leaving but a single piece in a hidden corner of the valley.

With a deep breath, Wang Lin gathered the Silver-Clad Corpse and the seven skulls. He became a flash of light and set off after the Black Ape.

“The Old Crone’s spirit is in my possession, but I cannot allow her to die! As long as she lives, none will know of my involvement. It will simply appear that she claimed the formula and fled to hide it.

After all, her broken artifact remains within the valley, along with the corpse, a testament to poison…” Time was fleeting. Sect cultivators could arrive at any moment. Wang Lin dared not linger any longer. He could only take matters this far.

With no further thoughts of claiming herbs, he pushed onward. With one stride, he vanished from sight, using the shrinking earth magic. In his next step, he appeared next to the Black Ape, guiding the beasts.

The Black Ape roared with joy upon seeing Wang Lin. Pointing to the direction of a nearby peak, it attempted to show Wang Lin where other herbs could be found.

Wang Lin paid it no heed. With a flick of his wrist, he removed the yellow talisman from the ape and stored the colossal creature away. He charged into the heavens, scattering the fog. He then applied the talisman to himself. Unsatisfied, he affixed a second beast-hide speed talisman.

With that, Wang Lin’s speed reached its pinnacle. He tore through the Star Mist, leaving the desolate continent behind.

Even now, he could feel the feverish pounding of his heart. The events on that barren land felt like some fantastic dream.

Suppressing his excitement, Wang Lin was all too aware that if word of the formula got out, he would become a target for countless cultivators, not only in the Cloud Sea, but in the Thunder and Rain Realms as well. Some would stop at nothing to claim it.

Especially those old monsters dwelling in seclusion, approaching the end of their Nirvana Shattering, or already within the throes of the Celestial Decay. This pill could drive them mad!

“I must not let anyone know that this treasure is in my possession.” Wang Lin continued to travel towards the stars, his spiritual sense closed. He could feel that the Fifth Grade Starfield was teeming with cultivators, all heading for that desolate land.

If he were to encounter them, the quickness of his travels would undoubtedly arouse suspicion. And once they arrived to find the valley disturbed, the first one to be investigated would be anyone who appeared suspicious on the way.

The greater the challenge, the greater the need to remain composed.

After traveling some distance, Wang Lin summoned the Black Ape. He sat cross-legged upon its shoulders, stilling his mind. The ape turned its head towards the Moruo Continent of the Returning Origin Sect.

It would take several days to reach it. Although Wang Lin was in a rush to leave, he kept his face calm, as if nothing had occurred in the barren lands. Like any Cloud Sea cultivator, he sat peacefully, waiting for the trip to end.

Hours later, Wang Lin had distanced himself from the barren land. He was approaching several other desolate continents. The Black Ape continued to travel, but then Wang Lin’s peaceful gaze turned sharp for only a moment.

In the distance, long streaks of light shot towards them. They grew closer and closer!