When the old Dark Scorpion elder produced the strange Flame-Fire Crystal, Lin recognized it instantly. Indeed, he had not only seen such a crystal before, but had spent years healing upon one!

Within the Alliance Star System, where the Vermillion Bird Saint Sect stood, deep within the burning starfield, floated a colossal, white stone. This was where the Vermillion Bird’s Old Saint Emperor had often meditated.

This Flame-Fire Crystal, as it was called in the Fallen Land, was unmistakably identical to that stark stone!

“Could it be,” Lin mused, “that the Fallen Emperor has ties to the Vermillion Bird Saint Sect?” Lin held no great affection for the sect itself, but he owed a debt of rebirth to the Old Saint Emperor, a debt he could never repay.

Especially the Old Saint Emperor’s integrity and countless years of quiet devotion filled Lin with respect. In Lin’s eyes, the Old Saint Emperor and the Lord of the Sealed Realm were kindred spirits, one guarding the Four Saint Sects, the other protecting the entire Inner Realm.

Gazing upon the Flame-Fire Crystal, Lin felt a stirring within him as he recalled the Old Saint Emperor’s words before his passing.

“I, Lu Yun, was born in the ancient Age of Qi Refining. From my youth, I served as a medicine boy by the side of the Fourth Saint Emperor. He bestowed upon me the art of Qi Refining. At the age of one thousand three hundred and seventy-two, having achieved a measure of success, I followed the Saint Emperor, witnessing the Vermillion Bird Saint Sect in its golden age…”

“At one hundred and eleven thousand four hundred and sixty-three years, the Rune Clan came from beyond the realm, disrupting the heavens. Our Vermillion Bird Saint Sect aided the Immortal Realm, battling the runes! After this battle, the Fourth Saint Emperor, along with the other three Saint Emperors, departed for beyond the realm, vanishing without a trace. Before his departure, he named me the Fifth Saint Emperor!”

Lin’s gaze remained fixed on the tiny Flame-Fire Crystal, his eyes gleaming.

“The Old Saint Emperor said the Fourth Saint Emperor and the three others went beyond the realm, never to be heard from again… and yet the Fallen Emperor possesses this artifact of the Vermillion Bird Saint Sect… could it be that the Fourth Saint Emperor came to this Fallen Land?”

“But judging by the timeline, something doesn’t quite add up…” Lin quelled his initial excitement, lost in contemplation. He couldn’t be sure. After a long while, he took a deep breath.

“I will uncover the truth of this matter, sooner or later. I never imagined that this Fallen Land harbored such a secret… If this place truly has ties to the Fourth Saint Emperor, perhaps I can achieve my Vermillion Bird’s Fourth Awakening here! Transitioning from Solid Flame to Illusory Flame, igniting the fury of all who oppose me, causing them to perish in agony!”

“If so, even if the Source of Fire is not yet perfected, its power will be worlds apart from its current state! Furthermore, I could not comprehend the power of this Flame-Fire Crystal in the past, but with the strength of my Vermillion Bird’s Third Awakening, I can unleash its heaven-shattering power in an instant!” Lin’s eyes flashed. He flipped his right hand downward, instantly storing the grain-sized Flame-Fire Crystal within his storage space.

Within his storage space, there was also a stone statue, the very petrified body of the Vermillion Bird Old Saint Emperor, his arm frozen in the gesture of touching his brow, exuding an aura of ancient sorrow.

He swept his divine sense across the statue, paused in silence, then turned his attention to a nearby puppet.

The puppet was an impassive middle-aged man, standing motionless. Lin stared at it, his divine sense erupting forth, engulfing the puppet completely, like countless needles piercing its form.

Lin’s divine sense slowly penetrated, meticulously searching for the puppet’s secrets. As time passed, Lin’s expression grew solemn.

The puppet’s body contained no flesh or blood. Instead, it was formed of some strange crystal, its particles soft and pliable, forming the semblance of flesh.

The puppet’s head was also composed of crystal, but incredibly hard, faintly radiating an unending force. Within the puppet, a layer of gentle light emanated. This light was immensely resilient. As Lin’s divine sense attempted to penetrate, it was instantly and violently repelled.

Lin’s eyes gleamed. He unleashed his full divine sense, transforming it into a storm that roared forth, breaking through the puppet’s flesh, aiming directly for the protective barrier of gentle light within.

A deafening roar echoed. The puppet’s body trembled violently, and Lin abruptly stood up, his eyes fixed upon it. His full divine sense could obliterate the puppet, but it could not penetrate that protective light!

Indeed, had he not immediately withdrawn his divine sense, the protective light would have detonated, obliterating all secrets within and barring any intrusion.

Lin’s eyes flickered, his expression serious as he fell into thought.

“This puppet is quite intriguing…” Lin extended his right hand and grasped empty air. Instantly, the puppet flew towards him, stopping three feet away, within easy reach of Lin’s hand upon its chest.

His divine sense surged forth once more, flowing through his right hand into the puppet’s form. He was about to push deeper, but in that instant, Lin shuddered, letting out a soft “Hmm.”

“This puppet… it has meridians!” At such close range, with his hand in contact, and his divine sense sweeping through the puppet, Lin saw what he had missed before.

Within the puppet, amidst the particles that replaced flesh and blood, he saw faint traces of meridians, almost completely hidden, withered, and difficult to detect…

“This…” Lin’s eyes shone with sudden light. He inhaled sharply, then meticulously examined the puppet again, his eyes filled with shock.

“This is no puppet. This is a cultivator! Someone has used some means to refine a cultivator into this puppet!” Lin fell silent, staring at the puppet.

The puppet’s expression remained blank, devoid of any life or spirit, its eyes empty and hollow.

“The particles that replaced the puppet’s flesh… They feel somewhat familiar, as if I’ve seen them somewhere before…” Lin paused in thought, his expression hardening with resolve.

“The puppet’s secrets must lie hidden beneath that protective light. Only by seeing what’s inside can I know the truth!” Lin’s divine sense surged again, his right eye flashing with lightning. Instantly, behind him, the Thunder Dominion materialized with a deafening roar.

The entire cave was instantly filled with thunder, exploding with a deafening sound. The lightning spread throughout the surroundings, the thunder reverberating through the earth, reaching even the Dark Scorpion Clan outside the cave, turning their faces pale as they all looked towards the entrance.

With the Thunder Dominion deployed, Lin’s cultivation surged, and even his divine sense went wild, transforming into a storm of lightning that plunged into the puppet, striking against the protective light.

The collision created a tremendous roar. The protective light within the puppet could not withstand the massive onslaught of divine sense and instantly collapsed. But at the moment of its collapse, it offered no chance to see what was inside, and instead self-destructed!

But at that instant, Lin’s eyes flared, and he barked, “Freeze!”

A word to freeze form, he froze the workings of heaven and earth, freezing all change, causing the puppet’s body to shudder, its internal processes brought to a halt. Only the protective light paused for the briefest moment before returning to normal and collapsing with a boom.

At the same time, the puppet itself, now frozen, exploded, sending a shockwave rippling through the mountain. It struck the surrounding walls, creating a deafening roar.

The mountain trembled, sending dust and debris flying everywhere. Had Lin not placed restrictions, the mountain would have been leveled. Even the cultivation star itself might have trembled violently, creating fissures in the land.

The Dark Scorpion Clan outside the cave looked on with fear, a hush falling over the area. The old Dark Scorpion elder wore a wry smile. He sensed a familiar aura from the shockwave and knew that the Dark Scorpion Clan’s puppet had likely been destroyed.

Inside the cave, the dust settled, gradually dissipating. Lin remained standing, his eyes blazing. In the instant that he had frozen the collapse of the protective light, though only briefly, he had glimpsed its secrets! He had seen a Nascent Soul floating within! This Nascent Soul looked identical to the puppet! This discovery allowed Lin to assert that the puppet was once a cultivator!

Moreover, in the moment of the puppet’s destruction, the particles that replaced blood and flesh scattered, causing Lin’s mind to flash. He remembered the source of that familiarity!

In the Alliance Star System, within the Land of Demonic Spirits, he had seen a severed Ancient God’s head. At the wound, there remained crystalline particles, extremely similar to the puppet’s flesh!

Even now, within Lin’s storage bag, he kept a small bottle, filled with particles taken from the wound of the Ancient God’s head!

Vaguely, Lin felt that he had grasped some threads of thought, but they were tangled and chaotic, and he could not draw a connection.

“The Fallen Emperor… Who is this man?” Lin took a step forward, his eyes hard, and the cave door rumbled open as he exited.

“Elder Jie, lead the way to the nearest Fallen Star Association elder’s cultivation star!” Lin stepped into the void. As he spoke, the old Dark Scorpion elder respectfully obeyed, flying forward to guide the way.

At that very moment, outside the Fallen Land, within the starfield, ripples twisted and spread. From them emerged a middle-aged man. It was Si Mozi, who had been pursuing Lin. His eyes were gloomy, his gaze filled with an odd light. A powerful aura surrounded him as he looked at this starfield controlled by the Return to Longevity Alliance.

“Grand Strategist Yun Luo calculated that he was hiding in this Fallen Land… a place of mixed dragons and snakes, demanding caution… But fortunately, I have been here before. I have an old acquaintance with the Ninth Elder of the Fallen Star Association, the Dragon Armor Clan Chieftain. By assuming the identity of a Dragon Armor Clan member, I should be able to move freely.”

Si Mozi pondered, then moved forward, heading directly for the Fallen Land.

“I must find him quickly, dead or alive, and search his soul to discover the secret of summoning the Emptiness Gate without incense!”