Origin beyond heaven

Spirit mountain

Lin Yuan walked along the narrow mountain path with steady steps, his expression remaining calm, but his sharp eyes constantly swept across the surrounding landscape.

"In my previous life... this mountain changed my destiny."

Back then, he had arrived only after the mysterious tremor had shaken the entire Lin Clan. By the time he reached Spirit Mountain, the inheritance had already vanished, leaving behind nothing but countless regrets.

This life would be different.

Stopping beneath a pine tree, Lin Yuan closed his eyes and focused on his dantian, and a single strand of pale gray Origin Qi quietly circulated through his meridians. He nodded slightly. First Layer of Qi Gathering.

Although his cultivation was only at the first layer, he wasn't discouraged. Ordinary cultivators absorbed Heavenly Qi directly into their dantians, causing their spiritual energy to increase rapidly. Lin Yuan, however, refined every strand of Heavenly Qi into Origin Qi before storing it. The process was far slower, but the result was incomparable.

"If a First Layer Qi Gathering cultivator possesses ten strands of Heavenly Qi," he murmured, "then one strand of Origin Qi is worth at least ten of theirs." That was why he had effortlessly defeated the Second Layer disciple back then not because his cultivation was higher, but because the quality of his spiritual energy far surpassed ordinary cultivators.

Lin Hao had already reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Gathering, and many of the clan's elders were even stronger. If they discovered the inheritance before he did, everything would change.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes and looked toward the dense forest ahead of him. "My memories may be incomplete... but this Spirit Mountain is where the Origin first called to me."

Without another word, he stepped off the main trail and disappeared into the forest, heading toward the place where destiny had once slipped through his fingers.

Hidden among the trees several hundred meters behind him, three figures silently watched his every move.

The dense forest swallowed Lin Yuan's figure as he ventured farther from the main trail, the trees towering overhead, their thick branches blocking most of the sunlight.

He slowed his pace and carefully observed the terrain. "It should be here..."

According to the fragments of memory he still possessed, the entrance to the inheritance wasn't hidden inside a cave. Instead, it was concealed by a natural formation that distorted the senses of anyone who entered this part of Spirit Mountain. Unfortunately, the most important details had vanished from his memories — he could no longer remember how to break the formation.

Lin Yuan frowned. "So the seal erased this..."

He crouched and picked up a small stone before tossing it ahead. The stone should have landed several meters away. Instead, it vanished into thin air, and a moment later reappeared behind him, rolling to a stop near his feet.

His eyes lit up. "As expected... an illusion formation." A faint smile appeared on his face. While he had forgotten the method to enter, he still possessed thousands of years of cultivation experience, and formations, no matter how mysterious, always followed certain principles.

He slowly closed his eyes and spread out his senses. The flow of spiritual energy around the forest was chaotic, yet beneath the disorder he discovered faint traces of rhythm.

"There..."

Opening his eyes, he stepped toward a moss-covered cliff. At first glance it appeared completely ordinary, but when he placed his palm against the stone, he felt an almost imperceptible pulse beneath its surface.

"This is the place."

Meanwhile, hidden behind a cluster of trees, Lin Hao's three followers watched in confusion.

"What's he doing?" one whispered.

"I don't know," another replied. "But he definitely found something."

The eldest among them narrowed his eyes. "Stay hidden. The moment he uncovers whatever secret is here, we'll report it to Young Master Hao."

None of them noticed that the cliff had begun to tremble ever so slightly beneath Lin Yuan's hand.

Lin Yuan kept his palm pressed against the cold cliff, silently feeling the faint pulse beneath the stone. His eyes slowly swept across the moss-covered surface. "There has to be a mechanism..."

The cliff looked no different from any other rock wall on Spirit Mountain, yet the subtle fluctuation of spiritual energy told him otherwise. This was no ordinary stone it had been hidden by an ancient formation for countless years.

He stepped back and examined every inch of the cliff. Then his gaze stopped on a palm-sized stone covered in thick green moss. Unlike the surrounding rocks, it was perfectly smooth. "There you are."

With a wave of his sleeve, the moss scattered into the air, revealing strange silver marks carved into the stone. The symbols were ancient so ancient that even Lin Yuan, despite living for thousands of years in his previous life, couldn't recognize a single character.

"The language of the Origin Civilization..."

He reached out without hesitation and pressed the stone.

Click. A dull sound echoed from deep within the mountain, and the ground beneath his feet trembled.

Crack... crack... Lines spread across the cliff like a giant spider's web as pieces of stone broke away. Dust filled the air, and the rock wall slowly split apart, revealing a narrow passage that descended into darkness. A cold aura rushed out from within the opening.

The ash-gray Origin Scripture within Lin Yuan's dantian suddenly reacted. "It reacted..." His heartbeat quickened. Without a doubt, this was the place he had been searching for.

Behind the trees, Lin Hao's followers stared at the opened passage with wide eyes.

"An... an inheritance!"

The eldest disciple's breathing became uneven. "You two stay here and watch him. I'll return to inform Young Master Hao immediately." He turned and disappeared into the forest at full speed.

Unaware that his secret had already been exposed, Lin Yuan looked into the endless darkness before him. A faint smile appeared on his face. "The first inheritance of the Origin Civilization... I've finally found you."

Taking a steady breath, he stepped into the passage.

The moment his foot crossed the entrance, the stone gate rumbled shut behind him.