Su Kang was heading toward the Qingyun Sect, which lay just a hundred kiloters from Qingyun City.
As he passed through the bustling marketplace, a strange sensation washed over him.
He halted mid-step, his spiritual consciousness surging outward, scanning the bustling market with sharp vigilance.
A subtle pull, a resonant hum deep within his soul, guided him through the bustling streets.
His eyes swept across the vibrant market, where countless cultivators bartered for treasures.
Stalls overflowed with gleaming jade talismans, ancient scrolls wrapped in faded silk, and vials of elixirs shimring with spiritual light.
The air buzzed with excitent, a chaotic blend of voices haggling over prices and exchanging cultivation insights.
This was the monthly trade fair, a haven where rogue cultivators and rchants gathered under the Qingyun Sect’s watchful eye.
Across the crowded square, a glint of gold caught his eye. A middle-aged man stood at a stall, turning an object over in his hands.
His blood ran cold. The bustling market seed to fade into the background, muffled and distant, as his gaze locked onto the triangular shard of golden tal.
It pulsed faintly, emitting a barely perceptible energy that resonated with the strange feeling in his soul.
He struggled to maintain a neutral expression, his composure barely masking the shock rippling through him.
'It couldn't be…'
The middle-aged man carefully examined the golden-colored fragnt. Though seemingly ordinary at first glance, the object bore an undeniable presence.
The edges suggested it was once part of a larger artifact—perhaps a rectangular or square-shaped plate. Intricate carvings adorned its surface, inexplicable yet srizing.
Su Kang knew this fragnt.
In his previous life, he had obtained a piece exactly like this—but not here, not in this marketplace. It had been buried deep inside a newly discovered secret realm.
Before he could dwell on it further, the shopkeeper and the middle-aged man turned their attention to him.
The rchant looked uneasy, while the man’s gaze sharpened in vigilance. They had noticed his interest.
Su Kang exhaled softly, steadying himself. He pointed at the fragnt and said calmly,
"I want this."
The middle-aged man frowned. "I’ve already purchased it," he replied, his tone guarded.
The shopkeeper remained silent, hesitant. The transaction had indeed been completed, and the fragnt was no longer his to sell.
Yet Su Kang’s presence unnerved him. After all, the young man wore a Qingyun Sect robe—a sign of considerable status.
The tension in the air thickened.
Su Kang’s eyes narrowed slightly, and the next mont, an invisible force surged outward.
The middle-aged man stiffened, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Spiritual pressure.
It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was targeted—focused solely on him.
Others in the market remained oblivious, but the man felt as though a mountain had suddenly pressed against his chest.
His heart pounded.
A Core/Pill Formation expert…!
The realization sent a wave of panic through him. He had assud Su Kang was rely a talented disciple of the Qingyun Sect, soone he could reason with.
But a Core Formation expert was already a top figure in the Qingyun Region.
If soone of this level was personally interested in the fragnt, then its value was far greater than he had imagined.
His thoughts flickered between greed and fear, but in the end, he dared not gamble his life.
"I… I’ll sell it," he stamred.
Su Kang withdrew his pressure as if it had never existed. He retrieved a storage pouch and tossed it forward.
"One hundred thousand spiritual stones."
The man’s eyes widened. He had purchased the fragnt for fifty thousand. Now, in an instant, he had doubled his profit.
Without hesitation, he handed over the golden fragnt. Su Kang took it, his fingers tightening around the cold tal.
Without another word, he turned on his heels and left.
But before stepping out of the market, his gaze flickered back to the blue ring on the man’s finger.
A mory surfaced.
His steps subtly changed direction.
He needed to return to the Su family.
Su Kang sat in his chamber, the golden fragnt resting before him on the table. He stared at it in silence.
In his past life, he had stumbled upon this fragnt two months after the secret realm’s discovery. By then, many had already explored its depths.
The dead foundation-building cultivator he had found… was that man.
He must have gone into that secret realm way before him and died there.
He focused on the fragnt. Even with his spiritual consciousness, he could sense nothing unusual. Yet the resonance in his soul persisted.
"Should I use my blood?" he thought.
A hint of hesitation flickered across his face. Then, taking a deep breath, he steeled himself.
He pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the tal. Imdiately, he retreated toward the room’s entrance, staying alert.
The mont his blood touched the fragnt, a golden light burst forth.
Strange runes flickered in and out of existence, their anings beyond comprehension. The artifact vibrated, and the resonance in his soul intensified.
Su Kang remained on guard. But after a few breaths, everything settled. The light faded. The runes vanished. The fragnt lay still once more.
Just as he was about to continue, a voice echoed in the room.
"You are wasting your blood by doing this."
Su Kang’s pupils contracted. His body tensed as his gaze darted around, scanning every corner of the chamber. But there was no one.
His spiritual consciousness expanded rapidly, searching for any foreign presence—nothing.
His breath slowed. His focus sharpened.
His eyes lowered to the fragnt.
Was it… speaking?
A terrifying thought took root in his mind. A deep chill crept down Su Kang’s spine.
"It must be soone whose cultivation is many realms higher than mine." He thought.
Su Kang asked again for more information, " Who is speaking?".
"I am speaking to you."
The voice was strange—unnatural, cold and tallic. It was neither male nor female, neither distant nor close.
This was an extrely horrible and unpleasant sound.
"It was my power that allowed you to see your most probable future and ending."
His mind turned blank for a split second.
"Not ti travel… but a vision of what was most likely to happen?" he murmured.
Taking a steady breath, he asked, "Why would Senior show that?"
The voice answered without hesitation.
"To compensate you for killing you."
Su Kang’s heart lurched. The air in the chamber grew heavy, pressing down on him like an invisible weight.
Killing ?
His hand trembled, rage and fear warring in his chest as he glared at the shard.
And then, as if sensing his emotions, the voice spoke again.
"I was gathering enough energy to leave that previous world, but I was lacking so energy."
"As the world’s spiritual energy waned, I went into slumber."
"Then, by instinct, I absorbed your destiny. It was not a conscious act."
"That missing energy was enough for to escape through a space crack."
"So it's my reincarnation. Arya is my past life." He had concluded.
"Absorbing destiny... Can show future events... What type of cultivation techniques can grant such powers?" Su Kang's thoughts spun.
He had too many questions. But first, he needed to confirm sothing.
"So it was Senior who brought to this world," he said, his voice steady despite the storm in his mind.
But even with this answer, unease lingered. The voice itself was strange—its tallic quality unlike anything he had encountered.
After a mont, he said respectfully, "Since Senior has shown such great kindness, why not reveal yourself? Allow to properly express my gratitude."
The response made his blood run cold.
"I am already before you. Such formalities are unnecessary."
The voice, cold and resonant, emanated not from so hidden entity, but from the fragnt itself.
Su Kang’s breath hitched.
His mind went blank for a brief mont.
Its voice, tallic and resonant, sent shivers down his spine
The golden fragnt, seemingly inanimate monts before, now pulsed with an unnerving sentience.
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