Meng Lin felt the temperature around her drop as she heard the whispers again. They were faint but distinct, growing louder, almost desperate. She took a step back as she realized something was coming; her instinct screamed at her, and her gaze snapped to the corner where the door had creaked open earlier.

  Boom!

  Without warning, the door exploded open with a deafening crash, slamming against the wall on the other side of the room.

  Meng Lin's heart skipped a beat as she quickly looked; however, to her disbelief, the doorway was empty—nothing but a dark, empty void beyond it.

  "Is this…?"

  A cold shiver ran down her spine as she instinctively released her spiritual consciousness, pushing it outward to scan all corners of the room. Then she saw it.

  "Skreeeeech..."

  A single shadowy figure—far larger than the ones she had encountered before—hovered just meters from her, its shape vague.

  It had no eyes, but she could feel its gaze on her, burning with hunger. A dark aura radiated from it, suffocating the space around her.

  Her mind raced back to the Nether Cloud Domain. That encounter within the ancient building with silver-white formations, the shadowy entities which were perceptible only within her spiritual consciousness; this was just like that time.

  Before she could react, it lunged at her, and Meng Lin felt a suffocating pressure rush over her body, causing her to falter in her movements.

  She was about to enter her Brute Qi state once again when suddenly, the pendant in her hand flared with light. A brilliant, blinding flash exploded from the pendant, engulfing the room in pure radiance.

  Meng Lin squinted her eyes at the light as she heard a guttural, soul-shattering sound.

  "Skreeeeech!"

  Looking ahead with difficulty, she realized that the creature's shadowy form flickered, contorting as if it were being pulled by an invisible force.

  Skreeh!!

  Another screech pierced the air, but it sounded like a cry of anguish as the shadow fought against the light. Yet the more it struggled, the stronger the light became, until with one final, agonizing howl, the creature was completely consumed by the radiance.

  “What was that…?” Meng Lin whispered, still feeling the remnants of the creature’s malevolent Qi lingering in the air.

  Her eyes dropped to the pendant in her hand as she realized that it felt heavier now, like it had just been stuffed with a giant rock.

  The room fell silent, and Meng Lin blinked. The pendant’s light was fading back into its normal glow, and the oppressive weight that had filled the air was gone, replaced by an eerie stillness.

  She stood there for a moment, heart racing, her gaze shifting back to the painting on the wall, where the figure blinked, its eyes narrowing at her with an almost unsettling awareness.

  A shiver ran down her spine, but she forced herself to remain calm, trying to make sense of the situation.

  *That creature...* she thought, her mind flashing back to the shadow that had lunged at her moments ago. It had been powerful—however, what concerned her was the fact that it reminded her of the Nether Cloud Domain.

  Thinking of the events that had happened, she worried if she was inside the belly of some other sealed beast like the beasts from the Primal Sea that the Palace Master spoke of.

  "And this pendant..." Meng Lin’s fingers traced the cracks on the pendant. "Even though it is damaged, it is able to seal away such an entity. However, I wonder what actually caused it to be damaged in the first place."

  Her gaze shifted again to the painting as she held a hand under her chin, scrutinizing it.

  The fact that the figure within the painting hadn't done any other actions besides blinking meant that it was also restricted—possibly sealed too.

  She approached it and frowned. "But it’s not mindless. It’s like it’s... waiting, watching. It can’t move, but it can still see me."

  Her thoughts sharpened. 'I need to get out of here.'

  She wasn’t sure what the full extent of this place was, or what exactly was at play. The fact that she had heard her own name within the whispering voices proved that there might be something else going on.

  Meng Lin took a deep breath and turned toward the table. A quick sweep of her spiritual consciousness confirmed that there was nothing of immediate interest, but that didn’t stop her from storing the tattered scrolls and faded books into her inventory.

  The old, brittle paper would be useful later, even if only as knowledge of what happened here.

  She knelt beside the bed, her fingers lightly brushing the fabric. As her spiritual consciousness extended, she felt a faint trace of Qi. It wasn’t dark or oppressive like the Qi she had encountered earlier. Instead, this energy seemed way too pure.

  Although it was very little and felt like Qi, Meng Lin realized that it was entirely different from the Qi within the air—"Primal Qi," she realized.

  She had felt it only once before. It had been during the battle between her master and Tian Yu within the depths of the Ancient Voidshroud Whale.

  Her heart raced as she realized the implications; she glanced back at the room, the faint dark energy still lingering in the air. If the Primal Qi was here, then it could only mean one thing: whichever cultivator had been here had to be as powerful as her master, within the Ascension Realm.

  She began to wonder but ended up shaking her head as her eyes drifted to the flowerpot next.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The withered plant had caught her attention earlier, its faint pulse of life still somehow managing to hold on in this desolate place. She hesitated, but then, with a simple thought, the pot and the fragile flower were stored away.

  And finally, her gaze drifted to the painting on the wall. The figure’s eyes seemed to light up at her gaze, almost as if it was waiting for her to act.

  She frowned, contemplating. 'Should I store it too?' Her fingers twitched at the thought. 'Maybe master would know what it is; there's no harm.'

  But as she reached out, ready to take it into the system inventory, a panel appeared before her eyes.

  [Error.]

  Meng Lin blinked, taken aback. She stared at the painting for a long moment. "So, I can’t store it away." She hesitated, but with a soft sigh, she dropped her hand and gave the painting one last lingering look before turning away. "Maybe it's for the best."

  Meng Lin’s gaze shifted to the corner of the room—the dark room where that ghostly figure had appeared. The memory of the creature’s hunger was still fresh in her mind, so she didn't dare have other thoughts.

  "I’ve had enough of testing my luck for one night."

  With a soft exhale, she turned away, deciding not to press her curiosity any further.

  Walking out of the room, Meng Lin failed to notice the gaze within the painting turn angry, a malicious aura drifting through the room as it looked at her back with hatred.

  ***

  "Okay, now these two," Meng Lin said, standing back at the three-way pathways. She turned to the Void State Tablet and instructed, "Check for a spatial barrier once again, this time on the middle one."

  The Void-State Tablet hummed as it attempted to sweep across the middle path with rippling space.

  However, the moment its energy touched the formations of the path, a giant barrier flickered into existence. The rippling space was instantly rebounded, sending a sharp pulse of energy back toward Meng Lin.

  She took a step back, narrowing her eyes. "A reactive defense."

  This wasn’t a simple spatial barrier—it was a formation designed to retaliate against any attempt to probe it. Whoever set it up clearly didn’t want anyone getting through.

  Without hesitation, she directed the tablet toward the right path. This time, the spatial ripple moved smoothly, encountering no obstruction. A faint glow rippled across the passage, but no rebounding force appeared.

  Meng Lin's gaze sharpened. "So this one is clear."

  Nodding to herself, she placed her hand on the Void-State Tablet and said, "Teleport me behind the formation."

  The black tablet hummed in response, its aura flashing as shifting spatial energy coalesced around her. A faint ripple distorted the air, and in an instant, Meng Lin’s figure appeared deeper within the right passage, past the formation that had guarded the entrance.

  "Now let's see what we'll find in this one."

  Meng Lin walked forward, noticing how this hallway lacked the suffocating presence of lingering death or ancient malice. Instead, it was clean, almost refreshing—an odd contrast to the rest of the ruin.

  After walking for a short while, the passage abruptly opened up into a spacious chamber.

  Meng Lin halted at the opening, her gaze sweeping across the room. Unlike the decayed and ominous atmosphere of the previous room, this one was pristine—but it held its own peculiarities.

  She took a cautious step inside, her fingers lightly brushing against the wall, which was glowing brighter.

  At the center of the room stood a single ornate pedestal, carved from a translucent jade-like material.

  Her gaze swept across the chamber as she noticed that, aside from the ornate pedestal in the center, three other things were in the room.

  Near the far wall, resting on a small stone platform, was the carcass of a six-winged golden cicada. Despite its diminutive size—barely the size of her palm—Meng Lin immediately recognized the insect.

  The aura it was radiating was almost comparable to the rank 8 beast corpse within the Ancient Voidshroud Whale.

  It had a lustrous golden shell filled with cracks, and its delicate wings, though still impressive, were hanging loose.

  Beside the cicada, lying abandoned in a corner, was a crimson vine, its tendrils shriveled yet still pulsing faintly with energy.

  Meng Lin wasn’t sure if it was toxic, medicinal, or something else entirely—but it seemed valuable.

  The final item was also next to the small stone platform: a small mountain of nine-colored soil. Unlike the other items, this one hadn’t changed with the passage of time. Faint hues of red, blue, and green still flickered across its surface, as if struggling to maintain its vibrancy.

  "A cultivator dedicated to spiritual beasts…"

  The presence of these remains—especially the golden cicada—confirmed it. Someone, long ago, had a vested interest in nurturing, studying, or possibly even refining creatures of great power.

  Meng Lin stepped forward with cautious steps. If the previous chambers had traps, then there was no telling what kind of mechanisms might be hidden here.

  Sweeping across the whole room with her spiritual consciousness, she first confirmed that there was no danger before she focused on the four items that were in the room.

  Her eyebrows suddenly raised as she felt two different tugs within her: one from her inventory, the other from the beast garden.

  Meng Lin immediately opened her system inventory, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw that it was the Jade Box vibrating within.

  Without hesitation, she took it out, and the moment it was exposed to the chamber’s air, a powerful reaction occurred.

  A deep hum filled the space as thick red blood essence surged from the carcass of the six-winged golden cicada, flowing through the air in a twisting stream before being absorbed into the Jade Box.

  The scene was awfully similar, and thus Meng Lin watched in silence as the blood essence was completely drained from the carcass, leaving the once-radiant golden shell dull and lifeless. Then, as if responding to the sudden influx of energy, the Jade Box began to shine.

  "What—" Meng Lin jerked in surprise. The box was reacting, but not in the way it had before.

  The glow intensified, intricate patterns lighting up across its surface like veins of molten gold. Then—crack.

  A sharp fissure split through the box’s exterior.

  Meng Lin's eyes widened.

  It wasn’t opening. It was transforming.

  The structure of the box collapsed inward, its form shifting and shrinking as the light became blinding. The air trembled with a suffocating pressure, and then—boom!

  The golden glow exploded outward, vanishing in an instant.

  What remained was no longer a box.

  Lying before her, floating in the air, was a simple crimson ring.

  No ornate engravings, no embellishments—just a smooth, unassuming band of deep red metal, pulsing faintly as if it were alive.

  Meng Lin’s breath hitched.

  The Jade Box had become the ring.

  Slowly, she reached out. Her fingertips brushed against the surface—

  Boom!

  A shockwave of raw, unrestrained power tore through her body. She staggered back, gasping, as her vision blurred and her Qi churned violently within her meridians. Then—understanding flooded her mind.

  The knowledge was not her own, yet it carved itself into her soul as if it had always belonged there.

  Aspect of Power.

  That was its name.

  Her body trembled as the truth unraveled before her. This was no ordinary treasure. This was a defiance of the heavens themselves.

  The ring’s function was straightforward yet overwhelming—when infused with Qi, it doubled the wearer’s overall power output.

  Not just strength.

  Not just speed.

  Everything.

  A raw, unfiltered 2x multiplier to all of her abilities.

  And what’s more—it worked across realms; it didn't matter what realm the user was in.

  Whether at Foundation Establishment or at the peak of Ascension Realm—as long as they wore this ring, their entire being would double in power.

  Her thoughts raced.

  Her master.

  What if her master wore this ring?

  Li Yu was already in the Ascension Realm.

  What would happen if she— someone of that level—used this?

  Meng Lin’s fingers tightened around the ring. Her heart pounding hard.

  This was a treasure that could change one’s fate.

  Artifacts that amplified power were exceedingly rare. But one that worked across any realm—that affected everything about a cultivator—was unheard of.

  Her grip shook. This was too great. Too dangerous.

  Without another thought, she stored the ring into her inventory, sealing it away.

  She did not dare put it on.

  Not yet.

  What if it was bound to her the moment she wore it?

  A treasure of this magnitude, one that defied logic and reason was not something to be wielded carelessly.

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

  It was only when she calmed down did Meng Lin finally remember that something else had reacted. Something within the Beast Garden.