A bright red bead of blood dropped onto the page, creating a splash of red.

Omm~

Lin Xun's vision suddenly flashed white as he was seemingly transported to another world.

It was a world with a high and vast sky. The mountains and rivers were so gorgeous that it felt like looking at a painting. An imposing figure stood on the tallest mountain peak, gazing above the blue dome of heaven with his hands behind his back.

Strong winds blew the figure’s clothes and hair, making him seem like an immortal that did not belong to the mortal realm and was ready to drift away with the wind at any moment.

Rumble!

The figure suddenly moved. With a wave of his sleeve, divine light converged to form a dazzling pillar. The pillar shot upwards, viciously smashing open the blue dome of heaven to crash against the endless universe outside.

Dong~

As the pillar of light slammed against the originally empty space, a rippling vortex-like door was forced to emerge!

The vortex was akin to a space devouring abyss of immeasurable and terrifying depth. It spun crazily, giving off a frightening power that twisted the surrounding space until it shattered, a sight that would absolutely induce terror in anyone who saw it.

Countless stars were pulled towards the vortex as if they were commoners bowing to their king. The vortex continued to spin, releasing a loud rumbling noise as it created a horrifying earth-shaking sight in the void of space.

A single strike had broken the sky, shattered outer space, and opened a door amidst the void!

Without personally witnessing this, who would believe that a single wave of a sleeve could send forth such overwhelming and godly power?

Lin Xun’s heart shuddered violently. This was the second time he had seen such a terrifying scene. The first was while he fled the mine prison. He had seen an ancient and mysterious giant hand burning with endless purple fire, a herald of destruction that covered the sky and land.

It was also the first time Lin Xun experienced how powerful a cultivator could be, which made him increasingly determined to cultivate.

However, in comparison to this scene, the sky-encompassing hand seemed much more inferior.

Rumble!

Before Lin Xun could return from his thoughts, a loud noise exploded in his ear. The blood in his body suddenly began to flow uncontrollably as his heart and mind were violently shaken. This unbearable sensation nearly made him cough blood.

It was at this moment that he saw an unbelievable enormous beast claw suddenly reach out from deep within the vortex-like door. It tore through the void and viciously thrust towards the blue dome of the sky.

The claw was far too gigantic, making the mountains appear like unremarkable grains of sand in comparison. It was covered in ice-cold scales that pulsed with boundless and savage power.

“I’ve already opened the galaxis door. Who in this world can still stop me from stepping onto the eternal star road? Get lost!” With an icy snort, the imposing figure atop the tallest mountain flicked his finger, causing a ray of light to suddenly appear.

Before Lin Xun could clearly see what was happening, the terrifying giant claw disappeared. Blood poured from the sky, dyeing the ground a horrifying red!

However, this was not the end. A majestic figure bathed in golden rays soon charged out from the galaxis door.

The dazzling figure felt like a supreme existence akin to the scorching sun. It seemed to burn with golden light that could illuminate the entire world, making it appear divine and all-powerful.

“Star Road Divine General? Hahaha, to think that even the divine general has been dispatched to obstruct my dao seeking ambitions. How impressive!” The imposing figure let out a long whistle. He gave off an aura of completely unrestrained freedom and boldness, like someone who would only look at the world’s heroes with disdain.

The sound shook Lin Xun until he could see stars. It made his qi and blood fall into disorder, and his thin figure to tremble violently. Although he forced himself to endure, his mind had already become a fuzzy chaotic mess, buzzing incessantly and making him unable to see anything.

It was as if he was trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up no matter what he did.

An unknown amount of time passed and Lin Xun dazedly saw the sky shatter like a spiderweb, revealing black hole after hole. Flames rained down relentlessly like shooting stars, burning the mountains, rivers and land.

It was a picture of doomsday itself. The sky had shattered and the flames of destruction were pouring through like a flood, turning the world into a chaotic furnace. There was desolation everywhere and all life was in a state of extreme misery.

Mountains crumbled, seas were ravaged by tsunamis, plants had turned to ash, and all life was being annihilated!

It felt as if the end had arrived.

The imposing figure still stood on the highest peak, his hands behind his back as he silently took in everything. There was a certain melancholy and loneliness to this sight.

After a long time, he let out a deep sigh as his voice boomed across the land, “Time did not favor me!”

A complicated mix of despair, disappointment, frustration and other feelings washed over Lin Xun.

A ten-foot-long copper coffin appeared beside the imposing figure with countless mysterious patterns carved upon its surface.

The figure walked forward and opened the coffin.

Just when Lin Xun thought that the figure was going to enter the coffin, he instead retrieved a book and a brush and casually flung them in. He then hoisted the coffin on his shoulder and took a big step forward to leave.

Lin Xun’s pupils abruptly shrank, realizing that the book and brush were the very same treasures Mister Lu had left him.

Swoosh!

The person who was about to leave seemed to sense something. He suddenly paused and turned his head.

It was merely a single backward glance, but his gaze seemed to pierce through time and space.

Lin Xun felt as if he was struck by lightning as a loud rumble boomed from deep within his soul. Everything he had seen shattered like glass and disintegrated into dust.

Meanwhile, he involuntarily cried out in agony and coughed a mouthful of blood, his already slightly pale face turning sickly white.

His body trembled violently, and an indescribable pain flowed through him, as if his soul was being shredded inch by inch.

The pain was so intense that it felt as if he would die the next moment.

All of this was caused by the single bead of blood he had dropped on the mysterious book’s final page.

The book was still lying open at its last page on the study desk, while the dark gray brush silently lay beside it.

The blood coughed by Lin Xun splattered on the book’s final page, coloring it a messy blood-red.

However, Lin Xun could not afford to care about such things. He could feel his life force rapidly weakening while his soul was on the verge of crumbling. Death felt as if it was already waiting just around the corner.

Why is this happening?

Lin Xun’s thoughts were chaotic, swirling about his head. Mister Lu had told him that if he could unravel the secret hidden in the book and brush, he would be able to change his fate and be reborn anew even with his Origin Aeth Artery stolen.

However, Lin Xun had never imagined that such a series of events would occur when he tried to discover the secret.

He had seen several outrageous things: an imposing figure sweeping away great terrors that emerged from the ‘galaxis door’, the world succumbing to destruction, everything being incinerated to ash, and the despairing picture of doomsday…

These sights led to his qi and blood falling into disorder and dealt a terrible blow to his soul. He was already no longer able to stop his rapidly depleting life force.

Why was this happening?

Could every person who had seen these scenes be unable to escape the fate of death?

No!

Mister Lu must have seen these scenes as well and managed to survive, so why can’t I?

At this thought, Lin Xun suddenly understood why he was on the verge of death. It was all because his cultivation was too weak and his body’s tolerance level was too poor.

The truth was exactly as Lin Xun had concluded. In the past, every individual who had obtained the book and brush was one of the most powerful existences of their time. They were existences who wielded almighty power and stood far above the mortal coil.

Such people would naturally not be overly affected by these astonishing scenes.

However, Lin Xun was different. He was only a True Martial second layer youngster. Moreover, his meridian channels were weak and damaged beyond recovery. As such, it was easy to imagine how shocking those scenes had been to him.

If not for his astonishing willpower, he would have fallen long ago.

However, although he was still alive, he was also not far from death…

Lin Xun did not panic as the habits he had nurtured since young allowed him to quickly recollect himself. However, he soon came to the conclusion that he was incapable of stopping the rapid loss of life force.

What can I do?

Lin Xun’s gaze landed on the book’s final page once more. As he observed the strange diagram dyed red by his blood, he could not help but raise a brow.

This strange diagram does not look like a rune. It’s incomplete, dim, messy, and complicated; it’s difficult to describe its ‘strangeness’ in words.

Could the scenes from earlier have originated from this strange diagram?

Lin Xun did not know why he had become like this. He was clearly about to die, but he could not help but be drawn to the strange diagram.

If this diagram is an incomplete rune that I cannot comprehend, who could have created it?

The imposing figure on the tallest peak rose in Lin Xun’s head. Soon after, his gaze shifted towards the dark gray brush.

Could this strange diagram have been drawn by this rune brush?

Lin Xun did not know if it was from impulse or a flash of inspiration, but he picked up the dark gray rune brush. With a deep breath, he forced himself to endure the unbearable pain and placed the brush on top of the strange diagram.

However, nothing noteworthy happened when the brush’s dull black blade-like tip touched the strange diagram.

Just as disappointment began to well up in Lin Xun’s heart, his pupils suddenly shrank. The blood he had coughed onto the page began to squirm as it was stealthily absorbed by the dark gray rune brush…

Shing!

A clear shing akin to a sword hidden in the deep abyss being suddenly drawn from its sheath sounded.

Lin Xun felt his body become rigid as if an invisible irresistible power was controlling him and he was no longer able to move.

His right hand gripped the dark gray rune brush which seemed to come alive at this moment. Mysterious cryptic light flowed along its body, guiding his wrist and fingers as it began to draw on the strange diagram…