Suddenly, Luo Yao lightly sniffed the faint trace of fragrance lingering in the air. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, yet carried an eerie undertone.
She instantly sensed something amiss, her brows furrowing slightly as an ominous premonition rose in her heart.
Just then, a bodyguard reported something unusual. "Miss, there were bird calls in the courtyard this morning."
"So she’s back. Interesting." A cold smirk curled at the corner of Luo Yao’s lips.
She knew those weren’t bird calls—they were the cries of an eagle.
And the owner of that eagle must be nearby, lurking in the shadows like a ghost, watching everything unfold.
Luo Yao decided to stay the night at the Luo Family Old Mansion. That evening, the mansion was unusually quiet—so quiet it felt unsettling.
Luo Yao lay in bed, her senses on high alert. The night passed without incident, until the next morning, when the piercing cry of an eagle shattered the silence.
The sound echoed through the air, almost like a taunt.
Without hesitation, she followed the sound, slipping into the mountains behind the mansion.
Luo Yao moved like a phantom through the dense forest, her footsteps light and soundless. She traced the eagle’s cries deeper into the woods, the foliage growing thicker around her. Thorns snagged her clothes, but she paid them no mind.
Nearly half an hour passed, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, yet her gaze remained resolute.
The Luo Family Old Mansion was built against the mountain, and most believed it followed the principles of feng shui—nestled between the mountain and water, with a sturdy "backing."
The lush trees on the mountain seemed like a natural barrier erected by nature itself to shield the Luo family.
But only the direct descendants of the Luo family knew the mountain held their greatest secret: the so-called "treasure."
In Luo family lore, this treasure was shrouded in mystery, an enigma wrapped in legend. No one knew what it truly was—or even its exact location. It was like a forgotten corner of time, waiting for the right person to unveil its secrets.
As Luo Yao trekked deeper, she suddenly looked up.
Above her, the eagle circled, its massive wings casting a shadow under the sunlight.
"If you’re here, why not show yourself?" Luo Yao called out, her voice reverberating through the valley.
Suddenly, as if understanding her words, the eagle dove downward with astonishing speed—a black streak slicing through the air.
Luo Yao narrowed her eyes, her hand instinctively moving to the weapon at her waist. Her expression turned icy, ready to strike the creature down if necessary.
She crouched slightly, poised like a predator about to pounce.
But the eagle abruptly plunged into a mountain crevice.
Luo Yao’s sharp eyes followed its path, realization dawning. Below her feet lay a pool of stagnant water, dark and foreboding, exuding an air of mystery. Without hesitation, she leaped in.
The frigid water enveloped her, its cold biting into her bones as she sank deeper.
She glimpsed an underground spring, but the buoyancy was too strong. Like a helpless leaf, she was pushed back to the surface, gasping for air on the shore.
Her first attempt had failed. Frustration flickered in her eyes as she scanned the area, spotting a large, heavy rock nearby.
Without hesitation, she lifted it and jumped in again.
This time, the rock’s weight dragged her swiftly downward.
Ten minutes later, Luo Yao emerged into a place she had never seen before.
The walls were lined with crystal stones, refracting light into dazzling, dreamlike colors.
Sunlight streamed through cracks in the mountain above, casting golden rays across the ground like a gilded carpet.
No one would ever find this place without careful observation.
It was already November, and the chill from the water clung to her.
"So you’ve finally found this place," a voice suddenly broke the silence.
The words echoed through the cavern, carrying a weight of age and mystery.
Startled, Luo Yao looked up and met a pair of deep, fathomless eyes—eyes that seemed to hold countless secrets.
"How did you get here?" Luo Yao asked.
Before her stood a woman in her sixties, her gaze weathered by time.
She wore ancient-style robes, intricately patterned yet faded with age.
This was Luo Tangji—Luo Yao’s mentor and teacher, the last surviving guardian of the Luo family.
But with age, she had been cast aside by the family, left to teach in the wilderness.
She was like a relic of a forgotten era, guarding the old traditions and secrets alone.
"I stumbled upon it," Luo Tangji said, holding up a stone-like key.
It looked ordinary, but in this hidden realm, it seemed anything but.
"Pity. My dear brother only left this one behind." A flicker of regret passed through her eyes.
Luo Yao’s voice was guarded. "You came back just for the treasure?"
Her eyes darted to the key, suspicion gnawing at her.
Luo Tangji’s gaze burned with curiosity. "I’ve always wondered—what is it that our family has guarded for generations, yet no one has ever seen?"
Luo Yao’s attention shifted to a stone wall nearby. Though unremarkable, it seemed to pull at her.
"You’ve noticed it too? This is the Luo family’s dragon vein. But it won’t open without the second key." Luo Tangji’s voice softened. "Luo Yao, you’re my granddaughter and my disciple. Help me retrieve the key from your second uncle. Let’s see what’s inside, together."
Her tone was hopeful, but Luo Yao remained silent, her eyes locked onto the older woman.
Trust had never come easily to Luo Yao. In her harsh upbringing, it was a luxury she couldn’t afford—except with Lin Ran.
"Do you really think I’d agree?" Luo Yao finally said.
Luo Tangji smiled, confidence unwavering. "Oh, I know you will."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
