Inside the heavy isolation arrays of Peak 74, Fang Lin held the perfectly smooth, impossibly dense Violet-Iron ingot.
He stared at it for a long moment, feeling the terrifying density packed within its structure. This single piece of metal defied all traditional logic of the Demon Immortal Continent. If an elder of the Black Tortoise Sect saw it, they would not praise him—they would capture him, dissect his methods, and pry the secrets from his soul.
With a flick of his wrist, the ingot vanished into his spatial ring. Some creations were too perfect for the light of day.
*I need to adjust my mask,* Fang Lin thought.
His eyes closed as his Crystal Soul flared into action. His multi-threaded consciousness simultaneously grasped the four rotating cores within his Dantian. With surgical precision, he forcefully suppressed the Frost, Life, and Death Cores, slowing their rotation to a near-imperceptible crawl and burying their auras deep within the phantom insulation of his Second Revolution.
Only the Dark Flame Core remained active.
However, a pure Dark Flame would attract just as much lethal attention. Fang Lin manipulated the core's output, diluting the terrifying 'Abyssal' and 'Consuming' properties of the black flame until only a violent, orthodox heat remained.
When he opened his eyes, the oppressive, terrifying pressure of his Tetra-Core structure was gone. In its place was the blazing, volatile aura of a standard Early Core Formation cultivator who had just condensed a Fire Core.
"Mu Tie has broken through," Fang Lin muttered, adjusting the collar of his rough robes.
He deactivated the heavy warding arrays and pushed open the stone doors of his courtyard.
The morning sun of the Black Tortoise Sect greeted him, but he wasn't alone. Standing a few dozen paces away, leaning against a charred ironwood tree, was Senior Sister Lin Wan.
Her sharp eyes immediately snapped toward him, narrowing as she swept her Divine Sense over his body.
"You broke through!" she said, her voice laced with genuine surprise. "A Fire Core? Your physical body was already monstrous, Mu Tie. Condensing a core of pure violence... you are full of surprises."
Fang Lin offered a gruff, respectful bow, playing the part of the talented cultivator. "The earth-fire arrays of Peak 74 provided excellent pressure, Sister Lin. I merely took the final step."
Lin Wan pushed herself off the tree and walked toward him. "Good. Because your breakthrough couldn't have happened at a better time. I have a task for you."
Fang Lin raised an eyebrow. "Another forging commission?"
"No," she said, stopping a few feet away. She lowered her voice, utilizing a sound-isolation technique to ensure absolute privacy. "An expedition."
Fang Lin remained silent, letting her explain.
"Recently, I acquired a partial map and a key to an ancient ruin located deep within the Northeastern Highlands," Lin Wan said, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "It is not a sect-owned territory. It is entirely unmapped. According to the records I deciphered, it is the resting place of an ancient Master Blacksmith—a true grandmaster from an era long forgotten."
Fang Lin's interest was genuinely piqued. An ancient forging inheritance? For someone who had just invented the Tetra-Elemental Harmonization Technique, ancient blacksmithing knowledge was exactly what he needed to complement his raw power with technical arrays and rune-carving.
"If it's an ancient ruin," Fang Lin asked, "why come to me? Why not bring a team of Core Formation experts from the sect?"
Lin Wan let out a cold scoff. "Because bringing others means sharing the inheritance with the sect. I intend to keep it. Furthermore, the ruin's entrance is uniquely hostile."
She crossed her arms, "The gateway is sealed by an ancient mechanism that requires a continuous, immense output of Fire Core Qi to unlock. However, the gate itself is located in a subterranean ravine that exerts a natural, crushing gravitational pressure. Any ordinary Fire Core cultivator would be crushed to paste before they could finish unlocking the seal. Any ordinary body cultivator would survive the pressure, but wouldn't possess the Fire Qi needed to open the door."
Lin Wan's eyes locked onto his. "I needed someone with a physical body durable enough to withstand extreme environmental hazards, and a Fire Core strong enough to burn through the seal. You just became the perfect candidate."
Fang Lin understood perfectly. To her, "Mu Tie" was an unaffiliated, expendable brute who just happened to meet two contradictory requirements. If he died to the traps inside, she lost nothing. If he succeeded, she gained the inheritance without having to share it with political rivals in the sect.
"And my compensation?" Fang Lin asked, keeping his tone mercenary.
Lin Wan smiled, "I am not unreasonable, Mu Tie. You are risking your life. If we bypass the hazards and secure the ancient inheritance, you will be allowed to read the manual and keep a copy for yourself before I take the original."
It was a generous offer, designed to ensure his loyalty during the dangerous descent.
For Fang Lin, this expedition was a godsend. While he couldn't unleash his full power with Lin Wan watching, extreme environmental hazards and ancient traps provided the perfect crucible. It would test his absolute control over his Fire Core disguise under extreme duress. Furthermore, ancient ruins were notoriously chaotic; if they were separated by a trap or formation, he would finally have the isolated environment he needed to test the true depths of his Four-Pillared Cosmic Cycle.
"When do we leave?" Fang Lin asked.
"In three days," Lin Wan replied, tossing him a heavy spatial pouch containing environmental talismans. "Gather your personal provisions and pills. The Northeastern Highlands are a dead zone. Once we step in, we are entirely on our own."
Fang Lin caught the pouch, a hidden smirk touching his lips as he turned back toward his courtyard to gather his things.
*Three days,* he thought. *Enough time to prepare.*
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