The massive dragon shadow raised its claw.
The entire floating mountain trembled.
Ancient ruins collapsed.
Broken pillars shattered.
The pressure descending from the sky was enough to make countless cultivators lose the will to resist.
Even the experts hidden among the Yu Long Sect group turned pale.
The leading elder's expression became ugly.
This outcome was completely different from what their information had predicted.
Far away—
hidden among shattered ruins—
Lin Shuan remained motionless.
His instincts screamed danger.
The dragon shadow before them was not truly alive.
Yet somehow—
it felt far more terrifying than many living beings he had encountered.
The ancient voice echoed again.
"Unauthorized entities detected."
"Elimination protocol activated."
BOOOOOOM!
Golden light erupted from the dragon's body.
The surrounding space distorted violently.
Several Yu Long Sect cultivators immediately retreated.
No one dared approach.
Not even the hidden experts.
For the first time since entering the Treasury Realm—
Lin Shuan saw genuine fear in their eyes.
Then—
something unexpected happened.
The dragon shadow did not attack.
Instead—
its enormous golden eyes slowly scanned the entire mountain.
As though searching.
Observing.
Judging.
The ancient voice continued.
"Searching..."
"Searching..."
"Searching..."
The dragon's gaze moved across every Yu Long Sect cultivator.
One after another.
Each person it examined became drenched in cold sweat.
The pressure intensified.
Then—
suddenly—
the dragon froze.
Its gaze shifted.
Directly toward the ruins where Lin Shuan was hiding.
Lin Shuan's pupils contracted.
For a brief moment—
he felt as though heaven itself had locked onto him.
Tian Wuchen's expression changed.
"Don't move."
Lin Shuan didn't dare breathe.
The dragon continued staring.
Several seconds passed.
Then—
something strange occurred.
The hostility in its eyes weakened.
Slightly.
Only slightly.
But enough for Tian Wuchen to notice.
The old monster's eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The dragon's gaze slowly descended.
Toward the half-mask covering Lin Shuan's forehead.
Beneath that mask—
lay the ancient Dao Seal left behind long ago.
Hidden from the eyes of others.
Yet the dragon's golden eyes seemed to pierce directly through the obstruction.
As if it were looking beyond flesh, beyond cloth, and beyond appearances themselves.
The ancient voice suddenly faltered.
For the first time—
its emotionless tone changed.
"Unknown authority detected."
Silence.
The Yu Long Sect cultivators immediately became confused.
Authority?
What authority?
The leading elder's face changed drastically.
Meanwhile—
Lin Shuan was equally shocked.
Authority?
What did that mean?
The dragon remained motionless.
Golden light flickered inside its eyes.
As though it was analyzing something.
Trying to remember something.
Trying to verify something.
Then—
fragments of ancient images suddenly flashed across Lin Shuan's mind.
Not memories.
Not dreams.
Images.
Broken pieces of a forgotten past.
A battlefield.
Endless darkness.
Countless worlds burning.
Ancient stars collapsing.
He saw countless warriors charging into battle.
He saw rivers of blood.
He saw dragons larger than mountains.
Phoenixes burning like suns.
Terrifying existences capable of tearing apart entire heavens.
And among them—
he saw two figures.
One wore white robes.
Cold frost surrounded him.
The other carried a sword.
His figure was blurred.
His face could not be seen clearly.
Yet—
for some reason—
the moment Lin Shuan saw that swordsman—
his heart shook violently.
THUMP!
His Frost Divine Heart pulsed.
The image vanished instantly.
Lin Shuan nearly staggered.
"What was that?"
Inside the pendant—
even Tian Wuchen became silent.
Because he had seen it too.
Not the entire vision.
Only fragments.
Yet those fragments were enough.
Far enough.
Ancient enough.
Dangerous enough.
The old monster slowly narrowed his eyes.
A possibility appeared in his mind.
A possibility he wasn't ready to speak aloud.
Meanwhile—
the dragon's gaze remained fixed on Lin Shuan.
The ancient voice echoed once more.
This time—
much softer.
"Trace detected."
"Insufficient verification."
"Unable to confirm."
Then—
the dragon slowly looked away.
Lin Shuan froze.
The pressure around him immediately weakened.
He wasn't attacked.
The Yu Long Sect cultivators immediately noticed.
The leading elder's face darkened.
Why?
Why would the guardian ignore that hidden youth?
Before anyone could think further—
the dragon turned toward the colossal gate behind it.
The gate trembled.
Ancient runes illuminated one after another.
Then—
something appeared upon its surface.
A symbol.
A snowflake.
An ancient snowflake formed from countless mysterious runes.
The moment it appeared—
Lin Shuan's Frost Divine Heart exploded with activity.
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
His entire body trembled.
An indescribable sense of familiarity emerged.
As though he had seen that symbol before.
Somewhere.
Long ago.
Tian Wuchen suddenly became serious.
Very serious.
"Lin Shuan."
"What?"
"Look carefully."
The young man immediately focused.
The snowflake symbol continued glowing.
Then—
another symbol appeared beside it.
A sword.
An ancient sword surrounded by countless stars.
The moment the sword appeared—
Tian Wuchen froze.
Completely.
The old monster's breathing stopped.
His eyes widened.
Even his soul trembled slightly.
Lin Shuan immediately noticed.
"Master?"
No answer.
"Master?"
Several moments passed.
Finally—
Tian Wuchen spoke.
His voice was unusually hoarse.
"...Impossible."
Lin Shuan's expression changed.
He had never heard Tian Wuchen sound like that.
Never.
"What is impossible?"
The old monster remained silent.
Memories surfaced within his mind.
Ancient memories.
Memories from an era of chaos.
Memories buried for countless years.
A battlefield beneath collapsing heavens.
A young swordsman standing beside him.
A sword that illuminated countless worlds.
A man who laughed in the face of death.
A man who fought beside him.
A man he had once called brother.
Lin Xin Jian.
The memory vanished.
Tian Wuchen's expression became complicated.
Because the symbol upon the gate...
Looked very similar to the symbol once carried by Lin Xin Jian.
Not identical.
But similar enough.
Far too similar.
The old monster slowly suppressed his emotions.
No.
Not enough evidence.
Not yet.
Meanwhile—
Lin Shuan remained completely unaware of Tian Wuchen's thoughts.
His attention was focused elsewhere.
Because the gate was changing again.
The snowflake disappeared.
The sword disappeared.
New symbols emerged.
Mountains.
Stars.
Dragons.
Phoenixes.
Ancient formations.
Thousands of symbols appeared and vanished.
As though the gate was displaying fragments of forgotten history.
Then—
without warning—
a crack appeared.
A single crack.
Across the center of the gate.
KRRRRRRR—
The sound echoed throughout the ruins.
Every Yu Long Sect cultivator became excited.
The gate was opening.
Their true objective lay behind it.
The leading elder immediately stepped forward.
His eyes burned with anticipation.
Years.
Decades.
Generations.
Everything had led to this moment.
Yet before anyone could celebrate—
the dragon shadow moved again.
Its gigantic claw descended.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The leading elder's face changed drastically.
He immediately retreated.
The claw slammed into the ground.
The entire floating mountain shook violently.
A gigantic crater appeared instantly.
Dozens of Yu Long Sect cultivators were thrown backward.
Several coughed blood.
Yet none died.
The dragon was not trying to kill them.
At least—
not yet.
The ancient voice echoed once more.
"Final warning."
"Unauthorized entities prohibited."
"Leave immediately."
Silence followed.
The Yu Long Sect group exchanged glances.
Leave?
After reaching this point?
Impossible.
The leading elder slowly clenched his fists.
His expression darkened.
He had not come this far to retreat.
Then—
a hidden expert stepped forward.
For the first time—
his aura leaked out.
Lin Shuan's eyes widened.
Not Soul Spark Rank.
Not Form Shaper Rank.
Immortal Seed.
A true Immortal Seed expert.
The hidden figure calmly said,
"We continue."
The leading elder immediately bowed respectfully.
"Yes."
Lin Shuan's expression became grave.
An Immortal Seed expert.
No wonder Yu Long Sect had dared enter this place.
Yet Tian Wuchen only snorted.
"Fool."
Lin Shuan blinked.
"What?"
The old monster looked toward the dragon shadow.
Toward the ancient gate.
Toward the awakening ruins.
Then he quietly replied,
"That little Immortal Seed cultivator has no idea where he is standing."
Far above—
the crack in the gate widened slightly.
Golden light leaked from within.
Ancient energy surged outward.
The floating mountain trembled.
And somewhere deep beyond the gate—
something else slowly awakened.
Something older than the ruins.
Older than the Treasury Realm's recorded history.
Something that seemed connected to the strange snowflake.
The ancient sword symbol.
And perhaps—
to a forgotten chapter of Tian Wuchen and Lin Xin Jian's past.
The answers were still hidden.
But for the first time—
the path leading toward them had begun to open.