---

[A fresh brain with a damage level of 7% has been detected!]

[Do you want to perform extraction?]

---

As soon as Zhiran placed his hand atop the assassin's head, he heard the prompt echo in his mind, followed by a familiar screen.

'Really, finally, the damage level is less than ten percent. Haha… this method really works.'

After seeing the prompt, Zhiran felt extremely delighted.

All the plots and ploys he had just deployed, along with the massive waste of resources, suddenly felt completely worth it.

After all, those things could be bought with money at any time. But the skill this guy possessed, such an uncanny ability, was something truly hard to come by.

'Fortunately, the Yin Essence I got from Aunt Lianhua came in useful. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to deal with this guy.'

Zhiran thought.

To be honest, although the venom he used to paralyze this assassin was called Nine Yin Freezing Venom, it wasn't exactly the same.

After all, even Zhiran wasn't cruel or mad enough to commit such a heinous act just for the sake of a trump card.

What he used was merely an experiment, refined from the trace of Yin Essence he had obtained from Aunt Lianhua before.

He was simply testing an idea he had carried over from his previous life, and surprisingly, he had managed to create something wonderful.

'System, extract!'

As much as Zhiran wanted to dwell on what had just happened, he didn't have the time.

The portal to the secret realm was still there, standing unwavering despite the massive explosion earlier.

He had no idea when it might close. Not to mention, he didn't want another person, or worse, a monster, to appear and ruin his plans after hearing the commotion.

Because of that, he was in a hurry to leave.

—

[Extraction Successful!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained the deep memories of the Early Foundation Realm assassin, Xue Ren.]

[Gained Techniques: Shadow Veil Concealment Art (Early Grade Earth Rank – Proficient), One Breath Death Piercer (Middle Grade Earth Rank – Proficient), Ghost Drift Steps (Early Grade Earth Rank – Proficient)]

---

Extraction didn't take long. In fact, it was extremely smooth, and before he even realized it, Zhiran had already mastered all three techniques from the assassin.

Maybe because of the less damaged brain, Zhiran felt he could use these techniques with just a little bit of practice.

And if he used the newly added head on his consciousness platform…

'Awesome! Now I don't need to worry about this secret realm even more.'

Zhiran was extremely delighted. After gaining three Earth-grade techniques, all at Proficient level, he felt that none of the expensive talismans or the Substitute Doll had been wasted.

To be honest, he was now genuinely surprised that this guy had such remarkable comprehension ability, considering he clearly looked like a rogue cultivator.

'Forget it. He is already part of my collection anyway. I can use his comprehension ability to honor him, I guess.'

Zhiran thought this as he turned to face the portal.

It was finally time to enter this unknown secret realm.

For some odd reason, he felt that he would gain something incredible on this trip.

Especially as he began to realize that the closer he got to this place, the more his luck seemed to grow.

Or rather, the effect of heavenly intervention was weakening. After all, from the experiences of his last life, Zhiran knew for certain that he was not a protagonist.

'Well, it might just be my mind playing tricks on me.'

Zhiran shook his head, looked around with his divine sense, and made sure there was really no one around this time.

Once he was certain he was alone, he finally stepped forward and entered the black portal, disappearing immediately.

Swish!

As soon as he disappeared, the portal began to shrink rapidly before vanishing completely.

The only thing that remained in the forest was the distant roar of monsters echoing in every direction.

***

"Hkshhh! Damn it, why didn't anyone tell me this secret realm is a tomb? And why is it so cold?"

Mei Xuan sneezed unconsciously while shivering from the chill. Surprisingly, even though she was a cultivator, she still caught cold here like a mortal.

But she couldn't blame herself; the place was just that eerie and strange.

After leaving the Mo Mansion overnight, Mei Xuan had quickly arrived here and entered this secret realm.

Although she hadn't managed to get the "key" from the mine due to unforeseen circumstances, she thought that entering a secret realm would still bring her some gain.

She never imagined how wrong she was.

This so-called secret realm was barren. Not a single treasure in sight, not even a spirit stone.

In fact, the air itself was thick with strange black Yin energy that made her shiver uncontrollably.

All she had managed to find after wandering the entire region was one tomb after another.

But the strange thing was, there were no corpses in any of them. Everywhere she explored, all she found was emptiness.

'Damn it… where the heck is the exit? How can I leave this hellhole?'

Mei Xuan was so fed up that she wanted to leave immediately, without looking back.

Unfortunately, the portal she had entered had already disappeared, and now she couldn't even find the way back.

To be honest, she was starting to feel a little desperate.

"Shhhk!"

"Hmm?"

Just as Mei Xuan wandered aimlessly, she suddenly heard a slight movement from behind.

When she turned, she saw a huge stone shifting on its own, revealing a set of underground stairs. It happened so abruptly that it almost felt like a trap.

'Another tomb?'

But Mei Xuan showed no surprise, as if she had grown used to such occurrences. Instead, she was intrigued and slowly entered the stairs, heading fearlessly downward.

Since she had no idea how to leave this place, exploring was her only option.

Now she didn't care if she didn't gain a single dime from this secret realm, as long as she could find a way out.

***

"Hm? So… it is some kind of… tomb?"

As soon as Zhiran entered the portal and left the forest behind, he was shocked by the place he arrived at.

Currently, he was standing on a circular platform suspended in the middle of nowhere. Or rather, it felt like nowhere, because Zhiran could see neither the bottom nor the top. Everything was covered by dark fog filled with dense Yin Energy.

The only thing he could see were thick pillars standing at regular intervals, rising upward with no indication of where they ended.

But that was not even the part that shocked him the most.

What truly stunned him were the thick chains of lightning energy emerging from those pillars from every direction, heading toward and encircling the large platform he was on. The platform itself was surrounded by a transparent barrier.

The aura was so terrifying that Zhiran felt goosebumps just by staring at it with his naked eyes.

If not for the barrier surrounding the platform, he was sure he would already be dead just from their aura alone.

It almost felt as if those chains were not here to bind the platform, but rather the coffin floating slightly above the center of it.

Somehow, Zhiran was reminded of his Consciousness Platform by this scene, but this one was truly on another level.

'Damn… I might die if those chains even touched me slightly.'

Zhiran thought, his heart tightening with primal fear.

Although the most powerful person Zhiran had ever seen in his two lives was only at the Soul Formation realm, he felt that even someone at the Mahayana realm might die under those lightning chains.

It was not because Zhiran was exaggerating. Rather, he truly felt that fear as a cultivator who walked the path of defying the heavens.

'Those lightning chains seem to carry the properties of a heavenly tribulation. Damn, what kind of tomb is this that needed to be sealed to such an extent…'

Zhiran thought while looking at the huge coffin suspended in the middle of the platform he was on.

Although he felt no immediate sign of danger, his instincts were constantly warning him not to get close.

To be honest, before entering the secret realm, Zhiran had somewhat wished for it to be a tomb-type one. After all, with the strange system he possessed, only by extracting the brain of an ancient, powerful being could he truly gain strength.

That was also the reason he had rushed to this place without caring about anything else.

But now that his wish had come true, he could not feel happy at all.

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