After a moment of silence, Lin Xun made his decision and moved to investigate.

Swoosh!

With a flicker of his figure, he approached the towering mountain that seemed to burn like a living inferno. Its entire body was bathed in a crimson glow as if wrapped in blazing flames.

As he drew nearer, he could see clearly that the crimson radiance did not come from fire. It was the color of blood. Countless ancient bloodstains covered the mountain’s surface, like scattered plum blossoms, each faintly releasing the eerie aura of the Eternal Realm.

“Hmm?” Lin Xun’s heart suddenly jolted.

Within the blood-red mountain, shadowy, illusory figures drifted in and out of the mist, indistinct and flickering like wandering spirits. Even at this distance, a chill crept down his spine and an overwhelming sense of danger seized him.

He had not even stepped onto the mountain. He was only observing it from afar, yet the threat he felt was already bone-deep.

“What in the world are those things?” Lin Xun came to an abrupt halt, his expression tense and uncertain.

Swoosh! Suddenly, a streak of blood colored light tore through the void. A phantom burst forth from the mountain and lunged at him with terrifying speed.

In that instant, Lin Xun’s scalp tingled violently. Acting on instinct, he was about to summon the Gate of Exile.

Just then, a streak of pure white light shot through the air. Bang!

The phantom let out a piercing shriek as it was struck. In the next heartbeat, it dissolved into the white radiance, vanishing without a trace. Only then did Lin Xun recognize the source of the light. It was a pagoda, gleaming as if forged from divine gold, radiant and flawless, overflowing with a sacred and boundless brilliance.

“Dao Endless Pagoda?!” he cried out in astonishment the moment he recognized it. He knew that treasure all too well.

A voice rang out urgently, “Don’t shout, or you’ll alert the Blood Soul Wraiths on this mountain!”

The next moment, a familiar figure appeared beside him. Dressed in a daoist robe, his features as refined and youthful as ever, eyes and brows sharp with intelligence, he emanated a calm, elegant presence. It was none other than his fourth senior brother, Ling Xuanzi!

“Fourth Senior Brother! What are you doing here?” Lin Xun stared at him in shock. He had never imagined he would encounter Ling Xuanzi in such a place.

“Little Junior Brother, that’s what I should be asking you,” Ling Xuanzi replied, withdrawing the Dao Endless Pagoda, equally bewildered.

Lin Xun quickly explained his return to the Ancient Nebula Road and everything that had led him here. Realization dawned on Ling Xuanzi, and a faint smile crept onto his face. “So that’s how it is... No wonder you were able to find this place.”

“Then what about you, Fourth Senior Brother?” Lin Xun asked. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Ling Xuanzi glanced around, his expression turning serious once more. “This place is far too strange and far too dangerous. Let’s find somewhere safer to speak.”

As he spoke, he led Lin Xun away. They traveled some distance before finally stopping within a secluded canyon. To Lin Xun’s surprise, a cave dwelling had been carved into its walls. Inside were a prayer mat, table, a bed, and even an alchemy furnace. They were all neatly arranged.

At a single glance, Lin Xun could tell that Ling Xuanzi had been living and cultivating here for quite some time.

“Little Junior Brother, make yourself at home.”

Once they entered the cavern, Ling Xuanzi finally let his guard down. He dropped onto the ground with a lazy sprawl, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off a heavy burden, then pulled out a wine jar and took a deep swig.

“Junior Brother...it’s a long story. Back then, near the Ruins of the Gods outside Chaotian City, after I sent you away, Master’s Will Dharma Form appeared and rescued me, taking me to the Seventh Heaven Domain.”

He passed the wine jar over to Lin Xun. “At that time, Master gave me two choices. The first was to stay by Third Senior Sister’s side and obey her every command. The second was to infiltrate the Zen Sect and investigate its founder, Shi. According to Master, that old fox had an extremely high chance of being connected to the mastermind behind the epochal calamities.”

Lin Xun’s heart jolted. In an instant, the memories of that earthshaking battle surged back. Back then, the Shaman Sect and Zen Sect joined forces to attack the Origin Sect. At the time, even the Will Dharma Forms of the founders of the four ancestral courts emerged.

Of note, the Will Dharma Form of Xu Yin, founder of the Spirit Sect, had stated bluntly that since the epochal calamity would descend within a thousand years, there was only one possible reason the two ancestral sects of the Shaman and Zen Sects would join forces to attack the Origin Sect. There was a hidden mastermind pulling the strings!

In other words, the entire situation was like a game of chess: the Shaman and Zen Sects were just pieces on the board, while the one moving them was the hidden mastermind. Furthermore, the true target of that chess game was Lin Xun, the one who possessed the potential of Eternal Supremacy and who controlled the Nirvana law power!

Now, after hearing his fourth senior brother’s words, Lin Xun felt as though a final piece of the puzzle had snapped into place. If someone had been orchestrating everything from behind the scenes, then the Zen Sect’s founder, Shi, was without question deeply entangled in it.

“I chose to infiltrate the Zen Sect.” Ling Xuanzi continued, “With my abilities, becoming a successor of the Zen Sect wasn’t difficult. I stayed there for eighteen long years...and during that time, I managed to uncover something crucial.”

“What?” Lin Xun asked curiously.

“When Shi left the Zen Sect and departed for the All-Wonder Dominion, he left behind three things. The first was his Will Dharma Form. The second was a secret treasure used to control the Zen Sect’s Divine Rank law. And the third was a stone statue.”

“Stone statue?” Lin Xun repeated, eyes narrowing.

“Yes, unfortunately, that statue has always been guarded by Fan’an, an Eternal expert of the Zen Sect, and I have never once managed to even catch a glimpse of it.” Ling Xuanzi pursed his lips.

“Senior Brother, you think that statue is related to the hidden mastermind behind everything?”

“Without a doubt.” Ling Xuanzi replied without hesitation. “Although I never saw the statue with my own eyes, I investigated it from many angles. In the Zen Sect’s scripture pavilion, I found a text left behind by one of their sages. Within it were records related to that statue...after reading it, I became certain that Shi and that hidden mastermind were connected!”

Lin Xun’s curiosity deepened. “So what exactly is the secret of that statue?”

Ling Xuanzi said, “According to it, before Shi left, he issued a decree to his disciple Fan’an. He said that if the stone statue ever displayed the slightest abnormal movement, he must immediately summon the Will Dharma Form he left behind.”

Lin Xun’s pupils shrank. Back at the Origin Sect’s Thousand Stars Sea, he had personally witnessed the manifestation of the Zen Sect founder Shi’s Will Dharma Form. That could only mean one thing.

Before the Zen Sect joined forces with the Shaman Sect to attack the Origin Sect...had the stone statue Shi left within the Zen Sect shown signs of change, thereby alarming the Will Dharma Form he had left behind?

Could the disturbance in the statue have been a message transmitted by the hidden mastermind? Was it that very signal that made the Zen Sect join hands with the Shaman Sect and launch their assault on the Origin Sect....all to eliminate Lin Xun?

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Xun shared all of his suspicions and deductions with Ling Xuanzi.

After listening, Ling Xuanzi slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly, “That must be it! That stone statue is a conduit to the hidden mastermind! And it’s clear that Shi already knew its true purpose when he left. That’s why he deliberately left both the statue and his Will Dharma Form behind.”

Lin Xun’s heart roiled, unable to settle. The Zen Sect’s founder, Shi, was an unrivaled being who had walked through many cycles of the ages. To think that such an existence could be connected to the hidden mastermind was almost unimaginable.

“Moreover,” Ling Xuanzi continued. “I also discovered that two mysterious dao inscriptions were engraved on the base of that stone statue, Alpha Origin. These two words are regarded as taboo. Simply looking at them is like facing a supreme being, one cannot give rise to any thought of blasphemy or resistance.”

Ling Xuanzi stroked his chin, a strange light blazing in his eyes. “Just two words, yet they carry such overwhelming authority. I suspect that this could very well be the true name of the mastermind behind everything.”

Lin Xun was completely stunned.

Alpha Origin!

Back in the Fortune Dominion, Thirteen, a general under the Eternal Night Divine Emperor, had once mentioned that his lord had been struck by the Great Silence Unlife Calamity on the way to the Fortune Divine City. During that calamity, a dao bell suffused with primal chaos aura had descended upon the world. It was called the Alpha Origin Bell!

Now, engraved upon the base of this stone statue were the exact same two words, Alpha Origin. How could this possibly be a coincidence?

At this point, Lin Xun dared to conclude that the Zen Sect’s founder Shi was undeniably linked to the hidden mastermind, and the two words, Alpha Origin, referred to none other than the hidden mastermind!

His thoughts turned to Chen Linkong and Chen Linkong’s grandfather, Chen Xi. Had they also already uncovered these secrets? After a while, Lin Xun shook his head, forcing these thoughts aside

“What happened after that?” he asked.

Ling Xuanzi continued, “While I was investigating further, I was accidentally discovered. Those old baldies from the Zen Sect nearly caught me. After escaping, I originally planned to find Third Senior Sister Ruo Su, but instead, I ran into Second Senior Brother, Zhong Qiu.”

Lin Xun’s expression shifted oddly. He was well aware that Zhong Qiu had once hated Ling Xuanzi because he suspected him of leaking his inheritance to Heavenly Emperor Shi. Back in the Kunlun Dominion, Zhong Qiu had even ordered Lin Xun to kill his fourth senior brother as a traitor.

“What’s with that look?” Ling Xuanzi snapped, clearly annoyed. “That misunderstanding was resolved long ago. When Second Senior Brother saw me, he was downright affectionate.”

“Really?” Lin Xun replied, suspicious.

Ling Xuanzi’s cheek twitched. “We’re senior and junior brothers, do you really think I’d lie to you?”

Even so, Lin Xun couldn’t shake the feeling that Ling Xuanzi was hiding something. However, he chose not to ask further.

Unwilling to linger on the topic, Ling Xuanzi changed the subject, “In any case, after meeting Second Senior Brother, and under the arrangement of Master’s Will Dharma Form, I left the Eternal True Realm and came here to this Dao Burial Ground in the depths of the Return Dominion. Master told me that as long as I continued cultivating in this place, I would one day step onto my Eternal Dao Path... Counting the days, it’s been almost a hundred years since I arrived...”

By the end, his expression was laden with emotion.

Dao Burial Ground! Only now did Lin Xun finally understand why his fourth senior brother had appeared here; it had all been arranged by their master.

That's right. Long ago, Master established the Fangchun Mountain Sect within the Return Dominion. How could he not know that in its deepest reaches, there lay a world known as the Dao Burial Ground? Lin Xun thought to himself.