"I've made it." Li Lin was overjoyed in his heart and accelerated the digging, quickly breaking through to create an opening. Looking down, he could smell a faint fragrance of flowers coming from outside, and his vision was filled with some trees and green grass, but he couldn't see much else.

Putting away the cyan sword, Li Lin crawled through the soil tunnel, which was not very long, only about a meter. Peeking out, Li Lin couldn't help but marvel, "How beautiful, could this be the legendary paradise?"

What appeared before Li Lin was a vast valley filled with densely packed towering trees. The forest was exceptionally tranquil, with occasional bird calls echoing in the valley.

Li Lin quickly climbed out of the soil tunnel. The cool air in the dense forest soaked through his entire body, making him feel completely refreshed. Beneath his feet was lush green grass, and in the distance, there were some unknown flowers blooming. It was springtime, and the fragrance of flowers was strong, uplifting one's spirits.

Slivers of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the trees, creating golden beams of light that interplayed with shadows. One moment it was bright, and the next, dim, as if he were in a wonderful alternate space, filled with mystery. There seemed to be many animals frolicking in the forest.

Everything in the forest looked somewhat shadowy, and a breeze carrying the scent of grass felt exceptionally comfortable, with occasional leaves quietly falling down.

Looking up at the distance, the surroundings seemed to be encompassed by valleys, but beyond the forest, there was a mountain rising from the ground.

Observing everything before him, Li Lin couldn't help but be amazed. This place must have been untouched by man, a perfect hidden paradise. Most importantly, the valley was filled with spiritual energy that only cultivators could sense, offering significant benefits to any spiritual practitioner cultivating here.

"I wonder if there's a way out of here." Li Lin speculated in his heart, carefully surveying his surroundings, unsure of which direction to take.

Many animals in the forest curiously watched Li Lin but dared not approach, just curiously observing him.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry." Touching his stomach, which hadn't seen food for several days, Li Lin muttered. Shortly after, a wild rabbit fell into his hands and was quickly devoured by Li Lin and the little dragon.

"Let's go to that mountain peak and see if there's a way out." Li Lin looked at the towering mountain outside the forest. With the view obscured by the forest, finding a way out was not easy. Climbing to a higher vantage point might make it easier.

After tidying up, Li Lin headed towards the mountain peak. Passing through the forest, it seemed devoid of demonic beasts, only ordinary wild animals. On the Spirit Martial Continent, demonic and spiritual beasts were rare, found only in places like the Ancestral Demon Forest and Spirit Emperor Cliff, where demonic and spiritual beasts were abundant.

The width of this forest was unknown. The mountain peak looked close, but as Li Lin walked, it proved to be quite the journey, walking until deep into the night without exiting the forest. Above the valley, the crescent moon hung in the sky, with a gentle breeze brushing through the forest.

After walking all night, the sky began to brighten. Slowly, the sun cast its light upon the earth, and Li Lin was exhausted, his legs almost numb.

"Finally out."

The vast forest came to an abrupt end here, and Li Lin finally emerged from the trees. Immediately outside the forest, without any transition or buffer, a towering cliff-faced mountain rose straight into the clouds, astonishing and unexpected.

The mountain was massive. Li Lin estimated its area to be at least several square miles, exuding a majestic presence. The sheer cliffs, as if cut by a knife and ax, were mysteriously formed, hard to imagine how they came to be.

"Let's go up and take a look." Li Lin observed his surroundings. There was no path up the mountain, only the option to climb up using the uneven rocks.

Looking at the mountain, Li Lin figured that reaching a height of thirty meters would allow him to oversee the entire valley. Although the mountain was steep, a height of thirty meters was not insurmountable for him.

Having recovered some Qi, Li Lin vibrated his Qi and leapt up, lightly touching the uneven cliff face, floating upwards. With a few spins, he reached a height of ten meters.

Within the forest, the towering trees all stood over twenty meters tall. Li Lin paused momentarily on a cliff before bursting upwards again, climbing the cliff wall as nimbly as a gecko, quickly reaching a height of more than twenty meters.

From this vantage point, the forest lay beneath him, and the vast area within the valley was clearly visible, truly resembling a hidden paradise. Mountains surrounded it on all sides, with a stream of blue, likely a small river, visible to the left.

"That must be the exit." Where there's flowing water, there's naturally an exit. Li Lin, with his wisdom, was delighted to have found a way out.

As Li Lin was about to descend, he unexpectedly noticed a man-high cave entrance behind him, with the sound of wind howling from within, suggesting it was not shallow.

Observing the entrance, Li Lin felt it didn't look like a natural cave; the surroundings were smooth, likely carved out by humans.

"Could someone have been here before?" Driven by curiosity, Li Lin, with a burst of Qi under his feet, leapt into the cave, which also had smooth walls all around.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Lin entered the cave, where the entrance soon narrowed from two meters wide to just wide enough for one person to pass sideways.

"Night pearls."

Inside the cave, which was initially pitch dark, the walls were embedded with fist-sized night pearls every meter or so, emitting a faint glow. These pearls, considered luxurious items in the outside world, were of considerable value.

Seeing these night pearls, Li Lin was certain the cave was man-made, and not by ordinary people. Ordinary people couldn't carve such a large cave into a cliff, not even regular martial artists could achieve this, indicating the work of a true powerhouse.

Venturing further about ten meters in, the space suddenly opened up and brightened. Ahead was a stone room about 20 square meters in size, its walls as smooth as mirrors. The ceiling was embedded with thousands of fist-sized night pearls, illuminating the room brightly.

In the center of the stone room, there was a crystal-clear jade bed with a mummified corpse on it, its death time unknown. The corpse wore a black robe, draped loosely over it, with long hair covering its face, adding to the eerie atmosphere, filled with a sinister aura.

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"Who is this, and how did they die here?" Li Lin wondered. The person capable of creating this cave was definitely a strong individual; how could such a person end up trapped and dead here?

Li Lin glanced around the stone room and finally approached the corpse. Beside the corpse, on the jade bed, was a cyan storage ring, presumably left by the deceased.

Storage rings, symbols of status, were beyond the reach of ordinary people, even the smallest ones being quite valuable.

"Let's see what's inside." Li Lin was excited, the space bag left by the fire Yin monster had already yielded significant gains, and the contents of this mysterious powerhouse's storage ring were expected to be astonishing.

Holding the storage ring, now that its owner was dead, Li Lin could claim it by dripping blood onto it, thereby gaining access.

A drop of blood from his index finger fell onto the storage ring. As Li Lin was about to peer inside, the ring suddenly emitted a blinding light, illuminating the entire stone room so intensely that it was difficult to look directly at it.

"Something's strange." Li Lin instantly dropped the ring to the ground and retreated quickly. After the blinding light dissipated, the stone room returned to normal.

As Li Lin surveyed his surroundings again, there was no change, leaving him puzzled about what had just occurred.

"Waited five thousand years, finally someone has come." At that moment, the mummified corpse on the jade bed eerily began to move, slightly tilting its head, the dry hands moving the long hair from its face, revealing a dried, horrifying visage. The deeply sunken eye sockets now shone with vitality, emitting a sharp gleam.

"Who are you, you're not dead?!" Li Lin exclaimed in surprise, the eerie scene sending chills down his spine as he involuntarily backed up against the stone wall.

"Dead, you could say that," the mummified corpse spoke softly, its voice ethereal as if coming from the netherworld, elusive and unfathomable.

As the words fell, the mummified corpse slowly rose from the jade bed, its black robe hanging loosely like a cloth on a wire, appearing somewhat comical. However, paired with the corpse's terrifying appearance, the atmosphere in the stone chamber became even more sinister and eerie.

The mummified corpse looked at its body and said lightly, "I used to think this mortal shell was nothing special, but now it seems quite important."

"Senior, who exactly are you?" After the initial shock, Li Lin asked solemnly, reasoning that there was nothing to fear from a ghost, now that he was a cultivator.

"Who I am? You wouldn't recognize the name. But five thousand years ago, everyone called me the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign. Now, I suppose no one remembers me," the mummified corpse said softly.

"Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign, are you dead or alive, and how did this happen?" Li Lin asked.

"Can't you tell? How could I be like this if I were alive? Of course, I'm dead," said the mummified corpse, who claimed to be the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign.

"Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign, then how did you…" Li Lin began.

Interrupting, the corpse said, "With your shallow cultivation, naturally, you wouldn't know. My time had come, and unable to break through to the Spirit Emperor level, I had no choice but to stay here. When my end was near, knowing there was no turning back, I used some methods to leave a wisp of my soul in the storage ring, intending to leave a few last words. Unexpectedly, it took five thousand years for someone to come here."

"I see." Li Lin was no longer surprised. For a strong cultivator, leaving a wisp of soul wasn't something out of the ordinary. Generally, reaching the Martial General level would make it possible, and for spiritual practitioners at the Spirit Soul level, it was definitely achievable. Spiritual practitioners, in terms of soul strength, were much stronger than martial artists.

"A mere Martial Warrior, and you've made it here, you must be fated. I ask you, do you wish to obtain my life's ultimate technique?" the mummified corpse asked Li Lin.

"Yes," Li Lin responded without hesitation. The Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign was undoubtedly a powerful being, likely at the level of a Spirit Sovereign or Martial Sovereign, a super strong cultivator. Obtaining his life's ultimate technique would be a tremendous treasure, something a fool would refuse.

"What's your name?" the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign asked.

Seeing no need to hide, Li Lin replied, "Junior Li Lin."

"Good, I can pass on my life's ultimate technique to you, but you must promise me one thing," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign said.

"May I know what Senior wants Junior to do?" Li Lin cautiously inquired, wanting to avoid falling into a trap.

"Smart boy, don't worry, this task won't trouble you. However, you must swear to accomplish it; otherwise, I'd rather destroy the storage ring than pass on my ultimate technique to you," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign declared.

"Alright, I swear," Li Lin said, thinking to himself that the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign was still cautious even in death. As long as it wasn't too much trouble, making a promise was fine.

"I swear to fulfill the task entrusted by Senior Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign, or may I be struck by lightning," Li Lin solemnly swore, treating the oath with due seriousness, although in his previous life, an oath could be easily dismissed with a mere fart, and no one really cared about them. If he couldn't accomplish the task, he would simply do his best.

"Good, kneel and kowtow," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign instructed.

"Kowtow?"

"If you want to receive my life's ultimate technique, naturally, you must become my disciple. Whether you kowtow or not is up to you. Back in the day, countless people cried and begged to be my disciples, and I didn't even spare them a glance. Now, you're getting a bargain."

"Disciple pays respects to Master." After a moment's thought, Li Lin realized that bowing a few times wouldn't cost him anything. Moreover, considering the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign had been alive for thousands of years, it was a way of showing respect to the elderly.

After performing three respectful kowtows, Li Lin stood up.

"Good, from now on, you are my disciple, the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign. I was obsessed with cultivation in my life and never took a disciple. I didn't properly guide the descendants of my clan, and now I don't have time to teach you. Unfortunately, you're not a spiritual practitioner and aren't suited to practice what I've learned in my lifetime. But now there's no choice; in five thousand years, only you have come here. This is my life's work, the 'Heavenly Spirit Record'. Learn as much as you can from it."

The Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign picked up the storage ring from the ground and handed Li Lin a jade slip, then said, "The task I want you to promise is to go to the Eastern Sea's Moyun City, find the Duanmu family. If the Duanmu family's situation is good, just hand over the 'Heavenly Spirit Record' to them. If their situation is not good, and you achieve something in the future, you should try to look after the Duanmu family."

"Just that condition?" Li Lin asked upon receiving the jade slip, finding the condition not difficult for himself.

"Yes, just that. I focused solely on cultivation in my life, rarely advising the youths of my clan. While I was alive, naturally, no one dared to trouble the Duanmu family. Now that I'm gone, and the Duanmu family didn't have many strong members to begin with, I fear their current situation isn't good," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign sighed, the light in his deeply sunken eyes dimming.

"I will definitely accomplish this. The 'Heavenly Spirit Record' will surely be delivered to the Duanmu family in the future," Li Lin said, understanding that reaching Moyun City from the Spirit Martial Continent was not an easy task.

"My lingering soul can't sustain for much longer. You've already claimed the storage ring. Inside, there's a scroll of spiritual techniques suitable for spiritual practitioners, though it's only a Xuan-level beginner technique, you might find it useful. There's also a token you should keep; it might be useful in the future. As for the rest, it seems there's nothing much left in this storage ring," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign explained.

"Master, now that I'm your disciple, don't you have any elixirs, medicinal materials, or spiritual pills to leave me?" Li Lin asked with wide eyes, surprised that a powerful being's storage ring lacked even elixirs.

"It seems not. I never cared for common elixirs, and the good ones I used for breaking through my power, so I have nothing left," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign replied.

Li Lin was almost frustrated, having hoped to find a treasure trove within such a strong cultivator's storage ring, only to discover it lacked any valuables.

"Right, this Spirit Jade Bed is also a treasure. I fought hard to bring it back in my day. My corpse has been preserved for five thousand years thanks to this Cold Jade Bed. If a spiritual practitioner cultivates on it, they would surely find its benefits significant. The soul power it can enhance is much stronger than that of cultivators at the same level, what a pity," the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign sighed softly.

Li Lin practiced the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Art, and although the Saint Hand Spirit Sovereign could only see that Li Lin was a martial artist, he didn't realize Li Lin was also a spiritual practitioner. Li Lin didn't correct him, thinking it better to keep some things secret, as it's wise to be cautious.