Blood.
A thick, bloody smell, mixed with earth and a strange medicinal fragrance, assailed Jiang Chen's nostrils.
He felt his life was like a leaking bag; something warm was continuously flowing out of his body.
“The vital essence of ninety-nine Outer Sect Disciples, supplemented by a thousand-year-old stone stalactite, can help the Child of Destiny, Lin Feng… build an unparalleled Dao Foundation.”
Cold, emotionless words floated like specters before his eyes.
To be honest, he no longer remembered if he was the ninety-eighth or ninety-ninth person to be tied to this “Spirit Gathering Stake.”
Did it matter?
Either way, he was just a stepping stone.
Excruciating pain shot through his wrists and ankles. The rune-carved iron chains had already embedded themselves into his flesh, like the fangs of a venomous snake, greedily devouring his everything.
Not far away, a white-robed youth sat cross-legged, surrounded by a faint golden light, his face handsome and his demeanor solemn.
That was Lin Feng.
A Genius rarely seen in the Qingyun Sect for a hundred years, born with great Luck, he was the “Child of Destiny” in everyone’s eyes.
And Jiang Chen?
He raised his head, staring intently at that figure through his messy black hair.
He was nothing, an orphan picked up by the Sect, whose surname was almost stripped away.
His only purpose seemed to be today, here, to become a pile of withered bones on Lin Feng’s ladder to heaven.
Why?
This thought, like a red-hot iron nail, fiercely pierced into his mind.
He didn't understand those complex Cultivation Techniques, nor did he comprehend what Heavenly Dao Law meant.
But he could see things others couldn't.
In his eyes, the entire grotto was like a giant spider web. Countless delicate, shimmering threads extended from the cave walls, from underground, from the bodies of those Senior Brothers who had already died, and even from his own body, which was almost drained dry, ultimately… all converging on Lin Feng’s body.
Lin Feng was like a greedy whirlpool, devouring everything.
Was this… destiny?
Jiang Chen found it ridiculous.
If this was destiny, then this destiny was too damn rotten!
He didn't want to die.
The moment this thought emerged, it was like a prairie fire, instantly burning away all his reason and fear.
He wanted to live!
“…Detecting strong host will… Attempting to interfere with ‘destiny’s trajectory’…”
A voice he had never heard before exploded directly in his mind.
Host? System? What was that?
Jiang Chen had no time to think; he merely, with the most primal instinct, stared intently at the thickest golden thread connecting him and Lin Feng.
That thread was frantically draining his life!
“Break… for me!”
He let out a silent roar in his heart.
“Destiny Reversal and Deprivation System… Activated.”
“Target locked: Child of Destiny · Lin Feng.”
“Attempting to usurp his destiny anchor point: ‘Myriad Bat Cave Opportunity’…”
Buzz—!
The entire grotto seemed to shake.
Lin Feng, sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes, a trace of surprise flashing across his face.
He felt that the enormous Opportunity he was about to grasp seemed… to be stuck by something? What was going on? Everything was unfolding exactly as described in the ancient texts!
He looked at Jiang Chen, who was like a flickering candle in the wind on the altar, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
Just a sacrifice, what trouble could he cause?
But in the next second, the disdain and arrogance on his face instantly froze.
He saw it.
He saw that on Jiang Chen’s body, the golden threads that had originally flowed towards him were actually… starting to flow backward!
No, that wasn't flowing backward!
That was a more savage, more domineering… devour!
“No—!”
Lin Feng let out a shriek of terror that warped his voice.
A vast, indescribable warm current, like a bursting dam, surged wildly into Jiang Chen’s body along that golden thread! The life force that had been drained away—no, a power purer and more of the Origin than life force—flushed through his parched Meridians and depleted Dantian at a hundred, a thousand times the intensity!
“Crack! Crack!”
The rune-carved iron chains binding his hands and feet groaned under the strain, covered in cracks.
“Destiny’s power backfiring… Target’s Luck is dissipating…”
“Depriving target of core Luck… Deprivation successful!”
“Congratulations, Host, you have gained the talent: Eye of Insight (Elementary)!”
In an instant, Jiang Chen’s world changed.
A cool tingling sensation came from his eyes, and when he opened them again, the Lin Feng before him was no longer the radiant Child of Destiny.
He could clearly “see” that Lin Feng’s protective golden light was rapidly dimming, that there were more than a dozen fatal blockages in the trajectory of his internal spiritual Qi, and that his Dao Foundation… his proud, unparalleled Dao Foundation, was like a piece of glass covered in cracks, ready to shatter at any moment!
So, this guy… was so weak?
“Ah! My Dao Foundation! My Opportunity!” Lin Feng clutched his head, rolling on the ground in agony. The golden light on his body completely extinguished, replaced by a visible black-grey Death Qi.
The “script” on his body was forcibly torn apart, and the mighty power of destiny furiously backfired, instantly sending him plummeting from the clouds into the mud.
This was… the fate of a Child of Destiny?
Jiang Chen felt an indescribable satisfaction in his heart.
He slowly stood up, the rune-carved iron chains snapping apart with a crisp sound as they fell to the ground.
He moved his wrists, which felt almost alien, sensing the unprecedented new power called “Formless Life Essence” within his body.
His gaze fell on the thousand-year-old stone stalactite in the center of the grotto, which was emitting an enticing glow.
According to the “script,” this thing should have belonged to Lin Feng.
But now… I think it should change owners.
Jiang Chen walked over step by step, completely ignoring Lin Feng, who was wailing on the ground.
“No… don’t… that’s mine!” Lin Feng struggled to reach out, his face full of venomous hatred and disbelief, “You trash! You sacrifice! What did you do to me?!”
Jiang Chen stopped and looked back at him.
Through the “Eye of Insight,” he could even see Lin Feng’s thoughts at that moment, those malicious curses, that unwilling rage.
“What did I do?”
A stiff but cold smile appeared on Jiang Chen’s lips.
“I merely… took back what never belonged to you.”
With that, he plucked the almost ripe Spirit Medicine from the stone platform.
The moment the Spirit Medicine entered his hand, the entire grotto shook violently, and countless broken stones fell from the ceiling. This space, which existed as a “plot stage,” began to collapse after losing the support of the Child of Destiny’s Luck!
“Boom—!”
The entrance to the grotto was blocked by boulders.
Outside, the Elders’ angry shouts could be heard.
“Lin Feng! What happened?!”
“The Formation is broken! Quick! Blast it open!”
Hearing the Elders’ voices, a glimmer of hope rekindled in Lin Feng’s eyes. He pointed at Jiang Chen, his face contorted in a ferocious roar: “Elders, save me! It’s Jiang Chen! This traitor destroyed my Dao Foundation! Kill him! You must kill him!”
Facing death, and still thinking of using others to kill?
Jiang Chen sneered, his powerful “Eye of Insight” swiftly scanning the entire collapsing grotto.
Soon, he discovered an extremely faint spatial rift on an inconspicuous stone wall.
There were faint traces of destiny’s threads remaining there—it seemed this was the escape route Lin Feng was “coincidentally” meant to use after obtaining the Opportunity.
Truly… everything was clearly arranged.
He no longer hesitated, stuffing the Spirit Medicine into his embrace and rushing towards the rift with all his might.
“Trying to run?!” Lin Feng lunged, desperate to hold him back.
Jiang Chen didn’t look back, striking out with a backhand.
He hadn't learned any palm techniques; this was just pure power.
“Bang!”
With a muffled thud, the once high and mighty Child of Destiny was easily sent flying like a broken sack, crashing against the stone wall, his fate unknown.
The moment Jiang Chen plunged into the spatial rift, the entire Myriad Bat Cave collapsed with a roar!
Endless darkness and a sense of spatial distortion swallowed him.
After an unknown period, when he regained consciousness, he had fallen heavily into a damp, dense forest.
His bones ached as if they were falling apart, but the Spirit Medicine in his embrace was still there, and his life… was still there.
He had survived.
“Destiny Reversal complete.”
“Host absorbed a total of 12 units of ‘Formless Life Essence’.”
“Core Luck ‘Eye of Insight’ successfully plundered.”
The cold voice sounded again, but this time, it included a distinct warning.
“Warning: Heavenly Dao Law has marked this abnormal fluctuation.”
“A ‘Destiny Corrector’ has been activated.”