Several hours later—
The Ye Su Clan gradually returned to its usual tranquility.
Within the quiet residence—
the room remained peaceful.
The maids had long since withdrawn.
Only the graceful woman remained seated beside the bed, quietly watching over the little girl.
Eventually—
even she rose to leave.
The door closed softly behind her.
Silence followed.
The child lay quietly upon the bed.
Her eyes remained fixed upon the ceiling.
She no longer cried.
Her breathing had long since steadied.
Only her thoughts continued moving.
*...I've organized my thoughts.*
She slowly closed her eyes.
*This is real.*
*Not a dream.*
The conclusion had already settled firmly within her mind.
Everything around her felt too complete.
Too stable.
Too consistent.
She could still remember the warmth of the maids' embrace.
The sound of their comforting voices.
The ache in her chest from crying.
None of it resembled an illusion.
Another memory quietly surfaced.
An endless white world.
A tiny white creature hovering before her.
*"You died."*
*"For now... Live on."*
Her eyes slowly opened once more.
*...Rebirth.*
She had arrived at the only explanation she could currently accept.
She didn't understand how.
Nor did she understand why.
But she had undeniably been reborn.
Her thoughts gradually calmed.
*That white world...*
*What exactly was it?*
*And that creature...*
*What was it?*
She still couldn't comprehend what it had been.
A spirit?
An immortal?
A demon?
Or something else entirely?
*I don't remember encountering anything like it during my entire life.*
*Only after I died...*
*Did it appear before me.*
She didn't know.
Nor did she possess enough information to speculate further.
But one conclusion remained unchanged.
*My rebirth...*
*Was almost certainly connected to it.*
She remembered the final sentence spoken before the white world collapsed.
*"For now... Live on."*
Her small fingers slowly tightened around the blanket.
*I don't know your purpose.*
*Nor why you chose me.*
*But...*
*I'm alive.*
*And that alone is enough.*
A long silence followed.
Then—
she slowly closed her eyes.
*First things first.*
Her breathing gradually steadied.
She circulated the faint spiritual qi flowing naturally within her tiny body.
The familiar sensation immediately appeared.
Her consciousness quietly observed it.
Several breaths later—
her eyes opened again.
*...A spirit root.*
Not merely a spirit root.
A high-grade one.
She calmly examined the spiritual qi circulating through her meridians.
*Three attributes.*
She compared it with the memories from her previous life.
The grade...
Was identical.
Only the attributes had changed.
One remained the same.
The other two were completely different.
She quietly considered the difference.
*Interesting.*
She neither dismissed it as coincidence...
Nor accepted it as deliberate.
There simply wasn't enough information.
*Whether this was chance...*
*Or intentional...*
*Cannot yet be determined.*
Her gaze slowly drifted back toward the ceiling.
*Regardless...*
*It changes very little.*
*I have cultivated once before.*
*The path to Foundation Establishment is already familiar.*
*A change in attributes will alter some techniques...*
*But not the foundation itself.*
A quiet resolve gradually settled within her heart.
*This time...*
*I'll walk farther than I did before.*
*And perhaps...*
*When I become strong enough...*
*I'll find that tiny white creature again.*
*Then...*
*I'll ask the questions only it can answer.*
---
More than a month later—
Deep beneath the earth—
inside a silent cavern—
the only sounds were the faint dripping of water and the slow circulation of spiritual qi.
The cave had remained undisturbed throughout the past month.
At its center—
the Crimson Vein Blood Tree stood firmly rooted.
Its countless roots pierced through a mound of pristine white bones.
Every trace of flesh had long since been consumed.
Only the skeletons remained.
The tree's trunk pulsed faintly with crimson veins.
Several branches had grown noticeably thicker.
Among the crimson leaves—
three blood-red fruits quietly hung.
Each released a rich fragrance filled with dense vitality.
Not far away—
the fox remained curled up exactly where Lizarius had left her.
Her breathing was steady.
Her aura had become far more stable than before.
Yet—
she still showed no signs of awakening.
Silence.
In one corner of the cave—
the white-scaled lizard slowly opened his eyes.
He stretched lazily.
His body gradually uncoiled.
Every bone within him released a series of soft cracks.
He quietly observed his surroundings.
His gaze first settled upon the unconscious fox.
*...Still unconscious.*
More than a month had passed.
She had yet to awaken.
He could clearly sense that her cultivation had stabilized within the Golden Core Realm.
Even her aura had grown considerably stronger.
Yet—
her consciousness remained dormant.
His gaze lingered upon her for only a moment before shifting elsewhere.
Toward the Blood Tree.
The sweet fragrance of the fruits drifted gently through the cave.
He silently watched the three crimson fruits swaying beneath the branches.
*...It recovered quickly.*
After transplanting the tree into this cave—
he had continuously fed it.
Demonic beasts.
Human cultivators.
Anything that possessed sufficient vitality eventually became nourishment for its roots.
The result—
stood before him now.
The tree had not only recovered from being uprooted—
it had continued growing.
Its vitality had become even denser than before.
The crimson veins running across its trunk pulsed rhythmically—
almost like the heartbeat of a living creature.
Lizarius remained silent.
His gaze quietly swept across the tree.
*...Three fruits.*
His eyes lingered upon them.
Then—
his thoughts shifted.
*I wonder...*
*What determines when it bears fruit?*
Previously—
it had produced only a handful after many years.
Now—
after barely a month—
it had already yielded three more.
Whether the deciding factor was the quantity of nourishment...
The quality of that nourishment...
Or simply the passage of time...
He had yet to determine.
His gaze remained fixed upon the Blood Tree.
The cave once again fell silent.
Only the faint pulse of the Blood Tree...
And the slow breathing of the sleeping fox...
Disturbed the stillness.
The lizard quietly watched the unconscious fox for several moments.
Then—
without another glance—
he turned away.
His body slowly floated upward.
Passing effortlessly into the cave wall.
The surrounding earth offered no resistance.
Moments later—
he emerged from beneath the ground.
A barren rocky landscape stretched before him.
The morning sun hung high overhead.
Warm sunlight bathed the mountains.
A gentle wind drifted lazily across the stone.
Lizarius silently flew away from the hidden cave.
His tiny white body glided effortlessly through the sky.
After some time—
he gradually descended.
A tranquil lake came into view.
Its surface reflected the cloudless sky like a polished mirror.
He came to a stop.
Hovering only a few feet above the water.
Gentle ripples spread outward beneath him.
Silence.
His golden gaze remained fixed upon the lake.
Then—
he spoke inwardly.
*Simulation.*
The familiar mechanical voice answered immediately.
**[Simulation initializing.]**
The world around him quietly dissolved.
...
...
Endless white.
Nothing existed.
No sky.
No earth.
Only an infinite expanse of pure white.
Lizarius hovered motionlessly within the void.
His gaze remained calm.
"...Show me a demonstration of the newly acquired bloodline abilities."
The system immediately responded.
**[Confirmed.]**
**[Displaying acquired biological records.]**
Ripples spread across the endless white.
Dark mist gathered ahead.
It slowly condensed.
Taking shape.
Several moments later—
a sleek black feline quietly stood before him.
Its body was slender.
Graceful.
Strange markings flowed across its fur like living patterns.
The creature remained perfectly still.
Its ears twitched once.
The system spoke.
**[Species: Whisper Mark Cat.]**
**[Bloodline Ability: Sound Manipulation.]**
**[Primary Function: Manipulation of surrounding sound waves.]**
**[Beginning demonstration.]**
Silence.
The black cat slowly opened its mouth.
No sound emerged.
Instead—
the surrounding white space rippled.
A faint vibration quietly spread outward.
The next instant—
sound completely disappeared.
Absolute silence.
Not merely the absence of noise.
The very concept of sound within the surrounding area had vanished.
Lizarius quietly watched.
His gaze never left the creature.
The black cat moved.
Its paws landed upon the ground without producing the slightest sound.
It walked.
Ran.
Then suddenly accelerated.
Even at tremendous speed—
complete silence remained.
No footsteps.
No breathing.
Nothing.
The creature suddenly disappeared.
Not visually.
Its body remained visible.
Yet—
without sound—
its movements became strangely difficult to follow.
Moments later—
it reappeared several dozen meters away.
Its tail flicked lightly.
The surrounding vibrations abruptly gathered.
Compressing into a single point before its body.
Then—
they burst forward.
An invisible wave crossed the white world.
Wherever it passed—
space itself distorted.
A stone pillar generated by the simulation instantly cracked.
A heartbeat later—
it split cleanly in half.
The upper section slowly slid free before crashing downward.
The system continued.
**[Application One: Absolute Silence.]**
**[Suppresses all surrounding sound.]**
The black cat moved once more.
Its ears twitched.
This time—
countless sounds suddenly echoed throughout the white world.
Footsteps.
Voices.
Branches breaking.
Running water.
Roars.
All originating from different directions simultaneously.
The sounds continuously shifted.
Appearing.
Disappearing.
Never remaining in one place.
The system spoke again.
**[Application Two: Auditory Manipulation.]**
**[Creates false sound sources.]**
The demonstration continued.
The cat leaped backward.
Its body lowered.
Its mouth opened once more.
The surrounding vibrations converged.
Far more violently than before.
The compressed sound erupted forward.
The simulated ground exploded.
A deep trench stretched hundreds of meters into the distance.
Silence returned.
The black cat slowly straightened.
Its demonstration complete.
Lizarius remained motionless.
His golden eyes quietly observed every detail.
Every movement.
Every fluctuation.
Every change in the surrounding vibrations.
Silence stretched on.