It turned out that Xia Chen had ascended from the Tianwu Continent and directly entered the Futian Star Domain, and he had come directly for the fame of the Lingwen Pavilion.
Back then, just like Guo Ran, he was rejected because he lacked strong strength and couldn't even afford the registration fee, let alone the future cultivation that required purchasing all kinds of astronomical materials.
Xia Chen wasn't as lucky as Guo Ran, without the help of nobles. To stay in the Lingwen Pavilion, he started as a miserable servant, constantly bossed around.
He started as a menial servant for those talisman disciples, then helped out, secretly learning while working. The rune paper and pens he carved were just scraps, discarded trash.
It was in this environment that Xia Chen learned bit by bit, accumulating his strength. After some time, during an assessment, he interrupted as a menial worker and successfully caught the attention of a mentor.
The question Xia Chen had interjected was exactly the one that had troubled the mentor for a long time. Xia Chen's reminder suddenly made him see Xia Chen in a new light.
That mentor Xia Chen had observed for a long time and found his character quite good, so he seized the opportunity to put on a show.
As a result, that mentor also developed a fondness for his talent, paid for him himself, and through his connections, arranged a talisman apprentice assessment for him. Xia Chen passed with a perfect score, amazing everyone.
From then on, Xia Chen suddenly soared to the top and became a phoenix. As Xia Chen continued to study and comprehend, his terrifying talent gradually emerged, and he was increasingly valued by the entire Lingwen Pavilion.
After passing the assessment and advancing to Rune Master, his fame grew even more. Although he failed the rune master assessment, he still shocked the entire Rune Heaven Star Domain.
Known as a once-in-ten-thousands of years talisman cultivator in the Rune Heaven Star Domain, Xia Chen was once in the spotlight. Countless talisman cultivator disciples admired him, and wherever he went, he was surrounded by crowds of beautiful women. Wherever he went, he was the brightest presence.
What moved Xia Chen even more was that not only had he gained the attention of Pavilion Master Gongsun Xuan, but also the favor of the number one beauty of the Lingwen Pavilion.
Gongsun Ziyi was a famously beautiful woman, never showing a word to any man, but she treated Xia Chen differently and even made a marriage engagement to him. For Xia Chen, this was truly the pinnacle of her life.
He was accompanied by beautiful women all day, and all the classics in the Lingwen Pavilion were open to him, with no private keepsakes.
Xia Chen's love for talismans is persistent and wild, even surpassing his own life.
From then on, he spent almost all his days with various ancient texts, studying different runes in depth, and discussing the evolution of runes with the elders in the pavilion, deducing ancient runes, and writing many insights. It can be said that he made tremendous contributions to the Lingwen Pavilion.
"Brother, write your insights, translate ancient runes, and restore the glory of the Lingwen Pavilion. Its potential is limitless. Has the Gongsun family gone mad? Why would they ruin you? Guo Ran couldn't help but say.
Xia Chen smiled bitterly and said, "That's exactly what I thought back then. I was loyal to the Lingwen Pavilion. Countless people tried to bribe me in secret, but I coldly refused."
It's not because the Pavilion Master trusts me so much, nor because Gongsun Ziyi treats me so well, but because I feel that since I've learned all my skills in the Lingwen Pavilion, this is my home—I absolutely can't do anything to betray my family.
But unexpectedly, I originally set my heart toward the bright moon, but the moon shines on the ditch. They actually used me, from the very beginning. They valued my rune talent, but even more so my seed of spiritual power and my body.
This is basically a trap. Gongsun Ziyi wants to seize my spiritual power seed, Gongsun Xuan wants to possess my body. These two are simply beasts. As
he spoke, the veins on Xia Chen's forehead bulged, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Xia Chen had always believed that he brought all benefit and no harm to the Spirit Pattern Pavilion, and the Pavilion would never harbor ill will toward him.
But what he didn't expect was that something completely changed his view: in the Lingwen Pavilion, there was a forbidden area called the Lingwen Sanctuary. In reality, it was a palace, locking the pavilion's oldest legacy.
It is said that inside is the foundation of the Lingwen Pavilion, recording the most profound ancient talismans. However, because no one can decipher the runes on the main gate, that place has been tightly locked for tens of thousands of years, and no one knows what it looks like inside.
It must be said, Xia Chen was truly a prodigy. After more than a month of hard work and repeated calculations, he finally opened this door that had been closed for countless years.
But what he didn't expect was that he opened that door, opening the path to his own death. Just as he was celebrating his success, a poisoned dagger stabbed hard into his back.
He would never forget the cold smile on her face when he turned to look at Gongsun Ziyi behind him, a smile full of mockery, disdain, and a hint of condescending pity.
Gongsun Xuan quietly watched from the side, like an old fox, everything under his control. In his eyes, there was no mercy, only greed.
Perhaps out of pity for Xia Chen, Gongsun Ziyi explained the reason. Even Xia Chen himself didn't know that his spiritual power had mutated because it was so pure. If conditions permitted in the future, he might be able to give birth to a strange spiritual root—a unique spiritual root, a type exclusive to talisman cultivators.
The Alien Spiritual Root is as precious as the Supreme Bone. Now that Xia Chen's cultivation has reached the late Divine Lord Realm, it's the best time to seize it. If he waits until Xia Chen advances to Immortal King and the Exotic Spiritual Root begins to awaken, he will have his own memories. At that point, it will be extremely difficult to seize it, and even if he did, it would be hard to match his own abilities.
They had made a great decision to kill Xia Chen, because his talent was so great that it would greatly influence the development of the Lingwen Pavilion. But the temptation of the exotic spiritual root was too great, so they had no choice but to endure the pain and seize the body.
Gongsun Xuan was interested in Xia Chen's body. Xia Chen's instinct for carving runes was astonishing—his body possessed terrifying muscle memory. Gongsun Xuan was attracted to his physique, so after Xia Chen opened the gate to the sacred land, the two chose to take action.
The Sacred Land Gate was opened. They felt that Xia Chen's usefulness was no longer as great, and now was the best time to act.
What they didn't expect was that Xia Chen's lamp was no ordinary tool. While he was studying ancient talismans, he had learned a kind of death substitute talisman. Just as he learned it, he stuck one on himself. Before Xia Chen could tell them the success of the death substitute talisman research, they made their move.
Perhaps Xia Chen's fate was not meant to end; just as the two were about to kill him, he activated the Substitute Death Rune and escaped.
"Damn it, this is so despicable. If I don't avenge this, I swear I won't be human." Guo Ran was so angry he gritted his teeth, wishing he could rush over and kill him right now.