The Ling residence, as a whole, was a vast rectangular compound. At the front stood the mansion, which also served as the living quarters of the main family members. At the center were the halls: the Martial Library, the Martial Arts Stage, the Pill Refinement Room, and the main mission hall, which was also responsible for distributing monthly resources. In the final area were numerous caves built for the collateral disciples.
Upon arriving at the center, Ling Lin headed straight for a white building. Its structure was square, and its roof rose in slanted angles, with slightly upturned edges reminiscent of a pagoda—though it wasn't one, as it had only a single floor.
Entering, he saw several figures gathered in the northwest corner. There, they were observing various yellow papers pasted onto the walls. The papers contained different contents, but all followed the same ranking system, from one to thirteen stars, corresponding to the Thirteen Layers of the Bone Structure Refinement Realm.
Without underestimating himself, Ling Lin went straight to the five-star missions. He examined each paper with a sharp gaze, weighing the pros and cons. After scanning several of them, he finally found one within his capabilities.
[Escort a caravan carrying goods to Purple Feather City]
[Difficulty: ☆☆☆☆☆]
'Purple Feather City belongs to the Qi Spiritual Desolate Province, so there shouldn't be overly powerful wild beasts, nor rogue cultivators who could threaten me. This mission isn't difficult.'
Having chosen it, Ling Lin reached out to grab the paper, but the moment his fingers touched its surface, his vision darkened.
'WHAT?'
Before he could finish his thought, he fell into an endless darkness.
Crack!
Suddenly, the black space shattered like glass, revealing a small piece of paper behind it.
The very same one from Ling Lin's dream the night before.
'Impossible...'
Disbelief surged within him.
If he had his physical body at that moment, his heart would have been racing faster than an arrow.
'Why is this real? How did I dream of something I've never seen?'
Nothing made sense, no matter how much he thought about it. The more he thought, the worse it felt—even without a body.
The talisman before him, after breaking through the darkness, emitted red, white, and golden lights from the three crescent moons. These same lights grew stronger with each passing moment. Once they covered his entire field of vision—each color vividly clear—they transformed into characters and formed three texts within his subconscious.
[Extremely Fatal Path: Follow the original route and be ambushed and killed by bandits, who were tipped off about the cargo by a mysterious hooded man.]
[Path of Cause and Effect: Change the route and arrive safely at Purple Feather City. In return, you will be targeted by the mysterious man for foiling his plan. At present, he can kill you with a single strike.]
[Auspicious Path Without Danger: Abandon the escort mission, leave it to the next unfortunate soul, and accept the task of hunting blue beetles in the Dragonfang Mountains. Among them is a yellow beetle—consuming it can cleanse your marrow.]
Reading the text—clearly visible before his eyes—Ling Lin produced no thoughts for the first few moments, remaining like a statue.
'If this text is real, my life will never be the same again.'
It could become exciting, leading him down an auspicious path. Or he could fall into a web of conspiracy from which there was no escape. If the latter were true—and the text as well—then the scheme would be even more incomprehensible: an omniscient being calculating the future of all living things.
'Why choose me as a chess piece? There's nothing special about me. I'm not even the best of my generation.'
'In the end, it's probably just some bored entity toying with me, watching which paths I choose.'
'Doubt and risk death, or believe and follow a predetermined path? No! My life is still mine. This text only appeared after I chose a mission, which means all cause and effect is based on me. So I have free will in my actions. But the future consequences of those actions… it provides them to me?'
He reached a conclusion, Ling Lin no longer knew whether this was a blessing or a curse.
'I could have died on that mission if all of this is real. So, indirectly, I was saved?'
Ling Lin didn't know whether he felt gratitude toward that being or not. And instinctively, another thought surfaced—completely disconnected from the current situation.
What would happen if he chose the other paths? He would receive items at the end. But what kind of incomprehensible artifacts would Death and Cause and Effect grant?
'Can someone else choose those two paths? Or will I alone obtain that fortune…?'
The more he thought, the more questions arose—none with answers. He highly doubted that such an omniscient being would casually reveal that information.
"I don't know why you chose me. But if my death was real, then thank you for saving me. I am grateful."
Unease lingered. But deep down, he knew—without that talisman, his life would have ended. Beyond saving him, it might even help him reach heights he had never imagined.
'I'll leave the rest to the future.'
As a cultivator, he had to advance without fear, seizing every opportunity to grow stronger.
'My actions create choices. My choices create consequences. Consequences create cause and effect. Cause and effect creates karma.'
Ending his inner monologue, he opened his eyes and noticed his hand was still extended toward the paper. Pulling it back and taking a step away, he glanced at the others around him, wondering which of them would end up choosing that mission.
'Mysterious hooded man.'
Attacking a weak caravan suggested he wasn't very strong. Most likely a collateral disciple at the sixth layer or above, desperate for resources.
'Should I report this? That's not a good idea.'
The elders weren't fools—they would certainly question how he came to know such information. And if that man wasn't a collateral disciple, as he assumed, it would be even more dangerous—especially since he didn't know who he was.
'What is meant to happen will happen in the end, even if by a different path. Sorry, brother, for passing this onto you. But I don't want to die either. To me, my life is more important than anyone else's.'
With a shake of his head, he pushed those thoughts aside and searched for the beetle mission, finding it shortly after.
[Collect ten live blue beetles at the summit of Dragonfang Mountain]
[Difficulty: ☆☆☆☆☆]