Possessed by my father, I was reborn and became the supreme ruler.

Elder Xuanfeng stood beside her, vigilantly observing their surroundings, occasionally reminding Lin Yao of details that were easily overlooked. "Yao'er, look at that rune; its shape is different from the others," he said, pointing to a dark rune in the corner of the wall.

Following his gaze, Lin Yao indeed discovered that the rune lines were more intricate, faintly revealing an unusual aura.

She reached out, her fingertips touching the cold stone wall, and a strange energy wave spread throughout her body from her fingertips.

At the same time, contrary to his usual behavior, Gu Ling's eyes flashed with determination. He roared, "I'll interfere with it!" and charged towards a small mechanical beast.

The mechanical beast brandished its sharp claws, and Gu Ling struggled to defend himself, facing numerous perilous situations.

The mechanical beast's claws tore through his clothes, leaving a bloody gash on his arm. The burning pain made him groan, but he did not back down; instead, it fueled his courage even more.

He seized the opportunity and stuck the talisman in his hand onto the mechanical beast. The talisman burst out with a dazzling light, and the mechanical beast's movements paused for a moment.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Ye Yunjian's eyes shone brightly as he locked onto a faintly glowing rune on the mechanical beast's chest—the control core that Lin Yao had mentioned earlier!

He shouted, "Now! Attack its core!" Nie Hanshan and the others understood and concentrated their spiritual power into their weapons, launching a fierce attack on the mechanical beast's chest.

Powerful energy fluctuations surged within the narrow space, producing a deafening roar.

The mechanical beast let out a shrill roar, its massive body collapsing with a crash, its scattered parts making a crisp clanging sound.

The room returned to calm, leaving only the dust and faint smell of blood in the air.

As the mechanical beast collapsed, the runes on the room's walls began to shimmer with an even brighter light, forming strange patterns.

Curious, the crowd gathered around. Ye Yunjian reached out and touched one of the runes, and a powerful suction pulled him in...

"Ye Yunjian!" Lin Yao exclaimed.

As the dazzling light faded, Ye Yunjian found himself in a strange space, with shimmering runes covering the walls like brilliant stars in the night sky.

Lin Yao, Nie Hanshan, Gu Ling, and Elder Xuanfeng also appeared beside him one after another, clearly having been absorbed into the runes as well.

The crowd gathered around the runes, carefully studying their mysteries.

The runes emitted a soft light, flickering like breathing, as if conveying some kind of message to everyone.

Ye Yunjian stared at the runes, his mind filled with memories of his past life: the ruthless eyes of his master, Situ Jiuxiao; the innocent smile of his junior sister, Bai Yueling; and the faces of those who had once trusted him but had now betrayed him.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, a surge of intense hatred welling up inside him.

Lin Yao gently stroked the runes with her slender fingers, her delicate brows furrowed as she fell into deep thought.

Nie Hanshan paced back and forth, scratching his head from time to time, seemingly trying to understand the meaning of the runes.

Gu Ling hid behind Nie Hanshan, while Elder Xuanfeng stroked his beard, his gaze deep, as if he had seen through the mystery of the runes, yet he hesitated to speak.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the runes flashing could be heard, as if time itself had stood still at this moment.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air in front of everyone, breaking the silence.

It was a humanoid creature, its entire body radiating a dazzling light, as if formed from runes.

Its face was solemn, its eyes sharp, as if it were guarding this sacred territory.

"How dare you, a mere mortal, trespass into the forbidden area of ​​runes!" Its voice echoed through the space like a booming bell, making everyone's eardrums buzz.

Ye Yunjian stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior, please calm your anger. We had no intention of offending you; we simply wandered into this place by mistake and meant no harm. I am Ye Yunjian. May I ask your honorable name, senior?"

"I am a rune spirit, guarding this place for a thousand years. You have trespassed into this forbidden area and disrupted the order of the runes; your crimes are unforgivable!" The rune spirit's tone was icy, showing no sign of softening.

“Senior, please understand. We truly did not intrude unintentionally. We are investigating a man in black robes and suspect that he is related to the tragedy that befell our sect. We would be grateful if you could enlighten us,” Ye Yunjian explained, attempting to extract information about the man in black robes from the rune spirit.

The rune spirit scoffed, "Black-robed man? Nonsense! This is the sacred land of runes, how dare you mortals set foot here at will? Leave at once, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Ye Yunjian's heart sank; it seemed the rune spirit didn't believe his explanation.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and a sense of impending conflict filled the air.

The rune sprite's eyes gleamed, as if it were ready to launch an attack at any moment.

"Since you insist, senior..." Ye Yunjian said coldly, slowly gripping the hilt of his sword with his right hand, "then I must offend you!"

Before Ye Yunjian could finish speaking, the rune spirit shone brightly, so bright that everyone could not open their eyes.

After the light faded, the rune sprites disappeared, replaced by countless shimmering runes that danced in the air like fireflies.

These runes quickly entered everyone's minds. Ye Yunjian felt a blur before his eyes, and countless images flashed through his mind.

He saw a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, his master Situ Jiuxiao's sinister smile, his junior sister Bai Yueling's desperate eyes, and countless familiar faces struggling in pain.

"Ah!" Nie Hanshan screamed, clutching his head and rolling on the ground in agony.

Gu Ling's face was pale, her body was trembling, and the talisman in her hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Ye Yunjian also felt a splitting headache, as if countless steel needles were piercing his brain.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. He knew it was a rune elf spell, meant to expose their deepest fears.

"Stay calm!" Ye Yunjian shouted, trying his best to stay clear-headed.

He took a deep breath, circulated his spiritual energy, and resisted the impact of the runes.

Lin Yao also sat cross-legged and silently chanted a spell. A soft light enveloped Ye Yunjian, relieving his pain.

Seeing his companion suffer, Ye Yunjian was filled with rage. He drew his longsword, which emitted a clear humming sound.

"Playing tricks!" he roared, his figure flashing like lightning towards the spot where the rune sprite had disappeared.

The sword flashed, and the sharp sword energy sliced ​​through the air, emitting a piercing whistling sound.

However, his attack was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, failing to cause the slightest ripple.

The rune sprite reappeared, smiled disdainfully, and extended a finger, tapping lightly.

A powerful force struck Ye Yunjian in the chest, sending him flying backward like a kite with a broken string. He crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Yun Jian!" Lin Yao exclaimed in surprise, and quickly cast a healing spell. A green light enveloped Ye Yun Jian, stabilizing his injuries.