Clayne had originally intended to simply inspect the remaining fragment of the elder’s soul.

Nothing more.

He was not expecting anything extraordinary.

At most, he thought he might obtain a few cultivation insights, perhaps some battle experience, perhaps a useful trick or two that a Soul Transformation cultivator had accumulated throughout his long life.

After all, when Ling Taiyin’s soul had shattered, he had obtained memories, techniques, experiences, and various fragments of knowledge. Although many of those things had vanished before he could fully grasp them, he had still benefited enormously.

Therefore, Clayne naturally believed the same thing would happen again.

However, the moment his consciousness touched the faint wisp of soul floating before him, everything around him abruptly changed.

The school disappeared.

The hallway disappeared.

The Tiny World disappeared.

The apocalypse disappeared.

Even the sensation of his own body disappeared.

It was as though his consciousness had been dragged into an entirely different reality.

Then...

A memory unfolded before him.

Not a simple memory.

Not scattered fragments.

Not incomplete scenes.

It felt real.

Painfully real.

It was so vivid that Clayne could hear every sound, feel every emotion, and witness every detail as though he himself had become an invisible observer standing within the past.

The first thing he saw was rain.

Endless rain.

Cold rain.

Merciless rain.

The kind of rain that seemed capable of washing away every trace of warmth in the world.

The heavens were dark.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

The earth had become a muddy wasteland.

Then Clayne saw a village.

Or rather...

What remained of a village.

Houses burned.

Roofs collapsed.

Wooden walls had been shattered.

Smoke drifted into the sky.

The scent of blood lingered everywhere.

Corpses lay scattered across the ground.

Men.

Women.

Children.

The elderly.

Nobody had been spared.

The entire place looked like a nightmare.

And within that nightmare...

A child staggered through the rain.

His clothes were soaked.

His body trembled.

His face was covered in tears.

His hands were stained with mud and blood.

He could not have been older than ten years old.

Clayne immediately recognized him.

This was the Nether Corpse Sect elder.

Not the terrifying Soul Transformation cultivator.

Not the ruthless demonic expert.

Not the elder who had spoken arrogantly before the deity.

Just a child.

A helpless child.

A lonely child.

A child whose world had just been destroyed.

The boy stumbled forward.

Again and again.

Falling.

Getting back up.

Falling again.

Then finally reaching a woman lying motionless on the ground.

His mother.

The child immediately grabbed her shoulders.

His hands shook violently.

His voice trembled.

"Mother..."

The woman did not respond.

The child shook her harder.

"Mother..."

Still no response.

The tears flowing from his eyes became even heavier.

His voice cracked.

"Mother..."

"Please wake up..."

"Please..."

The woman remained motionless.

The rain continued falling.

The village continued burning.

The corpses continued cooling.

And the child continued crying.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Until eventually...

A shadow appeared.

A middle-aged man wearing green robes stood nearby.

The man’s expression was solemn.

His eyes reflected pity.

Beside him stood a young girl.

The girl looked no older than the boy.

Her eyes were filled with sadness as she observed the ruined village.

The man sighed deeply.

"What a tragedy."

The young girl lowered her head.

Then looked toward the crying child.

"Father."

Her voice was soft.

"Can we help him?"

The man remained silent for a few moments.

Then slowly nodded.

"We can."

The girl’s face immediately brightened.

Without hesitation, she ran through the rain.

Ignoring the mud.

Ignoring the corpses.

Ignoring everything.

She stopped before the crying child.

Then gently knelt down.

The child looked up.

For the first time since the massacre began...

Someone smiled at him.

Not a mocking smile.

Not a cruel smile.

Not a pitying smile.

A warm smile.

A genuine smile.

The kind of smile capable of reaching a person’s heart.

"My name is Yue Xin."

Her voice was gentle.

"What is your name?"

The child stared blankly.

For several moments he could not answer.

Eventually, after lowering his head, he whispered softly.

"Ling Taiyin."

...

The memory shifted.

Years passed.

The ruined village disappeared.

A cultivation sect appeared.

It was not particularly powerful.

It was not famous.

It was not feared.

It was simply a modest beast-taming sect located in a remote region.

There, Clayne watched the young Ling Taiyin grow up.

Every day he trained harder than everyone else.

Every day he woke before sunrise.

Every day he worked until late into the night.

He carried water.

He cleaned halls.

He completed chores.

He cultivated.

He practiced.

He endured.

Unfortunately...

His talent remained mediocre.

Painfully mediocre.

Meanwhile, Yue Xin’s talent continued soaring.

The difference between them became increasingly obvious.

The elders praised her.

The disciples admired her.

The sect master valued her.

Every beast she approached willingly obeyed her.

Every Gu insect she touched became docile.

Every cultivation technique she learned seemed effortless.

Yet despite the growing gap between them...

She never looked down on him.

The memory showed countless scenes.

The two sitting beneath ancient trees.

The two training together.

The two exploring forests.

The two capturing spirit insects.

The two discussing cultivation.

The two laughing together.

At one point Yue Xin held a glowing insect in her palm.

The creature emitted faint spiritual light.

Its wings sparkled beautifully beneath the sunlight.

She smiled.

"Look carefully."

Ling Taiyin leaned forward curiously.

The girl continued speaking.

"People always think Gu beasts are weapons."

"But they aren’t."

"They’re living creatures."

"They have emotions."

"They have instincts."

"They have fears."

Ling Taiyin scratched his head.

"They always bite me."

Yue Xin immediately burst into laughter.

Her laughter was bright and carefree.

The kind of laughter that made others want to smile.

"That’s because they don’t like you."

Ling Taiyin groaned dramatically.

"Then how am I supposed to make them like me?"

The girl gently poked his forehead.

"You need patience."

"You need understanding."

"You need trust."

"You can’t force everything."

Then she carefully placed the insect onto his palm.

To his surprise...

The insect remained calm.

Ling Taiyin’s eyes widened.

"It listened."

Yue Xin smiled proudly.

"See?"

The memory continued.

Days became months.

Months became years.

Years passed one after another.

And throughout all those years...

Ling Taiyin gradually fell in love.

Deeply.

Completely.

Hopelessly.

Unfortunately...

He never confessed.

Because he understood reality.

Yue Xin’s talent continued rising.

His did not.

The distance between them became larger every year.

Eventually...

The inevitable happened.

The memory shifted once more.

The sect was celebrating.

Lanterns illuminated every building.

Music echoed throughout the grounds.

Guests arrived from distant regions.

Cultivators exchanged greetings.

Laughter filled the air.

At the center of everything stood Yue Xin.

She was beautiful.

Radiant.

Elegant.

Almost unreachable.

Standing beside her was a young man.

Handsome.

Talented.

Powerful.

The heir of a major cultivation family.

Her fiancé.

At first, Ling Taiyin accepted reality.

He truly did.

He convinced himself that she deserved happiness.

He convinced himself that moving on was the correct choice.

Then the abuse began.

The fiancé discovered their history.

And jealousy took root.

At first the attacks were subtle.

Small insults.

Small humiliations.

Small provocations.

Then they became worse.

Far worse.

Ling Taiyin found himself constantly targeted.

Public humiliation became common.

Private beatings became common.

Threats became common.

The abuse never stopped.

Eventually he sought Yue Xin’s help.

The memory showed them standing beside a river.

"Yue Xin."

"He keeps targeting me."

The girl frowned.

Then sighed.

"You always say that."

Ling Taiyin stared.

"What?"

The girl crossed her arms.

"Maybe you’re misunderstanding him."

The words struck harder than any punch.

Ling Taiyin immediately shook his head.

"I’m not."

The girl looked disappointed.

"You’re jealous."

The memory continued.

Again and again.

Again and again.

Every complaint ended the same way.

Every plea ended the same way.

Every attempt to explain ended the same way.

Until eventually...

Ling Taiyin stopped trying.

Stopped explaining.

Stopped defending himself.

He simply endured everything.

Until the day of the wedding.

The memory darkened.

Ling Taiyin lay broken on the ground.

His bones shattered.

His body covered in blood.

The fiancé stood above him smiling.

Then kicked him into a pit filled with countless Gu insects.

The world turned red.

The insects crawled across his body.

Bit him.

Devoured him.

Poisoned him.

Yet somehow...

He refused to die.

Something inside him finally snapped.

Years of resentment.

Years of helplessness.

Years of betrayal.

Years of pain.

Everything erupted.

The sky slowly became crimson.

Demonic energy appeared.

Endless demonic energy.

The insects screamed.

The earth trembled.

And Ling Taiyin laughed.

Not happily.

Not joyfully.

But like a man who had finally lost everything.

...

The wedding continued.

Thousands of cultivators celebrated.

Countless guests exchanged blessings.

Nobody noticed the crimson sky.

Nobody noticed the gathering insects.

At first the insects looked beautiful.

Butterflies.

Spirit moths.

Colorful Gu creatures.

Many guests even applauded.

"What a magnificent spectacle."

"As expected of Yue Xin."

"Truly beautiful."

Then the insects grew larger.

And larger.

And larger.

Until terror replaced admiration.

Massive wings filled the sky.

Gigantic mandibles appeared.

Countless blood-red eyes stared downward.

The celebration stopped.

The applause vanished.

Fear appeared.

Then the massacre began.

The insects descended.

Screams erupted.

Blood splashed.

Cultivators died.

Guests died.

Elders died.

The wedding transformed into a nightmare.

At the center of the slaughter stood Ling Taiyin.

Demonic energy surrounded him.

Corpses surrounded him.

Insects surrounded him.

His eyes reflected madness and pain.

Then he found Yue Xin.

Or what remained of her.

Her severed head rested among the corpses.

The young man slowly picked it up.

His hands trembled.

Tears appeared.

Not because his hatred had vanished.

Not because his pain had vanished.

But because despite everything...

He still loved her.

His voice cracked.

"I won’t forget you."

He closed his eyes.

"Even in death..."

"I won’t forget you."

The insects continued devouring corpses around him.

The sky remained crimson.

The blood continued flowing.

Then the young man whispered softly.

"To remember you..."

"I swear upon my Dao Heart..."

"The things you taught me..."

"The path you showed me..."

"The techniques you passed down..."

"They will never fade."

"They will never be erased."

"They will remain with me forever."

As the memory slowly faded away...

Clayne suddenly noticed something shining among countless fragments.

A technique.

A complete inheritance.

Not a demonic art.

Not a corpse technique.

Not a forbidden spell.

But the very technique Yue Xin had personally taught him all those years ago.

The inheritance that survived every tragedy.

The inheritance that survived every betrayal.

The inheritance that remained untouched even after Ling Taiyin became a demonic cultivator.

The complete Beast Enslavement Spell.

And as the profound technique unfolded completely within his mind, Clayne’s eyes widened little by little, because for the first time since obtaining cultivation, he had finally acquired a complete cultivator spell that he could truly use in the apocalypse.