Time passed in stillness.

Inside the cave dwelling, only Su Ming's gradually steadying breaths and Lin Yu's faint soul-light on the Xuantian ring could be heard.

That bone-deep exhaustion and loneliness surged in like tidal waves, one after another.

Suddenly, Su Ming's mind flashed back to the spider he'd seen in the corner of the cave dwelling earlier.

It was the same.

At the boundary between light and dark, it concealed all its presence, lying perfectly still. No matter how strong the wind outside, no matter if prey hit its web, it maintained that absolute stillness and patience.

Because it knew—if it moved recklessly, it would die.

Hadn't he been just like that spider on the Heart-Questioning Platform?

Waiting in a desperate situation, surviving in the gaps between the maneuvers of several big shots, and finally grasping that sliver of dawn.

Now, the most dangerous strike had passed.

Next came the time to repair the web and digest the gains.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, and in the depths of his pupils lay a newfound calmness he'd never had before. That calmness was the sediment left behind after being baptized by the terror of life and death.

He didn't know how long had passed.

Maybe an hour, maybe longer.

Suddenly, a rhythmic fluctuation came from the warning arrays at the periphery of the cave dwelling.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The knocking was very soft, probing, as if afraid of disturbing the person inside, yet it carried an undeniable urgency.

Then, Luo Feng's deliberately lowered voice pierced through the soundproofing arrays, muffled but audible:

"Junior Brother? Are you in there? Why are all the formations activated?"

"Su Ming! It's me and Senior Brother Qin! If you can hear us, give us a sign!"

Su Ming let out a long breath of turbid air. The pain inside his body had mostly subsided. Though his spiritual energy was still depleted, at least he could move without issue.

"Master, someone's here."

Lin Yu's phantom had long since slipped back into the ring, leaving only a lazy reply in Su Ming's Consciousness Sea: "Go on, play your part to the fullest. Right now, you should be a good little boy—physically and mentally traumatized, yet deeply grateful to the sect."

Su Ming gave a bitter smile.

He pushed himself up from his knees and looked down at himself.

His Dao robe was tattered, stained with blood, his hair disheveled, and his face smudged with soot and grime. This appearance needed no makeup—it was the perfect "survivor's look" on its own.

He raised his hand, intending to cast a Cleaning Technique to tidy himself up.

His fingers had just formed the incantation gesture when he paused slightly.

After a moment's thought, he used the Cleaning Technique only to simply clean off the already-blackened, somewhat frightening blood clots on his body. As for the tears and wrinkles in his Dao robe, and the sickly pallor on his face, he didn't hide any of it.

In fact, he even deliberately pulled his collar a little more askew.

"Since the stage hasn't been dismantled yet, I might as well stand on it a little longer."

Su Ming took a deep breath, suppressing the surging qi and blood in his chest, and adjusted the expression on his face.

There wasn't too much sorrow, only the right amount of weakness, and a hint of... relief, as if seeing family.

He walked to the stone door and pressed his fingers against the activation rune.

Spiritual energy flowed in.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

The heavy stone door slowly slid open.

The dazzling morning light outside flooded in instantly, and along with the light came two faces full of concern.

Luo Feng still held that red-lacquered food box. The moment he saw the door open, he was so anxious he almost threw the box away, darting forward in one step: "Junior Brother! You're finally out! Did those bastards from Punishment Peak torture you? Why do I smell so much blood?"

Qin Yi stood behind Luo Feng, saying nothing, but the treasure-hunting opportunist crouched on his shoulder was squeaking restlessly, clearly sensing the murderous aura still clinging to Su Ming.

Su Ming looked at the two of them and forced a somewhat ugly smile.

"Third Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother..."

His body swayed, as if he was about to collapse forward from exhaustion, "I'm fine... just... a little tired."

"Damn it all!"

Luo Feng reacted quickly, catching Su Ming's arm. The moment his hand touched Su Ming's body, he felt it was burning hot. "You call this fine? You're as hot as a roasted pig's trotter! Hurry up, Senior Brother Qin, give me a hand! Bring out that Beast Spirit Milk of yours!"

Qin Yi also stepped forward quickly, pressing one hand against Su Ming's back, channeling gentle, rich wood-attributed spiritual energy into him continuously.

"Don't talk. Go inside and lie down first." Qin Yi's voice was as steady as ever, but carried an unyielding firmness.

Being supported by the two of them on either side as they walked inside, Su Ming's lowered eyelids hid a flicker of light deep in his eyes.

Being alive felt good.

The feeling of someone caring about you wasn't bad either.

But that wouldn't change anything.

He was still that ever-vigilant spider. Only now, his web was woven more strongly than before.

Luo Feng settled Su Ming onto the stone couch, frantically pulling bottles and jars out of his storage pouch while muttering incessantly: "I knew that old hag Cui Yan wasn't a good person! Questioning the heart—fine, but she treated you like a criminal! Don't worry, Junior Brother, Master will be back soon. When Master returns, we're definitely going to Punishment Peak to demand an explanation!"

Su Ming leaned against the stone pillow, watching Luo Feng's flustered and furious demeanor. His heart stirred slightly.

"Senior Brother."

Su Ming suddenly spoke. Though his voice was soft, it cut off Luo Feng's complaints.

"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Luo Feng froze.

Su Ming shook his head, his gaze passing over Luo Feng to look at the vast sky outside the cave dwelling.

"Senior Brother, at our Formation Peak..."

Su Ming paused, as if organizing his words, "Does the library have any records about... a 'Starfall' formation?"

Luo Feng was startled, a bit confused: "Starfall? You mean that ancient formation that channels stellar force? That thing's been lost for ages. There are only some fragments. Why, you want to learn it?"

Su Ming withdrew his gaze, looking at the ring on his left index finger, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah."

"Since I survived, I should learn a few more skills."

"I want to give it a try."

Try it—since the hat of "Survivor of the Shen Family" was already on his head, could he play this act a little more convincingly?

Play it to the end, until no one could tell truth from falsehood anymore.

That would be... a small tribute to the Shen Family's ancestor he'd never met.

In his Consciousness Sea, Lin Yu let out a loud whistle.

"Oh, already getting into character, are we? Disciple, your awareness is pretty high."

Su Ming silently replied in his mind:

"Master taught me well."

"This is called—whatever you do, love it."