I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Autumn Li Gao listened, excitement bubbling within him: “Really!? What treasure!? Is it more powerful than a third-grade spirit herb!?”

Vision determines all. Had he not encountered the fallen immortal old man, Long Tian believed he would be just as thrilled as Autumn Li Gao at the prospect of obtaining a third-grade spirit plant.

Not mocking Autumn Li Gao for his limited perspective, Long Tian nodded: “If something can make spirit beasts abandon a third-grade spirit plant, how inferior do you think it could be?”

“Indeed!”

“However…” The reason Long Tian spoke these words to Autumn Li Gao was not to paint a rosy picture or to spur him on, but to convey: “This means the deeper we go, the more dangerous it becomes. Your cultivation is too low…”

“You’re only two realms above me.” The poor Foundation Establishment novice completely misunderstood the weight of a crystallized expert’s words: “Besides, if you want to delve deeper, can I just turn back now? What if I run into those earlier cultivators? They might think I’ve found some great treasure and capture me…”

“I’m not trying to drive you away. What I mean is, you must follow my commands. If I tell you to hide, then you hide, understand?”

“Understood!” Autumn Li Gao, with his simple nature, was more suited to follow others’ arrangements than to take initiative.

“This is the Beast-Repelling Incense I bought in the black market; it can scare off spirit beasts at the Golden Core stage. This talisman was also purchased in the black market; when detonated, it can cause damage equivalent to a third-layer crystallization. Use it with caution.”

“Thank you.” Autumn Li Gao carefully accepted the items: “Long Tian, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t know what to do. Just feel free to share whatever you get from this secret realm.”

His self-awareness was commendable, and this was one reason Long Tian didn’t dislike Autumn Li Gao. He didn’t respond, leading Autumn Li Gao onward.

——

Crossing the great mountains, Ye Yong reached the deepest part, where two imposing caverns stood, one to the left and one to the right, their grand doors adorned with lifelike carvings.

To the left, a giant python; to the right, a fierce eagle.

The two Nascent Soul cultivators who arranged this secret realm were very close friends; otherwise, given the suspicious and self-serving nature of cultivators, they would never share a small异空间 with outsiders.

According to the novel’s plot, Long Tian first entered the fierce eagle’s lair, where a powerful Nascent Soul at the eighth layer had sat in meditation. His cavern was filled with treasures, a lifetime of collections, and besides material possessions, he left behind a “significant” opportunity that could change an ordinary cultivator’s life.

In the giant python’s lair sat a Nascent Soul at the seventh layer, who similarly stored his lifetime treasures within, leaving behind a “significant” opportunity.

The system had already prompted three successful attempts to seize opportunities; only two remained. Ye Yong calculated the time and realized he needed to finish quickly; at most, he had half an hour before Long Tian would arrive here.

Not following the novel’s path, Ye Yong first entered the giant python’s lair.

A winding stone corridor led to a vast chamber, where gold, silver, jewels, and rare treasures were scattered everywhere, overwhelming the senses.

Of course, the most eye-catching was the orb, radiating an enticing glow, placed at the center of the altar. It seemed to awaken the greed that lay dormant in the hearts of men. Surrounded by treasures, any ordinary cultivator entering this space, under such influence, would surely succumb to infighting and slaughter, their minds too weak to resist.

Yet Ye Yong stood alone. He possessed a divine body, practiced the divine arts, and both his flesh and spirit far surpassed those of his peers in the same realm. The myriad of Bodhi seeds he carried offered a modicum of stability to his heart, leaving him untouched by the allure.

As for the orb, there was no doubt it was a “significant” opportunity left behind by a powerful Nascent Soul.

Ye Yong stepped forward, reaching out to grasp it.

The moment he touched it, a shadowy figure floated up from beneath the orb—a spectral old man, his hair as white as snow, with kind eyes that held an air of authority.

—

116 Very Unnatural

“Who has awakened the last remnants of this old soul?” the specter spoke, his voice warm yet laced with command.

“It is I, the junior. I beg your pardon,” Ye Yong replied, bowing in the manner of a cultivator.

The specter scrutinized Ye Yong from head to toe, surprise flickering in his eyes, mingled with a hint of veiled excitement.

“No harm done, no harm done,” the specter waved a hand dismissively. “Did you come in alone?”

“Indeed.”

“What year is it outside now?”

Ye Yong recited the era of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the specter sighed, “Has it truly been at least 600 years? How swiftly time passes.”

“Elder, I am pressed for time. Please speak plainly; I cannot linger,” Ye Yong urged.

“Pressed for time?” The specter looked puzzled. “Where are you headed?”

“To the next room.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” At this, the specter hastily interjected, “Do not go just yet. I sense a connection with you and wish to impart the techniques I have mastered throughout my life. Will you accept?”

“Of course, I am willing.” Ye Yong nodded, pulling out a spherical object under the watchful gaze of the lingering soul.

The soul, confused by Ye Yong’s intentions, saw the eager glint in his eyes and smiled benevolently. “Good child, close your eyes. I shall impart the technique to you now. This opportunity is but a fleeting moment; you must pay utmost attention and not let your mind wander.”

“Thank you, esteemed elder.” Ye Yong activated the spherical object, and dark, ominous smoke billowed forth, coalescing into a powerful malevolence in mere seconds. “However, I hope you will bestow the technique upon it.”

“Qiongqi! No, wait! An imposter! You, boy, are a practitioner of the dark arts?” The lingering soul trembled in fear.

“I am but a righteous cultivator, who happens to harbor a malevolent spirit. Yet you, a dead man, still clinging to the mortal realm, seek to usurp the body of a young cultivator to achieve rebirth. Such actions are truly despicable.” Ye Yong waved his hand dismissively, and the faux Qiongqi, grasping the intent, lunged at the lingering soul.

Once a formidable being at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul, the soul had deteriorated over six hundred years, now barely at the fifth level of the Golden Core. It was no match for the faux Qiongqi. It fled, but the pursuer was relentless. Soon, it was ensnared in the dark smoke, letting out a roar of defiance. “Why! How did you know!”

“Because I have read the script.”