The air inside the tomb was heavy with the weight of centuries. Unlike the chaotic, rotting energy of the forest outside, the Qi here was cold, orderly, and incredibly dense.
"Stay close," Shen Yuan whispered. "The floor is paved with Soul-Binding Stones. Step on a crack, and you'll find your spirit wandering these halls for eternity while your body stands still."
Ye Fan and Ye Lin stepped exactly where Shen Yuan stepped, their hearts pounding. They reached the central chamber—a massive hall supported by pillars carved in the likeness of weeping dragons. At the far end sat a throne of white bone, and upon it, a skeleton clad in rusted golden armor.
This was the Wailing King.
"The legends say he died protecting a treasure," Ye Lin murmured, her eyes drawn to a faint, pulsing light coming from the skeleton's ribcage.
"He didn't die protecting it," Shen Yuan corrected, walking up the dais. "He died trying to suppress it. The fool found something he couldn't handle."
Shen Yuan reached into the skeleton's chest and pulled out a jagged, pulsating shard of Star-Iron. The moment he touched it, a terrifying scream echoed through the chamber—the collective sorrow of thousands of souls.
"Silence," Shen Yuan hissed.
His [First Gate] flared, and the shadows from the corners of the room lunged at the shard, wrapping it in a shroud of darkness until the screaming stopped.
"This Star-Iron isn't just a metal," Shen Yuan explained, looking at the siblings. "It's a fragment of a fallen world. It contains a distorted space. Within this chamber, one day is equal to three days outside. Here, we will build our foundation."
He turned his gaze to the walls of the chamber. With a wave of his hand, he used the remaining energy from the Elder's blood to ignite the ancient braziers. Blue flames flickered to life, revealing rows of weapons and scrolls stacked against the walls.
"Ye Fan, take the [Earth-Shaker Polearm]. Your new physique requires a weapon with weight. Ye Lin, the [Frost-Bite Needle-Sword] is yours. It was forged from the heart of a blizzard."
The siblings took the weapons, feeling an immediate connection. But Shen Yuan wasn't looking at the gold or the steel. He was looking at the floor behind the throne.
He kicked a loose stone, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside lay a simple, unadorned black ring.
"My Spatial Ring," Shen Yuan whispered, a rare flash of emotion crossing his face. "So... my old sect didn't find everything after they 'killed' me. They thought this was just a trinket."
He slipped the ring onto his finger. It was empty of its former treasures, but its internal space was vast—larger than a city. More importantly, it contained a single, dried-up seed of the [World-Devouring Lotus].
"Master," Ye Fan said, kneeling. "What is our first move?"
Shen Yuan sat on the bone throne, the Star-Iron shard floating in the air before him.
"We disappear," Shen Yuan said, his voice echoing like thunder. "The Lin and Zhou families will think we died in the forest. Let them celebrate. Let them grow fat and complacent. We will stay in this tomb until your Dark Frost can freeze a river and your strength can shatter a mountain."
He looked at the entrance to the tomb, which was now sealed by his magic.
"In three months of 'real time', we will emerge. And on that day, the name of the Ye Clan will die, and the Sect of the Eternal Void will be born from its ashes."