Only one teleportation array remained, and the incoming tide of beasts seemed to have shrunk from a mighty river to a trickling stream. Moreover, they were coming from only one direction, making them easier to deal with than a naturally occurring beast tide.

Cen An silently opened a gap in the protective barrier and led everyone out.

“According to the map, that cave is in the western mountain range, about a two-hour journey from here,” Wang Lie said, glancing at the map and making a rough estimate.

Cen An immediately said, “We don’t have much time. Let’s hurry.” At the very least, they had to make it before the last magical array failed. Everyone nodded.

Su Rui hoisted him onto his shoulders in one swift motion. Feeling the powerful, muscular frame beneath him, Boss Cen thought for a moment. Since Su Rui was walking slowly anyway, and to avoid wasting time, he figured being carried was fine.

There were still a few scattered mutant beasts in the mountains and forests; they were unlucky to run into this group—they lost their crystal cores in a single encounter. The party made almost no delays, and two hours later, they had already arrived at the cave entrance.

According to Shi Jie, this cave had been carved out by torrential rain. Now that they looked, it was indeed true—the entrance was piled high with mud, and after several years, it had become overgrown with weeds.

The group walked around the mound and saw the dark, gaping entrance.

Tian Yuan led the way. He stood at the entrance and peered inside. “No one’s here, and I don’t sense any mutant beasts.” Cen An pulled out a torch and handed it to him. Tian Yuan raised his hand and tossed it inside; the sound of the torch hitting the ground echoed back. Tian Yuan said, “The floor inside is flat and spacious enough to echo. There are two entrances.”

Cen An nodded. “Let’s go in and take a look. Everyone, be careful.”

The group then went in one by one, with Tian Yuan leading the way, Wang Lie close behind him, Yu Fei bringing up the rear, and Su Rui carrying Cen An in the middle. As for the others, they stayed behind in the village and didn’t come.

It was early summer now, and though there was a hint of warmth outside, the cave was bitingly cold.

Tian Yuan picked up the torch he’d dropped earlier; its dim light illuminated the surroundings. Two stone paths lay before them, and he chose one at random.

Deep within the stone walls, however, there were faint, barely perceptible specks of light. It was a rather special type of ore—fluorite—whose purpose was… Wait a moment. Cen An’s mind raced before he suddenly realized something. “Everyone, stop for a moment!”

The group stopped without hesitation. “What’s wrong, Brother Cen?”

Cen was a bit confused himself right now, trying to piece together what had happened: First, he’d obtained a secret box from the belly of a Red-tailed Fox, which revealed a treasure map; then, the map led them to this very cave; and finally, a pattern formed by the sand had appeared on the cave walls…

“Yes, that’s exactly how it happened.” He motioned with his hand. “Everyone, step back. Let’s return to the cave entrance.”

The group looked puzzled, but they didn’t hesitate; they immediately turned and walked out.

Cen An patted his “mount” on the head, dismounted, and explained carefully, “This isn’t an ordinary cave; it’s a treasure-hiding labyrinth. Look closely—the Ying sand on the stone walls at the entrances to these two passages… Those glowing dots form patterns of a maze and a treasure chest. That’s the hallmark of a treasure-hiding labyrinth.”

The group exchanged glances. Wang Lie immediately ran over to the other passageway to take a look. “You’re right—there are glowing dots here too, forming two patterns. Brother Cen, you really know your stuff!”

“Brother Cen” waved his hand, feeling quite troubled. He knew about the Treasure Cave Maze and had navigated it several times, but he really wasn’t very good at this sort of thing… Boss Cen couldn’t navigate mazes; he’d always relied on luck in the past.

Besides, the Treasure Cave Maze wasn’t marked on the map—which made sense; what fun would it be to navigate a maze while looking at a map?

So Brother Cen could only spread his hands. “Who’s good at navigating mazes?” Navigating mazes…

Wang Lie actually had a pretty good sense of direction—otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked him to draw the map earlier. But he relied on terrain, landmarks, and natural light to find his way, and there was none of that in a maze…

Tian Yuan had never navigated a maze before and waved his hand to indicate he wasn’t up to the task; as for Yu Fei… someone who could fall asleep even while walking was a definite no-go. 

Um… Everyone’s eyes turned to Su Rui, then quickly looked away. Never mind, let’s think of something else…

Just then, Su Rui spoke up: “Do we really have to go through this maze?” Cen An looked at him: “What’s your idea?”

Su Rui spread his fingers, reached forward, and with a casual clench, a large hole appeared in the stone wall ahead. “Why not just break through?” 

Cen An: …

Everyone: …

Big Wolf isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s incredibly strong… Cen An cleared his throat: “A-all right…”

The “mount” hoisted him up again. The group followed Su Rui as he smashed through one stone wall after another, brute force overcoming all obstacles… What would normally have been a half-day journey through the maze took them less than ten minutes to reach the deepest part.

The group looked back at the trail of holes they’d left behind and gave a thumbs-up: Impressive!

In the stone chamber at the deepest part of the maze sat a black iron treasure chest.

“A black iron treasure chest. Not bad—a step up from a wooden one.” Cen An produced an iron key and stepped forward to open it.

【You have obtained 12 Soul-Nourishing Stones】

Cen An was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Soul-Nourishing Stones! This type of ore was extremely rare, typically obtainable only through quests or treasure caves. Its function was also unique: when crafted into jewelry, it could nourish one’s spiritual energy and soul.

He put the Soul-Nourishing Stones away, but then something didn’t sit right. Hadn’t they come here to uncover the truth behind the Stone Team’s abduction? Now that they had the stones, where was the truth?

Suddenly, Su Rui spun around sharply. “Who’s there?”

Cen An instinctively turned to look—

This was a small stone cave, about the size of a one-room apartment; the space had felt cramped ever since their group had entered. Yet now, right behind them, against the wall, stood a figure.

There were no obstructions here, and they’d been inside for so long—yet they hadn’t noticed this person at all!

Cen An’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be another ghost? But that didn’t make sense—ghosts usually glow… The figure spoke, and the voice sounded quite familiar. “Xiao An?”

Cen An froze for a moment, then realized immediately, “Senior Lin!”

The figure stepped forward into the light, revealing a face that remained refined and elegant despite the passage of time—who else could it be but Lin She? Cen An was genuinely surprised and delighted. “Senior Lin, how did you come out this quickly?”

Lin She eyed him up and down. Seeing the moss-covered bandage wrapped around his ankle and that he was being held by Su Rui, he immediately shot a sharp glance at Su Rui. “Hmph. Your four paws are perfectly fine, so how did Xiao An get injured?”

Cen An quickly explained, “Senior Lin, you’ve misunderstood. It has nothing to do with Su Rui. I was ambushed. That person can control others—it’s impossible to guard against them…”

Lin She froze, his expression darkening. He let out a soft sigh. “It’s my fault. I thought he wouldn’t notice you. Otherwise, I should have warned you long ago.”

Cen An froze, and the others turned to look at him. “Senior Lin, are you saying you know who this person is?” Lin She nodded. “Xiao An, do you know there is a rare ability in this world called ‘Soul Mind Control’?”

After the Cataclysm, animals mutated, and humans developed supernatural abilities. At first, these abilities were limited to the five elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. It wasn’t until much later that people discovered rare abilities beyond these five.

No one can say exactly how many types of rare abilities exist in the world; all they know is that their occurrence is extremely rare. Aren’t ability users rare enough already? Out of every hundred people, perhaps only ten can awaken an ability.

The probability of possessing a rare ability is even lower; out of every hundred ability users, perhaps only one possesses a rare ability.

In fact, rare abilities are sometimes even less useful than the five-element abilities.

There’s a legend that’s been the talk of the town since the Cataclysm: Apparently, someone awakened a rare ability that turned their hair green! Yes, it had no other use—it just turned their hair green. What’s more, that person’s ability level was actually quite high; it started at Level 3 right upon awakening and changed incredibly fast! It turned green in the blink of an eye!

As for rare abilities like Spatial or Psychic, you’d probably have to have your ancestors’ graves set ablaze to even hope for one.

Among the many rare abilities, there is one that is particularly covert, insidious, and extremely dangerous, known as “Soul-Mind Control.”

“The Soul-Mind Control ability only became widely known fifty years ago. It is unknown whether anyone had awakened to it before then, but the person who did so fifty years ago took this ability to its absolute limit.”

Lin She looked at the group of dumb meerkats in front of him and began to grow impatient. “Never mind. It’s enough that you know this happened.”

“Please, Senior Lin,” Cen An tugged at his sleeve. “Tell us about it. I’ve saved a bottle of Hundred Flowers Elixir for you—I’ll give it to you as soon as we get back!”

Lin She looked at him helplessly. Fine, for the sake of this not-so-dumb meerkat…

“The so-called soul-mind control doesn’t mean directly controlling someone else’s soul or mind. Rather, it involves extracting a person’s soul—or what you might call their spiritual form—and implanting it into another person’s body.”

“These souls he captures are, in fact, under his control. It’s like a ghost acting as an accomplice to a tiger… Once he places these souls into another person’s body, they’ll obey his commands and use that person’s body to carry out his will.”

Tian Yuan asked, “Are these souls doing this voluntarily?”

Lin She glanced at him and said indifferently, “Some are forced. Those have their sentience erased, becoming nothing more than tools. Others, however, are willing. After all, being able to switch bodies at will—isn’t that practically the same as immortality?”

He let out a sarcastic laugh.

Wang Lie quickly followed up, “Then what about the people being controlled? Can they ever return?”

Lin She’s expression grew even more impassive. “An external spiritual entity will instantly shatter the host’s spiritual energy. Without spiritual energy, how can a person survive?”

Before the others could look disappointed, he added, “However, as long as the person’s mind remains steadfast and they hold firm without wavering, once the foreign spirit entity leaves, they can gradually recover.”

It would just be excruciating… The agony inflicted upon one’s spiritual energy is no less than the torture of the soul—something best left unsaid to outsiders. Wang Lie immediately brightened. “That’s wonderful! Team Leader Shi definitely won’t give in!”

Cen An, however, instinctively glanced at Lin She, whose hand was habitually pressed against his chest. Back in the mine shaft, Senior Lin had coughed incessantly, and chest discomfort had been a common occurrence. But now that his cough had cleared up, why was he still…

He suddenly furrowed his brow. “So, is chest pain one of the signs that someone is under control?”

Lin She’s expression softened slightly. “As long as the person is still resisting, they’ll experience constant chest pain. This pain is caused by damage to their spiritual energy. Even if they’re rescued, it will remain with them for life.”

“I see…” Cen An fell silent, but inwardly he thought: He seemed to have a few recipes capable of nurturing spiritual energy… Ah, found it—it’s a jewelry recipe, and the raw material happens to be Soul-Nourishing Stone!

Lin She spoke again. “That ability user who awakened soul-mind control is named Lin Dao. His lifelong ambition is immortality. What a fool.”

At this point, he snorted derisively. “He’s challenged the heavens more than once, asking why soul-mind control can only manipulate others’ spiritual bodies, but not his own. If it could, he’d be able to swap bodies at will and remain eternally youthful.”

“So, this fool delved into all sorts of occult nonsense. Eventually, he devised a magical array capable of absorbing life force and channeling it into his own body. Among the sources, sacrificing humans is the most effective—in his words, human life force is of the highest quality. Ability users are the primary targets, though ordinary people will do as well. The last resort is the life force of mutant beasts; even if one regains youth through this, they’ll age rapidly.”

“When he first obtained the formation, he intended to test it on blood-related relatives, but unexpectedly, his plan was exposed, forcing him to flee. Over the past fifty years, who knows how many people he’s harmed…”

“Senior Lin…” Cen An asked cautiously, “His name is Lin Dao, and yours is Lin She. The two of you…”

Lin She said calmly, “Yes, he’s my younger brother. So,” he turned around, “I’m going to kill him with my own hands.”

Four and a half hours had passed, and the group returned to Yongning Village.

There were still a few mutant beasts at the village entrance, but now, not even the ordinary villagers were afraid.

Lin She glanced at the small group of mutant beasts—no more than a handful—then looked up at the single beam of light remaining. He suddenly chuckled, tapped Cen An on the forehead,

“You’re a clever one.”

Cen An wasn’t surprised he’d figured it out. Smiling, he said, “You’ve been chasing Lin Dao for so long; this time, you’ve finally gotten what you wanted.” Lin She shook his head and pulled a recipe out from his robe.

Cen An instinctively took it.

【Soul-Binding Ring (Recipe):

Required Materials: Soul-Nurturing Stones x6

Type: Item | Rarity: Rare

Effect: Upon use, prevents the activation of Soul-type and Mental-type abilities. Inventor: Lin She】

Lin She said, “That fool may be on his deathbed, but his abilities are unpredictable. He can silently control others’ spiritual bodies, so we must remain vigilant.”

Cen An was taken aback. Was this item actually invented by Senior Lin? He glanced at Yu Fei. He never imagined there was an item in this world capable of suppressing the activation of psychic abilities. He’d have to figure out a way to craft a defensive item for Brother Fei.

He asked, “Senior Lin, do you want me to make this?”

Lin She nodded. “Although I developed this formula, I have no idea how much effort or how many materials it would take to actually make it. But you’re different, Xiao An. As long as you have the formula, you can make it, right?”

Cen An stammered, unsure what to say. “Senior Lin…”

“Don’t worry,” Lin She patted him on the head. “Everyone has secrets. You know how to keep your own secrets—that’s a good thing.”

Cen An smiled. Senior Lin really was very gentle… even though he seemed to have a terrible temper. The group arrived at the village entrance, and the protective shield opened to let them in.

Qu Yue and the others came to meet them; they knew what Cen An had been doing.

Noticing a stranger in the crowd, Qu Yue instinctively looked at Cen An, who explained, “This is Senior Lin, someone I knew from before…We don’t have much time now. Let’s not dwell on this—let’s go find the mastermind behind all this.”

Qu Yue nodded at first, then froze. “The mastermind? In our village?” Cen An chuckled. “This time, we have Elder Geng to thank.”

Old Geng was even more baffled. “Me?”

Cen An nodded. “It’s all thanks to you and that floral scent you’re carrying…”

In the dark room, Lin Dao paced restlessly.

The magical array on the floor was now barely glowing…

The entire process had been excruciating for Lin Dao. The life force that had been surging into his body was dwindling—like a raging ocean turning into a trickling stream, then a faucet, and finally a dropper…

Imagine a man parched to the point of desperation, who could have been gulping down water by the mouthful, only to suddenly have it reduced to a single drop at a time—who could possibly endure that?

If it weren’t for the fact that this formation couldn’t be interrupted from the start, Lin Dao would have stormed out long ago! But the two men he’d sent out still hadn’t returned, and he had absolutely no idea what was happening outside!

But what truly shattered his composure was this: for some unknown reason, the flickering formation faltered and went completely dark in an instant! The room was plunged into total darkness.

Lin Dao felt his own breath catch in his throat!

Years of ambition vanishing in an instant—he was on the verge of losing his mind!

“Damn it! Damn, Yongning Village… Damn it… I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill you all!”

He scrambled to his feet, his hair disheveled, his face—partly aged, partly youthful—looking like that of a demon. He lunged toward the door and shoved it—but the door didn’t budge an inch.

“Aaaah—” Lin Dao had completely lost his mind. “Who is it! Who is it, I ask! Open up—open the door now! I’m going to slaughter the whole village, aaaah——”

So, when the others arrived, they heard what sounded like frenzied screams coming from inside the door… and when they looked at the door, sure enough, it hadn’t budged an inch—it had been sealed shut from the outside with sheet metal!

In the courtyard, Yin Xiang was crouched on the ground, rustling about, eating something. Cen An rubbed the side of his head. “Yin Xiang.”

Yin Xiang jumped in fright. He turned around, saw it was Cen An calling him, and scampered over, “Brother Cen, Brother Cen!” 

Cen An sighed helplessly, “I told you to keep an eye on him, and you… Never mind. What are you eating?”

Yin Xiang grinned and pulled out a medicine bottle. Great—a bottle of Hundred Flowers Cough Pills!

The courtyard was filled with stunningly beautiful flowers, blooming like a tapestry of colors, their fragrance wafting throughout the garden. Cen An had sent Yin Xiang over earlier to take a look, and Yin Xiang had casually plucked a few blossoms, asking him to make something with them.

So Cen An made the boy a bottle of Hundred Flowers Cough Pills, thinking he could trade them for some pocket money once the small market reopened. Little did he expect the kid would eat them himself… “These are medicine—can you just eat them like that?”

Seeing his older brother looking over, Yin Xiang quickly stuffed the last pill into his mouth and mumbled, “It’s delicious, so sweet…” The members of the ability-users squad were dumbfounded. They looked at the courtyard in confusion. “Isn’t this Old Master Qi’s courtyard?”

“What’s with those screams coming from inside…”

“Has something happened to Old Master Qi?”

“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Old Master Qi, hasn’t it?”

“Didn’t they say he was too frail to get out of bed and had been hiring people to take care of him all along…”

Old Geng’s expression shifted. “Young Master Cen, the floral scent you mentioned was…”

Cen An nodded. “That’s right—the floral scent I smelled on you earlier. Later, I smelled it on the people who kidnapped me, too.” As he uttered the word “kidnapped,” he felt Su Rui’s grip on his arm tighten.

Cen An patted the large wolf beside him. “Later, I discovered this small courtyard, so I had Yin Xiang come to investigate.”

Yin Xiang nodded. “Right. Didn’t they say that Old Qi was a Wood-type ability user? With all these flowers planted, I went to take a look—but there wasn’t a Wood-type ability user in sight. That ability smelled foul and fishy—it was a type I’ve never seen before, and it’s definitely killed quite a few people.”

The group exchanged glances, wanting to disbelieve it, but the frantic screams coming from inside couldn’t be faked… That wasn’t Old Qi’s voice at all!

Geng Hui was on the verge of fainting, his hands beginning to tremble. “What about Old Qi? I—I saw him just a few days ago. He’s only been like this for the past few days…”

Cen An couldn’t bear to watch. He’d thought of this too—Lin Dao had been hiding in the village impersonating Old Qi. The real Old Qi must be…

Lin She, however, explained, “Lin Dao has a high-level artifact called the Phantom Mirror, which can create a 30-square-meter, long-lasting illusion. That’s probably how he tricked you.”

He didn’t say it out loud, but everyone understood what he meant: Old Qi hadn’t been killed in the last few days; it was highly likely that he had been killed on the very first day Lin Dao arrived in Yongning Village.

Old Geng wiped his face and sighed softly.

Cen An nodded. No wonder Shi Long had had a phantom veil earlier—it must have been given to him by Lin Dao.

Come to think of it, this Lin Dao was quite an interesting character. His ability to use psychic powers wasn’t particularly powerful, but it wasn’t weak either. Yet he preferred to hide in the shadows and strike from the dark, lacking any of the fearless spirit one would expect from an ability user.

He gave Yin Xiang a nod.

Yin Xiang brushed the debris from his hands, reached forward, and the sheet metal on the door melted into a stream of molten iron. Bang!

The wooden door swung open, and Lin Dao burst out looking like a madman. “You bastards…”

Suddenly, he froze in place, his gaze fixed on a single person. He ground out two words through clenched teeth: “Lin She!” 

Lin She spoke with a chill in his voice, “It’s been a long time. You’ve certainly made quite a name for yourself.”

“No! It can’t be!” Lin Dao grew even more frenzied. “Fifty years! Fifty years have passed! How can you still look the same? You…”

Suddenly, it dawned on him. “It’s Mo Wenxuan! Mo Wenxuan gave you his power! He actually gave it to you… Aaaah! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

He screamed and lunged forward, seemingly forgetting to use his abilities, driven only by the desire to tear Lin She to shreds. Just as the ability users present were about to intervene, Lin She pulled out a strange crossbow.

The crossbow was no bigger than the palm of a hand, made entirely of wood, and even the arrow was a wooden one, no longer than a finger—it looked just like a child’s toy.

Yet the ability users sensed danger emanating from this crossbow. Lin She calmly aimed it at Lin Dao and fired.

The short wooden arrow whizzed out and embedded itself in Lin Dao’s body. His movements faltered… A look of agony flashed across the younger half of his face, and his entire body crumbled like dried sand…

The wind blew, scattering the ashes into the air, leaving no trace behind. He had stirred up storms in Yongning Village, never imagining he would meet his end so easily. Lin She exhaled softly.

【“Wenxuan, how about some fish for dinner today?”】

【“Of course… Who are you? You’re not A-She! Ah!”】 

【“A-She…!”】

【“A-She… don’t… cry… I’ll always… be… by… your side…”】

He pressed his hand to his chest; the pain that had followed him for half his life suddenly felt all too real.

Cen An looked at the small crossbow in his hand. “Touch of Ashes…”

It was a peculiar plant, poisonous; corpses killed by its venom would turn to ashes just like this. However, this poison was remarkably effective against certain special mutant beasts. It was just very hard to find.

Moreover, Touch of Ashes grows very, very slowly. To gather enough materials for a crossbow like this, who knows how many places one would have to travel or how long one would have to prepare…

“Ah, Senior Lin!”

Lin She turned to look at him, his eyes still bearing a lifeless stillness.

Cen An smiled. “You’ve been through so much in the past fifty years—how old are you now?” Warmth slowly returned to Lin She’s eyes. He looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Take a guess.”

“I originally thought you were only fifty,” Cen An continued to smile. “Should I guess sixty now? Sixty-one?”

Lin She shook his head and tossed the small crossbow to him. “Here, keep this for self-defense.”

Cen An fumbled to catch it—this thing was deadly enough to kill with a single drop of blood. Senior Lin really was…

Watching his figure fade into the distance as if carried by the wind, Cen An said, “Senior Lin, I’ll find you a place to stay. Why don’t you settle down in Yongning Village from now on?”

The figure didn’t even pause; Cen An held his breath. After a long moment, he heard the wind carry a single word: “Meddlesome.”