My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

Lin Ran walked out quickly and entered another hall. Lin Ran immediately noticed the wet white figure standing in the hall.

Meng Qing seemed to hear footsteps behind her, turned around, and when she saw Lin Ran, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She asked, "How did you break through the gate of life and death outside to get in!"

"I was hoping to see a look of surprise on your face, but you're so calm. I'm a little disappointed!" Lin Ran thought Meng Qing's expression would change when she saw him catch up so quickly, but she remained calm and composed.

"If you want me to be surprised, I can smile and pretend to be surprised!" Meng Qing smiled very stiffly, then continued to ask, "How did you pass through the Gate of Life and Death?"

Meng Qing wasn't surprised that Lin Ran caught up with her. She wouldn't believe that Lin Ran hadn't done something to her, so she was more interested in how Lin Ran had gotten through the Gate of Life and Death.

Lin Ran thought Meng Qing was quite funny and could tell more corny jokes to help reduce the greenhouse effect.

Pointing to Meng Qing's soaking wet body, he said, "You're disheveled and completely drenched. I can follow your footprints... Hmm? Looks like you were also injured by those water ghosts and ferocious fish..."

Lin Ran noticed that Meng Qing had many gruesome wounds on her body, some of which were still bleeding. It was truly remarkable that this woman could stand there so calmly.

Hearing Lin Ran's words, Meng Qing noticed her appearance and nodded, saying, "So that's how it is. You've escaped with your life. There's only one correct door to the Gate of Life and Death. The others are dead doors. If you go in, you'll be trapped inside. The patterns on the wall and the ground are the puzzle. I thought you solved the puzzle to get in."

"That was really dangerous!"

Lin Ran couldn't help but sigh. If he had come in alone, he probably wouldn't even know how he died. He would probably have wandered around outside for most of the day and come back empty-handed.

The main hall they were in now was much smaller than the one before, and it also had several passages, but they were all sealed off by heavy stone doors. In the very center was a large bronze door, and what Meng Qing had been looking down at was a black stone tablet covered with ancient characters.

Lin Ran, carrying several bottles of healing elixirs, walked to Meng Qing's side. Looking at the stone tablet, she handed the elixirs to Meng Qing and changed the subject, saying, "These stone tablets are covered in ancient characters. Can you understand them?"

"See for yourself, I'm going to heal my wounds!"

Meng Qing walked to a corner and used the elixir Lin Ran had given her to heal her wounds, which made her understand this smiling tiger a little better.

Lin Ran looked at the black stone tablet in front of him, which was much taller than everyone else, but he couldn't recognize many of the ancient characters on it. His knowledge was indeed considered illiterate in this fantasy world. Back then, his wife, who was very learned, ran away. If she had been there, wouldn't deciphering the ancient ruins have been a piece of cake?

Since she couldn't figure it out, Lin Ran went to the stone gates, including the bronze gate, to see if she could push them open.

But the moment his hand touched the stone door, a strong energy surge erupted, repelling his hand.

“Those stone doors, and that bronze gate, are all protected by strong energy. Although much of that energy has been lost over time, they still possess the strength of the Nirvana Realm. Brute force would be too time-consuming; we must solve the puzzle or use a clever trick to break the mechanism set up on the stone door.” Meng Qing, who was healing his injuries, said upon seeing Lin Ran’s actions.

Meng Qing's words made Lin Ran understand immediately. In the original story, when the ruins appeared, the energy had already been almost completely depleted, which was equivalent to reducing the difficulty by several levels. However, now that he needed to find that cultivation manual for Lin Chong in advance, it was difficult. Perhaps he had thought too simply.

……

PS: I've revised Chapter 25. It should have passed the review. You can refresh to check. Some of the issues mentioned will be gradually improved, and there will be explanations in later chapters, so don't worry.

Thank you for your monthly tickets, rewards, and support! Thanks! (ω?)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Secret of the Stone Chamber

Lin Ran didn't find anything else in the hall, but the hall gave people a sense of oppression, like the oppressive feeling given by a powerful person, as if the residual power of the Azure Spirit Sword Saint still enveloped this place.

"As expected of an ancient powerhouse, his residual power is still there. I wonder if the Azure Spirit Sword Saint in his prime could flatten mountains and seas with a single sword strike." Lin Ran sighed, remembering that his clothes were still wet. After drying them with his spiritual power, he sat down not far from Meng Qing, waiting for the woman to heal him. Now, the mystery of this hall depends entirely on this woman.

This person is clearly a talent cultivated by a higher education in a fantasy world. Although it is unknown what power he comes from, he is from the Central Region, and moreover, the cultivation method he practices is of the same origin as his. This is definitely not simple. Could he really be Shangguan Mengqing?

But isn't Shangguan Mengqing supposed to be a stunning beauty with exceptional looks and temperament? The one in front of her is just ordinary, and besides, Shangguan Mengqing hasn't been out training for so long, has she?

The original plot he knows now can only be used as a reference. There are too many things that cannot be solved by foresight. Just like this ancient ruin, even if he had found it, he would probably have been helpless if he hadn't met Meng Qing.

Meng Qing quickly treated her injuries, ignored Lin Ran, changed her clothes, and then went back to the black stone tablet to decipher the inscriptions.

"What does it say?" Lin Ran asked Meng Qing as she moved closer.

Meng Qing looked up at Lin Ran, remained silent for a while, and then said, "This Azure Spirit Sword Tomb is used by the Azure Spirit Sword Saint to select his successor. The Gate of Life and Death outside is just the first test."

There are six stone gates and one bronze gate here, but those stone gates are not tests, but rewards. Whether you can get them depends on whether you have the strength to open them.

The large bronze gate in the middle leads to the next trial ground, but one must have the strength to open it.

"Since you know so much about these things, you must be able to decipher those stone gates too, right? How about we cooperate?" To show her sincerity, Lin Ran put on a bright smile, letting the other party feel her genuineness and kindness.

"Oh, a cooperation?" Meng Qing took a couple of breaths, looking calmly at Lin Ran, and said, "Is it the kind of fair cooperation where you get 99% and I only get a tiny bit left?"

"Oh, Miss Meng Qing, what you're saying makes me, Jiang, seem too harsh. How about this, we split it 70/30, I get 70% and you get 30%, and I'll have the right to choose first, how about that?" This time, Lin Ran didn't go overboard with 99%. After all, the other person had put in so much effort, and she was only getting a small share, which was really a bit embarrassing.

“Young Master Jiang is very generous this time, but I need spirit stones to unlock the stone door. I wonder if Young Master Jiang could lend me some?” Meng Qing bowed to Lin Ran, emphasizing the word “generous” to clearly mock him.

Lin Ran, with a thick skin, didn't care about being mocked. She stuffed a few bags of spirit stones into Meng Qing's hands, casually pointed to a stone gate, and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Meng Qing. Don't worry about your work, there will definitely be enough spirit stones!"

"Thank you, young master!"

Meng Qing took the spirit stone and walked straight to a stone door on the left, while Lin Ran followed behind to see how Meng Qing would operate it.

Standing before the stone gate, Meng Qing carefully examined it for a while before raising her slender, fair hand. Azure spiritual energy condensed in her palm, transforming into a beam of azure energy that shot into the stone gate. She closed her eyes, seemingly controlling the spiritual energy to attack the interior of the stone gate.

Lin Ran thought for a moment but decided not to ask any questions to disturb Meng Qing. However, Meng Qing was multitasking and explained to Lin Ran, "These stone gates are sealed with spirit arrays that have a sealing effect. Fortunately, the erosion of time has weakened the seals on the stone gates. Otherwise, with my cultivation level, how could I have tried to break the sealing array?"

About ten minutes later, the stone door in front of them suddenly shook and slowly opened with a rumbling sound.

After the stone gate opened, Lin Ran did not rush in. He felt a strong, chilling aura coming towards him, so he stepped aside and pulled Meng Qing behind him.

"After opening the stone door, be careful. If any danger comes, you might die." Lin Ran couldn't help but warn him. He had immediately dodged the dense cold air that had rushed towards him, but when he saw Meng Qing still standing there, he was scared half to death. He couldn't lose this top student. What would happen to his homework without him?

Meng Qing glanced at Lin Ran out of the corner of her eye, then remained silent.

Seeing that there was no danger, Lin Ran found a large luminous stone and carefully led Meng Qing inside. The stone chamber was as big as a basketball court, with tables made of ice-blue jade. The concave surfaces were filled with neatly arranged white jade bottles. The stone chamber was filled with all kinds of spiritual herbs.

"My goodness, they're all pills! This is going to be incredibly rich!" Lin Ran stared at the neatly arranged rows of white jade bottles, her eyes nearly spinning. If they were all moved, she could be on a pill-taking spree until she became an emperor.

Seeing Lin Ran practically drooling, Meng Qing reminded her, "Most of the pills here are probably going to be ruined. If you don't believe me, just pick up any bottle and take a look!"

"No way?" Lin Ran shoved the luminous stone in her hand into Meng Qing's hand, hurriedly walked to the nearest platform, casually picked up a bottle of pills and poured them into her palm. What came out was a round and plump pill. Before Lin Ran could even be happy, the pill quickly became rough and full of pits.

In just a few seconds, the pill became a useless pill. The medicinal power in this kind of pill has been completely lost and it has no effect.

"It can't all be like this, can it?"

Lin Ran quickly picked up a few bottles of pills from the side and poured them out. Just like the first bottle, they were ruined as soon as they were taken out. This made Lin Ran both laugh and cry. Sure enough, there are no free lunches. But could all the pills in this stone chamber be ruined?

Unconvinced, Lin Ran lunged at the other pills, refusing to believe that all the pills in the entire stone chamber were wasted.

Standing at the door, Meng Qing looked at Lin Ran, who was already engrossed in the moment, and a smile flashed in her eyes. She quite enjoyed seeing this little thief suffer a setback. Walking to the ice-blue jade platform, Meng Qing gently stroked the platform that emitted a white chill. The icy touch returned to her, and it seemed to have a refreshing and invigorating effect. Most importantly, the spiritual energy in her body became more active when she touched the platform.

This is the Extreme Ice Spirit Jade, which can be described as the most yin and coldest thing in the world. Only in extremely cold regions is there a small piece of it, but here it almost fills most of the space.

This spiritual jade is perfectly suited to her cultivation method, which is prone to causing qi deviation. Sitting on this spiritual jade while cultivating can stabilize her mind and prevent qi deviation, and it can also accelerate the cultivation of spiritual power.

She wasn't in a hurry to collect these Extreme Ice Spirit Jade Platforms, since there were plenty anyway. She was more interested in seeing the little thief's expression when he checked all the pills here and found they were all useless.

Before long, Lin Ran had inspected all the pills in the stone chamber. The piles of discarded pills on the ground were enough to show that all the pills in the entire stone chamber were useless.

Lin Ran's expression was somewhat like someone suffering from constipation, feeling a sense of disappointment. He looked resentfully at Meng Qing, who was leaning against the counter by the door, and said helplessly, "You're right, they are indeed all useless pills!"

Meng Qing joked, "There were people who didn't believe me before..."

"Now I believe it, I believe it!" Lin Ran patted the dregs of medicine on his hands and looked at the spirit jade emitting cold air in the stone chamber. Although he didn't quite know what it was, when he touched it just now, he found that these things used to preserve pills were also good things. He couldn't help but move those spirit jades into his spatial ring and looked at Meng Qing and said, "These are the only valuable things left. You can move some of those platforms too."

Meng Qing nodded. She didn't move too many; just a few pieces were enough to make a bed where she could sit cross-legged and cultivate.

After emptying the stone chamber and confirming there was nothing of value left, Lin Ran left and moved on to the next chamber.

The next stone chambers to be opened were mostly dilapidated. One chamber contained cultivation materials, and another contained medicinal herbs, but they were all basically unusable.

The only things left that weren't scrapped were various kinds of stone-like crafting materials, but there were many of them that even Meng Qing didn't recognize.

The two men worked in a clear division of labor, one opening the door and the other sweeping through the area. When the penultimate stone chamber was opened, it was still about the size of a basketball court. However, the difference was that the items on the shelves were of different colors and emitted different levels of energy fluctuations, while inside were tubes and tubes of jade scrolls.

"It seems to be a stone chamber for storing martial arts techniques or cultivation methods. I don't know its level, but the collection of the Azure Spirit Sword Saint should not be ordinary."

Moreover, this level of collection might even be the kind of scroll that not only supports viewing but can also be used multiple times, directly transferring data. Seeing this style, Meng Qing knew that this stone chamber was no ordinary one; it was arguably the most useful of all the stone chambers he had opened.

"With so many martial arts techniques and skills, we could start our own sect, right?" Lin Ran was a little tempted by the treasures here. If they could be used by the Lin family, the Lin family might not become incredibly powerful, but their strength would definitely increase significantly.

Meng Qing glanced at Lin Ran and said sarcastically, "If you take so many treasures out, I'll just let it slip, and you'll be hunted down relentlessly. Forget about establishing a sect, you might not even survive."

"If you say that, I'll tell everyone you're my wife, and you have a lot of treasures on you. We'll die together!" Lin Ran said shamelessly.

"I'm afraid that if you reveal such news, my master will come and chop you up with his sword first. You might not even have a chance to escape and will be heading to the Yellow Springs." Meng Qing walked into the stone chamber, examining the energy clusters, and said nonchalantly.

Lin Ran:…..

This woman has such a terrible personality!

……

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Final Bronze Gate (Please continue reading)

Lin Ran found a spot with strong energy fluctuations and tried to put her hand inside, but was immediately met with a rebound.

Seeing Lin Ran's discomfiture, Meng Qing explained, "These energy orbs not only protect the scrolls inside, but also test whether the person who takes them meets the requirements. The requirements vary; some can be easily obtained if they meet the requirements. You can take some of the easier ones."

"Can't brute force break through?" Lin Ran frowned. If he could only take what suited him, wouldn't he be unable to sweep them all back?

"Of course, it's just a matter of time and effort. But you can wait for me to solve it, and you'll have to pay for the spirit stones needed!" Meng Qing casually reached out to a pale red ball of light in front of her, scanned it with her spiritual power, and then tossed it to Lin Ran, saying, "It's useless, you can keep it!"

Lin Ran took the scroll and used her mental power to examine it. This kind of scroll is like reading an e-book. It starts with an introduction, so you can see what kind of technique or martial art it is.

"High-level Earth Rank Martial Skill, Flame Dragon!"

Based on the description above, it seems to be a high-level fire control martial art, manipulating flames to transform into fire dragons for attack. The number of dragons you can control depends on your ability, and it is said to be limitless. Theoretically, it can approach the level of Heavenly or even Saintly martial arts.

Unfortunately, it was a useless martial art for Lin Ran, because he didn't cultivate fire-attribute techniques at all. After throwing it into his spatial ring, Lin Ran went to find those orbs of light that he had some affinity with, that is, those he could get and that wouldn't be resisted.

Unfortunately, many of them were of little use to him, but their levels were not low. The lowest level was Earth-level, and there were some Heaven-level ones, but not many.

Meng Qing also acquired quite a few martial arts techniques, but none of them suited her taste, so she gave them all to Lin Ran. Judging from the fact that almost all of them were martial arts techniques, this place must be a storage place for martial arts techniques.

"Hey, this is interesting, it's suitable for your cultivation!" Meng Qing deciphered a ball of light with powerful energy fluctuations, checked the contents of the scroll, chuckled, and tossed it to Lin Ran.

"What is suitable for me to cultivate?" After taking the scroll, Lin Ran glanced at it. This martial skill was extraordinary from the moment she probed into it. It was flashing with golden light and had several large characters written on it: "High-level Heaven-rank martial skill, Devouring Heaven Technique!"

The name was incredibly imposing, and it might even grant the power to devour the heavens if mastered. However, when Lin Ran saw the description, her face darkened, and she threw the thing at Meng Qing, angrily saying, "You can practice on this thing!"

"I have nothing to cut!" Meng Qing calmly accepted the scroll that Lin Ran threw to her. Seeing Lin Ran's ashen face as she went to find other orbs of light, she couldn't help but find it amusing.

The scroll of Devouring Heaven Technique that she just threw over, according to its description, says that one must "castrate oneself" to master this martial art. But once mastered, it can devour anything, including spiritual energy and the energy in one's bloodline. It's a very sinister martial art.

Meng Qing received the spatial ring and felt that she could study some of the ideas inside and create a brand new martial art.

The two worked together and quickly cleared out the stone chamber where the martial arts techniques were stored. Meng Qing only took a little, keeping it out of curiosity for research purposes, while most of it went into Lin Ran's bag.

The last stone chamber, once deciphered, was, unsurprisingly, a chamber for storing cultivation techniques.