After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

Before Lin Zhixu could even get close, he was blocked three steps away by an invisible wall of spiritual energy.

He was slightly taken aback, then a look of grievance appeared between his brows, and his eyelashes drooped: "What is Master doing? This disciple has just not seen Master for a long time and wanted to come closer and talk to you."

She Zhiyi leaned against the artificial rock, looking relaxed.

He raised his hand and pointed lightly, making the wall of spiritual energy solidify even more: "Let's talk from there. If you get too close, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist making a move."

His lips curled slightly upward, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "It's a bit of a shame to ruin this face. After all, the imitation was quite convincing."

Lin Zhixu's aggrieved expression froze for a moment.

He quickly adjusted his expression, adopting a cool yet stubborn demeanor, slightly raising his eyes to look directly into Yu Linzhou's eyes, his voice carrying a hint of bewilderment.

"What is Master saying? This disciple does not understand."

Seeing the counterfeit in front of her, which actually used her beloved student's face to make such a gesture, She Zhiyi felt disgusted.

She interrupted him coldly, her tone tinged with impatience, "He never talks to me like that. If I were to actually peep at him showering, he would only ruthlessly use his deadly methods against me, he would never show this kind of pretentious expression in front of me."

Lin Zhixu: "..."

Lin Zhixu also became angry, feeling that this person was truly ungrateful.

Over the years, he has never made a mistake.

He can see who everyone cares about most, and use their face to bewitch them, and without exception, they will become addicted.

But he couldn't understand why this person was so mean to the person he liked.

Yu Linzhou had lost patience to watch this clumsy one-man show any longer.

He snapped his fingers, and a cluster of dark purple spiritual flames shot up from his fingertips. The flames reflected in his deep pupils, making his eyes, which had suddenly turned into vertical pupils, look somewhat eerie.

Lin Zhixu was startled and took a step back.

He actually felt fear.

Who exactly is this person?

He wanted to say something, to try and salvage the situation.

She Zhiyi didn't want to waste any more words with him.

Flames shot out from his fingertips, transforming into dozens of fine fire snakes in mid-air, coiling towards the illusion.

The fake Lin Zhixu's expression finally changed completely. The coldness and stubbornness on his face vanished instantly, revealing a blank face without any features.

It let out a piercing shriek, its form twisting and shrinking in the firelight before finally turning into a wisp of smoke and dissipating into the misty haze.

The illusion began to collapse.

Gardens, hot springs, flowers and trees—all the exquisite scenery was peeled away piece by piece like a torn scroll, revealing the gray void beneath.

She Zhiyi blew out the flame in her hand. "So weak? No fun."

As soon as he finished speaking, the space shattered, the scene instantly changed, and he arrived at a small wooden house.

He stared at the illusion with a bored expression, wondering what it was up to, when he saw an old man emerge from the wooden house.

The old man was hunched over, with white hair and beard, wearing a faded gray cloth robe, and leaning on a worn-out old wooden cane.

He raised his head, revealing a wrinkled face, his cloudy eyes looking at Yu Linzhou, and a kind smile slowly spreading across his lips.

She Zhiyi's pupils contracted sharply, and the smile on her lips vanished completely.

He said softly, "You have quite the nerve. I'm really getting angry."

……

After entering the room, Lin Zhixu found himself in a dark underground cave.

The air was dry, carrying the scent of dust from rocks weathered by time.

The surrounding area is a rough stone wall, and several stalactites of unknown age hang overhead.

There was nothing around, except in the center of the cave, on a pile of dry weeds, a lone egg lay.

It was completely black, with dark gold patterns floating on its shell, which flickered in and out with the breeze that seemed to come from nowhere, as if something was breathing faintly deep inside the eggshell.

Lin Zhixu stood still and cautiously observed for a moment. Not sensing any danger, he then quietly approached.

Just as he got close, the egg suddenly moved.

The eggshell made a soft cracking sound, and a thin crack appeared at the top.

Immediately afterwards, a soft tapping sound came from inside, as if something small was pounding on the barrier that trapped it with all its might.

Lin Zhixu was startled and stopped.

The eggshell was cracked from the inside with repeated taps, the cracks spreading like a spider web, and it took a long time before a small opening was finally made.

A tiny, black head peeked out from the crack, its fine scales still glistening with a crystalline slime that shimmered moistly in the dim light.

It turned out to be a small snake that was completely black.

It seemed to have used a great deal of effort to break through the opening, and after panting slightly for a moment on the edge of the eggshell, it instinctively lowered its head and began to gnaw on its own eggshell bit by bit.

Lin Zhixu squatted down and watched as the little snake devoured its eggshell piece by piece.

With each piece it swallows, its tiny body grows larger at a visible rate.

It seemed completely unaware of Lin Zhixu's presence. After eating its fill, it lazily flicked its tongue and slowly swam towards the cave entrance.

As Lin Zhixu watched its swaying back, an absurd thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Could this be Yu Linzhou when he was a child?

He only knew one black snake, what a coincidence!

Seeing that the little snake was about to disappear, Lin Zhixu quickly followed.

The little snake emerged from its hole, revealing a strange wilderness outside.

The sky was low, dark clouds were churning, and a sense of impending storm hung in the air.

It seemed to be full of curiosity about this world, raising its little head and looking around. Just as it was about to swim into the depths of the grass, a thunderclap suddenly exploded in the sky.

The lightning came without warning; the dark purple bolts tore through the clouds and struck the small snake, no thicker than an arm, directly down onto the ground.

Lin Zhixu's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively stepped forward to block for him.

The lightning, however, pierced through his body as if passing through a void, striking the small snake without any obstruction.

He was stunned for a moment, then realized that he should be in a state of having no physical form.

In this predetermined past, he was merely a powerless bystander.

A painful hiss came from behind.

Its frail body was engulfed by lightning and rolled violently on the ground.

Its body, which had just grown after eating the eggshell, was split open, its skin and flesh torn apart. Several tiny scales flew out and landed in the soil, where they were quickly soaked by the seeping blood.

But it didn't die. Before the residual power of the first lightning bolt had even dissipated, the second one struck down, followed by the third, the fourth...

The little snake's struggles gradually weakened, its tail twitched unconsciously, and the golden line on its forehead flickered, as if protecting its last glimmer of life.

Lin Zhixu could only watch helplessly.

For the first time, I truly felt how terrifying the heavenly lightning's restraint on this kind of alien beast's bloodline was.

From the very first day it hatched, the will of Heaven had its eye on it.

After an unknown amount of time, the thunderclouds finally dissipated.

The wilderness was a scene of devastation, with wisps of smoke rising from the charred earth and a pungent, burnt smell filling the air.

The small snake lay motionless in the center of the crater, its body devoid of any intact scales, except for a faint golden line shimmering on its forehead.

Lin Zhixu walked over, squatted down beside it, and silently watched it.

He couldn't help it, he could only quietly stay with it.

After a long time, the tip of the snake's tail twitched slightly, and the golden line shone a little brighter.

Lin Zhixu smiled.

Yu Linzhou, it's a pleasure to meet you.