Previously, without any comparison, Shawn Carter just felt himself suddenly drawn in, but now, with thunder and lightning crashing down nearby, Shawn Carter truly sensed the difference of this vortex.

“Who... rumble... dares to trespass in my forbidden land...” At this moment, a voice echoed throughout the world, and a surge of power swept over, its might earth-shattering.

So terrifying!!

That was Shawn Carter's thought, and at this moment he once again felt the massive golden vortex spinning. Because of his previous experience being sucked in, and now facing death and all this, Shawn Carter didn’t lose his composure; his mind was still sharp and clear. So, in the next instant, Shawn Carter grabbed at the pile of things under his hand. This formation was clearly protecting these items—if he could survive this, how could he not take something back with him?

“Whoosh!” Almost simultaneously, Shawn Carter was sucked into that massive golden vortex.

“Boom... rumble...” Only then did the great formation here strike down, but it only blasted the ground.

At that moment, a huge figure suddenly appeared in the sky. With a wave of his sleeve, the surrounding formation dispersed, his eight-pronged mustache trembling, his crimson Daoist robe fluttering, the heavens and earth changing color, and endless chaotic auras swirling around.

“Who... who dares touch my Chiyang Divine Soil...” The old Daoist’s body manifested a gigantic Daoist image, and instantly, many Daoist auras around probed in surprise, for it was rare to see this old man so furious—what on earth had happened? Only he himself knew: there was less than two taels of Chiyang Divine Soil, and now half of it, maybe even more, had been stolen. How could he not be enraged?

Chapter 6: Withered Wood Meets Spring, Rebirth

“Boom... bang... bang...” Once again, he fell, but this time he landed on a pile of things. Although he still fell, it wasn’t as painful.

“Cough... cough...” Shawn Carter was choked by the dust kicked up, coughing repeatedly, then stood up from the shattered debris, covered in dust. After all, Shawn Carter was only at the peak of the Human Spring Realm. If he could gather all three springs—Human, Earth, and Heaven—and have them flow freely, he could form a protective Yuan Spirit Qi to shake off the dust. But now, he could only use one hand to keep fanning the dust away.

“Haha... I’m alive, I’m not dead yet, awesome!” If it were someone else, after such an ordeal, they’d either be terrified or feel extremely unlucky. But the first thing Shawn Carter thought was: I’m alive, I didn’t die, I’m still here—and he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

With that as the main premise, everything else became secondary.

“Young master Shuang, what happened over there? Did someone break in?” At this moment, a guard’s voice came from outside. Shawn Carter’s campus didn’t have dedicated guards, but the commotion in his room had alarmed the patrolling guards nearby, who came to ask what had happened.

Shawn Carter emerged from the pile of broken debris, moved a bit, and let the dust fall off.

“It’s nothing, nothing. I was just practicing a new move and lost control, broke the wall next to me. It’s nothing.” Things were getting stranger and stranger, and Shawn Carter knew he absolutely couldn’t let anyone find out—at least not before he figured out what was going on.

Besides, even if he told anyone, would they believe him? The golden vortex beneath his Human Spring was still there, but only he could see and feel it—not even the ancestors could detect it. If he told anyone, they’d think he was crazy.

So Shawn Carter immediately responded, making up an excuse. The guards outside had only come because they heard noise, and didn’t dare enter without permission. If Shawn Carter hadn’t answered, they would have come in, but since he replied, they didn’t press further and left.

Shawn Carter walked to the window and watched them leave. Thinking about what had just happened, he couldn’t relax at all—what the heck was that!

Suddenly, Shawn Carter felt heat radiating from the object in his right hand, and only then remembered that he’d grabbed something from the altar at the last moment.

Thinking of this, Shawn Carter opened his palm and finally saw what he was holding.

Soil—yes, just a small handful of soil.

The soil glowed faintly and radiated warmth. Shawn Carter tried to absorb it, to probe it with his power, but nothing happened. After fiddling with it for a while with no result, Shawn Carter couldn’t help but give a wry smile—after surviving a near-death experience, all he got was this little handful of soil.

And it didn’t even do anything. If the soil wasn’t right there in his palm, and if his room wasn’t a mess, Shawn Carter would have thought everything that just happened was a dream.

The room was so wrecked it was uninhabitable; he’d have to find a way to fix it first. Looking again at the small handful of soil in his hand, he couldn’t just keep holding it forever.

Thinking this, Shawn Carter looked around and happened to see the withered flame tree he’d brought from the ancestor’s place. Luckily, the flowerpot hadn’t been broken—otherwise, if Emily found out, that girl would challenge him to a duel several more times.