The hidden tunnel was narrow and damp, winding downward into forgotten earth.
Even Abhimanyu, despite his excitement, felt unease creeping into his bones.
After several minutes of running, they emerged into a hidden chamber—a small cavern with a clear pond. Water glimmered under soft spiritual light that leaked from glowing stones above.
Abhimanyu collapsed near the pond, panting. "Are we safe here?"
"I think so," Avinash replied gently, sitting beside him. "They'll focus on the other cultivators."
Abhimanyu washed his face and drank a few gulps from the pond. "This water… it's sweet!"
Avinash chuckled. "Even Heaven blesses you, little brother."
From his bag, he pulled out two apples—one red, one golden. He handed the red one to Abhimanyu.
"Eat," he said with a smile.
Abhimanyu bit into it greedily. "Delicious! This tastes like—like spirit fruit!"
Avinash's smile deepened.
"Of course. I selected it especially for you. A sacrificial lamb… deserves one final sweet."
Moments passed.
Then—
"Brother… why… does everything feel…"
His speech slurred.
His body trembled.
Avinash stood up calmly. "System. Activate Foundation Realm breakthrough card."
[Ding! Acknowledged.]
A storm of power burst out from his dantian.
Twelve Qi Condensation realms collapsed—reformed instantly into the Foundation Realm.
Avinash's aura surged, golden and deep green light flickering from his eyes.
Celestial Reincarnation Eyes: Fifth Way – Destiny
Celestial Reincarnation Eyes: Third Way – Time
Abhimanyu's body collapsed.
"No… why… you…?"
He didn't finish the sentence.
A cold dagger pierced his chest.
Blood dripped into the pond.
"System," Avinash whispered. "Activate Sealing Protocol."
His eyes blazed.
A silver vortex opened mid-air, swallowing Abhimanyu's dying body into a timeless space beyond Heaven's grasp.
One second.
No evidence.
Avinash looked at the empty spot and murmured, "Rest now. When you awaken… you will serve me."
He turned.
Stepped out of the tunnel.
And into chaos once more.
The Tomb Rejects Greed
By the time Avinash returned to the main tomb corridor, the air was thick with death.
The illusion formation had long since collapsed, but its effects remained. Burned corpses, shattered talismans, and bloodstained relics lay scattered across the floor. Only a handful of cultivators still fought on, their eyes gleaming with desperation.
Many of the strongest had already perished in the confusion.
Avinash strolled past them like a phantom, his footsteps silent, his aura carefully concealed beneath a veil of the Fifth Way—Destiny Concealment.
No one noticed him.
No one remembered him.
He was a shadow among shadows.
But his goal wasn't treasure anymore.
It was secrecy.
And the final step of his plan: making the tomb itself become his alibi.
He walked until he reached the Heart Altar—an ancient array carved from black obsidian, hidden behind a false wall only his Celestial Reincarnation Eyes could see through. In his past life, this place was only discovered decades later… by someone who died the moment they stepped on it.
Avinash had no intention of dying.
He stepped into the core of the altar and lifted a talisman from his sleeve.
[Tomb Collapse Trigger – Ancient Grade: Modified]
The inscription glowed faintly as he infused it with his Qi. Runes unfurled mid-air, forming a dome of intertwining symbols that flickered like dying stars. The altar trembled.
A low hum rose through the tomb.
Dust trickled from the ceiling.
"System," Avinash whispered. "Begin synchronization with tomb formation matrix. Feed it false data—make it seem like I was consumed in the collapse."
[Ding! Beginning simulation. Falsified soul signature uploaded. Illusionary death mirage will manifest in 5 seconds.]
Avinash's eyes gleamed.
Perfect.
He activated his third way—Time—and opened a silver crack in space. Within seconds, he stepped into the timeless dimension, hidden from the eyes of gods, cultivators, and fate alike.
Then—
BOOM!
The tomb shuddered violently.
Walls split apart. Entire chambers caved in. Runes exploded in bursts of purple and gold. Spiritual fire surged from cracked pillars. Ancient puppets activated in berserk mode, slaughtering anyone they detected as a living presence.
Cultivators screamed as they were swallowed by falling stone or incinerated by the tomb's guardian arrays.
A burst of white light erupted at the core.
And then—
Silence.
Only dust and death remained.
Avinash watched it all from his secluded realm, suspended in a timeless bubble. He observed his false 'corpse' being consumed by fire, a burned remnant of clothing fluttering in the wind.
Perfect.
He had disappeared from Heaven's ledger.
Any other might think, he is dead.