Soyang stood atop a rocky hill, his arms crossed and his expression unreadable. His thoughts wandered.
"Just great," he muttered. "This place probably has some ridiculous ancient family background too. Because why not?"
Suddenly, a red beam shot into the sky with a loud boom, shaking the clouds above. The seal had been broken. Everyone understood instantly—the Flaming Valley was now open.
Without wasting a moment, all cultivators rushed into the cave.
Lingyan entered the cave and let out a breath of relief. "Good. Everyone's been transported to different locations. Less competition."
Just then, the system's voice echoed in Soyang's mind.
[Eternal Heart Flame detected. It's far from here. You must travel.]
"Of course," Soyang said, rolling his eyes. "Why would it be close? That would be too easy."
As he traveled deeper into the valley, swarms of insect-like beasts attacked him. He crushed them one after another with little effort.
While moving forward, the system suddenly spoke again.
[On your right—there's a hidden path. It's been sealed by a formation, which is why no one's noticed it.]
Soyang approached the area and quickly broke the sealing formation. A narrow path revealed itself. At the end of it, he stepped into a massive open cavern. A lake shimmered in the center, reflecting the pale moonlight. In the lake floated a single, pristine white lotus.
The system sounded almost reverent.
[That's the Ice Moon Lotus.]
Soyang's eyes lit up. "Ice Moon Lotus? That thing's rarer than honesty in the cultivation world."
[It's used for ice-type cultivation, but you can't use it... unless—]
Soyang raised a brow. "Unless what?"
[Unless you have a special body constitution: the Ice Yin Body. With it, you can cultivate ice techniques easily.]
Soyang started laughing. "Perfect! That means I can actually use it!" He stepped forward—
[Wait!] the system interrupted. [It's guarded by a fourth-grade beast. A Black King Cobra. It could swallow you whole.]
Soyang paused. "So... you're saying it's a very angry, very venomous noodle?"
[Yes. And it's highly sensitive to movement. Let me make a plan.]
After a moment of silence, Soyang grinned. "I've got it. That snake increases its power through poison, right? I have some fifth-grade beast poison. I'll lure it away."
He carefully placed the poison at a distance from the lake.
[I'll hide your presence in the shadows. Be quick.]
As the poisonous scent spread, the air thickened. The snake emerged from the lake, hissing and sniffing. It slithered toward the poison trap.
Soyang slipped through the shadows, reached the lake, and grabbed the Ice Moon Lotus.
Just then, the Black King Cobra realized something was wrong.
With a furious hiss—"Ssssseehhhhh!"—it turned and bolted back.
Soyang, clutching the lotus, looked up to see the snake rushing toward him.
"My luck is just amazing," he said sarcastically.
The snake attacked, its fangs flashing. Soyang barely dodged, rolling to the side.
"I can't fight this thing head-on," he muttered. "I've got only one shot."
He began focusing all his energy into one finger, even channeling his flame essence.
The cobra stopped. It had sensed Soyang's presence in the shadows. They faced each other.
[Its weak spot is on its neck!] the system said quickly.
Soyang didn't hesitate. He unleashed a blinding, white-yellow beam of flame and spiritual energy. It struck the cobra's neck, burning a hole through its scales.
The beast let out an ear-splitting screech.
But it didn't die.
It thrashed violently, then dove back into the lake, wounded and enraged.
Soyang dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
"I just danced on hell's doorstep," he gasped, then smirked. "Ten out of ten. Would not recommend."
Sure! Here's a cleaned-up and more polished version of your scene, with improved grammar, structure, and flow. I've also added a few details and adjusted the tone slightly to keep the dark and sarcastic feel of your cultivation novel:
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Chapter X: Into the Beast Forest of the Inheritance Realm
Lingyan found a secluded, hidden spot and sat down cross-legged. With steady breaths, she began to recover her strength and heal her internal injuries.
Meanwhile, Soyang stood up, brushed off the dust on his robe, and headed deeper into the cave. The path ahead was littered with traps—poisoned needles, collapsing floors, illusion arrays. He barely made it through, getting singed, sliced, and humiliated along the way.
"Who designed this cave, a sadist?" he muttered.
After what felt like an eternity of dodging death, he noticed a faint light ahead. Drawn to it, he moved cautiously toward the glow. As he stepped through the passage, the scene before him shifted entirely.
A vast forest stretched into the distance, crowned by mist-covered mountains. Birds chirped. Beasts roamed. It was a living world.
Soyang frowned. "How the hell is there wildlife inside a cave?"
Ding!
[System Notification: This is not a cave. You have entered a pocket dimension containing the Inheritance of a deceased female cultivator.]
Soyang nodded, unsurprised. "Of course. Why not? Next thing you'll tell me is the trees can talk."
He continued onward. Before long, he was surrounded by a pack of spirit wolves, their eyes glowing with hunger.
"Hm... Wolf leader's core must be worth a fortune," Soyang thought, smirking. "I want this."
Just as he prepared to attack, a sudden barrage of spiritual light descended from the trees. It slammed into the wolves, killing several instantly. The rest scattered.
"What the hell?!" Soyang shouted. "Who the hell interferes with someone else's battle?! That was my fight!"
A voice called out lazily from above.
"I was helping you."
A figure stepped out from between the trees—Lingyan.
Lingyan blinked. "You again? Why are you following me?"
Lingyan narrowed her eyes. Why is she even here? Helping me? What kind of game is this?
Another voice echoed softly—this time a girl's, oddly cheerful. "I'm Dudu! I just thought you could use a hand!"
"I didn't need your hand," Lingyan replied coldly.
Dudu shrugged. "Well, this forest is crawling with beasts. If we work together, we'll survive more easily."
Lingyan turned to leave. "No thanks."
Dudu, unfazed, called out after her. "Wait—I know where the inheritance is."
That made Lingyan pause. She glanced over her shoulder. "If you're lying, I'll feed you to the next beast myself."
"I'm not lying," Dudu said, raising her hands innocently. "I don't want anything from you. Just… come with me until we get there."
Lingyan frowned. No one helps for free—not in a place like this.
But she finally nodded. "Fine. But after that, we go our separate ways."
The unlikely trio began their journey. Along the way, they encountered beasts, traps, and the strange, whispering winds of the inheritance realm. But one thing was certain—they were getting closer to something powerful.
And in this place, power always came at a price.
They arrived before a massive door, its height towering above them like a mountain. On both sides, enormous stone walls stretched into the distance, seemingly endless.
As they stood in front of the door, it began to creak open with a deep, grinding noise that echoed through the realm. The sound was ancient, as if it hadn't opened in thousands of years.
When the door finally opened fully, an overwhelming wave of thick spiritual energy surged outward, washing over them like a storm. The air buzzed with raw power.
Behind the door stood an enormous red temple—ancient, majestic, and radiating a terrifying aura. The Red Kashal, a long-lost sanctuary of inheritance.