I Was Reborn as the Villain, but the System Bound Itself to the Female Leads - Chapter 30:

Chapter 30: The Formless Demonic Technique

After sending off He Yuwei and Wang Qianyue, Lin Yuan tidied up the supplies and packed them into his backpack. He was ready to continue deeper into Wildman Peak. Glancing around, he realized that although he had charged forward last night thinking he was moving in a straight line, he had actually circled back to the original camp. Luckily, it had only been a loop—otherwise, the consequences might’ve been disastrous.

Once he was ready, he set off again.

Not long after heading deeper in, Lin Yuan came across two corpses—Zhou Feng and Zhang Long. Yang Gang had done a thorough job. Every vital spot had been dealt with: the throat, heart, brachial artery, temple…

“Those who commit too many evils bring about their own demise. In your next life, don’t be reborn as humans,” Lin Yuan muttered before continuing on.

Since it was daytime, he didn’t lose his sense of direction. According to the original novel, deep within Wildman Peak was a cave whose entrance resembled a skull. The thing Lin Yuan sought was inside that cave.

As the sun began to set, casting a crimson glow across the western clouds, Lin Yuan cleared an open area, pitched a tent, and decided to rest for the night. After a long day of travel, he was truly exhausted, and with nightfall approaching, he chose to continue the journey the next morning.

Wildman Peak at night was unsettling. The howls of wild beasts kept Lin Yuan on high alert. If a wolf or wild boar suddenly rushed out, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself in his current state.

Fortunately, the night passed safely.

Early the next morning, Lin Yuan ate some food and resumed his journey. By midday, he finally found the cave that resembled a skull.

“It’s really well hidden,” Lin Yuan said, looking at the cave. The entrance truly looked like a skull and was concealed beneath weeds and dead branches. From a distance, it just looked like a normal rock face—nothing unusual at all. If not for a snake he had noticed slithering into the weeds and vanishing, he might never have found it.

With a headlamp strapped on and a machete in his right hand, Lin Yuan stepped into the cave.

According to the novel’s description, he soon located the hidden chamber. Inside was a decayed human skeleton, its hands still clutching a yellowed book.

“Found it—Formless Demonic Technique,” Lin Yuan muttered excitedly as he took the book from the skeleton’s hands. He studied it thoroughly, memorizing every detail, then pulled out a lighter and burned the book to ashes.

This was a cultivation technique titled Formless. In the original novel, it was dubbed a demonic technique due to its unique feature: once cultivated, it allowed the user to absorb the blood essence and spiritual energy of others, converting them into their own nourishment.

In the novel, Lin Yuan only acquired this technique much later. He guessed it was because, by that point, Long Haochen was already nearly invincible. Crushing the weak version of him offered no thrill, so the author arranged this opportunity to boost his strength, allowing Long Haochen to keep dominating him even after his power-up, thereby intensifying the thrill.

But in the world of ancient martial arts, cultivation was never easy. Especially for someone like him, whose body had been hollowed out by indulgence. Thus, this technique was designed as a shortcut—no hard training required, just absorbing the essence and energy of others to grow stronger.

Thanks to this technique, his future self had taken many lives to increase his strength.

Still, Lin Yuan believed that whether it was a demonic technique or divine technique, it all depended on how the person wielding it chose to use it.

After burning the Formless technique, Lin Yuan’s gaze shifted to a redwood box in front of the skeleton. Inside it was a pill that could help him cleanse his marrow and remodel his body, opening the door to the path of ancient martial arts.

“I don’t know who you were, but since this Formless technique was in your hands, you must have been its master. Today, I’ve learned your technique and taken your pill. I shall respectfully address you as Senior.”

“Senior, I am Lin Yuan. I am deeply grateful for your gift today. It’s a pity you left this world too early, and I cannot repay you. I promise here and now: I will never use this technique for anything immoral or wicked.”

Lin Yuan bowed slightly in salute.

As if responding to his vow, the skeleton that had been sitting cross-legged suddenly collapsed into pieces.

Lin Yuan blinked. It was the first time he had seen something like that. He rubbed his nose, puzzled. What did that mean? Was the senior satisfied or not?

It didn’t matter. He had already retrieved what he came for, so it was time to leave.

Just as he turned to leave, after taking a few steps, he stopped and came back.

“Senior, since I’ve taken your belongings, I should at least do something for you. Let me give your bones a proper burial.”

Lin Yuan took a folding shovel from his backpack, dug a pit, gently placed the bones inside, and buried them.

Only after finishing did he turn and leave the cave.

By the time he completely exited Wildman Peak, it was already the third day.

At the foot of the mountain, Yang Gang was waiting. When he saw his Young Master appear, he quickly rushed over and took the backpack from him.

“Young Master, are you alright?” he asked, seeing Lin Yuan covered in dirt and looking disheveled.

“I’m fine,” Lin Yuan replied, shaking his head. He only looked rough because he hadn’t had the chance to wash up in the mountains—nothing serious had happened.

He handed the backpack to Yang Gang, but carried the redwood box himself.

“He Yuwei, Wang Qianyue—did you drop them off in the capital?” Lin Yuan asked.

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Alright. Let’s go. Find the nearest hotel first. I seriously need to clean up. I smell awful,” Lin Yuan said.

“Yes, Young Master.”

The two got into the car and drove away from Wildman Peak.

In the car, Lin Yuan stared at the redwood box. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, though he couldn’t say exactly what.

He had already inspected the box when leaving the skull cave. Inside was a single blood-red pill and nothing else special.

He examined the redwood box carefully. Its style was simple and ancient. After a long inspection, Lin Yuan’s eyes suddenly lit up as he finally realized what was strange.

The redwood box was palm-sized, about 12.5 centimeters tall. But once opened, the interior depth was only around 7.5 centimeters. Unless the base was solid wood, that meant there was a hollow compartment hidden at the bottom.

Immediately, Lin Yuan began feeling around the base of the box. As expected, he found the mechanism for a hidden compartment.

“So that’s it. There’s a secret layer… But I don’t remember the original novel mentioning anything about this redwood box having a hidden space.”

Lin Yuan frowned in thought. Maybe the version of himself in the original story had been too stupid to notice.

“Interesting. Let’s see what’s hidden inside…”