"Uhh… Master, what happened?"
Uncomfortable with the fixed, vacant gaze his master had after reading the jade slip, and which was now staring at him, Shen He ended up asking, shifting awkwardly under the intensity of that look.
His words ended up snapping old Liu out of his reverie, and he soon sighed as his mouth twitched slightly.
"Haah… Xiao He, your master has to admit his own incompetence. This technique is deeper than I anticipated; whoever created it is many times more capable than I am."
"Therefore, even if there is some issue with it, I can't guarantee that whoever created this hasn't hidden something in the technique so well that I wouldn't be able to find it."
Liu Taixuan admitted this with mixed feelings, frightening Shen He, who had always viewed his master as invincible, now seeing him admit to being inferior to someone else.
For a few seconds, he was left speechless, until he finally managed to react, even though his mind was a mess, trying to process everything.
"So… Master suspects there's a problem?" Shen He asked, concern written all over his face, unsure how to react.
The old man shook his head in response, inwardly grateful that his disciple hadn't questioned how he could be worse than someone else, which would only have made him feel even more embarrassed and powerless.
"No. As I said, I didn't find any problem with the technique. My only concerns come from prejudice toward a sect I know nothing about—neither its goals nor its origins—and which shelters my great-granddaughter, the target of the entire world except for them, who claim to have no interest in her at all."
"But so far, this sect hasn't given any reason to doubt it. In the end, the decision to cultivate such a technique—which is truly extraordinary in every sense—rests solely with you. This old man is ashamed to say that he truly can't decide what's best for your future," he admitted sincerely, with a complex look, sighing in his heart.
Hearing his declaration, Shen He clenched his fists inside his sleeves, his mind in turmoil, as he lowered his head, pensive and internally conflicted.
Seconds passed slowly until they turned into minutes, and only after a long time did he raise his face again. Surprisingly, this time there was determination in his eyes.
"Master, I want to try." His gaze hardened. "Even with the Enlightened Mind technique, I'm still much slower than the others, and my hopes of going far in cultivation aren't great. I—I want to try." He clenched his teeth and looked at his master, making his decision.
Liu Taixuan watched as Shen He struggled to maintain eye contact under his imposing presence.
"Good." Old Liu suddenly nodded, to the boy's relief. "If you've decided, then it's best not to waste time."
He spoke with a faint smile finally appearing on his lips, though complexity was hidden deep within his gaze.
Liu Taixuan didn't press the matter, not only because he had no evidence against the Infinity Dao sect, but also because the end of the world was near, and any decision didn't seem likely to change Shen He's fate... so why not try? He just didn't say this directly to his disciple, so as not to discourage him.
The old man immediately tossed the jade slip to his disciple, who caught it swiftly, took a deep breath, and then bowed deeply before his master—in respect and gratitude, as well as apology for risking himself on something unknown.
After finishing, Shen He sat cross-legged and activated the technique right away. And when he did, he was startled, much like his master had been earlier.
Moments later, before the eyes of the red-haired old man, he began to cultivate, and only then did he discover what it truly meant to cultivate like an immortal.
Before his eyes, his progress advanced at a visibly frightening speed, and his heart raced with shock and excitement.
Meanwhile, his master observed everything, equally stunned, as his granddaughter's words echoed endlessly in his mind.
'The elders of this sect might be older and more powerful than you…'
His throat went dry as the truth behind her words seemed less crazy with each passing moment.
'If they truly possess an entire inheritance of this level, perhaps my granddaughter isn't wrong.'
The old man swallowed hard as he thought such frightening and exhilarating thoughts.
Thus, consumed by complicated and unsettling reflections, for the first time he admitted that perhaps the one who had been wrong all along… was himself.
…
While the Infinite Dao Sect flew over the sea toward its new home, Aotian also kept his attention focused on another part of the world—the central continent.
When the Infinite Dao Sect's recruitment had begun, the Celestial Mist Sect's hadn't taken long to follow.
And the young master Su—who was in fact merely a divine incarnation of Mo Yexuan, ancestor of the Shadow Pavilion, who in turn was nothing more than one of Aotian's avatars—at this point, if things had followed the normal routine, should have joined that sect almost two months ago.
However, things seemed to be heading in a very different direction from what Aotian had initially expected.
'Entering even if one fails the recruitment… it seems not even Elder Cai imagined such a change,' Aotian—or rather, the current young master Su—thought as he opened his eyes from meditation and stared at the enormous spatial gate before him, closed, gloomy, and crimson.
Around him, trillions of people spread out in all directions like an endless human ocean, apparently waiting for those gates—which seemed to drip dark blood in their coloration—to open.
The gates themselves reached the clouds in height, and in width, not even hundreds of football fields lined up could compare.
It was as if they were the very gates of the firmament before everyone, yet by their color and oppressive atmosphere, no one would deny that the destination of those who entered would be the depths of hell.
Aotian knew the true destination of those gates. What he didn't understand was why he was there, and why the Celestial Mist Sect would send both those to be recruited and all official disciples of the sect there, as well as anyone with relatively strong cultivation within its domain.
And not just that. From all indications, every power on the continent had received the same invitation, coming directly from the rulers of the world, from those who called themselves the ancestral clans and guardians of the Tree of Life.
Aotian knew of this so-called invitation, and he had also heard of those clans. What he didn't know were their objectives in gathering everyone there, at the place where they lived, nor what exactly the Tree of Life they spoke of was, nor even what they used to entice the powers into agreeing.
Or rather, perhaps he did know.
'Rihai told me that the Liu family is one of the ancient families that once had Mahayana cultivators in its history, being one of the ancestral clans.'
'Their locations are hidden, and even after months on this continent, I haven't found a single clue as to where they might be. And they didn't seem very active around here… well, until recently, when they spread the invitations that ended up bringing all of us here…'
He reflected, raising his eyes once more to the gate, which pushed away the surrounding clouds with just the faint pressure it exuded.
'As for their objective, if I'm not mistaken, it should be that same thing again… but it seems I no longer need to speculate, the answer has arrived.'
The instant this thought arose, his eyes caught sight of a figure that suddenly appeared before the gates.
Aotian couldn't even distinguish that person's form, as the powerful spiritual energy emanating from their mere presence completely distorted his vision, making the hair on his arms stand on end and his heart pound with a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time… fear.
Without hesitation, Aotian lowered his head, not daring to look at him any longer.
'This sense of dread, this helplessness I feel for the first time, as if even gathering all my avatars would make it impossible to do anything but flee, and even then, it would be useless. To make me feel like this... he is a Tribulation Transcendence Cultivator, and undoubtedly not one from the initial stage.'
Aotian clenched his fists, feeling a growing urgency. He could not draw that man's attention. He was not yet prepared to face power of that level without resorting to his self-destructive trump card.
Fortunately, he was not the only one to notice the man's arrival, nor the only one to feel that suffocating dread.
With his appearance, an overwhelmingly powerful aura swept across the crowd, forcing trillions of people to kneel in terror before him and the grand gates at his back.
It was not an ordinary physical pressure, but a spiritual and existential oppression, as if everyone were facing death itself, face to face, upon encountering such an aura.
It was similar to the despair a human would feel upon seeing a tiger crouched before them in an attack position, knowing that in the next leap, their life would end before they could even blink.
Aotian could resist that pressure by sharing it with his avatars, but this was not the moment to stand out or act arrogantly in the face of a lost battle.
After some time, with everyone prostrated on the ground in absolute submission, the being—or rather, the powerful cultivator—finally spoke.
"All of you, listen carefully, for what I am about to say is a chance for you to change your lives forever."
The man in the sky spoke calmly, his aged voice reaching the entire crowd.
"All of you must know the ancestral clans. We are those who have endured since the beginning of time, the guardians and observers of all life. But, unknown to all, we live in dark times, and the end of the ages draws near."
His voice, booming like thunder, echoed for miles, making it seem as though the very heavens trembled beneath its sound waves.
Still prostrated on the ground, the crowd listened to his words, and eyes widened by fear now opened fully in shock.
If news of the end of the world came from someone insignificant, few would pay it any attention. But when the apparent messenger of the rulers of the world made such an announcement, at the very least it had to be heard, and at least partially believed.
And Aotian, amid the crowd, who already knew that the end was at least partly real, was stunned by the ancestral clans' sudden decision to reveal to everyone what had previously been kept secret by the upper echelons.
"Do not be surprised. The end of the ages is already old news; it is only now that it is closer than ever. For millions of years, our clans, the guardians of life, have sought an alternative to resolve this situation."
"And now, near the end, we have finally found the solution. Unfortunately, however, we are still missing one final item for salvation. A herb that cannot normally be found just anywhere, but which has a great chance of being hidden behind these gates."
He spoke with a heavy tone and unprecedented seriousness as he pointed to the crimson gates behind him.
"Only one herb separates us from salvation and destruction. And for that reason, we will forcibly open these gates once again, merely one year after their last opening."
"There is something I must admit to all of you," the man spoke solemnly, though a hint of helplessness and sorrow could be heard in his tone. "As all of you know from the legends, an extremely dangerous being is sealed in its depths, and this forced opening will bring great danger to everyone who enters, and even those who remain outside may not be safe."
"But these are desperate times, and we must take risks rather than succumb helplessly to death. Therefore, selfishly, I ask that all of you take this risk and enter these dangerous domains in search of a single herb, called the Silent Cadaver Orchid."
As he spoke firmly, he raised his hand, and his spiritual energy gathered, forming the perfect image of a mysterious herb whose roots swayed as if alive and even sentient, yet at the same time exuding a malevolent aura, despite having the shape of a beautiful orchid flower.
Even from afar, everyone could hear his words and clearly see the herb in his hand, as everything was transmitted through his powerful spiritual energy.
"Find this herb. Do not be tempted by the power it may carry in its stalk, for if it is broken, the plant will die. Bring it back whole, alive! Then, become the saviors of this world, and I, Dong Ying, swear upon my soul that whoever does so will be welcomed by our fourteen ancestral clans and will receive our protection against other cultivators of this world, as well as the same status and the same resources as a Tribulation Transcendent ancestor within our powers."
As his words echoed, and his powerful spiritual energy showed a brief moment of turmoil, proving that the oath was valid, fear was slowly replaced by greed in the hearts of the crowd, and greed gave way to a burning desire as everyone looked toward those gates.
"I ask that you do not kill one another nor destroy the herb in internal conflicts, should you find it, for we can accept more than one hero, and the reward will not be lesser, since this concerns the continuation of the world's existence."
He spoke with compassion and hope in his voice, bowing imploringly, which moved everyone and left them even more determined.
Everyone… except Aotian.
He mimicked the crowd's gazes so as not to stand out, but deep within his eyes there was a cold, dark chill as he stared at those red gates.
'Save the world? Heroes? An oath? Humph! I may not know everything, but I know enough to understand that this is all one massive trap. Old Liu already made it clear that the world will be destroyed, and collecting Dao rhymes with an orchid has nothing to do with saving the world, but rather with an attempt to save themselves.'
'Granting so many benefits… either this man does not know the truth and swore while being deceived by someone above him, or he simply swore because granting such benefits a few times before the end of the world is no big deal.'
'But that doesn't matter. What matters is that they still don't have the orchid, which gives me more time. At least the old Liu had the decency to explain that if they obtain the orchid now, while they have Rihai's father's corpse in hand, the end of the world would come even faster.'
'If they still don't have it and are searching for it, that's good news. So what I need to do now is enter the small world, intercept it, and destroy it before anyone else gets there, which will give me more time to grow and try to resolve things.'
'Unfortunately, that won't be easy…'
As he thought this, his expression grew heavier, while in his mind the most recent mission he had created appeared.
[Mission: Enter the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain of the central continent and intercept all Silent Cadaver Orchids.
…
Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous]