The moon hung low over the Azure Lotus Sect as Lin Sheng sat cross-legged in quiet meditation, a faint glow radiating from his body. The stars above seemed to pulse in response to his breathing rhythm. For hours, he had remained still, submerged in cultivation, but not for the usual purpose of refining Qi. Tonight, he was preparing to confront something far more elusive: his own soul.
The Mirror Void was no ordinary trial, and even the elders spoke of it in whispers. According to Elder Qiyan, only three disciples in the last century had emerged from it without psychological scarring. The Void was known to pull apart the threads of one's spirit and reflect it in the form of vivid, living illusion.
Lin Sheng was not afraid. But he was... wary.
"System," he said internally. "Prepare for integration mode. Full spiritual diagnostics."
"Initializing Integration Mode," the system responded. "Spiritual Flow: Stable. Mental State: Focused. Willpower Resonance: 98%."
"Good. Engage passive monitoring once inside the Mirror Void."
"Confirmed. Good luck, Host."
The sect grounds the next morning were filled with an eerie stillness. As Lin Sheng arrived at the northern platform, he was joined by a dozen other inner sect disciples. Elder Wuying floated above them, robes untouched by wind, his expression solemn.
"The Mirror Void will open only for an hour," Elder Wuying announced. "Within, time will stretch or collapse unpredictably. You may spend days or moments inside. But only those who emerge through clarity of mind will retain their memory of the trial. Enter with resolve. Return with wisdom."
With a wave of his sleeve, the sky split open. A tear in reality itself shimmered before them, revealing a swirling vortex of colorless light. It drew in air, Qi, and even sound itself.
"Begin," the elder commanded.
One by one, the disciples stepped into the rift. When it was Lin Sheng's turn, he took a breath and stepped forward.
It felt like falling.
He landed in total silence. The air was heavy, dense with pressure, yet carried no sound. The sky was a blank canvas—white, endless. Beneath him, there was no ground, just endless water reflecting his form. He stood, weightless, on this mirrored surface.
A ripple appeared.
Across from him, a figure formed—his exact double.
"Who are you?" the clone asked.
"I am Lin Sheng," he replied.
"Liar. You are no immortal. You're just a lost soul who clings to power he did not earn."
The doppelganger smirked and raised a hand. A surge of black flame exploded forth, aiming directly at Lin Sheng's chest.
Reacting instantly, Lin Sheng summoned his spirit weapon, Twilight Fang. He parried, but the force behind the clone's strike was terrifying. Each blow echoed with self-doubt, fear, and pain.
The battle wasn't just physical. It was spiritual. Every clash shook the depths of his memories.
He saw visions of Earth—his mother crying in a hospital room, his younger brother's funeral, the cold, bleak darkness of death before his reincarnation.
The doppelganger struck again. "You're nothing without the system! You were weak on Earth, and you're weak here."
"I am not the same man who died," Lin Sheng growled. "And you are just a shadow."
He activated his new ability: Voidstep Mirage—an agility technique from the system that created afterimages to confuse opponents. He zipped forward, slashing with precision.
The doppelganger cracked under the onslaught. As the final blow landed, the mirror beneath them shattered.
Lin Sheng plummeted again.
This time, he stood inside his childhood home—Earth again. Everything was just as he remembered. His mother's voice called to him from the kitchen. He turned the corner.
She was there. Smiling. Cooking.
"You're back early, Sheng. Come eat."
He froze.
This... this couldn't be.
She turned to him. Her eyes were blank. Hollow. A puppet.
"You don't belong here."
Dark tendrils of shadow poured from her mouth.
"Enough!" he shouted.
His aura exploded outward, disrupting the illusion. He fell once more, this time landing on a floating platform of crystal.
Above him, thousands of orbs shimmered, each holding a memory, a regret, or a fear. The Mirror Void's core.
A voice boomed, ageless and without source.
"What is your truth, Lin Sheng?"
He stepped forward.
"That I was weak, but I sought strength. That I lost, but I refused to stay broken. That I remember those I left behind—but I will not be chained by their ghosts."
Silence.
Then—
"Trial complete."
The world collapsed inwards into a single point of light, and Lin Sheng felt himself pulled upward.
When he opened his eyes, he stood back on the platform outside the Mirror Void. The portal behind him closed like a sigh.
All the other disciples were still unconscious or kneeling in meditation, recovering. Elder Wuying floated down to him.
"You returned first. And unharmed."
"I faced myself. And I won."
Wuying nodded solemnly. "Few ever do."
From the corner of his vision, Lin Sheng noticed a faint glow around his body—residual energy from the realm. The system chimed in.
"Mirror Void Completed. Rewards Granted: Soul Forging Core x1, Celestial Insight x2, EXP +10,000."
A sudden breeze passed through the sect. Distant bells rang as if in silent approval.
And somewhere—unseen—three ancient beings turned their eyes toward him.
Lin Sheng, the returnee from Earth, had passed the Mirror Void.
But the Immortal World was just beginning to awaken.
To be continued in Chapter Seven...