The night sat gently over Eternal Moon Mountain. The stars mirrored in the crystalline lakes and the cold wind drifted through the canopy like a centuries-old murmur. Jun Tian sat in the lotus posture high up, where the air was thinner and the quiet seemed perpetual. His calm eyes, his gentle breathing, and his immobile posture brought a sense of calm to the area; his sheer presence by itself was sufficient.
Something altered all of a sudden.
Inside the mountains, a muffled sound—like a far-off crack of thunder—reverberated deep. The earth trembled lightly, then a wave of spiritual force swept across the valley even reaching the city walls.
The cultivators standing watch suddenly rose, their eyes widened at the sight. Columns of golden and blue light towered into the sky on the horizon, splitting the clouds and brightening the whole area.
"The seal is breaking!" an elder screamed, his voice blending fear and excitement.
The invisible wall encircling the mountaintop revealed itself, marking a great runes circle in the air. Lines of old power began to gently twist like gears that had not spun for millennia. The ground started to shake and the air grew heavy, nearly stifling, as a result of the spiritual conflict.
Jun Tian awoke and his eyes reflected the golden radiance coming from the skies.
"Lotus, what is this?" he murmured gently, with almost unreal calm.
"An... ancient formation," the quiet voice within his mind answered. "It does not belong to this age, much less to this world. Though don't worry, this is not something pointed at you... yet."
Jun Tian watched the energy converge and create a great vortex over the mountain; he was motionless. The wind screamed, tearing whole trees, and the atmosphere grew so heavy that even the spirit beasts ran away in grief.
Alarm bells sounded in the city. The older cultivators approached the event, but were pushed away before they even reached the barrier. Blood was coughing up as the force hurled them hundreds of meters away. The energy of the seal was so pure and ancient that no cultivator above the Spirit Core Realm could even approach it.
"Damn it!" yelled one of them. "What is this force?"
"It looks like a secret domain...another responded, gasping. "But why would it be sealed here, in this forgotten place?"
Like wildfire, the story spread that an underground realm had woken.
Hours after all the powerful families in the city had congregated at the mountain. Young and seasoned cultivators all watched the vortex slowly spinning in the sky. Their faces reflected spiritual light, disclosing greedy, frightened, and inquiring expressions.
Included among them were the members of the Jun family. Jun Xiao, the patriarch, saw the occurrence with a worried expression. Elders whispered next to him, debating the source of this strength.
"It's a hidden world... but why now?"
Another advised, "Perhaps it relates to the arrival of the Eternal Moon Sect."
Or perhaps with that boy, Jun Tian. Odd events have been going on throughout his life.
Jun Xiao raised a caution gaze and quieted the chatter.
Jun Tian arrived soon after with a neutral expression as he moved through the masses. His eyes reflecting the golden glow, he watched the vortex spinning in the sky.
"This power... it's not something a lower realm can produce," murmured the Lotus voice within him. "I sense fragments of ancient laws. Something must be hidden inside.
Jun Tian lapsed silent. The feeling was familiar; it seemed as though a far-off echo of fate was calling to him.
However, he subdued his interest; far too many eyes were on him.
Meanwhile, far off, Li Ze and Li Heng viewed the mountain from a hidden inn. The open window brought in a frigid wind, which caused the candles to flicker.
Li Ze grinned, his eyes gleaming with a mix of fear and lust.
"Master, the moment has arrived." Everyone is obsessed with the secret world. Nobody will think twice."
Seated cross-legged, Li Heng gently opened his eyes. Like the ocean before a storm, his Qi was strong and profound.
"Precisely." Fate favors us. The rules here change. Inside, death and luck go hand in hand.
From his space ring, he pulled a little, black item shaped like a fractured blade. Cold, dark energy emanated even though it was partial.
Li Heng said, extending the artifact, "Take this, a soul blade." The spiritual thread will become invisible when you direct your Qi through it. Quickly cut; without second thought. Even if the target has a guardian, they won't be able to react in time.
Li Ze received the artifact reverently, his eyes fixed on the blade's black glow.
"I understand, Master. Within the realm, I will kill Jun Tian... and no one will ever know."
Li Heng smiled, satisfied, and closed his eyes again.
"Remember, Li Ze. The path of cultivation is not just about strength... but will. Eliminate this demon in your heart before it eliminates you."
Li Ze nodded. In his heart, hatred and envy burned like hidden flames.
The next morning, the vortex above the mountain began to spin faster. The entire sky seemed to pulse with a sacred light, and the sound of runes breaking echoed throughout the city. Suddenly, a blast of spiritual energy descended, forming a translucent portal on the ground.
"It's opening!" someone shouted.
"The realm is opening!"
The strongest cultivators tried to break through, but were once again repelled with brutal force. The barrier reacted as if it had a consciousness of its own, expelling everyone over a certain age.
"It's no use," an elder said, wiping the blood from his mouth. "Only the young may enter. This realm was created for them!"
Patriarch Jun Xiao nodded with a solemn look.
"Then let the young people of our family enter as well. But remember: do not fight among yourselves. This is an opportunity for growth, not a battlefield."
Words that, unfortunately, few would hear.
Jun Tian watched the portal in the distance. The wind lifted his black hair and made his white robe ripple like a silent flame.
He felt the Lotus stir within his sea of consciousness.
"Jun Tian, something in the world is calling you. I can sense it."
"I do too," he had answered quietly. "But not yet time to understand why."
In an instant, the ground was aglow where he had been. A highly ancient sign appeared and before he could take a step, a gentle power closed in and he was gone in the light.
When he awoke again, Jun Tian stood somewhere else altogether.
The skies were abounding in golden clouds, and the air was scented with holy herbs. He was in a vast forest, where towering trees reached towards the heavens, and rivers of energy flowed like streams of mist.
"So this is the hidden domain," he sighed.
Lotus spoke to him within:
"Be careful. Even animals on the lower plane here have ancient bloodlines. Don't judge by appearance."
Jun Tian nodded.
Then there was a roar, and the ground trembled.
A demon beast the size of a house came out of the dark darkness, its black scales shining on its body, its eyes with flames burning.
Some young cultivators fought against it, and their shrieks echoed in the forest.
Some were torn to pieces immediately; others struggled frantically to flee.
Jun Tian just watched by, unmoved.
"Haste is the enemy of survival. They that will power without knowing the danger. are bound to perish."
He went north, without a track. He went away so silently that even the animals did not give him warning—a hunter among the game, invisible.
In another part of the realm, Li Ze awoke near a lake shrouded in blue mist. The black blade in his ring pulsed faintly, as if calling for blood.
"So he's entered too..." he murmured, with a wry smile. "Perfect."
He looked at his reflection in the water and saw his own face distorted by ambition.
"Jun Tian, this time, even if the heavens protect you, you won't make it out alive."
Outside, in the real world, the elders and patriarchs watched the stabilized portal.
Jun Xiao kept his eyes fixed on the mountain, his heart heavy.
"Something tells me this realm isn't a gift..." he whispered.
The elder beside him replied, his voice grave:
"Not every opportunity is a blessing, Patriarch. Sometimes, fate simply paves the way... for calamity to enter."
The entire mountain pulsed with golden light. The portal vibrated and then slowly closed, sealing all the young people inside the Forgotten Realm.
High in the sky, silent lightning flashed through the clouds.
And for an instant, a distant voice—ancient and solemn—echoed only in Jun Tian's mind:
"Those who enter... will never leave the same."
He gazed at the horizon, his gaze calm and determined.
"Then let fate take its course..."
And with calm steps, Jun Tian disappeared into the trees, as the world around him awakened to a new era of trials.