The quiet of the hidden world was deceiving.
Under that feigned peace, the earth pulsed with life, and its spiritual energy was so dense it vibrated the air. Jun Tian strode through the ruins of an ancient temple, watching the blue haze seep from the cracks in the ground.
"This place. is alive," he breathed.
The Lotus's soft voice echoed inside his head:
"The spiritual flow is disordered, but divine. Every grain of this energy is older than the majority of the mortal plane sects. Warned, Jun Tian. Even the breeze here is deadly."
He nodded.
Since being hurled through the portal, he'd known he was isolated from the other young men.
Everything there was malleable. The earth rocked, and there was no master of shadows.
Still, he walked quietly, attuned to everything, guided by the Lotus—his beacon in the darkness.
The path led him to a stone bridge draped in moss and worn runes.
He crossed carefully, feeling the weight of the air thicken.
Suddenly, there was a cruel crack.
Crack!
Jun Tian turned around as a shadowy figure leaped out of the forest.
A demon beast at Stage 4.2, its fur of black scales, rushed forward, shining fangs. The beast's blow cut the bridge in half.
Tch. Jun Tian took a deep breath, his gaze icy. "Want to try your luck at me?"
With a swing of his arm, the ancient sword—the one he had paid ten spiritual stones for—glowed in the blue light.
The slice that followed was quicker than the eye could follow.
There was quiet first.
Then the beast's head rolled on the floor.
"You could not have fought," the Lotus said with a lighthearted tone.
"Yes. But I had to verify the weapon," replied Jun Tian, wiping the blade.
He moved forward by a step.
With each step, he was one step nearer the heart of that desolate world.
He found spiritual herbs along the way where ancient stones had taken root—some sparkling like stars seeded in the ground. He kept some and left most of them behind. He was not there by accident. He wanted to learn the silent summons he had gotten from the portal.
Lower, the cries of distant fights echoed.
The smell of blood mixed with spiritual force hung in the air.
Jun Tian faced a clearing and looked out over the battlefield debris—a deceased young cultivator with the symbol of the Eternal Moon Sect still pinned on his robes.
He stopped before the corpse and shut his eyes.
"Even with outside help, few will be left here alive."
"This is how the weak are sifted out by fate," Lotus replied bitterly.
She stood motionless for a moment, then used some leaves to cover the body. She continued walking.
Later, she sensed something else—a gentle spiritual current emanating from a ravine not far away.
Walking down cautiously, she found a small cave lit with bluish crystals.
In the center of it, an old spiritual plant, glowing with a gentle silver light.
"A Profound Moonflower," Lotus observed. "An unusual bloom. Use it to purify your spiritual channels."
Jun Tian relaxed, purifying the flower's energy.
His cultivation stabilized, and the spiritual currents of his body grew denser, purified.
But before he could stand up, a ear-shattering bellow cut through the air.
The ground shook.
Boulders tumbled.
Something massive moved outside, shaking the spirit forest.
Jun Tian came out of the cave, sword in hand. What he saw made him squint.
A three-headed demon serpent towered over the horizon, its scales reflecting the glow of the false stars that illuminated the realm. Each breath of the beast distorted space around it.
"It's not an ordinary creature," warned the Lotus.
"I know," he replied calmly.
The snake roared and attacked.
Jun Tian leaped back, his body elegant in its fluid movement.
The first head swept past inches from his face, shattering the earth.
He whirled around, slicing through the air—the attack pierced one of the heads. Dark blue blood showered down.
The other two attacked in response.
The fight continued, fast, brutal, silent.
The ground cracked beneath his feet, and the air was with explosive spiritual energy.
With a last roar, the creature fell.
Jun Tian stood over its body, his sword lodged in the beast's skull.
The blood dispersed, turning to spiritual mist.
His breathing was even, controlled.
"This place…" he murmured. "It's a graveyard of geniuses."
"Or a bed for monsters," the Lotus breathed, her voice barely audible.
He washed his blade and looked out over the horizon.
On the horizon, a gold light began to emanate, splitting the sky of the secret world like morning.
It was a portent—something was stirring deep within that long-abandoned kingdom.
"The true test has only begun," said Jun Tian, and then disappeared into the mist.