This hill is truly beautiful—endless green grass stretches as far as the eye can see, a gentle breeze blows across the land, and the calm atmosphere makes me feel like I could stay here forever. Unfortunately, that peace is slightly disturbed by the strange sight before me: a man in ancient clothing lying on the ground, his body covered in wounds, as if on the brink of death.
After a moment, I blurted out some spontaneous words in surprise, and the man finally moved. With great effort, he lifted his head and spoke.
"I'm sorry… Senior," he said weakly, bowing deeply, even kowtowing in extreme humility.
"Senior? You mean… me?" I frowned, completely confused by what he meant. Since when did I become a senior? I had just woken up in this unfamiliar place, and suddenly someone was calling me with such respect. What was going on?
"Maybe you've got the wrong person?" I asked again, startled.
But the man became even more panicked. "N-no, Senior! It's impossible for me to be mistaken!"
We argued briefly, and the longer it went on, the more tired I felt. The situation was utterly absurd. I woke up on a strange hill, saw a man nearly dying, and suddenly he treated me like some great expert. Honestly, my mind was spinning as I tried to make sense of everything.
Could it be that I crossed into another world? Entered a cultivation world? I thought to myself. If that were true, then everything I was seeing right now would make sense.
Finally, with countless possibilities swirling in my head, I asked the most basic question.
"This… where is this?" Zhu Tian asked, his heart pounding with excitement.
The man answered respectfully, "Reporting to Senior, this is Planet Lin Cing. And this place is called Wind Hill."
Hearing that answer, my excitement instantly surged.
"Does this world have cultivation?" I couldn't even stop myself; the question slipped out naturally. If this really was a cultivation world, then this was incredible.
The man looked confused. A question like that shouldn't need to be asked by a "senior." Still, he answered carefully.
"Y-yes, Senior… there is cultivation here."
A feeling I had never experienced before exploded inside me. Back on Earth, my life was rather boring: living in an apartment, working a bit, eating, playing games, and waiting for updates of my favorite cultivation novels or comics. If this world was truly a cultivation world… how could I not be excited?
After a while, I tried to suppress the turbulence in my chest and began to think more clearly.
Why is this man calling me Senior?
I looked around, and indeed, the place I was in resembled a massive crater—as if something had fallen from a great height. Cracks spread out in all directions. Did I fall from the sky? If so, maybe this man found me and assumed I was a powerful expert who had been injured. But… why does he look injured himself? And why am I completely unharmed—or did he heal me?
Or maybe he examined my body, then looked into my memories… and saw something he wasn't supposed to? Or perhaps my body holds a secret even I don't know about? I continued thinking while observing the surroundings. Another possibility was that he had just fought someone and happened to find me afterward. Well, either way… maybe I could pretend to be a senior for now.
While I was lost in thought, the man began tidying himself up. He swallowed a pill, and his condition visibly improved. It turned out the pill's effect was only temporary—just enough to make him look presentable. Although he could use spiritual energy to clean himself up, his body was in chaos due to the backlash from earlier. If not for the presence of a "senior," his blood might have been flowing nonstop by now, since suppressing the backlash from the beginning with such difficulty would only worsen his injuries. Still, no matter what, I couldn't show any of this—Senior must not realize that I had explored his memories.
In the end, I decided it was better to ask directly instead of guessing endlessly.
"Why do you call me Senior?"
The man straightened his posture, his expression serious and full of reverence.
"Because… you truly are Senior."
I fell silent for a moment. Such a firm answer only deepened my confusion, but it also confirmed one thing: my guess was probably correct. Either he saw something within me, or this body truly held a great secret. After all, I wasn't even a cultivator—I was just an ordinary modern human. Yet in his eyes… I clearly wasn't ordinary.
Well… whatever the reason, I'd better make use of this situation for now, Zhu Tian thought, letting out a long breath.
Zhu Tian slowly stood up with the bearing of an expert. He calmly walked away from the cracked ground where he had fallen earlier, both hands behind his back as he gazed at the vast hill before him.
"Hm, this place is quite nice," Zhu Tian murmured inwardly while observing the scenery.
As someone who loved reading cultivation novels, all kinds of wild thoughts often crossed his mind. And now, one idea surfaced again.
"A good location… and an expert…" Zhu Tian muttered, glancing at the nearly-dead man. "Good. I'll build a sect here."
His heart beat rapidly with excitement.
"What's your name?" Zhu Tian asked, glancing at the man.
The man replied respectfully, "Qin Yuan."
Qin Yuan… that already sounds like a novel protagonist, Zhu Tian joked silently.
"Your cultivation level?" Zhu Tian asked casually.
"Previously Body Integration… but now it has fallen to Core Formation," Qin Yuan replied, his voice trembling with fear.
Body Integration to Core Formation… is that a big drop or not? Zhu Tian had no idea about this world's cultivation levels. The fear in the man's tone made him unwilling to ask further.
Everything he knew from novels was clear: never forcefully pry into the secrets of the strong when you yourself are still weak.
Zhu Tian simply nodded slightly, as if he understood something.
"With your current cultivation, can you build a structure?" Zhu Tian asked calmly.
"Reporting to Senior, with my current cultivation, I can build it under certain conditions," Qin Yuan replied respectfully.
Zhu Tian nodded lightly. "Build one hall with a thousand steps, and let the hall be shrouded in clouds."
After saying it, Zhu Tian himself felt the request was somewhat excessive. If the other party refused, that would still be reasonable. But Qin Yuan's response surprised him.
"I can do it, Senior," Qin Yuan replied firmly, as if it were an easy task.
In his heart, Qin Yuan was already prepared to accept any demand from Senior. He even saw this as a form of punishment for having glimpsed part of Senior's memories—something Zhu Tian knew nothing about. Because of seeing those memories, his cultivation had fallen. And although building such a structure under Senior's conditions was somewhat difficult given his current unstable spiritual energy, it was still a very light punishment.
Qin Yuan felt relieved and grateful. He was briefly puzzled as to why Senior didn't build it himself, but he didn't dare think too deeply. To him, this was both an honor and a light penalty.
Senior surely wouldn't want an ordinary building, Qin Yuan thought. The next moment, he took out a meteorite stone from his storage pouch.
Using a meteorite stone should be enough. Even if it might still be considered inferior by Senior… it's the sturdiest material I have. Qin Yuan hesitated slightly, as meteorite stone was not considered high-quality material for top-tier cultivators on this planet.
He threw the meteorite stone into the air. Scorching flames wrapped around it, spinning as it began to melt.
At the same time, Qin Yuan moved both hands. The ground before them rose, lifting five hundred meters high and spreading two hundred meters wide. With such a foundation, the structure Senior requested could surely be built.
Spiritual energy flowed, forming a thousand steps from the peak down to the base of the massive foundation.
The molten meteorite stone flew onto the earthen base. Slowly, the liquid shaped itself into a magnificent structure: a towering hall with beautiful sides and elegant curves that radiated luxury.
After completing the structure and the steps, Qin Yuan patted his storage pouch and took out a spirit stone. He formed a seal with his hands; the stone flew into the sky and shattered into four pieces.
His hand movements changed rapidly, forming illusion, defense, and attack arrays simultaneously. From the illusion array, clouds slowly emerged, along with small mountains, flowing waterfalls, and flying cranes.
In just a short time, the hall Zhu Tian requested stood magnificently, shrouded in soft clouds and vivid illusory scenery.