The afterglow of the setting sun was twisted by the Domain's sky into an alien, neon orange-red.
This was Withered Leaf Village, a backwater settlement. Dugu Lu stood before the village's only inn, gazing at the rolling mountains in the distance, partially swallowed by a thick, digital mist.
He had lived here for some time now. From the local woodcutters, he learned that the old man, Black Dragon, was quite a "celebrity" in these parts.
The old man would often go up the mountain to gather herbs and stay at the inn upon his return. The so-called "Black Dragon Sect" had no grand halls or towering gates; it consisted entirely of this eccentric, penniless old man who practiced the B11-Grade Manual: The Black Fang Art.
However, Lu Lu—who had spent his life brewing complex herbs in the real world—knew better. In the art of alchemy, this "madman" was a monster.
Reality – A.D. 2180
"Ah Lu, the sensors show Black Dragon's Spiritual Power output is spiking at a geometric rate! He's insane... the code simulations suggest he's forcibly refining a Late-stage Nascent Soul pill!"
Shen Can's voice crackled through the implant chip, uncharacteristically urgent. From Shen Can's hacker-perspective, the mountainous region where Black Dragon was located was being surrounded by ripples of unstable black code.
"He's refining the Black Fang Pill recorded in his manual," Lu Lu muttered, staring at the deep mountains from the inn window.
Suddenly, the dark red sky was torn asunder. A terrifying bolt of Black Heavenly Tribulation—jet black and pulsating with destructive data—slammed down without warning, as if trying to erase the mortal who dared to peer into the forbidden.
By the time Lu Lu reached the summit, the ground was scorched earth.
Black Dragon lay collapsed beside a shattered medicinal cauldron. Half of his virtual body had already faded into non-existence, yet his hand gripped a pill radiating a staggering spiritual pressure.
"Heh... hehe... it's done..." Black Dragon opened his murky eyes, his voice as thin as a thread.
"This Black Fang Pill... even with my Early-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, I couldn't withstand the heavens... Remember, do not consume this until you reach the Nascent Soul stage... or you are at death's door.
It can... instantly grant hundreds of thousands of Spiritual Power points—equivalent to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. It will blow you apart..."
Trembling, the old man shoved an ancient-looking Storage Ring into Lu Lu's hand.
"This summit... hides the clues to the 'Epochal Cache.' I've guarded this village in poverty my whole life for it... now, it's yours..."
With those final words, the old man's consciousness signal flickered and died.
Lu Lu looked silently at the contents of the ring. It contained only a few broken treasures damaged by the lightning—items only usable by Golden Core cultivators—and some tattered artifacts for those below Foundation Establishment.
He couldn't help but sigh at the cruelty of the Domain. To carve out a name for himself, relying on a penniless alchemist was never going to be enough.
During his time as a "Medicine Tester," Dugu Lu had been Black Dragon's living laboratory.
Through the agonizing process of testing pills that pushed his mind to the brink of collapse, his neurons had been repeatedly torn apart and restructured.
Lu Lu shook his head slightly. When he looked at the data on his retina, even he was startled.
[Domain Calendar: Dao Year 1377]
[ID: Dugu Lu]
[Realm: Qi Sensing Stage (12th Level)]
[Neuron Activity: 1,501 (Below average by 98%)]
[Spirit Root Grade: 1]
[System Evaluation: Your neuron activity is growing fast, but in terms of Realm, you are still an ant.]
In the laws of the Domain, 1,501 points of neuron activity was the threshold required to step into the
Late Foundation Establishment Stage.
RealmNeuron Activity Threshold
Mortal 50 (Login Minimum)
Qi Sensing 100
Foundation Establishment (Early/Mid/Late) 300 / 750 / 1,500
Golden Core 3,000
Nascent Soul 10,000
(Note: Each stage is a qualitative transformation of the soul.)
Dugu Lu was currently in a bizarre state. His neuron activity met the standards, and he had plenty of Foundation Establishment Pills from the old man, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't break through.
His body was like a container filled to the limit, yet unable to find an outlet.
In reality, Shen Can was scrambling for answers.
Shen Can was a clean-cut, gentle young man, but in the hacker underground, he was a figure of awe.
He held a high moral code, refusing to cheat or steal. He was more like a "Watcher" searching for truth in the data wasteland.
"Ah Lu, the data shows your neuron activity is absurdly high, but your 'Root Permissions' seem to be locked by something. Ordinary Foundation Establishment Pills won't work on you.
I'm actively scanning for the cause—it might be related to the anomalous data in this region."
Shen Can's voice sounded in Lu Lu's ear, laced with worry.
This was exactly why "Hackers" were so vital in this world.
The coding of the Domain was several dimensions higher than any human programming.
While they couldn't directly "cheat" by rewriting the high-dimensional code, elite hackers could intercept an anomalous type of data known as "Chaos Coding."
Even a tiny, incomplete fragment of Chaos Code could grant its host incredible powers.
In the Domain, these anomalies were known to both natives and players as the "Epochal Caches."
They were the most mysterious and discussed legends in reality—rumored to have existed since the Domain was created by that ancient civilization.
High-level Chaos Code even possessed its own consciousness, evolving into a unique form of life.
"Ah Lu, I've intercepted the residual data from that lightning strike.
It's anomalous code—possibly a fragment of a Chaos Code. I'll help you triangulate the location, wait a second," Shen Can said, his voice turning solemn.
Lu Lu gripped the storage ring and looked deeper into the mountains. The secret Black Dragon had guarded his whole life was right here.
"No need to look, Shen Can." Lu Lu gazed toward the direction the old man had pointed before dying. "The clue he left... it's probably the 'Epochal Cache' you mentioned. My chance for Foundation Establishment is inside."
Just then, several piercing whistles cut through the air from the village below.
A few Foundation Establishment cultivators, their neuron activity barely over 300 but decked out in premium gear, were rapidly approaching.
They had been drawn by the data anomalies of the lightning strike, clearly intending to "scavenge" in this barren land.
Dugu Lu's eyes turned cold. His right hand slowly reached for his storage ring...