On a tall hill, where the plains were covered with green grass as far as the eye could see, only a few trees were scattered around.
On that hill, from a distance, there was a tiny figure lying on the ground. At the spot where the person lay, the earth was cracked and hollow, as if they had fallen from a great height.
I flew over to him and saw the person — his body bore some injuries, but nothing fatal. He was fairly handsome, though not as striking as me. When I examined him with my spiritual senses, all I found were strange, torn clothes and minor wounds.
I channeled my spiritual energy to heal him and bring him back to consciousness. This person had no cultivation at all.
After a while, he slowly began showing signs of waking up.
I carefully started forming a seal to extract memories from within him. As I attempted to probe his soul, I felt a deadly "Terror."
I saw a man towering into the sky. I couldn't see his face or features clearly; all I could make out were shades of black and gray, as if the world itself was showing only these colors — or rather, it was forbidden to be seen clearly.
The towering man stood alone, while many beings nearly as tall as him faced him. The stars stopped shining, as if afraid to reveal themselves. Across countless worlds, it seemed as if everyone held their breath upon sensing the presence of these figures; the cosmos itself went silent, as though it had died.
At that moment, those beings seemed to speak and point at the lone man. I couldn't catch a word of their conversation; some force blocked me, as if it was taboo for me to understand.
Suddenly, they formed seals in their hands. Instantly, dragons, Kunpengs, phoenixes, and Vermilion birds appeared — each massive; their power capable of destroying worlds.
But when the lone man looked at them, he formed a seal in his own hand, and another seal appeared behind him. It was round, almost larger than him; covered with formations and words I couldn't comprehend — too mysterious and terrifying.
The man unleashed his power, raised his hand, and directed it at the beings before him. I couldn't see it clearly, but an earth-shattering collision occurred, destroying the entire cosmos.
The next moment, I returned to reality, gulped some blood, and my cultivation dropped from "Body Integration" to "Core Formation." This was a massive, massive fall. My face paled as if I were dead — it was truly terrifying.
…..
I am "ZHU TIAN," a modern man, handsome and cool. At that time, I was at home, playing a game on my PC, when a friend called.
"Tring, tring."
My phone rang beside me, and I picked it up while still playing.
"Tian, I found an ancient ruin that's amazing," my friend said excitedly.
I replied casually, "Oh."
"Tian, this isn't like ordinary ruins, it's incredible, seriously," he said, slightly disappointed at my flat tone, then perked up again, "Tian, you're the type who loves exploring cultivation mysteries. This ruin has something to do with that."
It was true that I loved cultivation mysteries, and I loved reading cultivation novels, so I was a little interested, though I didn't show it. With a slightly amused tone, I answered, "Go on."
"Come explore it with me—" my friend invited enthusiastically.
After trying to refuse a few times, I finally gave in to his temptation. "Fine, we'll go tomorrow. I'm not going any other day," I said, sounding a bit lazy.
"All right," he replied excitedly. Well, going wouldn't be wasted; after all, I loved cultivation mysteries.
The next day, we arrived at the place my friend had mentioned. My friend wore a thin shirt and long pants, along with glasses because he was a little near-sighted. I wore a plain black thin jacket and long black pants.
The place was huge and wide, perhaps almost like a small mountain. It was very dark, so we used our phone lights to see. The place felt like a sect hall — many seats in the back, and at the very front, one chair stood slightly higher than the rest; probably the sect leader's seat. Of course, I knew this from novels.
Everything here looked high-quality; the walls had elegant and intricate carvings, beautiful yet also intimidating. "This place is really amazing," my friend said, spreading his arms in excitement.
He loved history and mysteries, especially ancient places.
I walked toward the sect leader's seat, climbed a few steps, and tried sitting in it.
As I sat, I felt extraordinary, amazed at the view in front of me. I imagined many elders bowing to me. "This feeling… is amazing."
While my friend busied himself examining the wall carvings, I slowly got up from the leader's seat and checked the back.
At the back, I found a crack in the wall — seemingly passable. Inside, it was pitch dark; I couldn't see anything.
For a cultivator, the crack Zhu Tian had passed through earlier was nothingness — a void crack.
I walked straight through but couldn't find the end at all. The next moment, from very far away, I was hit by a small cultivator's energy and slowly lost consciousness, my face showing, "What's happening??"
Meanwhile, my friend shouted my name several times but got no response.
"Tian, should we head back first? That kid gets bored easily," my friend said, tired but with a faint mysterious smile.
While I, Tian, was unconscious, I was thrown through the void and landed on this hill.
I — Zhu Tian — didn't understand. At first, I was in a dark space, like I had been hit by something, and suddenly, unconscious, I appeared here. The view was shocking.
I saw a man in ancient clothes, with blue carvings on his garments; his attire looked high-quality.
I looked at his face and was stunned. His skin was pale, almost white; blood stained around his lips. His hair was long and black; his eyes sparkled like stars; his face was handsome.
I, who had been lying down, immediately sat up. "You…?" I couldn't contain my curiosity and blurted out the words.