A gentle wind drifted through the ruins, brushing against Mu Chen's body as he lay on the ground. The surroundings had changed completely. There were no god statues, no damp cave walls.
There was only an ancient altar, surrounded by a flow of clear blue water that gave off a calming presence. Torches burned in a circle around it, the kind of flame that would never go out.
COUGH!
Mu Chen woke as dust drifted into the air and accidentally entered his lungs. He slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself up, his strength still weak.
Where… am I?
"Yunxi? Chen Wei? Gu Yan?!"
He stood up, clutching his chest. The pain was still there, but compared to before, it was no longer unbearable.
The smell of damp stone filled his nose. The ground beneath him was solid rock shaped like an altar, without any cracks. The air was colder, but not enough to make him shiver.
Mu Chen kept calling out to his three companions, the archaeologists who had been sucked into the mysterious golden cauldron.
There was no response.
What had happened to him made him suspicious of everything. Could all of this be tied to his fate… and the necklace left behind by his grandfather?
I need to figure out where I am.
Mu Chen stepped away from the altar, carefully maintaining his condition. He couldn't exhaust himself, nor could he get too excited.
Right now, he was in an unstable situation. Death could come at any moment. He had to conserve his energy.
He moved along the wall, which felt damp and cold. With his helmet still on, Mu Chen tried to reconnect his signal with Nan Yue, but it failed.
He was slightly surprised when he saw the oxygen parameters displayed on his helmet's glass. The suit automatically analyzed the air, giving instant feedback on whether it was safe to breathe.
"The air… ten times better than Earth's average?"
That clearly meant the air here was clean, pure, and fresh. There was no need to worry about taking off his helmet.
To confirm it, Mu Chen took a deep breath and carefully removed his helmet. It detached smoothly from his suit, and he was able to breathe freely.
This place is better than I expected.
He didn't stop there. He removed the rest of his protective suit, leaving himself in black pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and a vest.
His attention returned to the carvings on the wall. The script was far more complex than he had expected.
He looked around and noticed a door with the same size and shape as the chamber with the three statues earlier.
Mu Chen walked over and searched for the mechanism. But the moment his fingers touched the surface, a golden light appeared, illuminating the carvings.
Within seconds, the door opened on its own, revealing a long corridor with a ceiling about ten meters high.
This corridor… it must lead outside!
Mu Chen didn't want to waste time. He quickly walked into the corridor, unaware that something was watching him from the darkness above.
When he had only made it halfway through, a massive black creature suddenly appeared. It had red eyes and a humanoid shape, but stood nearly three meters tall.
"M-Monster?!"
The creature, filled with a dark aura, lunged at him.
Mu Chen jumped back and barely avoided the attack, but doubt filled his mind.
"How am I supposed to fight this?"
In that moment of hesitation, the golden cauldron suddenly appeared in his palm. It was only the size of his hand, but it still radiated a powerful golden aura.
"Use this? How am I supposed to beat it with a cauldron?"
The only thing he could think of was throwing it.
Mu Chen hurled the golden cauldron forward. To his shock, it expanded to its full size midair and slammed into the monster, sending it flying backward.
He froze in place. He never expected that the thing that had tortured him would now save him.
The cauldron returned to his hand like a boomerang.
The monster stood up again.
Without hesitation, Mu Chen threw it once more.
Again and again, he attacked until the monster finally died, collapsing into ash before disappearing completely.
I've used it so many times… but there's not even a scratch.
With the golden cauldron in hand, Mu Chen no longer felt as worried about his safety. With just a thought, he could summon it whenever he wanted.
He moved forward again, eventually breaking into a run as he adapted to the pain in his chest.
He encountered smaller monsters along the way, similar in form. Each time, he threw the cauldron and defeated them.
Again, not a single mark appeared on its surface.
Mu Chen began to realize something was strange about the golden cauldron.
He kept running until he saw a group of people approaching from the same corridor. He immediately hid.
They were the first humans he had seen since arriving in this mysterious place.
"Wait!"
A woman in white and silver sect robes stopped walking, followed by ten others behind her.
"What is it, Senior Wang Yue?" one of them asked.
She activated her qi and looked forward with her cultivation vision. What she saw shocked her.
There was someone hiding ahead… and his body was emitting a faint white-gold glow.
"A white-gold qi aura?"
"You!" Wang Yue called out. "The one hiding there, come out!"
Mu Chen was startled. He was certain he had hidden himself well, so how had they found him?
Slowly, he stepped out, raising both hands instinctively.
Several of Wang Yue's companions reacted immediately, drawing their weapons.
Mu Chen froze. He saw swords, qi auras, and strange robes with feathered ornaments on their shoulders. They looked like people in cosplay.
What the hell are they?
"Stop," Wang Yue said.
Mu Chen stopped moving.
She stepped forward, signaling her group to stay alert.
"I've never seen clothing like yours. Which sect are you from? What is your cultivation level?"
Sect? Cultivation? Is this really a xianxia world?
"I don't belong to any sect."
"So you're a wandering cultivator?"
"You have strange taste in clothing, fellow Daoist," Wang Yue said.
Mu Chen stayed silent and nodded. He didn't know how to respond.
It was better not to say too much if he wanted to stay alive.
From what he had read, the xianxia world was one where honor and status were determined by strength. Compared to them, he was far weaker.
The best choice was to not stand out.
"This place is the most dangerous area in the entire Yangguan Continent. I suggest you leave immediately for your own sake."
Mu Chen cupped his fists and bowed, "Thank you for the advice, fellow Daoist."
Wang Yue and her group quickly ran deeper into the ruins, while Mu Chen headed toward the exit.
A bright light shone at the end of the corridor.
He stepped outside.
And froze.
In front of him were countless cultivators, wearing three different sect uniforms: white and silver, dark blue, and bright red.
There were hundreds on the ground, and dozens floating in the air.
Even more shocking, a small palace floated above them, guarded by many cultivators.
"Who are you?! Which sect are you from?!" shouted one of the red-robed cultivators.
All eyes turned toward Mu Chen.
Their gazes were sharp, like predators watching prey.
Mu Chen stiffened. He couldn't speak, as if his mouth had been sealed. One wrong word could cost him his life.
A woman seated on a throne within the floating palace noticed something.
A faint surge of energy caught her attention. It felt familiar, as if it was connected to her own lineage.
She stood up.
Everyone in her sect lowered their heads.
She walked to the edge of the palace, her long black hair flowing, her face flawless and beautiful.
Her golden eyes fixed on Mu Chen, filled with confusion. From her perspective, his body emitted a white-gold qi.
Other cultivators from different palaces noticed her reaction.
One of them shouted, accusing Mu Chen of being from a demonic sect due to his strange appearance.
Mu Chen turned in shock.
In the next moment, they formed hand seals and launched their attacks.
BOOM!
Flames exploded, sending smoke into the air.
They thought he was dead. But he wasn't.
Mu Chen trembled, but four massive swords appeared around him, protecting him from all sides.
That was not his power. Everyone here knew whose power it was.
Su Qingyue stretched her hand, protecting Mu Chen.
Her gaze turned cold as she released her cultivation pressure, pressing down on the Hongyan Sect cultivators.
"No one is allowed to hurt him!"
A man neutralized the pressure and looked at her, "What makes him so valuable to you, Grand Sect Master Su Qingyue?"
"That's none of your concern."
She extended her hand again, grabbing Mu Chen with a projection of white qi and pulling him up into her palace.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Mu… Chen."
Her eyes sharpened. She stepped forward gracefully and touched his forehead with her qi.
Her eyes closed.
Mu Chen felt nothing.
Then, within seconds, a burst of golden light erupted from his body.
Everyone was shocked.
This is bad.
"What? Pure golden qi?!"
Su Qingyue stopped and released him. She reached out, gently touching his cheek and chin.
"Finally… I've found you, Mu Chen."
What does she mean?
"You are now my personal disciple of the Tianyin Sect."
"But I don't intend to—"
THUD!
Mu Chen dropped to his knees as a crushing pressure slammed onto his body, even standing became difficult.
He coughed up blood, the pain in his chest intensifying. He lifted his head and glared at Su Qingyue.
She walked toward him, "You are mine. If I can't have you, no one else can!"