Lucian sat cross-legged on the soft cushion opposite the old man who had introduced himself as the Taixu Mystic Immortal, gratefully accepting the steaming jade cup poured for him.
He took a slow sip.
"Hm..."
The flavor was completely out of this world. The liquid was cool and sweet, and the moment it slid down his throat, the deep mental exhaustion he carried from the trials vanished entirely, leaving his mind crystal clear.
"Indeed, as Xuanling suspected, you are quite odd, and even I am unable to see through your past."
The Taixu Mystic Immortal smiled gently. His ancient eyes seemed to penetrate through the space-time of the secret realm, reviewing the entire sequence of events from the moment Lucian had materialized out of thin air to the way he had completed the trial.
’This is no ordinary fate,’ the Taixu Mystic Immortal thought, studying the youth before him.
Even with his supreme sight, he could not fathom where Lucian had originated from, nor why an unawakened mortal would suddenly appear inside a sealed, forgotten realm.
After making several silent calculations through the heavenly principles, the Founder arrived at his own conclusion.
"So, you want to learn cultivation?"
"Yes, Ancestor!"
Lucian nodded eagerly without a second of hesitation. Recognizing the sect’s ultimate forefather, he used the traditional term of respect he had learned from cultivation lore.
"Though I cannot accept you as my official disciple, you will learn my sect’s techniques and complete the path yourself," the Taixu Mystic Immortal said softly.
He reached across the low table, extending his index finger to tap Lucian’s forehead. A soft, warm light spilled from his fingertip.
In the next instant, an ocean of structured knowledge poured directly into Lucian’s consciousness.
At the core of the inheritance were two foundational manuals: the Eternal Profound Scripture and the Five Elemental Harmonizing Art. Alongside them were complete sets of high-grade auxiliary methods—a fluid movement art, a body tempering technique, and a divine perception skill.
Further in the depths of his mind lay countless secret arts, each safely sealed behind a spiritual lock that would only unravel as his cultivation advanced.
"I am quite saddened though. If your level had been higher, I could have given you insights into the Dao. What a shame..." the Taixu Mystic Immortal sighed, looking genuinely disappointed.
Lucian remained in a brief daze as his sea of consciousness neatly organized the massive influx of wisdom. Once the mental pressure subsided, he immediately pushed himself to his feet, dropped to his knees, and bowed his head low to the ground.
"Thank you for your magnanimity!"
Lucian spoke with absolute sincerity, and the Founder nodded with a warm, approving smile, easily sensing the genuine gratitude in the boy’s voice.
’He is suited for harmonizing arts and this traversal must be a divine ability this child awakened. Is this truly the will of the heavens?’ the Taixu Mystic Immortal wondered.
Was Heaven nudging his old sect to re-enter the world by sending an impossible outsider to his door?
Even so, the old man remained firm in his original conviction. The ancient decree of the sect would not change; the gates of the Boundless Mystery Sect would remain sealed to the outside world.
"Take this," the Taixu Mystic Immortal instructed.
Three items materialized silently over the wooden table: a clean Daoist robe of supple white silk, woven plain without the sect’s celestial insignias; a sword sheathed in a dark scabbard; and a heavy, antique bronze token.
"Though our gates remain closed, you will still be considered an unofficial disciple of the sect," the old man said as both of them finished their tea.
Setting his empty cup down, the Founder looked closely at Lucian, his expression turning solemn.
"And while I do not know how you are planning to go outside, I will plead with you to do me a favor. If you are able to leave, please take Xuanling with you. That child is serving a punishment that everyone else has long forgotten."
Hearing the earnest plea from an immortal figure, Lucian bowed deeply.
"I will try with everything I possess!"
The Taixu Mystic Immortal let out a quiet, wistful sigh.
They were meeting across an impossible gap of time and space, and he could only hope that this young mortal would one day reach the heights required to step into the higher domains.
"If you ever manage to ascend in the future, Xuanling will guide you to a place it knows. Farewell then, child."
The Founder cast one final, affectionate glance through the clouds toward the distant valley where the trembling spirit orb hovered.
Slowly, his physical form dissolved into thousands of shimmering motes of golden light, scattering peacefully into the morning mist.
He was not worried about what may happen in future.
What was bound to happen in the great river of time would happen, whether he intervened or not.
Such was fate.
SWISH!
The clouds twisted around Lucian.
In the very next breath, the mist vanished, and he found himself standing firmly back on the open stone courtyard outside the ancient trial pagoda.
Before he could even draw a breath to check his surroundings, an agitated, glowing white sphere came screaming out of the sky, crashing directly into his face.
– You! What happened after the trials?! You were invisible to my gaze for some time, no—in the first place, how did you even pass the trial?!
Xuanling practically shouted inside his head, spinning wildly inches from his nose now.
Lucian rubbed his forehead where the orb had bumped him.
"Senior, I met the Taixu Mystic Immortal."
– ...???
The glowing sphere froze in the air, pulsing erratically as its spiritual presence short-circuited in pure shock.
It took quite some time for Lucian to sit down and patiently recount everything that had happened from the moment the disciple trials shattered to the tea he had shared with the stone statue which came to life.
***
– Unbelievable... You met my master and were selected as an unofficial disciple? Does such a thing even exist?!
Xuanling buzzed back and forth, completely unable to process the concept of an unofficial disciple.
It was common knowledge that because their sect accepted so few members, the First Sect Master personally inspected everyone, even down to the disciples of later generations. Yet that very same Founder—the creator of the sect’s strictest laws—had bent his own rules to take in an outsider?
Xuanling felt complicated emotions looking at Lucian now. Its stern master had half-broken his own foundational decree just for this strange youth.
– Sigh... What are you planning to do now?
Xuanling floated down to eye level. Though the spirit was immensely relieved that it hadn’t been struck down for committing treason by opening the trials, it also felt a quiet pang of sadness, wishing it could have spoken with its master one last time.
"For now, I am thinking of cultivating until the first realm of cultivation," Lucian replied.
He hadn’t expected this run to yield such an astronomical haul. Now that he possessed complete, supreme techniques and had an ancient mentor-like entity standing beside him, there was zero reason to delay.
– Now I am also curious how you will develop the Eternal Profound Scripture. Did master also give you different auxiliary arts?
Xuanling hummed, its glow softening.
’So is this the basic cultivation technique everyone in the sect cultivates?’ Lucian wondered.
He nodded in affirmation, but he felt slightly confused.
"Senior Xuanling, what do you mean by me developing the scripture?"
– It is exactly as it sounds. The Eternal Profound Scripture lays the foundational framework for your cultivation, but how you develop it in the future is entirely up to you. Depending on how you temper and evolve it, you could become a great saint or a terrifying demon. Our sect has always encouraged disciples to explore and create their own path.
’Self exploration?’
Lucian’s eye twitched slightly at the thought, but he nodded.
In truth, this suited him far better than a rigid, dogmatic method. With his ability to visit different worlds, he could freely incorporate foreign martial systems, magic, and energy structures into the Eternal Profound Scripture, reinforcing and expanding it to an unprecedented level.
Realizing he had a golden opportunity before him, Lucian bowed his head slightly.
"Senior Xuanling, can you watch over my cultivation?"
– Haha! Look at this! Our youngest wants me to be his guardian!
Xuanling’s voice sounded thoroughly delighted, puffing itself up with pride. He even called Lucian now ’our youngest’.
– Sure! Though I am not human, I am exceptionally well-versed in human cultivation techniques!
The orb floated forward, turning toward the central palace on the mountain peak.
– Let’s go to the Sect Master’s cultivation chambers! The spiritual energy there is remarkably dense, and since that old man didn’t even bother saying goodbye to me, we are simply putting a vacant room to good use!
Lucian followed close behind the bobbing sphere with a light chuckle. He certainly wasn’t going to turn down the most suited cultivation retreat in the entire sect.
Walking across the sunlit marble terraces toward the grand palace, and passing through the towering bronze double doors, they soon arrived inside a silent, vast chamber.
The floor was carved from a single slab of dark, polished jade stone. Towering pillars supported the arched ceiling above. Aside from a simple meditation spot resting in the center, the chamber was completely empty.
Xuanling hummed softly, pulsing with azure light.
HUMMM
A hidden spirit-gathering formation carved beneath the floor lit up.
In a fraction of a second, the ambient spiritual energy inside the chamber surged, nearly quadrupling in density until it felt like a cool, gentle mist pressing against Lucian’s skin.
Even as an ordinary mortal, he could physically feel the thick, refreshing weight of the air.
– Alright, sit cross-legged. When I checked you earlier, a lot of your acupoints were blocked and even your meridians were clogged. Though it should be fine after my treatment, you need to now learn to control all these consciously, even your extraordinary vessels. And though your spiritual root is Earth Grade, you should have no problem drawing the surrounding spiritual energy.
Xuanling instructed, hovering down to Lucian’s shoulder, who nodded solemnly at those words.
He climbed onto the raised spot, crossed his legs, and rested his hands loosely over his knees. Taking a slow, measured breath, he closed his eyes and turned his attention inward, searching for the strange, cool energy drifting through the air around him.
Today Lucian took his first official steps on the immortal path.
It was the Vessel Forging & Qi Ignition Realm.