– Why aren’t you answering?
The voice pulsed with terrifying power, and Lucian felt his entire skull ringing like a struck bell.
– Uh... A mortal?
The voice sounded faintly confused. In the next instant, the crushing weight suffocating Lucian evaporated. The glowing sphere drifted lower through the air, hovering inches from his face as it inspected him from head to toe.
A droplet of warm, shimmering golden liquid condensed at the base of the orb, falling onto Lucian’s forehead.
"Ughhh?!"
The stabbing pain in his broken ribs vanished instantly.
A surge of overwhelming, warm pleasure washed through his nerve pathways from head to toe, pushing a thick, foul-smelling black substance out through every pore in his skin, and even healing his ribs.
– What a trashy body. Just how did you manage to live, boy?
A faint pulse rippled outward from the orb. With a light breeze, all the black goo oozing across Lucian’s skin was completely vaporized, leaving his clothes clean and dry.
The moment his senses cleared, Lucian scrambled backward several steps, holding his breath.
– Now answer me, how did you manage to arrive here? And don’t try anything funny. If I wanted, I could crush you in this instance.
The orb spoke once again, its tone firm and authoritative.
Lucian knew the floating spirit wasn’t joking in the slightest, but he didn’t sense any genuine bloodlust or murderous intent coming from it.
Even so, he had no intention of revealing the full truth about his awakening.
"I just touched a mirror and before I knew it I was here."
Technically, he hadn’t lied, and the orb seemed to register the honesty in his tone.
– Hmm... I thought the sect’s defense was broken or someone was scheming. I can’t even see your past properly. What is your name?
"Lucian."
– Lucian? You are not a native of the Cultivation Domain, are you? But you speak the speech well.
Lucian simply nodded in response. Rubbing his arms, he noticed his skin felt remarkably smooth, his cracked ribs were completely mended, and his mind felt refreshed.
"Senior, I want to be a cultivator," Lucian declared his intent without hesitation.
Seeing that the atmosphere in the sect was peaceful and the entity had actually healed him, Lucian decided to take a gamble.
After all, the name The Boundless Mystery Sect sounded noble and ancient.
It didn’t have words like Nether, Demonic, Ghost, or Blood in its title; had that been the case, he would have looked for a way to kill himself and reset immediately, before he himself turned into a Zombie.
– This is a dilemma, boy. It has been thousands of years since the sect was closed off, and even I am confused how you appeared here, not to mention someone can’t simply enter the sect just because they touched a mirror.
"But senior! Please believe me, and I really want to become a cultivator!" Lucian replied without a hint of shame.
Sometimes one had to be shameless enough to get what they wanted.
– This is not even a fated encounter, but it feels good to have someone’s company. Alright, boy, I will accept your request to be a cultivator, but to join the sect you will need to pass the disciple trials.
The orb replied, and judging by its tone, there was a clear note of... pity.
Lucian caught the strange emotion, but chose not to comment.
– Let me check your aptitude first.
The orb drifted forward, passing straight through Lucian’s chest and out his back before floating back into view.
– Sorry, boy, but don’t get your hopes high. You have just Earth Grade Spirit Roots, and even the weakest disciple of my sect had high Heaven Grade Spirit Roots.
"Alright, senior, I won’t get my hopes high, but can you tell me about The Boundless Mystery Sect?"
Lucian noted the assessment.
Though the senior hadn’t clarified whether his roots were Low, Mid, or High Earth Grade, knowing his baseline was already valuable intelligence.
– So you read the name, huh? Judging by your demeanor you likely would have thought about some cultivation related questions before removing your gaze. Your attitude is good considering you didn’t face spirit drain. Had you been greedy, you would have died because of your greed.
"..."
Lucian just stood there blankly. He couldn’t admit that he had literally dropped dead from that damn sectboard!
– Your gaze is strange. Anyways, come with me, and call me Senior Xuanling.
The orb drifted down the stone path, and Lucian followed closely behind.
For a brief second, he had an urge to joke that he was an ’Earthling,’ but he held his tongue, sensing the atmosphere wasn’t right for bad jokes.
– My sect is not like an ordinary sect where lots of disciples and Elders exist. We only have sect masters and their disciples, and my Master, the First Sect Master of the Sect, has stated that after 12 generations we will close the sect.
The orb spoke in a soft, melancholic tone. Lucian listened quietly, careful not to interrupt it.
Ahead of them, two towering cliff faces parted like sliding doors, revealing a breathtaking valley palace nestled among nature. Rainbows arched over crystal waterfalls, vibrant colored soils lined the terraces, and rare, fragrant flowers bloomed alongside miniature trees.
The entire landscape was arranged so harmoniously that anyone looking upon it felt an immediate sense of tranquil peace.
– And as the name suggests, we are a sect which pursues the study of the boundless mystery of the heavens in myriad ways. Just like how each moment differs, so does the mystery of the heavens, but ultimately it is up to the observer what they make of the things shown in front of it.
"So does that mean we can make anything we want of the heavens?"
– You are right yet wrong, and I won’t answer this question of yours. It is for you to find.
By the time the explanation ended, they were standing before the massive doors of an ancient palace. A ripple of spiritual energy pulsed from the orb, and an antique bronze token materialized, hovering in the air.
– You will die if you fail the trials. Are you still willing? If not, just say so and I will make you a residence here till the end of your life.
Senior Xuanling warned him. Even though the orb possessed no eyes, Lucian felt its invisible gaze weighing heavily upon him.
"I won’t back away from my words, Senior Xuanling. I want to become a Cultivator," Lucian replied firmly.
– ...
The orb fell silent for a long moment before releasing a quiet, wistful sigh.
– A man should have this much conviction in his words. Alright, I will fulfill my word.
The floating token flashed with bright azure light. In the distance, an enormous pagoda began to rumble, stirring from long years of deep slumber.
A beam of radiant light descended directly over Lucian. In the next instant, he vanished into thin air.
– ...
The orb hovered alone in the quiet clearing, staring at the empty place where the boy had stood.
– What a pity for him to choose this path. Can’t he just live his life normally?
Xuanling had finally found someone to talk to after countless centuries of solitude, and now the youth had charged straight into the trials.
– It can’t be helped. This place is isolated and there is no way to go back. Should I stop the trial?
The orb had a selfish reason for hesitating.
It had been so long since it had a companion to converse with, and it had no idea when—or if—the Sect Master would ever return to retrieve it.
Xuanling had quietly hoped to keep Lucian company, chatting with the boy until he grew old, before sinking back into eternal slumber.
Even though Xuanling knew the mortal would almost certainly fail, Xuanling activating the disciple trials was technically an act of treason against sect law.
The sect had officially closed its doors when the 12th Sect Master ascended to the Immortal Realm.
– Let’s just watch him for now.
After all, the trial wouldn’t actually kill Lucian; Xuanling had secretly modified the array’s lethal backlash beforehand.
Would the boy harbor resentment upon discovering that he had only survived the deadly trial through Xuanling’s pity?
The spirit simply hoped Lucian wouldn’t be angry with it.
Above all else, it just wanted someone to talk... just like the old times.
***
Lucian materialized amidst drifting white clouds. Some distance ahead, a colossal stone gate stood tall, radiating wisps of cool immortal mist.
Instantly, basic knowledge regarding the trial surfaced in his mind.
’So I first need to cross that gate before even starting the real trial.’
Lucian figured this was an initial filter designed to weed out the weak from the strong. Fortunately, the trial seemed to adjust its difficulty according to the challenger’s own baseline strength.
Looking down at his feet, he noticed a small creature on the path.
"You are the one I need to cross with," Lucian said.
Resting there was a small, fist-sized turtle with a gleaming golden shell, crawling forward at an agonizingly slow pace toward the distant gate.
’It will take a day or two like this.’
The trial condition was rather odd; Lucian had to finish second in a race between the turtle and himself.
Being completely new to cultivation customs, Lucian didn’t bother following the unspoken etiquette of traditional cultivators.
Instead of sprinting ahead to prove his superiority, or sitting down to wait for the turtle to cross to display his deep respect for the sect and patience, he did something unthinkable for a cultivator.
He leaned down, scooped up the golden turtle in one hand, and began sprinting flat out toward the gate.
– Haha! Look at this guy!
Watching through the trial mirror, Xuanling was genuinely convinced something was wrong with the boy’s head.
Given the chance to enter a supreme immortal sect, anyone—even a sheltered child—would follow the rules of the trial with trembling reverence.
That was the established norm.
– Should I call this the Bliss of Ignorance?
In truth, this preliminary trial was meant to strip away a cultivator’s cultivation and special abilities.
The challenger was supposed to march forward until their spirit was thoroughly drained, enduring hunger, thirst, and physical agony until they crawled across on the verge of death.
Only near the very end was the golden turtle supposed to cross the gate. The distance Lucian thought would take two days would normally drag on for twenty grueling days.
– The weakest who took this trial was a Domain Sovereign Cultivator. Is this because he is a mortal, with no fear of punishment?
Xuanling watched in pure disbelief as Lucian carried the golden turtle all the way to the threshold. Stopping just an inch before the boundary, Lucian gently set the creature down on the stone.
The golden turtle crawled across the line first.
Lucian stepped across immediately after it.
A brilliant pillar of light flashed before his eyes, swallowing him whole as he was transported into the real trial.
Watching the light fade, Xuanling’s voice turned quiet and solemn.
– But will he be able to conquer the fragility of mortalhood, the struggle of cultivation, and the omnipotence of immortalhood?