He Yu stood before the one claiming to be Patriarch Sun Lei of the Cloud Dragon Valley Sect, and felt nothing. No whisper of qi, no spiritual weight of an expert’s presence. Nothing. To call it unnerving would be an understatement. He had no reason to doubt this being’s words, even if he didn’t truly know what kind of being it was. Even if he had his suspicions. The only other time He Yu had felt such a lack of spiritual weight was during his first meeting with Elder Cai’s projection. Although he dared not confirm with the Peerless Judgment, something told him this wasn’t quite the same.

  Could this expert just be so far beyond him that he couldn’t even sense his qi? Surely not. He’d felt the overwhelming spiritual weight of the battle over the Shrouded Peaks Sect, hadn’t he? He didn’t see any reason that an expert beyond the level of Elder Cai or Jin Xifeng should suddenly have no detectable presence. Especially not when an expert’s presence only grew with their advancement, and everything he knew about cultivation said that one’s spiritual weight only increased with advancement.

  He glanced up at Sun Lei’s horns, then at his eyes. At the amber irises, the slit pupils, and black sclera. The beard, and his long, prominent eyebrows. Maybe that explained it. He Yu knew well that even with his advancement, his knowledge of the various creatures that moved within the world of cultivation was woefully limited.

  The Patriarch made a show of examining his fingernails as he lounged on the pavilion roof, revealing ridges on the back of his knuckles that looked suspiciously like scales. After a moment, he returned his attention to He Yu and the others.

  “Well?” he asked. “Are you going to answer me, or are we going to simply stare at one another? I can go either way, mind you. I’m in no hurry.”

  He Yu swallowed down the nervous lump in his throat, then bowed over a salute. “This one is called He Yu. I have come here with my friends to train.”

  “So you have,” Sun Lei said. “What about my sect? Where are they?”

  “This place was abandoned when we found it,” He Yu said. Probably best that they told Sun Lei the truth. “It appears to have been abandoned for quite some time.”

  “It does, doesn’t it?” Sun Lei shifted his attention to Tan Xiaoling. “You bear the touch of the Golden Tiger,” he said.

  He Yu fought down a spike of worry at those words—he hadn’t forgotten what Tan Xiaoling had said about why a place like this might be abandoned. He hoped the Cloud Dragon Valley Sect had moved to the capital of their own accord, rather than falling at the hands of the Tan during their rise to power.

  Befitting her station and her pride, Tan Xiaoling lifted her chin. “I do,” she said. “I am Tan Xiaoling, daughter of Tan Zihao, princess of the Jade Kingdom, and the rightful heir to my father’s throne.”

  “Impressive,” said Sun Lei, clearly unimpressed. “I haven’t the slightest idea of who that is. I recall something about a Jade Kingdom somewhere in these mountains, but that was a long time ago, and I’ve been rather occupied since.”

  “If I may,” Chen Fei said, her voice uncertain as she bowed over a salute. “But what is this place?”

  “Where are you manners? I know you must think yourself mighty, having reached Nascent Soul at such a young age. Haven’t even seen a full sixty-year cycle yet, after all. Good work. Introduce yourself properly.”

  “Apologies. This one is called Chen Fei.”

  “Better. And the rest of you?” Sun Lei looked to Li Heng and Yan Shirong, who both introduced themselves in turn. “Good. Now that we’ve gotten the formalities out of the way. You said you found this place abandoned? I’m inclined to believe you. A battle involving even one of you wouldn’t have left much to speak of in this valley, let alone all five. Then there would have been the experts of my sect. No, clearly they just forgot about me. I’ve been gone an awfully long time, you see.”

  Sun Lei’s expression grew pensive as he drummed his fingers on his thigh. He Yu’s discomfort returned, then grew with each passing minute. The others were just as caught out as he was. Nobody wanted to be the first to speak, as Sun Lei was clearly a powerful expert. Despite the utter absence of any presence around him, he’d correctly identified that all five of them were at the Nascent Soul level. He Yu certainly hadn’t felt the touch of a perception technique, and he doubted that any of the others had either. It would probably be safest not to antagonize the patriarch.

  “Alright,” Sun Lei said after some time, abruptly breaking the uncomfortable silence that had descended over the plaza. “I’ve just about made up my mind. Tell me, what are your training for? Besides the obvious, that is. You want to advance, defy the heavens and all that.” His mood shifted then, and he fixed each of them with an intent stare. “Why do you want to grow stronger? What drives you? What is your purpose?”

  There was a weight to the questions. If one thing was clear, they would have to choose their answers carefully. As He Yu turned Sun Lei’s question over, searching for the best way to answer, Tan Xiaoling stepped forward.

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  “My uncle, Tan Qingsheng, challenges my right to the Jade Kingdom. He currently stands in the early Soul Refining stage. I cannot defeat him as I am now.”

  Sun Lei inclined his head, but said nothing. He simply waited and looked between the other four.

  Li Heng spoke next. “I seek to honor my father and my grandfather. To become the man they expect of me, and a worthy heir to the name of the Li.”

  “I seek ever greater knowledge,” Yan Shirong said simply.

  Chen Fei lifted her chin. “I seek the strength to support those I care for.”

  Patriarch Sun Lei looked almost sad for a moment when she said that, but it passed so quickly that He Yu could have just imagined it. Finally, the patriarch turned his attention to He Yu.

  “I seek to topple Jin Xifeng. I seek deeds worthy of a hero, of stories that will be told for a thousand years. To ascend the nine realms of cultivation, and to become a legend in truth.” As he spoke, something stirred within his spirit. His Wayborn seed. From the seed, a spiritual connection snapped into place, and for the briefest moment, he once again glimpsed the fullness of his Dao. The Dao of Heroism.

  “I see,” Sun Lei said. He slipped down from the tiled pavilion roof, landing lightly. “Well, my sect is gone. Whether destroyed or abandoned, it matters little, I suppose. You are here, and they are not.” He waved a hand towards the pavilion. The formation characters on the four columns still glowed a vibrant gold. For the first time, He Yu noticed the moon still hung directly overhead, though it felt they’d been here far too long for that to be the case.

  “For one thousand years I have secluded myself, cultivating to the peak of the Eighth Realm. I have yet failed to step into the Heavenly True Immortal stage. That has not stopped me from learning many secrets and insights into the Eternal Dao. The secret realm below opens only once every thousand years. I had intended to return and share this opportunity with my sect. It seems a thousand years was a touch too long for them to wait or endure. A shame to waste all my preparations.

  “I offer the five of you this. Descend the stair. Enter the sealed realm below while you have the opportunity. Take what knowledge and insights you can from it. Just know that should you linger, you won’t be able to leave until the seal opens again.”

  They each looked at one another, none of them able to speak. A secret realm offered by a peak Divine Soul Apotheosis expert? As far as He Yu was concerned, it was no question. The risks be damned. Whatever the realm held, surely it could only be of benefit. He took a step forward.

  The others followed. It seemed they were all in agreement—this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  Sun Lei cracked a smile. “Descend the stairs to the cave below. I trust you’ll figure out what to do from there.” Then he looked to each of them in turn. Each of them, except He Yu. “Good luck,” he said. “You’ll need it.” With that, he leaped back up onto the pavilion roof, assumed a cultivation position, and closed his eyes.

  Undeterred, He Yu marched forward. The stairway twisted around itself, descending into the dark beneath the carved jade pavilion. From below, he could sense the flows of qi, powerful and abundant. A product of the sealed realm Sun Lei had granted them access to, no doubt. As he descended the stair, he couldn’t help but wonder about the patriarch’s last words. Why had Sun Lei looked at everyone except him before wishing them good luck? That he’d added they would need it wasn’t ominous at all.

  The stairway descended into a cave. Carved statues of red jade stood in alcoves cut into the walls. Formation scripts inlaid with spirit stones covered the walls and the floor, casting a pale glow over the whole chamber. At the far end, a door.

  Crafted of thick, solid wood from an undeniably ancient tree and bound in bronze, the door sat closed, dark, and silent. Oddly so—sound seemed to die within this cavern. The whisper of fabric, the shuffle of their feet against the stone floor, all of it muted in a way that it shouldn’t have been. With his advancement, He Yu’s ears had only become sharper, but this was almost like they’d now been stuffed with cotton.

  Formation characters crawled across the wood and the bronze of the door. Unlike the floor, these were dark, lacking the inlay of spirit stone. Likely a separate script then, at least in He Yu’s limited knowledge of such things.

  He Yu took a step toward the door. The chamber was small enough that it would only take a few strides to cross in full. Each of his steps caused the script on the floor to flicker with his footfalls. Once he’d reached the door, he turned. The others followed, each one of them showing various degrees of apprehension.

  “Remember,” Sun Lei called down from above. “Complete the challenges within my realm before the formation seals once again. Otherwise, you won’t be able to leave until it reopens. You won’t have any way to tell how long you have once you’re in, so you’d best hurry. Last chance to turn around.”

  “What if we can’t make it out in time?” Chen Fei asked.

  He Yu stopped with his hand raised halfway to the door. They had absolutely no idea what lay beyond. For all they knew, this could be some sort of trap, and the formation would seal behind them the instant they entered. Then again, He Yu didn’t know why someone like Sun Lie would need to trick them. He was pretty certain the Cloud Dragon Valley Sect’s patriarch could just take anything he wanted. Five to one advantage be damned.

  “Then we stay in there for a thousand years,” he said. “Nobody has to enter, but I’m going in.”

  Tan Xiaoling stepped up next to him. “If this will help me claim what’s mine, I’ll take the risk,” she said.

  Li Heng joined them, although he was noticeably less certain than Tan Xiaoling. Rather than speak, he gave He Yu a curt nod.

  Chen Fei joined them next, squaring her shoulders and staring firmly ahead. Like Li Heng, she said nothing.

  “I suppose there’s really no point in staying out,” Yan Shirong said. “Besides, the curiosity would eat me alive, and I wouldn’t know what to do if you all got stuck in there. I certainly wouldn’t wait around for you to get yourselves out.”

  He Yu let go the tension in his shoulders. For a moment, he remembered those early visions where he stood solitary on a lonely peak. Powerful, but with nobody to join him. “Thanks,” he whispered as he placed his hand on the bronze bound door.

  He sent a pulse of qi through his palm, and into the formation. A bright blue-white light filled his vision, and then black nothingness crashed over him.