A silent, golden mist enveloped the ancient valley. Ruins stood as if suspended between time and oblivion, and Jun Tian felt something breathe there-an ancient will, dormant beneath the weight of ages.
Broken formations covered the ground, and even in ruins, they issued a powerful energy; runes etched on stones glowed faintly, like dying stars in the firmament.
Yue Lian floated beside him, her luminous eyes reflecting the lines of the matrices.
"This energy…," she whispered. "It's too ancient. Something has touched the threshold of ascension here."
Jun Tian stepped forward. As soon as his presence had entered the center of the formation circle, the inscriptions vibrated, and in an instant, the air became dense as the earth suddenly began to rumble.
A soft sound echoed, like a whisper from another world.
The lines of the formations glowed golden, traversing the ground, rising up the cracked columns and connecting the forgotten symbols. Fragments of stone began to levitate, and before Jun Tian's eyes, a translucent figure slowly emerged.
It was a serene-looking man, with long robes marked by formation symbols that shimmered softly. Though his body was but a wisp of soul, his presence was majestic enough to make the very space tremble.
"I see that someone has finally broken the seal..." said the ethereal, deep, and distant voice. "Thousands of years have passed since a worthy cultivator set foot here."
Jun Tian clasped his hands and bowed respectfully.
"Senior, may I ask... who are you?"
The figure observed him for a moment before replying:
"I was the Master of the Hundred Formations, leader of the ancient Celestial Matrix Sect. This secret realm was our home, our fortress… and, ultimately, our tomb."
As he spoke, the air around him reacted. Cracked walls began to move, revealing ancient inscriptions and images formed by spiritual energy.
In the visions, cultivators erected towers, shaped the space with gigantic formations, and above them, a golden light—the firmament itself—watched them with silent fury.
"We sought true transcendence," the spirit continued. "Not through the worship of the heavens, but through the construction of our own Dao. We wanted to liberate mortals from the imposed cycle… and the result was destruction."
The spirit's voice echoed off the walls, deep as the sound of an ancient bell.
"Heaven fears what it cannot control. It cut off the path of ascension, erased our names, and sealed the continents to contain the remnants of the true Dao."
Yue Lian frowned, his spiritual light flickering.
"So the path to immortality... was interrupted by Heaven itself?"
The spirit nodded slowly.
"Yes. Humanity believes it was destiny, but it was only fear. The fear of the firmament in the face of mortals' potential."
The words fell like blades on Jun Tian's heart.
He remembered his own journey—the invisible barriers that always seemed to rise as he advanced. It all made sense now.
"So… the whole story was fabricated. Cultivation wasn't a gift from heaven, but a prison."
The spirit smiled bitterly.
"You understand quickly, young one. In your body I see the reflection of an ancient will. Perhaps… you are the remaining echo of our interrupted dream."
The figure raised its arm, and the ground beneath Jun Tian's feet began to glow. A hidden array, covered by centuries of dust, revealed itself.
Intricate lines stretched like golden rivers, connecting to symbols that seemed to pulse with the very rhythm of the world.
"This formation," said the spirit, "is an intercontinental teleportation array. Seven continents form this world—each three times larger than the ancient Land of Mortals. They were separated not by distance, but by celestial seals.
Each continent is a prison… and the portal that connects them can only be activated by one who carries the will of the formations."
The spirit's body began to disintegrate into light, like ashes carried by the wind.
— "Go forth, young one. Cross the seas and find the other six continents. Only by uniting the fragments of the world will you understand why Heaven fears the awakening of mortals."
He looked up to the void above just before he disappeared completely and whispered:
— "Ascension is not a gift… it is an achievement wrested by force from destiny."
A sphere of golden light detached itself from the spirit's chest, slowly floated towards Jun Tian, and merged into his body. A seal of light in the form of an ancient rune shone over the cultivator's heart for a few moments, then hid beneath his skin.
There was silence once again.
Yue Lian watched him, her eyes reflecting a pride that was tinged with worrisome concern.
— "You're really going to leave this continent, aren't you?"
Jun Tian took a deep breath and felt the seal pulse along with his own essence.
"If the world was divided into seven parts to hide the truth, then I will traverse them one by one… until the heavens have nowhere left to hide."
Yue Lian smiled, and in an instant, her spirit flower's glow illuminated the ruins.
— "Even trying to escape destiny, you continue to face it head-on."
Jun Tian looked at her serenely.
— "I don't believe in destiny. Only in enough strength to break it."
A gust of wind swept through the valley, and the mist vanished into nothingness. The runes of the ruins faded, and the Secret Kingdom plunged once again into silence.
Yet, from beneath the earth, the ancient matrix pulsed—as if a sleeping heart had somehow started beating again.
And far beyond the edges of that continent, the skies shook a little as if feeling that an ancient flame had again been kindled in the mortal world.