“Like being stuck between two worlds?”
Hearing Xuan Che’s words, Yu Sheng imdiately felt his heart jump. “Yes, yes! Exactly like that!”
But then he quickly reacted. “Wait—do you actually know sothing about this?”
“I’ve never personally encountered it,” Xuan Che shook his head gently, his tone changing slightly. “But my Great Martial Uncle once told about sothing peculiar he encountered during his youthful journeys. One incident in particular seems similar to what’s happening here in your ho.”
Yu Sheng’s curiosity rose instantly. “Can you tell more?”
Xuan Che paused, recalling carefully. “My Great Martial Uncle traveled widely in his quest for the Dao. One ti, his Celestial Ship malfunctioned, causing him to drift off-course and land on an unknown ‘Desolate Star.’ This planet wasn’t charted anywhere, nor were there navigation markers or signs of civilization nearby. The space around the planet was filled with strange, echoing wails—outsiders called them ‘electromagnetic howls.’ In order to repair his Celestial Ship, my Great Martial Uncle had no choice but to land. And there, he encountered truly bizarre phenona.”
“He described the planet as barren, yet covered in countless massive black stones. Each stone was thousands of ters tall, hundreds of ters wide, resembling mountains shaped like giant stone tablets arranged neatly across the ground. Between these colossal stones were dried riverbeds and cliffs littered with toppled stone columns. Whether upright or collapsed, all these monuntal structures appeared crafted by intelligent hands.”
“He landed on the top of one such giant stone on the shadowed side of the planet. On the second day, he saw a golden-red sun rise from the left side of his Celestial Ship, bright and large as a chariot wheel. But on the third day, he saw… another sun.”
“What? Another sun?” Yu Sheng had been engrossed, but now paused in confusion. “Clarify this—did a second sun appear in the sky, or was the first sun replaced entirely?”
“It was replaced,” Xuan Che slowly explained. “This new sun was orange-red, about the size of a fist from his vantage point, rising also from the left side. That day, this dimr sun hung gloomily in the sky, making the entire planet appear shadowy and bleak.”
“Then, on the fourth day, the bright, golden-red sun returned once more, repeating the cycle indefinitely.”
Yu Sheng stared, speechless. Despite finding it sowhat odd that a Cultivator was discussing such sci-fi phenona so naturally, he could hardly care at the mont. His attention was entirely on those two suns.
“Just to be clear—how many suns were actually around that planet?” he couldn’t help asking.
“Only one,” Xuan Che answered instantly, clearly anticipating the question. “Before landing, Great Martial Uncle had already observed the star system. The golden-red sun was the one visible under normal circumstances.”
“So the other smaller, orange-red sun was…”
“It was also real, but existing in ‘another world,’” Xuan Che continued slowly. “My Great Martial Uncle remained stranded there a long ti, trying to unravel this strange occurrence. Ultimately, he theorized that the planet existed simultaneously in two different worlds, orbiting two different suns which occupied the exact sa position in space. Observing from afar, you’d see only the sun belonging to our side. Yet, standing on the planet itself, you’d experience alternating days, seeing skies from two separate worlds…”
Yu Sheng stood dumbfounded, silent for a long mont before finally nodding to Xuan Che with a subtle expression. “…Your Great Martial Uncle was quite a character.”
“I have imnse respect for my Great Martial Uncle,” Xuan Che replied with a gentle smile, though his expression quickly turned slightly awkward. “But My Esteed Master has always grumbled that Great Martial Uncle spends too much ti wandering around instead of handling matters within the sect… Please don’t ntion this to Master.”
Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched slightly, struggling to adapt to Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain’s rather unique style, but quickly refocused on the issue at hand. “This ‘Desolate Star’ you ntioned—where exactly was it? Has your Great Martial Uncle explored it again?”
“Unfortunately, after Great Martial Uncle left, that star and even its sun seed to vanish entirely,” Xuan Che sighed lightly. “He revisited the coordinates logged by his Celestial Ship several tis, only to find nothing but cold clouds of dust drifting there. He suspected that perhaps the planet had completely fallen to the other side, along with that sun, into the other world. Or perhaps the recorded coordinates were flawed due to the ship’s malfunction… If the latter were true, maybe that world could still be found soday, though the chances seem slim.”
Yu Sheng stayed quiet, walking slowly to the end of the room, reaching out to softly touch the cold, unyielding Mirror.
Xuan Che told a most peculiar tale—a planet caught between two worlds, suns taking turns rising and falling. Such strange wonders seed worlds apart from this small, quiet room. Yet in the smallest details, there was an unsettling similarity:
A place existing simultaneously in two worlds.
[But…is it truly only two worlds?]
Yu Sheng frowned deeply.
He recalled the visions that had appeared in this mirror—not just a snowy cave but also dark ruins cloaked in mist. Among the ruins lay a broken doll with golden hair, scattered in pieces among crumbling walls.
What if each scene reflected in the mirror represented another place overlapping this very room?
Then perhaps this humble room was even stranger than the unnad planet Xuan Che’s Eldest Martial Uncle had described!
Yu Sheng’s thoughts surged, stretching out wildly. Only after a long mont did he manage to gather the scattered threads of his imagination.
Looking up, he saw Xuan Che carefully examining the wall around the mirror, tapping here and there. Occasionally, Xuan Che would pull a talisman from his casual clothes, whisper sothing, and the talisman would ignite, vanishing in ripples, as though testing unseen forces.
Nearby, Irene and Foxy were huddled together, whispering urgently. The two creatures—neither holding even an elentary school diploma—were eagerly analyzing whatever Xuan Che was doing.
The little doll poked Foxy’s fluffy tail. “Look! This is real Cultivation style! Okay, maybe still a bit weird, but definitely way more normal than your stuff.”
“I—I know that stuff too!” Foxy protested, obviously fascinated by Xuan Che’s charms, but unwilling to lose face. “But back ho, we didn’t use such old-fashioned talismans. We mastered Spellcasting Without Talismans…”
“Sounds soulless,” Irene snorted.
Unable to win a verbal duel, Foxy resorted to vigorously slapping Irene’s head with her fluffy tails.
Xuan Che glanced back briefly at the noisy doll and fox, then turned to approach Yu Sheng.
“I’ve carefully inspected every corner of this room,” Xuan Che reported thoughtfully. “Indeed, there are many places defying reason, but as you ntioned, they all seem ‘closed.’ Is there any way to open these ‘fissures’ manually?”
“No,” Yu Sheng shook his head slowly. “At least, I haven’t found a way yet.”
“Then we must rely on fate,” Xuan Che sighed softly. “We can only wait until the ‘doors’ here open again. For now, I cannot uncover more secrets.”
“That’s fine,” Yu Sheng replied with an easy smile. “The story you told already gave plenty to think about. Let’s head back to the living room. I’d love to hear more about Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain.”
“Of course.”
They left the strange room at the end of the corridor. Yu Sheng lingered behind, carefully confirming the door was securely shut before catching up.
Yet after only a few steps, his eyes fell on Irene, the little doll scurrying energetically at his feet.
“Wait—I just rembered sothing important!”
Several pairs of eyes turned toward him simultaneously.
Yu Sheng glanced from Irene to Xuan Che.
Irene Pro Max was desperately short on energy, and Foxy—raised in a cyber-cultivation civilization—had no grasp of ancient cultivation thods. But now, standing right in front of him, was an authentic ancient-style cultivator! Although Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain wasn’t exactly traditional nowadays, they certainly possessed a complete cultivation system. Perhaps they had a way to solve Irene’s energy shortage?
Thinking quickly, Yu Sheng composed himself and faced Xuan Che seriously.
“I need your advice on sothing. Cultivators like you…you absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, right?”
“Of course,” Xuan Che nodded imdiately. “That’s the foundation of all cultivation.”
“Can…can outsiders learn it?” Yu Sheng suddenly worried his blunt question might sound inappropriate. In stories, cultivation secrets often led to bloody conflicts. Hurriedly, he clarified, “Just the very basic techniques…”
“Even advanced techniques are open to outsiders,” Xuan Che replied calmly. “You just have to pass the qualification exams. The basics are even simpler—every major sect has annual enrollnt. Everyone who reaches enrollnt age must sign up. Skipping it is actually illegal.”
“Wait…even people from other worlds can learn?!”
“Of course!” Xuan Che said matter-of-factly. “You just register and pay tuition fees. How far you get depends on your talent. By the way, students from Gipuro usually have exceptional talent.”
Yu Sheng: “…”
A mont later, he slapped his forehead with a resigned sigh.
Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain might not be quite as advanced as Foxy’s howorld, but clearly, they were already walking a similar path of cultivation modernization.
After clearing his throat, Yu Sheng pointed to Irene.
“Here’s the situation—this little one might desperately need your technique for absorbing spiritual energy…”
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