"Long'er, this is a tale from long, long ago... nearly three hundred years have passed since that day. Back then, I was a cultivator far younger, more agile, and burning with the reckless ambition of youth. I wandered the farthest reaches of the continent, chasing rumors of rare herbs and lost opportunities. In my travels, I stumbled upon a secluded, untouched sanctuary. The silence there was so profound that even the rustle of the wind sounded like a divine melody. I deemed it perfect for my seclusion and remained there in peace for days."
Elder Wang Shen's eyes drifted into the distance, as if he were dragging the gears of time back three centuries, witnessing the events unfold before his very eyes as if they were alive.
He continued, "Alas, my peace was short-lived. One day, the heavens above that sanctuary tore asunder. A terrifying portal manifested in the void, and the Spiritual Energy pouring from it was so torrential that the earth itself trembled in fear. It was no natural fluctuation, my child. From the heart of that portal, pure Demonic Qi and absolute Godly Qi surged out simultaneously, churning together in a violent dance. The energy was so ancient and sovereign that a common cultivator would have been crushed instantly. Yes, Long'er... that was no mere realm; it was a true 'Sacred Realm'!"
Wang Long felt his skin crawl. He clenched his fists, leaning in, his voice urgent, "Tell me what happened next, Father! When you entered that portal, what did you behold?"
Wang Shen nodded, his voice dropping to a somber, heavy bass. "When I risked my life to cross the threshold, the sight that met my eyes nearly extinguished my soul. Every corner of that place was so ethereal and breathtakingly beautiful, as if carved by the very hands of the Supreme Gods of the universe. Yet, paradoxically, woven into that divinity were bizarre, sinister structures—unequivocal signs that powerful Demons had left their mark there."
The old Elder took a deep breath, his chest heaving. "But even the artifacts of the Demons were beautiful, balanced, and beyond comprehension. A single question tormented my mind: How could a God and a Demon—two fundamentally opposing, bitter enemies—coexist to craft such a magnificent, unimaginable landscape? It was there that the energies of Heaven and Hell were bound in an unbreakable, aesthetic harmony. Hence, I christened that mysterious domain the 'Sacred Realm'."
Wang Long was utterly mesmerized. He stepped closer, whispering, "Truly... it is unfathomable. A place where the powers of Gods and Demons reside in such grace... what occurred after?"
Elder Wang Shen stroked his white beard, the glint of greed and terror once again surfacing in his eyes. "Long'er, as I ventured deeper into the Sacred Realm, I discovered a vast, ethereal pond. The marvel of this pond was that two distinct waters flowed within it—side by side—yet never mixing, each maintaining its own identity. One half released a deep, abyssal, dark purple aura, echoing with the shrieks of Demonic power. The other half shone with a pure, brilliant Gold, radiating divine celestial light."
Wang Shen sighed coldly. "I was young, and a ravenous hunger for cultivation power consumed me. When I felt the boundless energy surging from the golden water, I could not restrain myself. I cupped my hands and drank. As that divine nectar slid down my throat, a cataclysmic explosion occurred within my meridians—a transformation I had never dared to dream of!"
"What happened, Father?! How much did your level advance?" Wang Long asked, holding his breath.
A twisted pride shone in Wang Shen's eyes. "Before that draught, I was merely at the 'Peak Stage' of the Spiritual Ring. In this barren territory, cultivators spend decades struggling to transcend that bottleneck. But the moment I consumed that water, every law of cultivation shattered! My cultivation base surged, bypassing all barriers, landing directly at the 'Peak Stage' of Body Integration! To break through so many major stages in a single heartbeat was nothing short of a miracle."
He continued, "With such boundless power, my greed became insatiable. I drank like a madman... and as I consumed more, my power soared, my physical form hardening like tempered diamond. Then, my eyes drifted to the other half of the pond, where the Dark Purple water released its enigmatic aura. Drunk on power, I thought—if the golden water could elevate me thus, why not consume the purple? Perhaps, by merging both, I could become the most powerful being in this universe!"
Wang Long asked nervously, "And did you drink the black water, Father?"
"No, Long'er... whether by fate or misfortune, I did not," Wang Shen replied, staring at his trembling hands. "As I reached for the dark purple water, my most cherished sword—the soul of my cultivation—brushed the surface. The moment the water touched the blade, my sacred weapon morphed instantly. The metal turned obsidian, erupting with crimson and violet flames, becoming a cruel, bloodthirsty 'Demonic Weapon.' I trembled in fear. That was when I realized the truth: one half was the water of Gods, the other, pure Demonic essence!"
The Elder paused, the air in the chamber growing thick with the weight of his trauma.
"But then, my eyes locked onto the center of the pond," Wang Shen's voice turned thin and fragile. "There, where the Gold and Purple clashed, bloomed a colossal, wondrous lotus! It was no common flower. Half its petals were golden, half were jet black. It emitted both ferocious Demonic power and infinite Godly power simultaneously. I was blinded by avarice. I believed this lotus was the supreme treasure of the entire Secret Realm. If I could possess it, I could challenge the very Gods of the cultivation world!"
Regret washed over Wang Shen's face. "I was so blinded that I was about to step into the pond... but before my foot could break the surface, a terrifying, massive, and unimaginable form emerged from the depths! It gripped my entire body in an instant. It was no physical man; it was a 'Spiritual Hand' of a peerless entity. Its grip was so devastating that my Body Integration Peak Stage power proved no stronger than a blade of grass."
"Who was it, Father?!" Wang Long cried out.
Wang Shen closed his eyes, as if feeling the phantom pressure of that giant hand. "It was the Guardian of that Secret Realm. The pressure emanating from its form was so suffocating I thought I would perish. The Guardian spoke, its voice a booming, terrifying roar: 'You mortal insect! What business have you in this forbidden sanctum? A pathetic creature such as you has no right to step foot in my holy domain!' "
The old Elder sighed. "The warrior within me flared. I poured my full Body Integration might into a counter-attack. A battle ensued, but it was no battle, Long'er. It was a one-sided slaughter. That Guardian was so overwhelmingly powerful, so infinite and invincible, that my entire life's cultivation could not scratch it. It swatted my attacks aside like dust. Yet, it did not take my life. It plucked me up like a stray reed and cast me into the deepest, darkest dungeon of that Secret Realm. For nearly a thousand years... I remained there, chained in the dark, in solitary confinement!"
As the words 'one thousand years of imprisonment' left the old man's lips, City Lord Wang Long's sense of reality shattered. He stood frozen, shocked, his mind reeling in a whirlpool of disbelief. His body began to quake, and he stared at his father's face with wide, wild eyes, screaming:
"What!!! Father, what are you saying?! My mind cannot process this! At the start of this tale, you clearly stated that this happened only three hundred years ago, when you were a youth! How could that Guardian hold you captive for one thousand years within a event that occurred only three hundred years ago?! How can a human stay imprisoned for a millennium in an event from three centuries past?! Is this a paradox of the Great Cycle of Time? Is your memory failing, or does time flow differently in that wretched place?!"
Wang Long was utterly bewildered, his mind unable to solve the maddening riddle of his father's words.