The sky changed first.
It wasn't sudden.
Not a crack of thunder or a violent shift.
Just… a distortion.
Barely visible, high above the Ashen Ridge Sect, space itself seemed to ripple, like a reflection disturbed by something beneath its surface. No ordinary disciple noticed it. Even most elders continued their routines, unaware of what was forming.
But Lin Mo and Shi Yue felt it instantly.
They were standing within the inner grounds when it began.
Both looked up at the same moment.
"…It's here," Shi Yue said quietly.
Lin Mo didn't respond.
Because he already knew.
—
The ripple deepened.
What was once subtle became undeniable. The sky above the sect warped, folding inward toward a single point. The air grew heavy, not with pressure, but with presence—ancient, distant, and completely beyond anything this world could produce.
Elders began to notice.
Then panic spread.
"What is that—"
"Formation?"
"No… this isn't ours…"
Even the Sect Master stepped forward, his expression tightening as he looked upward, his instincts screaming something he could not fully comprehend.
Then—
it opened.
Not like a tear.
Not like a portal.
But like space itself… parted.
A vast darkness revealed beyond it.
Not empty.
Not silent.
But deep.
Endless.
—
From within it, something descended.
Not a person.
Not fully.
A projection.
A figure cloaked in indistinct presence, its form unstable, as if it did not fully belong to this world. Its gaze swept across the entire sect in a single motion.
Everything stopped.
Disciples froze.
Elders held their breath.
Even the Sect Master did not speak.
Because instinct told them—
this was not something they could oppose.
—
The figure spoke.
Its voice was calm.
Yet it echoed across the entire sect without effort.
"Lower World."
Not an insult.
Not praise.
Just classification.
Its gaze paused briefly.
Then shifted.
Directly toward Lin Mo.
Then—
Shi Yue.
A fraction longer.
—
"Two have reached the threshold."
The words carried no emotion.
Only certainty.
—
Lin Mo stepped forward.
No hesitation.
Shi Yue followed.
The rest of the sect watched in silence, unable to move, unable to interfere.
—
"What lies beyond?" Lin Mo asked.
The figure looked at him.
"…Continuation."
A pause.
Then—
"Selection."
—
The space behind it shifted.
Within the darkness, faint structures could be seen.
Ruins.
Halls.
Fragments of something vast and ancient.
Countless presences.
Each one… heavier than anything in this world.
—
"The Slumbering Void Sect begins recruitment."
The words fell like a statement of fact.
Not invitation.
Not offer.
—
"Those who qualify… ascend."
—
The pressure increased.
Not forcefully.
But undeniably.
As if the world itself was being measured—and found insufficient.
—
Shi Yue's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…What is required?"
The figure's form flickered faintly.
"Survive."
—
Silence followed.
—
Lin Mo stepped forward again.
"…Then we ascend."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
—
Behind them, the Sect Master finally spoke.
"Wait—"
His voice carried urgency now, though restrained.
"You leave… and you may never return."
—
Lin Mo didn't turn.
"…There is nothing left here."
—
It wasn't arrogance.
It was truth.
—
Shi Yue glanced once toward the sect.
Not with attachment.
But acknowledgment.
Then she stepped forward.
—
Lin An'an moved immediately after them.
No fear.
No hesitation.
—
The figure observed her briefly.
Its gaze lingered.
For a moment longer than necessary.
But it said nothing.
—
"Then ascend."
—
The space opened further.
Not pulling.
Not forcing.
Simply allowing.
—
Lin Mo stepped into it first.
The moment he crossed—
his presence vanished from the world.
—
Shi Yue followed.
Then An'an.
—
And just like that—
they were gone.
—
The sky closed.
The pressure disappeared.
The world returned to normal.
—
But nothing was the same.
—
Far beyond the lower world—
within the depths of something ancient—
three figures emerged.
—
And somewhere, deep within that vast expanse—
something watched.
—
With interest.