The instant Liu Chen stepped into the secret space, a gust of ancient wind brushed past him. The air felt heavy, dry, and dead. As far as his eyes could see, the sky was dark and cloudless, casting a gloomy shade over a vast and desolate wasteland. The ground beneath his feet was cracked like shattered glass, revealing faint golden lines and scorch marks—signs of an ancient war that had once torn this land apart.
Towering skeletal remains of long-forgotten beasts and broken weapons buried half in the earth whispered of battles that should never have been forgotten. The sky itself seemed to mourn, painted in hues of dusky purple and crimson. The silence was so heavy it felt like the land itself had held its breath for countless ages.
"So this is the secret space everyone is fighting over," Liu Chen murmured with narrowed eyes. "Not much to look at, but this place reeks of something ancient."
He carried himself with a straight back and an arrogant glint in his eyes. Dressed in gold-trimmed black robes that fluttered slightly in the wind, his presence made even the scattered low-level cultivators in the distance instinctively avoid his path. His aura was faint, but the way he moved—with calm confidence and piercing perception—declared he wasn't someone to provoke.
Only cultivators at the Lord Realm could fly in this realm, due to some spatial suppression. Most others were running, leaping between crumbling stones or using short-range escape techniques. A few even summoned spiritual beasts or rode on crude artifacts that hovered for only seconds at a time, like fish splashing through the air.
As Liu Chen explored, his steps echoed lightly across the forgotten land. Occasionally, he crossed paths with small groups. Most simply nodded at him with forced politeness and left. A few younger cultivators tried to look proud or fierce but quickly lowered their gazes when Liu Chen looked at them. One particularly foolish youth with a tiger bloodline sneered, but when he saw the two-commanders' insignia on Liu Chen's cloak, he paled and turned away.
At one broken plateau, he saw several cultivators locked in combat over what appeared to be a shattered hilt emitting a faint kingly aura. The ground was cracked, and sparks flew as fists clashed with blades. Energy surged violently.
"A fragment of a King Realm weapon... not worth my time," Liu Chen muttered and walked past without even a second glance.
His soul sea stirred slightly. Liu Chen paused. That faint sensation again—like an itch at the edge of his mind. He closed his eyes for a breath, and golden-black patterns lit up within his soul. The shadowy eye—the Ghost Eye—twitched slightly, sensing something.
"It reacts," he whispered. "Then there's definitely something here related to it."
With his powerful soul perception, he scanned the terrain around him and moved like a phantom between ridges and ruins, following that inexplicable tug. Hours passed. The sky never changed. This realm seemed detached from time. Liu Chen came across shattered temples, overturned monuments, and skeletons wearing decayed robes with faint sect symbols he didn't recognize.
By mid-day, as he crossed an ancient stone bridge half-sunk in sand, he overheard some low-level cultivators whispering behind a ruined wall.
"...They say someone found an altar deep inside an old city."
"Yeah, and it's weird. That altar has ancient marks that none of our arrays work on. Could be a divine inheritance."
"Everyone's heading there now. Might be where the real treasure is."
Liu Chen smirked. "An altar? That sounds promising."
The moment he turned his steps toward the city, the Ghost Eye flickered again, as if affirming his decision. He leapt across crevices and dashed across barren plains. In the distance, the silhouette of a ruined city began to rise from the mist—towering gates cracked and crumbling, ancient defensive walls torn by time, and buildings now hollow shells. But even amidst decay, a powerful aura lingered.
At the edge of the city, dozens of cultivators wandered or searched through rubble. A few cheered when they found spiritual herbs or old cultivation manuals. Some found semi-broken artifacts, while others gathered strange beast bones for materials.
To Liu Chen, it was all junk. "Fools digging for bones while dragons sleep."
He ignored the scattered groups and headed directly toward the city center, where most people were moving. The deeper he went, the more unique bloodlines and sect robes he saw. Youths from major clans mingled, though tensions simmered just beneath the surface.
There were even a few with beast characteristics—one with lion ears, another with scales along his arms. The beast bloodline sects were here too.
At the heart of the city, surrounded by a broken plaza, stood a dark stone altar. Cracks lined its base, but the altar itself stood tall, pulsing faintly with a rhythm like a heartbeat. Strange symbols glowed on its surface—not just inscriptions, but something far older. Dao patterns.
Around the altar, dozens had already gathered. Many were trying to inject spiritual energy into it or activate ancient keys. But the altar remained unmoved.
One proud youth from the Heavenly Ghost Sect yelled, "Useless! We've tried all ancient keys! Even my Ghost Flame Palm didn't move it."
"It must need a blood sacrifice," another guessed. "Or maybe a resonance."
Liu Chen stepped forward slowly, drawing several glances. His black-gold robes shimmered faintly, and his eyes, though calm, carried disdain.
"Liu Clan?"
"Who is he?"
"Not sure... but those robes... he must be someone important."
Ignoring their chatter, Liu Chen's gaze locked on the altar. His Ghost Eye stirred once again, more violently this time. His heart beat faster. This altar was definitely related to it. He could feel the threads of fate moving.
"So this is what you wanted to find," he muttered under his breath.
He didn't approach too closely. No need to draw attention just yet. Let the others dance around the altar and waste their strength. He'd wait. Watch. And when the time came, the altar would open to him and no one else.
From afar, high above the broken city walls, an ominous black shadow moved silently, watching Liu Chen. No one saw it. Not even Liu Chen.
But its empty, hollow eyes stared directly at the boy who had dared step foot into its slumbering domain.