Zi Yue had once believed that deities were nothing more than stories passed down by people who feared the unknown.

Long ago, people talked about this place. They said it held beings no one could understand, and that even a top Ascendant Realm expert died there and left no trace of a soul.

At first, many cultivators rushed in. Some came for greed, and some for curiosity. They hoped to find secret treasures, old gifts, or a way to grow beyond their limits. They arrived in groups. Some were brave, and some were careful, but all were drawn by the promise of power.

But what they found here was not an opportunity... Only their death.

Gu Spirit Beasts roamed this valley, creatures that did not follow the natural order. They were vicious, relentless, and worse than that, they had no cores.

Even after risking their lives to defeat one, there was nothing to gain, no reward, no essence to absorb, nothing that made the danger worth it. Many cultivators died here, including those who had already stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm.

Their strength meant nothing against the strange rules that governed this land.

Because of that, the Valley of Silent RiverHill became a place avoided by most.

Some still believed that something deeper lay hidden here, something that had not yet revealed itself, but those people were few, and even they did not dare to stay long.

Zi Yue had not come here by choice.

Under normal circumstances, she would have stayed far away from such a place, but she had no other path left to take.

Her sect had been destroyed, her fellow disciples had been slaughtered, and the elders who once stood like mountains had fallen one after another.

And the reason for all of it rested in her hands.

The cultivation manual she carried had drawn disaster to her, and those who wanted it would not stop until they took it from her, even if it meant tearing apart everything she had ever known.

She had run without rest, pushing her body past its limits, her strength draining little by little until even standing became difficult.

Then she came here and the massive ants came along with her.

They were not ordinary creatures.

Each one towered over her, their bodies hard like forged metal, their presence heavy enough to press down on her breathing. Every movement they made carried a strange force that pulled at her spiritual energy, draining it away as if the very air around them rejected her existence.

She had reached the peak of the Condensation Realm, having already stepped beyond Qi Infusion and stabilized her foundation, and yet, in front of those creatures, her strength felt meaningless.

She had always believed in herself. She had talent. She had skill.

Even an early Foundation Establishment cultivator would not walk away unscathed if they faced her seriously.

But those ants were different.

Her attacks landed, but they did nothing. Her techniques struck, but they could not pierce through. Worse, she felt an invisible pressure and the spiritual energy drained faster than she could recover it from their presence alone, leaving her weaker with every passing moment.

That was when she understood.

She could not win.

For the first time since she began cultivating, she felt completely powerless.

That was when she had almost given up.

That was when she had been ready to lie there and accept her end.

And yet, something impossible happened.

A massive finger descended from the sky.

It did not carry the form of spiritual manifestation.

It was not an illusion created by technique.

It was flesh.

Pure real flesh!

And it crushed those creatures as if they were nothing more than dust beneath it.

At that moment, Zi Yue had understood something with absolute certainty.

Only a deity could do such a thing.

Now, standing within that same place, her body still trembling from what she had just witnessed, Zi Yue slowly rose to her feet.

She did not dare lift her head.

Her gaze remained lowered, her hands pressed together in front of her as she bowed deeply.

"Senior... Senior, thank you for saving this junior’s life. Thank you..."

Her voice was filled with respect, but also fear.

Not the kind of fear she felt when facing enemies.

This was something deeper.

A kind of awe that came from standing before something she could not understand. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I am Zi Yue, a disciple of the Silent Sword Sect," she continued, her voice steady despite the tension in her chest. "This junior does not know that this place belongs to the Supreme Deity Senior. I only wish to pass through this valley. I ask for the Senior’s permission."

Inside the classroom, Clayne pressed his lips together tightly.

He nearly laughed.

The sound almost escaped him, rising up from his chest before he forced it back down.

If not for the low, constant groans outside the door, he might not have been able to stop himself.

This tiny girl, no bigger than his finger, was calling him a deity.

The thought of it felt absurd.

If she could see him right now, sitting on the floor of a dusty classroom, hungry, tired, and barely holding himself together while zombies waited just outside, she would probably freeze in shock.

The image alone made something twist inside him, something close to amusement, but it did not last long.

Because beneath that, there was something else.

Curiosity.

He leaned closer, his shadow falling over the miniature world again.

"...Alright," he murmured quietly.

His voice, when it reached her, echoed like something vast.

"But can you tell me more about you first?"

Zi Yue froze.

Her body stiffened, her breath catching slightly.

She did not dare move her head.

"Senior..." she said carefully, her voice carrying confusion. "Has Senior... never seen an immortal cultivator before?"

Clayne hesitated.

Inside his mind, fragments of memory surfaced.

The stories, the novels he had read late at night, and worlds filled with people who could fly, control elements, and live for hundreds of years.

He had always thought of them as fiction. But now, seeing this tiny maiden. He wanted to confirm that thing

"...I’ve heard of them," he replied slowly. "But I’ve never seen one."

Zi Yue’s heart trembled.

A being of such power, yet unfamiliar with cultivators?

She did not dare question it.

Instead, she took a slow breath and began to speak.

"Immortal cultivation... is the path of defying heaven and fate."

Her voice grew steadier as she continued, as if speaking of this gave her something to hold onto.

"It begins with the body. A mortal body is weak, limited, bound by time. Through cultivation, one tempers the body, refines the meridians, and gathers spiritual energy into the dantian. This is the Qi Infusion Realm, where one first senses the flow of heaven and earth."

She paused briefly, choosing her words carefully.

"After that comes the Condensation Realm, where spiritual energy is no longer scattered, but gathered and controlled, forming a stable foundation within the body. This is where one begins to truly step onto the path."

Her hands tightened slightly.

"Beyond that lies Foundation Establishment, where the body and spirit become one, where the cultivator’s connection to the world deepens, allowing them to use greater techniques and withstand greater forces."

She continued without stopping, her voice growing more detailed, more layered.

"After Foundation Establishment comes the Golden Core Realm, where one condenses their power into a single core, a source of strength that defines their path. Then the Nascent Soul Realm, where that core gives birth to a spirit, allowing the cultivator to exist beyond the limits of the physical body."

Her breathing slowed as she spoke, but her tone carried weight.

"Above that are realms that this junior has only heard of. Ascendant Realm. Saint Realm. And beyond even that... the realm of true immortals, beings who no longer age, who no longer fall to time, who can reshape the heavens themselves."

She lowered her head further.

"Each step is filled with danger. Each breakthrough risks death. One must endure tribulations, refine their spirit, and overcome countless obstacles. Without a cultivation manual, one cannot walk this path. Without guidance, even a genius may fall."

Clayne listened quietly.

His eyes stayed fixed on her.

"Really..." he murmured.

Then he asked, his voice low but focused.

"So... you need a cultivation manual to start?"

Zi Yue nodded immediately.

"Yes, Senior."

Clayne’s gaze sharpened slightly.

"...Do you have one?"

The moment the question left his mouth, Zi Yue’s body froze again.

Her fingers trembled.

Her breathing grew uneven.

That manual.

It was the reason everything had happened.

The reason her sect had fallen.

The reason she had been chased into this place.

For a moment, she said nothing.

Clayne watched her closely.

He understood.

"...It doesn’t have to be anything special," he said after a short pause. "Even the weakest one is fine."

Zi Yue’s lips parted slightly.

She still hesitated.

Then, slowly, she raised her hand.

"I... I would not dare hide anything from Senior," she said, her voice trembling. "This junior does not have the right to decide what to offer. But... there is something."

A small ring appeared in her palm.

It looked ordinary, but the moment it appeared, the air around her seemed to change.

"This is a storage ring," she explained. "It holds everything this junior has. But... it cannot be opened by me. It was sealed. Only someone with far greater power can break it."

Her voice grew softer.

"This junior believes... only a supreme being like senior Deity could open it."

She lifted it higher.

"So, this Junior offers it to Senior."

Clayne leaned closer.

The ring was so small that he could barely see it clearly.

"...Can you bring it closer?" he asked.

Zi Yue nodded quickly.

The ring rose into the air, floating upward.

It moved slowly at first, then faster, as if being drawn toward him.

Clayne reached out.

His fingers moved carefully, trying not to crush it. But the moment he touched it—a small sharp crack echoed next.

The ring shattered instantly.

Before he could react, a strand of crimson energy burst out from it.

It moved like something alive.

It crawled along his finger, then his hand, then up his arm.

"What—"

He tried to pull back.

But it was too fast.

The energy reached his shoulder, then his neck, then surged upward into his head.

Then his vision went dark chocolate.