Early morning, the mist over the Cloud Mist Mountain Range had yet to disperse, and glistening dew drops condensed on the light membrane of the formation around Clear Stream Valley.

Su Ming, clad in the cyan outer sect disciple’s robe, the Formation Peak iron token hanging at his waist, walked out of his cave dwelling with a solemn expression.

Today was his first lesson after being promoted to the outer sect. According to the sect’s ironclad rule, all newly promoted disciples, regardless of talent or background, must go to “Teachings Peak” to listen to the “Cloud Hidden Ten Thousand Years Chronicle.”

“Master, what do you think this first lesson will be about?” Su Ming asked in his consciousness sea as he changed into the robe and fastened the token. His Cloud Treading Boots stepped on the ground without a sound; he had already integrated the Aura Concealment Art into his daily walking, sitting, and resting.

“About what?” Lin Yu’s phantom image sat cross-legged inside the ring, his voice tinged with a world-weary cynicism. “It certainly won’t be teaching you classical literature or benevolence and morality. If everyone in this Cloud Hidden Sect truly believed in that set, they would have been devoured long ago, not even scraps remaining. In my view, this first lesson is to make you recognize—what a grinder of flesh and blood this world is; what a situation of the weak being prey to the strong you are in.”

Su Ming’s steps paused slightly, then immediately returned to normal. His figure, like a wisp of cyan smoke, shot out of the cave dwelling, merging into the morning mountain mist as he swiftly headed towards Teachings Peak.

The main hall of Teachings Peak was as majestic as a divine palace.

Hundreds of dark jade pillars, thick enough to require several people to encircle, rose from the ground, supporting the lofty dome. The dome was no ordinary thing; it was paved with “Zhou Tian Star Jade.” At this moment, it slowly rotated, simulating the real trajectory of the starry sky outside, casting down a cold, clear radiance.

Inside the hall, several hundred newly promoted disciples stood solemnly. No one spoke; there were only faint sounds of breathing and the rustle of clothing. An intangible pressure permeated the air, as if a giant beast lurked in the shadows, gazing at every fledgling who had just entered these gates.

Suddenly, the star map on the dome blazed with light!

Not a gentle light, but a searing white bolt of lightning that tore through the hall’s tranquility and slammed down onto the central high platform!

Boom—

The thunderous roar rolled, making eardrums ache and blood and qi churn. Many disciples turned pale, staggering backward.

As the lightning faded, a figure had appeared on the high platform.

Purple robes fluttered, hair white as snow. His face was gaunt like an ancient pine, showing no trace of old age, only a pair of eyes that shone terrifyingly bright. Wherever his gaze swept, it felt as if a substantial sword edge scraped across the skin, the sting reaching straight to the soul.

“I am Gu He, in charge of outer sect transmission of techniques, concurrently holding one-third authority over discipline and punishment.”

His voice was not loud, yet it rang like the clashing of metal, each word hammering into the hearts of the crowd. “Today’s first lesson will not discuss breathing techniques, nor transmit arts and spells. I only ask you one question—”

He paused, his gaze sharp as lightning, piercing every face below—some frightened, some confused, some forcing composure.

“Do you know what land lies beneath your feet? What things you will face?”

Before his words faded, Elder Gu He suddenly waved his sleeve!

The star map on the dome instantly dimmed, replaced by a massive light screen that blotted out the sky. It was not a static painting, but flowing, vivid imagery filled with bloodshed and slaughter!

First scene: The human borderlands, Sky Wind Plain.

In the image, the land was scorched red for a thousand miles, smoke of battle yet to disperse. Countless human cultivators wearing various sect robes and dynasty armor were locked in a desperate struggle with a tide of demon beasts.

Sword energy crisscrossed, cleaving hills; magical treasures roared, blasting out deep craters. But more common were claws tearing through protective spiritual light, fangs biting through necks. Scorching demon blood and human hot blood splashed together, dyeing the earth a bizarre dark red.

A hundred-zhang tall Red-Eyed Rampage Ape beat its chest and roared at the sky, its sonic waves collapsing half a city wall. It casually grabbed a rune-inscribed war chariot and hurled it into the human formation like throwing a stone, sending flesh and blood flying everywhere.

“This is the actual recorded scene of the ‘Sky Wind Plain Campaign’ from eighty years ago.” Gu He’s voice was icy, devoid of any emotion. “The opponent was the ‘Red Rock Tribe’ of the Ten Thousand Demon Ancestral Court. In this battle, the allied forces of our human race’s three sects and seven schools lost seventeen Golden Core cultivators, over three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, and countless Qi Refining disciples. Only then did we defend those three medium-sized spirit stone veins.”

Dead silence below, so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Many disciples began to tremble, their teeth chattering.

Second scene: The dark abyss, Ghost Wailing Ridge.

The scene changed abruptly to howling Yin winds and flickering ghost fires.

Within dense, impenetrable gray-black Yin energy, shadowy, distorted figures were everywhere.

Some were skeletal, clad in broken armor; others were just blurry black shadows emitting soul-piercing demonic sounds.

Human cultivators formed battle formations. Buddhist light, thunder techniques, and pure Yang true fire illuminated a corner as they fought against endless ghosts and Yin soldiers. One cultivator was pierced through the chest by an invisible ghost hand, instantly turning ashen, his essence blood and soul sucked dry, collapsing into a withered corpse. On another side, a ghost general wielding a rusty giant axe cleaved through a golden light protective shield. Yin energy eroded, and several cultivators screamed as they dissolved into pus and blood.

“This place is a Yin energy node at the border of the ‘Northern Mang Ghost Domain’ under our Cloud Hidden Sect’s jurisdiction. The ghost race forces from the Netherworld Realm constantly attempt to erode the Yang world, plundering living souls and blood energy to strengthen themselves. Guarding this place requires rotating a batch of disciples every ten years. The casualty rate… thirty percent.”

Some female disciples couldn’t help but cover their mouths, emitting suppressed sobs.

“The ghost race. Rulers of the Netherworld Realm. Their numbers… are the greatest.” Elder Gu He looked deeply at the disciples below. “When mortals die, when cultivators perish, if their obsessions do not disperse and by chance, they may enter the ghost path. Their energy is Yin and sinister, with many taboos against the world of the living. Remember, do not easily provoke cultivators who practice the ghost path, and do not casually step into Yin evil forbidden lands.”

Third scene: Dazzling and colorful, yet fraught with peril.

The image switched to a breathtakingly beautiful secret realm. Spirit mushrooms glowed with radiant light, ancient trees exuded auspicious energy, and spiritual springs gurgled. However, a team of human cultivators attempting to collect “Earth Heart Fire Lotuses” had just approached the magma lake when the flames in the lake spontaneously coalesced into a humanoid fire figure. With a wave of its hand, earth fire surged skyward, instantly vaporizing two Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the distance, a seemingly harmless thousand-year-old ancient vine suddenly lashed out, its vines like coiling dragons, tightly wrapping around a Golden Core cultivator and sucking him dry into a withered corpse.

“The spirit races, descendants of the Ten Thousand Spirits Ancestral Land. Transformed from the essence of heaven and earth, they appear auspicious but are actually xenophobic. Their bodies, their essence sources, are supreme materials for alchemy and artifact forging, thus often coveted. However, hunting spirit races means enduring their innate law backlash and their relentless, endless pursuit.”

Elder Gu He waved his hand. On the light screen, four horrific scenes froze simultaneously and were displayed side by side.

“See clearly!”

His voice boomed like a great bell, making the hall tremble.

“This is the world you will inhabit! Not some carefree immortal paradise from storybooks, but a slaughterhouse where four races stand side by side, blood and fire intertwined!”

“Human race, demon race, ghost race, spirit race! The struggle for territory, the contention for resources, the debate over doctrines—it has never ceased! The reason you can listen here safely today is not because heaven pities you, but because generations of predecessors, using their flesh and blood as walls, their souls as torches, carved out this tiny foothold for our human race in this jungle!”

His gaze burned like torches as it swept over the crowd below. “Why cultivate immortality? Why seek longevity? If you cannot even protect the land beneath your feet and the race beside you, even if you live for thousands of years, you are nothing but a lingering, barely-alive walking corpse, destined to become food and resources for other races sooner or later!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep