Afternoon shadows lengthened as Lin halted, his gaze hardening. He did not press forward, but instead, with calculated grace, sidestepped nine paces. Retreating thrice more, he altered his course, now striding directly towards the pavilion.

He traced a subtle arc, arriving a mere thirty feet from the ancient structure.

His countenance remained serene, for this intricate dance was etched in his mind. Each step was born of countless mental simulations, a tapestry woven from arcane knowledge.

Confidence fueled his deliberate pace. Lin knew that a single misstep within this ward would unleash a ferocious backlash.

The initial eighteen feet posed little threat, yet the final twelve were fraught with peril. A single blunder here, and his cultivation would avail him naught; he would face utter annihilation.

Yet, such things were never absolute. Woven into the fabric of this ancient Xian ban, lay a single, shimmering thread of salvation. In direst need, should one tread upon this ‘Life Spot,’ escape was possible.

Such was the nature of Xian wards.

However, this lifeline was not fixed. It shifted and danced with the ward’s ebb and flow. For the past two moons, Lin’s focus had been two-fold: deciphering the ward itself, and charting the Life Spot’s ephemeral path.

The subtle circle he traced across the sixth foot was dictated by the Life Spot’s shifting. He maintained a deliberate proximity, always but a single step away from its radiant embrace.

Now, standing at the seventh foot, he closed his eyes, fingers weaving intricate calculations. At last, his eyes snapped open, a spark igniting within. He lunged forward, a decisive step covering a full foot.

Landing true, he immediately pressed onward, claiming another foot. But as his foot descended, a flicker of horror crossed his face. Without hesitation, he flung himself half a step to the left. In that instant, within a ten-foot radius of the pavilion, a vortex of inky shadow materialized!

The dark hurricane erupted from nothing, unleashing a torrent of savage power. Within its churning heart, bolts of black lightning crackled, as if the very essence of annihilation were made manifest. In a heartbeat, this ten-foot sanctuary transformed into a maelstrom of destruction, a storm of thunder and lightning. Such power would obliterate even a Nascent Soul cultivator within three breaths, let alone a mere Core Formation disciple.

The lightning itself, like serpentine dragons lashing out, threatened to unmake all existence.

Within the heart of this tempest, Lin’s figure danced with impossible agility, threading through the strikes of black lightning. Each footfall landed upon the shifting Life Spot. One moment of weakness, and he would be struck down, his very soul extinguished.

It was not miscalculation that had nearly doomed him, but the ward itself, which, for reasons unknown, had inverted its flow, moving in reverse.

After ten heartbeats, the hurricane vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, taking with it the malevolent lightning. Lin staggered, stumbling across the last few inches into the pavilion’s confines. He had survived the ten-foot trial, but his brow was slick with icy sweat.

As he crossed the threshold, a brilliant light erupted, illuminating the area with blinding radiance. Under its otherworldly glow, the very landscape shifted and transformed.

Behind the pavilion, as if a veil had been lifted, a miniature mountain range emerged, lush with emerald moss and verdant grass. A bamboo forest unfurled, entwining itself with the existing grove, creating a haven of serene beauty.

The world itself had been reborn, offering a refuge from the desolation.

At that moment, a disembodied voice, calm and sonorous, echoed from the void, piercing Lin’s ears. “By breaching the ward, you have earned temporary ownership of this sanctuary. So long as you live, none shall trespass here again.” As the voice faded, a glimmering shard flew from the distance, halting before Lin.

It was a crystal token, no larger than a finger, hovering in the air, radiating a spectrum of iridescent light.

“…This is the token of this sanctuary. With it, the sanctuary is yours.”

Lin grasped the crystalline trinket, inhaling deeply. His gaze swept the pavilion, taking in the stone table and chairs, all guarded by subtle wards.

While intricately designed, these defenses were pale shadows compared to the ten-foot gauntlet.

He paid little heed to the furniture; his attention was fixed upon a wine flask resting upon the round table.

The flask’s ward was subtle, yet Lin was undeterred. With practiced ease, he extended his hand, stopping three inches from the vessel. At that distance, a shimmering ripple, like the surface of water, pulsed into being.

Lin’s finger plunged into the watery veil, creating a fleeting undulation. He swiftly retracted his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, a spectral image of a ward flashed forth, embedding itself within the rippling surface.

In that instant, the watery film surged, creating a spiraling vortex at its center. The vortex spun faster and faster, widening outwards, forming a perfectly circular opening.

Lin’s right hand moved like lightning, piercing the aperture, snatching the wine flask, and withdrawing in a single, fluid motion.

The watery ripple vanished, the air once again still.

Excitement danced in Lin’s eyes. The wine flask was heavier than expected, indicating its contents were not entirely spent! Drawing a sharp breath, he unstopped the flask. A fragrant aroma wafted forth, filling the air with ethereal sweetness. Within, he saw ten drops of glistening liquid.

“The flask is heavy, yet it holds but ten drops… a potent elixir, no doubt. Placed here, it must be of great worth.” Lin stared at the wine, inner turmoil warring within him. Finally, he steeled himself, pouring out a single drop. With a sharp inhale, he drew the precious liquid into his mouth.

The instant the drop touched his tongue, Lin’s body blazed with an internal inferno. Within him, a surge of raw Xian energy coursed through his veins.

A dizzying wave of intoxication washed over him, riding the crest of that unleashed power.

The Xian energy within him amplified with alarming speed, like a raging river bursting its banks. A searing heat erupted from his dantian, surging upwards towards his crown chakra.

At the same time, the subtle intoxication intensified, clouding his senses with a heavy veil. Lin’s eyes lost their focus, becoming clouded with a swirling haze.

Slowly, he slumped against the wall, his head lolling. He drifted into a deep slumber.

Time flowed onwards: three months, six months, nine months… a year.
A year passed in slumber profound, Wang Lin lost to the world, his snores a distant, rumbling sound. Since first treading the path of cultivation, such a lengthy sleep had been unknown to him, a rest the like of which he had not known in centuries!

Though lost to dreams, his immortal power swelled within, its rapid growth a spectacle that would have startled even the celestial Tian Yunzi.

When the reservoir of his inner power reached a certain, critical mass, the demon crystal at the core of his dantian shattered without a sound, dissolving into a pool of raw demonic energy. Yet, it was quickly devoured by the surging immortal force, becoming absorbed into its very essence.

Within a radius of ten paces, as Wang Lin slept, threads of errant immortal Qi seeped from his pores, saturating the air. By the year’s end, the very atmosphere within that circle thrummed with potent celestial energy.

Even in slumber, Wang Lin clutched tightly to his gourd of wine.

One day, his eyes fluttered open, a hazy veil of bewilderment clouding his gaze. He let out a resounding belch, a vestige of his drunken slumber, and glanced about with unfocused eyes. But then, as quickly as it had come, the fog lifted, replaced by a keen awareness.

He rose to his feet with a start, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. He scanned his surroundings, then furrowed his brow. His gaze fell upon the gourd in his hand. He remembered only a single sip, the rush of power, and then oblivion.

Thinking of his immortal strength, he turned his awareness inward. What he found within ignited a shock that shook him to his core.

“How long… how long have I slept?” It was a rare thing for Wang Lin, a cultivator seasoned by countless trials, to be so utterly astonished. “My immortal power… it far exceeds the late stage of Soul Transformation! Should my comprehension of intent succeed, I could, in one leap, achieve the realm of Ascendant!” He stared incredulously at the simple gourd in his hand.

“What manner of wine *is* this?” With utmost care, he stowed the gourd within his storage pouch. Dissatisfied, he retrieved it once more, layering it with powerful seals and enchantments before finally returning it to its protected space.

“I will scour this place! Every inch!” His interest in this strange domain had reached its zenith.

His initial excitement was soon tempered by a wave of apprehension.

“Had my comprehension of intent reached the Ascendant level while I slept,” he mused, “and had my immortal power been sufficient to attempt the breakthrough, without Zhou Yi’s Ascendant Crystal to anchor me, a failed ascension would have been a truly ignominious end!” He paused, then a new light flickered in his eyes.

“In the realm of Soul Transformation, I am now without peer. Once I achieve the necessary comprehension of intent, I will find a secluded place to attempt the Ascension. And what place is more secluded than this?”

Truly, misfortune could be the seed of fortune. By chance and coincidence, he had stumbled upon this place. Were it not for this, even with an endless supply of immortal jade, he would have needed years, perhaps decades, to reach this level of power. “Is this what mortals call a fortunate encounter?” he wondered. A surge of elation coursed through him. This unexpected sleep had left him in peak condition. He looked about, ready to continue unraveling the secrets of this place, but a new thought stayed his hand.

“How long *did* I sleep? If I have slumbered for decades, even centuries, then the world outside will have changed irrevocably. In such a case, I might as well have remained in solitary cultivation.” Wang Lin paced the pavilion, his brow furrowed in thought. Then, his gaze sharpened as it fell upon the distant bamboo forest.

Partially hidden by the bamboo stalks, a corner of a carved railing was visible. Though obscured, Wang Lin could discern its shape.

“I hadn’t noticed it before, but there’s a pavilion back there… It looks much like a family shrine in a mortal’s courtyard!”

After a moment’s consideration, Wang Lin decided against investigating the shrine. Instead, he retrieved his crystalline token and focused his mind upon it. As it pulsed with light, his form dissolved from the grotto, leaving the mysteries of the ancient domain behind.

*The grotto is a large treasure with many secrets, I will find time to slowly dig them up after going out.*