Prologue (Part One)

Ink Continent, Cloud Forest.

Heavenly Secret Mountain.

Heavenly Secret Mountain was also known as Inverted Peak. It got its name because it was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, making it look like a spinning top standing upright on the earth.

It was said that during the ancient war, Heavenly Secret Mountain had once circled beyond the Nine Heavens, until a mighty being cleaved it down with a single sword strike backed by boundless divine power. It then plunged headfirst into the ground.

But some people said the mountain had always been that way. Their reasoning was simple: the Heavenly Secret Hall stood atop Flat-Top Peak. If it hadn't been intentional, how could such a magnificent and immense palace complex have been built?

Immortals could hew mountains and build palaces with superhuman skill. Defying heaven and overturning the world were nothing unusual to them. And so some said that this was how the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had brought calamity upon itself: it had defied heaven and was ultimately cast down as punishment.

The truth and the cause no longer mattered. What mattered was that the mountain remained, the people remained, and the Heavenly Mechanism Sect still existed.

Atop Flat-Top Peak, the grand hall stood in magnificent splendor, surrounded by countless treasures and shimmering with radiant light.

The chime rang out like heavenly music drifting down, while below, the disciples chanted the Daoist scriptures in unison. Their voices rolled forth, and the solemnity of their bearing was palpable.

It was time for the evening lesson. The disciples of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect were gathered for their studies when a man in green flew in from the distant horizon, followed by a youth in white. They stood atop a cloud, but the youth swayed unsteadily, clearly no cultivator.

"Fourth Senior Brother!"

Xin Xiaoye, who was attending the evening lesson, spotted the man in green and called out to him.

Xin Xiaoye had a round little face, and when she smiled, she looked like a child. She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she was very cute.

The man in green saw her and raised a finger to his lips, hushing her. Xin Xiaoye realized what was happening and turned to look ahead. Xin Ranzi's face had darkened. "No chattering!"

Xin Xiaoye stuck out her tongue and sat back down.

Meanwhile, Qing Lin had already brought the youth in white down gracefully beside Xin Ranzi. He bowed. "Master, I've brought him back."

Xin Ranzi gave a quiet hum and stood. "Continue your lessons. No talking."

He turned and went back into the hall, while Qing Lin led the youth in white after him.

Once their master had left, the disciples below began whispering among themselves.

"Who's that in white?"

"No idea."

"Looks like Fourth Senior Brother brought back a new arrival."

"So he's a newly accepted disciple?"

"Congratulations, Little Junior Sister. From now on, you're not the youngest anymore."

The senior brothers and sisters congratulated Xin Xiaoye one after another. She huffed. "As if I care!"

But her face was alight with barely contained delight. Clearly, she was thrilled to shed her place as the youngest in the sect.

As he followed Qing Lin and Xin Ranzi into the hall, Ning Ye studied the old man walking ahead of him.

Was he the head of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect?

The old man did seem to have the air of an immortal about him. He was said to be a hundred and fifty years old, yet looked no older than fifty, his face rosy and almost entirely free of wrinkles.

The staff in his hand must be the Heavenly Secret Staff, right? It was perfectly round and about thirteen feet long, covered in strange runes. Each time it touched the ground, a golden Hualun rose from the floor, then vanished in a flash.

The floor was made of some kind of stone, inscribed with secret runes as well. It clanged when struck, yet made no sound underfoot.

The entire Heavenly Secret Hall was built from all kinds of rare stones Ning Ye had never seen or heard of. Adorned with secret runes, they shimmered brilliantly, making the hall seem all the more mysterious and imposing.

Xin Ranzi crossed the hall and entered a quiet room in the rear quarters, where he finally sat down.

"Sit," he said to Qing Lin and Ning Ye.

Ning Ye hesitated, but Qing Lin said, "Master has offered you a seat. No need to stand on ceremony."

Ning Ye sat cross-legged opposite Xin Ranzi. To be honest, he wasn't used to sitting this way.

Xin Ranzi studied Ning Ye. The youth before him was young, but carried himself with neither arrogance nor deference. He showed none of the panic most ordinary people felt when they first came up the mountain, nor the pride common to the young. Instead, he was unusually composed, with a calmness beyond his years.

Xin Ranzi was beginning to believe what Qing Lin had told him.

"You're Bai Yu?" he asked.

"Yes. This disciple is Bai Yu. Greetings, Master," Ning Ye replied.

Xin Ranzi shook his head. "That's not quite true. That isn't your real name."

Ning Ye was taken aback. He knew cultivators had many strange abilities, but he hadn't expected them to discern something like this. After a moment, he said, "This disciple once had another name, but my past is behind me. Bai Yu may be a name I took later, but it's the only one I use here. So it isn't entirely false."

Xin Ranzi nodded. "That's the truth. Your origins are indeed mysterious. I can't see through them, but that's not surprising. After all, it was brought here by that thing..."

As Xin Ranzi spoke, he reached out and pointed at Ning Ye.

Ning Ye's body shuddered. A brilliant light suddenly blazed within him, and then an object emerged from his body.

It was a miniature ancient hall, elegant and antiquated. It looked damaged in many places, yet a radiant light glimmered within it, shimmering with an endless, mysterious brilliance. Anyone could see at a glance that it was no ordinary object.

Xin Ranzi grew visibly excited. "The Thousand Mechanism Hall... It really is the Thousand Mechanism Hall..."

Though he had already known what to expect, now that he saw the Thousand Mechanism Hall again, Xin Ranzi still couldn't hide his excitement.

The Heavenly Mechanism Sect of old had been an ancient Immortal Sect. At its height, it had shaken the whole universe, with ten thousand immortals submitting to it.

But prosperity gave way to decline. In a bid to secure its position and reach the heights of the Dao of Heaven, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had resolved to harness the power of an entire realm to build the Thousand Mechanism Divine Palace. Yet just as the Thousand Mechanism Hall was nearing completion, ten thousand immortals besieged them. The hall was shattered in that battle and vanished, never to be seen again.

For generations, the sect's leaders had worked to recover the Thousand Mechanism Hall, hoping to restore the Heavenly Mechanism Sect to its former glory.

Xin Ranzi had never expected that he would finally see it today.

Xin Ranzi tried to pull the Thousand Mechanism Hall toward him, but it wouldn't budge. It simply hovered beside Ning Ye.

Ning Ye lowered his head. "This item has already acknowledged me as its master..."

He said it with a nervous, uneasy heart. It was the greatest gamble of his life.

Xin Ranzi could see what was troubling him. "You're worried I'll kill you and take the treasure?"

Ning Ye gritted his teeth and answered directly. "Yes."

Xin Ranzi smiled. "If that's the case, why did you make that choice in the first place?"

"Because I chose to trust Master and Senior Brother's character," Ning Ye replied.

"The path to immortality is merciless. Trusting someone on a whim only proves you're foolish."

"That's why I didn't trust you on a whim. I took a year to get to know you."

"A year is still far too short."

"I wanted more time to get to know you, too. But fate had other plans, and destiny played its tricks."

"Perhaps even Heaven couldn't wait much longer. Or perhaps Heaven itself wanted to see what you would choose..." Xin Ranzi said meaningfully.

Qing Lin and Ning Ye had first met a year earlier.

That day, Qing Lin was riding hard, the breeze brushing his face and cooling the blood still boiling in his veins.

That heat was the lingering thrill of having just wiped out the eighteen vicious bandits of Cloud Water Stronghold. His heart still swelled with pride when he spotted a woodcutter drinking in a roadside pavilion.

The moment Qing Lin glanced at the woodcutter, he sensed that there was something unusual about him.

He wore coarse hemp clothes, yet they were clean and tidy. Stranger still, he had short hair, making him look like a monk, though he had no scruples about eating meat or drinking wine.

A rabbit roasted on the rack, and he held a wine jug in his hand.

The wine's fragrance filled the air, rich and heady.

The scent reached Qing Lin's nose, and he couldn't help exclaiming, "What fine wine!"

The woodcutter looked at him. "So you know your wine. It's rare to meet a fellow wine lover. Why not come over and have a cup?"

Qing Lin heard him out, dismounted, and casually beckoned. His horse turned into a tiny wooden horse and fell into his hand.

Carrying the wooden horse, Qing Lin walked over. The woodcutter wasn't afraid. He simply watched him with bright, clear eyes, utterly unafraid.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Qing Lin asked.

"What is there to fear?" the woodcutter replied.

"I'm a cultivator."

The Immortal Dao was merciless, and immortals had never been purely good. They could be good or evil.

But immortals were naturally powerful, bound by no laws and restrained by no rules. As a result, human nature had steadily deteriorated, while arrogance continued to grow.

If one met a benevolent immortal, that was well and good. But if one met an evil one, it was common for them to kill over a disagreement—or even to kill without a word.

For that reason, mortals always kept their distance when they saw an immortal. Few would invite one over as the woodcutter had.

Qing Lin was confident in his own character, but didn't expect every mortal who met him to greet him with open arms. That was why he'd asked.

The woodcutter replied, "You smelled the wine. If I didn't invite you, but you still wanted some, wouldn't that give you even more reason to kill me? Better for me to invite you first. Maybe I'll get to live."

Qing Lin burst out laughing. "That's true enough, but not many people can keep their wits when they meet an immortal. Since you've invited me, I won't stand on ceremony."

He walked over, picked up the woodcutter's wine jug, and tipped it back without minding that the man had already drunk from it.

The wine slid down his throat, warming his insides and filling his chest with its bold flavor. Qing Lin found the aftertaste utterly delightful. "I've never had wine like this. You brewed it yourself, didn't you? You've got quite a talent."

The woodcutter paid him no mind. He sat alone by the railing, gazing into the distance, and murmured, "I have a jug of wine to comfort me through wind and dust. I'll pour it all into rivers and seas and give it to everyone beneath the sky."

Qing Lin was stunned. The words slipped from his lips. "What magnificent spirit! The wine is fine, but the poem is even better. I've never heard it before. Did you write it yourself?"

The woodcutter shook his head. "Someone else wrote it. I wouldn't dare claim the credit."

Qing Lin studied the woodcutter for a few moments.

In this day and age, people struggled to survive and were consumed by the need to make a living. Few had the leisure to read poetry or books.

The woodcutter said the poem wasn't his, but his words and manner, his bearing—all marked him as no ordinary man.

Qing Lin grew interested in him and began discussing wine and poetry. He soon discovered that the man's learning was rare in this world, and that he was indeed no ordinary person. Qing Lin found himself intrigued.

After they had drunk the wine and finished the meat, Qing Lin tore off a rabbit leg and left without a backward glance.

Three days later, Qing Lin returned, appearing directly in the woodcutter's home: a shabby little wooden hut.

He brought a sheep.

The woodcutter didn't ask how Qing Lin had found him. He simply brought out the wine he'd brewed earlier.

One provided wine, the other meat, and together they feasted to their hearts' content.

That was how Qing Lin learned that the woodcutter was called Bai Yu, an ordinary man who had suddenly appeared in Cloud Forest half a year earlier. He was said to have appeared out of nowhere because he claimed to have woken up in this place with no memory of what came before.

Qing Lin didn't press him. Once they'd finished drinking, he left.

After that, whenever Qing Lin went out or returned, he would visit the woodcutter and trade meat for wine.

As time passed, they gradually grew closer.

Whenever they drank together, they would chat about all sorts of things.

Qing Lin would tell him about the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, and the woodcutter would share stories from his own life.

What amazed Qing Lin was that despite Ning Ye's young age, he had experienced so much. Many of the stories he told were things Qing Lin had never heard of.

Some of them were beyond even the abilities of immortals, like a network that let people in different places talk to one another.

Others were things immortals could do, such as ingenious devices that flew through the sky and burrowed through the earth, or long-range weapons that could kill without a sound.

Most of the time, Qing Lin took these for made-up stories. Still, Ning Ye's tales held together remarkably well, which was rare in itself. One man told them with flair, the other listened with delight, and the two got along splendidly.

Qing Lin knew that Ning Ye was no ordinary man. An ordinary country bumpkin could hardly have such knowledge; even if he made up stories, he wouldn't make them so detailed and interesting—especially since he claimed to have lost his memory.

The odd thing was that Ning Ye seemed to have no intention of hiding it.

It was like telling a lie while knowing perfectly well that it had a hole in it, yet not bothering to patch it.

Qing Lin was also a free-spirited man. Since the other didn't explain, he didn't ask. Somehow, the two settled into an unspoken understanding.

A year later.

One quiet morning.

Ning Ye was sitting at home, lost in thought. Before him floated an object: an ancient bronze mirror, dignified and unadorned, containing countless wonders within it, yet keeping them hidden. Strange scenes flashed across its surface, each disappearing in an instant, impossible to grasp.

Suddenly, something crashed down from the sky, smashing a huge hole in his roof.

Ning Ye froze, then realized it was Qing Lin.

His whole body was covered in blood. He was still smiling as he hit the ground, but when he saw the ancient mirror, he froze. "The Kunlun Mirror?"

The Kunlun Mirror was one of the divine treasures within the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

The Thousand Mechanism Hall was a supreme sacred treasure forged by the Heavenly Mechanism Sect using the power of an entire realm. It contained unfathomable mysteries and was said to hold a thousand mechanisms, encompassing every secret beneath heaven and earth. Among them were ten divine treasures, each with its own wondrous abilities. The Kunlun Mirror was one of them.

According to ancient legends, this treasure could travel through time and space. The claim might have been exaggerated—after all, even this world had its paradoxes of time—but it truly could traverse the vast expanse between worlds.

It was this very treasure that had brought Ning Ye from his original world to this one. But that journey had exhausted all the energy the Kunlun Mirror had accumulated over ten thousand years. It wouldn't be able to cross time and space again anytime soon.

The moment Qing Lin saw the Kunlun Mirror, he understood everything.

The two of them stared at each other.

Suddenly, Qing Lin smiled.

He coughed up blood and said, "Now I understand... why you wanted to be my friend..."

Though he was a cultivator, his injuries were grave. He couldn't use his spells, and his life was fading fast. Now that he'd discovered the other man's most important secret, he no longer hoped for anything.

He looked calmly at Ning Ye. "Could you do me a favor? After you kill me, take my body to the Heavenly Mechanism Sect. Since you're bringing me back, Master will accept you as a disciple. With the Thousand Mechanism Hall in your possession, it'll be as if it's returned to the Heavenly Mechanism Sect."

Ning Ye slowly rose and went to his side.

A woodcutter's knife lay beside his hand.

All he had to do was raise his hand and bring it down, and everything would be over.

Qing Lin watched him calmly, as if waiting for his fate to arrive.

He was even smiling—a smile of happiness and relief.

"Do it," he said.

He no longer expected Ning Ye to spare him.

Ning Ye slowly picked up the woodcutter's knife and pointed it at Qing Lin.

His hand trembled slightly.

Then he swung.

Swish!

The rough blade sliced through Qing Lin's clothes, revealing the wounds covering his body.

Ning Ye walked over, took out a medicine basket, and began treating Qing Lin's wounds.

"You..." Qing Lin stared at him in astonishment.

"Shut up!" Ning Ye said gravely. "Do me a favor. Hold your breath and circulate your energy. I'm no immortal, but I know a thing or two about treating people. You just need to cooperate..."

And so, Qing Lin survived.

Ning Ye cared for him for seven days.

By the third day, Qing Lin could already use spells again. But he did nothing, simply doing what a patient was supposed to do and cooperating in silence.

Neither of them spoke again from beginning to end.

Seven days later, Qing Lin had fully recovered from his injuries.

The day he recovered, Qing Lin disappeared.

He was suddenly gone, just like that, without even saying goodbye.

Looking at the empty bed, Ning Ye sighed and sat down.

That day, he sat in silence for a long time.

Three days later, Qing Lin appeared.

The first thing he said when he saw Ning Ye was, "Come up the mountain with me. Master wants to see you."

In the quiet room, Xin Ranzi looked at Ning Ye.

"If that hadn't happened, would you have mentioned the Thousand Mechanism Hall?" he asked.

Ning Ye shook his head slightly. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I don't know." Ning Ye answered firmly. "The human heart is hard to fathom. Even immortals can't do it, so how could I, a mere mortal? I don't know other people, and I don't even know myself."

"But you still decided to take the risk."

"Because he's my friend."

Xin Ranzi smiled. "In your heart, your friend matters more than the Thousand Mechanism Hall?"

"Yes!" Ning Ye answered earnestly.

Candlelight illuminated Ning Ye's resolute face.

Xin Ranzi was quite pleased.

He had cultivated a secret art that let him sense the sincerity in Ning Ye's words.

That pleased Xin Ranzi all the more. "Very good. You're loyal and true, but not foolish. You know when to be cautious and when to take a risk. No wonder the Thousand Mechanism Hall chose you as its master."

As he spoke, Xin Ranzi pointed at the Thousand Mechanism Hall. A streak of radiant light flashed inside, and then an ancient bronze mirror emerged from the hall.

Xin Ranzi sighed with emotion. "The Ancient Kunlun Mirror..."

Perhaps sensing the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's summons, the Kunlun Mirror gave a clear ring that seemed almost joyful. Many strange golden characters appeared on its surface, turning in the air.

"Heaven Asking Art!" Seeing the golden characters on the Ancient Kunlun Mirror, Xin Ranzi trembled with excitement.

The Heavenly Mechanism Sect had the Nine Heavens Divine Arts, each corresponding to one of the nine treasures in the Thousand Mechanism Hall. Only one divine artifact had no art associated with it.

But after the Heavenly Mechanism Sect fell, the Nine Heavens Divine Arts were lost as well.

Now, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had preserved only fragments of three divine arts, and the Heaven Asking Art was one of them.

Relying on the fragment of the Heaven Asking Art, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had gradually transformed from the foremost Immortal Sect of ancient times into a small sect focused on divination, with ingenious devices as a secondary pursuit.

And now, what had appeared on the Ancient Kunlun Mirror was the complete Heaven-Questioning Divine Art.

The Heaven-Questioning Divine Art was a form of divination. It was said that when cultivated to its utmost, one could know the past and the future. The Kunlun Mirror's power over time and space didn't allow one to travel through time; its temporal aspect was the power of foreknowledge.

Combined with the complete Heaven-Questioning Divine Art, the Ancient Kunlun Mirror was said to reveal both past and future—but of course, it couldn't know everything. Otherwise, the ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect would never have fallen.

Unfortunately, since the Kunlun Mirror had recognized Ning Ye as its master, even Xin Ranzi couldn't use it to divine the future. Still, Xin Ranzi was more than satisfied to have recovered the complete Heaven Asking Art.

His gaze toward Ning Ye grew even warmer. "You're a fine young man. From today on, you'll be my ninth disciple. Remember, the matter of the Thousand Mechanism Hall must remain a secret. No one else can know."

From that day on, Ning Ye formally joined the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

The Heavenly Mechanism Sect was a small sect with few members. Its leader, Xin Ranzi, had nine disciples. Including disciples from its branches and its servants, the sect had fewer than a hundred people in all.

Even so, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect was quite harmonious.

Xin Ranzi placed great importance on Ning Ye, seeing him as the one who would revive the sect in the future. As a result, Ning Ye received excellent treatment. Whenever rare treasures came into their hands, Xin Ranzi thought of him first. Ning Ye had only average talent, but with Xin Ranzi's careful guidance, his cultivation advanced rapidly.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years passed.

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