Am I Ten Thousand Years Late?

Early morning, Cloudmist Mountains.

As one of the oldest primeval forests in Great Xia, the Cloudmist Mountains had always been a place that deterred even the most seasoned mountaineers.

It was not merely due to the countless snakes, insects, rats, and ants within; more importantly, the mountains experienced a fog season lasting half the year. Within a hundred-mile radius, clouds and mist swirled so densely that even the most elite climbing teams could easily lose their way in this forest of towering trees.

Yet today, this ancient mountain range welcomed a special guest.

Dressed in a thin jacket with a massive travel pack on his back, Shen Yuan walked through the woods. With his right hand, he used an entrenching tool to casually push aside a branch, flicking a snake hidden beneath it into the distance with agile, practiced movements.

This was already the third day Shen Yuan had spent venturing deep into the Cloudmist Mountains. As one of the few primeval forests in Great Xia, the outer foothills had long been developed into a tourist attraction. All visitors were only permitted to explore under the guidance of tour guides to prevent them from wandering deep into the mountain range.

Even Shen Yuan had to sign up for a tour group, disguising himself as an ordinary tourist to gain entry into the Cloudmist Mountains.

Shortly after entering the scenic area, Shen Yuan voluntarily left the group and struck out on his own, heading deep into the forbidden reaches of the mountains.

The reason Shen Yuan dared to take such a risk was, naturally, because he was no ordinary man.

He paused his steps, sensing the thick mist surrounding him. Standing still, his breathing gradually became long and rhythmic. A warm current circulated within his body, driving away the chill of the morning.

A long while later, as a long exhalation escaped his lips, the white breath surged like a dragon, piercing through the heavy mist and leaving a deep mark on the trunk of an ancient tree a yard away.

As expected, the air of the mortal world is too impure and unfavorable for cultivation. This Cloudmist Breathing Method is best practiced in close proximity to the natural world. Having ventured deep into the Cloudmist Mountains for only three days, I feel my cultivation has progressed significantly—it is worth at least half a month of bitter training back home.

A smile couldn't help but bloom on Shen Yuan's face. He was not a mortal; more accurately, he was not a person of this world.

Half a year ago, Shen Yuan transmigrated to the Profound Yellow Realm. The technological level of this world was nearly identical to that of the Earth he had come from.

The only difference was that the Profound Yellow Realm had possessed legends of immortals, gods, and demons since ancient times, and the Great Xia where Shen Yuan resided had a history spanning over three thousand years.

Although there was no information on the internet to confirm even a shred of evidence regarding these immortals or demons, Shen Yuan remained certain that true immortals existed in this world.

This was because, along with Shen Yuan, a portable system called the Ascension System had arrived in this world.

According to the Ascension System, it would issue a series of tasks to help Shen Yuan ascend to the Immortal Realm and attain eternal life.

Relying on the system's help, Shen Yuan had learned the Cloudmist Breathing Method gifted during the beginner's tutorial over the past six months and successfully stepped into the Refining Essence Realm.

Essence Refinement into Qi, Qi Refinement Transformation, Spirit Refining Returning to Void, and Void Refining Merging with Dao were the four steps to ascension passed down by the ancient Qi Refiners.

The Refining Essence Realm involved circulating spiritual power through the meridians to strengthen one's own essence; the physical body became several times stronger than that of an ordinary person, preparing the foundation for the next step: Essence Refinement into Qi.

Upon reaching this realm, Shen Yuan was no longer afraid of extreme cold or heat. The circulation of his internal breath alone was enough to drive away the chill and keep snakes, insects, rats, and ants at bay.

To achieve such results in less than half a year in this world was not only due to the help of the Ascension System but also inseparable from Shen Yuan's own diligent practice.

However, the Cloudmist Breathing Method was only the most basic technique. If Shen Yuan wanted to break through the Refining Essence Realm, he needed to obtain subsequent techniques, and this involved the Ascension System's beginner tutorial.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuan glanced at the display on the system interface.

Beginner Tutorial: Take the Ascension Token to the Cloudmist Mountains and join the Falling Cloud Sect to obtain the Violet Cloud Qi Refining Method.

With the "Beginner Tutorial" label hanging above it, Shen Yuan had initially thought it would be a very simple task. Shortly after stepping into the Refining Essence Realm, he had sought an opportunity to come to the Cloudmist Mountains.

Yet, after wandering in these mountains for three full days, Shen Yuan hadn't even caught a glimpse of the so-called Falling Cloud Sect.

If it weren't for the fact that the Ascension Token in his bosom could generate a faint resonance to confirm the direction of the Falling Cloud Sect for him, Shen Yuan would have long since gotten lost in these deep mountains and given up.

But even so, finding the Falling Cloud Sect within the vast expanse of the Cloudmist Mountains was no easy task.

Logically speaking, these Cloudmist Mountains, covering a thousand miles, should all be the territory of the Falling Cloud Sect. I have arrived here with the Ascension Token; the sect should have sensed its presence.

But I haven't seen a single disciple of the Falling Cloud Sect to this day. Could it be another one of those cliché trials to temper one's resolve through secret observation?

Shen Yuan couldn't help but mutter to himself.

But regardless, he had come this far. The slightly glowing Ascension Token in his chest seemed to remind him that the Falling Cloud Sect was right before his eyes, and Shen Yuan could not give up halfway.

After climbing mountains and crossing ridges all day, from early morning until the sun slanted to the west, Shen Yuan finally arrived at a mountain stream.

Clear spring water cascaded down from the cliffs, and the rising mist, combined with the afterglow of the setting sun, illuminated the place as if it were an Immortal Realm. Occasionally, a few sika deer drank from the spring, curiously eyeing Shen Yuan, the uninvited guest.

"This is the place."

Shen Yuan took out the now-warm Ascension Token from his bosom and kept scanning the surrounding environment.

As a practitioner, he could feel that this area seemed to be covered by a layer of spiritual power, as if it were concealing something.

An immortal sect formation? A barrier? Or perhaps the entrance to some Grotto-Heaven?

Shen Yuan's eyes brightened slightly as he held the Ascension Token, curiously observing his surroundings.

But soon, Shen Yuan realized something was wrong.

Shen Yuan had trekked over mountains and through water to reach the location of the Falling Cloud Sect. Whether the sect intended to accept him as a disciple or reject him, someone should have appeared by now.

The current situation did not look like the home of any hidden sect at all.

Allowing the breathing method to circulate his essence into the Ascension Token, a wisp of ethereal mist began to rise within the mountain stream before him, with purple qi flowing through it.

Subsequently, as if layers of folded space were opening, a brand-new world presented itself before Shen Yuan's eyes.

It was a Grotto-Heaven filled with pavilions and towers. Buildings with carved dragons and painted beams were constructed upon the mountain peaks, with winding stairs encircling the mountains. Above the rolling sea of clouds, rosy light shimmered, creating a magnificent spectacle.

Anyone who saw this scene would praise it as the style of an immortal family.

However, this image lasted only for a fleeting moment. The next instant, the phantom before his eyes shattered, and what finally appeared before Shen Yuan was nothing more than a collapsed mountain peak.

The dilapidated pavilions and towers had long been overtaken by lush vegetation. Jagged cracks in the sky tore through the sea of clouds, presenting a scene of ruin. The once-great Grotto-Heaven had already turned into a wasteland.

Before the entrance to the Grotto-Heaven Paradise stood a massive stone stele, its archaic, lingering characters still etched with the resentment and bitterness of ten million years.

"In the ninth year of the Great Yin, the Human Emperor used supreme divine might to enact the Severing Heaven and Earth, leaving the world with no path to ascension.

I am unreconciled; I attained the rank of Earth Immortal within this Grotto-Heaven Paradise and led my sect to ascend in a glow of light, yet we met a great calamity, and the ten-thousand-year legacy of Falling Cloud was destroyed in an instant.

The founder once divined the heavens to their limit, but where, oh where, is the Ascension Daoist who can save the Falling Cloud Sect from its peril?"

Shen Yuan stared blankly at the ancient, weathered characters, his mind reeling in a daze.

"This world possesses a long and storied history. Before the current Great Xia, there were the three long eras of the Great Qin, the Great Yu, and the Hundred States Conflict. The ninth year of the Great Yin was a full ten thousand years ago."

"The Falling Cloud Sect was wiped out ten thousand years ago."

"Am I ten thousand years too late?"