Cultivation Nerd

When her father told Song Song he would take her to the ancient Song Clan grounds, she imagined an old castle or ruins. Not this…

They hovered above the sea on flying swords after days of travel. Her father had stopped flying as if they had reached their destination.

Before her was a sight beyond her imagination: a massive waterfall where the sea spilled endlessly into an unfathomable abyss. Yet, even that description felt lacking, almost dishonest.

Everywhere she looked, it felt like the very edge of the world. Beyond the water's edge was nothing but an infinite void—a gaping emptiness that swallowed everything. The water cascaded into the void as though the world itself simply ended there, with only the abyss beyond. The sight was deeply unsettling. Song Song had never felt so small... and insignificant.

"What the hell is this place?" Song Song asked, still atop her flying sword—a red-bladed, black-handled weapon.

"The Song Clan has a history of over twenty thousand years. Few clans can boast such longevity and survive to this day," her father stated calmly. He wasn't using a flying sword at all. Still, he floated using his own Qi—a skill only Core Formation Cultivators could achieve. He was essentially walking on the air, supported by his Qi.

"Is this some kind of illusion?" Song Song asked, unable to tear her gaze from the abyss.

The fear that gripped her heart when staring at the endlessness… It was such a primal fear, and even though she knew she could fly, the fear of falling was larger than ever.

"Not exactly," her father smiled, his dark hair blending almost seamlessly with the night sky. "A clan like ours is not normal; in many ways, this is the end of the world."

Song Song glanced behind her. As far as her eyes could see, there was only the ocean. How far had they traveled to reach this place? They had been flying for no more than two days, yet somehow, they had reached the world's edge?

She recalled one of Liu Feng's many rants, where he had said the world was round. He had mentioned something about "gramity"—or granite, or whatever it was called—that kept people from falling off the supposedly spherical world.

Clearly, he had been wrong.

Even Song Song was surprised. How could they have reached the edge of the world so quickly?

"What you see before you is the barrier that separates the continents," her father explained. "It was erected by an immortal thousands of years ago. The barrier is no simple thing. No one knows how to pass through it, and as far as I know, our array conjurers are no closer to solving it than they were two thousand years ago. Even the Blazing Sun Sect's Level 7 array conjurer couldn't detect anything."

Song Song bet that if Liu Feng were here, he'd figure out what was happening. He always knew the answer to these kinds of things; if he didn't, he'd find out.

The next time they met, she would tell him about this.

"None of this concerns us," her father said, flying to the world's edge and descending with the water. "Come now, daughter, it's time for you to learn about your heritage."

Song Song followed, guiding her flying sword beside him, her mind still trying to grasp how they had reached this so-called end of the world so quickly. They had traveled in a straight line for days, but the Western Continent was vast, seemingly endless, and there had been no reports of disciples finding its end.

Did her father have something to do with this? Perhaps some kind of teleportation technique?

Song Song sighed and shook her head. It was pointless to dwell on these things. Her focus needed to be on cultivation and becoming a Core Formation Cultivator as soon as possible.

Liu Feng's curiosity might have rubbed off on her, but she wasn't naturally inclined to such thoughts. There were more important things than how fast they had arrived.

As they flew alongside the waterfall, Song Song glanced below. All she could see was an endless dark abyss, and there was no sound of water hitting anything beneath.

She wasn't easily frightened, but something about the endless darkness unsettled her. One wrong move, and she could fall into that infinite void—a sky without stars, where light never reached.

Her father strode confidently along the edge of the waterfall, his steps unhurried despite the looming abyss beside them. When he reached a certain point, he stopped, pausing momentarily before raising his hand with a deliberate gesture. In an instant, the roaring cascade of water began to part, splitting down the middle as if obeying his silent command. Behind the curtain of water, a large cave slowly emerged from the mist, hidden and untouched by time.

"Sometimes I wonder if our ancestors intentionally built this place here," her father mused. "Or perhaps it was a mere coincidence when the barriers covering the four continents were created. Whether you choose to destroy the Song Clan or not in the future, remember, our clan has a long history-"

"Yes, yes. All those who came before me, all the sacrifices they made—it's all because of me, in some way," Song Song interrupted, her voice unwavering. "They were good stepping stones. The Song Clan has fulfilled its purpose, and its greatest achievement will be producing someone like me."

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She glanced at her father from the corner of her eye, but he remained expressionless, unbothered by her interruption.

"Good," he nodded. "That's the mindset needed to reach the top. The world exists only for your desires and whims. Never forget that, my daughter."

Song Song shrugged, barely registering her father's words. Her focus was entirely on the cave ahead. Even as she stared directly at its entrance, something felt off—an unsettling haze seemed to cloud her vision. The darkness within the cave wasn't just an absence of light but a palpable force, as though the shadows themselves resisted being seen.

"If you weren't from the Song Clan, you wouldn't even be able to see this opening," her father said as he floated forward, landing at the cave's edge. Song Song followed just a step behind, and the waterfall closed behind them.

Song Song fully expected the light to fade into total darkness as they ventured deeper, especially since the sun's rays didn't seem to penetrate this far. Yet, to her surprise, there was no need for the light. Despite the lack of any visible source of illumination, she could see everything with unprecedented clarity.

The cave's intricate details, the jagged rocks, and even the faintest textures of the walls were vividly clear. Her vision was sharper than ever, as though the very air around her heightened her senses, revealing the cave's secrets with an almost unnatural lucidity.

The cave walls were adorned with strange, intricate drawings, their lines and shapes telling stories of long-forgotten events from a history buried deep in time. Though ancient and mysterious, the depictions held little interest for Song Song. Her gaze barely lingered on them as they passed.

Instead, her attention remained fixed on her father.

"What now? Do I just cultivate here?" she asked.

"Of course not. It's dangerous to stay at the edge. While it may seem like we live on a flat plane, this space is still connected to the other continents. Who knows what might happen?" her father replied.

The fact that even her father exercised caution in this place spoke volumes about the danger of their surroundings. Without offering further explanation, he resumed his slow but deliberate pace, and Song followed closely behind. The cave's walls, covered in strange, cryptic drawings, seemed to stretch endlessly, the stories etched into the stone lost in time. But after what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a large gate at the end of the tunnel.

The gate stood in stark contrast to the ruggedness of the cave. It was grand and ornate, with a golden handle, ruby engravings, and vivid purple paint depicting two fierce tigers locked in a deadly struggle. It was more befitting of a palace than the rugged cave that housed it.

Her father placed his hand upon the gate, and a deep rumble echoed throughout the cavern, shaking the walls as if the mountain itself were stirring awake. Suddenly, a golden light burst forth, blindingly bright, like the sun itself had been unleashed from behind the door.

But when the light dimmed, and the gate swung open, what lay behind was surprisingly underwhelming—just another room at first. However, it was no ordinary chamber.

Suspended from the ceiling by thick golden chains were glass coffins, each containing a naked man, their bodies eerily preserved. The coffins hung like grotesque chandeliers, their occupants frozen in lifeless stillness. The chains radiated a powerful, warm Qi that felt almost like the energy of the sun itself—Yang Qi, pulsing with a strength that filled the room with an overwhelming sense of heat and life.

"These are the cadavers of the Song Clan members who reached the Nascent Soul realm," her father said, his usual monotone voice tinged with melancholy. "When you look at something like this, it makes you realize how insignificant a Nascent Soul Cultivator truly is in the grand scheme of things. Most of these cultivators lived in an age when resources were abundant and cultivation was in its golden age. But now, they're just corpses. They'd have rotted away long ago without the clan's preservation techniques."

He sure loves the sound of his own voice, Song Song thought, recalling how he'd often launched into long-winded speeches during her childhood. It seemed he hadn't changed.

"Can we get to where I can cultivate?" she asked impatiently.

"Patience was never your strength, and that hasn't changed," her father remarked, his cold gaze making her spine tingle, even though she knew he wouldn't harm her. "You should learn your family's history. After all, you'll be using these ancient grounds for your training."

"Why would I care about the history of a clan I'm going to destroy?" Song Song asked, as casually as if she were commenting on the weather.

Their eyes met, and neither of them backed down. The air between them crackled with tension. In the end, her father nodded slightly.

"Yes, that makes sense. Just make sure you become an immortal so the bloodline continues forever," he said. "If you achieve immortality, I will help you destroy the Song Clan."

"Why would I need your help if I'm an immortal?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I can easily recall all the family members out on missions. When eliminating a clan, it's best to leave no one behind. You wouldn't want some elder to rebuild the clan."

He moved to the wall and tapped a specific pattern on the rocky surface, causing a secret door to slide open. Song Song wasn't surprised by her father's cold indifference.

"How many secret doors does this place have?" Song Song asked.

"More than you can imagine," her father replied, gesturing toward the newly revealed entrance. "Inside, the Qi is denser than usual, so your cultivation will progress faster. You'll also find some pills. Since you're not fond of explanations, I'll just say this: start with the pills that release the least Qi if you don't want to cripple your cultivation."

He wasn't finished, though. A blue-covered book materialized in his hands, and he tossed it to her.

Song Song caught it. The book was as thick as her forearm and heavier than it looked.

She groaned. "I think your spies have misinformed you—I'm not the one who enjoys reading in my group."

"I know. But it would be a shame for the clan's rituals to vanish if you destroy the clan," he said. "This book will teach you a new language—the one in which the demonic ritual texts are written. It's the only way to obtain the inheritance of the Blood Step Immortal."

Song Song wasn't the type to be excited about reading, but the mention of an immortal's inheritance piqued her interest.

She opened the blue-covered book, but the writing inside was a strange language she couldn't decipher. However, it seemed to be an alphabet of some sort, and the letters were translated. Song Song already knew the basics, but this was going to be a pain to learn.

As she stared at the letters, she frowned.

Had she seen this writing before? It resembled something from her past…

Ah, yes. That one time, she had swiped Liu Feng's notebook when they first met. The strange language he used to write in his notebooks.

Wait, why would Liu Feng know how to write in this language?