I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Victor sighed. "That's where I was heading. And you might want to lower the hostility."

There was an awkward silence before the guards eased their stances. Victor followed them through winding paths until the grand golden doors of the main hall stood before him. The guards stepped aside as he entered.

Inside, City Lord Xuan Wenzhou sat atop a large throne, flanked by ministers and advisors. The moment he saw Victor, his face broke into a rare smile.

"Fang Chen! I never thought you would return," the City Lord exclaimed. "It has been over eight moons since your disappearance."

Victor didn't waste time. "Why did you try to keep me here last time?"

The City Lord nodded toward his advisor. The elderly man stepped forward and unrolled an ancient scroll before handing it to Victor.

Victor studied it. The drawing was aged and the ink look faded.

It showed a robed figure dragging a serpentine beast into what looked like a celebration. The architecture in the background matched the palace.

Victor frowned. "Okay? You tried to prevent me from leaving because of a bad painting?"

Xuan Wenzhou shook his head solemnly. "Not a painting. A prophecy."

As he spoke, a system notification flashed across Victor's vision:

[Incoming Quest...]

The City Lord began to narrate with a burdened tone. "Ten thousand years ago, one of my ancestors saved a group of cultivators—wanderers who practiced a rare Dao of foresight and karma. In return, they revealed a prophecy."

Victor listened intently as the hall grew quiet.

"The doom of Blueflame City, they said, would come in one of three ways. The first: an unavoidable destruction one hundred thousand years from then. Certain doom. The second: my daughter, or rather one of my descendants, entering the Bloodshade Hunting Grounds and dying, triggering events that would bring ruin. And the third—the most curious one."

He gestured to the scroll. "A rogue cultivator would one day bring a Mythical Shadow-Eyed Moon Serpent to one of my descendants' birthdays. Should that happen, the city would have only one year left. However..."

Another advisor stepped forward before adding, "They claimed that this very rogue cultivator, the one who brings the beast, would also be the city's salvation—if he accepts the burden."

Victor stared at the painting again. It was crude, but the figure did vaguely resemble him. A slender frame, long hair, dragging a bound serpent. He could see why they thought it might be him.

"Still not convinced it's me," Victor said. "That could be anyone with good hair and a snake."

Xuan Wenzhou chuckled tiredly. "We didn't act solely on this. When we saw you heal the serpent, the pattern of events... it aligned too closely."

Victor glanced at the notification again. It hadn't displayed the quest yet which meant there was more.

"One year until potential destruction?"

He folded the scroll and stared at the city Lord. "Fine. Suppose I believe this. What now?"

The City Lord met his eyes. "Now, you decide whether you will help us or not. If you do, we will give you access to resources, support, and information related to the doom. But if you choose not to..."

Victor arched a brow. "You'll kill me?"

Wenzhou shook his head. "No. The prophecy said your survival was critical... but do you really wish to ignore and watch doom befall a city that ushered you in and showed you hospitality?"

Victor rubbed his temples. "Hospitality by keeping me hostage."

"I do apologise for that but it is a dire situation," the City Lord stated.

Xuan Wenzhou rose slowly from his throne with his hands clasped behind his back as he turned his gaze out of the vast arched window.

"You deserve to know everything now," he voiced in a tone far heavier than before.

Victor listened intently.

"To the west of Blueflame City," the City Lord began, "past the great fire blossom valley, lies an ancient grove. It is shrouded in mist and untouched by man or beast for hundreds of thousands of years. We call it the Hollow Verdant, but its true name has long been erased from records."

Victor arched a brow, listening intently.

"Deep within the grove lies a sealed gate. Not one that leads to another city or realm, but to a pocket dimension. A prison of sorts."

He turned to face Victor. "It houses the remnants of a nightmare. Crazed immortal cultivators, corrupted by forbidden arts. They were once among the most revered in the continent, powerful enough to rewrite the very laws of cultivation. But their ambition drove them mad. They began sacrificing cities, devouring spiritual veins, and raising abominations."

Victor swallowed. "And someone stopped them?"

"Yes," the City Lord said. "The great cultivators of that era united. Among them stood the Void Emperor himself. They couldn't kill the corrupted ones. So instead, they sealed them and their monstrous creations in that pocket dimension."

Victor's gaze drifted to the scroll in his hands.

"And you're saying… that gate is about to open?"

"In a year's time, yes." The City Lord sighed. "The seal has been weakening for millennia. Your appearance confirms what the ancient watchers had feared—the final unraveling has begun."

Victor had a slightly puzzled expression. "But surely, with the resources and strength of Blueflame City, you could stop them, right?"

That was when the City Lord laughed. "You misunderstand. The most powerful cultivator in our city is Lord Bai Jin of the Four Flames Sect. He recently stepped into the Immortal Ascension Realm."

Victor's breath caught. That was four levels above where he currently was.

"The ones behind that gate? They're far beyond even the Immortal Ascension Realm. They're monsters who defied the heavens. It would take a Heavenly Saint Realm cultivator to match them—a level we haven't reached in five centuries."

Victor's brow furrowed. "But other empires? Other cities? They wouldn't just sit idle if the world was in danger, would they?"

"Of course not," the City Lord said. "But politics and pride cloud judgement. They will only act once they see the destruction with their own eyes. And by then... Blueflame City will already be ashes."

Victor stared at the floor while piecing it together. "So what stops you from sending cultivators to the grove to strengthen the seal?"

Wenzhou proceeded to explain. "The grove rejects all the presence of all but the Void Emperor's essence. We have tried sending our most devout cultivators, but they are pushed back violently and some even lost their minds."

"You recently just awakened the Void Emperor's bloodline which had been lost for a very long time..." the City Lord added.

"Then that means I'm the only one who can enter the grove..."

A low chime echoed in Victor's mind at this moment.

[New World Quest Unlocked]

[ Title: "Doom's Edge: The Grove of Sealed Fate" ]

[ Duration: 1 Year ]

'Hmm another one year quest...' Victor voiced internally.

[ Objective: Visit The Hollow Verdant, uncover the nature of the failing seal, repair and strengthen seal. ]

[ Sub-Objectives: Survive the Ancient Grove's Trials ]

[ Warning: Failing this quest will result in the destruction of Blueflame City ]

Victor let the notification fade from his vision. His fingers closed slowly around the scroll.

"You want me to save your city by repairing the seal..."