After arriving at the base of Elental Heaven Peak, Elder Kun led Yu Xuan up the path that coiled around the mountain.
The air grew noticeably purer the higher they ascended, and soft spiritual energy caressed Yu Xuan’s skin like a whisper of wind.
Along the way, Yu Xuan noticed vibrant foliage lining the path — fields of grass in shimring blue-green hues, and flowers blooming in unnatural colors: one with petals like crystals, another whose blossoms seed to ripple like water.
So even gave off faint auroras: flickers of fla, sparks of lightning, gentle breeze, or droplets of mist.
After reaching a certain height, Elder Kun stopped and gestured upward. "Keep going. Your master resides near the summit. I’ll stay here and set up your residence nearby."
Yu Xuan nodded. "Thank you, Elder Kun."
Following the ascending path, Yu Xuan continued his trek upward.
To his surprise, it took him nearly an hour to reach the summit — yet the climb hadn’t exhausted him at all. In fact, it had felt strangely effortless.
From a distance, the peak had looked impossibly tall, he was certain it greater than Mount Everest.
’There must be so spatial compression or trick at play’, he thought.
’As expected of my new reality — the one and only cultivation world,’ he mused with a grin.
Then he saw it.
At the summit stood a lavish mansion — no, a palace might have been a better word.
The structure appeared carved directly into the mountain’s surface, with gleaming jade pillars and flowing crystal streams running through the gardens.
The walls shimred faintly, as if forged from solidified light, while ethereal mist circled the rooftop.
The roof tiles changed color depending on the light — blue, gold, red, silver and intricate carvings of phoenixes, dragons, qilin, and turtles decorated the wooden eaves.
A small waterfall descended beside the front steps, flowing into a lotus pond brimming with radiant flowers.
It radiated mystery, majesty — and power.
Yu Xuan took a deep breath and ca to a halt at the ornate entrance of the palace.
Then, raising his voice just slightly, he announced clearly:
"Master, your disciple has co to pay respects."
The grand doors of the palace creaked open in response, revealing a softly lit hall filled with faint glowing motes of elental light — tiny orbs of water, flickers of fla, wisps of air, and dancing pebbles that hovered gently in the air as if the very laws of nature were tad within this place.
Yu Xuan stepped inside, unable to suppress his admiration. The architecture was divine.
Every tile, every arch, every painting embedded into the walls radiated harmony with the elents present.
Silken drapes floated mid-air without wind, and a stream of water ran along the sides of the hallway, illuminated from beneath by multicolored spiritual stones.
And then... he saw her.
Seated gracefully atop a floating jade throne that levitated a few inches above the floor, surrounded by soft multicolored light, was his master — the Peak Master of Elental Heaven Peak.
Now this wasn’t a projection, he was certain. If anything, it was likely her clone in physical form, but even so, the pressure and presence she exuded was anything but ordinary.
She looked to be in her late twenties — an age that was almost certainly deceptive. Yu Xuan wisely refused to speculate on her real age.
Her hair cascaded down to her waist in a srizing display of multicolored strands that shimred like liquid rainbows.
Every shift of her posture caused the colors to subtly change — fiery reds, calm blues, soft greens, golden highlights. It was like staring at a living aurora.
Her skin was flawless — smooth as jade, radiant yet soft, the kind that would make imperial concubines feel inferior. And her face...
Yu Xuan gulped and imdiately looked away.
Her face was the very embodint of perfection; big luminous eyes with glowing irises that shimred like galaxies, a delicately sculpted nose, and lips of the purest pink — a color so true, it made the actual pink seem dull in comparison.
He blinked, snapped out of his daze, and imdiately dropped into a deep respectful bow. "Disciple greets Master."
The Peak Master, however, raised a brow ever so slightly and offered a faint, amused smile.
"Oh my... ogling your own master now?" she said, her voice teasing yet oddly lodious, like bells chiming across a quiet lake.
Yu Xuan internally froze, but years of training and a silver tongue honed through both lives kicked in.
"Master, your disciple had no devious intentions. It’s just... I’ve had limited encounters with the opposite gender, and your beauty was simply too divine for my mortal eyes."
He delivered the line with the precision of a seasoned actor — so smooth that he could’ve passed a lie detector even in a courtroom of heavenly judges.
She chuckled softly, folding one leg over the other atop her floating throne. "So you’re not looking at your master in that way?"
Still bowed and unflinching, Yu Xuan replied earnestly, "Absolutely not, Master. I rely lacked the vocabulary to express my admiration respectfully."
A sigh escaped her lips — part content, part nostalgic.
"I was just teasing you," she said, waving a slender hand. "It’s been quite so ti since I had soone to speak with informally."
Yu Xuan, however, didn’t take her tone lightly.
’I’m not a playboy’, he reminded himself.
’And she’s probably older than both my lives combined’, the re thought of that made cold sweat appear on his back.
But just then, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Hmmm... did you just think sothing rude about ?"
"N-Not at all, Master," he stamred, adjusting his posture slightly. "I... I actually had a question."
Her interest visibly piqued. "Go on."
He hesitated, then asked with genuine curiosity: "When will I begin cultivating?"
And sowhere, beyond the fourth wall, a mysterious audience let out a collective gasp of relief.
Finally! Cultivation, at last! The crowd was really approaching the limit of their patience because of the fake promise on cha— Cough-Cough.
But so were even ready to toss imaginary spirit stones in celebration — but alas, dinsional limitations still applied to so, but to others, they were Supre beings, such minor inconvenience was not a problem at all.
The Peak Master raised a brow.
"Oh? And who said you were forbidden to start?"
Yu Xuan looked aggrieved. "Master, please stop teasing your poor disciple. I might collapse from anticipation at this rate..."
That pitiful expression — those wide eyes, that furrowed brow, it was almost too much thought Yu Xuan didn’t think much about his appereance, unknow to him — he was the most handso mortal.
With a faint chuckle, she descended from her throne, stepping down without a sound. As she stood before him, Yu Xuan noticed she was a head and a half taller than him.
She gently pressed a hand against his forehead.
A warm, soft energy spread across his skin. Then — tap.
He felt sothing shift. A stream of knowledge began to transfer into his mind: foundational energy circulation thods, the ridian map, spiritual breathing rhythm, and much more. But there was a barrier.
He could access so parts — but the deeper techniques... they were locked behind so sort of restriction.
His brows furrowed slightly. "Master... what was that restriction?"
She removed her hand and gazed at him with serene wisdom.
"That was a beginner-level cultivation thod I myself created," she said softly.
"You’ll need to pass a threshold — in simple terms breakthrough. When you are ready... it will open on its own."
Then she smiled.
"And besides, would it be fun if I handed you everything so easily?"
Yu Xuan had no answer to that.
Then, with a soft sigh, the Peak Master spoke again.
"Though cultivation may seem simple because of your all-elental affinity, advancing to the next realms will not be easy. The higher you rise, the tougher the path becos. I, too, faced several bottlenecks... even with talent."
Her voice trailed off for a mont, lost in mories. There was a subtle exhaustion in her expression, a glimpse of the countless years she had to suffer.
"But," she continued, her gaze sharpening as it fell upon him, "thanks to my efforts over the millennials, you won’t have to endure as many of those hardships. At least, not at the beginning."
Yu Xuan looked slightly overwheld. How was he supposed to respond to that? All he could manage was a sincere bow of gratitude.
Then, with a gentle flick of her fingers, she summoned a few glimring beam of light that went to his storage ring.
"I’ve stored several resources in your space ring—items that will aid your early breakthroughs. Pills, manuals, tools... everything my disciple should have. If you encounter any difficulty, co to . Understood?"
"Yes, Master. Thank you for your kindness."
Yu Xuan bowed again, more deeply this ti. "I’ll take my leave now."
She nodded, watching him turn and walk away. Her expression softened as he disappeared from sight, and her fingers idly brushed a lock of her rainbow-hued hair behind her ear.
"So similar... yet so different," she whispered to herself, then returned to her throne in quiet thought.
***
anwhile, Yu Xuan descended the mountain path, the wind gently brushing his robe as he made his way back to where Elder Kun was waiting.
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