The sky above the Azure Sky Sect remained still, as if the heavens themselves were holding their breath.
Inside Qin Chen's secluded residence, a different reality was unfolding.
He sat cross-legged in his cultivation chamber, staring at two artifacts floating silently before him—the Celestial Dew of Myriad Souls, and the Mysterious Key. One pulsed with divine potential, the other with unknown danger.
He reached toward the key first, holding it carefully. Its edges shimmered with silver-black runes that distorted space itself. Even the air bent unnaturally around it.
"A forbidden realm…"
He frowned. The system had offered no information. That alone meant it was far from ordinary.
"If I'm walking into something the system won't even explain, then I need to be ready."
His gaze shifted back to the Celestial Dew.
Its glow was ethereal, rippling between silver, violet, and golden hues. The moment he uncorked the vial, the chamber trembled. The scent alone was otherworldly—like the fragrance of a flower blooming at the dawn of time.
Qin Chen smirked. "Then let's begin."
He drank it in one fluid motion.
The world shattered.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire mountain range shook.
Golden fire erupted from within his body like a volcano cracking through space. Sword intent shrieked out like a divine melody played across the strings of reality.
Within his dantian—
His golden core pulsed once.
Twice.
Then—
CRACK!!
It split apart, melting into a sea of blinding light.
No longer a simple core.
This was transformation.
His consciousness was dragged inward, into the depths of his Soul Sea.
Here, in an endless ocean of primordial fire and light, Qin Chen floated. Before him—his soul began to take shape.
At first, it was formless.
But then—
His Zenith Sword Soul stirred.
From deep within, a massive, translucent sword descended—its edge glowed with celestial runes, radiating an intent that could split the firmament itself.
Then the Fire Sovereign Dao Body responded.
From the ocean floor, phoenix-like flames burst upward, coiling and wrapping around the sword, merging the essence of fire and blade.
The result?
A nascent soul that defied comprehension.
A divine being emerged—humanoid in form, but with blazing wings of immortal fire, a sword crown hovering behind its head, and its chest pulsing with molten gold.
"Woah…" Qin Chen whispered.
It was more than just a nascent soul.
It was a symbol of dual supremacy.
His soul pulsed once—and the very Sea of Consciousness shook.
Then came the second heartbeat.
And the heavens bowed.
Back in the physical realm, Qin Chen's body levitated. Flames wrapped around him like a cocoon of divine rebirth. Sword-light threaded through the fire, forming patterns too complex to decipher, Dao lines from a future yet unwritten.
His bones cracked, reforming.
His flesh glowed, strengthened.
His meridians stretched, layered with soul threads that would allow for true soul cultivation.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A final eruption of light shot into the sky from his peak, splitting the clouds like a divine blade. Lightning and flame danced around the upper atmosphere, and the very world paused for a moment.
It was only one instant, but it shook the world.
In the distance, sect disciples dropped to their knees.
Elder Mu, watching from afar, muttered with awe. "This… is no ordinary breakthrough…"
Inside the chamber—
Qin Chen's breakthrough phenomenon had disappeared.
DING!
[Breakthrough Complete: You have entered the Nascent Soul Realm.]
[Your Nascent Soul has been formed: Flawless – Sovereign Grade.]
[Effects: Immortal-tier soul potential unlocked. You may now form a Soul Domain. You are eligible to enter the Immortal Garden.]
Qin Chen's eyes opened slowly, golden-violet fire still dancing in his pupils.
He stood.
And space bent slightly around him.
He exhaled.
The breath alone rippled with soul force.
Then he raised a finger—
SHHHHHIIIIIIING!!!
A thin sword-light cut the air… and space itself parted, just a hair's breadth.
He smiled.
"This… is real power."
He turned to the Mysterious Key, still floating in the corner of the room, pulsing with silent anticipation.
He reached out, gripping it tightly.
"Now… I'm ready."
And the world itself felt it.
The Sovereign Flame Sword Soul had arrived.
Then Suddenly!
Ding!
[You have consumed the Celestial Dew of Myriad Souls, and will be pulled to the Immortal Garden in 30 Seconds!]
[29…28…27]
Qin Chen's jaw nearly dropped, "Fuck, I guess I'll wing it then!" he cursed.
[3…2…1]
All of a sudden, Qin Chen felt a force that seemed as vast as the universe itself pulling him.
The space around Qin Chen began to ripple, and without too much of a commotion, he soundlessly disappeared.
The next thing he saw was certainly something he would never forget.
Qin Chen, laying on his back in an unfamiliar world, opened his eyes and his heart palpitated.
What greeted him… was not the sky.
Above him stretched a cosmos unlike any he had ever imagined—a dome of stars, yes, but the stars moved in rhythmic spirals, each orbiting around colossal, translucent beasts. One resembled a dragon with wings woven from time itself. Another pulsed like a jellyfish made of stardust, its tendrils trailing entire galaxies behind it.
A titanic eye—disembodied and ageless—floated high above, its golden iris spinning endlessly as if observing all who dared to exist in this realm. He could feel it watching him, but with no malice. Only… amusement.
Far across the void, islands of stone drifted freely through space, some shaped like lotus blossoms, others like divine weapons buried in orbit, their edges carving trails through nebulae.
He blinked.
And space shivered.
A phoenix skeleton the size of a mountain hovered upside down in the distance, its bones alive with immortal fire. At its center was a glowing fruit—a single red orb pulsing with life, floating inside the ribcage like a trapped sun.
Off to the side, a great wheel spun silently. Not a wheel of wood or metal—but a wheel of karma, he somehow knew, made from intertwined lives and fates, its spokes humming with songs of joy and tragedy from long-forgotten eras.
Qin Chen's throat went dry.
Even with the system, even with everything he had gained—this was something different.
Something older.
Something eternal.
And then—
he looked down.
His feet touched soft, dew-kissed grass that shimmered in prismatic colors—green one moment, silver the next, then a faint violet that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Stretching out before him was the Immortal Garden.
And it was not a single garden, but many—dozens of celestial biomes folded together.
A forest of crystalline bamboo swayed nearby, its leaves chiming like bells when the wind passed. Pools of molten gold reflected stars that weren't even visible in the sky. Vast lotus lakes stretched out under floating bridges built from immortal jade. Every flower, every stone, every flicker of mist exuded spiritual energy so rich it nearly overwhelmed his senses.
He took a breath.
Even the air here tasted different—cool, clean, refined, like breathing in the essence of Dao itself.
Glowing butterflies passed him lazily, each wingbeat leaving behind trails of Dao runes. Strange creatures peeked at him from between flowering trees—foxes with nine tails and lotus-petal fur, birds that sang songs in ancient languages he could almost understand.
And in the distance…
A stairway of floating petals led upward toward a structure built into the clouds—an ancient pagoda that shimmered between real and unreal, as if it existed in every realm at once.
Qin Chen narrowed his eyes, awe still written in every part of his expression.
"So this… is the legacy hidden within a single drop of celestial dew?"
A soft breeze carried his voice away, as if the garden itself had heard—and approved.
The path ahead was not marked.
But it was clear.
Whatever trials, treasures, or truths lay within this place, he was meant to face them.
And perhaps… to inherit something that even immortals feared to claim.