The moon hung high above the vast, mountainous terrain of the Void Abyss, its silver glow casting eerie shadows across the barren land. Shen Liang stood atop a jagged peak, his dark robe fluttering in the icy wind. His cultivation had taken another leap, but the mysteries of the Void Path remained elusive. Tonight, he intended to break past his current bottleneck.
The Forgotten Ritual
As Shen Liang focused his Qi, the ancient scroll given to him by the mysterious elder pulsed with an eerie blue glow. The Void Scripture, an artifact lost to time, contained the secrets of true spatial cultivation. Unlike ordinary Qi cultivators who relied on elemental forces, Shen Liang had stepped onto a path no one had dared to walk for centuries.
Sitting cross-legged, he unfurled the scroll, his eyes scanning the cryptic symbols. Each word seemed to resonate with the very fabric of space, and as he chanted them, the air around him twisted. A rift began to form in front of him, a swirling abyss of black and purple.
Suddenly, an ancient voice echoed in his mind.
"To wield the Void is to forsake the mortal realm. Are you prepared, child?"
His heart pounded, but he did not waver. "I have chosen this path. No force in the heavens shall stop me."
The rift expanded, and a chilling force enveloped his body, dragging him into the unknown.
---
The Void Realm's Trial
Shen Liang found himself standing in a vast emptiness. There was no sky, no ground—only an infinite expanse of swirling energies. The sensation of weightlessness overwhelmed him, but he quickly centered his mind.
A shadow flickered before him.
"Welcome, trespasser," a deep voice rumbled. Before Shen Liang stood a towering figure clad in black armor, his eyes glowing like molten gold.
"Who are you?" Shen Liang asked, his voice calm despite the pressure radiating from the being.
"I am the Guardian of the Void Realm. If you seek its power, you must prove yourself."
Without warning, the guardian raised his hand, and a black spear materialized. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it toward Shen Liang with incredible speed.
Shen Liang's instincts screamed at him to dodge, but the laws of space bent around him unnaturally. Instead of moving, he focused his Qi into the Void Step, an ability he had barely begun to comprehend. His body flickered, vanishing from his previous position.
Boom!
The spear struck the void where he had been standing, the impact sending ripples through the dimension.
"A worthy challenger," the guardian mused. "But that was only a test."
Before Shen Liang could respond, the guardian vanished, only to reappear behind him, a massive void blade descending toward his back.
Damn! Shen Liang gritted his teeth. The speed was beyond anything he had faced before.
Using his Void Energy, he twisted space around him, shifting himself out of reach just in time. He countered with a palm strike infused with Void Qi, sending out a rippling wave of force.
The guardian merely smirked, blocking the attack with a single hand. "You lack refinement," he said. "Void cultivators do not merely manipulate space. They become one with it."
Then, without warning, the guardian dissolved into countless shadows, merging with the void itself.
---
The Truth of the Void
Shen Liang closed his eyes. He had to think beyond conventional combat. If the Void was formless, so too must he be.
The moment he let go of his attachments to form, everything around him became clear. He sensed the guardian's movements—not with his eyes, but with the flow of space itself. He shifted his stance, exhaling slowly.
As the guardian emerged to strike, Shen Liang was already moving. This time, he didn't just evade; he became part of the Void.
His fist struck forward, and for the first time, the guardian faltered.
A silence settled over the realm.
"You understand," the guardian said, his golden eyes flickering with approval. "Very well. The Void recognizes you."
The space around them trembled, and an immense surge of energy entered Shen Liang's body. His meridians expanded, his dantian pulsed, and his cultivation soared.
But with power came revelation.
As the guardian's form began to fade, he whispered, "The true Void is not merely an absence of space—it is the force that binds all things together. If you wish to master it, prepare yourself. The heavens will not accept your existence."
Before Shen Liang could ask what he meant, the world around him collapsed.
---
Return to Reality
He awoke back in the mortal realm, his body drenched in sweat. The stars above seemed closer, their light clearer than ever before. Shen Liang clenched his fists, feeling the newfound strength coursing through him.
But his moment of triumph was short-lived.
From the shadows of the mountain, a presence emerged.
"So, the Void Path still exists after all."
Shen Liang turned to see a figure draped in red robes, his aura filled with malice.
"You are the first in centuries to step into the forbidden realm," the man continued, his eyes narrowing. "That means you must
die."
Shen Liang smirked, his fingers crackling with Void Energy.
"You're welcome to try."