The Forbidden Gate

Xian Ye's fingers hovered over the ancient carvings.

The symbols on the stone tablet were unlike anything in the sect's teachings. They were older, deeper—etched with an intent beyond mortal understanding. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on them, he understood.

Not in words. Not in logic.

But in memory.

A cold wind swept through the trees, and for a moment, the world around him seemed distant.

"You must never enter this place, not until you are ready."

The voice from his vision echoed in his mind, heavy with warning.

But he had no choice.

If the sect wanted him to prove himself, if he was to survive the next three months in this wilderness, then he needed power. And this tablet was calling to him.

He pressed his palm against the stone.

The carvings flared to life.

A deep, resonant hum filled the air, the vibrations traveling through his bones. The ground beneath him trembled, and the tree roots that once concealed the tablet pulled away, as if bowing to an unseen force.

The stone split apart, revealing a narrow path descending into darkness.

A hidden gate.

And beyond it—something waiting.

The Descent

Xian Ye hesitated.

Not out of fear, but instinct.

Whatever lay beneath this place was not meant for ordinary cultivators. There were no sect records of this passage, no tales of hidden temples beneath the Outer Sect Grounds.

Which meant one thing—this was a secret long buried, meant to be forgotten.

He took a step forward.

The descent was steep, the air growing colder with every step. The walls of the tunnel were lined with more carvings, their meanings half-lost to time.

But as he continued, pieces of his own fragmented memory reacted.

"This is not the first time I have walked this path."

The realization sent a chill down his spine.

Ahead, a faint glow emerged. The tunnel widened into a vast underground chamber, its ceiling lost in shadows. At its center stood a monolithic archway, black as the void, its surface shifting like liquid obsidian.

A sealed gate.

And before it, an altar stained with dried blood.

Xian Ye exhaled, steadying himself.

"This place… was made for someone like me."

But why?

And what had been sealed away here?

His pulse quickened as he stepped toward the altar, feeling an invisible force pulling him forward. His fingertips brushed the surface—

A sharp, blinding pain shot through his skull.

Memory Flash – The Gate of Eternity

Blinding light.

A sea of stars collapsing inward, pulled toward the center of an endless void.

And standing before it—a figure in black, clad in flowing robes that swallowed the very light around them.

His voice was calm, yet it carried the weight of a thousand years.

"You have forgotten who you are."

"But the Gate has not forgotten you."

"Do you dare to open it?"

Xian Ye gasped, staggering back from the altar. His breath was ragged, his vision swimming.

The Gate of Eternity.

He didn't know how he knew its name, but the moment it had been spoken, something inside him had awakened.

A forgotten truth.

A choice.

His hand clenched into a fist.

If he stepped away now, he could return to the sect, live out the next three months, and survive. But if he crossed this threshold, if he opened this gate—

Everything would change.

Xian Ye's lips curled into a slow, determined smirk.

"I was never meant to follow their path anyway."

With a deep breath, he placed his hand against the gate.

The obsidian surface shuddered. The air crackled with energy.

And then—

The Gate of Eternity opened.