Gazing at the silhouette of the azure ghost who had saved him from truly losing himself, Yua a mix of emotions. After all, who wouldn't? Standing before him wasn't a human but a ghost-like being, aence he had never entered before.

  For a moment, he simply stared, his mind processing what had just happehen, taking a short breath, he spoke with siy, l his head slightly in gratitude.

  "Senior, this child must sihank you for your help. But... how could Senior be in this lonely pce?"

  Hearing Yuan's probing question, the azure ghost let out a light chuckle.

  "Hehe... Child, there's o test me with your words. If you wish to know, I simply tell you who I am. But how ironic... to be so distrustful toward the very person who just saved your life! Do I o prove that I mean no harm? Hehe... well, that isn't much of a problem."

  The ghost's tone was calm, yet there was a hint of amusement as it tinued.

  "I am just a ghost, a spirit of a cultivator who failed a trial and is noed here, waiting for more fellow Daoists to challehis cursed iance. Maybe... just maybe, one of my smen will e a me free. Yes, that is who I am."

  Cursed iance? Spirit of a cultivator who failed a trial? One of my s? Noed?

  So many new pieces of information struck Yuan at once. He lowered his gaze, toug his in thought.

  What is a cultivator? Is this pce the cursed iance? How could someone who has already died still be trapped here?

  Again and agaiurhese thoughts over in his mind, yet no matter how much he tried to make sense of them, he found no answers. These were all words, all cepts, that he had never heard before.

  "Thought enough?"

  The ghost's voice pulled Yuan back to reality. Embarrassed, he quickly looked back at the azure ghost and tried to expin himself.

  "Apologies, Senior! It's just that... I don't uand anything you are saying. I have never heard of cultivators, nor do I know where this iance is! I just" Yuaated before finishing with admiration, "This child is truly impressed by Senior's knowledge!"

  Hearing Yuan's words, the azure ghost froze, staring at him in plete shock.

  "You don't... know what a cultivator is? Or where we are?"

  The ghost's tone had lost its amusement. It was no longer chug, no loreating this as a lighthearted exge. Instead, it fell silent for a long moment, as if struggling to process this revetion.

  Finally, after gathering itself, the ghost asked in a slow, cautious voice, "Could it be... that you are not someone who challehis trial for the iance of the ed Ghost Prince?"

  "ed Ghost Prince?" Yuaed, tilting his head in fusion. "Never heard of him."

  Yuan bnkly spoke the name,a hat was once feared across the cultivation world,shog the azure ghost beyond belief. The ghost's fmes flickered as he processed Yuan's words before finally asking,

  "Then why are you here if you don't seek his iance?"

  Yuan exhaled sharply, frustration ced in his voice.

  "I don't even know where I am! I was trying to escape the Ghost Forest and reach the Mansion of tless Tombs, but I somehow ended up here instead! I know nothing about this so-called iance or the ed Ghost… whatever! I just want to find the Mansion of tless Tombs and uhe secrets of those who defied fate!"

  Hearing Yuan's outburst, the azure ghost gave him a strange look. Then, as if recalling something, he muttered,

  "The Mansion of tless Tombs...? I think… I've heard of that pce before. Hmm…"

  For a moment, the ghost seemed lost in thought, his flickering form shifting slightly. Then, as if speaking the name aloud unlocked a buried memory, he suddenly gasped.

  "Ah! Now I remember! The Mansion of tless Tombs... It did exist once. But that was long ago. This pce,was os foundation, its core. However, it was ter discovered and overtaken by the ed Ghost Prince!"

  The ghost let out a cold chuckle.

  "So, boy… gratutions. You've already reached your so-called 'destined goal.' Only, this pce is no longer what you were searg for. The Mansion of tless Tombs no longer exists. What stands before you now is the Pace of Ghosts."

  Hearing this, Yua his thoughts spiraling into chaos.

  The Mansion of tless Tombs… no longer exists?

  Shock hit him like a thundercp. Everything he had endured,every pain, every near-death trial, every step forward,was for nothing?

  His hands ched into trembling fists. If the Mansion was gohen how could he defy his fate?

  The azure ghost noticed the shifting expression on Yuan's face, the way his body tehe slight tremble in his hands. His fiery eyes narrowed in thought.

  "Hmph… judging by your face, I take it you were after something specifi the Mansion? Perhaps… these so-called 'secrets' of defying fate?"

  Yuan remained silent, his mind still struggling to process the revetion.

  The ghost chuckled, folding his arms across his spectral chest.

  "Tell me, boy… you're worried about defying fate? About these 'secrets' you spoke of?"

  Yuaated, then slowly nodded.

  The ghost smirked.

  "You don't o search for some a secret to defy fate. After all…" The fmes surrounding his form flickered wildly as he tinued, "Isn't that exactly what cultivation is?"

  Yuan's breath hitched. He looked at the ghost, his voicertain.

  "Defying fate… is cultivation?"

  The azure ghost let out a small chuckle, a knowing glint in his fiery gaze.

  "Yes. If there's one definition that fits us cultivators, it's that we go against fate. We live lohan ordinary mortals. We break past the limits of our bodies. We grow stronger beyond what was intehe heavens gave us a lifespan of 100 years, a, we refuse to accept it. We cultivate. We defy this fate and fe our own path!"

  He took a step forward, his frowing sharper, his voice filled with undeniable vi.

  "Let me tell you more about the wonders of cultivation. But before that…"

  His smirk faded, repced with a rare, serious expression.

  "I must warn you."

  The air around them grew heavier. The flickering fmes along the walls dimmed, casting long shadows over Yuan's face.

  "Cultivation is not something you do half-heartedly. It must e from the depths of your soul, from your very existeo cultivate is to walk an endless path,one filled with sleepless nights, grueling years, and bitter failures. There will be times when you struggle for decades, only to face death at the doorstep of a breakthrough. You may dedicate everything… only to fail in the end."

  The ghost's fiery eyes bored into Yuan's own, as if peering into his very soul.

  "So, tell me, boy…

  Are you truly ready to walk this path? To dedicate your life to cultivation, even if it means spending tless years striving for power, for freedom… knowing you may die trying?"

  "Tell me… would yret it?"

  As the azure ghost began to preach about cultivation, the world around him began to shift, refleg his words.

  The once,dark space,where only an azure fme and a young boy stood,suddenly lit up with a myriad of lights, all radiating from the ghost's spectral form. These lights flickered and danced, illuminating the void… but in their brilliahey cast an even deeper shadow, ohat Yuan could not prehend.

  Buffeted by the ethereal glow, Yuan found himself drawn toward a single light among the many. Something about it called to him.

  Something told him that this light held his fate.

  Without a sed thought, he ran toward it.

  But as he did, the light moved away, as if fleeing from his grasp,as if it feared what would happen should it fall into his hands.

  Yet Yuan did not stop. He did not hesitate.

  He reached out with all his might and

  He grabbed it.

  Slowly, the light dimmed, its radiance fading as it settled within his grasp.

  Taking a deep breath, Yuan slowly opened his hand,his gaze log onto something unlike anything he had ever seen before.

  It was small, yet perfectly shaped.

  A knife.

  No… it was too small for a knife.

  It was green, its handle crafted from a material that felt both warm and cold at the same time, sending a strange sensation through his palm. A few bck serpents coiled around the hilt, their bodies carved with uling precision,or so he thought.

  Because theiced something.

  Their eyes were moving.

  Not just moving… but looking somewhere.

  Not at him.

  At something beyond him,as if guiding him toward something unseen.

  Yuan's blood ran cold.

  With a shudder, he let out a startled yell and dropped the kepping ba fear.

  His breath quied, his heart pounding against his chest.

  And then

  Laughter.

  Loud. Deep. Amused.

  It echoed from behind him.

  Yuan spun around.

  There, standing where he had been moments ago, was the azure ghost.

  But something had ged.

  It was smaller now,its oning form now ner than Yuan's arm.

  Yet, despite its reduced size, its smile had only grown wider.

  Seeing Yuan's shock fade into wary fusion, the azure ghost let out another chuckle before speaking.

  "So… now that you've glimpsed the mysteries of this world, tell me

  Do you wish to walk the path of cultivation?"

  Its voice deepened, filled with undeniable weight.

  "Do you wish to pursue the Great Dao? To seek eternal life, power, and freedom,knowing that you may die trying?"

  The ghost's fiery eyes bore into Yuan's soul as it took aep forward.

  "Or do you reject this path entirely?"

  It spread its arms wide.

  "Answer me! Tell me, child

  What do you truly desire?"

  "Walk the path of the Great Dao…?"

  His voice trembled.

  "What… do I want?"

  "What do I truly desire?"

  The ghost's fme-like body flickered, its voice pressing further into Yuan's mind.

  "Yes, Yuan! Say it! Say what you truly desire!"

  The words pulsed like a heartbeat inside his skull.

  Yuan's lips parted, and in a voice barely above a whisper, he answered.

  "I… I want to survive."

  Silence.

  Then

  "You want only to survive?"

  The ghost's voice was her amused nor mog. It was simply… questioning.

  "Is that truly the extent of your desire?"

  Yuan froze.

  A thought struck him.

  "Is… is that really all I want?"

  "Just to survive?"

  "Is that my only desire?"

  He ched his fists.

  No.

  That wasn't the truth.

  That was he truth.

  The voice echoed endlessly in his mind.

  "Say it, Yuan! What do you truly desire?"

  The weight of the words pressed down on him, f him to front himself.

  Yuan gritted his teeth, his hands g into fists. What did he want?

  For so long, he had only thought about survival, about esg his iable death. But now… now he uood.

  Surviving wasn't enough.

  He didn't just want to live,he wao experience.

  His mind filled with visions.

  A sky, vast and endless, free from mist.Mountains so high, their peaks pierced the heavens.A great o, stretg beyond the horizon, its waves crashing against the nd.He imagianding above the clouds, looking down on the world from beyond mortal reach.

  His body shuddered.

  It wasn't enough to dream.

  He wao see it all with his own eyes.

  A fire ignited in his chest, burning away the hesitation, the doubts, the weakness.

  Yuan lifted his head, his gaze unwavering.

  "What I truly want…"

  His voice started as a whisper, but with each word, it grew stronger.

  "I want to walk the world. To see the pces my grandfather once spoke of. To witness a crystal-clear sky without mist. To gaze upon mountains so vast that I ot prehend their size. To stand before an endless o and taste the salt in the wind."

  His breathing was steady, his heart pounding with unshakable resolve.

  "I want to leave this Ghost Forest. To leave the vilge. To see the real sky, the real mountains, the real world. I don't want to imagine anymore. I want to live it!"

  His fists tightened, his voice ringing with mad determination.

  "And beyond that,I want to see what lies above the clouds! I want to witness what only the heavens themselves have seen!"

  Yuan's words echoed through the darkness, ringing with absolute certainty.

  The voice did not ugh this time.

  There were no more echoes,no more illusions.

  Only a cold, absolute truth.

  "Then you know what you must do."

  Yuan took a slow breath, the st of his hesitation crumbling into nothingness.

  "Yes… now, everything is clear."

  His gaze hardened, filled with a new fire that could never be extinguished.

  "I now uand how to defy fate. To defy fate… one must face the heavens. And to face the heavens, I must bee powerful,strong enough to break free from their grasp!"

  Silence.

  The world itself seemed to hold its breath.

  Then, with absolute vi, Yuan decred his path to the heavens.

  "I will walk the path of the Great Dao!"

  "The path toower and freedom!"

  "I will nret it. And I will gdly die trying!"

  "Yes,I will cultivate!"

  "I will rise to great power and break free from the s of fate!"

  His voice thuhrough the void.

  The world began to shift.

  As his words filled the emptiness, the darkhat once blinded him peeled away.

  Light rushed in.

  The once,shadowed hall noeared before him in radiant crity,the details sharper, the ore vivid, as though he had been blind his entire life and was only now able to see.

  "So many lights..."

  Yuan's breath hitched as he gazed at the spectacle before him.

  tless glowing orbs floated in the air, flickering like tiny stars, shifting through endless colors and shapes, spinning slowly as if dang through the space before him.

  Without thinking, he reached out.

  One of the lights desded into his palm, h gently just above his skin.

  It twisted, ging shapes, shifting hues, as if alive,a toy of the heavens themselves.

  A wide smile broke across his young face.

  For the first time in what felt like ay, Yuan looked like a real ten year old child, filled with pure wonder.

  His admiration was interrupted by a familiar voice behind him.

  "gratutions."

  Yuan froze.

  He khat voice.

  The azure ghost chuckled.

  "You have taken your first step oh of the Great Dao. From this moment forward... you are now a cultivator."