After Accidentally Entering the Forbidden Land and Forming a Bond with the Grandmaster - Chapter 1

The pain was agonizing.

Chu Lanci woke up amidst a grueling sensation of suffering. He first waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim and murky light. Afterward, he slowly tried to shift his body, but it felt as if his entire frame had been completely dismantled. He could not move at all. After an unknown amount of time, a sliver of icy sensation seeped into his consciousness. It was water. He realized he was floating. The chilling bite of a secluded pool gradually jolted his nerves, and his eyelashes finally flickered.

He found himself immersed in a dark, secluded pool.

As his consciousness returned further, a bone-piercing cold washed over him. Chu Lanci began to take in his surroundings more clearly. He was in a cavern filled with ice and snow. Icy stalactites hung from the ceiling like a forest of inverted swords, and each one glowed with a faint, eerie blue light. The ground was not made of snow, but of thick, mysterious ice compressed over tens of thousands of years. It was a suffocating place.

Simultaneously, his missing memories returned bit by bit. He remembered who he was. His name was Chu Lanci, a resident of Tingfeng Village. He made a living by farming and selling flowers and lanterns. He owned a small thatched hut and a few meager acres of land. On ordinary days, he taught the village children, and occasionally, he performed odd jobs for Qianshan. Qianshan was the local celestial mountain inhabited by cultivators.

Thinking of this, Chu Lanci’s heart trembled. His task had been to deliver food to the Forbidden Land. His life had been poor but peaceful and simple until he accidentally entered the Forbidden Land.

The Forbidden Land!

He remembered now. That day, Deacon Cui had told him there seemed to be unusual activity in the Forbidden Land and instructed him not to deliver food. The food was not for a person. The Forbidden Land was treacherous, and every new and full moon, spiritual food was required to suppress the lingering resentment within.

Deacon Cui’s exact words were: “The person imprisoned in this Forbidden Land is extremely powerful. You must not go near it under any circumstances.”

Unfortunately, his mind had been filled with thoughts of earning spiritual stones. According to the rules for outer disciples at Qianshan, missing a single day of work meant losing the monthly diligence bonus. That was fifty spiritual stones, and he wanted them.

Consequently, he ignored Deacon Cui’s warning and went to deliver the food as usual. He had accidentally stepped on some sort of mechanism, and just like that, he was sucked in by the powerful magic of the Forbidden Land. He still remembered the massive runic seal he had stepped on. It was an ancient pattern formed of frost and snow. It had suddenly flared to life beneath his feet, spreading across the world like a spiderweb in an instant. In that moment, a piercing chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, as if his very soul had been frozen.

“That seal was likely meant to trap that man,” he thought.

Was such a powerful and formidable forbidden spell used just to imprison one person? Who was he?

Time passed slowly, turning from day to night. Faint slivers of light filtered in from outside the cave and then slowly receded. Chu Lanci suddenly felt exhausted and fell asleep. In his slumber, he dreamed of many lingering and erotic images. He saw himself being pressed down by a man, engaged in many shameful acts.

His face flushed red as he endured the strange sensations coursing through his body, wishing to wake up quickly. Those ambiguous dreams enveloped him. They were shameless and endless dreams. His eyes grew red at the corners and his body trembled. His toes twitched rhythmically as the illusions around him shifted constantly. Sometimes he was kneeling, sometimes prone, and sometimes lying flat. Perhaps because the dream was so vivid, Chu Lanci could not help but respond with passion even outside the dream state.

Then, he felt as though he were touching a man’s strong physique. He tried his best to shrink into that broad, warm embrace because he did not want to leave. He leaned against the man’s chest, where he could hear a powerful heartbeat. He looked at the man’s attire. The clothes were fine, though the edges of the robes bore faint traces of scorch marks.

After examining the clothes, Chu Lanci looked up at the man’s face. The first thing he saw was a head of silver hair. Chu Lanci’s heart tightened as he beheld a face of extreme aggression. It was handsome to the point of being overwhelming. The features were carved like a blade, beautiful yet sharp. One could not look directly at him, yet one could not look away. Between his brows was a flame mark. He looked cold and handsome, yet he possessed an air of wickedness, much like a blood-stained sword.

Currently, the man’s eyes were tightly shut and his thin lips were pursed. Seeing those lips, Chu Lanci trembled inexplicably. He felt like he had been kissed by him.

“Was I?” he wondered.

The physical discomfort and the tingling, numbing stimulation caused a preposterous realization to flash through Chu Lanci’s mind. Perhaps the events in the dream had actually happened. A dream of three thousand worlds had occurred, yet only a moment had passed.

He looked up at the man again, noting the high, straight bridge of his nose and his cold, hard jawline. Perhaps because the man’s appearance was too sharp, Chu Lanci endured his cold symptoms and took a step back. As he retreated, he noticed a sharp sword at the man’s waist. The scabbard held a narrow longsword. Its blade was as thin as a willow leaf, yet it exuded a chilling and bone-deep killing intent.

Chu Lanci did not know what he was thinking. Perhaps he thought the sword was beautiful, or perhaps the clear, dragon-like hum of the blade was too enchanting. He reached out and touched the hilt. The moment his hand made contact, the blade emitted a bright red light. When he pulled his hand away, the sword returned to silence. After repeating this several times, the blade suddenly burst from its scabbard and soared toward the ceiling of the cave.

The cold sword took to the sky and sliced through the glacier. In an instant, massive chunks of ice began to fall from the ceiling. Due to the immense power of the sword’s intent, the giant ice blocks shattered into fragments, eventually turning into a vast white mist. The thick mist surrounded him and the man like a halo.

At the same time, because more and more ice was being sliced from the walls, the structure began to collapse. With a sharp crack, a terrifying fissure tore through the ceiling, and a massive icicle fell from above, aiming directly at their heads. Chu Lanci instinctively covered his head, expecting the icicle to crush him. To his surprise, it never happened. Not only did it miss, but a hand was held firmly above him, shielding him.

Then, Chu Lanci’s gaze locked into a pair of deep, pitch-black eyes. The corners of the man’s eyes slanted upward slightly, carrying a natural sense of mockery. With his full head of silver hair, the man appeared exceptionally cold and stern. His expression was icy, yet his brow held a trace of something Chu Lanci could not name. It was like the spirited arrogance of a youth. The icicle, of course, failed to fall. Instead, the man casually flicked his wrist and tossed it aside. After saving him, the man brought Chu Lanci to the shore and stood up.

As he stood, Chu Lanci could not help but take another step back. He was very tall. He was tall and strong, standing a full head taller than Chu Lanci. No wonder it felt effortless when the man held him.

Chu Lanci watched as the man contemplated for a moment. Then, with a resounding boom, the sharp sword carved a massive hole through one of the ice layers. Having completed its task, the sword returned to the man’s side. The man sheathed the sword and reached out to gather spiritual energy. The energy swirled like sparks, suddenly condensing into a blinding golden light. His thin lips parted as he uttered a single word: “Rise.”

The moment the word left his lips, he vanished. Chu Lanci stared blankly.

“Did he just leave like that?” he thought. “Did he just abandon me?”

Regardless, powerful people really were different. The ice hole was dozens of feet high, yet he had flown away in an instant, leaving not even a shadow behind.

Chu Lanci decided he would have to find his own way out. He stood up slowly and looked around. There was no exit except for the large hole cracked open above. Chu Lanci comforted himself by thinking that since he had encountered such a miracle, it must be heaven’s way of changing his destiny and that of Tingfeng Village. If that were the case, what did he have to complain about? Growing up as an orphan, Chu Lanci was particularly good at self-consolation.

He thought this way, but he was still at a loss. Eventually, he turned his gaze toward the freezing pool. If he could not go up, he would go down. Should he try diving? He wondered if he could swim out. It was a beautiful idea, but his abilities were lacking. He could not swim. If he went down and drowned, that would be even worse. But currently, he had no other options. It was a matter of life or death anyway, so he might as well try.

Chu Lanci slowly removed his outer robe. Once it was off, he looked down and nearly thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. What was on his body?

His entire body was covered in dense, blue-green marks. Each one looked like a strawberry bruise. His skin was quite fair and delicate, meaning even a slight pinch would leave a mark. Even if he had suffered some bumps and bruises in the Forbidden Land, there were far too many marks. Though they did not particularly hurt, they looked gruesome. He turned to check his back, and it was the same there.

Chu Lanci rubbed at them in frustrated futility, only to find they would not fade. It was as if someone had sucked on them intensely. Furthermore, the moment he touched the marks, that tingling and numbing sensation returned. He could not help but press his legs together.

Suddenly, another whistling sound of sword energy echoed above him. Before he could even look up, someone had already landed nearby. Chu Lanci looked over. Since they were both men, he did not bother putting his clothes back on immediately.

He spoke first: “Why did you come back?”

Xie Zhuo had circled around only to find that outside the cave was an endless glacier. The hole was open, but the exit was not above. He decided to return and see if there were other exits. Besides, the original plan was always to come back, regardless of whether he found an exit. For whatever reason, he would not leave Chu Lanci alone.

“There is no exit outside,” he replied simply. He then glanced at the exposed, fair upper body. “Put your clothes on.”

Chu Lanci, still dazed, said blankly, “I think I was beaten up?”

Xie Zhuo was about to inspect the surroundings, but he stopped and turned his head. “Beaten up?”

Chu Lanci pointed to the marks on his body. “These marks. I have so many blue-green marks on me. There are so many, even on my buttocks.”

Upon hearing this, the memories of forty-nine days in the sea of consciousness suddenly surged back to Xie Zhuo.

“That was not from being beaten,” he said.

Faced with Xie Zhuo’s certainty, Chu Lanci did not press further, though he felt he had definitely been hit.

“Alright. Um, Immortal, since there is no exit above, do you think we have to leave through the cold pool?”

As he spoke, he slowly put his clothes back on. Xie Zhuo glanced at him and answered, “Possibly.”

“Then let’s try. We might just get out.”

Xie Zhuo did not answer this time. He turned to enter the water, but this time, he was caught by the sleeve by the quick-handed Chu Lanci. The youth’s voice rang clear in his ear.

“Immortal, you won’t leave me behind, will you? If possible, could you take me with you?”

Xie Zhuo turned back and gave him a deep, lingering look. “Follow me.”

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