Chapter 6: Unveiling the Path(revised)

  Shen Mu stood at the edge of the ravine, his gaze sweeping over the dense mist that coiled through the valley below. The rhythmic hum of insects filled the air, but his mind was elsewhere—focused on the lingering sensation left behind after his exchange with Wei Jing.

  Wei Jing, still shaken by what he had witnessed, took a cautious step forward. His brows were furrowed, and his voice carried uncertainty.

  “I have cultivated for years, yet never have I seen someone touch reality itself. How… what exactly are you doing?”

  Shen Mu exhaled slowly, his fingers idly tracing the wooden hilt of his knife. The air around them felt heavier, charged with an unseen tension.

  “What do you believe cultivation is?” he asked instead, not answering the question directly.

  Wei Jing blinked, taken aback. “To refine oneself, to harmonize with Ether and ascend beyond mortal limitations,” he said, almost as if reciting doctrine.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “And if I told you that Ether is not the only path?”

  Wei Jing’s breath hitched. It was a heretical notion. Cultivators devoted their lives to strengthening their bodies, their minds, their souls—through Ether, the celestial force that dictated strength and fate. To imply that there was another way was akin to challenging the heavens themselves.

  “Then what is it that you see?” Wei Jing challenged, his voice laced with both fear and curiosity.

  Shen Mu closed his eyes briefly, letting the silence stretch between them. The wind shifted, and in that fleeting moment, he perceived them—Threads of Causality, unseen lines that connected all things, twisting and weaving through existence. They pulsed faintly, responding to his awareness.

  “The world is not as rigid as we assume. It is layered, intertwined, always shifting. Most simply accept what they see, but I… I listen.”

  Wei Jing clenched his fists. “You’re speaking in riddles again.”

  Shen Mu smirked. “Perhaps. Or perhaps you are asking the wrong questions.”

  A shadow passed over Wei Jing’s face. The air between them grew heavier. “Then tell me—what path are you walking?”

  Shen Mu’s fingers curled slightly. A single strand of reality trembled in response, unseen to all but him. The whisper of its shift sent a shiver down his spine. He did not yet fully understand what he had tapped into, but one thing was certain:

  “A path not yet taken.”