Chapter 6: The Smallness of Giants
----
The transition was not violent, but it was absolute.
One moment, they were standing in the dead silence of the Shen Graveyard; the next, they were suspended in the vastness of a living cosmos.
Like a speck of dust carried by a stellar wind, they emerged from a rippling black portal that tore open the fabric of reality above the dense, ancient canopy of Tianxu Mountain.
Shen Xuan closed his eyes. The air of the living world hit him, a rush of vibrancy, of growth, of biological chaos.
It was an indescribable sensation, like a man who had held his breath for a billion years finally exhaling. But the relief was fleeting.
He opened his eyes, his golden-purple pupils contracting in confusion. He frowned, his brow furrowing like a shifting tectonic plate.
"Why is the concentration of Chaotic Qi so diluted here?"
He turned, his gaze fixing on Xiao Ding with an unspoken demand for an explanation.
To Shen Xuan, the air tasted thin, watery, devoid of the rich, heavy essence that had characterized the lower realms of his era.
The old man blinked, genuinely confused. He took a deep breath, savoring the atmosphere.
"Young Master... I believe you are mistaken. The aura of Chaotic Qi here is exceptionally dense. Tianxu Mountain is a prime meridian of this world. Even some of the top clans would kill to possess a sanctuary with such spiritual richness."
Shen Xuan stared at him, stunned into silence.
Before they left the tomb, the old man had claimed they were in a "Middle Plane."
If this thin, starving atmosphere was considered "dense" for a Middle Plane, then the degradation of the universe was far more catastrophic than he had imagined.
He didn't ask further. There was no point in asking a frog about the depth of the ocean.
He simply followed Xiao Ding as the old man retrieved a small Void Ship from his storage ring.
It was a crude vessel by Shen Xuan's standards, barely fit for hauling refuse in the old era, but he stepped inside without complaint.
"Young Master Shen, allow me to formally introduce myself," Xiao Ding said, puffing out his chest with a harmless, grandfatherly smile.
"I am Xiao Ding, the Fourth Elder of the Luoshui Pavilion, now known as Lingchuan Hall. We are a merchant faction, one of the premier forces in the entire Luoshui World."
Shen Xuan sat by the viewport, watching the clouds drift by.
"If you are a premier force," he asked, his voice cutting through the pleasantries like a glacial wind, "then why were you scavenging a tomb in a dead dimension?"
The question hung in the air, sharp and accusatory.
Xiao Ding's smile didn't waver, though his eyes tightened at the corners.
"Haha... Young Master possesses a sharp mind. You may not believe it, but a few years ago, internal strife plagued our pavilion. We rebranded to Lingchuan Hall to preserve our reputation, but the conflict drained our coffers. My grandson and I were merely exploring these mountains for resources to stabilize our standing. We never dreamed we would stumble upon a portal to the Ancient Shen Clan."
Shen Xuan watched the micro-expressions flickering across Xiao Ding's face, the slight twitch of the eyelid, the overly casual posture. He nodded slowly. "Good."
The single word was not an agreement; it was a dismissal.
"Where are we going?" Shen Xuan asked, rubbing his temples as if trying to massage away the headache of existing in such a withered world.
"We are heading to the northeast of the Yunshui Continent," Xiao Yang interjected, stepping forward. He placed a hand on Shen Xuan's shoulder, a gesture of camaraderie that felt rehearsed. "Currently, we are in the west."
"Get your hand off me."
The command didn't come from Shen Xuan's throat; it seemed to emanate from the air itself, freezing the moisture in the cabin.
Xiao Yang froze. "This... Young Master, I meant no offense. It was a gesture of friendship."
"Get. Off."
The temperature in the ship plummeted. Shen Xuan didn't look at him; he simply radiated an aura of absolute, untouchable sovereignty.
To touch him without permission was not friendliness; it was blasphemy.
Xiao Yang's face turned the color of ash. He snatched his hand back as if burned, retreating a step.
He exchanged a glance with his grandfather, fear warring with humiliation in his eyes.
Shen Xuan turned back to the window. Beneath them, the Tianxu Mountain range stretched endlessly, a dragon's spine of rock and ice piercing the clouds.
The peaks glowed with faint, chaotic lights, draped in eternal snow. Below, the forest was a boundless green ocean, alive with the roars of spiritual beasts that shook the very air.
It was magnificent to the ignorant eye. But to Shen Xuan, it was a ruin.
He saw the potential that wasn't being met, the ley lines that were clogged, the spiritual beasts that were stunted versions of their ancestors.
His eyes, ancient and heavy with the dust of ages, looked not at the scenery, but at the reflection of what had been lost.
"Haha... Young Master, please forgive my grandson," Xiao Ding broke the tension, stroking his long beard.
"He is young and arrogant. He merely wished to befriend a talent like yourself."
"Hmm."
Shen Xuan didn't turn around. A disdainful smile played on his lips. Friends? A dragon does not make friends with the lice that ride on its back.
The journey was slow. Painfully slow.
In the Chaos Lord Realm, a cultivator should be able to cross continents in hours.
But this Void Ship crawled through the sky like a wounded beetle.
It was evening before they reached the center of the Yunshui Continent.
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in bruises of purple and gold, when the ship began its descent toward Heiyun City.
"Young Master Shen," Xiao Yang approached cautiously, keeping his distance this time.
"We will rest in Heiyun City for two days to resupply. Flying is restricted within the city limits, even for Chaos Lords."
"Is the restriction due to law, or power?" Shen Xuan asked, his voice bored.
Xiao Yang hesitated.
"Heiyun City is backed by the strongest sect in the Luoshui World. There is a top-level Chaos Lord residing here. His aura suppresses flight."
Shen Xuan's eyes fluttered open. A top-level Chaos Lord? In his time, that was a doorman.
"Let us go then."
He walked out of the cabin, looking down at the massive sprawl of the city. It was prosperous, certainly. Lights glittered like diamonds in the dusk.
But compared to the floating cities of the High Planes in his memory, cities built of starlight and jade, Heiyun felt... quaint. Weak. Small.
"Young Master, we descend," Xiao Ding announced, landing the ship before the colossal iron gates.
They stepped disembarked. Or rather, two of them did.
When Shen Xuan stepped off the ramp, his bare feet did not touch the dust.
He hovered an inch above the ground. It was not a technique; it was the world itself refusing to let the dirt soil the soles of the one who carried the Shen Mandate.
"Let's go," Xiao Ding said, oblivious to the phenomenon.
They approached the gates. Guards in silver-plated armor stood like statues, their spears barring the way.
"Stop!" a guard barked.
Xiao Ding moved smoothly, practiced. A pouch of spirit stones changed hands, followed by the flash of a token.
The guard checked the bribe, nodded, and stepped aside.
"Pass."
Inside, the city was a riot of noise and color. The broad streets were packed with mortals and cultivators alike. Shops hawked elixirs and artifacts.
In the alleys, Shen Xuan saw cultivators beating mortals for minor slights, their laughter ringing cruel and hollow.
Shen Xuan shook his head.
The strong preying on the weak. It was the law of the jungle, yes, but without dignity, it was merely butchery.
He walked down the left side of the road, his cold gaze scanning everything, the architecture, the formations, the people. He saw through the walls, through the clothes, through the lies.
And he found nothing that could stir his heart.
He was a ghost walking through a nursery, an ancient god wandering through a playpen of children who thought they were kings.
And somewhere in the dark corners of Xiao Ding's mind, a plan was forming.
A plan to strip this god of his treasures, unaware that he was plotting to rob a tempest.
______
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!