In my entire life of living in this world.
I have never in my life experienced such pressure, such intense energy pressing me down and at the same time making gravity turn on me.
I did not know if this sect leader was actually using his full ability.
What I knew was that at this point I was not breathing normally.
My breathing came out jagged.
Suddenly I collapsed on the floor, slamming my body to the ground.
And the sect leader with no trace of emotions on his face dropped to my level.
My body screamed in pain, it was as if my very bones were suddenly getting crushed by some mysterious energy.
I began salivating on the floor, still relearning how to breathe, still trying to lift my way up from the ground.
'What was happening to me?'
I wanted to scream, I would have at least screamed, but for some reason, I forgot how to speak as well.
My thoughts, just like the void, were scattered into fragments, I had no focus, my mind slowly went blank.
The sect leader suddenly spoke in a deep voice.
"Are you afraid?!"
Yeah, who wouldn't be afraid of you, you're trying to kill me in our first meeting, you bastard.
At this point, I knew there was no going back, it was either I died right here and now or I gained the chance to enter a secret realm.
Soon I responded with a shivering voice.
"Yes...yes I am afraid."
The sect leader's face did not change, as if he had expected me to say that.
As if he had seen my type and was disgusted by them.
Soon the intense energy I felt lessened.
Gravity returned back to normal.
But I was too weak to stand for a moment.
I had to catch my breath, it was like I was breathing in manual mode.
Argh, Argh, Argh.
"That was scary, the sect leader is scary."
But even in my scared state, I still wanted to ask questions.
Was I going to use their secret realm to cultivate?
My time was running out and I needed to enter the secret realm one way or the other.
But I was too scared to speak my mind.
What if the sect leader suddenly became furious because I asked some stupid questions?
The sect leader looked at me for a while.
Then as if he had read my mind from a glance, he suddenly spoke.
"It is our duty to help mortals who are cursed find their path to the heavens."
"What is your name, child?"
He asked.
"Wen Dorian."
"Well, Dorian, I used my Qi to test what kind of Spirit seed you had, and it turned out to be a C rank Void spirit seed. Your curse is a high-level one. Your One-Link trial will not be ordinary as well. You were born to have a supernatural life, but surviving in that secret realm will be up to you and the Heavens to decide."
"If you ever come out alive, then you may join the sect and become the demon slayer and protect mankind from demons of secret realms, and you may also gain the chance to become immortal."
Soon the sect leader turned to the guard that brought me here.
"Wuji."
The guard who brought me here cupped his fist and responded.
"Yes, sect leader."
"Take him to the Red Sun Secret Realm. There he would be tested, and if he overcomes his trial and comes out alive, make him an outer disciple."
"If he comes out with a Dao Title, then take him to the inner sect to become an inner disciple."
Wuji, with his fist still cupped in place, immediately followed orders.
Immediately I was taken out of the Ancestral Hall.
My heart was beating with joy, yet at the same time, it was filled with unease.
The kind of unease you get before writing an impromptu exam.
Except my exam included my life and death.
'Huh, this is so depressing.'
I thought inwardly while walking around the large sect with Wuji.
The entire sect was busy, filled with disciples who were all equally training their martial arts.
Each step and move was precise, each sword movement was perfect in my eyes.
It's like I was watching a movie unfold before my eyes.
Soon Wuji began talking to me. Unlike before where he was a jerk, this time — he was actually giving me some advice.
"Hey? About our sect leader from before, please don't take it to heart. He is usually like that but I promise you he's a good person. He was just checking your qualifications for survival, okay?"
I nodded in agreement.
Then Wuji continued to speak.
"How well do you know about secret realms?"
With a calm voice I replied.
"I know as much as any mortal would know."
"Hmm...I don't think that is enough. Let me add to what you already know. I'm guessing you already know what the One-Link trial is. But listen, while you're inside our secret realm, be absolutely alert. Your trial could be anything according to your fate. It could happen in the past, it could happen in the future. Just know that this trial will not be friendly, and if you falter even for a second, then you'll be meeting God instead of us."
My eyes widened.
"Was this One-Link Trial really that dangerous?"
Wuji nodded in agreement.
"Of course. You might meet real people and people who are already forgotten by history.
Your test may be in a real world or an illusion. Just be sure you can use that sword in your left hand, because you will need it."
I nodded to Wuji and soon he began to explain a lot more things to me.
As I talked with him I realised he wasn't a bitch after all.
Soon we arrived at our destination.
A giant red portal circled non-stop in one location.
Just looking at it gave me chills.
My curse mark slowly reacted to this portal. It was as if I was being called by the unknown.
And most importantly I did not have the authority to say no to this call.
My heart began beating like a drum, restless, my hands were visibly shaking. I have heard legends that people died while entering secret realms, I did not want to die.
I just hoped and prayed that I would come back alive.
Soon Wuji tapped my shoulder and instructed me to walk inside.
I nodded and began my journey to hell.
After a few steps of walking, I finally stepped into the red portal.
And what greeted me was not some dark void or some vast green forest.
Instead, I arrived on shallow rivers, the yellow sun hanging beyond the heavens and the blue skies illuminating themselves with clouds.
Soon I heard a voice.
A robotic yet feminine voice.
[ Welcome to your One-Link Trial, Seeker ]
[ You have arrived at the Red Sun Secret Realm ]
[ The land where the sun never ceases to exist. ]
[ f you ever find yourself lost in the darkness, remember to always find the sun, or else you shall stay in that darkness for all of eternity. ]
Lost for all eternity?
Before I could even begin to process things.
The sun set and it was night.
Then it was day again, and another night.
It was as if time was rewinding backwards. Shallow rivers dried with each day and night rotating non-stop.
Soon jagged and lonesome mountains began to manifest.
Then it finally stopped. It was now night and I was in some kind of cave.
Soon the voice I heard from before resounded deep into my ears.
[ Your One-Link Trial starts now. ]
'That was it?
Nothing? Not even a guide or the rules to how this trial works given to me? Am I supposed to find out my own trial by myself?'
I sighed and pressed my nose in disappointment.
'No wonder there are so many deaths happening in these secret realms. The Heavens can't even do their job properly.'
Soon I walked around the dark, stinky cave.
The rotten smell from the cave hit my nostrils.
Causing me to press my nose for a while before finally adapting to the smell.
But still, the smell was rotten. I couldn't describe it completely.
'What kind of smell is this? It smells like dead bodies.'
Though it was dark, for some reason I could see a little bit inside the dark.
"I'm supposed to look for the sun, right? That means this cave is probably dangerous and my mission should be escaping the cave and looking for the sun."
After a breath of time.
My thoughts came back to reality.
Dead skeletons lay on the floor, almost dissolved to dust.
I could see people all over the place, however these people were not normal at all.
Some of these people were albino, some had lost their sense of sight, others had no legs or arms, and the diseases and injuries kept piling up until I lost count of the diseases I saw.
It was like a museum that held all kinds of sick people in the world.
Except me. I wasn't sick, or at least not for now.
I walked inside hoping that these people were sane.
Soon a girl walked up to me.
An albino, her body was somewhat covered in dirt.
Her clothing was somewhat dark robes that had been torn. Her revealing skin on her arms showed signs of torture I did not quite understand.
"Oh! You're a new fella. Would you like me to give you candy?"
She said, looking at me with a horrendous smile.
No thanks. What do you mean by that? And how does she even know what candy is?
I didn't even want to think twice.
I quickly walked past her.
But she got down on the floor and began smelling my two feet as I walked.
"Hey, what the hell? Cut it out!"
Is this girl mentally ill?
But before I could answer my own question, it seemed that others had already taken note of me.
But for some reason they were not concerned with me. They kept pounding their pestles on their mortars as if they were afraid of something or someone.
As if something would sacrifice them if they did not pound.
Soon giant footsteps resounded through the cave.
Doom!
Doom!
Doom!
What in the world would have that kind of footstep?
Soon a giant zombie suddenly appeared in the cave.
At least five meters tall, its chest was bare with no clothes. On its waist were pants that stretched to its knees. On the left side of the zombie's chest was a man's head, clearly dead yet with eyes wide open.
A small dagger was also attached to its waist.
Though the dagger was at least three times bigger than a normal sword.
What would he need that for when he could just crush us with his fist?
I shivered and took a step back from my location.
I was ready to run if he glanced at me at any moment.
But before I could run, the path I came from was closed by a rock.
Fortunately, the giant did not take a single glance at me.
Soon the giant walked forward to a bulky looking man who was earnestly pounding something I did not know.
Yet the giant dragged him up by his head.
"The master...says you...are useless..."
Fear? no, something much worse than fear appeared on the bulky man's face. It was terror.
Terror that could not be explained with words alone.
"Please, please have mercy. I will continue pounding, please, please don't turn me into a demonic pill, please!!!"
The giant did not listen to his plea and walked back to where he came from with the bulky man.
Arghhhhhhh!!!
Soon screams echoed throughout the cave.
Though I was not the bulky man that was dragged away.
But from his screams, I could feel the pain he was going through..
I did not need a single soul to tell me what this was.
I was in a demonic cave.
And a demonic cultivator was soon going to use all of us for his cultivation.
One way or the other.