Expedition teams have ventured deep into the heart of Shennongjia dozens of times, armed with every kind of cutting-edge equipment and paying for the effort with several precious lives, yet to this day no one has truly surveyed the whole of it. What secrets lie buried in its depths, no one knows.

In other words, this is one of the few remaining unknown places on earth.

Yet deep within this unknown land stands a towering mountain gate, its magnificent and solemn complex of buildings blending seamlessly into the surrounding primeval forest, without the slightest incongruity, as though these structures were themselves the handiwork of nature's uncanny craft—seen from afar, wholly unforced, one breath, one blood.

Beyond the gate lies an open clearing, where a group of male and female disciples now stand, their bearing proud and vigorous. At their head is a white-bearded elder in the midst of delivering a lecture.

"The once-in-a-millennium trial of the Primeval Sect's disciples begins today, in earnest. All disciples of the Primeval Sect who meet the qualifications must descend into the secular world for their trial. Remember: none among you may commit any act that violates the laws of the secular world, and under no circumstances may you go looking for trouble. Offenders will be severely punished," the white-bearded elder said gravely.

"Yes!" the assembled disciples answered in unison.

"For this trial, we will select outstanding disciples with spiritual roots of dual attributes or above to return to the Primeval Sect in Shennongjia. You have but one year. Once that time is exceeded, the Primeval Passage will close of its own accord, and those who cannot return will have to wait for the next millennium. Is that understood by all?" the white-bearded elder said, his expression stern.

"Yes!" the disciples answered once more.

Among these people were men and women, old and young alike. Had Wei Zhao witnessed this scene, he would certainly have been astonished, for their strength all surpassed the Great Perfection of the Heaven Tier—these people were, astonishingly, all experts of the Heavenly Dao stage!

In the secular world, at a villa in the Xueshang residential compound.

Counting the days, three full years had passed since Wei Zhao left this place. Even Ying Ziyu had become a third-year university student. Returning to the villa after class, she spotted Wu Chengtian from afar, sprawled idly on a lounge chair by the door.

"Gatekeeper Uncle Wu. Tell me, must your life be this monotonous? Every time I see you, you're lying at the gate playing on your phone. Keep this up and you really will turn into Gatekeeper Uncle Wu!" Ying Ziyu could not help but mock him at the sight of Wu Chengtian's languid state.

"What else am I supposed to do besides play on my phone? I don't have school to go to like you, and there's nothing else to do..." Wu Chengtian did not even lift his head, continuing to play on his phone.

That was the honest truth; his life these three years had followed basically that rhythm. He could find no passion in it at all. It felt as though he had settled into early retirement like an old man, utterly unlike the fiery years of his past.

Still, this was entirely normal. He was now at the Great Perfection of the Heaven Tier, an invincible existence in the secular world. Apart from watching over Wei Zhao's confidantes in the villa, he simply could find nothing else to do, and Wu Chengtian had long grown accustomed to this retired life.

"You really are idle!" Ying Ziyu stuck out her tongue and leaned over to sneak a glance, then cried out in amazement: "You play this game too? Lots of my classmates play it—I thought only young people like us did. I never expected an uncle your age to be playing the Campus Belle 3D mobile game!"

"How am I an uncle your age?" Wu Chengtian's expression was deeply wounded.

"Aren't you? Here, let me see your ID. I'll get my classmates to add you as a friend, so an old fellow like you doesn't have to fight all alone." As she spoke, Ying Ziyu snatched the phone and glanced at it, her expression instantly turning exceedingly strange: "Lonely Little Sprite? And a female character?"

"Uh..." Wu Chengtian's old face flushed red, and he offered a feeble explanation: "Don't get the wrong idea, all right? It's just that a female account is more convenient to play—easier to add friends and latch onto the big players. Nothing else intended..."

"No explanations! To explain is to cover up, to cover up is the truth—I've seen through your true nature. You're just a creepy old uncle using a gender-bender account!" Ying Ziyu immediately flung the phone back at Wu Chengtian and, shrieking as though she had seen a ghost, fled into the living room.

Wu Chengtian was speechless. It was only a gender-bender account—he wasn't stealing or robbing. How did that make him a creepy old uncle?

"Hey, you said it yourself—don't forget to have your classmates add me as a friend." Wu Chengtian got up and chased into the living room to remind her, only to turn his head and see Ying Ziyu carrying over a huge pile of snacks, heaping the coffee table into a small mountain. He jumped in fright: "What's this? It was just one look at a gender-bender account. Is it worth this binge of self-destruction, your whole worldview collapsing?"

"Pfft, what's a mere gender-bender account? Back in the day I ran with the streets too. Did you really think I was some sheltered little girl who's never seen the world?" Ying Ziyu rolled her eyes at him.

"Ran with the streets? That was pure child's play, make-believe. What kind of street life was that?" Wu Chengtian could not help but laugh at her words. "Your Brother Wu was once known as Wu the Iron Hand, unbeatable across the jianghu!"

He knew what Ying Ziyu had been like before Wei Zhao found her—a regular little delinquent girl, plain and simple—and that she had only begun to settle down and behave after Wei Zhao took her in. Still, she would throw a tantrum now and then. Of course, all of them doted on Ying Ziyu like their own little sister and did not think it a flaw at all; on the contrary, they found her frank and adorable.

"Hah, and then you ran into Brother Wei Zhao and became Wu the Useless Hand! I'm not talking about that with you—I'm going to finish that drama today, so don't disturb me!" Hugging her pile of snacks, Ying Ziyu could not wait to turn on the TV.

"That drama? You mean that one on iQiyi, The Campus Belle's Close-Range Bodyguard? I finished it long ago. It's actually pretty good—don't you think the protagonist's experiences are a lot like Brother Wei Zhao's?" Wu Chengtian chuckled and sat down on the other side of the sofa, casually asking Ying Ziyu for a bag of potato chips. His life was boring these days; he did not mind watching it a second time.

"Not alike at all, all right? That protagonist is nothing but a lecher. How could he compare to Brother Wei Zhao?" Ying Ziyu glared at him in dissatisfaction.

"Then why are you still watching it?" Wu Chengtian asked, puzzled.

"I'm watching it for Brother Wei Zhao, so he can learn from it as a cautionary tale and not end up like that protagonist, so stupid that he can't move his legs the moment he sees a woman—how embarrassing!" Ying Ziyu's mouth was stuffed full of snacks, and she spoke in a muffled voice.

Wu Chengtian was speechless once more. A woman's logic truly defied understanding, especially that of an odd, clever little girl like Ying Ziyu—he simply could not keep pace with her at all.

"By the way, the first season has finished airing by now, hasn't it? Did they say when the second season will come out?" Ying Ziyu asked casually, legs crossed. (To be continued.)

Fastest updates, ad-free reading please.