Running at the Speed of Light

Lan Xinyu stepped through the wall of white mist, only to find his vision swallowed by an endless expanse of pale fog. No matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn’t see farther than two zhang ahead.

He didn’t act recklessly. Instead, he waited in place, intending to move forward only after his junior disciples had entered as well. But after a long while, there was still no sign of them behind him.

"Did they get scared and retreat?" he thought, displeased. He considered turning back to find them.

His original plan was to exit first, discuss matters with his juniors, and then decide their next steps. But when he turned around, all he saw was the same boundless white mist—there was no trace of an entrance.

A sense of unease settled over him. He took a few steps, but the scenery didn’t change. He walked a few more, yet still, he remained trapped within the mist.

The fog stretched endlessly in every direction, making it seem as though he hadn’t moved at all.

His heart sank. He realized he had stumbled into a formation.

"A formation?"

Panic set in. In his five years of cultivation, he had focused solely on alchemy—he knew nothing about formations.

"Senior brothers once said…" He pinched the fleshy part between his thumb and forefinger, forcing himself to stay calm. "Every formation has its limits. If you walk in one direction, you’ll eventually reach its boundary."

But when he looked up, all he saw was the same white mist. There was no sense of direction. Forget walking far—he felt like he had barely taken a dozen steps before losing his bearings.

"A senior from Qi Peak mentioned…" He bit his tongue. "If you move fast enough, you can outrun the formation before it reacts."

Clutching at this sliver of hope, he activated his proudest flight technique, channeling all his energy into his legs as he sprinted forward at full speed.

"Master…" On the grassy field of Dan Peak, Li Shiyin pointed at Lan Xinyu, who was running in frantic circles within the formation. "What’s he doing? Just running around like a headless chicken?"

Qin Ran took her hand, idly playing with her fingers.

He wasn’t entirely sure either, but he ventured a guess, "He probably heard some half-baked theory about escaping formations by running fast."

"Can you really escape a formation like that?" Li Shiyin widened her eyes in curiosity.

"Maybe?" Qin Ran sounded uncertain. "If you could move at the speed of light, you might outpace the formation’s foundational runes before they react."

"How fast is the speed of light?" Li Shiyin perked up, looking eager to try.

Foolish disciple… Qin Ran couldn’t help but pinch her cheek affectionately.

"Hey, Master!" She swatted his hand away, complaining, "Li An is still over there!"

Qin Ran glanced at Li An, who was diligently doing his homework by the lake, and grumbled, "Tomorrow, I’m kicking him down to the mountainside."

"But he’s still so young!" Li Shiyin protested.

The couple bantered for a while before Li Shiyin pointed at Lan Xinyu again. "Master, aren’t you going to let him out? Just leave him running in circles?"

"Let him run. It’ll teach him a lesson," Qin Ran replied. "A cultivator’s curiosity shouldn’t be too strong—otherwise, they’ll end up dead."

Li Shiyin sighed as she watched Lan Xinyu. "How pitiful."

Inside the formation, Lan Xinyu ran until exhaustion overtook him, yet he still hadn’t escaped. He finally stopped, panting.

When he looked around, the mist remained unchanged—no matter how far he had run, nothing was different. Despair crept in.

Forbidden land… So this was why it was called a forbidden land!

And here he had dreamed of unlocking its secrets, of restoring Dan Peak’s former glory.

After wallowing in despair for a moment, he forced himself to move. Staying still meant certain death—only by moving forward could he find a way out.

He began walking through the mist, step after step, for what felt like an eternity. A hundred years? A thousand? Ten thousand? Time lost all meaning.

Then, at some point, he took a step forward—and suddenly, the mist parted, forming a narrow path. Startled, he instinctively followed it. After walking for a while longer, a bright light appeared ahead. He stepped into it.

The blinding glare left him momentarily sightless. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing on a grassy field, surrounded by his fellow disciples. Seven or eight of them were laughing at him.

And standing before them was a young man of seventeen or eighteen, slender and delicate in appearance, yet exuding an air of stern authority.

The moment Lan Xinyu saw him, instinctive fear made him take a step back. He lowered his head and stammered, "G-Grand Senior Brother!"

The young man was Zhang Junyi, the current head disciple of Dan Peak.

Though he was only a senior brother in title, in reality, he managed all affairs on the mountainside. None of this generation’s Dan Peak disciples had ever seen the actual Peak Master—they only knew Zhang Junyi. To them, he was Dan Peak’s de facto leader.

"Do you admit your mistake?" Zhang Junyi asked coldly.

"I do," Lan Xinyu murmured.

"Return to formation!" Zhang Junyi barked.

Lan Xinyu obeyed, quickly slipping into place behind his peers.

Only then did he realize—this was the forbidden land. Today was the second day, meaning he had spent an entire day and night trapped in the formation. Today’s lesson was practical alchemy.

…So the alchemy test was held inside the forbidden land!

"Curious about what Dan Peak’s summit looks like? Wondering what lies beyond the mist?" Zhang Junyi scanned the group, his voice sharp. "This is it. This is the so-called forbidden land you’ve all whispered about. Now that you’re here, does it look any different? Is it anything special? Disgraceful, the lot of you!"

"If you focus on your cultivation and master alchemy properly, you can come up here whenever you please.

"Do you know where your practical alchemy test is held? Right here!"

Zhang Junyi paced back and forth, hands clasped behind his back, berating the disciples for a full incense stick’s worth of time, reducing these so-called prodigies to meek silence.

"Not a single one of you is reliable!" he finally snapped. "Follow me. I’ll take you to begin alchemy."

With that, he strode forward, leading the group from the lakeside toward a peculiar structure in the distance.

Lan Xinyu lingered at the back, quietly observing his surroundings. To his surprise, the "forbidden land" was nothing more than an ordinary blessed realm—lush green mountains, clear waters, blooming flowers.

A grove of peach trees stood in full blossom nearby, while the leaves of a phoenix tree rustled joyfully in the wind. The emerald lotus leaves of Sword Washing Lake dotted the water, interspersed with delicate lotus flowers…

Wait.

"Sword Washing Lake?" He spotted the lake’s inscribed stone marker. "Why is it called that?"

Who had once washed their sword here? A Dan Peak elder? Or perhaps an immortal of legend?

Willow trees lined the shore, and a pavilion stood in the lake’s center. Beneath the willows, bees buzzed around their hive, while the pavilion held a stool and a fishing rod—was it used for fishing?

Further away stood a few buildings and an ancient spirit locust tree.

A small wooden cabin—who lived there?

Hm?

Why was there a hole in the middle of that room’s door? Did it hold some special meaning? Who could have resided inside?

As Lan Xinyu followed the group, everything around him felt new and fascinating.

They passed by Sword Washing Lake, crossed the river, and arrived in front of a structure called the Research Building, where they encountered a little girl no older than ten. Then, they heard the eldest senior brother address her as "Master..."

Wait—

"Master?!!!" Lan Xinyu's eyes widened as he realized something:

All of them had been accepted into Dan Peak by the eldest senior brother in place of their master. They had always assumed their master was long dead.

But now, the eldest senior brother was telling them—that was their master!

That little girl was their master?!!

He glanced at the others, and it dawned on them too. Every face was a picture of stunned disbelief.