A Cultivator Must Descend 100 Floors

Just as Yang Zhengxin's mind was in a daze, Lu Ze's voice came from outside.

"Elder Yang, why not project the illusion to the outside world so others can enjoy it as well?"

Yang Zhengxin agreed without hesitation: "Fine! Let everyone see how this old man clears all your traps in one go!"

"Elder Yang, that might be a bit difficult."

Lu Ze struggled to hold back his laughter.

A flawless run?

If you pull that off, I’ll hand you the cheat codes myself—this system might as well be worthless!

With a few manipulations from Lu Ze, the scenes from Yang Zhengxin’s illusion were projected into the air.

Not only could the disciples and elders participating in the martial exchange within the Hall of Spirit Nurturing see it clearly, but even the Lingxiao Sect disciples spectating outside the hall had a perfect view.

The crowd erupted in murmurs.

"‘A Cultivator’s Descent Through 100 Floors’? What does that mean?"

"Just the title makes me want to prove I can do it… Junior Brother Lu has a way with names."

"It’s just the handwriting—looks a bit ugly."

"How could there possibly be a hundred floors? Didn’t he only work on it for less than two hours?"

"Probably just a gimmick. Does taking an immortal pill automatically make you an immortal?"

"Fellow Daoist, you’re not from the Lingxiao Sect, are you? Junior Brother Lu’s illusions don’t rely on gimmicks. He’s made ones with infinite floors before, let alone a hundred."

"Really? He’s actually created illusions before?"

"Not just created them—they’re quite popular among the sect’s disciples."

"No wonder… When I arrived at the Lingxiao Sect this morning, I saw disciples walking around with their eyes closed, holding illusion towers. I was wondering why…"

...

The font for "A Cultivator’s Descent Through 100 Floors" was indeed abstract.

Since the game’s overall art style leaned into abstraction, Lu Ze felt it matched the aesthetic.

Even the game’s name was deliberately kept down-to-earth.

In Yang Zhengxin’s illusion, a game prompt appeared.

[You’ve accidentally stumbled into a mysterious secret realm. Due to unknown rules, your cultivation is severely restricted.]

[Everything here is filled with strangeness.]

[Avoid all traps and mechanisms at all costs! Touching them will result in instant death.]

[Certain locations have soul-gathering arrays left by experts. Activating them will allow you to resurrect there upon death.]

[Find the exit with as few deaths as possible!]

Looking at the prompt in the sky, Yang Zhengxin scoffed.

"Ridiculous! This old man is a Void Refinement cultivator. The traps you’ve set couldn’t harm me in the slightest! And you even added resurrection arrays—utterly unnecessary."

Lu Ze grinned as he reminded him: "Elder Yang, this illusion suppresses cultivation. All cultivators, regardless of realm, are on equal footing here."

"Hmph, no matter."

Yang Zhengxin brimmed with confidence.

"Traps are all about whether you can see through them or not."

"If I can see through them, what does it matter how high or low my cultivation is?"

"With this old man’s insight, how could the schemes of youngsters like you escape my notice?"

Lu Ze continued stifling his laughter: "Elder Yang is absolutely right. As long as you can see through them… Then let’s begin!"

He imagined the scenes about to unfold and felt that holding back his laughter would make him a saint.

"This old man has no more words to waste on you!"

Yang Zhengxin clasped his hands behind his back and proudly selected "Start."

A line of text instantly appeared in the upper-left corner:

[Random Stage: One]

In Lu Ze’s previous life,

The original "I Wanna" game was called "I Wanna Be the Guy," with only one version.

But fans, fueled by passion, created countless spin-offs, many of which were high-quality.

As the genre matured, the "I Wanna" series became most popular in three directions:

Jumping spikes, endurance, and troll stages.

Among them,

Jumping spikes focused on honing skills. Though the most difficult, it wasn’t ideal for early-stage torment.

Endurance was a niche bullet-hell genre in his past life. Lu Ze considered it but decided bullet-hell games wouldn’t be well-received in this world, so he didn’t rush to make one.

Troll stages, however, were famous for their brain-melting, absurd traps.

Which perfectly aligned with Yang Zhengxin’s requested theme.

Lu Ze carefully selected over 500 high-quality troll-stage "I Wanna" maps he’d played in his past life, sorted them by difficulty, and randomly inserted them into various stages.

[Random Stage: One] was the easiest, featuring many beginner-friendly maps and the openings of some well-crafted ones.

Lu Ze glanced at Yang Zhengxin’s stage and inwardly chuckled.

The old man had randomly landed on the opening of a high-quality map.

It wasn’t particularly hard.

But for a first-time player, it was… unexpected.

Yang Zhengxin surveyed his surroundings with disdain.

The illusion space was filled with giant, crude color blocks, and the plants looked cheap and tacky.

"This is the disciple your sect claims to have talent in illusions? Hah! Even our outer sect disciples could do better!"

Yang Zhengxin sneered.

At that moment, disciples from other sects outside burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! That blue sky is downright childish!"

"My little brother, who just started school, draws at about this level."

"What’s happened to the Lingxiao Sect? Letting someone like this take on such an important task…"

"Absurd! Utterly absurd!!"

...

Meanwhile, Zhao Wendao and Nangong Yuan, at the center of the controversy, exchanged bewildered glances.

"Your disciple… isn’t usually this sloppy."

Zhao Wendao frowned in confusion.

"Could it be… a lack of time?"

Nangong Yuan was equally puzzled.

Lu Ze’s previous two works, while stylistically distinct from reality, were undeniably high-quality, each with its own unique charm.

How did "A Cultivator’s Descent Through 100 Floors" suddenly turn so bizarre?

"That can’t be. He still had over an hour to polish it…"

After discussing for a while with no conclusions, they turned their attention back to the projection.

Inside the illusion, aside from Yang Zhengxin standing amid the absurd scenery, there was also a small floating image in the air.

It was a design Lu Ze had intentionally included—a reference to the "I Wanna" game interface from his past life.

The spectators outside began murmuring again.

"Why is there a smaller image floating in the air?"

"It looks like an overhead view of the entire stage."

"That little figure inside… seems to be Elder Yang? Look! When Elder Yang moves, the figure in the image moves too!"

"Probably to help us see the whole stage layout."

"Strange. Why would Junior Brother Lu be so considerate? Shouldn’t traps be as hidden as possible?"

"What’s Elder Yang doing? Why is he just running around?"

"Probably testing things out."

...

Yang Zhengxin was no stranger to secret realms.

Even those with various restrictions were nothing new to him.

His combat experience was vast, and his tactical mind was sharp.

Since Lu Ze had mentioned that cultivation would be suppressed and movement restricted,

He logically began testing his limits to understand exactly what he could do.

"Only running and jumping? And one mid-air dash… Hah! Do you take this old man for a fool!? Release a single demon beast under these conditions, and it’d be an instant loss!"

Yang Zhengxin roared.

"Elder Yang, no need to rush. I, Lu Ze, never make things difficult for others. The stage you're currently in only has traps—absolutely no combat required."

Lu Ze spoke unhurriedly.

"Then I’ll trust you this once!"

After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Zhengxin finally stepped forward.

Above him in the sky floated three enormous lines of text: ["If you’re a cultivator"], ["then descend"], and ["a hundred floors"].

He paid them no mind, assuming they were just titles.

He pressed onward.

His body’s movements felt slightly unfamiliar, but for someone as experienced as him, it was no issue.

When he reached a massive earthen pillar, he glanced upward.

"Pathetic tricks!"

He scoffed, utterly dismissive.

"Up!"

Yang Zhengxin leaped with all his might, soaring three meters into the air—the maximum height he’d tested earlier.

Just as he reached the peak of his jump and began to descend,

he kicked off the air itself, launching into a second leap.

With this double jump, his body cleared the platform!

"You call this height a trap?"

Yang Zhengxin couldn’t help but taunt the moment his feet touched the ground.

Then—

A gust of wind rushed toward the back of his head.

A surge of overwhelming danger flooded his senses.

He turned his head slightly.

And saw

the words ["If you’re a cultivator"] hurtling toward him at terrifying speed!

Yang Zhengxin froze on the spot—he’d never seen anything like this.

The next instant, he was shattered into a pool of blood.

Reviving at the starting point, Yang Zhengxin stared blankly at the crooked words in the sky: ["If you’re a cultivator"], ["then descend"], and ["a hundred floors"]. His bewildered eyes were filled with question marks.

He’d roamed secret realms for over a century,

fallen for countless traps,

and brushed with death thousands of times.

But

who the hell would’ve thought he’d be killed by three giant words???