Chapter 5: The Forgotten Garden

The deep roar slowly faded into the distance.

Silence returned.

Yet it was no longer the peaceful silence Li Yue had felt when she first entered the Eternal Origin Realm.

Something had changed.

The Realm...

...had awakened.

She stood beneath the silver tree, her gaze fixed on the endless mountains stretching beyond the horizon.

The mist covering them moved unnaturally, rolling like a living sea. Every so often, a distant peak would briefly emerge before disappearing again.

"That sound..."

she said quietly.

"It came from beyond those mountains."

Bai followed her gaze.

His sapphire eyes reflected the silver sky.

"I believe so."

"You believe?"

"I cannot see beyond the Mist of Forgetting."

Li Yue looked at him.

"Why?"

The little fox hesitated.

"My authority is limited."

"You are the First Guardian."

"I am."

"Then why are you limited?"

Bai lowered his head.

"The Realm recognizes you as its Master."

"It does not recognize me."

Those words lingered in the air.

Li Yue slowly turned away.

Another mystery.

Every answer seemed to create three more questions.

In her previous life, secrets had always been hidden by people.

Here...

It felt as though the Realm itself was choosing what could and could not be known.

A faint vibration spread beneath her feet.

The roots of the silver tree began glowing once more.

Lines of silver light flowed through them like rivers carrying moonlight.

One by one, the massive roots shifted.

The ground rumbled.

Ancient stone rose from beneath the earth.

A narrow pathway slowly formed.

It curved gently into an untouched forest.

Bai's ears stood upright.

"The Realm..."

"It has opened another path."

Li Yue observed the path for several moments.

Unlike ordinary stone, these slabs were translucent.

Looking inside them, she could see tiny stars drifting beneath their surface.

As though each step contained an entire night sky.

She crouched and touched one.

Warm.

Alive.

The stone responded to her touch with a soft pulse.

A ripple spread through every slab ahead of her.

The entire pathway lit up.

Far away, something answered.

A bell rang.

Only once.

Its sound drifted across the endless Realm before disappearing into silence.

Bai whispered almost to himself,

"It hasn't rung..."

"...for millions of years."

Li Yue pretended not to hear.

Instead, she stepped onto the path.

The moment her foot landed—

Silver flowers bloomed around it.

Tiny blossoms no larger than her thumb emerged from the cracks between the stones.

Each flower shimmered for only a few breaths before dissolving into glowing particles.

Another step.

More flowers.

Another.

The pathway itself welcomed her.

Or remembered her.

The forest swallowed them.

Towering trees stretched toward the heavens.

Their trunks were white as polished jade.

Their leaves glittered like pieces of crystal whenever the wind passed through them.

The forest should have been full of life.

Birdsong.

Animals.

Flowing streams.

Instead...

There was only silence.

An ancient silence that made every footstep seem louder than thunder.

Li Yue frowned.

"No living creatures."

Bai nodded.

"They're sleeping."

"Sleeping?"

He looked at one enormous tree.

"Everything inside the Realm entered a deep slumber after..."

His voice stopped.

"After what?"

"...I don't remember."

Li Yue sighed inwardly.

Every missing memory frustrated her.

But strangely...

She no longer felt impatient.

The Realm reminded her of an enormous puzzle.

One that had waited countless ages to be solved.

After nearly an hour of walking, the forest slowly opened.

Li Yue stopped.

Before her lay the remains of a breathtaking garden.

Or perhaps...

A forgotten palace.

Stone bridges arched gracefully over narrow streams so clear that every pebble beneath the water could be seen.

Ancient pavilions stood beside lotus ponds, their wooden pillars carved with dragons and phoenixes.

Most had collapsed.

Vines climbed across broken roofs.

Wild flowers pushed through cracked tiles.

Nature had claimed everything.

Yet it had done so gently.

As though refusing to destroy the beauty that once existed here.

A cool breeze carried the scent of rain and blooming flowers.

Li Yue closed her eyes.

For just a moment...

She felt peace.

A feeling she had not experienced in centuries.

No battles.

No schemes.

No enemies.

Only stillness.

She opened her eyes again.

"...Beautiful."

Bai smiled.

"I remember someone saying those exact words."

She looked at him.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

His smile became bitter.

"I remember the feeling."

"But not the person."

They continued deeper into the garden.

Broken statues lined the pathways.

Some depicted graceful women holding stars.

Others portrayed warriors kneeling before the silver tree.

One statue had lost its head entirely.

Another had crumbled until only a pair of stone hands remained.

Li Yue stopped before a weathered inscription.

Most of the words had vanished.

Only a single sentence remained.

"When the final flower blooms... the Keeper shall return."

Her fingers traced the ancient carving.

"The Keeper..."

She had heard that title before.

In the vision beyond the First Seal.

Was it a person?

Or merely a title passed from one generation to another?

Before she could think further—

A gentle fragrance reached her.

Sweet.

Pure.

Unlike anything she had ever smelled.

She followed it instinctively.

Beyond a curtain of silver vines lay a circular courtyard untouched by time.

Everything around it had fallen into ruin.

Everything...

Except one flower.

A black lotus.

Its petals were closed tightly, as though protecting a secret.

No spiritual energy escaped it.

It looked lifeless.

Bai stopped several paces away.

His breathing quickened.

"The Lotus of Origin..."

"I thought it had withered forever."

Li Yue slowly approached.

Ten steps away.

Nothing happened.

Five steps.

The air grew warmer.

Three steps.

The pond surrounding the lotus rippled on its own.

One step.

The lotus trembled.

A soft heartbeat echoed across the garden.

Then...

The first petal unfolded.

Another followed.

Then another.

Until all nine petals opened beneath the silver sky.

Golden light rose from its center like morning sunlight breaking through darkness.

Resting within the flower was a single drop of radiant dew.

It floated upward.

Not hurriedly.

Not dramatically.

Almost affectionately.

It drifted toward Li Yue.

She made no attempt to stop it.

For reasons she could not explain...

She felt no danger.

The droplet gently touched the center of her forehead.

Warmth spread through her entire body.

Her damaged meridians shone faintly.

Tiny cracks that had refused to heal began knitting together—not completely, but enough for spiritual energy to flow like a small stream instead of scattered droplets.

She gasped.

"So this is..."

Spiritual energy.

She could finally feel it.

It wasn't much.

Just a thread.

But after awakening in a broken body...

Even a thread felt like hope.

Bai smiled, relief filling his eyes.

"The Realm has accepted its Master."

Li Yue slowly shook her head.

"No..."

She placed a hand over her heart.

"It isn't accepting me."

"It remembers me."

At that exact moment—

CRACK!

A deafening sound tore through the heavens.

Both of them looked up.

High above the silver tree...

One of countless golden chains binding the sky had snapped.

Only one.

Yet the entire Realm trembled.

Somewhere beyond the endless mist...

Something ancient opened its eyes.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***