The entrance to the mysterious cave loomed like a gaping mouth in the side of the mountain, wreathed in fog and shadow. Vines crawled around the edges like fingers trying to keep something in—or out. Mossy stones crunched underfoot as the Eternal Radiance Divine Sect approached, weapons at the ready, eyes sharp.
Well… most eyes.
"Does it have spiders?" Tian Feng whispered.
"No clue," Li Qingyu said cheerfully. "But if it does, I hope they talk. I love diplomatic monsters."
Su Jian scowled. "Let's not forget this was labeled 'Unknown Risk Level.' That's system-speak for You Might Die Horribly."
"I brought cookies!" Daniu announced, holding up a crushed bag of spiritual snacks. "Beast-butter flavor!"
Ziyan cracked her knuckles. "Let's get this over with."
---
The cave was surprisingly spacious inside, almost like a natural cathedral. Dim blue light pulsed from crystals embedded in the walls, casting eerie shadows that danced with each step they took.
"Hold formation," Ziyan commanded. "Yanyu on the right, Jian left. Tian, stay behind Master and don't panic."
"I never panic," Tian Feng lied.
"Last time a squirrel ran at you, you passed out."
"That was a vicious squirrel!"
Li Qingyu raised a hand to signal silence.
From deeper within the cave came… music.
Soft. Melodic. Almost like someone strumming a guqin with long, elegant fingers.
"Uh-oh," Su Jian whispered. "Musical cultivators. They're either saints or absolute lunatics."
"Or both," said Li Qingyu.
They advanced.
---
Eventually, they reached a natural chamber lit by floating lanterns. At its center sat an old man on a stone platform, robes flowing like mist, beard as long as Daniu's hopes and dreams.
He was playing a jade guqin, the notes echoing with spiritual resonance that soothed the mind and tickled the soul.
"I've been expecting guests," the old man said, not looking up.
"Did he just plot-device us?" Tian Feng muttered.
The old man stopped playing and raised his head. His eyes sparkled with mirth.
"I am Grandmaster Yan of the Wandering Tune Sect, long since vanished from these lands. I was once a peak-tier Sound Cultivator… until my sect fell."
Daniu whispered to Yanyu, "Sound cultivator? Like, he sings and people explode?"
"Something like that."
Li Qingyu stepped forward. "We are the Eternal Radiance Divine Sect. On our first mission. We're here to explore this cave."
"Ah," Grandmaster Yan said. "You may explore. But only after passing my trial."
The group collectively groaned.
---
[Ding! Side Quest Activated: Trial of Echoing Souls]
Objective: Survive Grandmaster Yan's Sound Illusions
Reward: Guqin of Whispering Flame (Rare Artifact) + Sect Fame + Yan's Blessing
Penalty: Mental confusion, spiritual dizziness, possible temporary identity loss
Su Jian immediately sat down. "Nope. I'm not losing my identity again. Last time I thought I was a horse for three days."
"We accept," said Li Qingyu brightly.
---
The cave darkened as Grandmaster Yan plucked the strings.
"Let your souls be tested. Face yourselves."
The world shimmered.
And suddenly… they weren't in the cave anymore.
---
Su Jian stood on a battlefield, his robes charred, his hands slick with blood. Pill bottles shattered around him. In the distance, a monstrous version of himself sneered: "You'll never be good enough. Just a failed alchemist with big words and small talent."
Su clenched his fists. "I'm more than that."
He snapped his fingers. Boom.
Even illusions hate when their eyebrows are on fire.
---
Daniu found himself in front of a mountain of food—and a single, impossibly massive scale. The voice of his ancestors boomed: "You will never be more than a joke!"
He roared, tears in his eyes. "Then I'll be the funniest joke they've ever seen!"
And he body-slammed the scale.
---
Ziyan faced a room filled with swords—each labeled with names of the people she couldn't protect. The ghost of her old master stood before her. "Still holding back. Still weak."
She drew her blade. "Watch me surpass even you."
---
Yanyu stood chained in her family's merchant house, mocked and scorned. Her own reflection spoke: "You're just a wild dog in human skin."
She spit at the mirror. "Then I'll bite my way to the top."
---
Tian Feng stood in an office filled with scrolls and abacuses. A version of himself in merchant robes sneered. "You'll never make a difference. You belong behind a desk."
He threw the abacus through the window. "I choose chaos."
---
Li Qingyu faced… nothing. Just an empty mirror. His own voice echoed: "Who are you pretending to be?"
He smiled.
"No one. That's the fun part."
---
The illusions shattered.
They collapsed back into the real world, gasping, panting, sweating.
Grandmaster Yan nodded. "You've all passed."
"Barely," Su Jian muttered, crawling toward his alchemy pouch.
"You've faced the shadows of your hearts. Now take this."
A glowing guqin floated into Li Qingyu's hands, humming with energy.
---
[Item Acquired: Guqin of Whispering Flame]
Effect: Calming music or spontaneous combustion. Mood-dependent.
Bound to: Eternal Radiance Divine Sect
Additional Buff: +1 to Sect Fame
Grandmaster Yan's Blessing: Increased Spiritual Music Affinity (all members)
---
As they left the cave, Li Qingyu looked back.
"Will you be alright, Grandmaster?"
The old man smiled. "I've done my duty. Perhaps I'll rest… or follow your chaos for a while from afar."
Ziyan muttered, "Better than a ghost with a flute."
---
Back at the sect, they returned to cheers—mostly from Daniu, who had been cheering since they left.
They added the guqin to the main hall. Tian Feng started writing songs. Yanyu used it to train her balance. Su Jian tried to distill music into pills. Ziyan threatened to throw it at people when they misbehaved.
And Li Qingyu?
He sat on the roof, watching the stars, humming a new tune.
Their sect was growing.
Their story had begun.
---