5 Chapter 5: Sky Palace

Her eyes, wide and brimming with terror, darted frantically around the cave, searching for any sign of hope. Trapped and helpless, she shuffled backward as much as her bound hands and legs would allow.

"Please, no... don't," she stammered out, each word quaking with palpable dread. Her voice was a ragged mix of fear and desperation.

Jun halted, realizing his approach only heightened her terror. "I'm not going to hurt you," he tried to reassure her.

"Somebody, anybody... help me!" she cried out, her voice echoing hauntingly in the cavern. She writhed against her restraints, her body trembling, eyes darting around in a primal search for escape.

Looking at her terrified eyes, he realized she might have misunderstood what was happening here. Just as he was about to explain, her terrified scream echoed through the cave.

"Listen to me, you're safe," Jun attempted again, keeping his voice calm and steady.

Her frantic whisper broke through her sobs, "You're... you're going to... what are you going to do to me?" Each word was heavy with the fear of the unknown, her eyes reflecting the terror of someone confronted with their deepest fears.

He observed her struggle against her restraints, her fear palpable and overwhelming. Sighing, he leaned against the cave wall, giving her space to understand he wasn't a threat.

One agonizing minute later, her panic showed no signs of subsiding. Her trembling voice filled the cave with a continuous stream of fearful whispers and broken pleas, revealing her inner turmoil and the haunting dread of her predicament.

Jun knew he had to break through her state of terror. Her fear, while understandable, needed to be calmed for both their sakes. He stepped forward carefully, ready to offer reassurance in a manner that words alone could not convey.

He approached her, his movements deliberate, kneeling down to her level. His hand, poised with precision, delivered a swift, sharp SMACK across her cheek.

The sound reverberated through the cave, mingling with the distant rumble of thunder. Her face bore the imprint of his hand, a stark red against her pale skin. Her eyes, wide with shock, mirrored the disbelief and pain of the unexpected strike. Just as she opened her mouth, possibly to scream again, he acted preemptively.

"Wha-"

Another SMACK, this time harder, echoed in the cavern. "Damn, that one actually kind of stung," Jun muttered under his breath, massaging his hand.

Looking at her again, her eyes were even more shocked but he instead of resorting to violence decided to use another method.

Crossing his arms across his chest he asked "Who are you? What are you doing in here!".

Sure he may be a bit aggressive to this defenseless woman but it's better to be safe than sorry, especially in this world.

She tried to speak, but her words were lost in a maze of shock and confusion. Gradually, her voice emerged, tremulous and uncertain. "Wh-... where am I? Why am I tied up?" Her eyes, seeking his, were filled with a mix of fear and faint hope.

"Well for starters… you are in a forest somewhere between the Azure Sword Sect and the Sacred Heart Dynasty, as to why you are tied up….. you came to my place and I don't know who you are so to be on the safe side… I don't really need to explain myself any further".

Nodding slowly, she looked around as best as she could and realized she was in the cave she dragged herself to. Moving her hand unconsciously, she couldn't help but be stunned, wasnt she practically dead? Why can I still move??

"Did you... heal me?" she asked, her voice tinged with a mixture of hope and disbelief.

Looking at her cute puppy eyes that sparkled and in the position she was in, he would be lying if he said she was not beautiful, but being someone from the modern era such thoughts were quickly put away.

"Yes, I did," Jun responded, his tone even but not unkind. "In return, I need information. 

"Yes… but in exchange, I want to know some information", sure his predecessor knew some things here and there but those were from a low-level outer disciple. If he is going to survive in this world he first needs to know more about the powers and who not to offend. This woman is one of the daughters of the patriarch of the Azure Sword Sect so her knowledge of the world is bound to be higher.

"To start things off, how did you end up in this part of the forest? In this giant forest, the chances of us bumping into each other are pretty low" he said while pointing his sword at her.

To be honest, even she was surprised that she was teleported directly in front of someone since the teleportation talisman she got would teleport her somewhere completely random, fortunately, it was someone that was not a beast otherwise… 

Seeing his sword, panic briefly flickered in her eyes as she remembered her escape. Realizing her legs were functioning, her astonishment was palpable. "I can move? But how...?"

What Jun didn't know was that even in the immortal world, there is no cure if someone becomes paralyzed and if there was it would be extremely expensive. It is common knowledge here that once you lose your legs, you are done for, so for her to have her legs back shocked her so greatly that it had a calming effect.

Looking at his expectant face, she saw he was waiting for her answer. 

"I... I was being chased down but I escaped" murmured Yinling.

Looking at her bitter face, he knew she was speaking from memory, plus the status of her panel matched what she said, he just wanted to confirm.

"Well I can cut you loose but you have to make a heavenly oath swearing you won't attack me after I cut you loose"

"I can barely even move but if that's what it takes then so be it, I Lin YinLing swear to the heavenly Dao that I will not attack this gentleman after he cuts me loose". She knew that if she did not make this bow he would kill her right then and there or worse.

"System does this heavenly oath work or is it a bunch of nonsense"

[Ding! Yes, if a person breaks a heavenly oath then not even their ashes will remain, they will simply be erased from existence]

"Geez that sounds even scarier than being reduced to ashes" screamed Jun internally.

Getting closer to her, he first went to the bindings tying up her hands and then feet.

"I hope she doesn't realize that I used her clothes to tie her up" thought Jun nervously.

Sitting in a more comfortable position she was able to get oriented and really take a look at her rescuer

"So who exactly are you? Although I am grateful that you saved me, I don't know your name, for starters, my name is Lin Yinling" she said, her voice now more composed, revealing a blend of innate grace and innocence.

"I'm Jun Xiayou, nice to meet you, so now tell me, in what part of the continent are we in?" 

She looked at him oddly, does he not even know where he is?? She thought. "Cough… we are on the south side of the continent in Sky Domain, Leaf State if what you said is true " 

"I see… are these domains powerful?" questioned Jun. 

Yinling was a little suspicious, everyone practically knew in what domain they lived from her experience. But she continued

"They are extremely powerful, I don't know the specifics but seeing as how they can manage hundreds of thousands of states each without much effort shows just how strong they are"

"Though these domains all have an alliance together called Heavens Eternal Order to maintain balance and peace"

To say he was shocked is not doing it justice, the cultivation world is striving for peace??? Well normally speaking it makes sense that people don't want wars but the cultivation world?? Perhaps those novels he had read had exaggerated on how bloodthirsty and ruthless these worlds were.

"After the 900,000 thousand-year war, the people finally had enough and decided to form an alliance and put their differences aside" she said.

Almost choking a bit he questioned "What started this war?" he couldn't believe it, 900 thousand years?

Shaking her head "No one really knows… the war lasted so long that the people who started the war all died out and their descendants inherited their hatred and eventually the reason was forgotten."

Although what she said may sound ridiculous he could see that happening, heck it happened in his previous world in shorter time frames. People would hold grudges for so long and eventually forget what even made them mad in the first place.

Digesting the information, he wondered where he would go next. Having been kicked out of the Azure Sword Sect, he had lost his safety in this world and needed to be either low-key or find a new backer.

From listening to her stories, this world is even scarier than he imagined.

Looking at this beautiful woman in front of him, perhaps she can be his lucky spoon.

"After you recover your energy, where do you plan to go?" looking at her with hope.

She gazed into his face and felt a wave of unease. The thought of the Moonlight Sect, which once filled her with excitement, now only stirred a deep, unsettling emotion within her.

Fear...

The memory of dancing on the brink of death consumed her mind. Doubts clouded her mind, casting a shadow over her resolve to continue as a cultivator.

As she noticed his expectant gaze, her voice trembled, betraying her inner turmoil. "I… I had plans to join the Moonlight Sect, but..." She paused, her words faltering as if struggling to navigate through her fears.

"I think I might aim for something higher. Perhaps I won't succeed, but I don't want to live with regrets, with 'what-ifs'."

A twinge of guilt washed over her for lying. Her entire life had been a relentless struggle to put up a front of strength, even when she felt her world crumbling around her. This facade, she knew, was not about to crumble now, even in the face of her recent ordeal.

With a forced steadiness in her voice, she masked her turmoil, "I'll try my luck at Sky Palace."