Together, they stepped into the Gate.

The sensation was immediate - space twisted around them, pulling and stretching. Colors blurred together, and for a brief moment, Cipher felt like he was everywhere and nowhere at once. The feeling was far more intense than any Gate he'd entered before.

Then, suddenly, it stopped.

Cipher's feet touched solid ground. He blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the new environment.

He looked at the world around him. The lush greenery stretched endlessly in every direction. Towering trees with leaves of vibrant emerald swayed gently in the breeze. Birds chirped in the distance. A river flowed somewhere nearby, its soft babbling reaching his ears.

He paused.

Greenery?

His blood ran cold.

Oh no.

Something was horribly wrong.

They were supposed to see the golden walls of the safe zone. Not... this.

They had spawned directly in the wild.

He needed to warn the others.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, a wave of dizziness crashed over him. His vision blurred. His legs gave out beneath him.

"What…" he managed, but his consciousness was already slipping away.

The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the others collapsing around him - Maya crumpling to the grass, Dante's massive frame hitting the ground with a thud, Ryker and Selene falling in unison.

Li Chen's sword clattered against the earth as he too succumbed.

Then everything went black.

…

The Cultivation World, a few minutes earlier.

Six figures stood in a semicircle behind a bubbling portal. Three men and three women.

"How long do we have to do this for?" one of the women asked, her tone sharp with impatience. "Can't we just take him and be done with it?"

"Patience, Elder Flowing Stream," another woman said, her voice calm and measured.

"The Moonlight Maiden is right," a man spoke up. He was Li Baiyuan, though most called him Daoist Whispering Pines. His robes rustled softly as he stepped forward. "We all have our own situations and can't share a single talented disciple."

He stroked his long beard thoughtfully. "The world crisis is coming closer and closer with every loop as we old fossils lose our strength. We can only rely on talented outsiders. Since that young man has such talent, I'm sure others from that world also have similar talent."

He gestured toward the portal. "That's why we've been tempting him with our methods but still making it just a little out of reach. He will definitely assemble a team and bring us countless talents from the outside world. And when that time comes, we will all be able to choose a disciple."

"Tch, I know that." The first woman, Wen Ruoyan, also known as Elder Flowing Stream, scoffed and crossed her arms. "You don't have to explain it to me."

"Now, now, let's all calm down," said Chen Feng, also known as the Immortal of the Jade Peak.

He was the eldest of the bunch, and his words carried weight. The others settled down once he spoke, their bickering fading into silence.

"By the way," Jiang Qing, the Sage of Azure Cloud, spoke up suddenly, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Is it just me, or did there used to be a golden house surrounding this portal?"

"Now that you mention it..." Sun Lihua, the Moonlight Maiden, tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I seem to remember something like that as well," Zhao Long, the Cloud Dragon, added. "Though my memory isn't all that great these days."

Chen Feng looked around at his companions, his expression heavy with concern.

Their memories were deteriorating with every loop. Names, places, techniques - all slowly slipping away like sand through fingers. They really needed to find disciples soon and train them to overcome this apocalypse.

Otherwise, he didn't know how much longer they could hold on.

At that moment, the portal suddenly became active. Its surface churned violently, the light intensifying.

"Everyone, get ready," Li Baiyuan said, his eyes fixed on the swirling energy. "This might be it."

"Hmph." Wen Ruoyan rolled her eyes. "You said the same thing the last hundred loops."

But before she could continue her complaint, the portal pulsed…

And spat out six figures.

They tumbled through the threshold, landing on the grass in a heap. Six people. Not one.

"This is..." Wen Ruoyan was taken aback, her words dying in her throat. She swallowed them instantly, eyes wide.

"Quick, Moonlight Maiden!" Chen Feng shouted.

"On it," Sun Lihua said.

Her hands moved, doing some hand signs. A wave of silvery light spread outward from her palms, washing over the six newcomers before they could even realize what was happening.

Instantly, the figures who had just arrived through the portal wobbled. One by one, their eyes rolled back and they collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Silence fell over the clearing.

The six elders stared at the bodies before them.

"Six of them," Zhao Long breathed. "There are actually six of them."

Wen Ruoyan's earlier impatience had vanished completely. A slow smile spread across her face.

"Well then," she said. "It seems we won't have to share after all."

…

The six Daoists floated over to the now unconscious newcomers.

"Now if you'll excuse me..." Zhao Long said with a smile as he reached down and picked up Li Chen, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"What are you doing?" Wen Ruoyan asked sharply.

"Picking, of course," Zhao Long said casually.

Wen Ruoyan gritted her teeth. She had already checked the others, and none of them seemed to be as talented as Li Chen.

"What?" Zhao Long raised an eyebrow at her. "He has the most compatibility with my Dragon Clan techniques. Do you think you can teach him better than me?"

"You..." She was about to retort, but Chen Feng stepped in.

"It's true that Li Chen has the most compatibility with dragon techniques," the elder said calmly. "Although we all want talented disciples, we have to look at the bigger picture here. He will become the strongest under Zhao Long. Why don't you let him train him?" He paused. "If nothing really changes, then maybe we can discuss it in the next loop."

"I agree with the Immortal Daoist," Li Baiyuan said, nodding.

"The old man is right," the Moonlight Maiden added as she stepped forward to examine the remaining disciples.

"Tch. Fine." Wen Ruoyan gave in reluctantly.

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