I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Location: Kunlun Mountains, Unknown Area, "Viper" Squad's Breakthrough Point]

For "Viper" and his team, this was supposed to be a textbook infiltration operation.

They successfully avoided the electromagnetic interference zone on the outer perimeter, which could blind satellites, and bypassed the blind spots of the infrared thermal imaging radar. Although the treacherous glacial crevasse was difficult to traverse, it was not insurmountable for this group of elite mercenaries equipped with exoskeletons.

"Once we cross this ice ridge, we'll reach the heart of the Kunlun Mountains."

Viper glanced at the tactical terminal on his wrist. Although the GPS signal on the screen was weak and erratic, the general location was correct.

"Boss, something's not right."

The demolition expert "Grizzly" suddenly stopped and reached out to pull up his tactical mask.

The sound of the howling wind suddenly disappeared the moment he took off his mask.

It didn't gradually shrink; rather, it stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed the mute button.

The biting cold wind had vanished, replaced by a warm current carrying a faint scent of pine. The previously jagged, menacing black rocks around them now appeared strangely soft in the green vision of the night vision goggles.

"My altimeter shows we're descending, but my body feels like we're climbing."

Another team member's voice trembled, "And...look ahead."

Everyone looked up.

About fifty meters ahead of them stood a weathered stone tablet.

The stone tablet has no complicated warning signs, no red "Military Restricted Area" lettering, only a line of ancient and vigorous Chinese characters. If you shine a tactical flashlight on it, you can even see the faint light flowing within the characters:

[Mortals, stop here! Those who cross the line will die.]

"Playing tricks."

Viper snorted coldly. A staunch atheist and money-obsessed individual who spent all his time in the training room, he was used to these psychological tactics. "This is probably some kind of holographic projection or psychological suggestion gas from the Chinese. Put on your gas masks and keep going!"

His long-term stay in a near-extinct foreign country, coupled with the inaction of the authorities, solidified his inner thoughts.

However, when they tried to cross the boundary where the stone monument stood, the world changed.

It's no longer about technological signal blocking, but about altering physical rules.

The vanguard at the very front had just stepped over the stone tablet with trepidation, and it felt as if he had stepped into an invisible mirror of water.

His figure instantly distorted and lengthened in his teammates' eyes, then spread out eerily like a drop of ink falling into clear water.

"Jack? Jack!"

The viper shouted loudly, but all that could be heard on the radio communication channel was a sickening static, followed by deathly silence.

The scout was right in front of them, only a step away, yet it felt like an entire world separated them. He seemed to be desperately trying to shout, pounding the air in front of him, but no sound came out, and he couldn't retreat.

"What the hell is this thing? Is it a force field weapon?"

Grizzly raised his grenade launcher, aimed it at the stone tablet, and shouted, "Whether it's technology or witchcraft, blow it up!"

"Don't move!" The viper's instincts screamed.

But it was too late.

The grizzly bear pulled the trigger.

There was no explosion as expected. The grenade, powerful enough to destroy a light tank, suddenly stopped in mid-air just as it crossed the boundary line marked by the stone monument.

It wasn't intercepted, it was frozen.

Immediately afterwards, a faint purple ripple appeared in the air.

The grenade was as if it had been grasped by an invisible hand, and then... it was disintegrated.

The steel cartridge case, the high-explosive powder inside, and the fuse were reduced to pulverized dust in a mere second, falling in a flurry.

"Gulp."

Everyone heard themselves swallowing.

This is not electronic interference.

This is not a laser weapon.

This is the erasure of matter.

……

[Location: Kunlun Main Peak, Wendao Pavilion]

This is the absolute safe zone, and also the audience seating for this "hunt".

Gu Qing stood with his hands behind his back, and behind him stood hundreds of "volunteer" disciples.

Chu Tian and the others stood at the very front.

A huge "water mirror" floated in front of them, the image as clear as a 4K live broadcast, showing the terrified look of the mercenaries below the mountain.

"Did you see that?"

Gu Qing's voice was calm, yet it clearly reached the ears of every disciple.

"That's why I don't allow you to go down the mountain at will, and that's why I set up an array around the perimeter."

A sword-wielding disciple, staring at the disintegrating grenade in the image, couldn't help but shrink back. "This formation is too ferocious! That was a high-explosive grenade, gone in an instant?"

"fierce?"

Gu Qing shook his head and turned to look at these young faces.

"If it weren't me standing here today, but an invader from the Void; if it weren't these mercenaries trying to break in from below the mountain, but thousands upon thousands of Void creatures..."

"Do you think this formation is still dangerous?"

The disciples remained silent.

"Remember, cultivating immortality is not a dinner party, nor is it an experiment in an ivory tower."

Gu Qing pointed to the image in the water mirror:

"That stone tablet is what I'm about to teach you—the barrier."

"In the understanding of ordinary people, this is a wall, or an energy shield."

"But in the eyes of cultivators, barriers are the embodiment of rules."

Gu Qing flicked her finger, and the image in the water mirror zoomed in, focusing on the group of mercenaries who were caught in a dilemma.

"They don't belong in our space now."

"They entered the area between the 'Gate of Life' and the 'Gate of Death' in the formation. This is commonly known as 'being trapped in a maze,' but in Kunlun, it's called 'the labyrinth.'"

……

Location: Inside the barrier, in the "Maze" area

The viper is going crazy.

They weren't killed, but their current situation is worse than death.

Just now, they tried to retreat.

But when they turned around, the glacial crevasse they had come from was gone.

Instead, there was an identical wasteland and an identical stone tablet: [Mortals, stop here; those who cross the line will die].

No matter which direction they go, how the compass turns, or how long they walk, they will eventually return to this stone tablet.

"We're going in circles!"

One team member collapsed to his knees, ripped off his tactical helmet, and slammed it to the ground. "This isn't right! My GPS shows we've been moving in a straight line!"

"Shh..."

The viper suddenly raised a finger, its face turning deathly pale.

"Listen."

Sounds began to emerge from the silence.

That was thunder.

But it didn't come from the sky, but from...the ground beneath our feet.

The earth began to tremble, and the soil around the stone tablet began to churn.

Streaks of purple electricity, like living snakes, emerged from the ground.

Instead of attacking immediately, they intertwined and swirled in the air, forming a huge, crackling net of lightning.

[System notification: Hostile target detected, lingering for too long.]

[Formation Mechanism Triggered: Minor Thunderclap Formation.]

[Judgment: Low-intensity punishment will be imposed.]

"Sizzle—!"

A bolt of lightning, no thicker than a finger, struck the kneeling team member without warning.

"ah!!"

The screams were heart-wrenching.

The tactical vest on the team member was instantly charred black, and the state-of-the-art ceramic bulletproof plate shattered. But he didn't die; he just collapsed to the ground, convulsing, foaming at the mouth, his hair standing on end.

This is just a warning.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third arcs of lightning began to roam around the viper and the others, each one brushing past their noses and leaving behind a burnt smell.

"Run! Run if you don't want to die!"

The viper roared, grabbed the wounded man from the ground, and began to run wildly like a headless fly.

But no matter how fast they ran, the ever-present thunder was always in their ears.

Every lightning strike shattered their psychological defenses.

Their prized modern tactical maneuvers, counter-reconnaissance skills, and high-tech equipment all became ineffective at this moment.

In this space where the rules have been distorted, they are like mice being toyed with by a cat.

……

[Location: Kunlun Main Peak, Wendao Pavilion]

Chu Tian frowned slightly as he looked at the mercenaries fleeing in disarray in the water mirror. "Why not just kill them? They're just mortals; they pose no threat to us."

Gu Qing glanced at his eldest disciple.

Chu Tian possessed exceptional talent and a clear understanding of swordsmanship, but he was too arrogant.

If this pride is not properly guided, it will lead to great losses when facing emptiness in the future.

"Chu Tian, ​​do you think they are weak?" Gu Qing asked in return.

"Just a mortal. I don't need a flying sword; I can suppress him with a single palm strike," Chu Tian replied confidently.

"Yeah?"

Gu Qing smiled faintly, "What you see are just ordinary people. But what I see is the civilization behind them."

"The leader, despite extreme fear, maintained formation and did not abandon the wounded. During the lulls in the lightning strikes, they were still able to try to find cover and calculate the patterns of the lightning strikes."

"This is the resilience of ordinary people."

With a flick of his sleeve, Gu Qing caused the image in the water mirror to vanish.

"I don't kill them because they are the best 'teaching tools'."

He turned around, his gaze hardening as he surveyed the entire room.

"All disciples, listen to my command!"

"Disciples are here!" the students responded in unison, their voices resounding through the heavens.

"Tonight will be your practical test."

Gu Qing pointed to the area below the mountain where lightning was flashing.

"I have suppressed the power of the formation to the minimum, only trapping without killing."

"Your mission is to enter the barrier and, in small teams, capture these intruders alive."

"Remember, you cannot use spells of mass destruction, you cannot destroy the terrain, and you absolutely cannot let them die."

"I want to live."

"This is not only a test of your cultivation, but also a tempering of your character."

"Go, and tell these mortals what... the difference between immortals and mortals really means."

"yes!!!"

At Gu Qing's command, sword lights flashed all over Kunlun Mountain.

The students, who had been eager to try, either glided low through the air on their swords or used "lightness techniques" to leap between the treetops, like a pack of young wolves that had smelled blood, pouncing on their exhausted prey.

Gu Qing remained standing on the high platform.

He gazed at the young figures from behind, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"What should drive mortals to despair is not the lightning of the barrier."

"It should be... when they find themselves completely helpless against a group of children who haven't even graduated yet."

This is the true meaning of the Kunlun Barrier.

It is not only physically insurmountable, but also an absolute dimensional crushing force.