The skies roared like a wounded beast, split by jagged bolts of black lightning. Atop the fractured Heavenly Ascension Altar, an emaciated figure stood, his robes in tatters, blood staining his lips. But still the calmness on his face made it look like it was nothing but illusion, The air around him twisted unnaturally, as if the very laws governing reality were being rewritten in his presence.
Beneath him, hundreds of cultivators circled like vultures, their weapons and spells pointed skyward. But even when the man was wounded and was on the brink of death, none of those hyenas were willing to take the next step
Qin Yao, the man who stood at the Top of Cosmic Ascension realm, glared down at them. Unlike his calm face, His eyes burned with both fury and betrayal.
"You all fear what you cannot grasp, but I expected something like this from you spineless fools" he growled, voice low yet carrying through the storm. "But you—" his gaze settled on the nearest group, "my disciples… you were like my own children. After all I did for you, this is how you repay me?"
Among them, Wei Jian, the eldest disciple, stepped forward, face shadowed beneath a cracked mask. "Master," his voice contained the unbounded respect he held for his master, but "your ascension will drain this continent of qi for centuries. All of us will lose the power to protect the weak ones from those beasts, without YOU the world will not be able to sustain itself"
"And who told you this" Qin Yao asked his fury still tinging his voice, every word made the surrounding air tremble
"The world itself master" Wei Jian replied, not being able to look toward his master after stabbing him with the deadliest poison available in the world
The others behind him nodded, their faces filled with guilt
Qin Yao coughed, tasting copper. His Inner World, once a blooming realm of celestial lakes and towering mountains, now crumbled behind his eyes, its qi siphoned by the very world they were standing on.
"So, you were not ready to let me go huh" Qin Yao said to none of the hundreds of people surrounding him, but the world itself, the only reply he got was increase in the suction of his qi and life force
"hahahahaHHAHAHAHAHAHA" the death was in front of him, but he started laughing maniacally, when he had learned the truth of the world, he had tried everything to escape it… to break the sick cycle… to live… but this fucking world was ahead of him by many steps
"So, you came for my corpse," Qin Yao sneered. "My body, my soul—, my world, I am not going to give you anything you f**ker" the world itself trembled at that, the sky parted and a giant eyes looked down from heaven, all of the people surrounding the man got an instant elevation to their strength, like heaven was asking them to finish what they had started early
from the shadows, the demonic sect's members, robed in black and crimson, emerged. Their elders whispered ancient curses, eager to devour the remains of a man who could rival heaven itself.
The heavens dimmed.
Chains forged of heaven's law slithered down from the clouds, anchoring Qin Yao in place as the circle of cultivators tightened. The weight of whole world pushed him on his knees.
Yet, as his knees buckled, his laughter echoed, twisted and bitter.
"You've won nothing," he rasped. Blood-red qi surged from his shattered dantian, searing his flesh. Fragments of his inner world floated around him—pieces of lakes, forests, stars—melting into his soul.
"You may feast on their blood and bones," Qin Yao snarled at the heavens, "but not on mine."
In a final act of defiance, Qin Yao crushed his own soul, with the world of similar size he was standing on still inside his soul, the mass collapsed in itself, producing a blast that transuded the heaven itself, the altar collapsed into a crater of void-light as the cultivators screamed, shielding themselves from the catastrophic blast.
The explosion tore open space itself, sending a sliver of his remnant soul along with the mangled flesh of various powerhouses of the world spiralling into the abyss beyond realms once again the world shook, the tremor spread thought continent, like a child crying over losing its tastiest snack
Somewhere far beyond the stars…
A dying soul drifted alone—a boy from a distant, uncaring world,
In the endless void, not knowing what he was, where he was, why he was, even the feeling of the cold and hunger surrounding the soul was not felt by it, as it lacked the means to form any thoughts,
But he was attracted toward something, he didn't know what but he was moving toward it instinctively, like trying to latch to the last hope for redemption,
When it reached its destination, there was star of burning light present there, much, much brighter than his tiny form, without even thinking about the consequence the small ball of light tried to merge with the star, like it was his destiny
A whisper, cold and ancient, stirred within the infant's fading consciousness:
"You will be my vessel…"
...
Aaaaaahhhhh
In the servant chamber of the Cao clan, a young lady was struggling alone in her room. Other maids were around in the building, able to hear every shout coming from the lady, but none of them were helping her—some out of jealousy, others out of fear. Whatever the reason, the lady was all alone, shouting from pain as if her body was splitting apart from the inside.
"I am coming, child, just wait a minute," came a shout from the corridor, and an elderly-looking woman came running, huffing and puffing.
"Granny Wu, please help me, aaahhhh," the lady shouted her lungs out from the pain. The old lady increased her speed upon hearing that. Just when she was about to enter the house, a maid stopped her.
"Granny Wu, what are you doing? You know Madam has eyes around here," she asked in a hushed voice.
"I have already lived my life, child. If I left my duty out of fear in these last years, all the karma I would have collected in my life would burn to ash. I would rather die than that. Now, step aside," the granny pushed the maid out of her way and entered the room.
"Oh my, how the hell are you still sane?" Granny Wu shouted as soon as she entered the room. The belly of the woman lying on the bed was bulged much more than it should have been possible.
"this is going be tough one" she muttered, rubbing her hand over the woman's belly. But there was something else to it as well—her hand was glowing with a light green light.
The shouts of the woman subsided a little due to that, and she finally looked toward her saviour.
"No, Granny Wu. It is just one silly boy bothering his mother even before coming to the world," she was somehow able to smile even when she was in so much pain.
"I see. He sure is a healthy one," Granny Wu said, like she was able to see the boy through the womb of the lady and then started preparing for the delivery with practiced ease. She moved around the room, gathering everything she could to make the delivery as less painful as she could, but there was only so much she could do alone.
After getting anything she could get her hands on, Granny Wu went back to the lady and started gently caressing her head.
"Listen, darling, your son is too big for a normal delivery, but I alone can't operate on you, so we would have to do it like the old times. You have to brave through the pain and push. I will handle everything else. Okay?" she asked. The woman was back to grunting; whatever Granny Wu had done to reduce the pain was already worn off, and pain was back in full force.
But even in this condition, she didn't lose consciousness. With a weak nod, she agreed to Granny Wu's plan.
After that, one of the most gruesome and bloodiest deliveries took place in the room. If she had been an ordinary woman, she would have died ten times over during the ordeal. Fortunately, she was a cultivator at the Essence Core Creation Realm. Though only at the second stage of the long cultivation path, her body had already been refined far beyond what any mortal could ever hope to achieve.
Resulting in her surviving the procedure, as soon as the delivery was complete, a vibrant cry spread throughout the room.
"Such a sweet and healthy baby," Granny Wu said, gently wiping away the blood from the newborn's tiny body, revealing his striking features to the world.
Just like everyone in the Cao Clan, the boy had piercing amber eyes, gleaming like molten gold under the dim candlelight, carrying an uncanny sharpness far beyond his age. His jet-black hair clung to his small head, damp from birth, yet it already held a natural lustre, like the midnight fur of a spirit beast. Unlike most of the clan, however, his skin was exceptionally fair, with only the faintest hint of warmth—a mark of his mother's delicate complexion, making him stand out even more among the rugged beast tamers of the Cao Clan.
The boy was so cute that Granny Wu was momentarily stunned for a second, only coming out of her stance when the lady coughed a little.
"Ahem, Granny Wu, can I also have a look at my son, please?" she asked with a smile.
"Hahaha, sure, sure. Forgive this old lady for the delay. Your son is really very cute," Granny Wu passed the boy to the lady.
"Have you thought of any name for him yet?" she asked.
The mother took her baby in her arms like he was the greatest treasure in the world, looking at him with all the love her eyes could muster.
"No, his father has promised me that he himself will give him a name," she said, looking toward Granny Wu with a smile.