Three months ago, two days prior to Monty regaining consciousness. Lillian walked into Doctor Elmond’s clinic with dark expression.

“How is Monty? Has he shown any signs of waking up?”

The Doctor shook his head, his face no less grim than her own. “About him, I have something important to tell you regarding his condition.”

“What is it?” she asked, though the old man had no time to answer. Just then, the scream of a young boy pierced the air.

“Monty!” Lillian shouted, rushing to the back room with great speed. The Doctor followed right behind her, his pace no less than her own.

Opening the door revealed a sight that caused her breathing to stop. Her brother was thrashing violently, tearing at his clothes, the sheets, and himself. She quickly held him down and shouted his name, trying in any way she could to bring him out of whatever state he was in.

“Move!” the Doctor commanded and she immediately did. He had to help Monty.

The old man placed a hand on the boy’s chest and as soon as a light flashed, he once again fell unconscious.

Tears welled up in Lillian’s eyes. She quickly wiped them and they no longer appeared.

“What the hell is going on?” she hissed after regaining some composure but the Doctor just sighed.

“Let’s go sit down. His condition should stabilize now and he will likely wake in the next few days.”

Lillain did not move. “Just tell me now. I won’t be leaving this room until he wakes up. Not after whatever just happened.”

The old man sighed yet again and said, “Very well. Do as you like. I cannot not tell you how Monty became like this. However, given the condition of his Qi, I can make certain assumptions.”

“What are they?”

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “His body has no damage to it. The only change I can perceive is a movement of his acupuncture points. From this, we can assume his falling into a coma is a consequence of damage or change to his soul.”

Lillian paled. Any injury to the soul was incredibly difficult to heal and would likely cause many issues ranging from mental illness to directly causing death.

“How can this be.” She slumped against the wall. Her voice came out a whisper. “After everything I’ve done, now even he’s like this. Are the heavens against me?”

“Let’s go take a seat,” the Doctor suggested again. This time Lillian agreed, nodding weakly. She stood and they moved to the main room. Once they reached the chairs, she slumped down in one, her gaze dark and unfocused.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked. Lillian mumbled. “No.”

“Then listen to what I have to say.”

The strength in the Doctor’s voice pulled her attention to him. “While Monty’s condition is serious, it will not endanger his life. As I’ve said, he should be waking within the next few days.”

A tremble ran through Lillian and a dim light returned to her eyes. The old man continued talking, his voice steady and deep. “However, I am more worried about the cause. There are very few reasons for a mortal’s soul to be affected in such a way. There are no injuries on him that would lead to his condition.”

“Thus,” he concluded. “It could only be the work of something or someone who had the capabilities to target his soul directly, putting him into such a state.”

Lillian sat up straight. “You’re telling me someone targeted Monty? Why would anyone do that? He’s just a regular mortal.”

“There are two explanations,” the Doctor said, voice leaden. “One: someone is targeting you through him, either to simply cause harm to your dao heart or to blackmail you at a later date.”

“What’s the second?”

“Through demonic means, they clashed with Monty’s soul in an attempt to directly possess his body.”

* * *

Despite having prepared herself since Monty’s amnesic wakening, when Lillian felt the pressure of a cold blade held against her neck, her heart shattered. Seeing the boy who used to be her brother meet her gaze so indifferently, an icy rage exploded within her.

“I will give you one chance to explain yourself. Just one. You better think carefully before answering or prepare yourself for the consequences.”

Monty nodded as if expecting her to react in such a way. He was still calm despite her threat and her fury only boiled further at that.

Then, he backed away from her and spoke evenly. “I will tell you everything eventually. However, right now is an emergency. If we don’t do something both, you and I will die tonight.”

“Is he fucking serious?” “Are you fucking serious?”

“I am.” His eyes darted to the window. A smile appeared, spreading his lips thinly. It was a smile that Monty should, would never wear. It caused her stomach to churn. “Just look out the window and you’ll understand.”

She nodded as if calm, and appeared before the thing that stole her brother’s body. Her hand grabbed his neck and lifted him into the air.

“Did you have fun?” she spat. “For three months you pretended to be my brother only to try to kill me on such a day. Now you’re still bullshitting me. Do you think I’m fucking stupid?”

“Your brother is still alive.”

Lillian flinched. He continued to speak, albeit with difficulty, the hand around his neck not tight enough to cause harm. “He’s still alive. I currently possess his body, but the soul of Monty is still living within it, only injured. Just look out the window. It truly is an emergency. I have not lied.”

She lowered him to the ground. “If you move an inch, I’ll kill you.”

Lillian then walked to the window, her attention focused solely on Monty. It was ridiculous. Once she found nothing out of the ordinary, the piece of shit would be out of excuses. It would pain her, but to find out what happened she would do anything. Monty could not be gone.

She looked outside.

The night sky no longer contained countless celestial bodies. It was black and empty. No light shone down and the landscape mirrored the sky above.

“Huh?” she asked, but was left unanswered. The silence was deafening.

Now that she thought about it, there was absolutely no noise other than her and Monty’s own breathing. It was late at night, so some degree of quietness was to be expected, but the complete absence of sound was eerily unnatural.

“Why don’t I hear the villagers?” The color drained from her face. Her voice came out a whisper. “What the hell is going on?”

From behind her, Monty spoke calmly. “Look for the moon.”

“But it wasn’t there?” she thought, feeling that something was very wrong. Then she spotted it.

As if fusing with the void beyond, the disk was no longer a pure silver but deep, colorless black. Her eye sight was much better than a mortals and thus, she could make out minute spots of silver behind the darkness. It was as if the moon had been covered by a barrier of smog.

Her head whipped to Monty. “What is this?! Did you do this?”

Monty snorted. “Of course not. Do you think I am an immortal?”

Lillian’s pulse raced but she forced her mind to slow down at his words. She breathed deeply. “I’ll believe you for now but you have to tell me what’s going on. If I find out that you lied you’ll be dead that same instant.”

“Sure,” Monty agreed. “Didn’t I already tell you? I haven’t lied.”

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She did not believe that. However, whatever was going on it was far above her pay grade. It was obvious at a glance. Monty – or whoever was possessing her brother – seemed to know everything before it even happened. That scared her more than what was going on, but at the same time, provided a way.

Lillian closed her eyes for a second. When they opened, they were no longer lacking direction. Now was the present. She would worry about Monty after leaving this.

“Please tell me how I can survive,” she said, her tone returning to normal. Monty looked impressed.

“Grab what you need first, we won’t be staying in this place anymore,” he said. “I’ll tell you everything as we move. We’ve already wasted enough time.”

It seemed that he had already been prepared as when Lillian walked out of her room, pack in hand, he was at the door.

“You got everything?”

“Can I get my knife?” she asked. Monty nodded nonchalantly and held out the blade, hilt first. She looked at him for a second and took it.

He opened the door. “Let’s go, there’s a lot to do.”

Given how dark it was, Lillian held out her hand, palm up, and a faint light illuminated their surroundings. Monty looked at it as they walked of the cottage. Compared to the day, the dirt trail that led into the forest gained an ominous quality and adding in the deathly silence, she felt every beat of her heart.

Monty began his explanation at this time. “I’ll start with what we’re going to do to survive. Then I’ll explain what’s going on,” he said. Leaves crunched painfully loud underfoot.

“I won’t bother telling you the details, but, to put it simply, a very powerful cultivator will be taking the souls of every one of his descendants in an attempt to break through a higher realm. This cultivator being our great ancestor, the Silver Moon Sovereign.”

Lillian’s eyes widened.

“Why would he-” she did not finish the question. It was stupid. She knew better than anyone just how far cultivators were willing to go to gain more power.

“Back during his prime, our ancestor was quite prolific. By now, around ten percent of all humans in the Southern Region are his descendants. To prevent our essence from being harvested, we will need help from an equally powerful figure.”

“You know someone that powerful?” she questioned. At this point, she could barely even dreg up some doubt to the absurd claim. The Silver Moon Sovereign had lorded over the entire Southern Region during his prime. She could not imagine what his cultivation would be now, four thousand years later.

“In a way,” Monty replied, not giving away a thing. “However, I am not capable of asking for favors in my current state. There are two steps we must take. The first is to perform a sacrifice to draw her attention. Then, make a trade to buy protection for us.”

“What I will need you to do,” he continued, meeting her gaze with her brother’s brown eyes. “Is to help me with getting the sacrifices. I will take care of everything else.”

Lillian frowned. “Demonic techniques?” Monty exhaled in a regretful way. “If there were an alternative, I would surely use it. Unfortunately, dealing with a cultivator on the verge of forming his dao seed does not leave me with many options. Though, I’m sure when you find out who those sacrifices are, you won’t mind so much.”

He shot her a grin and Lillian could only wonder who he was referring to.

Monty led them around the fringes of the village, taking a roundabout path. When she asked why, he told her she could cut through the village center, if she wanted to die. She did not question his choices again.

After a long half hour of trekking through dark forest, they arrived at a dilapidated cottage. Compared to their own, the condition was like heaven and earth. Old wood boards barely kept the roof from collapsing and an infestation of bugs had created countless miniature windows that enabled a shaky light to pass through.

Monty took out a candle from his bag and lit it, handing it to Lillian. He then walked up to the door and knocked. Turning to her, he said, “Put out your light. Can you capture them alive?”

Lillian nodded and her palm dimmed into nothing. She knew who lived here. As much as she hated to admit it, knowing this made her feel a bit better, if just a bit.

Soon, a skinny boy opened the door. “Monty?” he asked, confused.

Monty scratched the back of his neck. “Hey, Flea. Is your dad home?”

Flea seemed stunned. “Um, yes. But why are you asking for him?”

Monty did not seem bothered to reply. “Lillian.” She frowned but moved anyway. Qi channeled from her dantian through her meridians, moving around her body before reaching her index and middle fingers.

She pointed at Flea and in her mind, said,

“Frozen Chains.”

From her fingers, links of ice manifested, shooting out at a speed faster than Flea could react. They wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. The boy opened his mouth to scream but no words came out. Monty’s palm had covered it.

“Shut it if you don’t want to die. Now, blink if you understand.”

Flea, wide eyed, closed them strongly. Monty then removed his hand. “Good,” he said. “Let’s go find that father of yours.”

The three of them entered, Lillian leading the way with Flea dragged behind her. The stink of alcohol hit her nose, causing her nose to scrunch up. Though, now it was more than just a little bit.

A gruff voice garbled something resembling a shout. “Flea! Who was there. Tell them to get the fuck out or I’ll tell the Head.”

No one answered. The inside of the cottage was as bad as the outside, if not worse. Lillian had to watch her step so as not to fall into the floor. Empty bottles and glass shards littered the walls. There was no furniture, only a dimly burning fireplace that barely allowed visibility of the room.

Uneven footsteps headed towards them and before long, a large man appeared. His stomach protruded a great deal and a half-full bottle was gripped tightly in his hand, the alcohol sloshing within it. His face was ruddy in the firelight.

He looked at the three of them. They all looked back. The man then paled as if his neck had been slit.

“Have mercy!” he cried, displaying a surprising quick-wittedness. “I haven’t done anything to offend anyone. I’ll give you whatever you want, immortal fairy. Please spare my dog life.”

Lillian did not listen to the pig, or, well, dog. She held out a palm, and just like with Flea, the man was soon chained tightly, giving him no room to move. Losing his balance, he fell to the ground and the cold chains dug into his skin.

He had not stopped begging the entire time. Looking at Flea, he seemed to realize something. “If my son has done anything to offend you, then you can take his dog life. Flea, you little shit, apologize right now!”

At that, Lillian’s expression sank. She never liked Flea or his father and such behavior only served to increase her disgust.

“Shut up,” she spat, unwilling to listen further. Flea’s father immediately closed his mouth. Lillian then turned around to ask Monty what was next, only to find him crouched on the ground, a small knife at his finger. With a single motion, he dragged the edge against it, creating a short but deep wound.

Monty then pressed it against the ground and began to draw. The bottles had already been moved to the edges of the room, creating a circular opening in the center. Not wasting a moment, he traced his thumb in a large circle before filling it in with various other shapes and symbols.

Soon, Monty finished the bloody array. “Bring them here and lay them in the middle,” he said, panting. His face was pale, but a smile curled his lips.

Lillian obliged, placing the bound father and son atop the blood. Barely a few minutes had passed since she first made her move.

Kneeing on the floor once again, Monty placed a hand on the array and closed his eyes. Slowly, Qi started to flow into it.

“He’s also a cultivator,” Lillian thought, though it did not surprise her.

“The Village Head won’t let you get away with this. There’s no place for demonic fiends in this world! Lillian, please. My wife and your parents both died to protect this village. You can’t do this.” Although Flea and his father did not know what was going on, they certainly recognized it was not anything good. Unfortunately for them, they could only cry out and struggle helplessly.

Sweat fell to the floor from Monty’s forehead, soaking into the wood. For a full minute he kneeled there. Then, just as he appeared to near his limit, the crimson circle began to emit a light of the same, bloody color.

“Now. Kill them!” he gasped, unable to stand the exertion. Without hesitation, Lillian made a closing motion with her fist and the sound of chains clinking and bones snapping cracked the air. Shrill screams escaped the father and son’s mouths as the chains around them tightened until death.

The two of them went limp and the array reached its brightest state. At this time, Monty took a deep breath and - in a sing-song tone – chanted,

“I, Monty Stone, pray to the Crimson Abbess,

I ask for the protection of mine body and soul,

In exchange, I offer these sacrifices and information of value.”

The array lit up the room when Monty finished speaking, red light visible from outside the building. Lillian, who had been listening closely the entire time, realized what he had asked for and immediately began to circulate her Qi, arm moving to point at him.

It was too late. Monty spat out a something she did not understand.

Then, god descended and her vision turned black.

* * *

After three months of careful preparation, everything had gone smoothly. There were four obstacles he needed to overcome and now, three of them were all but finished.

The most important and deadliest, the familial sacrifice, would be unable to affect him once his deal with the Crimson Abbess was complete.

Lillian, someone he had long since realized to be a cultivator, was now sprawled on the ground and would soon be dead.

The third was the Crimson Abbess herself, as the act of making a deal with her would cause many issues down the line. This was something he would have to keep track of but likely would not affect him if all went well.

As for the fourth, he should not be much of an issue now that everything was over.

Monty snapped out of his thoughts. As the summoner, while the pressure of a god’s descent – albeit an avatar’s – affected him, he could still stand straight if he wished to. Of course, he chose not to.

Bowing to a forty-five degree angle, Monty spoke clearly and respectfully.

“I greet the Crimson Abbess.”

A woman’s voice indifferently responded to him. “You may rise.”

He did so, looking at the avatar. She stood unusually tall and wore blindingly white nun robe. The bottom edges seemed to be dripping blood. A hood covered her hair and most of her face. However, from Monty’s position, he could see her features quite well.

They were flawless to a degree that could and had caused wars. Her deep red eyes stood out the most. Monty remained unmoved. He would not be attracted to a character from a shitty novel, especially considering he knew her true nature.

The Crimson Abbess spoke directly. “I will grant you protection depending on the value of the information you provide. The providence of these two mortals is worth nothing. Now, tell me what you wish to exchange.”

Monty clasped his hands before him and smiled before speaking. Things will certainly be interesting from now on. “I have information regarding the location of the power source of Lotus Manor’s White Lotus Dao Formation.”

The avatar did not speak and Monty continued. “Although they claim to use other sources, the true fuel for the formation is the soul of the Lotus Ancestor who had been betrayed by his three disciples. It is guarded in the Yellow Sands outer realm.”

The avatar still did not speak. Monty bowed once again and exclaimed, “I hope the Crimson Abbess is satisfied with this and can grant me my wish.”

However, she did not respond until a full minute later. At that point, a drastic change occurred.

The Crimson Abbess, without any regard for decorum, ran up to Monty, nearly tripping over her own robes, and grabbed his shoulders. With her eyes wide open, she shouted ecstatically,

“Holy fucking shit, I can’t believe it!”