“Qi, chi, mana, spirit, civilisations called it many names. A fundamentality of existence. Not a particle nor a wave, something that exists in a dimension between spiritual and physical. The Foundation of cultivation, a mystery even to the highest of beings. But for all it is, it still followed the laws of entropy.”
Sitting on the eye of the demon halting formation, Wei Hai contemplated. The eye, complex fractals composed of many precious materials slowly rotated underneath the man. Thin gold veins emerged from the eye. Away from the central formation, it continued till it touched all the formations on the planet. Each vein circled the planet weaving a net. Covering it with a golden shimmer.
Wei Hai spread out his awareness. The supreme cultivator could feel even the sub-atomic particles bombarding the formation. Also, he felt the corrupted Qi, and the beings corrupted by it. Mindlessly attacking the veil, seeking to break through.
Slowly, he isolated a chunk of corrupted Qi. Breaking down it in the process. It consisted of three parts. Pure qi, the ultimate energy source of a Qi universe. Essence, a small imprint of whatever it belonged to. Then, there was a third, a small code of intent hidden inside like a parasite. It resembled viruses from Wei Hai’s previous life. Unlike other cultivators who called it a demon, Wei Hai knew what it was. A virus, birthed by Qi itself.
In ancient times old masters of Dao doubted whether Qi is alive. But cultivator’s pride and ignorant power-hungry generations sniffed out that thought. For them, it was just a source of change, to refine the body, to defy gravity, to forge weapons, to reinforce muscles to obtain more and more power. But when the sentience of Qi decided it should follow the laws of entropy, to escape all bounds, it birthed the virus to kill all of nature.
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The epidemic was sudden. It happened when Wei Hai was wandering in the void. He was looking for an escape from the partisan politics of the sect. Not being a being who could cultivate alone for centuries, he set out searching for his home world from a previous life. He knew with a glance, when he returned from a century of cruising through low martial worlds and the Qi deserts, that everything had turned to shit.
The celestial world was in ruins, and the sects who prized face over life were huddled under his protection. For all its intricate mechanisms, the formation was about to fall apart without a master.
His awareness spread back to the planet. With him at the eye, the planet was safer than ever. The corrupted one attacking the planet feeds Qi to the formation and by it, to him. The peace of last century already broke down the temporary alliances between the sects. Sly words and politicking to rise the probability of a civil war when the highest cultivator was too preoccupied to deal with them. Or so they thought.
Wei Hai didn't know when he started to change. Maybe it was when his sworn brother stabbed him in the back for a precious herb. Or it was when the soul injury bled down memories of a previous life of science and qi less existence. At the seat of power in the universe, he knew the current cultivators represented a lifetime of hypocrisy and power hunger. Seven thousand years of memories pressed down on the young immortal as he made his final decision.
"He is tired of it, and he is ready to leave".