Krimin Stood before the gate of the respected Celestial Haven Sect, he felt his heart speed up a little, he knew that what he was about to do was extremely risky, but he was left with absolutely no choice.

The mysterious cultivator with red eyes and the swordswoman who was nearly equal to him, he could not fight them alone, not to mention the army he had when he destroyed the Flowing River Sect.

“I Krimin, of the Clan Kallen, request an audience with the Sect Leader of the Celestial Haven Sect!” he did not use Qi to amplify his voice, his body had been refined to such an extent that merely yelling was enough to engulf a whole mountain in noise.

“Maybe, I should have thought this through.” he considered as he saw nearly a hundred Spiritual Awakening disciples appear before him.

“An unorthodox bastard actually dares to demand an audience with our sect leader!” A young man with a man bun spoke as he cracked his knuckles, his sleeves had long been torn and his large stature made him resemble a mountain.

No response came from Krimin.

Without warning the disciple with the man bun punched Krimin across the face, nearly dislocating his jaw.

No response came from Krimin, a true follower of the Beastial Origin would know when to respect the law of nature, and in this context he knew he was in the territory of another beast, he knew he had to be humble.

“This one is Orion.” The disciple with the man bun spoke as a smile crept up on his face, right before he continued to pummel Krimin.

For nearly a day straight Orion pummelled him senselessly, punches strong enough to shatter mountains if he wanted to, yet Krimin did not make a single sound.

"Enough, the Grand Elder has commanded for him to be taken to the peak.” A young woman who had her face covered by a veil spoke as she levitated above the beatdown.

It seemed like his resolve had appealed to another, much like the young boy's resolved appealed to Krimin.

Orion stopped his beatdown.

“Are you certain fellow disciple Daiyu, a disgusting unorthodox bastard actually setting foot in our sect?”

Daiyu glared at Orion.

“Do not question the Grand Elder and do not question me, tie his hands with spirit sealing rope and bring him up the mountain.” she instructed before vanishing.

Orion frowned but did as he was told.

…

At the peak of a mountain that nearly touched the clouds an old man with a bald head and a long white beard sat in a lotus position, wearing a long white robe.

Behind a young man with red hair kneeled with his hands tied behind his back, accompanied by two masked men in gray robes, standing over him.

“An Ethereal Core demonic cultivator actually showed up to the entrance of my Celestial Haven Sect, do you seek death?”

The old man spoke, still looking out into the distance.

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“Respected Sect Leader, I am a cultivator of the Beastial Path, but I have no allegiances to any of the clans or sects here.” Krimin spoke, not a semblance of fear in his eyes.

The old man opened his left eye, it contained a trace of green, like the color of the leaf, but strangely wasn’t actually green, it was as if it was on the cusp of turning green.

“Leave all of you.” he said in a flat tone.

Daiyu and Orion both left immediately.

The Sect Leader recited a certain piece of information he had read thousands of years ago.

“Onset of the dawn of destiny

It circles around in a cyclical cycle of fate

A continuum that may never be shattered

Wrought forth by the fatigue of the Forced

As the serpent eats its tale

Witness the revolution of ascension and the ones fated

Worshipers of the blasphemous Ones and eras long gone

All acting as a shield to wrest away silence.”

He finished reciting the scripture before speaking.

“Upon my name as Dao Lord Vitalis, I shall ask you, are you one of another world?”

As the old man spoke the ropes that bound Krimin’s hands vanished and yet in his heart he felt entrapped.

A feeling of powerlessness so real that it threatened to block out his awareness, nearly removing his perception from reality.

His breathing sped up as his eyes dilated, he could feel his core shaking from the mere words spoken by the old man.

It was as if the old man could determine his life and death with a mere thought.

“I….am.”

He managed to answer, barely able to speak.

The old man touched the ground beside him and a tree nearly twenty meters large sprouted from the ground, the ground being nothing but solid rock.

“Then you must be here for a good reason, one related to the current cycle.”

Krimin was confused by the terminology but he could guess that the cycle referred to this game he was trapped in. He wasn’t actually speaking about the gu demon or the Assembly so it should be fine.

“I….am.”

He spoke once more.

Dao Lord Vitalis lifted his pressure from Krimin.

“Speak.”

Krimin took deep breaths in and out.

“Within the depths of the Wildlands, within its heart.”

He slowly raised his head to look at the old man’s back, before standing up. He could not take the strain of bowing before something other than his clan.

“Within its heart, there lay a creature, a creature of great importance. A creature I can help hunt.”

Dao Lord Vitalis remained unmoved.

“I know of what you speak, that flawed one has attracted the attention of the White Cloaks and will soon be exterminated regardless.”

Krimin wasn’t finished yet, he had no idea what he was about to say, but he did as he was told.

“A old lady in a hood, she instructed me to give you this, something about an Imperative.”

A piece of paper flew from Krimin to Dao Lord Vitalis.

Dao Lord Vitalis stood up, in what seemed like no time at all.

Krimin blinked repeatedly, he was convinced that there was something wrong with his eyes.

He slowly walked towards Krimin, gazing at him with one open eye.

“Take Orion with you, take some disciples as well, take even an elder.”

He leaned closer to Krimin, putting his hand on his shoulder, his presence nearly threatening to crush him.

“I know you wish to hunt that creature, but bring me its corpse. Bring it to me and I shall generously award you. Go quickly before the White Cloaks appear.”

Before he knew it Krimin had been booted from the peak of the mountain and arrived at the bottom of the stairs that had led him up there.

At the Peak, Dao Lord Vitalis looked ecstatic and his neutral expression slowly shifted into a smile.

“The Imperatives, has the path started to come together once more? The revolution of the wheel.”

As he spoke he looked out in the distance to a gargantuan forest, filled with trees that stretched miles in height.

He sat back down in his lotus position, before speaking to himself.

"Is this too the will of The Life and Death Sage?"