'Cultivation is defying the Heavens'
This phrase has been circulating in most xianxia stories nowadays. But exactly when, who, or what started doing so was never figured out. Despite that, the truth of this phrase was never in doubt.
'However, I believe cultivation was never really against the Heavens. If it does, it wouldn't have ever existed in the first place.'
In the Shen Clan, Ling Jia, the mother of Shen Yuan started getting anxious as she watched the skies slowly turn dark. As the clouds cover the last of the sun's rays, leaving the world in darkness. Sounds of cracking lighting could be heard. The only thing that could be seen was the floating figure near the clouds. The figure was glowing, like the moon in the dark.
In the Shen Manor, many Shen clan members looked at the figure, some were calm or excited, and others were anxious like Ling Jia.
Shen Yuan looked at his anxious mother and patted her on the back. "Mother, It will be fine, father has faced this a couple of times."
Besides him, Shen Xinyue, his younger sister, was one of the excited ones. "Mother. Our Clan finally has a Soul Formation Expert! Let's see if they dare offend me, MWUAHAHAHAH!."
'She is enthusiastic as always' Shen Yuan looked at her with a complicated expression, despite thinking that his sister was a cannon fooder and a stepping stone for a typical xianxia mc. She's family.
"MWUAHAHHAHA, No one in Qinglong province will ever offend us!" Shen Yuan laughed together with his sister.
"Both of you, settle down." Ling Jia bonked both of their heads. The siblings both grabbed their heads in pain, but both smiled inside.
Ling Jia calmed down, and her heart reassured. Just like her son said, it will be fine.
Today is a crucial day for the Shen Clan as they gathered in the mountains for their Clan Head's tribulation, Shen Wei. The clan members stood inside a formation, while the elderly man with white eyes. Five ancient statues controlled the transparent golden barrier that enveloped the area. The statues were positioned at each cardinal point, While the 4 statues were situated in north, south, east, and west. The 5th statue stood behind him.
"Heaven's might, I will claim as mine,
Celestial Might, none can defy
All beneath me will bow,
And to my will, the world will yield."
Shen Wei chanted, as he looked deep into the tribulation. The lighting roared as if the heavens were offended by the audacity of his will. 3 straight lights hit him immediately followed by three ear-splitting explosions.
*BANG! BANG! BANG*! Heaven and Earth trembled, and light and dark flashed. Shen Wei wasn't unscathed. His upper clothes were torn apart, his flesh completely vaporized, leaving his skeletal body, you could even see the flickering manifestation of his would just above him. Yet he endures.
"Heaven's might, I will claim as mine...." Shen Wei continued his chant, his voice still hadn't faltered. Despite lacking vocal cords, you can still hear the projection of his voice.
He opened his palm like he was holding a handle.
With the 9th time his chant was uttered, the tribulation hit him with another 3, stronger than before, this time, his body was flown away, causing the Shen Clan members to erupt into chaos and panic. The golden barrier cracked yet the elderly man stood calm, he waved his hands while muttering indescribable words. The 5 ancient stone statues moved, waving their weapons, and performing a ritualistic yet artistic dance. The barrier recovered.
Ling Jia gripped her hands, and Shen Xinyue hugged her. "Don't worry Mom, Dad will be okay.'
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"Silence." The Elderly man's voice boomed, making everyone silent. His authority was apparent.
Looking at Shen Wei again, there is nothing left of him except his flickering soul, despite lacking a body, Shen Wei chanted, This time, the heavens didn't immediately strike him. While chanting, just from a single drop of blood, his entire body recovered. the barrier’s cracks deepened as the tribulation grew fiercer.
And when the 7th thunder hit him, the barrier completely cracked, but the elderly's voice had become louder, the dancing stone statues had become more vigorous and stronger, and the barrier recovered, you could see the cracks in the statue becoming more apparent as time went by. Shen Wei's entire body turned apart, and even the manifestation of his soul was torn up, leaving him only a fragment of a light.
Like a wisp, it flickers, yet he endures.
"Heaven's might, I will claim as mine..."
And the 8th strike hit him, the flicker of light, was blown away.
The Elder, his blood flowing from seven orifices, struggled to maintain the barrier. Ling Jia’s anguished scream pierced the air. “SHEN WEI!”
...
There was only silence as the clouds moved away, the sun shining its brilliance, yet the Shen Clan members' faces remained dark.
The elder sighed, blood streaming from all seven of his orifices as he struggled to maintain the barrier.
Ling Jia fell to her knees, "SHEN WEI!!!!"
"Dad!" Shen Xinyue cried desperately alongside her mother.
"Death is not the end, but a new beginning." The elderly man's white eyes flowed with tears of blood as he looked at the Shen Clan members. His clap shook the earth, incapacitating them all.
"Resent me, curse me, but at this moment, the fate of the Shen Clan rests upon my shoulders," he declared. As he spoke, the sky above turned red, and the air grew thick with ominous energy. The four ancient statues began to glow with a soft red color. The golden barrier shifted to a deep red.
Slash
A spurt of blood erupted as the ancient statue struck down its weapon.
"Grand Elder?!! What are you doing?" The Shen Clan members were shocked but immediately tried to resist. Unfortunately, within the formation, they couldn’t utilize their Qi, effectively rendering them mortal.
"SHEN XIE!!! YOU BASTARD!!!" Another elderly person near Shen Xie attacked him, utilizing the power of the law. As a Nascent Soul practitioner, even without Qi, they could still harness the power of the law—the very rules of the world.
"Cousin, wait for me in the underworld." The 5th statue behind him lightly moved his hand horizontally like he was slashing a sword. The elderly man claps his hands,
"You! SHEN XIE!!!" And with that, his head fell off, together with the last Shen Clan member.
Ling Jia, Shen Xinyue, and Shen Yuan stood still as they watched the statues massacred them all, leaving them unscathed.
"Blood of Heaven will flow in my veins,
Unseen horrors listen to my will,
Through the blood of trials, I rise.
Red is my eternal sign."
"AAARGH"
The bodies of the deceased clan members merged into a grotesque red mass, which enveloped the fifth statue. The statue, eerily resembling Shen Wei, absorbed the blood, leaving no trace behind.
“Welcome back, Son,” the Elder whispered, as the statue cracked open to reveal Shen Wei’s restored form. Shen Xie caught his unconscious son.
Shen Yuan looked up at the sky, his heart heavy with the realization. The breakthrough had failed. If his family were to be described in a typical xianxia tale, it would be as villains.