Cheng Yulong had reached the peak. He had believed that, at least.
His cultivation was unrivaled in all the worlds. He had comprehended the Dao. He had attained immortality. There was no one he could call a peer. Geniuses kowtowed to him for mentorship. Beauties threw themselves at him. He, of course, dodged them every time. He was very devoted to his wife, Meiling.
Recently, however, he found Meiling had been drifting apart from him. This was quite peculiar. Their bond was stronger than any other. Yulong still vividly remembered the events which brought them together. He had still been a Core Formation-realm cultivator then, with barely any comprehension of the Dao of Blood Spurting.
"Worthless trash, You dare?! Have you mistaken our exalted sect for your backwards village?" Bai Tianyu, the young master of the Bai Sect, brutally assaulted Cheng Yulong, the most promising senior disciple of the sect at that time. This was only natural. After all, Yulong had committed quite the vile crime. He had maintained eye contact with Tianyu for over a second. He knew not his place, and now he was paying for the heinous sin of ignorance. Though, after the beating was done, the look in his eyes betrayed his true sin. There was not a hint of fear. They shined crimson with vengeance.
The knowledge of one's place could be beaten into a person. This was much worse. An arrogance so blinding it prevents one from recognizing a simple fact: they are an inferior creature. That was the mark of a true cultivator, one who would dare to stand against the Heavens.
Yulong could not let this rest. He cared not for the difference in status, or for the difference in cultivation. He knew that he could win, in spite of the odds. After all, he had never lost. Not when he applied himself, though he rarely did.
He took one day. One day, and he decided he was ready. He made his way to the pavilion where the elders and the sect leader resided, and he smashed the door. Not a second had passed before an elder arrived. "What is the meaning of this?! How dare you barge into our Bai Sect-" the elder began yelling, but was promptly interrupted when his head ceased to be attached to his body. Yulong simply continued walking forward. A few seconds later, another elder arrived, much stronger than the now-deceased former.
"A mere Core Formation-realm cultivator dares to intrude upon our treasured pavilion?!" the elder's aura flared. He was a Core Condensation-realm cultivator, two realms above Yulong.
"Indeed, I do dare, old man. Now, go fetch Bai Tianyu for me and I will spare the 7th generation of your family." Yulong commanded. The elder seethed. He immediately attacked Yulong.
"I thought someone of your cultivation would be more intelligent. It seems I was mistaken." Yulong deftly dodged the elder's attack and responded with a fist technique aimed at the elder's face. The elder skillfully parried it with a finger technique. Then, he kicked Yulong in the rib case. Yulong was launched up and collided violently with the roof. He landed on the ground unharmed, however.
"Is that all you can do?" Yulong asked, underwhelmed. The elder was furious. In a blind rage, he sprinted toward Yulong. Calm and composed, Yulong attacked the elder with his strongest fist technique. With a thump, the elder hit the ground. Yulong continued searching the pavilion for Tianyu.
A couple beaten elders later, the sect leader finally appeared, accompanied by two elders. Their auras were earth-shattering, literally. As they flared them, the pavilion began to fall apart. The elders were both at the peak of the Core Condensation realm, while the leader was one realm above that, a Nascent Soul-realm cultivator. Yulong silently prepared himself.
The leader launched a Qi lance straight at him. Yulong strafed to the right. One of the elders immediately punched him, launching Yulong toward the other elder. The other elder uppercut Yulong into the roof. While Yulong was stuck in the roof, the sect leader attacked him with another Qi lance. His Qi invaded Yulong's body, lashing out at his organs from within. Yulong rushed to expel the foreign Qi from his body. As his body fell to the ground, he was completely focused on expelling the Qi. He crashed into the ground. The elders rushed toward him. He stood, having finally expelled the Qi. He had now gauged their strength. It would be difficult, but he could do it. He was certain. He would go all out.
"Is that all the great Bai Sect is capable of?" Yulong asked.
"You fool! You have eyes, yet you cannot recognize Mount Tai!" One of the elders responded.
"You have that the wrong way around, old man. It is you who cannot recognize Mount Tai!" Yulong finally prepared to use his trump card. He had been cultivating his very own Dao recently, and he was certain it could defeat these cultivators. To make full use of it, he needed these cultivators to beat him senseless. They furiously charged at him, the two elders beating him again and again. He flew through the pavilions' ceiling and through every wall. He was struck into the ground. He was attacked with Qi techniques. He was beaten until he was bloodied and battered. And then, the sect leader gave him one punch. One punch, and Yulong released all he had been holding back.
Yulong spurted blood.
The pavilion was flooded. The elders were crushed under the extreme pressure of his blood. He was certain he had emerged victorious.
When the blood escaped the pavilion, however, the sect leader remained standing in front of him. Yulong was shocked. Yulong rushed to attack the leader. The leader blocked his careless attacks. The leader had been holding back, Yulong realized. He had truly failed to recognize Mount Tai. Still, Yulong remained certain he would be able to win, one way or another. He began exchanging blows with the sect leader. However, Yulong quickly began losing. The sect leader was stronger than he was. Slowly but surely, the sect leader was overpowering Yulong. Even so, Yulong remained certain of his inevitable victory. Even as the grim reaper stared him in the eyes, he didn't blink. He had absolute, baseless confidence. Though, perhaps it was not baseless after all.
As he inched closer to death, she appeared. The young mistress of the Bai sect. While her father's attention was focused on Yulong, she approached him from behind. As the sect leader was on the cusp of victory, she drew her sword. Then, she cut her father cleanly in half.
As her father's blood stained her pale skin, Yulong finally got to really see her. She was a beauty among beauties. Her skin was so magnificent it appeared to be sculpted from jade. Yulong was smitten.
After he beat her brother to death, he wed her. Since then, their bond had been unbreakable. He conquered uncountable worlds while she stayed in the background unless Yulong wanted to bed. Truly, a perfect relationship.
Recently, however, she had actually been engaging in activities that had no direct relation to him. Something was very wrong, Yulong reasoned. He decided to check on her. When he arrived at their planet-sized mansion, he heard some noises coming from the main bedroom, so he headed there.
As he opened the door, he saw that Meiling was not alone. There was another man inside! They were both practically naked. Yulong was dumbstruck. How could this happen? "W-why?" was all he could say.
Meiling looked conflicted, but then she spoke, "I'm sorry, Yulong... But you are not long!"
And thus, he spurted his last.
All the blood inside him rapidly escaped into the world. Planets were absorbed. All life was reduced to blood. The highest of the worlds rapidly deteriorated. Star systems fell, and galaxies followed. In a matter of milliseconds, the world had simply stopped existing.
Cultivation can't change everything.