Morning light filtered above the horizon, illuminating the land. Trees rose into the sky, intent on soaking in as much light as possible. They spanned for miles in any given direction, creating a dense forest, one devoid of noise. In the middle of the forest lay a clearing surrounded by a ring of dense thicket. In this clearing a woman slept, surrounded by a sea of grass.

The scent of dandelions and mint tickled her nose, stirring her awake. Pushing herself up with shaky arms, she groaned. Her dry throat ached with the effort.

As the dim morning light blinded her eyes, she collapsed back onto the ground to rest, at least until the thirst hit. Drawn by a primal instinct to survive, she raised up and stumbled towards the murmur of a nearby stream. She moved like she like a stranger in her own body, clumsy and uncoordinated.

When she reached the stream she drank too much too fast. Leaning to the side, she vomited the meager contents of her stomach and collapsed once again, passing out.

She didn’t know if she slept for an entire day or only for a second, but when she woke up it was still morning. Finally having acclimated to the light, she opened her eyes to gaze at her reflection in the stream.

A pale heart shaped face surrounded by long black hair and with drawn in black eyes gazed back at her. The woman in the reflection tugged at her robe, a rough garment seemingly woven with grass

“So, this is who I am.” The woman gazed at her reflection. Standing up, she took a shaky breath as she viewed her surroundings. It was a small clearing surrounded by a dense thicket of trees and bushes. Long, knee high grass occupied every spot of empty ground—except for the spot where she awoke. There lay a rough ellipses of dark soil.

Due to dense foliage, the clearing was shrouded in murky shadows, with only occasional beams of light piercing through. She stumbled around the edges, avoiding the dense thickets. But she couldn’t find an exit.

“Where am I?” she asked. No one answered. In fact, the forest made no sound at all outside of the faint rustling of leaves in the wind.

“What is this?” she gazed into the darkness past the thickets. She could certainly go through, but she knew that it wouldn’t be worth the effort.

As she stood there, the fear began to mount. What am I doing here? How can I get out of here? Why can’t I remember anything? Who was I?

The trees seemed to close in on her. “Stay away!” she screamed, falling to her knees.

The branches became claws. The leaves became faces. The rustling became laughing. They swayed in the breeze, mocking her. You fool, lost in a forest, ha! You’ll never leave. Stuck in here forever, you’ll be forgotten in time. No one will ever miss you.

“No no no no, shut up… I don’t want to be alone again!” she cried, her hands hugging her head.

Dark shapes flittered around in the darkness beyond the thicket, Jeering at her.

As if in response to her distress, the wind grew. Knocked over by a gust, a cluster of leaves and flowers brushed past her face like a gentle caress. As the wind grew stronger, a gap in the upper foliage appeared, allowing a single beam of light to shine down. The ray highlighted a path towards an opening in the thicket, an exit.

She raised her head, rubbing her runny nose. Shock surfaced on her face as she gazed at the highlighted pathway. Gingerly peeling off a leaf stuck to her face, her wide-eyed gaze alternated between the path and the leaf in her hand. Standing up, she hesitated.

Indecision played across her eyes as she checked her surroundings once more. Having done so, she made a small bow before scampering down the path.

*

She wandered for the better part of the morning, seeing no one. The now mid-morning sun cast golden rays that filtered through the foliage in patches. The ground was surprisingly clear, with small grasses and mosses lining the hard earth in between trees and bushes. The grasses tickled her feet as she walked.

“Halt!” a voice said. The air trembled with the power of the shout.

The woman stopped, her head darting side to side in search of the speaker. Seeing no one, she scampered towards a patch of tall grass, hiding inside.

“Who’s there?” she said, her voice but a squeak.

“Ha!” the voice barked out a short laugh. “You think hiding will do anything for you?” A force parted the foliage, revealing five men standing in the air

The youngest man in front, and the speaker, wore green and red plate armor with a golden armband around his right arm. His black, cropped close hair, contrasted with the white leaf he stood on. His dark eyes glared down at her.

The four other men were all older, with white grizzled hair accompanied by similarly long white mustaches. In every aspect, they seemed similar, with only faint variation to tell them apart. Each of them wore a simple black robe with a different number of green armbands on their left arm, ranging from one to four. These men floated unassisted.

“Give me all the magic items you have,” the young man said.

Ignoring their question, the woman stared at the group. “H-how are you flying?”

“Hmph,” the young man snorted. “Fine, if you won’t listen I’ll take them by force.” An invisible pressure began to weigh down on the forest. The trees groaned and bent under the weight.

Crying out, the woman was forced to prostate on the ground. Her chest heaved as she struggled to breath.

One of the older men arched an eyebrow. “Young master, she’s just a lowly mortal. I doubt she’ll have anything of use since she’s not him. We should leave.”

Ignoring the elder, the young man continued to exert pressure. “If you’re a mortal, how did someone as weak as you get this far into the forest? Speak!” He raised his foot and stomped down, increasing the pressure.

She made a dry wheezing as the air was forced out of her lungs. She was unable to speak and was moments away from passing out, then dying. The grass around her jerked back and forth in an unnatural, almost aggressive, manner.

As she lost consciousness, a deep power welled within her.

“Enough” another elder barked. With the wave of his hand, the pressure disappeared. “If you want to get what you came for, want we can’t waste time on every oddity we see. We still need to rendezvous with the other group.”

The young man snorted in contempt, glaring at the woman on the ground. Turning, he flew off. The four elders, none of the sparing a glance at the woman, followed.

As they left, the power receded, fading into nothing.

Whimpering, she scrambled up. Not bothering to check if they really left, she ran into an opening in the trees, one that hadn’t been there minutes ago.

*

The high noon sun sat at its peak in the sky. The woman continued wandering, following a convenient path of clearings in the trees. After the previous encounter, she was on high alert: every crack of a branch and every crinkle of leaves sent her scurrying in the opposite direction.

Exhausted, she stumbled upon a large clearing: a meadow filled with small grasses and flowering plants. A squat wooden house resided in the middle of the meadow, a small earthen path leading to it from the distance. She inched towards the house, scanning her surroundings every few feet.

“Stop, put your hands behind your head and slowly turn around.”

She jerked to a halt, panic clear on her face. Spinning around, she fled, but stopped.

From the woods, in the direction she was fleeing to, emerged a man

He wore a leather cuirass over a simple shirt along with leather leggings. His clothing all had black etchings on their surfaces. One of his hands held onto the drawstring of a cloth bag slung over his shoulder, the other held onto crossbow. The crossbow was made of some type of black wood. Glowing blue runes were etched into its surface.

The man was of slim build. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, like that of a scholar. His black eyes locked onto hers. She whimpered as he watched her.

“I don’t know who you are, but I want you to leave.” removing a catch-lock on his crossbow, he edged around her, keeping his eyes on hers.

“Or I will shoot.”

Her eyes darted back and forth between the cottage and the edge of the forest, ignoring his words.

His eyes widened. “What, you’re not—“

She darted towards the house, stumbling through the grass. Like an animal, she ran on all fours when she fell—anything to move faster.

He dropped the crossbow and ran to intercept her. When he reached her, he jumped into a flying tackle, pinning her to the ground.

“Stop, I’m not—“ a finger latched onto his lip, drawing a bloody furrow as it made its way across his cheek.

“Stop!” He lifted her up and slammed her down, stunning her.

“I’m said I’m not going to hurt you!” he roared. Spittle and blood flew into her face.

She stared up at him, stunned. The coppery taste of blood present in her mouth.

They stayed like that for a moment. The man with his body over hers. His hands on her shoulders, restraining her as she glared at him. His knee between her legs, pressing her dress against the ground.

His face turned ruby red as he jumped up. “I, er, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

She quickly scrambled up, glaring at him.

Backing up to the door of the house he kept his eyes on hers. Reaching the door, he took out a black stone tied to a string around his neck. Placing the stone against the door, he unlocked it and pushed it open.

“Here, come inside.” he gestured to the open doorway. “It’s safer”

She paced back and forth, not drawing closer nor running away.

“Fine,” he said as he tossed the crossbow towards her.

She darted towards the crossbow and picked it up, her arms shaking under its weight. “You first,” she spoke for the first time. She gestured with the crossbow towards the door.

He raised an eyebrow at her raspy voice, but obeyed nonetheless. He walked into the house, his hands behind his head, she followed.

*

The first thing she saw was the paintings. Adorning the walls were many black and white paintings of fantastical subject matter: Three divine beasts followed behind a man covered in dragon scales as he charged against a giant made of light. Three swords circled the man, a broadsword, a thin long sword, and a sword with seemingly no blade. In another painting a man stood on a giant snake, flying over a sea of fire. He stood with a giant black rectangular blade on his back and a beautiful woman by his side. In the third, a man stood on the back of a giant turtle, flying off into the starry sky.

Lost in the paintings, she was brought back to reality by the earthy smell of tea. Her rumbling stomach prompted her forwards, the crossbow held ready.

A table with a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea on one side. The man sat on the other side, inspecting trinkets from the leather bag he was carrying. She jerked the crossbow up, aiming it at him. Without looking up, he said “Eat. You look like you could use it.”

Keeping the crossbow aimed at him, she took a spoonful of porridge. The sweet spices hit her like a tidal wave, crumbling her defenses. Dropping the crossbow, she fell upon the food like an angry animal. After she finished one bowl, the man would silently get her another. This continued for a number of bowls.

Finally sated, she leaned back in her seat.

“Here,” he said, handing her a wooden washbowl and a towel. She gasped when she saw her reflection. Her hair stuck out in odd directions with bits of twigs and leaves in it. Her face was smeared with dirt and drawn in, her two bright eyes being the only unmarred feature.

After she had cleaned her face with much trouble, the man led her over to another room with more comfortable furniture. “So, who are you and what are you doing here?” he asked. “You’re not a cultivator.”

“I… actually don’t know,” she said.

“What?” he was visibly taken back

“Well, you see…” she explained the events that she had experiences since waking up. She told him how she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there.

*

“Not even a name?” he said.

She nodded in confirmation. He reached towards her face, causing her to flinch. However, he only grabbed a small white flower that had been stuck in her hair.

“A lily. A good name you can use for now.” He tucked the flower behind her ear. She flashed him a shy smile, causing a red glow to rise to his cheeks. Noticing this, her cheeks too became flushed.

“I don’t know my real name, but my master calls me Snake, so I guess I’ll go with that.”

“Uhm, What is this place?” Lily said as she gestured towards a map he had taken out. “How were those men flying and what did they want from me?”

“So, you really are a mortal.” He lowered his head and sighed. “This will take a while to explain.” Much to her shock, he explained the existence of cultivators.

“Those men who stopped you should have been cultivators from the blood-born sect by your description. The one on the leaf was probably their chosen, a rare 13th stage qi condensation cultivator. They’re one of the largest sects, but they’ve been severely hurt by a fight with another sect. That’s probably why they were desperate enough to search for the immortal’s corpse with only five men… fools.”

“Enough questions.” he said before she could ask any more questions. “It’s late and you need sleep.” The sun was now low in the sky.

He ushered her into a guest room with a simple but comfortable bed. The house had a single main hallway that adjoined to six different rooms: a kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, and two other rooms.

“Wait,” as he showed her into one of the bedrooms, she stopped. A single painting, larger than the rest, stood at the end of the hallway. It had a white cloth draped over it. Slipping past him, she moved towards the painting.

“No, wait, that’s just an unfinished painting—” he said as he tried to stop her, but it was useless. Lily was already in front of the painting.

She pulled the cloth away and gasped.

The painting was unlike anything else in the house. It seemed as if it the painting was a window to another world, a perfect view rather than a painting.

A long coiling dragon glared at the heavens, its mouth open in a silent howl. The dragon’s rage was palpable, it seemed to roll of the painting in waves. Metal stakes had been stabbed sporadically in its body. From these stakes thick chains ran down, holding the dragon to the earth. Large gashes had been gouged in the dragon, revealing muscle and bone beneath the scales. In one of the dragon’s claws, was the corpse of a man in the middle of meditation, a claw stabbing through his chest. The other claw, however was unfinished, just a blank spot on the canvas. Lightning rained down from the heavens, destroying the earth as celestial beings stood above the dragon in judgement.

“Why did you paint this…” none of the other paintings in the house contained such terrible cruelty. None of them showed such anger in them.

“It’s from a story” he said. He leaned against a wall and sighed.

“The heavens existed first. Needing something to rule over the created the nine planets: massive bodies filled with land and water. They populated these planets with many different animals and beings, from small to giant, slow to quick, weak to strong. With so many animals, disorder reigned. In order to keep the peace, the heavens created a ruler: the dragon.”

“He was born an emperor under the heavens. Anything and everything was at his beck and call. The nine planets were his playground, his life was filled with pleasure and leisure. However, he grew discontent. There was finally something that he wanted that didn’t exist under the heavens. The dragon asked the heavens for it, but they denied him.”

“He grew angry, he raged, but he ultimately endured it. However, his desire only grew stronger as time passed. Finally snapping, he took his many friends and retainers and waged war against the heavens. They retaliated. Disregarding both his friend’s and his foe’s lives, he fought and slaughtered.”

“The war waged one for years, ravaging the planets and costing many lives. Finally, it was enough. His friends begged him to stop, however, he was blinded by his desire. He ignored his friends and continued to fight. His enemies begged him to spare them, but he killed them. His retainers begged him to go back to his old ways, so he banished them. Alone of both friend and foe under heaven, he’s finally struck down.”

“He was killed alone, no one stood with him as he fell, no one comforted him.”

“The results of his war were catastrophic, whole continents were turned to wastelands. They eventually corroded and collapsed, forgotten in time.”

“This is why the heavens created humans. The pain of putting down the first son of heaven was heavy and fresh. So they split up his seed and implanted it in the human race, the weakest race during that time. There are many small chances for a new emperor to be born, but both the human’s frailty and their bloodthirsty competition would prevent the birth of a new one, stopping another great war from happening.”

He paused to let the story sink in. “This painting is of the dragon’s last moments. His final defiant act against the heavens.”

“Why this one, why is this the only one with such anger.” Hugging herself, she walked back to her room.

“One last question, why don’t you use those?” she gestured at a batch of colored paints on the easel.

“I’m,” he paused. “I’m not worthy.” He lowered her head as she walked into her room.

He faced the painting once more, a pained expression on his face. “That’s what I want to know too. Why this?” He re-covered the painting and left, heading back to his room.

*

Rain pounded the earth as lightning poured down in columns, lighting up the sky and the earth. Lily bolted up-right, gasping. The heavy rain saturated the air, making it hard to breathe. The slippery mud made standing in all but impossible. She stood on wobbly legs in a muddy ditch, signs of recent battle were everywhere. Large furrows were gouged into the earth while even larger chunks of rock were scattered to and fro. The dark shape of a giant mountain range far off in the distance pierced the sky, surrounding her on all four sides.

Lily gasped as a deep rumbling filled the air. The dark shape of a giant mountain began to crumble as explosions rocked the sky. Boulders ten times the size of a small house began rolling down, gouging out trenches as they rolled. Sharp cracks pierced the air like firecrackers as millions of rocks were pulverized into dust.

As the mountain crumbled, the darkness between the intermittent flashes of lightning began to be illuminated by a dull red glow. From behind the mountain emerged a man, the red glow emanating off of his statuesque body. He wore a multi-colored robe that fluttered widely in the wind, mirroring the movement of his long black hair.

“You hypocrite!” his voice boomed across the landscape. “You say you’re protecting us, but you're merely keeping your throne. You’re hiding from the world afraid that you’ll lose your power. You’re only just protecting yourself!”

He slapped his bag on holding on his waist, causing a torrent of magical swords to fly out, each one a different color. Slapping his chest, he spat out a blob of blood at the swords. When they touched, the blood bound itself to the swords, shaping them into a giant winged serpent. “This is where you die!” Pushing his hands forward, he sent the serpent flying towards another, older, man.

The other man stood with a hunched back. His long white hair ran down his face like many rivulets of water. “I raised you, I treated you like a son, and this is how you repay me?” The man’s eyebrows arched downwards as he raised a trembling hand, pointing it at the oncoming serpent. “I expected more of you Shan Guan. Break!”

The serpent exploded into a million separate swords, which in turn each exploded into a million shards of multi-colored metal. Lily covered her ears in pain as a strident scream rang out. A dome-shaped shockwave rushed outward from the explosion. It pushed the rain away as it expanded outward.

“Help! Someone!” she screamed as she ran away from the shockwave, but it was no use. No one responded, no one listened. The shockwave picked her up before slamming her onto the ground, pushing her through the mud like a baby with a toy.

She rose, panting and gasping. The thick mud had saved her. It had absorbed most of the blow from the shockwave, only leaving her sore and battered.

Turning towards the fighters, she gasped. Reality seemed to be breaking apart, large chunks of the sky and ground were breaking off, leaving gaping black patches of void in their wake. The two men both disappeared, leaving behind a black nothingness.

“Nonononono, what’s going on.” turning, she began to run from the disappearing world, however, she couldn’t move. Each step was hampered by the thick mud and no matter how fast she ran, it felt to her as if she were running in place.

“Please! Someone, anyone” she screamed as the blackness enveloped her. Shutting her eyes tight she waited for the inevitable.

“You can open your eyes now” a silky voice said.

Her eyes flew open. She was floating in the void. It was a true blackness all around. She couldn’t see anything, not even her own hand in front of her face. “W-where am I? Who’s there?”

“He-he-he-he. You are here and you are there, you’re the only one here!” the voice said. A small purple dot appeared in front of Lily. it steadily grew larger until it formed into a dark-purple skull made of glowing mist.

Screaming, Lily tried to run, she tried to swim away, but she no matter what she did she couldn’t move from her spot.

“He-he-he” the skull laughed at her. Its jaw moved up and down in a grotesque manner. “Why are you running, why run from yourself? you’re the only one here!” The skull flew around her, steadily growing larger. Soon it was three times the height of Lily. It stared at her, its empty eye-socket big enough to swallow her whole.

“Have you lost yourself? Are you not you anymore?” The skull swiveled around her, studying her.

“What are you? What’re you talking about and where am I?” Lily said. Her shrill voice a soft whine compared to the skull’s booming laugh. “Do you know who I am? Who I was before… before I lost my memories?”

“Ke-ke-ke, you’ve lost yourself! You’re no longer here. Oh, this is perfect, ha, I’ve found you this time!” the skull flew around her, it’s jaw opening and closing in sharp clacks as it laughed.

“First you feed me, now you feed me! He-he-he” Stopping in front of her, the skull opened its jaws wide. A swirling storm of purple mist resided in the Skull. A sickening decay aura seeped out, making Lily woozy.

She screamed. She screamed as loud as she could as the skull moved forward and bit down, swallowing her hole.

The skull burst into a hundred mist wraiths that shot toward Lily, intent on destroying her. Their shrill shrieks combined to form a thunderous cacophony.

However, before the mist could touch her it exploded. The mist rushed away, coalescing back into another skull, this one smaller.

Not feeling anything, Lily opened her eyes. The skull was off in the distance, glancing back and forth, as if searching for something, or someone.

“No, no, no!” the skull screamed. “He’s awake, he's coming. You’re mine! He can’t have you. He can’t have it, no, this isn’t fair. You’re too weak to do anything against him.”

The skull opened its mouth and roared into the darkness.

It closed its mouth and moved towards Lily, stopping just in front of her. She stood there silently, trembling as the skull rotated around her, observing her.

“Yes, yes yes yes yes! That’s what I’ll do.” The skull began to laugh once more. “He-he-he, I’ll give it back to you. I’ll give it to you so you can kill him, yes. You’ll kill him for me, and after that I’ll be here. I’ll be here and I’ll eat you! He-he-he, this is perfect.”

The skull spat out a glowing purple brand onto Lily’s forehead. She screamed as it burned itself onto her skin.

“Ke-ke-ke, wake up now. Wake up and grow stronger, grow strong enough to defeat him. Rip his body apart, limb by limb. Utterly destroy him, savage his body. And after you do, I’ll be waiting, he-he-he-he-he”

The skull rushed toward Lily, exploding into a storm of mist as it hit her, causing her to blackout.

*

She woke up panting. Sweat stained her body as her chest heaved up and down as she jerked up in panic. She fell back on the tangled sheets, willing her body to calm down. After she had calmed down, she got up once more, flinching as her feet hit the cold floor.

“I need to tell him about this.” She made her way to her door, but stopped at the handle. “But what if he doesn’t believe me… What if he—” she stopped.

She could hear whispering. It sounded as if a group of ten or so people were whispering at the same volume, none of them speaking louder or quieter than the others. Though not inherently loud, the whispering pierced through Lily, leaving her with a foreboding chill.

She shrank back from the door, her heart pounding.

She could see a faint orange glow seeping in from under her door. Steeling her resolve, she quietly pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway. The glow was coming from Snake’s room across from her room.

He sat with one leg on a windowsill, an arm resting on his knee. A candles sat next to him, casting the orange glow. He was garbed in the same leather armor she had seen before, holding the same crossbow too. Leaning against the wall next to him was a wicked looking saber. It was made of a strange dark metal with red inscriptions etched into its surface.

“What’s going on. I need to tell you something right now. I had a—”

He glanced at her and motioned her to be quiet. “Come here, have a look for yourself”

Taken aback, she padded over to him and looked out the window.

Dark shapes stood in the moonlight outside the house. They stood at different heights, but each one was impossibly tall for a human being. They wore long black raggedy robes that hid their all their features. The cast no shadows, the dim light streamed through their transparent bodies.

She gasped and recoiled. The figures jerked their heads towards the house, towards the noise. A couple began to drift towards it, they floated above the ground, the hem of their long robe barely dragging.

He grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving back, and put a finger to his lips, quieting her. “They’re specters,” he whispered. Getting off the windowsill, he armed his crossbow, grabbing the sword in the process. “They’re supposedly spirits of the dead, ones cut off from the cycle of reincarnation and forced to live with an eternal hatred against cultivators. They’re not supposed to exist in the world, but for some reason they exist in the immortal’s deathlands.”

“They don’t usually attack mortals this far away from the Immortal’s corpse though.”

He backed up and aimed his crossbow at the approaching specters.

“They don’t usually approach this far away from the immortal’s corpse either unless chasing someone,” he frowned. “Something is wrong.”

Lily backed up, her pupils dilating, straining to see past the darkness of the specter’s black hood.

“Catch.” Snake tossed a bag at Lily. Small grey rocket etched with runic symbols were in it,

“Explosives,” he explained. “Just in case.”

What if… What if they're after me? Lily’s breath slowly became more and more ragged. What if Snake kicks me out? He won’t, would he? She cast a quick glance in his direction. He was still watching the specter. I don’t want to be alone again… Glancing at the door with her peripheral vision, she began to edge towards it.

She shrieked as a hand clamped on her shoulder, then over her mouth.

“Shhh, it’s ok.” he whispered. His crossbow was slung over his shoulder and his sword was sheathed.

She struggled against his grasp, but he only held on tighter.

“The safest place right now is next to me. I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but if you stick with me you’ll have the greatest chance to live. Got that?”

She nodded, her breathing had calmed down a bit.

“Good,” letting go of her he handed her the crossbow and told her how to use it. Walking over to his bed he reached under it and took out another sword, similar to his other one.

A specter was now standing right next to the window. A faint sickly smell permeated the air as the specter stood motionless.

“It shouldn’t attack, but just in case I’ll open a safe place we can hide in.” he whispered.

“You stay here. If the specter does anything, shoot it. Throw the explosives at it. Just stay safe. When I have it open I’ll call you over.”

She nodded. Seeing this, he silently ran out of the room.

She edged out of the door, standing in the hallway, in sight of both the specter and Snake. He was leaning over a square door that was formerly under a carpet. He seemed to be tinkering with a lock.

The specter reached forward and placed a bony hand against the glass. The hand was a sickly white with long black nails. Small blue runes flashed to life before dimming and disappearing. Frost began to spread across the window.

The window cracked and broke

Space seemed to ripple as the specter drifted into the house. A dull red light lit up all the rooms. An alarm system. The thought barely registered in her mind as her fear mounted.

Lily gasped for breath. She couldn’t move. Her body seemed to be locked in spot. Black spots appeared in her vision as she ran out of breath.

The specter was now in the room, it’s head hunched to accommodate the roof. Raising its hands, the specter removed its hood.

It had a pale gaunt face. Beady black eyes sat in drawn in sockets. Long wisps of blue hair hung down. Dark spots peppered the specters face.

She recognized its face, but couldn’t place it. A cold shiver passed through her body.

It opened its mouth and groaned. Sharp black shards were its teeth, a dark black void its mouth.

“You caussssed thissss,” the specter pointed at Lily. “I wander eternity because of you. We wander because of you.”

“You can’t hide,” Its guttural hiss seemed to pierce through all other sounds, making them mute. Lily could vaguely hear Snake shouting in the background, but his voice was muffled and slow.

“Asssss long asssss we remain, we will follow.” The specter reached towards Lily.

The hand seemed to grow larger, completely dominating her field of view. By now her vision was a small rapidly fading window of light.

She felt power bubble up, coursing through her veins. Green tendrils seemed to dance around her vision as vines slowly crept in through the broken window.

“You shall join usssss. Casssst assside your falsssee body, return to your true form.”

“NO” she was jerked backwards, broken from the spell. The much needed oxygen rushed back into her lungs. White spots danced around her vision as Snake pulled her backwards. The power disappeared, just as fast as it had come.

Grabbing the crossbow out of her hands, he shot.

The bolt passed through the specter’s body, leaving a gaping hole.

Long blue chains burst outwards form the hole and wrapped themselves around the specter’s body.

The specter’s scream ripped through the air. Like a million dying animals, the specter wailed. This single scream was soon joined by a million more as all the specters outside began to wail too.

The chains began to fizzle and break, turning dark and falling off.

“RUN” he screamed. Grabbing the bag of explosives from her hip, he threw the entire bag at the specter.

The explosion ripped the specter to shreds, but also destroyed the entire room, leaving a gaping hole in the house. Splinters shot out like missiles, embedding themselves deep into the wood walls.

Lily stumbled as a sharp pain pierced her calf, but Snake pulled her onwards towards a square hole in the ground.

Specters swept through the hole in the house, ramming into blue sigils that peeled themselves off the wall to block them.

The sigils didn’t last, bursting in a flare of blue before fading and crumbling.

Snake pushed Lily into the hole. He turned and slashed at an approaching Specter, sending it careening backwards as dark-blue ichor spurted from its face.

Another specter swept past, scratching a long scar in his forearm with its nails.

Roaring, he ran jumped into the shelter and slammed the door.

The world went black.

*

“Everyone, assemble!” a voice said.

Like clockwork, hundreds of men, all cultivators, formed perfect squares in the air. They stood shoulder to shoulder, hovering above the forest below.

Standing at the head of the group, surrounded by four old men, stood a youth on a pure white leaf. This man was precisely the chosen of the blood-born sect: Mu Zi.

“You all know why we’re here today,” Mu Zi said. “I don’t have much more to say other than that we cannot fail. I know some of you have children, family, and friends to go back to—I too have someone who I must protect—but if we fail here today, we might as well stay here forever, for we won’t have anything to go back to.”

“Today, we will fight! Tomorrow, we will take our children back!”

“Do not falter! Do not take pity. Steal anything and everything you can. The fate of our sect lies in our hands.”

The assembled men stared up at Mu Zi, their eyes hard. Many of them knew that they would not be returning to the sect, but the fire in their hearts did not abate.

“Why will we succeed when so many have failed before us? Because you, men of the blood-born sect, are the ones that are fighting. You are the ones who are putting your lives on the line. You are the ones who’ll have no home to go to if you fail.”

He paused. He raised his fist and shouted. “Today is the day that decides the fate of our sect. Whether it flourishes or perishes is up to you! Decide wisely.”

Cheers erupted from the men. Some men cheered half-heartedly, not too keen on their potential death. Some men cheered robustly, hiding their fear under false bravado. Some men Cheered louder than others, fervently believing in the future success of their sect.

After the cheering died down, Mu Zi took a mace from his bag of holding and pointed it in the direction of the immortal’s corpse.

“Advance!”

*

The group moved as one in an uneasy silence. A ring of men surrounded the four elders, who surrounded Mu Zi, their chosen.

The men on the outer fringes grew restless, the anticipation of the upcoming battle agitating them. Their ill-fated reprieve came with a shout.

A scout sped towards the main group with a host of specters on his tail. The men, all too eager to fight, went to intercept.

The fight was quick and merciless. The specters were ripped to shreds, their bodies disappearing into a rain of ichor.

A low wail that steadily grew louder erupted from below. Like an army of ants, a dark black mass of specters flew up from the forest.

Mu Zi took in a deep breath, his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest.

“Calm down,” an elder said. “The entire sect is here to protect you. All you need to do is survive and wrest as many legacies as you can from the immortal’s corpse.”

Nodding, Mu Zi willed his heartbeat to calm down. He knew that it wouldn’t be an easy fight.

*

The two forces clashed in a roar of madness. Blood and gore sprayed in the air, dying it red. Screams of pain interrupted the incessant wail of the specters as men were shredded to pieces.

Explosions wracked the air, blowing through the specters, turning them back to nothingness. Magical techniques rained down en masse as mystical items—family heirlooms, precious treasures, prized possessions—were used with wanton regard.

The battlefield was a living hell.

Mu Zi charged in with the elders as unit. The elders destroyed and fought off any specters that drew close, protecting Mu Zi. He dispatched any specters that managed to get past.

His eyes stared forward unwaveringly. He knew that if he glanced to the side, watched a friend be disemboweled, he wouldn’t have the willpower to continue. He knew that he didn’t have the capacity to watch a friend die and not try to help. So he continued onward.

A lone specter broke past the elder’s encirclement. A grim smile alighted on Mu Zi’s face. Though he didn’t like fighting, he knew all too well that he would enjoy this one.

Rushing forwards, his mace turned into a molten red sphere. Latent energy streamed outwards as the mace smashed into the specter, immolating it.

Another specter charged at him from behind. It rammed into him, sending him backwards as blood sprayed from his mouth, a large dent left in his armor.

Mu Zi raised his shield as the specter’s hand flashed towards his face. The claw ran down the shield in an ear-piercing squeal. Yelling, Mu Zi struck at the specter with an upper-cut, taking the specters face off. Dark-blue ichor splattered over his face as the specters body fell down into the forest.

Grinning madly, Mu Zi roared.

His battle had finally begun.

*

“Damnit!”

Mu Zi’s group had fought its way into the depths of the forest, to the location of the immortal’s corpse.

Specters flew around them like moths around a flame. The four elders surrounded Mu Zi in a triangle formation. They used their cultivation bases to form a barrier to repel the specters. Against such an onslaught of specters, they could only hold the sphere up for mere moments.

“Where’s the corpse?”

Mu Zi looked around frantically, his head whipping from side to side.

“It should be here?!”

He floated above a small clearing in the forest.

Neither specters nor cultivators could enter the clearing. The cultivators could only use magical techniques and items to try to fish items out. However, that was when the immortal’s corpse was present.

The clearing was now empty.

Mu Zi stood in a spot that no human had stood ever since the creation of the deathlands. He hovered over a rough patch of earth surrounded by a circle of knee-high grass.

“Damnit, it’s not here,” Mu Zi said.

The specters swirled around the sphere in a frenzy, their claws scraping against it

“Retreat!” he said.

The four elders glanced at each other. They each had a grim expression.

Three of the elders flew towards Mu Zi, surrounding him. They dragged him away before he could react, leaving the fourth elder behind.

The fourth elder saluted the group before self-detonating.

The self-detonation of a nascent soul cultivator is something to be greatly feared.

The explosion ripped through the forest, turning specters into dust.

Mu Zi stared in shock as the remaining three elders dragged him away. Using the explosion as a boost, the elders had managed to drag Mu Zi far from the confines of the battle.

The three elders glanced at each other grimly before they released Mu Zi. They were in a wooded area, filled with small bushes and trees.

“It wasn’t there. Why wasn’t it there?” Mu Zi fell to his knees. “It’s been there for millions of years, why wasn’t it there now?”

“How did it move? Who moved it?”

Screaming Mu Zi punched the ground, shaking the earth and creating a small crater.

“Get up,” the first elder grabbed Mu Zi by his arm. “We can’t have you breaking through yet, not without the proper foundation”

“We’ll call back the men and set up a perimeter. Our scouts reported that the corpse was still there yesterday, so whoever or whatever stole it might still be in the vicinity,” the first elder said.

“You still have your comm talisman, yes?”

Mu Zi nodded.

“Good, use it.”

“No need,” a voice said.

A black film spread across the sky, blotting everything out. Soon Mu Zi’s group was completely enclosed in it.

The three elders stood around Mu Zi protectively on high alert.

Mu Zi gripped the comm talisman, activating it, but there was no response.

Panicking, he shouted “Who’s there?”

A laugh rang out in response. “It doesn’t matter who’s there or who’s here. Your life will end today. That’s the only thing that matters.”

The first elder snorted. Taking out a doll from his bag of holding, he lit it on fire and threw it in the air. The doll let out a bloodcurdling shriek before exploding, sending out a light-blue wave of willow-wisps: small floating spheres of flame.

The willow-wisps spun in a circle around the group before converging on an empty spot of air. The air around the wisps shimmered as the ground turned black from the heat.

“Ha, so you do have some skill. It’s been ages since anyone has been able to find me.”

A man slowly appeared in the haze. The wisps rotated around him, intent on burning him to ashes. He waved a hand dismissively at them. The wisps let out a high pitched squeal before burning out, turning into ash.

The first elder arched his eyebrow. Backing up he whispered to Mu Zi “Be careful, this doesn’t look good.”

The man laughed as he advanced, his voice raspy and weak. He gave off an aura of ancientness. He stood, hunched over, with gnarled dark skin. A long mane of dark shaggy hair ran down his back as he walked forward, leaning heavily on a cane. His eyes were blind, a white film covering them.

The second elder stepped forward. “Fellow Daoist, might I ask if we have any enmity with you? If we do, how can we resolve it?”

“Ha! Enmity? You created enmity by seeking the immortal’s corpse. That belongs to me, no one else can have it”

“Very well.” The second elder took out too long daggers from beneath his robe.

Raising up on dagger, he slit his own wrist. “Demonic Arts: Blood Boil.”

The elder’s face grimaced in pain as his body began to emit steam. His blood vessels began to writhe and change, looking like many snakes under his skin, as his hair fell out. Most shockingly however, was his cultivation base lowering from peak nascent soul to peak core formation!

His hair began to regrow, but this time it was black. Lustrous black hair began to covered his head as his wrinkles faded away. He now stood as a young man who radiated vitality

He had temporarily traded his cultivation base for strength and vitality! Even though he had a cultivation base of only a core formation, his fleshly body far surpassed that of even a nascent soul cultivator.

“Scarlet Guillotine.”

A red brilliance covered his daggers, extending to form two long whips. With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent a tendril screaming through the air.

The blind man stepped back in hesitation before jumping, dodging the whip.

The attack hit the ground in a sharp impact. A large furrow was gouged in the ground, sending dust dirt everywhere

“Heh, I underestimated you, your fleshly body certainly is terrifying.” the blind man said as he landed back onto the ground. “You certainly do deserve to know my name. I apologize. I am Tai Maan, the last of the Temporal Divinities sect.”

“My Dao is of—”

Before Tai Maan could finish, the second elder flicked his wrist, sending a tendril of blood lashing out towards him.

“You were a fool for allowing me to use my technique, but I would be even a greater fool to allow you to use yours.”

“Haaaa, good.” Tai Maan crowed. “It would be a shame if my first fight in centuries wasn’t a challenge”

Taking a scroll out of his bag of holding, he unraveled it. The whip crashed into the scroll at supersonic speeds, but it was repelled in a deafening crack.

Black lines began to peel themselves off the scroll, squirming in the air. They formed a sphere around Tai Maan.

“Your fight is much more than just him,” the third elder said. Stepping forward, he cut his thumb, letting the blood drip onto the ground.

“Black Sigil Arts: Demonic presence.”

A purple rune etched itself into the ground before expanding to fill the battlefield. A dull purple glow rose up from the ground. Runic tattoos etched on the elders’ bodies also began to glow, strengthening them.

Still fighting the second elder, Tai Mann threw a scroll at the third elder, however, it was intercepted and cut in half by a bloody whip.

The scroll fell on the ground. Black squiggly figures began to crawl out. They let out low moans as they began to stumble towards the third elder.

Still by Mu Zi’s side, the first elder drew out two dolls and threw them on the ground. As they touched the rune on the ground, they lit up in a purple flame. The purple flames writhed and expanded around the dolls, growing until they formed two purple flame giants.

“Attack.” he commanded. The giants rushed towards Tai Mann, barreling through his summons.

The third elder waved his hand, summoning a host of dark red runes in the air. “You guaranteed your death when you dared fight us.” The floating runes erupted into bright beams of energy that shot out towards Tai Mann, stripping his shield away.

A bright red whip shot forward, slamming into Tai Mann’s side, throwing him.

Bright red blood spurted out, raining onto the ground as he howled in pain and rage.

Stumbling on the ground, he swept an arm outward, creating a massive force wave. The wave slammed into the second elder, throwing him backwards, but otherwise doing no damage.

Whipping out a scroll, Tai Mann unraveled it. A brilliant red orb emerged that then shot towards Mu Zi’s group.

The two flame giants charged forward to intercept the orb. Upon touching them, the orb burst into a billowing black smoke.

“Retreat, protect Mu Zi” the first elder said. The other two elders obeyed, positioning themselves around Mu Zi.

“Mongrels! My Dao is that of time. I have bathed in the yellow springs and have gazed into the third abyss, past the watchful demon. Puny cultivators like you think you can threaten me?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“My path is that of eternity. Beings such as you are just bumps in an endless road, nothing more. Just a minor inconvenience.”

A sinister Qi billowed out of the smoke, causing Mu Zi’s hairs to stand on end.

Tai Maan emerged from the smoke, behind him a giant black statue. The statue seemed neither ancient nor new, as if cut off from the flow of time. It had many arms and three faces. A golden scroll lay on the ground.

A blood-red flash struck out as the second elder’s whip hurtled towards the statue. However, before the whip could strike, one of the faces on the statue opened its eyes. A strange light beamed outward as energy ripples shot towards the whip, disintegrating it into nothingness.

A serious expression dawned on the first elder’s face. “We… we might be in a very very bad situation.”

The second elder grunted in agreement, his face pale after the destruction of his weapon.

The single face gazed at the group before opening its mouth, shining out a bright white light. Energy ripples shot out towards the group, distorting space as they traveled.

The three elders jumped in front of Mu Zi, erecting a barrier, but it was no use. The energy ripple easily ripped past the shield, blowing them away. Mu Zi’s shield began to glow before it expanded into a giant turtle’s shell.

The shell withstood the attack for three breathes before it exploded into a million pieces. Mu Zi was thrown backwards in a spray of blood, both his arms turned bloody.

Roaring, the second elder stabbed himself in the chest with his remaining dagger. An impossibly amount of dark red blood pooled out, forming a layer of armor around him.

“Demonic Arts: Final Ultimatum!”

His cultivation base fully disappeared, making him just like a mortal, however, his body was enhanced to the supreme. His fleshly body was now on par with beginner Dao Seeking!

Space cracked around him as a he moved. He charged forward, intent on destroying the statue.

The first face of the statue spat out a force wave, but it was easily deflected by the second elder’s armor. The second face of the Statue opened its eyes as the first face closed theirs. The dark red eyes glared at the second elder in fury as a giant back blade appeared in one of the many hands. The blade swept downward to meet the second elder.

The collision shook the sky and the earth. The second elder was split in half along his waist, a look of surprise plastered over on his face.

A hand shot out, smashing into his face, removing half of it. Bits of flesh and bone splattered through the air. The remains of his body landed in front of Mu Zi, its remaining eye opened in shock.

An unintelligible roar erupted from the third elder. His hands flashed in complex incantations as a giant black sigil appeared behind him.

“Supernova!”

Large amounts of Qi were sucked into the sigil, concentrating into a large sphere. However, before anything else happened, the third face on the statue opened its eyes.

Its eyes shone with a bright green brilliance. Time seemed to slow for the third elder as the air around him thickened, making it hard for him to speak. Spatial distortions began to form around him. As the elder struggled to counteract the statue’s spell, his own began to fade and break apart.

“This spells your end. There is nothing you can do to resist it.” Stepping forward, Tai took out a black scroll. As he unraveled the scroll, a dark Qi seeped out, reeking of death and decay. A tempest of dark energy surged outward as a black sword slowly ascended from the scroll.

Casually grabbing the sword, Tai Maan walked over to the third elder. He positioned the sword, just above the elder’s heart. “Now, you die.”

BOOM!

A large explosion rocked the earth. Tai Maan stumbled backwards, missing his strike. The restrictive field around the third elder disappeared

Glaring, Tai spun around. “No, that’s impossible.” he said. “How?”

The third face of the statue was destroyed, reduced to a smoking black rock. The statue’s second face was activated in a permanent scowl.

Not too far from the statue stood the second elder. His entire body was covered in a blood red film, covering up his grievous wounds.

“You’re dead!” Tai Maan said. “No cultivator could have survived that.”

“Congratulation, you’re right.” said the first elder as he seemingly emerged from thin air.

Tai Maan jerked backwards. “What? How did you…” Realization dawned on his face. “What did you do to me you mongrel?”

The first elder clapped his hands. “Congratulations, most people never even notice.” He took out a straw doll with a red pin stuck through the middle. The doll’s head was bent at an odd angle. “Blood Arts: Misdirection. All I needed was a single drop of blood, which you so graciously provided for me.”

“Hmph, so I’ve underestimated you twice, it doesn’t matter now since I’ll be finishing… Wait, where’s the weak one.”

“Ha!” The second elder began clapping again. “Another point for you, but a bit late. You see, as long as I don’t do anything flashy like attacking you, I, and the people around me, are effectively invisible to you.”

Growling, Tai Maan began to pace around the first elder in a lazy arc. “I’m assuming you brought him back too,” he said as he jerked his head towards the second elder.

“Yes…” he took out another doll, this one with red string threaded through its body. “There was no shortage of blood, thank to you.” An expression of pure hatred flashed across his face.

“But now I have to deduct one point from you. Didn’t you find it strange that I was willingly telling you all of this? You see, my technique, misdirection also allows other people to become ‘invisible’ while I’m the center of attention. While you’ve been listening to me ramble, I’ve been your center of attention, so I thank you for that.”

Tai Maan’s eyes widened in shock. He spun around to search for the third elder, but it was too late. A brilliant ball of energy rammed into him and his statue, exploding into tempest.

The first elder signed. “A pity you didn’t die. I had hoped I could go help Mu Zi help with affairs in the sect, he tends to be hot-headed… Oh well, we’ll play with you a bit more.”

As the smoke cleared, Tai Maan emerged. His sword cackled with dark energy as he limped out. His left leg was gone below the knee and his black statue had been reduced to a smoking mass of black slag. All his hair had been burned off.

“You. Will. Die!”

*

Mu Zi flew in the air resting on the white leaf. Clenched tightly to his chest was a talisman for sending recorded messages. The first elder had given it to him after he had sent Mu Zi away from the fight. He had given it to him with explicit instructions to deliver it to the sect patriarch, forcing him to flee the fight. Clenching his fist, Mu Zi sped onwards, ignoring the increasing dread in his heart.

*

Lily jerked up from her bed, her mind bleary but the sense of alarm from that night was still fresh. It had been two weeks since then, but she still had nightmares. She lay in the guest room. A fresh compression bandage was around her leg. Taking a deep breath, she could smell the minty aroma of tea as well as faint coppery taste of blood, a side-effect of the nightmare.

Getting up, the hobbled over towards her door, wincing with every step. She was greeted by swaying grass and tall trees. Snake’s room, which was supposed to be across from hers, was now a gaping hole. A thing transparent net was covering the hole. Faint blue runes skittered across the net.

She was drawn towards the kitchen by the smell of food.

“So, she’s finally awake.” Snake said. One of his arms was bandaged and in a sling, the other was holding a cup of tea. “I was hoping I bandaged your leg your leg properly, and by the looks of it, I did a good job.” he said as he studied her.

“Honestly though, either you were really lucky or your body is impossibly hard. That splinter should have ripped through your leg rather than scraping it.”

She scoffed. “If this can be called a good job, I would loathe to experience a decent one.”

Grinning, he handed her the cup of tea as well as a rich bowl of broth. She arched her eyebrow at the rich fare.

He shrugged, “You had a rough night then, I thought you could use the energy. Oh, on that topic, there was something you wanted to tell me that night?”

She bolted upright. However, after thinking for a bit, she couldn’t remember what she wanted to tell him. She scratched her cheek sheepishly.

“But I do have a question. What are the Immortal Deathlands exactly?”

“The Deathlands were the area of a battle between two supreme experts according to records. After the fight, one of them died, and his corpse became the center of the Deathlands. Originally the land was a vast wasteland of poisonous miasma where specters wandered about, but it began to change. A flower began to bloom from inside the chest of the corpse. As the flower bloomed the miasma disappeared and a forest began to grow around the corpse. That’s what you saw when you first woke up.”

“I moved in after the forest had already fully grown.”

“Un, another question. Do normal cultivators use so many magical items? I thought they used more techniques and, well, magic.”

His face fell. “Well, I guess you can call me a special cultivator… since I can’t cultivate.”

She stared at him.

“Well, I guess I’ll explain. I am a mortal. I was born in a village far away from here. When I was younger, a cultivator who I now called my master, kidnapped me, brining me here.”

“He kidnapped me so I could run his shop when he was away. He’s away most of the time, so it’s basically been just me.”

She asked him if he ever felt homesick.

“I’m actually glad I was kidnapped.” he shrugged. “The village I was from was on the edge of a wilderness. If I hadn’t been kidnapped, I would’ve probably starved to death or have been killed by raiders. I also got to experience a world that most mortals only dream of.”

“Does this mean that anyone can use magical items?” she asked.

“Well, I am special in that case.” He explained to her how to could cultivate and gather Qi, but at the end of each day, all the Qi he had stored would disappear without fail. So long as he stored Qi up in the mornings, he could activate some weaker magical items.

“Personally though, I despise cultivators.” He looked at his cup of tea, brooding.

“Umm, you said that you were a mortal, but could cultivate? Does that mean…”

Snake burst into uproarious laughter.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said as he wiped tears from his eyes. Lily stared at him, pouting.

“What’s so funny.”

“I’m here moping about my situation, and I forget one of the most basic human desires: to become more than human, superhuman. After all, that’s what cultivators are.”

“Yes, I can give you the resources to become a cultivator. If you succeed depends on your own aptitude. First come with me, I’ll bring you to a cultivator’s village and teach you a bit about the world you want to join. I need to buy some repairs for my house anyways.”

*

After a semi-traumatic first teleportation experience, Lily arrived at the outskirts of a city with Snake. He gave her a ring that made it seem like she was of the third level of qi condensation. He didn’t need one because everyone there knew who he was.

Accepting the ring, she skipped forward, excitement clear on her face

Eyeing her, Snake called out “To think that a couple of weeks ago I found you in the forest, scared of your own shadow. Now look at you.”

She looked back. “It’s just… Ummm, I like your company.” she said blushing. “It’s nice to have someone else to talk to.”

Snake grinned and looked to the side. “Yeah, I know. Living alone can be taxing. Being alone with nothing but your thoughts for extended periods of time is taxing, especially when you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of.”

He jogged forward to reach up with Lily, who in her excitement had run off.

The city, to Lily’s disappointment wasn’t all that impressive. Simple stone buildings lined the rode, nothing grand and majestic like she had expected. No men flying through the sky on giant snakes or turtles and no half-man half-animal beings. He told her that this was a village for qi condensers, cities for higher ranked cultivators were much more impressive.

One thing that did pique her interest, however, was that every man and woman wore scholarly robes. She asked Snake why this was the case.

“Well, that’s one of the many oddities of the cultivation world. Every cultivator wears robes, even though cultivating is tempering one’s body to fight. Robes are bad armor and the tear easily. Another thing is that they live for millions of years, and they have the same technology according to some of my master’s scrolls.”

She stared at him.

“Doesn’t that seem strange? millions of years and they use the same technology, in fact, older things seem to be better than newer ones.”

She shrugged. “Well, they do have magic, so why would they need technology? And if something can survive for such a long time where people use them to fight all the time, doesn’t that mean it’s good quality?”

He harrumphed, not pleased with her answer.

“Another one is that seasons don’t seem to change at all. If it’s raining somewhere, it’ll rain there always. If it’s summer, it’ll always be summer. etc. It seems to be based on region. In fac—”

He stopped mid-sentence as his face turned stony. Pulling Lily aside, he sat in an open doorway and pulled his hood up.

“You’re about to see why I hate cultivators.”

A group of men wearing deep blue robes were walking down the street. Power and confidence seemed to ooze out of their body as they walked.

She shrank against the wall, unsure of what to do.

The man leading the group stopped in front of Snake. Using a sheathed sword, he removed Snake’s hood. They glared at each other.

“Where’s you master.”

“Not here.” Snake said.

After a tense moment, the man snorted and left with his group.

After the men had left, Snake stood up and stormed off. As Lily caught up, he began to speak.

“That’s the arrogance of cultivators. In this world, the strong control everything while the weak can only lower their heads and cower. If your strong enough, you can kill, steal, kidnap, without any consequences. Might makes right. Hell, not even might. As long as you have a powerful backing, you can abuse that power as your own. It’s a disgusting system.” Spitting on the ground he stormed on.

Lily walked behind Snake in silence, her mind a storm of conflicting thoughts. A scream erupted her thoughts.

“No, give him back to me! He’s only three.” a female voice wailed.

Up ahead a woman was on her knees, clasping the foot of a man trying to fly.

“Get off!” the man shouted as he backhanded the woman. She fell on the ground sobbing. With a cold snort, the man flew off, holding a crying baby.

“Shouldn’t we…” Lily began.

Snake clasped his hand over her mouth, silencing her. “That man is at least of the foundation establishment, and by his robes, from a strong sect. What are you going to do, stop him? He could breathe on you and you would die.”

Removing his hand, he continued walking.

“I can give you a cultivation manual, but think wisely about the world you’re joining. Because if you do join, there’s no going back.”

*

She sat on the floor of the guest room—which was now her room. She held a basic cultivation manual in her hands. Despite Snake’s words, she requested the manual.

Taking a deep breath, she meditated. Unbeknownst to her, as she meditated, a purple brand on her forehead began to glow. Deep purple lines etched themselves on her body. Her breath began to become ragged as pain wracked her body. Finally crying out, she fell on the ground.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in her room anymore.

She stood on an ancient battlefield. Broken weapons and bodies marred the yellow ground. The essence of blood pervaded the air such that Lily could taste its coppery tang. The sky was dark and foreboding. Three men stood in the air, all three of them seemed familiar to Lily.

As she stared at them, she realized who one of them was. The youngest man out of the three was precisely the specter that had attacked her that night!

She began to pant as memories her memories of the dream on that night flooded back to her. The man in the multi-colored robe was Shan Guan. She didn’t know the name of the old man.

The youngest man, the one who was the specter, was pleading with Shan Guan. “Please, you can’t do this.”

Shan was glaring at the older man. “Xiao Ge, I’m sorry, but I have to do this.” A bitter smile was plastered on his face.

“Why, why do you have to fight. We’ve had enough fighting, can’t you…”

“You know I can’t.” Shan’s face turned stony. “It doesn’t matter who’s will it is, yours, Lord Daiker’s, or the Heaven’s. I will oppose all.” He pointed a transcendent sword at the older man, who returned the animosity with an even gaze.

“I’ll kill you.” the old man said.

“Please, reconsider Lord Long.” the younger man said. He fell onto his knees and clasped his hands above his head.

Ignoring him, Lord Long took out a golden scroll and unraveled it. A loud voice boomed outward.

“I am Lord Daiker, and this is my will. I have sealed immortality. Achieving immortality permanently severs a soul from the cycle of reincarnation. Once an immortal dies, as time commands, its soul will be rejected from the yellow springs. It’ll be forced to wander for eternity as a specter, a being of death and hatred. I will designate one being on each planet to be my vassal. This being will serve as an anchor for souls to reincarnate, to prevent any souls from losing their way and turning into specters. They will also serve as the key to prevent anyone from becoming immortal. This way no calamity shall befall and life shall go on. This is my will.”

“You know his will,” Long said. “Why can’t you…”

“Bullshit!” Shan said. “I treated you like a father, you of all people should know why I can’t.”

“I treated you like my son too.” His face seemed to age a hundred years as he stared at the defiant Shan Guan. “So be it.” Shan withdrew a red glaive from his bag of holding. “Today, you shall die.”

The younger man leapt forward, screaming as Shan charged at Long, but it was of no use. With a swipe of his hand, Shan pierced into his chest and tossed him aside.

His eyes red with bloodlust, Shan spot out a large glob of blood. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a vast amount of magical talismans, which he threw into the blood. The blood boiled as it expanded and writhed almost as if alive. Shaping a seal with his hands, Shan shot forward into the blood.

After he entered, the blood began to glow as it formed into the shape of a giant rainbow colored dragon!

The dragon seemed as if it could swallow the heavens and the earth. Each claw it had seemed sharp enough to shred through space and time.

Roaring, the dragon shook the entire world. It charged at Long, who simply raised his glaive and struck.

The explosion from the impact destroyed the very air. Cracks in space began to appear as the dragon and the man recoiled.

Lily cowered on the ground in fear, the world seemed as if it was on fire. The heat began to grow unbearable, until it seemed like it would engulf her. Screaming, she blacked out.

*

“Don’t scare me like that.” a voice said. It took her a moment to realize the voice belonged to Snake.

Lily’s vision was blurry. Everything seemed to be both far and close at the same time. Her throat felt parched.

“Where am I,” she managed to say, wheezing.

“I found you in your room after you had started cultivating, you had collapsed. After that, you ran a fever. One that should’ve killed you from the temperature I was reading. I guess you were lucky.”

Pushing herself up, she shook her head to clear her mind. This time she remembered what happened in her dream.

Snake was sitting beside her bed, his eyes drawn in and his features haggard.

She hesitated for a moment, debating on whether to tell him about her dream.

“I think I might be the immortal whose corpse was in the forest.” she finally said.

Snake stared at her, before sighing. “Yeah, I thought of that.”

She jerked her head up in surprise. He explained to her how there were too many oddities, too many coincidences. The specters acting weird, her having no memory and waking up in the forest, and recent reports of the disappearance of the immortal’s corpse all gave him a vague idea that she might be involved with everything.

“You said the blood-born sect was experiencing difficulties with another sect. What exactly happened?” she asked. He began to question her, but she interrupted him, commanding him to tell her.

“Well, their children were stolen by another sect. You saw it with that woman in the city. Recently, the birth rate of children has dropped drastically. Sects have taken to kidnapping children from other sects to raise… Some even resort to kidnapping mortal children. Some people even insist that this is affecting all life. Plants are producing less seeds and animals are reproducing less, but I don’t see what this has to do with you though.”

“I might have caused it.”

Snake gaped at her.

“I was fighting this man, he apparently was a vassal and anchor for this man named ‘Lord Daiker’. He mentioned something about reincarnation and an anchor. Without the anchor, souls would be unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation and persist in the world as a specter.”

“I think I killed the vassal.”

Snake began to reply.

“SNAKE, OPEN YOUR DOOR.” a voice said.

Lily’s eyes narrowed as she recognized the voice. “That’s the man that stopped me… The chosen of the blood-born. Is he,” she paused. “Is he after me?”

Snake hesitated before patting her shoulder. “Don’t worry, remember how I said I ran the shop in my master’s absence? He’s probably just asking for that.”

“SCOUT, COME OUT.” Mu Zi’s voice boomed.

Getting up, Snake ran to the door.

“What took you so long,” Mu Zi growled. Snake bowed and apologized.

As Mu Zi entered the house, he noticed an extra robe hanging in the doorway. “Who’s here.”

Snake cocked his head to the side, refuting his question.

“Don’t bullshit me, I know you live alone. That’s not your robe.”

Pushing past Snake while ignoring his protests, Mu Zi barged into the house.

“I want you to sell me…” He stopped, spotting Lily. They stared at each other in silence.

“Impossible! You were a mortal weeks ago, how are you already at the tenth level of Qi condensation?”

Lily’s mind reeled. She looked at Snake, who seemed just as surprised as she was.

“Unless… You gained fortune from the Immortal’s corpse! That must be why it was gone.”

“Give it to me.” Mu Zi roared.

He charged forward, but was stopped by a blade held against his neck. Snake glared at Mu Zi, a cold gleam in his eyes.

“I won’t allow you to hurt my guests in my house. You’re powerless here.” Dark red runes began to peel themselves off of the walls. They rotated around Mu Zi, pulsing with light.

“Have you ever wondered why a mere 13th level Qi condensation stage cultivator could become the chosen of such a large sect?” Mu Zi asked. With each passing second, his voice grew louder. “Have you ever wondered what I’ve gone through to become the chosen? What it’s like?” Madness was clear in his eyes.

As if sensing his agitation, the runes began to rotate faster and faster, until they were just streaks of red light circling Mu Zi.

“Do you know what I’ve endured?!”

His cultivation base exploded outwards. At first, he was at the peak of qi condensation, then he advanced to Foundation formation with ten perfect pillars. The pillars melted, forming a blinding white core, which dispersed to form a nascent soul.

Waves of power emanated off of his body, striking and destroying the runes around him. Snake was thrown backwards, his body hitting a wall with a sickening snap.

“No!” Lily scrambled against the wind buffeting her, trying to reach Snake.

Mu Zi picked her up, then slammed her back down. She let out a wheezing scream as the air was forced from her lungs.

“Where is it?” Picking her up again, he threw her against a wall. “What did you get from the immortal’s corpse? Give it to me.” The power in his voice shook the house.

“Stop,” she feebly reached towards his face. Her vision was going blurry as her consciousness slipped away. Power began to well up inside her, threatening to burst out.

Arching over in pain, Mu Zi coughed up blood. Roaring, he gathered energy into his core and released it. Blowing the house up. Lily was thrown like a rag-doll. Her body tumbling through the grass.

Mu Zi stood in the ruin of his house. His nascent soul trembled, then exploded. A torrent of Qi spread through his body, eventually forming back into a core. The core was black and misshapen.

“I’ve been storing qi for years, waiting for the right opportunity to advance. Because of this, I’ve had to sit back.” He looked older and weaker than before. His voice was hoarse whisper. “I watched my brother go and die, fighting for our clan. I had to stay back. I watched my clansmen die, protecting me so I could gain fortune.”

“Do you know what it’s like to be chosen? To have the eyes of an entire sect on you? One mistake, one misstep and you’re cast away like a broken toy. You have to be strong, you have to crush any emotions of weakness, to show to the world that you’re the peak.”

“Now, it’s all gone. I returned to my sect, under the orders of my elder, but the treated me like a traitor, a coward who ran from the battlefield. They exiled me.” He stood there, looking desolate. He walked towards Lily, but stopped. A green vine had shot out of the ground, piercing his stomach.

Lily sat on the ground, panting. A green glow emanated from her body. Mu Zi roared. Destroying the vine, he charged towards Lily. However, as he moved forwards, more and more vines sprouted from the ground. They entangled him, bringing him crashing to the ground.

“Ha, so this is the legacy of the immortal.” blood dribbled from his mouth. “Get it over with, just kill me. You got to the legacy first, there’s nothing I can do now.”

“I won’t kill you, but I might be able to help you.” Lily stood up, supported by various vines. As she stood, more and more memories flashed back into her mind.

“I don’t need you pity.” Mu Zi glared at her.

“This… This isn’t the legacy of the immortal.” She gestured towards the undulating vines. “I probably am the immortal. Your clan, I can probably help them. I don’t know how, but I think I can solve the problem. If I can, I promise I will.”

“Bullshit. If you’re going to let me live, just let me go. I don’t want to hear your ramblings.”

The vines shrank into the ground. Mu Zi pushed himself off and began to hobble away.

“I know what it’s like,” she called out. “I know the feeling of being alone, of having no one to turn to. That was my life.”

He paused at the edge of the clearing, and turned around. “If what you say is true,” he paused. “There’s a man, someone with unfathomable cultivation. He’s coming after you. If what you say is really true, and you can help my clan, then survive and make good on your promise.” He jumped into the air and flew away.

Lily collapsed on the ground for a moment before panic seized her. She ran towards the house, looking for Snake.

She found him, resting against a tree, his hand held against his stomach. “That was quite a performance you put on.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I have enough magical items to protect myself” he said as he pushed himself up. “Is that true though, all the things you said.”

She nodded. “I guess that’s why I got so used to being around you.” she said. “I wanted your company, to not be alone anymore.”

Snake attempted to laugh, but ended up starting a coughing fit. He rested himself on Lily’s shoulder.

“You know, I’m actually the same. Living here, all alone in this forest. After that first night, with the specters, I knew you were somehow related to the immortal’s corpse. With that information, I could’ve done so much, but I didn’t.” He ruffled her hair. “You were the first person to ever stay with me. I deluded myself, thinking that I could keep you here until I was completely certain that were related to it, but that backfired. As I stayed with you, I began to lose sight of my goal of profit.”

“You know; cultivators are all about Dao: the path. I’ve always wondered what my Dao was as someone who couldn’t cultivate, but was stuck in the cultivator’s world.”

“I think I’ve found it. I think you’re my Dao.” he struggled up and kneeled in front of Lily. “As long as you’re willing, I will follow you. I will be by your side. As long as I’m there, I won’t fear death. As long as…” Lily was blushing the entire time.

“We have company.” Snake struggled to his feet.

A man wearing a mask stood in the clearing. He stood hunched over, walking with a cane. One of his legs was a wooden stick grafted onto a stump. This was Tai Maan!

He held a black ball which he tossed towards Lily. She tensed as the ball rolled towards her. Her joy turned to fear as the ball stopped. She screamed.

The ball was Mu Zi’s head! An expression of hatred was frozen on his face.

“That bastard escaped me once, then he dared to touch your body.” the man said. He looked at Lily. “You’re mine.” He waved his cane, creating a suction force that pulled at her body.

“No!” Before she could be pulled away, Snake slapped a magical talisman onto her body, teleporting her away. He leaned against the tree, his knees weak as he eyed the man

“That was a mistake,” the man said. “But you took care of and sheltered his body. I’ll spare you just this once.” Taking out a scroll, the man wrapped it around himself and teleported away.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Snake walked over to the ruins of his house. “Fine, you can come out now.” Grabbing a piece of wood, he shoved it aside. Underneath was his painting of the dragon that defied the heavens. The dragon roared silently as it struggled, it was actually moving!

Picking up and uncapping the colored paints, Snake splashed them onto the painting.

*

Lily panted as looked around. She was in an unfamiliar part of the forest. “That man, who was he? Why did his aura seem familiar?”

She had only a moment of respite before a black hole opened up next to her. Tai Maan stepped out. They stared at each other for a moment before he removed his mask.

“Do you recognize me?”

She gasped, he was the man who she had seen twice, once as a specter and once in a dream! “How are you here?”

“Good,” In Tai Maan’s free hand was a black glove that cackled with energy. He lunged at Lily with surprising speed. She jerked back in surprise, but he was faster. He grabbed her around her neck and lifted her off the ground.

The trees swayed in agitation as vines shot from the ground toward Tai Maan, but to no avail. A black sphere surrounded him and Lily, preventing all from entering.

She rotated her cultivation base for the first time. As she did, Purple lines began to appear on her skin as well as a brand on her forehead. The power that she released wasn’t that of her own, but that of an ancient legacy. However, none of this mattered to Tai Maan. A black pendant he wore seemed to be absorbing them.

“Weren’t… You… my friend,” she wheezed.

Realization dawned in his eyes as he dropped her. “No, not like this. Not when you don’t remember.” Taking out a black pill, he stuffed it into her mouth and forced her to swallow.

Her world went black.

*

She stood, once again, in the ancient battlefield. Shan Guan lay on the ground, his breathing shallow as blood seeped from many wounds on his body. Long stood in the air, gazing down at Shan.

“You lose,” Long said.

Grinning, Shan spat out some blood. “Not yet,” Struggling up, he turned and stared directly at Lily. Her heart thumped in her chest as she stared back at him. He bowed “I’m sorry, but I have to request for your help Qin Hua,”

Lily pointed at herself in confusion. Long arched an eyebrow, his eyes sweeping the area.

“Hmph,” an ancient and powerful Qi filled the area. Even though it was just a dream, Lily could feel her cultivation base trembling, as if bowing to a king. Ripples occurred in the air next to Lily as a figure appeared. The person who appeared looked exactly like Lily!

“What?! Impossible, how can something like you still exist?” Long said.

Qin Hua looked up at Long, a feral grin plastered on her face. Raising her hand, she summoned a giant grey skull made out of mist that shot towards Long. The skull radiated death Qi. It seemed as if one look from it could kill a million men.

Long shot off divine techniques and attempted to dodge the skull, but to no avail. Laughing, the skull bit down on Long, exploding into a giant cauldron that closed around Long. The cauldron eventually collapsed into a million mist wraiths that ravaged his body. Every wound inflicted on his body healed instantly. However, with each passing second he grew older and older as his life force was drained.

Lily gaped. I wasn’t the immortal, but rather her, Qin Hua?

Long sighed. With that sigh, the world seemed to sag and death qi roiled from the ground. “So, this is why you were so confident. I cannot best her, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let something like her continue to exist in this world!”

He tore off his right arm in a rain of blood. Throwing it in the air, he shouted “Diving Mandate: Void!”

His arm melted, turning into a droplet of purple liquid that quickly extended into a spear. The world trembled upon the birth of the spear. Specters began to fade into existence as death qi rose up from the ground, as if reaching for the spear. Every plant, insect, and animal life in the radius of 100 miles withered up and died, their life drained as tribute for the spear.

Pointing a finger at Qin Hua, Long shouted “Exterminate.” The spear screamed through the air. Long’s body withered and exploded, turning into a mist of gore that was quickly devoured by the mist wraiths.

Shan, jolted into action, screaming in rage and fury.

Qin Hua waved her hand, summoning massive walls of grey mist, but nothing worked. The spear pierced through all her techniques, ramming through her body.

Shan roared in fury as the spear turned and shot towards him. Swallowing a pill, Shan’s body began to change as sharp scales pierced out from his skin. Horns, a tail, and wings sprouted from his body as he rushed on to meet the spear. The aura of a dragon formed around him as he charged.

He collided with the spear in a flash of pure energy, turning the ground into a mess of molten plasma. His arm was immediately shredded into a pulp of scales and bone.

The spear pierced into his chest and pushed him backwards. His scales split and his blood sprayed out like a fountain as he struggled against the power of the spear. With his other arm, he grabbed the spear and wrenched it out, crushing it.

The spear burst into a million droplets that dissipated in the air.

His body couldn’t even be called a body anymore. His mangled limps dripped with blood, white bones could be seen from underneath his shattered scales. A thick death qi the blotted out the sky spewed forth from his body, but he didn’t falter. Panting, he flew over towards where Qin Hua fell.

Her body was floating just above the ground, turning translucent. Landing, next to her, Shan grabbed her hand. A mixture of tears and blood ran down his face as he caressed her.

“We’ve done it; we can finally be together. I can get a body for you and we can finally… we can… we can.” He howled in desolation as her body disappeared into a flash of scintillating lights.

What remained was a single round pill! Qin Hua was not a cultivator, nor was she even human, but rather a pill! She was a pill that gained sentience through perfection, a miraculous pill that entire sects would perish to obtain. A pill that was met with greed at every turn. Everyone desired the pill for their own benefit, everyone but Shan Guan.

Tears streamed down Lily’s face as her true memories returned.

Shan Guan stood up, caressing the rapidly collapsing pill.

“I’m sorry for doing this,” he said as he bowed in the four cardinal direction. “But I have to borrow your powers, oh great spirits.”

“Karmic Ties: Heavenly Rebirth!” A boundless life force erupted from his body, pushing back the death qi. The earth trembled in fear and the heavens rumbled in protest.

Tribulation clouds gathered as specters emerged from the ground, screaming. However, he ignored everything. He ignored the shaking of the earth. He ignored the specters that clawed his flesh to ribbons. He ignored the lightning bolts that shattered his scales and burnt his flesh. The only thing that mattered to him was the small pill in front of him.

A lightning bolt struck his arm down, shattering it in a spray of blood, flesh, and scales. A specter ripped out one of his eyes, dragging it in a bloody circle around his head. Yet he still stood. He stood defiant against the heavens, defiant against death.

At last his life force dried up and he collapsed as a dry husk. However, the pill floated in the air, humming with power. A single crack appeared on the pill and multiplied into a thousand. The pill’s outer layer burst apart, revealing a perfect seed! The seed toppled, falling onto Shan’s corpse.

The vision grew blurry then faded.

*

As Lily, no, Qin Hua came to, she found herself bound up in front of Tai Maan.

“So now you know,” he said. “You did this, YOU DROVE MY BROTHER MAD. YOU KILLED HIM,” spittle flew from his mouth as slammed his palm into her chest.

“My Dao is time and I severed my Dao to get to you. Separated from the vicissitudes of time, I lost my cultivation base, but I gained immortality. My earthly body died, turning into a specter, while my soul was born anew. Now I have to use these scrolls, I have nothing else.”

“The only thing that kept me alive was my hatred for you, and now I have you… Give me back his corpse, you are not worthy.”

She screamed as he pressed his palm against her chest. She could feel her conscious slipping as his hand seemed to pass straight through.

“That’s enough Xiao Ge,” a voice said.

Tai Maan jerked backwards, but it was too late, a crossbow bolt slammed into his eye, killing him instantly.

Qin Hua collapsed onto the ground coughing. Looking up, she saw a blurry silhouette of a man shrouded in a rainbow aura. The man picked her up.

“We have to leave, the current Lord of this mountain will have sensed my aura. I don’t think we’ll be strong enough to kill him this time.”

As her vision cleared, the saw the man who was carrying her. It was Snake!

“Snake, How?”

“I’m not Snake. After I died that day, I was sent to yellow springs of death, but I escaped. I ran and hid my soul in the body of a mortal… the mortal eventually died, so I just repeated it. This man, your Snake, is just one host in the innumerable millions I’ve used while waiting for you to wake up.”

“My name is Shan Guan,”

“No, put me down, not like this” she said.

“What? The Lord is coming, we can’t…” he stopped as she caressed his cheek.

“I regained my memories, I know everything that happened. I can’t, no, won’t allow it to happen again. I won’t allow you to sacrifice yourself for me anymore.”

“Shh, shh,” she pressed her finger against his lips before leaning up and kissing him. “He’s here.”

The sky parted as a man descended from the sky. No fanfare accompanied his descent, but his expression portrayed extreme confidence. If he commanded a mountain to collapse, it would collapse. If he commanded the air to turn to water it would. He was a man of absolute power.

“So, you’re the legendary Shan Guan, junior has heard much about you.” He cupped his hands and bowed. “Junior Li pays respect.”

“It wasn’t easy finding you. There’s been what, four generations of Lords for this mountain? None of them managed to catch you in the millions of years you’ve been running, but here you are.”

“What makes you so confident that you can escape now if you couldn’t escape then?” his eyes turned hard as a spear of heavenly lightning decided from the skies. He grabbed the spear “Today is the day you die.”

Shan growled as he concentrated his aura around his first.

“No,” Qin Hua gently pushed his fist down. Gently jumping down from his arms, she bowed to Li. “Esteemed Lord, may I propose something? I can fix the problem: I can stop the spread of specters and loss of souls. But in return, you have to let Shan go and unseal immortality.”

Li scoffed, “How can you possibly do that? In saving you, Shan severely hurt four of the true spirits and caused them to go into hiding. How can you…”

Qin Hua sunk her hands into her chest and pulled apart. No blood came out, rather, she revealed an empty cavity where her heart was supposed to be. In the place of her heart rested a single seed.

Boundless life force shot out. Plants began to grow around her, coiling around her body. “There is nothing I can’t do right now. I could kill you, but that would just perpetuate the cycle of running and hiding.”

“I will become the anchor for the souls, I will be the one to guide the souls into the next life. In return, you accept my demands.”

“No, you can’t,” Shan said, desperation in his eyes. “I can’t lose you.”

She turned to him and hugged him. “Do you know what hurts the most? Seeing you suffer for my sake. Seeing you run and hide like a criminal.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll still be with you.” Enjoying one last moment in his embrace, she turned and looked at Li, who nodded.

She flew up into the air and faced the immortal deathland’s. “I’m sorry, but I have to take back what I’ve given.”

Raising her hand, she made a grasping motion. Massive amounts of life force began to flow from the deathlands. The plants withered and dried, turning into dust. The soil became parched and cracked, turning into sand. Soon the entire deathlands had turned into a barren desert! An eternal desert where many strange cultivators would gather, drawn to its harsh environment.

As the life force returned to her, her body disappeared, sucked into the seed. A single resplendent flower bloomed, a white lily. Shan watched mutely, tears streaming from his eyes.

As the flower grew, the will of the heaven’s and the earth seemed to fuse into it.

However, everything went wrong. A purple mist began to flow out from the base of the flower as the flower began to wither.

“What? So you lied… It matters not, both of you shall die here.” Li threw the spear. It pierced through smoke, splitting the lily in half.

Shan roared in rage as he charged towards Li. “You fool! That wasn’t her.”

Li’s eyes widened in astonishment as Shan punched him.

“Thank you,” a silky voice said. A purple skull formed from the skull. “Ke-ha-ha-ha, you foolish human, you just delivered to me my ascension and your death.”

Shan glared at Li before turning towards the skull. Raising his hand, he summoned a giant illusory multi-colored dragon! However, the dragon was only illusory, as if it wasn’t completely in this world.

The dragon charged towards the lily. The skull rushed to meet while laughing. However, the dragon passed through the skull without touching it. The dragon entered the rapidly dying lily.

Shan’s body fell from the sky as his faint voice rang out “You think you could leave this world without me? I have given you my life force. If you die, I will go with you.”

The skull stared in shock as the lily began to glow with power again. “No, I’ve been enslaved by you for too long, I won’t go back, I won’t I won’t I won’t I won’t.” the skull screamed as it was sucked back into the lily.

Li stared in shock as the lily began to grow again. Most shockingly, the previously white lily was now rainbow colored! Its petals swayed in the air as an aura of life and death rushed out. The lily could control life, it could control death, it controlled reincarnation!

Enlightenment dawned on Li’s face. “I have grievously mistaken your character. I will take this to heart and keep up my end of the bargain.”

Shan’s voice rang out, growing weaker every second. “I have one final request, give this to Snake,” a golden brush appeared in front of Li. “He’s served me well as a host. Also, tell him he can take my old name since he has none of his own: Dongliu.”

The brush descended and fell in Donglui’s hands. “I’m sorry, I was the one that prevented you from cultivating, let this make it up.”

Donglui’s cultivation rocketed upwards, entering realms impossible to achieve by normal means.

Dongliu gazed bitterly at Li. “This isn’t what I wanted. You’ve taken from me what I’ve wanted most, for that, you’ve made yourself an enemy.”

Waving his brush, Dongliu created a giant tree. Stepping onto the tree, he gazed at the lily one last time, etching it into his memory.

Qin Hua’s voice reached him “I’m sorry, but I can’t accompany you. I can only leave you today. May you find your own Dao, unfettered by the chains of the past.”

Bowing, Dongliu teleported away.

Li watched evenly before turning to leave. As he left, he threw a purple orb at the immortal’s deathlands. “This should be a suitable place to dispose of such a dangerous item.” The purple orb was precisely the remnants of the purple spear Lord Long created.

The orb landed on the sand before seeping in, becoming dormant.

As Li left, everything became still. Two auras danced around the lily before fusing together to become one.

“We can finally be together,” a voice seemed to say. Finally, it was over.