The night was chilly, gloomy clouds covering the sky. It was the year 3160 AR in the Sunless Plane, when something like a black smoke glided through the hushed-trees of the Bats Forest at a blinding speed.
Once it reached the end of the forest, it transformed into a man dressed all in black, and gently alighted on a branch. With his left eye, he observed the chaotic, bloody plain that was far ahead.
Down there, on the ground, Faris Rahul opened his eyes, consciousness had returned. His ears buzzing and pain, as if waiting for him to wake up, it pierced through him. He winced.
Laughter echoing in the distance.
Have the dogs of the heavenly union arrived yet? He thought, the scent of blood and flames clogging his nostrils. Struggling to clear his throbbing mind and see what was the situation, Faris Rahul tried to get up.
But, his hands failed him. He couldn't even feel them. With great strain, he lifted his head to see.
His left hand was smashed to mash along with his lower body, they became like a dough of meat.
His brown right hand was still fine, though. It just was … two feet from him, clutching still his stick.
Shattered corpses were everywhere and the green grassy ground seemed dyed in blood, flaming with fire.
The horrific sight brought a slight grin to his old, bony face. The confusion went away.
Among the corpses stood many looters, rifling through the remains, searching for Keys with no requirements and other things. Their clothes were tattered and grimy, but they had something in common, the color red.
Their faces, painted with blood and twisted with savage grins, were clear even in the dark.
"The red-flames mercenary band." Faris Rahul murmured, letting head fall back again in exhaustion.
Even in the sky above, there were a few of them.
He thought of checking his Inner Domain, then swiftly dismissed the idea. Even if he still had all of his strength, which he clearly didn't, he knew that escaping from this place with this body was impossible. He didn't care, though. He had another plan.
Another plan with a better outcome.
The only reason he didn't kill me was because of the bounty on my head, he for sure has called the Heavenly Union, and is waiting for them.
Faris Rahul could pretty much imagine what would happen to him if the Heavenly Union caught him this time. He had been in the Infernal Pit Prison once and he knew the kind of torture served there. He had experienced them himself. For 300 years.
But even in the face of such trouble, Faris Rahul found himself smiling. He had expected this would happen before the fight even started and had prepared for it.
Faris Rahul sighed and looked up toward the night sky, his mind calmly thinking, But What if the plan didn't work? What if the Six-lines White Ring Ka isn't on anybody?
That would certainly be the end of him. But why? Why was there a small part of him—the exhausted part that just wanted some damn rest—wanted so badly for the Ba Switch Yantra to not work?
Understandably so.
Since reaching rank 4, Faris Rahul had never had a day of rest. As a wanted terrorist, he'd immediately joined a mercenary band temporarily to protect himself from the Union's Immortals, and to learn more about the Celestial Heaven.
Everything was going well until the heavenly union attacked the mercenary band, and he was sent to the Infernal Pit Prison.
He managed to flee when that incident in the prison happened. But the trackers implanted in the prisoners' Borned Kas and Bas and bodies still allowed them to pursue him relentlessly, giving him no time to rest or to strengthen his abilities.
Not only had he been pursued by the heavenly union, but also by mercenary bands and bounty hunters. The cultivation resources were scarce, and his bounty was extremely high— for he had broken the ultimate, unspeakable rule of all immortals, but most importantly because he had gotten his hand on something the union wanted so desperately— so he had been hunted from all directions.
A faint smile then touched his lips, revealing broken and reddened teeth.
I just need some rest, that's all. And if the Ba Switch Yantra worked, I'd finally be free from the tracker on my body. I really hope the Six-lines White Ring Ka does exist and is attached to a body… definitely not a non-wielder's bod—
At that moment, Faris Rahul noticed movement beside him. Turning his head with effort, he saw a man full of wounds, covered in blood digging his way up through the pile of dead corpses.
He was panting hard like a dog.
Faris Rahul recognized him - he was the captain of the iron fang mercenary band. Not long ago, when the heavenly union had been closing in on him, Faris Rahul had joined this band as a kind of shield.
They hadn't known his true identity, of course - His bounty was too big. If they'd known, they'd have turned him in immediately rather than accepting him as one of their own.
The captain gasped for breath as he finally emerged from the gruesome mound, his eyes locking onto Faris Rahul's.
His expression transformed from pain to hatred. He had realized who was responsible for this massacre.
"You," he rasped, spittle flying from his bloodied lips. "You're the demon shepherd?"
Faris Rahul's mask he'd been wearing had shattered.
"That would be me," Faris Rahul said, his head dropping back down.
Anger flared in the captain's voice. "You dare to admit it?" he roared.
"What can you do about it?"
"You're dead.. You're d—" he gasped for breath. "You're fucking dead, you hear me?"
"I don't think you can," replied Faris Rahul, his voice calm but tremulous, the voice of an old man with over 600 years. "Why do you think they are still here?"
The captain glared around him before fixing his gaze back on Faris Rahul. "I don't give a damn," he spat and then tapped his index finger. In an instant, countless massive swords appeared from nowhere, charging towards Faris Rahul with terrifying speed.
Faris Rahul remained calm, confident that they wouldn't allow him to die. Then, as if in response to his thoughts, a powerful inferno flared up before him, easily diverting the swords. The flames disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Faris Rahul's face scorched.
Ignoring the stinging pain, Faris Rahul looked to the side.
A man with a fancy western black suit and red tie approached, followed by all who were there and their noises.
"Here you are, and I thought you'd never show up…you're still not angry at me, are you?" Faris Rahul asked, scoffing.
It was Warren Frye, or as Faris Rahul liked to call him, 'Two Faces' due to the scar that divided his face into two. It's the captain of the red-flames mercenary band. One of the most notorious bands in the world. Everyone knew about them. And everybody feared them.
Warren Frye glared down at him without a word, then turned towards the other band's captain. He tapped a finger, and four threads of fire formed in the air. The threads met each other, turning into a fire serpent before swiftly charging for the Iron Fang Mercenary's captain.
The iron fang mercenary's captain, too exhausted to avoid it, screamed something, and a semi-transparent black layer covered his whole body. The fire serpent crashed into him with a hissing crunch. And it crushed him completely.
There was no way he could have blocked that. He was just a High Lord—Rank 4—who could barely stand, while Warren Frye had been a Rank 3 for a long time.
In the spot where the dead captain had been standing, the air seemed to tremble for a moment. Then a Key formed. It looked like a sword in shape, silver in color, and was about the size of a man's hand.
Some of the red-flamed mercenary looters strode towards the fallen captain, rifling through the remnants of his body.
Faris Rahul turned back at the two faces standing beside him, his thoughts racing. This is the moment, he thought. I may never get another chance like this again.
He knew if the heavenly union's immortals arrived, it would be too late.
The first part of his plan was simple — he had to die, his body had to die. It was the only way he could escape and avoid being chased by everyone after he escaped.
If he failed to die, they would continue to chase him relentlessly. That's if he managed to escape the heavenly union again. Which was… impossible. There's no escape this time.
But the last part was the problem though as he had no control over it. If the Ka wasn't on anybody, which was the other part, he'd be doomed.
All I can do is to make sure that I would die after activating the Switch Ba Yantra. If the Ka isn't on anybody that meets the requirements. Faris Rahul thought. That would be a shame.
He'd done his best. Living as free as he could in this damn prison.
This meaningless prison.
Faris Rahul took a deep breath and said, his voice raised so that everyone could hear, "I've never imagined you to be this soft, two-faces. It's just… a woman and three children. What's the big deal?" He said with a provoking smile.
The aura around Warren Frye instantly grew hot, his face distorted with anger. The surrounding noise of his crew went silent.
Faris Rahul smiled at that. Who would've thought that this notorious demonic cultivator loved his family so much that, the moment Faris Rahul mentioned them, his veins bulged out of his face?
"They weren't even Immortal?" Faris Rahul added. "Why are you—"
"You better shut your ugly mouth now, old man," Warren Frye finally said, his voice heavy. "I'm barely holding myself back from smashing your head."
And that's exactly what I want. Faris Rahul thought with relief. It was no big secret why Warren Frye had been after him all these years. It wasn't just for the bounty; Faris Rahul had killed his wife and his two daughters.
Faris Rahul didn't really recall how or why he'd done it. It'd happened a long time ago, when his cultivation was still in the middle realm. Back then, he'd been completely out of control.
He could only imagine the horrific things he'd done and how many innocent he'd killed during that time just… to amuse himself. He didn't regret it though. Nope.
If there's one, it would be that he'd been a dumbass back then. With no clue what this world really means, with no purpose. But now he knew. Now he had a purpose. And that had only turned him into a… even more demonic.
"Aren't you overreacting a little bit? I mean, come on now, for such useless things that you can have anytime! Seriously, you're better than this."
The two faces took a deep breath as if trying to calm the volcano erupting inside. "This is the last time I'm warning you. Cut out the childish games or you won't like what I'm going to do," he warned, approaching. His body was massive.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Well, that's good. That went smoother than Faris Rahul had expected.
"Don't fall for his trick, redhead." But then a female voice interrupted and the two faces froze. "What do you mean, Mae?" He asked, turning his head to the side.
Faris Rahul also turned to see the bitch who messed up everything. Not too far away, a skinny young woman with black lips was sitting on some corpse's face.
'Those headphones and those leather clothing. She must be that Key Hacker, Mae Zaytseva.' Faris Rahul recognized her. Who wouldn't? This chick possessed one of the Ten Mysterious Yantras in the world. She's pretty famous. 'When the hell did she join the red-flames mercenary band?' Couldn't help but wonder.
"He's trying to piss you off," Mae said, painting her nails with black dye and bobbing her head to the music.
"He wanted to die?" The two faces asked, looking unsure.
"He sure as hell does."
The two faces kept staring at her, waiting for her to explain.
Mae stuffed her dye into her purse and got up with a loud sigh. "I think he's scared to death of the thought that he'll be going back to the Infernal Pit Prison. You've heard the rumors? We all have. The horrible stuff they do to people there. Oh my, who the hell wants to end up in that pit?" She turned to Faris Rahul, smirking. "Am I right, shepherd demon?"
Faris Rahul shook his head. "Far from it"
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
Faris Rahul sighed. "Why do you think my bounty is on par with that of Rank 2 Immortals? Why do you think those modernists fuckers spending this much resources chasing me down, me, of all people?"
The two faces squinted as though those very questions had been swirling in his mind.
Mae didn't seem curious though, still bobbing her head. "You broke the unspoken rule and went for mortals?"
Faris Rahul snorted. "Bullshit. How many have broken the rule and how many have the same bounty as mine?"
"So, what's the deal then?" Mae asked.
"Because I got something the Heavenly Union wanted so bad," Faris Rahul explained. "Something that those modernists would follow me to the end of the world for. The moment they capture me, they'll seize my Ba to search for it. The thing is, I'm dead, I'm dead. Whether here or there, there is no different."
Faris Rahul then shifted his attention towards the two faces. "I just want to understand why this friend of yours is acting like a little girl. Seriously, it wasn't personal. I didn't even know who they were back then. Do you want to know what happened that day?"
There was silence.
"I think you need to know this so you can move on." said Faris Rahul while laughing inside. Sure, he didn't recall what had happened to them, but...why not make up a story.
Faris Rahul had already done just that.
"That day, I was so exhausted from the Heavenly Union's chase that I went to the Second Heaven to rest. I think it was the sunless plane. I stepped into a village, slept for three days, and when I woke up, I…I don't really remember what led to it, but I started killing everyone there." Faris Rahul said, closing his eyes, pretending to enjoy the memories.
'Alright, here we go.' Faris Rahul thought to himself. The Yantra had already been crafted. He only needed to activate it before the two faces killed him. He had to be ready or he'd be gone for good.
"While I was doing that, I noticed a woman with white hair, running in the chaos. She was a bit beautiful— nothing special. But something in me moved. It wasn't my heart, obviously," Faris Rahul smiled. "It was my snake.
"You know, before that moment, for a long time, and after that day to be honest, my snake was in a state of, I don't know. Death? If it wasn't that I needed it for peeing, I would have removed him without a second thought.
"But when he saw that woman, he woke up at once, as if he came back to life. So I followed her to a house and I cornered her. I'm not…that kind of person who takes things by force, you know. I gave her options. You submit to my snake or you die. Simple as that. But she started to stutter nonsense about the red-flames mercenary band. Trust me I didn't know that she was your wife so I sl—"
Without warning, with a thump, something heavy slammed onto the side of his head. A pounding throb erupted in his temple. He could barely hear anything. The scent of grass mixed with blood filled him as he struggled to breathe.
His heart began pounding hard as excitement surged through him. 'It's working! I need to...'
Turning his gaze sideways, his right eye saw no one. No one was there. Where they—
Before he could conclude anything, a sea of extremely burning fire enveloped him.
Faris Rahul started laughing like crazy in happiness and pain, waiting just for the right moment so he could activate the Switch Ba Yantra.
From a distance, Warren Frye and his followers stood, silently watching as a river of blaze engulfed Faris Rahul. Their faces eerily illuminated by the flames that reached skyward.
A sense of unease washed over them. The creepy laughter of Faris Rahul held no trace of sorrow or guilt, only joy, as though Faris Rahul were enjoying it.
"What's he so happy about? Death?" one muttered.
The laughter lasted only for moments before it stopped.
With no hesitation, Warren Frye spun around to face his crew. "Time to go. The heavenly union will be here any second," he said coldly. "I really tried my best. Sending him to the Infernal Pit prison and taking that big bounty on his head didn't seem like a bad idea but tha—."
At that very moment, something shocking happened. Everyone exchanged looks of pure confusion. What the hell was that?
Warren Frye's eyes widened in shock and he sharply turned around.
The scream had come back. But this time, it was filled with desperation and suffering. That wasn't what surprised everyone though. It was what Faris Rahul was screaming in his pain: "Mama, mama, helpme, mama, mama," in a childlike manner.
The place went silent for a moment, then everyone lost it. The shepherd! The famous demonic shepherd who had been causing the Heavenly Union all sorts of problems was… was crying for his mama! It was a sight none of them had ever imagined seeing.
"Damn, turns out the demonic shepherd was mama's little baby all this time," Mae joked as laughter filled the air.
"He tried to act tough until the end, haha, but it seems he couldn't," another said.
“I can’t wait to post this video,” another said while filming the whole thing with his mobile phone. “It’s going to go viral.”
Warren Frye's lips curled into a satisfied smile. He might have missed out that bounty. But he certainly boosted the band's reputation.
The screaming stopped.
----------------------------------------
In the meantime, in the blue sky of the Eastern Plane in the Second Heaven, an Immortal was flying at a blinding speed. He was full of gashes and cuts and his dark blue Yukata was covered in blood.
The man was constantly looking over his shoulders, panting hard and fast. You could see on his face that he had just escaped one hell of a battle.
"I can't keep going like this," he thought and stopped mid-air. "I need to find a safe place for him."
His gaze shifted down to the baby in his arms. The baby, about a year or so old, stared back at him, frowning like he's thinking deeply about something.
There was a white ring hanging around his neck.
The man smiled then turned his attention to his surroundings, scanning and searching for something. He hovered there for some time before heading left.
After a while, he arrived at his destination. He landed in front of the door of a dwelling—an ornate yet rustic mansion built from timber and stone and located inside a frosted mountain.
The man was beyond exhausted. His face was so pale from blood loss that he looked like a vampire. Yet he knew he had to fake some strength in front of these people.
He took a deep breath and put on an intimidating face.
And as if sensing something wasn't right, the door swung open, and a short-bearded man showed up. He eyed him with suspicion. "Who are you?" he asked, his hand making a sealing.
The Immortal didn't say a word. He instead released a bit of his Force. The mortal's eyes widened, and he froze in sheer terror; he realized that he was in the presence of an immortal wielder.
A woman then came from inside at that moment, followed by two kids–one in her arms and the other crawling. The baby on the floor seemed to be the same age as the one in the immortal's hand. "Who is there?" she asked.
The immortal didn't waste anymore time. He moved past the bearded man, snatched up the younger child, and then returned to his place. It all happened too fast for the parents to react.
He then looked terrifyingly at the already terrified man and handed him his young master. "Take this one. It's your son now, you hear me?"
The bearded man looked like a statue, unable to respond out of fear.
"You hear me?" he repeated aloud, more threatening than asking.
The man nervously swallowed and started nodding his head up and down. "Without question,without question."
"You'll protect him as you would protect yourself, you hear me?"
The man shook his head once again, horrified.
The immortal then took an object out of his robes—the Pointed Jade Box Ka.
It looked exactly like its name. A Pointed Jade Box in purple.
The Immortal held it out and asked, "Do you know what Yantra this Ka belongs to? "
"T-t-the Black-Slowed Hold Yantra, a storage-type Yantra." the man stammered.
"Good. When the boy opens his dantian, give it to him." He handed it over to the terrified man and then took another object out . It was the Square Paper Ka. "What about this one?" He asked again.
"N-no, I don't know, elde–"
"You don't know! Well, let me tell you. It's called the Five Colored Leaf Yantra. When you affix it to somebody, even for just seconds, it will burn the very moment that body dies, no matter the distance between them." He paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on the man before him. "You understand what this means?"
"I-"
Before the man could speak, the Immortal continued in a threatening tone, "If this paper burns." The aura around him seemed to chill the air as he fixed the man with an intense gaze. "Trust me, I will come back and when I do, you will wish for the mercy of death."
Silence fell as he gave the man some moments to swallow the new reality. He turned his gaze toward the woman. Her eyes were round with horror, mouth moving without a word as if still trying to comprehend what was going on.
The immortal turned around and flew away, leaving the couple watching him in disbelief.
Only when he was no longer in sight did the woman start shouting and crying, "My child, give me back my child…"'
Sa Huiqing paid her no attention. He simply stared down at the child in his arms; he looked as if he was holding a bomb.
Faris Rahul, who had been watching the whole thing, looked at him with cold eyes, smiling.
The Eastern Plane…