Zhong An had been in secluded cultivation for the past eighty years. His old body struggled to stay together in a single piece. It took conscious effort to prevent his body from failing in old age. A complex ball of qi threads to puppeteer his once indomitable strength.

If his enemies knew he was dying so soon, or the conditions he now lived… Zhong An grit his teeth. Vultures and hyenas! All of them! Even his own kin and progeny would see him in a grave sooner than rise again.

He could see it in their eyes. They all had the same question in their minds, but none had the balls to speak it out loud. Pathetic mongrels all of them!

When will the old codger die already?

Seeing their scheming and taunt forces ready for battle at his death only drove him to struggle harder to break through to the Heavenly Sage realm! Could they at minimum have the propriety and shame to hide their leaking killing intent?

How many of his children would die? Would his Zhong clan survive this tumultuous time? Did they not see Zhong enemies gathering their strength and preparing to tear them apart? How could they all be so blind?!

Zhong An’s jaw creaked in anger. Those unfilial, undeserving wretches…

He coughed, chest burning from century old injuries. Blood leaked from his mouth. He had so little time but he was too close to give up. Five hundred years he purified his core, five hundred years he gathered strength and qi to breakthrough to the next major realm.

Every moment he cultivated only brought him closer. The only question was, did he have enough time to reach that imperceptible wall. Never a question of power, he knew, just time.

Zhong An began circulating his Pinnacle Immortal Core, the Liquid Flames was the signature of his rank and clan. Fire was their domain and the Liquid core was his ultimate strength till this day. He is the strongest, the very peak of the Liquid Realm!

Or at least he was…

Zhong An jumped in his spot, startled. He looked to the distance, his eyes piercing through the array formations and walls he had built to keep unwanted eyes out and aid his own scrying.

The very world's fabric shook as space was torn open thousands of miles away. The disturbance was so powerful he couldn’t even pinpoint it accurately. He sat there pale and terrified at what could cause such heaven defying phenomena.

Did a true monster descend to their plane? Records indicate that eons ago, a tentacled demon entered the lands through a tear in the fabric of the world. It took the coalition of every immortal and powerful being the world had to offer to bring its demise. Dragons, beasts, man, and everything imaginable stood before and almost faltered in the end.

Claws grabbed the edges of the tear, so massive it would fit on a mountain. The thing pulled and without great effort, it widened what could not have been possible. Then a snout appeared, glistening red scales, a maw filled with razor sharp teeth.

A dragon forced its way into the world, a missing leg could not lessen the sheer terror Zhong An suffered.

Then five more followed.

“We are doomed…” Zhong An whispered. One being from the void was enough to nearly end the world, but six… Six was a guaranteed execution. It was merely a formality. A question of when these beasts, clearly affiliated, decided to stop this farce.

Zhong An watched as these mythical creatures suddenly turned. Emotions crossed the beasts’ visages, if he was not so old and mentally strained, he would have thought it was fear. He forced himself to stand with a mighty struggle. Knees buckling and spine cracking and popping all the while.

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He stepped into flames and reappeared in the sky. With a wave of his hand, their ancient arrays activated and massive barriers that could survive the apocalypse sprung into being. All his elders and children appeared behind him.

“Father…? Is everything alright?” Asked his first born.

Zhong An ignored him. He dared not let his eyes roam when something was coming.

“...is the old man finally senile…” whispered his fifth son to his confidants.

His first son persisted. “Father?”

“Be quiet!” roared the First Elder Zhong Ping. He was the closest to his power, and the greatest perpetrator of this whole war for dominance. “You are too weak to see!”

Everyone shut their mouths after his declaration. Worry bubbling to the forefront.

Zhong An would kill that man the moment he surpassed the Pinnacle Immortal Realm. He could not let this situation happen again. A great purge would eliminate this evil air; primed for too much bloodshed.

If he needed to spawn young children, he would only need to get to work…

The first elder gasped.

“Oh heaven’s have mercy on your sinful child!” Zhong An prayed for the first time in his life. Black lightning crackled and scorched the very air, even he could feel the pressure of the Great Dao.

The dragon’s bowed, trembling before a shadow that descended. The static interference and pure unadulterated pressure the dragon’s exuded by merely existing made it hard to see the figure.

But it was human and held onto a mighty spear. All they could see was long hair that stretched three times their height and robes that fluttered in the air. The sleeping form caused ripples of power to pulse from their unconscious body.

Enough power for the dragons to struggle to keep their heads up.

The figure opened its eyes. Zhong An felt a rush of pure qi ravish all his senses. His eyes burned and meridians struggled not to collapse and make him a cripple. He was not worthy to lay eyes and see. He was…

Everything returned to normal. The dragons disappeared. The tear in reality vanished. There was no figure that heralded their doom. It was as if this was all a nasty nightmare from their mortal days. He looked back at the haggard form of Zhong Ping. His ruined eye twitching uncontrollably.

“Zhong Ping,” he started. The man looked at him, his only eye filled with terror. “There will be no Zhong clan to fight for if I don't reach the Heavenly Sage realm. There will be no Zhong clan if you do not join me soon.”

The man nodded. “I saved elixirs and pills for when I reach the furthest reaches of the Pinnacle Immortal realm. You will need them urgently.”

“Zong Ping!” His fifth son roared. “You dare renege on your Oath? Where is the virtue of the ancie-”

Zhong An smacked him. Even in his old and decrepit age, he still had enough power to ruin this pitiful and insolent child. Only his undying love for his late mother kept him from it. “Know your place.”

All the princes stared in shock. None had ever been reprimanded much less beaten or scolded harshly. For Zhong An to slap his most beloved child had them gulping in fear. Anyone of them could have been killed instead of a simple slap.

The fifth prince bit his lip. Tears could be seen in his eyes, but he did not cry. The idiot was at least a hundred and fifty years old and still acted like a baby. His blind followers quickly rushed to his side, pulling him away to his residence.

Zhong An harrumphed. “There will be martial law in place from today!” His voice echoed on the entire mountain. Every Zhong member heard him speak into their ears. “No one is to leave without explicit permission. No one is to contact the outside world. If you fall behind in cultivation… then you only have yourselves to blame for me being harsh.”

The princes all rushed away to their residences.

The elders gathered around The First Elder, seeking understanding. Their faces paled as he explained. A situation where The First Elder and the Patriarch came together at such a critical point in time meant the death of the Zhong clan was at stake in the very near future.

Zhong An nodded. The first elder rushed away to his mountain peak and gathered his most prized resources. Zhong An could only curse his luck. His insufferable cousin will live to see the far future… or whenever those monsters appear at their gates.