If you look at The Celestial Mountains for the first time you will find the name too exaggerating. No matter how you look at the mountains they seemed normal and they didn't deserve the hype they got. Sure their were strong magical beasts in it but it was nowhere near enough to name the Mountains as Celestial otherwise most of the mountain range in the Planet Saffron would be named as such.
Originally the mountains had no name but it all changed ten thousand years ago. One day a great Castle appeared out of nowhere in the mountains. The Castle was enormous in size and a red mist surrounded it. As soon as someone touched the mist they turned into meat paste so no one was able to find much about the Castle. If that was it then the people wouldn't be surprised as immortal mansions existed which had similar traps and protection layer to keep unwanted guests out.
The inhabitants of the Planet Saffron named the mountains Celestial as after every century from the appearance of castle, their would be magical weapons and treasures distributed throughout the mountain chain. The treasures were powerful and unique but the strange part was that they would only appear once in a century. Many cultivators who had made name for themselves owed their success to the treasures they managed to get from the Celestial Mountains.
Every century countless cultivators would arrive in the Celestial Mountains to try their luck. Even the geniuses from powerful Sects and royal families would participate. The allure of the artefacts was too strong to resist even for the rich and strong.
No matter how strong you are there is always someone stronger than you. The appearance of the magical treasures meant that their was a chance to get even more stronger. The more stronger you are the better control you have over your own destiny.
Powerful cultivators have tried to break into the castle but all of them have failed no matter how hard they tried. The red mist spared no one. No one knew about the origins of the castle but it was obvious to all that it was responsible for the sudden outburst of treasures in the mountains. Sadly the red mist protecting the castle was so strong that even the Immortals were helpless against it even though the mist didn't killed them.
Today around ten thousands of cultivators have reached the Celestial Mountains as tomorrow was the fated day when the magical treasures would appear again. The process has been repeated from last ten thousands years and yet every century there would be new treasures waiting to be found. The joke between Cultivators was that the castle was owned by a woman who liked her home clean and the treasures in the mountains were the waste materials the woman would throw away to clean her house.
Countless tents could be seen with people meditating and preparing themselves for the journey tomorrow. While treasures appeared every century they were scarce in quantity. There would be around fourty to fifty magical treasures at the maximum.
Ten Thousand cultivators but not even fifty treasures. Obviously it lead to slaughter.
Countless lives would be lost and the cultivators feared for their safety but they couldn't just give up. The risk was high but so was the temptation of power. Nothing comes for free and they knew it.
The sunlight broke the mist of night as the cultivators left their tent and started searching for the treasures. The first ray of sunlight signified that the treasures were out.
Most of the cultivators weren't searching for the treasures. Thousands of them in fact were outside the Celestial Mountains. They were waiting for others to find the treasures so that they can steal from them. Searching treasures in such a big mountain range is an annoying task and not to mention the energy they would have to waste for the search.
The cultivators searching for the treasures were on their guards. All of them have their life saving treasures ready. Life saving treasures were costly but cost is hardly important when the survival is at stake. Sadly teleportation scrolls couldn't used as the representatives of the Kingdoms have placed restrictions outside the Mountains so that teleportation won't work. The representatives of the Kingdoms didn't stealed anything from the cultivators due to The Pact between Kingdoms but they would actually collect the data on the types of treasures which appeared. Everyone would have their dimensional storage bags checked.
In less than an hour the slaughter started. Countless people ganging up on those who managed to find treasures. The earth trembled and sound of boom echoed throughout the land. Man magical beasts died as well as they were nearby when the battles took place. The stronger magical beasts would hide themselves for they knew the details of treasure hunt.
It was after an hour that all the cultivators stopped in the middle of their battles as they noticed a red beam in air which has a diameter of fifty metres. If that was it then they wouldn't have stopped. The thing which shocked them was that the red beam originated from the middle of Celestial Mountains and the aura of red beam was terrifying. There was only one place which could cause such a phenomenon: The Castle!
Could the seal of castle be broken? Or is someone trying to break it? This was the thought which stuck the mind of everyone. From the time the Celestial Mountains were named as Celestial, such a thing has never happened.
Most of the people run away towards the location of castle. Sure they could get treasures from the mountains but they were limited. Perhaps the treasures in the castle were the real deal! Even those who managed to get treasures from mountains also ran towards the castle in order to gain more. Only few were sensible enough who find the red beam as some sort of signal for the upcoming danger. They halted their search and left the mountains.
The red mist surrounding the Castle was nowhere to be seen as if it never existed in the first place. The main gate was open as if inviting guests for a warm welcome.
Could the people who broke the seal already entered the Castle? Then why didn't they locked the door? Weren't they afraid others would join them? These were the questions running in the mind of those who reached the outside of castle just yet. Soon most of them entered the Castle. Few who were too cautious waited outside in the hopes of stealing treasures from others.
The Castle was big and inside there were many corridors leading to many rooms. Soon all the corridors were filled with people as they tried to outdid the others. Very soon the smell of blood reeked the air as many died due to the hidden traps. Some were killed by their friends after they acquired treasures.
All types of treasures were available: Immortal pills, cores of strong beasts, rare herbs, immortal weapons, etc. The only types of treasures available in the mountains were magical weapons but in the castle there was diversity which lead to greed and which in turn lead to slaughter. The tiles were absorbing blood from the dead as if desert sand absorbing water.
The most powerful of all was a group of twenty or so cultivators. They had formed a temporary alliance as exploring such a mysterious place was bound to be not easy. Some of them were experts in formations while others were responsible in close combat battles. Many of them had powerful connections. Six of them were in fact guards! Out of the rest four were nameless cultivators but with strong powers. The remaining ten had both strong powers and strong influence thanks to their families and sects.
The strongest of them was an old looking man who had wrinkles all over his face and his face. He was the Patriach of Heaven's Way! Heaven's Way was a "S" rank Sect which signified that even the rulers of Kingdoms didn't have the power to order them around.
"Patriach. Even though we found so many immortal pills and magical treasures, I have a feeling that the most powerful treasures are yet to be found!" said a young cultivator following the old aged man. He was a core discipline of the Heaven's Way and the Sect believed that he has the best chance of reaching Spirit Divinity stage! Spirit Divinity was the most powerful stage a cultivator can achieve before Immortal Ascension!
Spirit Foundation, Spirit Seeding, Spirit Gathering, Spirit Divinity and finally Immortal Ascension!
The stages after Immortal Ascension were known only by the Immortals!
If you had even little talent you can reach Spirit Foundation stage provided you have resources. Spirit Seeding was difficult to achieve unless you have very good talent and high resources. Spirit Gathering required talent, resources and enlightenment! Spirit Divinity needed all of them along with the formation of "Divinity" from enlightenment!
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Spirit Gathering and Spirit Divinity were very hard to reach stage. In one million not even hundred would reach Spirit Gathering stage!
The Patriach of Heaven's Way at the Spirit Divinity Stage. Anyone having the backing of a cultivator from such a powerful stage was feared by all including the royal families. Sure the royal families have Spirit Divinity stage cultivators as their protectors but having the enemy of such a stage was no good news.
The other important individual in the group was a blonde female who was in her early thirties. Her looks were impressive and so was the power she owned. Her name is Mary Elenor and her mother was the leader of Elenor family. The leader of Elenor family has achieved Spirit Divinity stage two hundred years ago! She doted on her daughter very much and so she sent two guards to protect her. The guards were on Spirit Gathering stage! It was a stage before the Spirit Divinity stage! The cultivators of Spirit Gathering stage can never be underestimated!
Other individuals were powerful as well and has strong backing. Most of them were of Soul Gathering stage! Mary Elenor was of Spirit Seeding stage so she wasn't strong herself but she had two strong protectors.
"Something is strange. We were able to acquire so many treasures without much effort." said the Patriach of Heaven's Way.
"Now that you mention it...we did suffered some minor casualties but I was expecting life threatening dangers seeing we are in a castle full of treasures." said one of the protector of Mary Elenor.
"Could this be a trap?" asked the young cultivator from Heaven's Way.
"Why would someone trap us? Sure we are powerful but I doubt someone who could produce such treasures and throw them away like garbage would find us as of any use."
"Hmm...let's see. We should never let our guards down."
Soon the group reached the outside of what looked like the entrance of a tombe. The entrance had powerful restrictions but after few hours of hard work the group was able to enter.
It was a big room whose walls were full of strange paintings: One painting has a Giant floating above the corposes of hundred Giants. Another painting had a mosquito like creature fighting dozen Celestial Immortals! Another one had a young girl with single eye destroying an entire galaxy with the flicker of her finger! There were more than thousands of such paintings! The only similarity they carried was that Giant, mosquito like creature, the young girl and other individuals in the remaining paintings had a blood like crystal in their body! In some the crystal was short and in some big but the crystal looked exactly same. The group could feel a powerful presence from the blood like crystal.
The group started checking out the room when they noticed a coffin in the middle of room. The coffin had strange runes on it and it had extraordinary presence.
"Tomb of an Immortal!" Everyone shouted at the same time. They were excited beyond belief for they knew that the tombs of Immortal have their legacies. Legacy! A legacy of an Immortal means top notch battle skills! Unique Divine Abilities! Battle skills which could make them rival Gods! Most importantly legacy of Immortals carry all the knowledge they gained during their lifetime! Sure the legacy holder couldn't access the full knowledge but still even 1% of knowledge from an Immortal was a priceless treasure!
"Fellow Practitioners, please allow me to take the legacy of the Immortal. My Elenor family would compensate you." requested Mary Elenor.
"Bullsh*t! F*ck your family, Mary Elenor." cried a male who was tall and well built.
"How dare you! Ryun Han, you think an idiot like you who has no brain is suitable for the legacy of Immortal?! I was the one who found the tomb first so I deserve the legacy! I even offered you compensation from my family!"
"You...!"
"Silence. The Celestial Mountains is a part of Sakura Kingdom. As a descendant of royal family, I, Marinos Augustine, has the sole right to the legacy." said a middle aged man whose very presence was shocking. He was at peak stage of Spirit Gathering stage.
"F*ck your royal family, Marinos Augustine. The world is a free place and no one owns these mountains. Have you forgotten the pact Five Kingdoms made? Let me remind you seeing you don't remember it. The pact said that no Kingdom owned the Celestial Mountains even though the practitioners who want to visit the Mountains would have to pay a sum of ten mid quality spirit stones as a compensation to your kingdom." chided a youth from another kingdom. The youth had two guards supporting him so he wasn't afraid of others but still he was on his guards.
Similar conversation erupted and they didn't dared to start a battle with each other as someone else might rip the benefits! They didn't wanted to use their strength and be at mercy of others. Their weapons and life saving treasures were ready but no one dared to attack. A single moment of carelessness would lead to their demise!
Even Patriach of Heaven's Way didn't dared to attack even though for him others were just insects. He was afraid that they had life saving treasures forged by practitioners of his own level. Not to mention the life beads would be shattered the moment he killed them and thus alerting the powerful forces behind the cultivators. Life beads have energy of soul and when the cultivator who has binded his soul with it died, the life bead would be shattered. The life bead would record the aura of the killer! This was the reason why cultivators didn't dare to kill people with influence as they would risk the wrath of their families or sects. The Patriach wasn't afraid of his own safety. He was confident he could hide himself but then his sect would be destroyed by the enemies so he didn't dare to kill unless he has no choice. Plus he believed that there might be others waiting outside of the tomb who might have hidden their presence and possibly of same level as him.
It was at this moment that the runes on the coffin started glowing red. The glow was similar to the red beam of light they saw in the air before coming to the castle A rumbling sound erupted from the coffin and soon it was open. Strange white gases erupted from it and soon a youth emerged. The youth was without a shred of clothes and his looks dictated that he was in his early twenties. He has bright blue eyes and black hairs which reached his shoulder. He wasn't the most handsome looking male out there but his looks were above average.
The most striking feature the group noticed from the youth was a blood red crystal pierced in the middle of his chest. The crystal looked exactly the same as the one they saw in the paintings! The crystal was the size of fist and from it originated blood red vines which spreaded throughout the chest of youth.
The group was shocked by the sudden turn of events. Patriach of Heaven's Way felt a grave sense of crisis after seeing the youth and he rushed towards the exit. He has lived for more than three thousand years and has experienced countless life crisis... He knew for sure that the youth who emerged from the coffin was a God of Death! Sadly for him the exit suddenly closed and he realized with horror that he wasn't able to use any of his divine abilities! It was as if he has turned into an ordinary mortal!
The youth who just emerged from the coffin looked at the old man and his companions.
"I have awakened." There was joy in his voice but his eyes were sad. There was happiness in his heart for he could finally live the life he wanted but there was sadness as well for he knew the price he would have to pay.
Everything has a price and the payment for his ability to stay awaken was the sacrifice of thousands. The price was too high but such was life. Weak paid the price by being at the mercy of strong.
If he was his past self then he would have preferred to die than kill thousands for his life.
Good and evil interchange with the change of perception. Perception changes with the experience of life. Life changes with the passage of time.
The flow of time spares none.
"Evangelina, start the sacrifice."