Chapter 01: Liu Yang

Liu Yang's vision gradually became blurred as streams of blood spurted from his head wound, staining his pale face.

The rain was incessant, as if ready to drown the small blue-green world, accompanied by the furious lightning that danced among the gray clouds as if it wanted to split them in two.

Liu Yang's mind was blank, with only fleeting thoughts flickering from time to time. Each step was twice the effort. To make matters worse, the blustery wind, accompanied by torrential downpours of water, pushed his footsteps to wander off into an unknown place.

One of his hands, replete with bruises, clenched his stomach, unable to contain the blood that gushed from the center of his fingers, falling and diluting in the water.

As if the torturous pain didn't matter to him, his blue eyes, even though his life hung in the balance, brimmed with determination, staring fixedly at a certain point ahead.

There, a snow-white fox was guiding him to an unknown destination. This white fox left no footprints, as if floating, or rather, running a few centimeters above the ground. The strangest thing was that the raindrops did not hit it, not even its non-existent shadow.

Every time the white fox moved away, it would stop on its paws, and its blue eyes—spring color, would fix on Liu Yang's pathetic figure, urging him to follow it. However, Liu Yang, who, thanks to his willpower could still stand his ground, paid no attention to anything else; perhaps, he didn't even care. He simply wanted to find a way to escape.

Then, all of a sudden...

'Why am I falling?'

Liu Yang didn't know when, but at that moment, he found himself falling toward the abyss. Once his feet were lost at the edge of the precipice, he closed his eyes tightly; perhaps, the white fox was not leading him to his salvation but to his doom.

As his life flashed before his eyes, the whistling wind continued to furiously whip his eardrums, as well as tousle his already messy dark hair.

However, what he expected never happened.

'Didn't I die? Or maybe I fell from such a high place that I didn't even feel pain when my body turned to a bloody pulp at the bottom of the abyss?'

'Wait, if I was dead, why could I think!'

With that in mind, both his eyes opened abruptly as his upper body unconsciously lifted so that he looked like someone waking up from a nightmare.

'Where am I? I remember I was falling after being chased by the . But more importantly...'

Liu Yang looked down and waved his arms back and forth without hinting at the pain. There was no pain and no trace of injury; his eyes scanned his body, and he was surprised that the mortal wound inflicted by a sword had disappeared, leaving only turned abs behind his tattered white robe.

"Was it a mere dream? No, it can't be. Did the gods take pity on me and grant me another chance?"

The wrenching pain that numbed even his soul was not something that could be faked in a mere dream.

Liu Yang let out a sigh, and now that he was in perfect condition, he had time to look around. He was in the middle of a beautiful greenish forest full of small, floating, glittering balls that exploded when they touched the surface of the green leaves. The scene before him reminded him of those beautiful paintings of a magical landscape.

"Looking at it realistically, maybe I did die...".

The surroundings were immaculate, away from the mundane; it was almost as if this fantastic landscape was part of a sacred realm, where anyone who entered was immersed in a purified spring, away from impurity.

He shook his head to stop thinking about it.

He did not know where, why, or how he had come to this place as if his previous injuries were mere illusions.

He let go of his curiosity and turned to the side, meeting a pair of blue eyes that startled him. If his butt weren't sitting lazily on the lush grass, he would have fallen over from fright.

—Kyu?

The animal, no, the white fox that had led him into the abyss, bowed its head prettily as it looked into Liu Yang's stunning eyes. Its fur was so white that it seemed to have a white halo surrounding its one-meter-long twenty centimeters tall body. In addition, a tattoo in the shape of a golden gem had been drawn on its forehead.

"You... who are you, and why did you bring me here?"

Liu Yang quickly regained control over himself and brought his hand towards the white fox. He was curious as it seemed to be that this fox was a . These beasts were only legends in their place of origin, so his surprise was justified.

However, far from feeling the texture of the white fox's fur, his hand went through it.

"Huh?" He furrowed his eyebrows, pulling away slightly, "A ghost?"

—Kyu!

He went so far as to consider it an illusion before dismissing the idea. He didn't know what exactly he was dealing with, so he refrained from jumping to conclusions.

The white fox jumped up and turned around, tail wagging as it moved deeper into the forest. Noticing that Liu Yang was not following, the white fox pouted and jumped a couple of times while making some paw signals.

Liu Yang hesitated, he didn't know if it was a good idea to follow someone who had led him into the abyss, but then again, when he thought about it, maybe his current situation was the white fox's doing. Besides, he would not find the answer he was looking for by always staying at the same starting point.

There was not much to consider, so he got up from the ground and began to follow the white fox. He paid particular attention to the surroundings, as he didn't want a to make an appearance to bite him in the ass.

"Even if it appeared, I can't do anything to defend myself. That damn Liu Ming, just because a beautiful woman is interested in me, he dared to stab me, heh."

A tinge of anger and a sneer covered Liu Yang's face as he muttered his thoughts. Those people... If Liu Yang had the chance, he would not waste it and tear them apart with his bare hands, regardless of the pleas.

'Wait. Since I was now recovered, maybe my cultivation could also be restored.'

With that in mind, he tried to feel his cultivation, only to come out with an even greater disappointment than his last hope.

"I don't know what I expected." Liu Yang shook his head, and a sneer appeared on his face; "A cultivator without cultivation is no different from any lamb trapped together with ferocious wolves in a flock of sheep."

In a world where the stronger devour the weaker, someone stripped of their cultivation was destined to be trampled by the stronger. He was the epitome of weakness; if he returned to , he would be an object of ridicule that everyone could spit on and trample at will.

After a few minutes, the white fox stopped its steps. It gave a couple of hops that showed its excitement.

Liu Yang looked ahead, and his mind grew dazed.

The greenish forest had opened up in a peculiar scene, letting the bright arms of sunlight shine in full splendor.

A cobblestone path decorated with green grasses led to a pond whose waters were sparkling and crystal clear. In the center of the pond was a finely carved sculpture of a fox. Liu Yang compared the figure of the white fox in front of him and the statue, realizing they were identical. The beautiful, colorful butterflies with their wings fluttering around the flowers created a scene that would delight anyone.

Beyond the pond, the uneven path led to a cottage—a house made of polished wood and decorated with bamboo timbers. From the windows, one could see inside. Perhaps if Liu Yang's mind were at ease, he would have been interested in the shelves of books and the cauldron visible from the outside.

Liu Yang's lips lifted slightly in a smile as his fingers exploded one of the small but glowing balls of energy.

A feeling of deep peace came over Liu Yang's mind. For a cultivator, who constantly faced death, it was difficult for peace to be able to embrace them.

"Anyway...," Liu Yang pushed his thoughts away and looked at the white fox, who, after looking at him, ran and entered the house, but not before reminding him to follow it: "this strange fox has strange behavior."

Liu Yang followed it inside.

Crystals of unknown origin lighted the room. He could even smell a faint fragrance in the air, which gave him a stinging sensation in his nostrils. However, he could not concentrate for long as his eyes were drawn to a golden sphere.

From the moment his eyes fell on that object, his destiny would change completely.