Ticking Time

Appearing before the border of a colorful haze in the center of the city, the Timelord manifested.

"Hmm, the measures of the Architect are still in place. To get through I'll have to follow the rules, but the clouds haven't parted and the sunlight is minimal. I have to wait..."

Looking at his surroundings, Edward found this place the same as ever. The only thing missing was the innumerable cultivators who traveled through the city daily, filling the sky so much that the sun couldn't pierce through the crowd.

'To think the time I was alive was the peak of cultivation. They were right, now all that's left are dregs. But I don't owe this place anything, I was brought here in my sleep, into this shitty world. I still need to find a way home...'

Edward was reminded of his previous life, he had a family, friends, a fiancé, and a child on the way. It was all taken from him, and he would get it back no matter what.

"Who cares about power, I wish to live my life quietly and raise my child. Is that too much to ask?!"

'With my current powers, even if where I used to live is gone, I can still return to when I left! I won't leave them, I'll make sure my child has a father!'

Chambers suddenly looked behind him.

"Who's there!"

A group of people came out from behind a building.

'To think there was another Fusion Stage cultivator....but it's not out of the question....' The group's leader thought as he neared Chambers.

The man raised his voice and gave a slight bow of respect, "Hello! I am Thomas, the Sect Master of the Beast Master Sect. I hope you can help me and my companions look for a dangerous individual."

...

"Ahh! It's the Imperial Demon!"

Bang!

"Toucan! Nooo!"

"Kill the demon!"

At this point, everything had escalated. Cain was found by a group of Disciples from the Immortal Sect, after slaughtering them all he came across another group, then another.

Now, there were waves of cultivators coming after him, it was like everyone inside the Inheritance wanted him dead.

'They either think I have secrets relating to the city or are hunting me because of what I've done. Why did I open my mouth?! Why did that Inquisitor have to find me!? Damn it!'

Cain was lagging, he wasn't even close to the colorful haze and instead went off track. He was pushed to such a limit because of circumstance, he's been met with tens of Enlightenment Cultivators with the Beast Master Sect on the way. Each time he could only teleport away and into the dense interior of the city where batches of towers were.

Currently, Cain was running from a group of Enlightenment Cultivators by entering towers, losing a few, and then exiting to enter another. He's dwindled the group to only 3 Enlightenment Cultivators and already killed one.

Swinging his arm, red light burst and cut at one cultivator, their eyes went red as they let their emotions get the best of them, becoming beastlike.

Animals were easy to deal with and Cain easily tricked them with a faint and pushed Bloodletter into their skull.

"Huian! Damn it all!" The last cultivator escaped, and Cain had let him.

'Killing two rising stars from the Beast Master Sect, not bad.'

Cain was surprised by the mass amounts of Enlightenment Stage Disciples the Beast Master Sect had, but it all made sense when he learned of a specific spirit born from a Mythical Beast.

'To think an Energy Spirit exists and is born artificially from a Mythical Creature. The Beast Master Sect can make an army of such cultivators; the Golden Age might again rise. But this is also good for me, Bloodletter is almost at the 8th Tier!' Cain looked at his red blade, pleased with it progressing well.

The Energy Spirit was a spirit that broke common sense. It allowed for fast collection and absorption of Spiritual Qi, to an ungodly amount in its High Tiers. Any Disciple who got one was sure to reach the Enlightenment Stage.

Such a spirit was additionally born from a Mythical Beast, a 9th Tier one at that! The Mother of Energy, the Avatar of Earth, The Flower of Moon and Sun. It wasn't a specific species of flora but multiple, at least that's what Cain learned when torturing one of the disciples. 

Mythical Beasts did not need to be of flesh and blood, many such beings were also plants, but they were overlooked.

'To think the Sect took the time to raise it; it must've cost a considerable amount of resources. But...it paid off in the end.' Cain was wary, of going against an army of Enlightened, he would have to unleash everything he had if that was the case.

"I just hope this place is fully separate from the Territory, otherwise, I might have a tough time if Heaven sets its sights on me."

Cain continued to move, strangely chasing after the running disciple.

'Time to nip this in the bud.' 

...

"You said he was this way?" Thomas asked one of his Elders. Behind him were many reputable figures, including Chambers who was intrigued by who could rile up the cultivation world like this.

When you look at everything Cain did, he was truly a menace. Not only did he plummet one of the three countries into chaos, but he also killed all of the country's higher-ups, including its ruler who was worshiped as a god.

In addition, Cain killed two cultivators from another country, one from its most famous sect and the other, the country's envoy. Then, he went to a farm in the Imperium which ended up as a hellscape.

Everywhere Cain went, destruction was found not long after. His reputation soared and he was an enemy of all. With a reward from the Five Major Sects on top of that, anyone would hunt Cain.

The Elder responded, "Yes Sect Leader, he's heading towards us, he just killed two Enlightened and the last one is coming here, the Demon is in pursuit!"

Everyone got ready. In a few moments, they would meet the one they had been hunting, the one who aroused the interest of the entire world. The one who killed the Sun of a Dynasty, the Imperial Demon, a demonic mongrel who exterminated an entire Imperial Line!

Edward Chambers remained by the Beast Master Sect Leader. 'Interesting, let me see you. Perhaps even I will be surprised!'

In the back of the group, where the auxiliary force was, Zoe shuddered, 'He's coming....he's coming....'

In a regal and grand building with pointed and circular roofs, Fang Yuan eyes opened. He entered the vault and came before the spirit he desired, muttering, "Finally, I can complete the final move...."

And even farther, outside the land of white, in a secluded valley in the Spirit Lands, a white spirit condensed and landed on the earth. Before it, was a small translucent orb giving off powerful rhythms.

It was the Fragment of the Great Dao, no more than a core the system uses to contain its rule. Things like these, things containing the power of the past were how the System gained a foothold, and how it could gain dominance so quickly.

In Netherane, the core was made from the Great Earth Tree's heart, in the Dream Land, the Dream Core was the condensation of the subconscious to a degree, and in the Compound, the core was made from the blood of the World Bane who the gods killed.

The white spirit hovered before the core, looking up in the sky. A small hole opened and on the other side was another sky, only this one had a tint of blue.

Gazing back down, it rubbed the orb. The core bubbled, sending out more rhythms.

These rhythms were what became the many Spirits and Domains, they are the remnant power of the Great Dao, something even the System couldn't suppress. Using the Dao, the white spirit became free and created a world in its image. This was the secret of cultivation in the Spirit Lands, it was also the reason the System was coming for it.