Prologue
The World of Cultivation is a place where everyone humans and animals alike has the ability to survive in a harsh environment. It's a world where cultivators compete with each other for titles and even territories.
Or just for fun...
In this harsh world, there are individuals who strive to ensure justice for ordinary humans. They are known as the Immortal Cultivators.
Immortal Cultivators who uphold justice take out Evil and Demon Cultivators, standing up for humans who don't have "Spiritual Aura" or "Qi." They can't let demons run wild in the world.
The bad things they do are no longer acceptable.
In this chaotic world, Immortal Cultivators take down demon cultivators who enjoy killing ordinary humans. These demon cultivators torture humans, skin them, and even hang them until their bodies dry out.
The Immortal Cultivators are disgusted and angry at the demon cultivators' behavior. These demons see human lives as toys.
Their name says it all.
***
It's a village.
There's a village to the south near one of the immortal sects that's on fire. The flames are blazing and consuming the villagers' homes. The locals are fleeing in terror, as if they've encountered a terrifying monster.
"We need help!"
Those who can run for help and those who can't ask the person who committed the atrocities in their village to make amends.
"Please, I'm begging you, let me live," their voice trembling, their head touching the ground, bowing to beg for mercy.
They did nothing wrong and never offended anyone.
But demons are different. They kill and destroy for fun; they get a kick out of the fear and despair they cause.
The demon cultivator, seeing the human bow before him, gets a little thrill in his mind. He grins widely and says with glowing red eyes,
"Why should I?"
The person who was bowing suddenly sees the world upside down. Their head is cut off by the demon's sharp nails.
"Why should I feel pity for a mortal like you?" the demon cultivator asks with a wide grin, showing his sharp teeth.
Suddenly, a woman's voice echoes from the smoke-filled sky.
"Killing innocent people for fun, what a despicable creature!" the voice shouted from the sky.
The demon cultivator felt a tremor in his body. Fear? He does not know.
"What is this? Why do I feel like I am carrying a heavy stone?" he wondered in his mind.
His body is heavy and shaking. As he was in a state of confusion, a woman with a sword came down and pointed the sword at him.
The woman, flowing black hair with a golden flower decoration on the left side of her hair. She is dressed in white, with a thin blue flowered robe fluttering in the hot wind.
Even though the woman is wearing a white cloth that slightly covers her nose to her chin, she still looks very beautiful with her sharp golden eyes.
The demon cultivator's back sweated coldly.
"Why? Why is she here?" he wondered in his mind.
The woman's golden eyes made his body unable to move, and her gaze seemed to pierce directly into his soul.
His body cannot move because of something unknown.
"Lu -"
Slash!
Before the demon cultivator had time to finish his words, the woman had already decapitated him in a fraction of a second.
The distance to the demon cultivator was quite far, about 100 meters. But now, the woman is standing behind the demon cultivator's headless body.
The woman flicked off her robe, turned around, and walked away, looking at the many ordinary human corpses with their body parts cut off.
"Bastard...!"
She bites her lip, angry at the insulting behavior of the demon cultivators.
A woman dressed in white with black accents runs toward her. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.
"Matriarch," she says respectfully. "There are only about eight of us left. Five children and three adult males," she continues with a brief explanation.
The Matriarch, or the woman who killed the demon earlier, commands her firmly.
"Bring her back to the sect!" she commands.
"Yes."
The woman leaves, instructing her companions to take the survivors back to the sect.
The survivors are brought to the Heaven of Immortals Sect, whose leader is the strongest immortal cultivator in the world today...
Lu Qi.
She is a great immortal cultivator with the sword. Not only are her sword skills famous, but her beautiful appearance is also a topic of conversation among men.
Even though they can only see her eyes, it is certain that behind the white cloth is a beautiful woman.
***
The world of cultivation is never peaceful; demon cultivators who initially refuse to unite begin to build sects and civilizations inhabited by their slaves.
Humans...
Humans who become slaves cannot escape from the demon sect's territory. They sign a contract with the demon sect leader in order to stay alive. And they must be slaves for the rest of their lives.
100 years have passed.
Lu Qi has been in seclusion for 100 years, raising her realm from "Tribulation" to "Seeking Dao".
She emerges from her place far away from the sect. She looks up at the blue sky and feels a fresh breeze that she hasn't felt in a long time.
Without much thought, she flies back to the sect. She flies quickly with her sword, her clothes fluttering on the way.
When she arrives at the sect, she is immediately greeted by the sect elders.
"Welcome back, Matriarch!" they all say at the same time, clasping their hands in front of them and bowing their heads slightly.
Lu Qi nods and walks over to the chair in front of her. She sits down, and without thinking, she immediately asks what has happened in the last 100 years.
"When I was in seclusion, what happened in this world?" Lu Qi asks calmly.
One of the elders fills us in on the details.
"While you were away, a lot happened," he responds.
"The demon cultivators joined forces and set up a demon sect that was far removed from all the immortal cultivator sects. They also enslaved a lot of people to help build their sect.
The Sword Sect and the Sun Sect had a territorial dispute that turned into a war 50 years ago and lasted for 10 years. The leader of the Sun Sect was badly injured, and the leader of the Sword Sect lost his right arm."
He paused for a moment, taking a breath.
"20 years ago, an elder from the Alchemy Sect brought a letter. It was a letter asking us to form an alliance with their sect. Without your input, we elders were unsure what to do, so we asked the Alchemy Sect elders to come back and help us decide.
That's the gist of what's happened over the past 100 years. We've also finished recruiting new disciples and everything is going well. Our Heaven of the Immortals sect has some pretty talented disciples."
Lu Qi holds her chin, taking in all the information the elder is sharing. She nods in agreement.
"All right."
The elders leave, and Lu Qi puts the cup and teapot down. She pours herbal tea from the teapot, which has a soothing aroma.
Lu Qi isn't planning to go to the demon sect and save all the mortals. She knows how this world works.
Lu Qi can't save humans who become demon slaves because there are a lot of people who want to kill her and take over her sect.
She takes a sip of tea, feeling calm inside.
"I just have a few more levels to go before I ascend to the upper realm," she says, sipping her tea.
Lu Qi closes her eyes, feeling peaceful in the sect she has founded for over 1000 years. A sect that was once small can now become one of the great sects in the world.
However, something has been bothering her since she completed her closed cultivation. It feels like a disaster is about to strike the world.
Something like that.
"It seems I have to postpone my ascension." Lu Qi sips her tea again.