Li Wei I

Inside the vast, enclosed space, with sunlight shimmering down from above, there was absolute silence.

No living organism was present except for the thin, frail baby, who had lost weight from surviving on energy pills for weeks. 

He lay beside the large, glowing stone, its bluish light casting an ethereal glow over his tiny form.

His eyes darted around, observing and studying his surroundings, his mind racing as he waited for something—anything—to happen. 

The stillness was almost oppressive, broken only by the faint hum of the stone's energy. 

After a moment, the stone began to glow even brighter, its light intensifying until it filled the cavern with a radiant blue hue. 

'Well, color me surprised. It was indeed a baby,' the stone spoke. Its voice didn't reach the baby's ears but resonated clearly in his mind, as if the words were being projected directly into his thoughts. 

'After thousands of years of seeing nothing but beasts, who could've guessed the first person I'd meet would be a fragile baby?' the stone mused, seemingly talking to itself. 

'Those goblins and other beasts have been offering fruits and dead meats for centuries, but this is truly a first.

Though it's sad that it had to be a newborn,' the stone continued, its voice echoing in the baby's mind. 

'If it were at least old enough to communicate, I could guide it to cultivate and survive in this world. But without a physical body, looking after a newborn is utterly impossible.

Sigh

Truly saddening indeed,' the stone lamented, its tone tinged with regret as it spoke to itself. 

'Sorry, little one. I don't know how you got here, where no one has been able to pass through the dead fog for centuries, but it seems it's all for naught. 

May the heavens be more merciful in your next life,' the stone said, its voice heavy with resignation.

As it spoke, a faint energy emanated from the stone, gently nudging the baby toward the water. 

It was a grim act, but the stone believed it was offering a quick, painless death—a small mercy in a cruel situation. 

The stone paused, taking one last look at the baby before pushing it into the water.

Its gaze lingered as it noticed the baby staring directly at it—no foolish expression, no tears, none of the usual reactions a normal baby would have. 

'Now that I think about it, you've been awfully quiet ever since you came inside.

Any baby would be crying or reacting by now, but you've been strangely calm,' the stone thought, its curiosity piqued. It focused its energy, peering into the baby's mind, searching for answers. 

'Sup,'

The baby thought, his mental voice clear and casual as the stone's energy entered his mind.

The stone's spiritual body almost jumped back in shock, its glow flickering momentarily. 

It hadn't expected such a coherent, almost nonchalant response from a newborn.

The sheer clarity of the baby's thoughts left it momentarily speechless.

'Wha—what? Did this baby just speak?!' the stone thought, its glow flickering in disbelief. It checked again, probing the baby's mind to ensure it hadn't misheard. 

'Yeah, sup,' the baby thought again, his tone just as casual and clear as before. 

The stone was stunned, its energy pulsing erratically as it tried to process the impossible—a newborn with the mental clarity of an adult. 

'What is the meaning of this? How can a baby have such clear consciousness?' the stone thought, its glow flickering with confusion. 

It was clear that this wasn't an ancient monster disguising itself as a baby—there were no traces of deception or hidden power.

So how could this have happened? The stone's mind raced, trying to make sense of the impossible situation before it.

'Mr. Stone, Mr. Stone, relax, relax,' the baby thought, his tiny hands gesturing in a calming motion as if to soothe the panicked stone. 

The absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on him—a newborn trying to calm an ancient, glowing stone.

Yet his thoughts were clear and steady, cutting through the stone's confusion with an almost comical sense of composure. 

'So, what happened is this—' the baby began, his thoughts flowing clearly as he explained his bizarre situation to the glowing stone. 

He recounted how he had been reincarnated, the strange circumstances that led him to this world, and how he ended up in the hands of goblins before being brought here. 

He even admitted that talking to a glowing stone was, by far, one of the strangest moments of his existence—past or present.

The stone listened intently, its glow steadying as it absorbed the unbelievable tale. 

Although it had a hard time processing the baby's story, the stone couldn't find any other explanation for the situation. 

'I see.

To think that there would be another world beyond this one...

In all my long existence, this is by far the most bizarre thing I've ever discovered,' the stone thought, its glow flickering faintly as it tried to wrap its ancient mind around the concept of reincarnation and other worlds. 

'What about you? What exactly are you? Are you some kind of deity of this world or something?' the baby asked, his tiny mind brimming with curiosity. 

He had been through enough strangeness already, and now he was face-to-face with a glowing, talking stone. If there was ever a time to ask questions, this was it. 

'No, no, no, I'm no deity,' the stone replied, its glow flickering with a hint of pride. ' My name is Li Wei, a cultivator who once walked the face of this world centuries ago. 

I had my name etched into the annals of history as the most powerful being to ever exist,' it declared, its color intensifying as if basking in the memory of its former glory. 

'My rival, Fang Hao, and I were the only ones in history to have ever achieved the Unity Realm—Dao Unity Stage. 

We were unstoppable, each of us the only counterbalance to the other,' the stone stated, its glow pulsing with a mix of pride and nostalgia as it recounted its legendary past.

'But if you were indeed the strongest, how did you die?' the baby asked, his tiny mind sharp and inquisitive despite his fragile body. 

The question hung in the air, cutting through the stone's nostalgic glow as it prepared to answer. 

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Side Note

Although I did mention the sect master of the heavenly dao sect seeing a glimpse of true dao, but that was just an exaggeration among the people; he didn't really reach it yet.

(Imagine it, tho, sect master of the heavanly dao not reaching dao, how ironic, lol).