Rain dripped from the sky like the tears of forgotten gods.
In the gutter of Celestial Harmony City, beneath marble spires and floating pavilions, a ragged beggar lay motionless.
He was caked in dirt and filth, bones pressing against pale skin like the remnants of a starved corpse. His eyes were open—cloudy, lifeless—staring at the stone walls and the glowing prayer runes etched into them.
But within those eyes...
A flicker of something ancient.
A mind that once shook the heavens itself.
> "So this is what remains."
Ten thousand years ago, his name made Heaven tremble.
Qin Xu. The Heaven Slayer Sovereign.
He had cultivated the Void Devourer Path—a heretical Dao that consumed laws, souls, and karma itself. He declared war on the Heavenly Dao, shattered three Celestial Sects, and wounded the very Pillar of Harmony holding up reality.
And for that, he was betrayed.
Twelve Dao Lords united, chanting the Divine Mandate, and burned his body and soul into ash.
Or so they believed.
---
The stench of rot and cheap incense drifted through the alley. Somewhere, a priest chanted prayers while silver coins clinked into collection bowls.
Qin Xu's brittle fingers twitched.
> "They defile cultivation with rituals now…"
He tried to sit up—pain lanced through his chest. His body was too weak. No spiritual root. No dantian. Just flesh and bone barely clinging to life.
A shadow passed by.
"Move, trash!" a voice snarled.
A boot slammed into his ribs. Something cracked. He didn't cry out.
The Harmony disciple stood above him—robed in gold-stitched silk, eyes full of disdain. He sneered and spat. "Beggar scum. You dare rot so close to the Sacred Path Temple?"
He turned to walk away—but paused.
Qin Xu was smiling.
"Wipe that grin off your face, dog."
Qin Xu's voice rasped, barely audible.
> "Tell me... do you hear it?"
"Hear what, freak?"
> "The sound beneath your skin."
The disciple froze. A chill crawled up his spine.
From the beggar's chest, something wriggled.
Slick. Wet. Alive.
A tiny black worm slithered out from beneath Qin Xu's ribs—no longer dormant.
It shot forward in a blur of motion, sinking into the disciple's belly before he could react.
He screamed.
His eyes rolled back. Veins turned black. His body convulsed as if something was being sucked out of him.
Moments later, he collapsed—hollow, dried like a husk. His Qi, essence, and soul… devoured.
Qin Xu gasped as power surged into him.
The worm returned, burrowing back beneath his flesh. His fingers tightened. His breath steadied. His spine straightened.
Strength.
Real, stolen cultivation energy.
> "It lives. After all this time... it remembers me."
The Void Parasite—a creature he forged at the peak of his former power—had survived his death. It had been sealed in the last ember of his soul, waiting for the right host to awaken it.
It was still with him. Still loyal.
And it was hungry.
Qin Xu rose slowly, bones cracking with each motion. The rain washed blood from his face, revealing sharp, hollow eyes.
He looked at the distant spires where the self-proclaimed righteous sects ruled.
He whispered.
> "You destroyed me once."
> "Now, I will return the favor."
> "I will consume this world."
> "And then… devour the heavens."
---
[End of Chapter 1]