The first light of morning filtered through the mist above Blue Cloud Peak.
Yuan Shen opened his eyes.
His breathing was slow, steady. His robes were folded, his hair dry, his cultivation untouched. Outside, wind moved across the pines, and birds called softly from the cliffs below. The spirit vein under the mountain pulsed faintly, feeding the sect's formations.
He rose from the mat and stepped to the edge of the pavilion.
From here, the sect sprawled out below—terraces built into the mountainside, stone walkways connecting towers, streams winding through gardens of spirit herbs.
Flying cranes glided between peaks. Disciples moved in orderly patterns, either heading to classes or cleaning designated halls.
A quiet world. It was quite calming.
He watched it for a while and let out a sigh.
Sigh
This realm was nothing like the Immortal World. The air lacked weight. The light lacked sharpness. The energy flowed without pressure or form. Even the Dao here seemed asleep.
Still, it was better than nothing.
His gaze drifted to the clouds far above. Somewhere beyond them, buried in layers of space and dimension, the Immortal World burned on.
He closed his eyes again.
He remembered the day he left.
The Yuan Shen Clan had stood tall among the central dominions of the Immortal World. An ancient bloodline, refined over countless generations.
The Chaos Devouring Epoch Body had only appeared once before in the clan's history—the one who created the clan, the primordial ancestor. He had been a prodigy. He was one of the few that went above 'that' realm and surpassed the heavenly dao.
That alone was enough to be feared.
Back to the betrayal.
The coalition attack hadn't come suddenly. The signs had been clear. Withdrawn alliances. Cold greetings at celestial banquets. Envoys from rival clans offering false peace. It had all been expected.
His clan had prepared, but it wasn't enough. The ones who had acted weren't rash or greedy—they were cautious and calculated. The Immortal World had no shortage of powerhouses. But it did have a shortage of tolerance.
No one wanted to wait and see a future where a cultivator had the potential to surpass the heavenly dao itself. It had to be avoided at all costs.
The technique that sent him to the lower realms had been activated by the Patriarch himself. Yuan Shen hadn't even noticed.
One moment, he stood in the ancestral hall, the next, he was falling through the boundary layers—torn from the Immortal World, dropped like a curse into this forgotten land.
The cultivation sacrificed to send him wasn't his own. It had been paid with the life of his family's strongest.
The Patriarch. His father.
He hadn't felt sorrow. Not then. Not now.
He didn't have the time for useless emotions.
Not even for her
Yao Xiuying.
His fiancee.
He had once considered her important—someone who could walk with him into the higher realms, who could share a Dao path, who might even stand beside him one day if the heavens were overturned.
She had belonged to the Mystic Firmament Immortal Dynasty. One of the top powers. Like him, she had been born at the Nirvana Realm. Her talent was real and so was her demeanor.
She was a cultivation genius that rivaled the other holy sons and sons of heaven of other top powers.
She had not joined the attack on his clan.
But she had also done nothing.
Well, what could she have done? She was only at the nirvana realm.
That's why Yuan Shen didn't hate her. In fact, he didn't feel anything at all. She was a name, a face. One more irrelevant figure among the thousands that would fall beneath his feet in the years to come.
He turned away from the clouds and sat back down inside.
It was time to move.
His divine sense flowed outward undetectable. He let his senses expand as far as the formation net allowed. The mountain range was quiet.
No intrusions. No threats.
He reviewed what he had learned so far about the sect's structure.
The Infinite Sky Dao Sect held hundreds of thousands of outer disciples, thousands of inner disciples, hundreds of elders, and at least a dozen Great Elders. At the top sat the Sect Master, a Mystic Immortal in deep seclusion. The only being stronger was the Soul Dharma Immortal Ancestor, who hadn't appeared in a million years.
That was the upper limit of this continent.
Even then, Yuan Shen could kill them if he pushed his limits. His Nirvana Realm wasn't the same as theirs. He hadn't merely reached Nirvana through effort or chance—his body, his soul, his foundation had been forged with high-tier immortal resources, battle-tested in secret realms that made this world look like a farm.
As he gathered his Qi, he reviewed the cultivation realms in his mind. It kept him focused and disciplined.
The Mortal Realm began with:
Body Tempering, the physical foundation.
Qi Gathering, opening the meridians.
Foundation Establishment, solidifying core energies.
Golden Core, forming the spiritual core.
Nascent Soul, birthing true soul strength.
Divinity Transformation, condensing the divine energy, divine sense appears.
Return to Void, learns to let go of attachments.
Void Merging, soul touches the Dao faintly; cultivator can "merge" with space laws briefly.
Mortal Transcendence, transcending mortality. No need to eat nor sleep.
Mahayana, the final stage before Immortality.
Then came the Immortal Realm:
Nirvana, the first step—burning away the mortal shell.
Earth Immortal, fusing with nature's law.
Heaven Immortal, beginning to grasp immortal authority.
Sky Immortal, walking freely through space without the need of Qi.
Mystic Immortal, understanding the hidden truths, mystic eye may awaken.
Soul Dharma Immortal, soul becomes stronger than the body.
Heaven-Treading Immortal, can see the abstract: luck, providence, karma, etc.
Void Immortal, enters and controls void space; can phase between realms.
Golden Immortal, body catches up to the soul, creating a golden body.
True Immortal: massive boost to every aspect, Immortal Core awakens.
Immortal King, must reincarnate to refine the body, soul and the Dao multiple times.
Beyond that, the Empyrean Realm began—but this lower world could not contain such forces.
Yuan Shen's thoughts quieted.
It was time to take a mission.
He grabbed his inner disciple robes and fixed the token at his waist. The sect's badge shimmered faintly—three lines crossing over a circle, meant to represent Heaven, Earth, and Self.
The mission hall was located below the central peak.
He walked there slowly, observing the formations and defenses along the way.
No one paid him any attention.
Several disciples sparred in a nearby courtyard.
A group of elders flew overhead, discussing artifact refinement.
He finally arrived at his destination.
Inside the mission hall, light poured through crystal windows. Floating screens displayed rows of active missions—resource collection, beast subjugation, escort duties, minor investigations.
An inner disciple at the desk looked up.
"First time here?" she asked.
Yuan Shen nodded. "I want to take a mission."
"Pick one from the low-tier list," she said, pointing to a row of glowing glyphs. "You're Golden Core, right? Some of them might push your limits, but they're all within regulation."
He walked past the outer edge and examined the options.
One caught his eye:
Mission 7421-A
Status: Unclaimed
Rank: Low
Objective: Investigate unusual disappearances near the Falling Ghost Marsh. Multiple outer disciples failed to return.
Reward: 100 low-grade spirit stones, one minor talisman, 200 merit points
Notes: Strong beasts possible. Spiritual distortion reported. Proceed with caution.
He touched the glyph.
It glowed blue.
"Mission 7421-A accepted," the hall spirit announced.
The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "That one's been open for three weeks. Be careful. Last guy who took it came back without his head."
Yuan Shen smiled faintly. "Then I'll bring it back for him."
She blinked. "What?"
"Nothing."
He left the hall and stepped into the courtyard.
Clouds gathered again above Blue Cloud Peak. Wind tugged at the banners. Far in the distance, faint black fog rose from the southern marshlands.
He would investigate. Feed the scripture. Perhaps find a rare beast or two.
More importantly, he would begin his climb to power.