A Storm is Brewing

After Jian Yiru took Yan away, Jiguang felt a mix of irritation and guilt, heading out to the desert trial grounds to vent.

He'd initially thought of giving Shaheluo some pointers while he was at it, but after searching for a long time, he found no trace. This was the desert; every mark would be buried.

Jiguang sensed something was wrong. He spread his arms, his entire body dissolving into particles that attached to every grain of sand in the desert, searching for traces that differed from those formed by the wind. He then reconstructed the scene, finally discovering signs of a fairly obvious struggle. In one spot, he also found a significant amount of darkish powder; the elemental composition ratio inside it differed from the outside, missing two types.

Jiguang then coalesced his form there. Sifting through a patch of scorched earth, he actually found a pale blue crystal—and Shaheluo's soul was within it.

"Whoever infiltrated here and killed him silently is definitely no benign entity. Looks like his bodily fluids were directly drained by a water-attribute spiritual root. With the Eldest Senior Brother and the Old Dean absent now, I can't act rashly. I can only inform Second Senior Brother and the others first. We'll decide what to do after he wakes up." Frowning, Jiguang struggled with the decision for a long moment before finally knocking on the door of Master Lan's residence.

Afterwards, Xiao received a mission and hastily departed. Cisheng and the Old Dean also returned one after the other.

As for Yan, when he woke up, he saw Jian Yiru preparing a meal for him. After a quick check of his body, feeling his physical strength was about adequate, he ate hastily and returned to the cave. Ignoring his lingering weakness, he began his attempts again.

However, regardless of his physical toughness, he remained stuck at the final step of compression. He could clearly feel that if he pushed even a fraction further, even his current body would explode immediately.

He sat sullenly on a large rock, repeatedly reviewing in his mind what he might have missed.

"To secure the outside, one must first pacify the inside; to conquer others, one must first conquer oneself!" These words echoed through the cave.

Yan seemed thoughtful. Entering a meditative state once more, this time he didn't rush to attempt physical compression. Instead, he suffused his body with his soul force, then began to perceive every minute movement and breath of his physique. It was as if "he was not him"; he observed his entire body from a third-person perspective, gradually moving from the macroscopic to the microscopic.

Just like his first time externalizing his soul, the inside of his body could also be seen as composed of countless "cosmoses." The difference was that no life existed within them, but their essence was the same.

He himself was composed of 'Zi'. Each 'Zi' was like a star. A large number of 'Zi' formed a 'Cluster', each 'Cluster' resembling a galaxy. And countless 'Clusters' formed one 'Cosmos'. A 'Cosmos' could be considered one universe.

However, as he ventured further in, everything around him changed. It was as if his physical shell, those 'Zi', 'Clusters', and 'Cosmoses', were merely concealing or protecting something. A expanse of blank whiteness spread before him—or perhaps there was no color here at all, and the so-called white was just a figment of his imagination.

Gradually engulfed by the whiteness, a point of light seemed to appear in the distance. It was tiny, yet dazzling. Moving closer, he vaguely made out a human figure, but it was small, far too small, like a mere speck of blue.

The figure seemed to move, lifting its head. Yan suddenly felt an immense weight press down on his entire being. He was above, yet that person, no bigger than a sesame seed, seemed to loom over him. The figure was looking up, yet it felt like it was gazing down from a height.

"Young Master, you've arrived!" Having confirmed the visitor's identity, the figure retracted its imposing aura, suddenly becoming surprisingly affable—a shift somewhat hard to adapt to. With a wave of its hand, Yan's soul instantly shrank, condensing before it.

"You are..." Yan was startled by this sudden turn of events and asked, somewhat nervously.

"I am Nameless," he explained, seeing Yan's nervousness. "Your humble servant. However, your true identity cannot be revealed for now. You need only know that if your current self were to be exposed, it would very easily attract fatal misfortune!"

These words left Yan at a loss for what to say next. He had initially thought that having such a powerful retainer would allow him to act recklessly, but the latter part of Nameless's speech immediately quashed that idea. After all, even while hiding his identity, troubles never came singly. If he were exposed, the consequences would be unthinkable. He hastily changed the subject. "Nameless, then what is this...?" Yan asked, pointing at the luminous sphere behind Nameless.

"This is your origin source, but it has been disturbed by an external force and is now extremely unstable. Only the Ancient God Locks, forged by various ancient deities at the cost of their physical bodies, can stabilize it. You may try to learn a move or two from each of the ancient gods." Nameless then emphasized, "You absolutely must not attempt to remove the Ancient God Locks! The vast power of your former origin would instantly and completely obliterate your current physical form!" Having said this, Nameless stepped aside, allowing Yan to explore on his own.

"Young man, are there still nine suns in the sky today?" The voice betrayed no particular emotion, yet it was saturated with the weight of countless years.

"Hasn't there always only been one?" Yan was somewhat puzzled. He wasn't well-read and didn't know who was speaking, yet for some reason, he felt the speaker's era was one of profound desolation.

"Is that truly so? Now, for me to call myself 'this old man' is indeed fitting... So swift! Heavenly Emperor, I have won..." The words held both sentiment and a sense of release; one could feel the speaker's complex emotions. A chain dissipated, its ashes drifting into Yan's sea of consciousness.

He was the chieftain of a tribe. In that time, there was no unified 'Human Race,' nor was there a Heaven Realm. All humanoid beings in the mortal world were collectively called 'Alien Tribes.' Contact between various tribes was strictly forbidden; each existed in isolation.

There were ten suns in the sky—they seemed to be the ten sons of the Heavenly Emperor, or perhaps some other miraculous beings. Regardless, they rose and set together, scorching the earth barren. He led his people steadily northward until they finally found a region suitable for habitation.

However, those celestial gods did not appear to be so benevolent.

Here, they encountered beings from other tribes for the first time. But it was clear: many people, little land. To survive, conflict was inevitable.

At first, relations were harmonious. But later, after the first killing occurred, things spiraled out of control.

He had no desire to fight those who, like his own people, had endured hardship and were forced to battle for survival. Yet he also deeply understood that he could not jeopardize his tribe's livelihood for the sake of his personal compassion. After a vote, he and some like-minded individuals went to the fringes, unwilling to engage in the strife.

But where could one endure the scorching of ten suns? Those who left with him either perished or fell gravely ill, their lives fleeting. When his clansman breathed his last in his arms, when he journeyed alone to the central lands only to find habitable areas shrinking, when he saw corpses strewn across the fields and the once numerous tribes reduced to a fraction—he realized this was merely a game for the gods. A fight of trapped beasts.

Fury surged in his heart. He accepted the bow and arrows handed to him by his wife. The two ventured to the furthest northern land, the Dome-Sky Depression. He drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and as the cluster of suns was about to rise, he took aim... and let fly!

Nine suns fell. The earth regained its vitality. Those who had been locked in conflict laid down their weapons.

He did not return, fearing the Heavenly Emperor would send punishment, and sent his wife back first.

"Da Yi, hero, whose eyes discern truth from falsehood, whose strength fells nine suns, whose steps span a thousand miles. We bestow upon you a divine status and a divine pill. Your mortal ties are severed. Proceed to the Celestial Ministry of War and Command." The Heavenly Emperor dispatched an envoy to congratulate him and then sent him back.

By then, only a few of his tribesmen remained. Somehow, they persuaded the other inhabitants of the area to jointly honor Da Yi.

For a long time afterward, the situation remained stable. That divine pill was stored in his home, kept by his wife, unknown to all.

One day, he led over a hundred men into the mountains to deal with a tiger menace. Upon returning, he found his home in disarray. A search revealed no trace of his wife or the divine pill.

Sensing something amiss, he briefly explained to his companions and hurried off, driven by an inexplicable feeling toward the land of the setting sun.

Bandits had taken his wife, demanding his divine status in exchange. He decisively refused.

The Heavenly Emperor, upon learning of this, was furious—or perhaps it was all premeditated. At that moment, celestial soldiers descended and celestial generals emerged, completely surrounding the few of them.

"Yi! You have disgraced divine authority! Your crime warrants death ten thousand times over!"

"This lowly one acted only to save his wife, with no other intent! I beg the Immortals for your magnanimous understanding!"

"Your words—a mere servant woman—can they compare to the majesty of the Heavenly Emperor? To defy the Emperor's decree is to deceive your superior! However, considering the Emperor's former favor toward you, the death penalty may be spared."

Left speechless, he allowed the celestial soldiers and generals to encircle him completely.

"Kill!"

At the command, the bandits were slain, and the divine pill was recovered.

Then several more stepped forward. A long spear pierced Da Yi's dantian, destroying all his cultivation; a short sword severed his Achilles tendons, leaving his famed legs unable to stand; a long blade pierced his mighty arms, draining his divine strength; spears and halberds blinded his discerning eyes, ending his keen sight.

Kneeling now, he was a broken man.

"Honored Immortals, might this matter be concluded?"

He received no reply, but heard a tearing sound from the sky.

"Honored Immortals, could you spare this lowly one and his wife?"

He was met only with scornful laughter, and again no reply.

"Honored Immortals, I beg you, show mercy. I know I have been disrespectful, I hope…"

A heavy object struck his head, dizzying him. Groping, he grasped it. The thing was wet, coated with a sticky fluid, and carried a foul, fishy stench.

"Immortal... what is the meaning of this...?" His voice trembled.

"Nothing much. Just checking if your beloved was in good health. She seems fine. Here, have your pill back."

"The... the pill? To protect my wife, I... I already made her swallow it earlier…"

Utter silence fell around him.

"E'er? Where are you?"

Now blind, ignoring the pain from his wounds, he crawled forward, groping, but felt only scattered fine strands.

Unwilling to give up, he crawled further until his hands touched a leathery object. He instantly broke into uncontrollable sobs.

Later, swallowing the divine pill through the pain, a faint metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth. The pill's power flowed gently throughout his body.

His wounds did not heal. Instead, his broken bones were extracted, his severed meridians stripped away. Flesh and bone from nowhere filled the voids. When he opened his eyes again, his sight was restored. Only then did he see the pool of blood and the skeletal remains.

He made no sound. Silently, he gathered several long bones from the ground to form the frame of a great bow, using tendons as the string. He fashioned the remaining hip bones, ribs, and others into a quiver, wrapping it with skin to form a basket frame. He selected sharp bone fragments for arrows. Finally, he encased it all with a sealing art, rendering it immortal and incorruptible.

He returned to his tribe, only to find it long deserted…

Da Yi glared at the heavens, gripping the bone bow tightly. Not a single tribesman had been buried; they had all transformed into the arrows in his quiver. Now, one of them streaked across the sky.

He fought the heavens alone, slaughtering countless soldiers and generals, fighting all the way to the presence of the Heavenly Emperor.

The cunning Heavenly Emperor held the three hun and seven po souls of his wife, demanding his submission.

He would not yield!

His wife ended her own life. Her soul fled into the long bow, forfeiting all future reincarnations, becoming the bow's spirit.

He fought the Heavenly Emperor three times and was defeated. Captured, his tribe was sacrificed, forming the Ancient God Lock. His bow and arrows vanished.

From then on, the heavens were divided into five: East, West, South, North, and Center.

…

Yan came to his senses, still reeling from the vision.

"Child, this old man accomplished nothing in his life. Our tribe's legacy is severed. I have but one inheritance left. Could you help me pass it on?"

"Senior, please speak freely."

"We believed in Heaven and Earth, holding that souls come from the sun and return to the moon. Therefore, every year on the fifteenth day of the ninth month, during the autumn harvest, we would make cakes from the mixed grains of the harvest and place them under the moon. It was meant to share a meal with those who had departed, and to tell them the mortal world was at peace."

But my clansmen died because of me. I cannot face them. Over these thousands of years, I've been fraught with worry. I hope you can bring them peace on my behalf, can you?"

"I will."

That night happened to be the full moon, also in the ninth month. Yan told Cui Yuan about what had transpired, and also asked her to bake some cakes. Afterwards, together they slightly adapted the story, wishing to share it with more people.

Sitting beneath the moon, after the cakes were ready, many people soon followed the scent to gather. Listening to Cui Yuan tell the tale of that Senior, perhaps each person thought of something in that moment. Everyone grew quiet.

That same night, a man clad in black dragon robes arrived at the Sub-Institute in a furious manner. He sought out the old Dean, and a piece of cake was missing from the platter.