Wen Jie saw something that he should not have.

Sometimes, that was all it took.

When he was merely half a day away from his destination, he encountered a choice. His senses had detected a massive burst of spiritual energy towards the south, but it only lasted an instant. The first thing that came to his mind was that it was an ambush for gullible cultivators, but upon further thought that did not make sense.

He had travelled for three days and three nights, and was already deep within mortal territory. It did not make sense for someone to set a trap here, and certainly not for a weakling like him. Mortals could not detect spiritual energy, so there was no chance of them investigating.

And if the owner of that spiritual energy really wanted to kill him, there was no need to do it in such a roundabout manner.

Then… could it be a hidden treasure? Or perhaps an untapped spiritual mine? He had heard of the stories, of fated cultivators stumbling upon long lost inheritances and attaining unthinkable power. Could it be, that his time had come?

No, no, it was still risky. But it shouldn’t be a trap, should it?

He was uncertain.

However, he was still a cultivator. He might not have the grandest ambition, but that was because he didn’t have the talent to support him. If, however, that could change? How many spirit coins did a core disciple get in a month? Or did they get spirit stones instead?

He had to try. Power was necessary to protect one’s interests in the cultivation world, while people were fickle. The umbrella he had created would not shield him forever.

So, he went and investigated.

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Wen Jie was truly puzzled. He had reached the area where the burst of spiritual energy had come from. It was a small village. A real village, this time.

Dozens of small wooden huts, nigh identical in make, were arranged in rows, with a makeshift dirt road in the middle. A rickety wooden fence surrounded the entire enclosure, and spikes were dug into the ground, so if any wild beast charged at the village, it would impale itself on those spikes. At the centre of the village, a large square shaped area was left vacant, for farming purposes. Wen Jie could see the stalks of mortal wheat swaying with the wind.

Only two buildings were different from the rest, one at the very end of the village, perhaps the house of the village chief for it was almost double in size compared to the other ones, and a barn at the easternmost edge of the village.

A village so close to his home town, and he never knew of its existence?

Curious.

He didn’t dare to approach the village, because Wen Jie could feel that something was off. Instead, he pulled out a spyglass from his pocket, and looked through it. It was a mortal instrument, but it still could see farther than Wen Jie’s own sight allowed.

First, he peered at the man working on the fields, harvesting the wheat with his back towards Wen Jie. Next, he peered at the village chief’s house, but it had no windows on the side Wen Jie was peering from. At least, he assumed so. He looked around with his spyglass, but could find no other villager outside their dwelling other than the man who was harvesting. The sun’s heat at this particular time was pretty sweltering, at least by mortal standards, so that should have made sense. From atop the tree, he was on, he could discern the entire town’s makeup.

The next instant, he detected some movement from one house. Focusing on the man that just came out, he saw him head in the direction of the man who was toiling away with an earthen pot clutched under his right hand. He was a bearded middle-aged man with a happy smile on his face, and the farmer stopped harvesting when he saw the man approached.

The man who was farming turned around, and Wen Jie saw a tanned youth who couldn’t be much older than himself. The older man passed the earthen pot to him, and he accepted after saying a few words and took a greedy gulp from the pot. And then another.

Wen Jie did not know much about mortal society, having being separated at a young age. But what he saw so far, seemed harmless enough.

He decided to do one last cursory glance and then approach the village. He was almost disappointed, as it seemed that this village really had nothing to do with the phenomenon he had witnessed earlier.

Until his gaze almost by chance, locked upon a symbol that was carved upon the side of one of the mortal’s house.

It was a red symbol. He strained his eyes to look closer, and realized that it was written in the ancient language. It was written in blood.

Blood sacrifice.

Terror overwhelmed Wen Jie’s senses for a moment, and goosebumps ran across the entirety of his being. The spyglass nearly fell from his hands.

A torrent of Qi exploded within him, and without caring for anything or anyone, he jumped off the tree and ran crazily.

============================================

Within the Chief’s house….

“Tch,” A black robed man who had concealed the entirety of his face with a mask uttered. “How cautious,” he then mused.

“Master, what should we do?” asked a much more immature voice, with some degree of panic in his eyes.

“Even if he didn’t find out the truth, he still has to die. To think a cultivator would stumble upon this backwater place, how truly unlucky. Go, Jie Tao. Let him get further away from this place first, then kill him. Make it seem like a rogue cultivator attack,” The black robed man uttered, without much emotion in his voice.

“Yes, Master.”

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Wen Jie crazily weaved through the dense forest within the mortal lands, pulling out his reserve spirit coin stash from within his chest pocket. He had seven left from before, and twenty that he kept for emergencies with him at all times. If twenty spiritual coins could not resolve the issue, he would likely be dead anyway.

He sucked out the spiritual energy from a single coin and went even faster, the rest clutched in his left hand, ready to be immediately used. He did not care about absorbing impurities at this moment, and just continued to sprint without restraint.

Panic bubbled up in his gut, but all he could do for now was to get back to the sect. That symbol… that was not the work of a cultivator he could handle. It was beyond his capabilities, and perhaps beyond even foundation establishment cultivators.

Minutes passed, and soon it turned into an hour. Wen Jie was almost outside the mortal territory. Yet, he did not stop running. It was not that he was over reacting, but demonic cultivators could not be judged on the scale of standard cultivators. Their methods were too unpredictable, and they would do anything for power.

Wen Jie saw the border up ahead, merely a couple dozen kilometres away from his position. Seven spiritual coins had already been used, but he still had plenty to burn. He would run until his legs turned into jelly, and even then keep running.

The sound of an object cutting through air came from behind him, and Wen Jie instinctively jumped towards the left. Wen Jie rolled on the ground a single time, and then changed directions to face his foe. Panic turned to dread, but he unsheathed his sword regardless. A long knife lay embedded into the ground next to him.

That powerful cultivator would not hide in a backwater village for no reason. Maybe he was injured, or maybe he couldn’t act on his own and send a subordinate. He might still have a chance.

“Fellow Daoist, since you’ve come to visit, why are you in such a hurry to leave?” A voice echoed out in his surroundings, but Wen Jie could not discern its origins. The next moment three knives whistled towards him from three parallel directions in close succession. Wen Jie channelled Qi towards his legs, and leapt backward without hesitation.

Three daggers embedded themselves at his footsteps, but a fourth came from behind. Wen Jie had been in a state of extreme awareness and caution, thus he could barely detect it.

He slashed his sword backward at the last moment, pivoting on his right foot with delicate balance. Sword met dagger, and sparks rang out. Wen Jie was now facing his enemy, a man who was dressed from head to toe in black, with a crystalline black mask obscuring his face.

He increased the strength he was exerting on the dagger, and Wen Jie took that as an opportunity to take a few steps back, but the man did not give him much time to prepare.

One dagger struck, but it was so fast and agile that it appeared as if multiple daggers were assailing him from all directions. Sweat trickled down Wen Jie’s forehead, and he displayed the most spectacular sword play he had ever performed in his entire life.

At this moment, even an inner disciple would be wary of competing with Wen Jie. Clashes and clangs rang out as metal met against metal, the tempo rising with each clash. It went on for five long minutes, and by this point Wen Jie was soaked in sweat, ten of his twenty spirit coins depleted for he struck with his full strength at every opportunity. The impurities he had absorbed in this short period would require special pills to cleanse.

He was getting desperate, and just when he thought of exchanging blow for blow, life for life, a change occurred.

The man retreated.

“Ah, I guess there’s no meaning to it anymore,” He sighed remorsefully, and shook his head. “At least you have the courage to confront me, so I suppose I can let you die knowing who killed you,” He sighed again, and took off his mask, completely unconcerned by the panting Wen Jie.

Wen Jie’s pupils dilated as the man took off his mask, and the horror that was bubbling in his gut reached tipping point.

It was a boy. A boy who had barely reached sixteen by his estimates. Hair white, like the pearlescent moon. Eyes black, like the deepest pit of hell. Face serene, beautiful, as if life and death were but a mere illusion. And then, his cultivation exploded.

Fourth stage Qi Refinement.

Fifth stage Qi Refinement.

Sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth stage qi refinement.

Thirteenth stage Qi Refinement.

16 years old. Thirteenth stage Qi Refinement.

“Master will be angry, but if you can survive this blow, I shall let you go. The one who is responsible for your death is I, Jia Tao, of the eight cursed families,” The child impassively stated, with far more maturity than that of an average adult.

Wen Jie’s world view had been shattered, and he was not in a position to negotiate. This boy was was not the mastermind behind the ploy, as he had guessed, yet he was so powerful. The coins in his hands dissipated, as he absorbed them all at once. His entire body was flooded with Qi, and his meridians creaked under the strain. He could not run. It was pointless. The child had only been playing with him all this while. Outrunning him was impossible.

There was nothing else left to say. He had stepped on the path to immortality. Now he would face its result. Perhaps the child would stay true to his bond, perhaps he would not.

“Come,” Wen Jie roared with defiance in his heart. For the first time in his life, he cursed the heavens. But he would not die a coward.

Jia Tao did not utilize some grand move to attack, which was what Wen Jie had prepared for. Instead, he just flicked the knife in his hand casually towards him.

Fast. Blindingly Fast.

Wen Jie understood the essence of the attack, but it took him longer to react then Jia Tao had taken to attack. All he could do was try and move his sword to intercept the trajectory of the attack. He had already filled it with every inch of qi that he could muster, and now the outcome was up in the air.

A loud clang rang out in the next instant, and a dash of hope could be seen flickering in Wen Jie’s eyes. He… he had parried it! Now, would the boy honour his agreement?

He was about to pose him that question, when a sharp pain tore through the left side of his chest. Wen Jie looked down at his sword, wondering if the boy had sneak attacked or not. But that seemed unlikely, as if he wanted him to die, he’d already be dead.

The answer came to him in the next instant. His sword… had been split in half at the center. He looked at Jie Tao with a questioning look, and the next moment, fell over backwards. That was a qi refinement blade he had loaned from the sect! Even if he was at the thirteenth stage, it shouldn't have been possible!

He had lost. He was going to die. But what he didn’t understand was…

“How?” Wen Jie croaked out, as blood was starting to pool in his throat.

Jie Tao walked towards him, and then crouched down next to him.

“I….” he said, with an oddly… conflicted emotion in his eyes, “am not a Qi Refinement Cultivator.”

Wen Jie’s last words were…

Laughter.

With tears in his eyes. At the absurdity of it all.

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One story ends.

Another begins.

Xander Davis.... woke up.

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ACT 2, BEGINS