What does it mean to defy the Heavens? How did people come about worshiping them? And why can't we survive without them?

It doesn't make sense once you start piecing the facts. Look far enough, and you'll start noticing the inconsistencies... and contradictions in the public records. Keep reading more, and you'll eventually see it everywhere.

Once you notice the dangling thread, you'll realize that something was buried — something they don't want anyone to know.

H-Huh?! What the hell am I talking about? Have you been listening to me at all, you buffoon?! The real truth about the Spiritual Qi Crisis has been concealed. There's something wrong with this world, and these old fogeys of the previous generation are keeping it from us!

I can feel it calling it out to me! I'm confident that finding the truth... will bring me one step closer... to home...

Belladonna skeptically scowled at Laude, but did not respond. She found little point in arguing with someone who was drooling over himself as he tried his hardest to keep his spinning eyes open. He had drunk enough liquor to put several men out of commission in what could only be described as a breathtakingly short time.

The more she thought about Laude's crackpot theory, the more annoyed she became at herself. She felt stupid for even contemplating the idea that even a piece of Laude's theory could be true.

"...I mean, the sheer amount of effort required to keep a secret that large would be unthinkable. It'd take the complicit agreement of every single major power in the world to hide a secret like that! And even then, it'd be the worst-kept secret in history!"

She turned toward the Head Elders and said, "Am I not right? There's no way the cultivation world would be capable of hiding a secret that massive. There'd still be some evidence laying around somewhere that wasn't destroyed. Even if all the major powers joined forces, they wouldn't be able to silence every single person who knew the truth. At least, not without..."

And then a sudden realization hit her like a bag of bricks. Five hundred years ago, the golden age of cultivation came to an abrupt end when a mysterious epidemic, followed by a vicious, bloody war erupted across the cultivation world.

The One Year Calamity! Tens of thousands of cultivators dead. The annihilation of the Four Noble Houses, the Head Buddhist Monastery, and the rest of the League of Defiance!

"T-There's no way... right? Is that why the One Ye—" whispered Belladonna before she hurriedly shut her mouth. The instant she saw the twisted expressions on the Head Elder's faces, she knew she almost screwed up. Belladonna had never seen the Head Elders display such bare-faced hostility toward anyone or anything.

"You will never utter such a thing again," said Alnus. "Am I clear on this matter? Never again. You will understand everything when you are older and have completed your pilgrimage to the Fallen Lands. Until then, you are to forget about this night and everything related to it."

Belladonna nodded her head before she hesitantly said, "But what about him? He will not stop searching into... that, and any form of suggestion that he should stop will only encourage him. He rarely listens to anyone and is stubborn beyond belief. By letting him leave White Dew Society, aren't we just sending him to his imminent death?"

"Actually... that was something we wished to discuss with you. We have a long-duty assignment for you," said Head Elder Shaia softly. "A task of paramount importance that only you can perform. Fail this task and there is a good chance that ruin will befall not only our little Society but this entire land..."

The next morning, a weary Laude awoke in an odd place he had never been before. It was an ornate, gorgeous room filled with all the furnishings and amenities that money seemed to be able to provide. It made Laude's dingy little room appear like a prison cell in comparison, which was surprising given how frugal and minimalistic White Dew Society was overall.

But that was the least of Laude's concerns; when the all-too-familiar aroma of warm cinnamon wafted past his nose, a deep feeling of dread sprung up within his heart. He knew only one person in White Dew Society who used such a fragrance, much to his horror...

Oh no... No, no, no, no...! How the hell did I end up HERE?! Of all the places I could have woken up...! I would have preferred waking up in hell than in this room!! Oh god, I really fucked up this time around...

Like a frightened meerkat, Laude cautiously scanned his surroundings until he noticed a certain somebody intently reading a weathered book with a complicated expression on her face. She seemed quite lost in thought, but not enough to not notice the anxious pair of eyes sizing her up from underneath her bed's covers.

"...Good morning," said Laude in as polite a tone as he could manage. "You look positively stunning today, by the way."

"Good afternoon, you mean," replied Belladonna as she put down her book and walked over to a small table that held a small pot of tea and biscuits. "Would you like some tea? Or perhaps... some plum wine instead? Maybe that's more your sport."

Laude's face twitched, but he kept his composure and said, "Just tea, thank you very much. I think I've had enough alcohol for a while, haha..."

Belladonna raised an eyebrow in mock surprise before she softly muttered, "Could have fooled me..."

Laude bit his lips in silent frustration, restraining his urge to yell at her, but he reeled in his thoughts in the end. After all, what was he supposed to do? Reprimand the woman who very well might be carrying his child now? If that was indeed the case, there was nothing Laude could do aside from taking responsibility.

Never had Laude been so afraid of another person as right now. Both Laude and Belladonna knew that she was actively exploiting his fear, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was at her mercy henceforth...

After she gave Laude his tea, Belladonna sat beside Laude and simply observed him as he slowly sipped his tea. It was such an innocuous action, and yet it inspired so much dread. Time slowed to an unbearable crawl, and what felt like a thousand years passed by for Laude as beads of cold sweat continued to dribble down his poor face.

Eventually, he could not bear the silence any longer, and he said, "Listen, Bella... Despite how I usually act, I was raised by good parents, and they taught me that any adult worth his salt... must always take responsibility for their actions."

Laude fanned the little flame of courage in his heart and took a deep breath before he firmly but gently said, "I won't run away."

Belladonna gazed at Laude's determined face and thought of something only known to her before she replied, "W-Well said... I-I'm happy that you... f-feel that way...!"

She could no longer hold in her amusement and broke into unrestrained laughter. The instant she started laughing, Laude felt an incredible rush of relief, and he deflated into a puddle of joy. The feeling of relief was so powerful that he didn't even feel any anger or embarrassment over what he had just told her.

He was just delighted that he wouldn't have to change any goddamned diapers in the near future, mean-spirited prank or not.

Nevertheless, Laude had unwittingly won a small spot in Belladonna's heart, even if only by mistake. Not every man had the guts or integrity to boldly declare responsibility for such a large mistake. Most young men would at least contemplate once of fleeing the scene of the crime, so to speak. After all, who would want to settle down at such an early age?

Laude eventually learned why he had woken up in Belladonna's room — Head Elder Fraxinus had destroyed Laude's room in a drunken rage after receiving a terrible defeat during a game of Go. His loss resulted in him losing five pounds of purified silver, a costly bet that had left him in a state of blind rage last night.

"You could have just dumped me in the Spring Pagoda with a blanket if you wanted. But thanks for letting me crash in your... very posh room. Where the hell did you get the money to buy all of this stuff, eh? I mean, silk blankets and pillows made out of... goose feathers?" said Laude jealously as he rubbed his face on the fluffy cloud that was his pillow.

Belladonna smiled at Laude and said, "Every lady needs a secret or two; it's part of the allure. Anyhow, I'm still going to hold you to the promise you made yesterday. Make sure your wallet is nice and fat for the next time we head down to town, okay? No one likes a man who can't keep his word."

Ah. My damn cocky mouth... I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me back then! Well... it's not like money's a problem now that we have plenty of spirit stones developing in Lantern-Bridge Mountain.

After a bit of bickering and haggling on what Belladonna's spending budget would be over a light breakfast, the pair left her room and began strolling over to Lantern-Bridge Mountain. Rather than report to the Head Elders, Laude wanted to make sure that everything was stable below the mountain where the Society's newborn guardian deity now lived.

Along the way, Belladonna asked Laude if he remembered anything from last night, but no matter how hard he tried to recall the previous night's events, he could not recall anything specific. He recalled having a drinking game with his mentor, Elder Ohtal, and talking to everyone about something but couldn't remember what...

Laude asked Belladonna to fill him in on what happened last night, but she told him that her memory was fuzzy. Much to her great relief, Laude seemed to care little about the subject aside from his room's destruction. Had he pushed the topic any further, she would've been put in an ugly situation. Making up excuses and telling bare-faced lies had never been a forte of hers... and she didn't want to deceive someone she considered a good friend.

In the heart of Lantern-Bridge Mountain, astonishing new changes had transpired the span of a single night that left both Laude and Belladonna positively speechless.

What could only be described as a false sky loomed above their heads inside the gigantic cavern. A lovely blue sky with soft, puffy clouds made for a disorientating sight, given they were thousands of meters below the earth. At ground level, a beautiful vista of lush, wild vegetation and fruitful farmlands stretched out further than the eye could see.

It was an utter and complete transformation on a scale that defied logic. Was this the power that a nature god possessed? If so, Laude wondered what hope humanity had in rectifying the Spiritual Qi Crisis if even transcendent beings like the gods had fallen victim to it and were now all but a distant memory...

In any case, Laude felt complex emotions bubble up in his heart the more that he observed the little world that had sprung up within the cavern. Even though it was not a perfect replica, he could quickly tell that this place was based on an actual location. There were apparent landmarks that Laude recognized as he had visited them before during his youth.

...But why? I don't get it at all. It's not as if... that place has any significance to it. So why did it use that scenery as its inspiration?

Laude was about to call out for Tellstar, but surprisingly, the god materialized in front of him and Belladonna before a single word had come out of his mouth. It was clear that the god had been expecting his arrival. And much like the cavern's scenery, the god had undergone a transformation of its own.

Most prominent of all was how it had changed its appearance. Though it still bore a faint resemblance to Laude, it now sported an elegant set of clothes and possessed a tree branch of its own. Given its relatively androgynous mien, anyone who didn't know that Tellstar was a god would have probably thought that it was a relative of Laude.

Suffice it to say, Laude welcomed the change — he had found it awkward being around the naked god since it had given him the impression that he had been staring at a nude younger brother or sister. As much as he loved his family, he didn't love his family members that way.

"You look nice in those traditional robes.. but then again, everything looks good on me. Well done," said Laude with an indulgent smirk.

Tellstar nodded slowly in agreement and said, "...Thank you. I don't understand why you humans wear these... clothes, but if you think I look... nice, I will continue wearing them in the future."

As a nature god, Tellstar should have been, by definition, a being without an ego. After all, nature gods were born from the thoughts and desires of wild animals and plants. But since Tellstar was created from the thoughts and desires of human beings, it had unintentionally been granted the potential to develop an ego of its own.

Despite not knowing why, Tellstar had already begun moving towards developing individuality of its own. The very first step on that path was imitating someone who already had what it lacked, which is why Tellstar had copied Laude's demeanor.

And who better to emulate and learn from than the being who had created it? Tellstar could not think of a better human in this regard. What was really heartbreaking was that the god had not even thought of Elder Ohtal once as someone to learn from, despite the significant contributions he had made in its creation...

Laude did not waste any time and badgered the new god with all the questions he could think of as they took a short stroll through the little world that Tellstar had built for itself.

He asked what it was capable of performing, what it could sense from within the mountain, how it had created everything inside the cavern, how it was feeling at the moment... all manner of questions that slowly helped Laude form an understanding of Tellstar.

It understood abstract concepts like the passage of time, the immensity of space, and even more... mundane concepts like money and entertainment. Scholarly literature about nature gods noted that they had a harder time understanding foreign ideas like these, making them much more difficult to communicate with than more "civilized" gods born from human religions, myths, and beliefs.

Regarding what Tellstar "could do" with its abilities, it stated that it didn't know how to answer Laude's question.

Could it move Lantern-Bridge Mountain with a single hand? It doubted it could do something like that. But could it grow plants and conjure convincing illusions that resembled reality? It seemed to have an affinity for it.

Tellstar said it could feel the pulse of life from the forest that lived on the mountain and the thoughts and emotions of the cultivators studying and practicing their Immortal Arts thousands of meters above their heads. And even deeper beneath the mountain, Tellstar said it could sense a faint but an immeasurably large vein of Spiritual Qi flowing across the land...

When he heard that description, Laude felt a chill run down his spine because he knew that Tellstar had stumbled onto a world-vein, which gave life to all things wherever it passed through.

It would not be a lie to say that when the planet's world-veins ran dry, it would signal the end of all life. Nothing would ever grow, let alone be born... and that was where all of the wisest and brightest minds in the cultivation world now focused their thoughts and energies.

They knew that the world-veins had begun to dry and that it would not be long before they completely disappeared.

Some factions in the cultivation world wished to reverse the disappearance of Spiritual Qi; they wished to draw Spiritual Qi back into the world and replace what had been lost. The golden age of cultivation could be brought back, but it would require... sacrifice. One day, the gods of yore and the treasures of the past would return, ushering in a bright future for humanity...

Other factions embraced the Spiritual Qi Crisis and wished to take advantage of it for the benefit of all. They posited that when all the world-veins dried out, the cycle of life and death would logically be broken. The world would regress into a primordial state before life and death became clearly defined. The world would return to its original state before the Heavens intervened eons ago...

Hence, all who survived the incoming collapse would be able to grasp immortality by simple virtue of... just existing beyond the end of the world. An eternal kingdom that existed beyond life and death would arise, one that would never lose its luster...

The most radical factions desired to find a path out into the stars themselves, where the Heavens themselves dwelled. If the Heavens would not protect them any longer, they would slay them and create a Heaven of their own for every man, woman, and child. A Heaven that would never abandon the lost, poor, and the sick.

All manner of factions had arisen out of the chaos, claiming they had the solution to the world's problems. And they were all desperate to prove themselves correct.

Despite their grand ambitions, not a single one of these factions could fully enact their plans. Not without the assistance of an aberration created by the Heavens themselves.

Out near the western fringes of the Janusphere Empire's borders, a pair of hooded foreigners crossed a lonely mountain pass at a breathtaking speed; they rode on the large back of a golden wolf several times bigger than any mortal house.

Near the northern border of the Janusphere Empire, wild rumors floated around remote villages about the sighting of a massive silver dragon that created snowstorms in its wake. Judging by the sightings, it was believed to be traveling south...

Lagging in the distant Emerald Sea, an immense hurricane had begun to form unbeknownst to anyone as it slowly swirled towards the continent of Ibeum. Deep within the storm, a pair of fearsome golden eyes gazed toward something hundreds of miles away...

For every day that passed, many influential people had shifted their attention to a small mortal empire located on the eastern edge of the continent of Ibeum— waiting for the inevitable bloodshed that would soon befall it and the power shifts that would ripple across the world from it.

There was much to gain and everything to lose. Needless to say, it was quite an exciting time to be a cultivator...