At the outskirts of the Navira Planes, a solitary figure was flying through the clouds with a beaming smile on his face.

“That was a close one,” Dong Li thought. “Who would have thought that a wraith of the underworld would appear there of all places… I really need to be more careful in the future.”

He then glanced towards his arm and frowned. He noticed a small stream of blood leaking from a cut over his shoulder.

“Strange… I don’t remember the wraith injuring me…”

He remained deep in thought as he used his aura to seal the cut. It was then that a bizarre thought flashed inside his mind. “Could it be… but for a mere mortal to injure me with such a simple weapon…?”

He quickly shrugged off his ridiculous hypothesis. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. He should already be dust by now.”

He accelerated his speed, disappearing in the sky over the horizons.

Meanwhile, darkness and mist revolved around Jack as he struggled to open his eyes. No matter where he looked, all his saw was blackness with no sign of any living creature, including the wraith that attacked him.

Still, his eyes reflected a hint of despair. He knew that he was in a precarious situation, and the shadow of death loomed over him. He had to find a way out of this mist as quickly as possible.

“Sigh,” a soft yet sinister voice suddenly rumbled inside Jack’s ears. “My children keep causing me trouble…”

As soon as the voice was heard, the mist around Jack began distorting and cleared away in a few amounts of breaths, revealing a pitch black dark cave. On the roof of the cave, the puzzled Jack could see a large black face emerging. It was around six metres large, with hollowed eyes and mouth, and a slightly protruding nose.

The moment Jack’s eyes met the giant face, he felt the strange sensation that both his body and soul were completely naked in front of this existence.

The expressionless face said, “Not only my child failed to retrieve what I wanted, but it also dragged down an innocent bystander.”

Jack was still unsure if he was having a nightmare or if this was a reality. He stuttered, “Who are you?!”

The giant face let out a sinister laugh but didn’t reply. Instead, it widened its mouth, summoning a stream of black mist that rushed out and pierced into Jack’s body.

Jack screamed in agony as he felt his body being stabbed by hundreds of invisible needles, unable to resist this invading force. He then fell on the ground, heavily panting.

“What… have you done... to my body...”

The giant face’s sinister voice replied in a carefree way. “Don’t hate me, mortal one. Consider this mist as a parting gift from my part for all the troubles you have encountered because of us.”

“Just pray that the moment where you need to use this gift of mine never arrives. Hehehe…”

The face faded away, and the space around Jack began distorting on itself. Spatial cracks appeared as Jack was forcefully ejected from the cave. He landed on hard ground while coughing black blood, his vision blurred, and then lost conscious...

Time passed.

When Jack woke up, he had no idea how long he had fainted. He was still shaken by the events that transpired, but now it wasn’t the time to put down his guard.

The first thing he did was examining his surroundings, and even though he could see a lot of grass and trees, he quickly concluded that this place was not the Navira Planes. There were numerous plants that he had never seen before in his life.

He stood up, pressing tight onto his dagger. It was his only weapon, and in this case, the possible factor between life and death.

He cautiously moved through the forest searching for an exit. After walking for a while, he stumbled across a short tree. Attached to it was a solitary yellow fruit, the size of a human head.

Suddenly his stomach rumbled.

Jack sighed. He realised that he hadn’t eaten anything for a while, and hunger was beginning to take a toll on him.

“Well, no harm in trying it out,” he thought.

He grabbed it and ripped off a piece. He sniffed, his instinct sensing nothing wrong with its aroma. As soon as he bit it, a delicious sweet fragrance filled his mouth.

He had already taken quite a few bites when he suddenly heard a loud squeak.

Not far from him, he saw a strange creature glaring back at him.

The Creature wasn’t big, around a half leg’s length. It was a little chubby, though it appeared like that mostly because of its widespread fur. It had a short tail, which was furrier than the rest of its body.

Jack spoke while chomping down on the fruit. “Sorry bro. I am starving and need this fruit. There are plenty of trees around here, go search for another one.”

He then took a soft breath and lamented to himself, “Why do I have to deal with hungry beasts all the time…?”

However, not only did The Creature didn’t leave, but it glared back at Jack with jealous eyes and showed its crystal white teeth, as if it understood everything Jack had said.

Jack cursed his luck, but after experiencing those traumatising events, he just didn’t bother anymore, “Well too bad I saw it first. Piss off.”

The creature trembled with fury. Its fur puffed up, making its physical appearance much larger than before. It let out another squeak and charged towards him.

Jack completely ignored the creature, seemingly too busy enjoying the delicious taste of the fruit.

Back then, he had experienced a lot of enmities in the arena. He fought with several humans and beasts, and he could tell if a beast was strong or just pretending. He quickly deduced that this beast was just trying to pull an act on him.

When the now infuriated creature leapt towards the fruit, Jack easily dodged, grabbing it by its tail. The creature ended up suspended in the air entirely at Jack’s mercy. However, it continued to shriek hatefully at Jack as it struggled to escape from his grip.

“Maybe I wasn’t clear before little shrimp. So let me repeat in a language you might be able to understand.” Jack mocked while chomping on the fruit.

“Fruit. Mine. Screw off!”

The creature seemed to stop resisting. However, it had been looking for this particular fruit for ages. It wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Its tail suddenly solidified. Using it as a pendulum, it reached out for Jack’s arm, unleashing its penetrating teeth and biting Jack with all viciousness it could gather. A hint of satisfaction appeared in its eyes shortly after.

“You…” Jack gritted his teeth.

He violently threw the creature away. It let out a miserable shriek as it landed on its butt, spewing fur around.

“If you want to fight, then bring it on,” Jack coolly said as he showed his dagger.

The Creature glared hatefully, its pride unyielding. However, upon seeing the dagger, it slowly lowered its head, then ran away.

After making sure that the creature was gone for good, Jack continued eating the fruit, though he couldn’t help himself not to glance towards the red marks on his arm.

Afterwards, he proceeded with his journey.

However, it didn’t take much longer for night to set in. He found shelter below a tree, though he was too anxious to allow himself to fall asleep. Then, when the obstructed rays of the morning sun caressed his face, he was on the move again.

It was not until several hours later that he finally stepped out of the woods. His eyes immediately widened with awe.

In the distance, he saw a floating mass of land. It was a vast landmass with a quadrate outline. It housed a large bustling city with towering pagodas and ornamental palaces. Sometimes bright beams could be seen flying in and out of the City.

A large column of water fell from the heavens directly towards the centre of the City, then splitting out horizontally into four different streams, in the form of a cross. The water escaped through the corners of the landmass, generating four majestic waterfalls. Many rainbows could be seen further below, along with a variety of colourful birds.

Rotating around the city were three smaller platforms, harbouring three large towering pagodas, one for each platform.

Jack wasn’t sure why, but he felt that there was something different about the elements in this area. It seemed that with every breath he made, the natural energies of this place were reinvigorating his skin.

However, it didn’t take long for his amazement to change into annoyance. He released a long sigh.

Ever since that event at the lake, it was just one crisis after another.

He could feel that someone was pointing a weapon against his neck.

“Identify yourself, spy!”

It was a soft feminine voice. Even though it was threatening, it was so delicate that Jack couldn’t possibly take it seriously.

Jack remained calm as he turned himself around and coolly replied, “I am just a lost traveller. I mean no harm.”

The young woman remained silent, seemingly lost in her thoughts. “And you expect me to believe that? The scars on your face and body tell otherwise! You’re coming with me.”

She grabbed Jack from the collar of his shirt, making it look like his body was made of feathers, then flew away towards the city.

Jack did nothing to stop her. He knew that if she wanted to kill him, she could have already done so. He assumed that he was more useful to her alive than dead.

Instead, he decided to stay still, enjoying the view as he was transported to the city. He also understood that allowing himself inside the city would give him a much better chance of surviving and understanding what the heck is going on.

Once he arrived at the city, Jack could notice the occasional glances from other humans directed towards him, or more specifically towards his ragged clothes and scars. Otherwise, the majority of people didn’t seem to take notice of him.

They didn’t take long to arrive in an expansive garden. There an old man was sitting crossed legged seemingly meditating. Although he was old, it was evident that he took great care of his outward appearance. He radiated an aura of elegance which complimented well with the natural surroundings.

‘Elder Tian. Young Junior offers her respects.”

The old man took his time to open his left eye.

“I’ve found this man near the forest. I suspected he might be a spy from a rival sect, so I brought him here –

“And I’ve already told you that I am no spy,” Jack interrupted politely as he was afraid of the consequences… if he somehow managed to piss these monsters off the results would be tragic. However, a hint of annoyance could still be detected inside his eyes.

The old man closed his eye, then smiled. “I know that our rival sects like to employ underhanded tactics… but I don’t believe they would be stupid enough to send a cripple to spy on us.”

The woman’s eyes suddenly opened wide as she glanced over Jack. “Cripple…?” Her face flushed red with embarrassment.

Her body soon started to tremble, fearing Elder Tian would punish her. But when she perceived the old man expressing a broader smile, she instead bowed with appreciation. “Even though this junior made a blunder, Elder Tian’s compassion is as big as the highest mountain. This Junior thanks Elder Tian for his benevolence!”

The old man nodded smilingly, then he opened both of his eyes for the first time and locked over Jack. “So, who do we have here?”

Jack observed him but didn’t reply.

“Judging from those clothes, I am assuming you aren’t from these parts. Mind explaining how you ended up being here?”

Jack nodded respectfully, then sat down as he described the events of the lake. He was still cautious and didn’t mention specific details, especially anything that had to do with the dark cave or the giant face.

Elder Tian listened to Jack attentively without changing his expression. He only commented once Jack had finished his complicated story.

“So… you are saying that you have been framed by a cultivator and then kidnapped by a black looking creature, then ended up in the forest down here… strange… really strange…”

The young woman glanced at Elder Tian weirdly but didn’t utter a word.

Elder Tian seemed lost inside his thoughts before locking his gaze over Jack. “If I haven’t lived a long life and seen all the crazy stuff that I’ve seen, I wouldn’t believe you. But I can sense the honesty in your eyes.”

“The best course of action would be to take you back to your realm.” Elder Tian explained. “However, there is only one way for you to return to your world, and that’s knowing the specific coordinates of your realm. Which… I doubt you do.”

“After all, there are about one trillion lower realms where you mortals reside.”

Elder Tian’s words struck Jack like a lightning bolt. Even though he didn’t care much about his previous life, the thought of himself ending up stuck in a realm inhabited by strange humans, all of them using supernatural abilities, caused him a sense of dread.

“Well, since destiny brought you here, you can try staying at our Sky Water Sect if you wish. We are one of the four great sects of this region. You will not find any better opportunity than this.”

After considering Elder Tian’s words, Jack felt grateful. He had just met this old man, but he could tell that this man’s heart was full of compassion.

He kneeled and bowed with respect. “Junior offers his appreciation for Elder Tian’s kindness.”

“It is too early for that.” Elder Tian quickly interrupted. “New members require the Ancient Divinity’s approval before they can join the sect. This has been the tradition since the foundation of the sect, and it cannot be changed.”

Jack appeared confused. “Ancient Divinity?”

The young woman hurriedly explained, “All great sects are founded by powerful beasts and us humans inherit the power of the said beasts. These beasts are referred to as Ancient Divinities. Our ancestor beast has long perished… but its sole descendant still lives to date…”

Elder Tian instantly understood Jack’s complex expression.

“Hey! Don’t give us that anxious look! Since the very beginning, nobody has ever been rejected! So don’t worry about it.”

“But I am a ‘cripple’?” Jack reminded him, even though he had no idea what they meant with the word ‘cripple’.

“Don’t worry. We had several cripples in the past, and they all got accepted. You’re not the first one. Let’s go now.”

Elder Tian flickered his fingers, summoning a bubble around them. He then took one step, a step that seemed to travel an entire distance, transporting them to a new location.

They had arrived at the entrance of a small temple. Elder Tian then raised his hand and fired a beam of light towards the sky. Almost immediately, wave after wave of other humans arrived, some flying and some others by foot.

“A new sect member? Oh, it’s Elder Tian recommendation this time! Must be someone special!”

“What are those clothes? Who still wears clothes as ugly as those during this time and age?”

“Who is this man? What’s so special about him?”

The court in front of the temple was now occupied with an enquiring crowd. However, when Elder Tian raised his hand, it was like the hand of the divine, and everyone fell silent.

Elder Tian nodded then respectfully shouted, “Ancient Divinity, I’ve brought you a young man for your appraisal.”

Silence reigned as everyone expectedly gazed towards the entrance of the temple.

Jack was the most nervous from everyone present, but after remembering Elder Tian’s words, he seemed to relax himself a bit.

After several breaths, a shadow appeared deep inside the temple, slowly increasing in size as it approached the entrance of the temple. It seemed to be moving very slowly, apparently taking its time to make its grand appearance.

From a closer distance, Jack could notice that the shadow indeed didn’t pertain to a human but instead that of a small beast.

When the familiar shadow fully emerged from the temple, Jack’s heart stopped beating.