Long ago, the Firstborne wandered across the oceans with a child in his arms.

  He met all sorts of life, to the flowers and trees, and the primordial beasts. He posed one question.

  “Tell me, living one, how must I heal my child?” In a voice of denial.

  They all gave him the same response. “There is no healing one bereft of Life.”

  He refused to give in, exploring the world to ask every form of life. Perhaps someone or something had such a Path.

  Until he met a deer, with horns so large it dwarfed him, and eyes so dark it wouldn’t reflect him.

  “Give me the Ring of Valence, and I will give you the answer.” That was what it asked. The Firstborne looked to his left hand, with only one ring left. But he did not hesitate.

  The Ring fell into the deer’s eyes, and it gained a brilliant majesty. Colours swarmed and the man’s self was reflected within.

  “There is no healing one bereft of Life. Only when you shroud one with Death can the Path be opened. With Death, the Soul will leave, arriving at the rivers of your Father’s blood. In there, one day it will emerge once more into this world, abundant with Life. Are you willing?”

  “I am willing.” The Firstborne’s eye dulled, the power of the Grand Paths long gone. “But how do I grant my child Death?”

  “Trace yourself back to your first sin. You were the one who disrupted It.”

  So the Firstborne dug a barrow with his bare hands until it could fit the body of his child. The world devoured his child, and his soul returned to the river, until one day it would emerge once more among the living.

  The grandfather recounted the tale to his grandson before gifting him with warm milk.

  “Little Shu, this is the Testament of Death. Detailing the Genesis River that all mortals go through. But, if you become one with the Grand Paths, ascending as a Grand Pathstrider, you will sever yourself from the cycle of reincarnation.”

  “This is the price of trying to defy death, to become an Immortal.”

  For six months, Shuren focused himself with battle missives and attending the sect classes.

  This time, they were tasked with investigating an emergency flare on the outskirts of the Unhallowed Monolith.

  Shuren and Ming were perched on a Cloud Li Crane, their robes and hair flowing with the bellowing winds. “The Unhallowed Monolith is coming into view. We best drop off at the western point!” Shuren yelled to Ming as he patted his crane, signalling it to change its direction. Both Shuren and Ming couldn’t help forgetting to breathe at the sight in front of them. And both expanded their Qi to reinforce their optical vision. They wanted to imprint every corner of the scene in front of them.

  Every single corner.

  Forget the Unhallowed Monolith, the city itself it crashed into was different. They couldn’t quite put it into words, but it was almost like reality itself was shifting. The city of emerald and bronze nature was warped into a vile augur of charcoal purple, like a spark of brandstorm tribulation ravaged the city.

  The myths of heavens tearing itself open to release this thing were turning into reality in front of their eyes.

  The world was changing. A new era at dawn.

  And this got Shuren thinking. How did a Rank 5 faction like Cloud City managed to keep it annexed and isolated for all these years? Surely all the powerhouses of the world would be running to this place, scheming to be the one to investigate it first. His eyes shone and his heart pounded, his awe and reverence for Seven Clouds Sect emboldening.

  And this didn’t even mention what was at its epicentre. Like an etherean polygon spire had been thrown by a titan, thrusting it deep into the earth. The exterior was akin to an inverted rainbow, polychromatic obsidian colours of each shade swarming and mixing like a whirlpool. Compared to the Orichalcum Ore Mines that the Liu Clan held a monopoly on, whatever that thing was made of was bound to be of a mythical rarity.

  Shuren turned his head at the sound of rambunctious laughter. “I’m telling you man, this is why I’m gonna explore every continent and corner of this world. Why would I waste my time growing old in the comfort of a sect? Tell me Shuren?!”

  Shuren could do nothing but shake his head. Unlike him, Ming was far more carefree. No responsibilities on his family lay on his shoulders. They had argued about this ever since they started working together six months ago, and at some point both their routines had become to eat, sleep, battle missives, rinse and repeat. Junyu had enough sigils to live comfortably, so he appeared less often as well. Both of them were practically two peas in a pod now.

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  They had the strongest drive, pushing each other to get to Path Foundation through raw battle experience. Warriors were honed by battle, and Pathstriders were carved by tribulations.

  “Remember Ming, we can’t be flying within a dozen kilometres of that thing. The surrounding storm will kill us!” Shuren yelled, grabbing Ming’s attention.

  “I got ya. Let’s scope out that trade route and find the survivors!”

  Shuren willed, and the missive from his cloudmulet came into full display. Words graved themselves in his mind, as if he could see them in front of him, and yet didn’t obstruct his vision.

  It was a missive only suitable for those at Stage 9 and above, and to work in a team.

  Find intel on the lost merchant caravan. Clear out any enclaves of beasts on the route. Reported traces of demonic cultivators detected and find intel on them. Possible correlation with missing caravan.

  Rewards: 1000 - 3000 Cloud Sigils.

  If Shuren performed well enough, he’d save up enough to purchase an Earth Grade spatial ring from the sect. Even if he couldn’t use it now, once he’d break through to Path Foundation, his preparations would be met. Only then would he use the rest of his Cloud Sigils to purchase equipment for a Rank 2 cultivator.

  Ming led his Cloud Li Crane to veer closer to Shuren, now a few feet apart. “Oi Shuren. Look at the peak of that thing, quick.”

  Shuren dispelled his Qi from the cloudmulet, heeding Ming’s words as he stared at the top of the Unhallowed Monolith. They were about twenty kilometres away, barely making out the top.

  It looked like a blob of shadow wriggling. Melting yet rising. They couldn’t make out any more features.

  “This wasn’t in the report.” Shuren said, petting his Cloud Li Crane to lower while nodding to Ming. “We should-”

  His heart constricted, like a snake had wrapped around it. His entire body trembled, every cell in his body yelling.

  “JUMP OFF!” Shuren leapt off his mount, falling down and grabbing his Ruyi Staff. Ming didn’t bother questioning Shuren, having fought together enough to understand each other. He hopped off.

  Shuren and Ming’s eyes darted towards the Unhallowed Monolith, Qi tensing with most of it at their vitals. They forgot about how they were going to land.

  A pair of charcoal black beams shot to the sky in a perfectly straight line. For over twenty kilometres it wouldn’t stop, nor drop in height, and both Shuren and Ming’s ear felt a thunderous roar soon after, like a sharp screech of an apex predator.

  Shuren felt the slimy entrails of the Cloud Li Crane falling on his body. Blood, bones and feathers rained down on the two, and the smell of charred flesh served as a grim reminder. His eyes narrowed when he saw a bone shaved cleanly in two, because at the edge of the bone was an ominous glassy burn that smoked purple.

  It was purgatory.

  His staff wouldn’t stay still. His hands couldn’t stop trembling.

  “Wake up Shuren!” Ming yelled, grabbing his wrist. Shuren felt the fluffy cloud as he stumbled down, yet his eyes remained unfocused. “Get yourself together, you almost fell to your death!” Ming yelled, kneeling next to Shuren as his flying nimbus gradually landed on the floor.

  “Shit, do we head back? That Unhallowed Monolith’s never done this before.” Ming said, waiting for Shuren to get it back together.

  Shuren felt death’s hand unravelling its grip on his heart, and he cycled his Qi while committing the Liu Clan’s breathing technique. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he wiped it off with a palm, along with the blood of the Cloud Li Crane. “I’m okay. I’m okay. Just give me a minute.” Shuren wheezed out, calming himself down.

  “Good call. If you didn’t send a signal in time, we’d both be grilled.” Ming sat down, an arm hanging on his knee. They both took a breather for a moment.

  The cries of beasts soon overtook the forest, chaos ensuing. Using his Ruyi Staff as support, Shuren stood up while facing Ming. “Let’s move now. That thing must’ve provoked a beast tide. We’ll head northwest of the trade route and work backwards from there. The emergency cloud flare was shot along that way.”

  “We’ll run, stick below the trees. I’m not risking flying anymore. We don’t know the range of that thing,” Ming said, stretching his shoulders. “Keep up Shuren!” Dust flew out from each step he took, his footprint imprinted within the dirt. Shuren followed soon after.

  The signal they were alerted on was shot out over a dozen kilometres away, so they had some time. “I’ve been hearing rumours, the Seven Clouds Sect managed to find an entryway to that thing. You think that’s why it’s acting up recently?” Ming said, weaving and ducking between trees and plants.

  Shuren used his staff to rebound over a pond, covering even more distance. “Must be. But they definitely won’t have us come along. They’d probably allow only Rank 3’s exploring the perimeter, while the strongest lead the charge. I know for sure they’ve already hidden a teleportation array nearby.”

  They saw a group of Stage 8 Qidense Mud Boars running out the forest. They didn’t even bat a glance towards Shuren and Ming. “Shuren, how’d you sense that thing coming?” Ming asked.

  “Gut feeling. The moment I saw that thing moving, I knew something was up.” Shuren touched his chest, remembering that deathly sensation. The necklace dangling on his chest, the Sacrosanct Artifact he borrowed didn’t even signal him a bit, and it was meant to be a lifesaving tool.

  Is this what they call sensing bloodlust from a thousand li away?

  It was a gut feeling, right?

  “Haha, yet you almost fell to your death! Good thing I’m here, yeah? We’re even on this.” Ming laughed, jumping between branches like he had lived and breathed in the forest. Bark would be ripped out and his hands would be imprinted.

  Shuren could smell soot. They both slowed down as they neared the spot, and their cloudmulet vibrated as it neared the remnants of the signal flare. Out of the forest, they saw a carriage trail from the north western intersection of the fallen city leading up to Cloud City. Grass was charred black, and small pieces of burnt wood were hewn across the plains.

  Then they saw it.

  The charred corpses.