In ancient legends, during an era when immortals and gods roamed the earth, taming all beings with divine power, the immortal realm and the mortal world were not yet fully separated. Countless mighty beings existed, and a colossal tree, known as Jianmu, pierced the heavens, connecting the immortal and mortal realms. Jianmu breached the immortal realm's barrier, allowing the ethereal immortal qi, born from the heavens and earth, to slowly seep into the mortal world. This qi transformed the land, altered the skies, and awakened wisdom in all living things.
Beasts roamed the eight wildernesses with divine might, while scaled creatures swam the four seas with grace. It was an era of surging winds and rising clouds.
In that ancient epoch, divine beasts and gods walked the untamed earth. Among the feathered creatures, the phoenix reigned supreme, soaring above and commanding all birds, with even the winged tribes beyond the mortal lands worshipping the crane totem. Among the scaled, the dragon ruled with five claws and twin horns, its majestic presence commanding the seas, with all marine tribes bowing in obedience. On land, the qilin held dominion, governing all four-legged beasts, its benevolence nurturing the world.
Later, the demon tribes transformed, vying for supremacy with the ancient gods and great witches born from the world's spirits. Both sides eventually declined, ushering in an age of chaos where countless tribes and spirits warred. The Human Emperor rose, conquering the eight wildernesses and unifying the six domains, securing humanity's place as the world's protagonist. Order was established, and the immortal realm was born. The supreme Heavenly Emperor, destined to rule the three realms and six domains, suppressed the ages before departing to realms beyond.
After appointing humanity's successor, the Human Emperor rode the last true dragon, shattering the void to follow the Heavenly Emperor's path.
The new immortal realm's lord struck a pact with the Human Emperor: the immortal realm would be for immortals, while the mortal world would honor the human emperor as supreme. Sealing this oath, the Human Emperor severed Jianmu, cutting off the mortal world from the immortal qi. Over ten thousand years, the mortal world's immortal qi faded, and contact between the realms ceased, save for rare prodigies or those blessed with remnant immortal qi who ascended to the upper realm.
This secret realm, tied to the schemes of ancient sects, was born from a forbidden act. Ten thousand years ago, when immortal qi vanished and ascension became nearly impossible, a sect, once the mightiest in the divine continent, its name now unspeakable, plotted with an immortal from the upper realm. With ascension barred and immortal qi gone, even ninth-tribulation terrestrial immortals feared their nearing mortality, yearning for the gods' eternal life.
Thus, they schemed to sneak into the immortal realm, using Jianmu's remnants and the guidance of an immortal. Their audacious plan nearly succeeded, almost allowing some to breach the immortal realm.
But the outcome was shrouded in mystery, recorded only in hushed whispers. The ancient texts of sects, both righteous and demonic, avoided the tale. It was said the plot was exposed, enraging the immortal court. The sect was annihilated, its members' souls obliterated, barred from reincarnation. The immortal who descended, aiding the sect, fell in battle, their blood staining the mortal earth.
Stepping into this immortal ruin, the lingering carnage, suffused with malevolent qi and resentment, enveloped the site. This was not merely the grave of a sect but a tomb of countless treasures and exotic beasts.
Yet, the dangers were immense. The residual power of such beings, even in death, was beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators. The death of an immortal, though not as catastrophic as a sage's fall, marked by omens like mourning auspicious beasts or blood rain, was no trivial matter. The immortal's resentment and death qi transformed into a relentless gale, tainting the once immortal qi-filled secret realm with destruction and unending bitterness.
Many reckless demonic cultivators sought to harness this malevolent wind, only to be shredded into blood mist before they could react.
Among the ruins, littered with the corpses of cultivators, were not just common practitioners but even sect leaders and grandmasters. Some bodies, drained of blood and weathered by ten thousand years, remained uncorrupted, preserved as they were in life.
Greedy treasure-seekers, eyeing the artifacts of these fallen grandmasters, often met gruesome ends, their bodies disintegrated by the lingering resentment and death qi before they could even approach.
A single halberd strike shattered a resentment-formed wraith into dust.
Lian, clad in fiery red armor, radiant as a blazing dawn, wielded a dragon-etched, gold-gilded Fangtian halberd. Her heroic aura, unyielding as any man's, drew admiring glances and envious glares.
Some gritted their teeth in resentment.
As the Dragon Halberd's heir, Lian followed a solitary master-disciple lineage, without a sect's backing. Every resource and insight she gained was fought for. Like Feng, she straddled the line between righteousness and unorthodoxy, not demonic, but enough to irk many righteous cultivators. Her enemies were no fewer than Feng's.
In the mortal world, she was the daughter of Rex, the Northern Marshal, but cultivators cared little for such titles. To block one's path was akin to murdering their kin, and Lian's list of foes was long.
Yet, the moment a wraith emerged in the secret realm, her halberd swept through the horde of ghostly fiends born from this cursed land, shattering them like a general charging through enemy ranks. Her crimson armor blazed, cowing those with ill intentions.
But Lian's focus was elsewhere. Her eyes scanned the ruins, seeking the startled exotic beasts disturbed by the intruders. Some of these creatures, extinct in the divine continent, survived here. Their presence made the righteous Beast-Taming Sects salivate, while demonic beast-slavers showed naked greed.
Lian searched for beasts bearing ancient traces. A bird with seven-colored feathers glowed faintly, a Seven-Color Auspicious Bird, extinct for a millennium, said to bring great fortune to those who claimed its plumes. Some reptiles carried faint primordial bloodlines, like a white-furred, sharp-mouthed monkey with Stormcrest ancestry or a crane-like bird with white feathers and a single leg that sparked flames, hinting at Bifang heritage.
In a shadowed abyss pool, crocodiles lurked, their scales distinct, with a horn-like growth on their snouts, clearly bearing dragon blood.
Yet Lian frowned. Despite her scrutiny, her cultivation technique showed no resonance. These creatures, at best, were distant descendants of flood dragons, far removed from the cloud-riding, rain-summoning true dragons.
"Anything else?" she muttered, growing anxious.
The Dragon Halberd, legend held, was forged in ancient times by a human who witnessed a divine dragon soaring through clouds, its eyes like stars, its roar like thunder. Befriending the dragon, they crafted a technique mimicking its form and intent. Each strike was like a dragon's descent, overwhelming foes with awe. Her master, a renowned figure, could challenge sect leaders with a single halberd.
But the technique's brilliance revealed its flaws. The founder had ridden a true East Sea dragon, altering landscapes and slaying immortals. Later heirs lacked such a companion, diminishing the technique's divine might. Thus, every Dragon Halberd heir, including Lian's master, sought a true dragon to perfect the technique.
"Lian!" A familiar voice broke her thoughts, easing her tension. Joy sparked within her. Turning, her fierce brows softened, her face blooming like melting snow. "Feng! You're here?"
"How could I miss this spectacle?" Feng replied.