"Master, rest in peace. This disciple will miss you."
Li Lin stood up, walked over to a wooden cabinet nearby, and slammed his fist into the cabinet door.
With a loud *bang*.
Now a cultivator at the peak of Qi Condensation Level 5, his strength was immeasurably greater than before. How could this wooden cabinet withstand such a punch?
He picked up a relatively large piece of wood and found a knife nearby.
*Crack, crack.*
After a flurry of work.
A slightly crude spirit tablet took shape. After some polishing, Li Lin carved the inscription onto it:
"Spirit Tablet of My Respected Master Chu Xingyun."
He placed the tablet on the other side of his master's wife's tablet.
Li Lin picked up three sticks of incense from the table, pointed his right hand, and a small fireball appeared, instantly igniting them. Then he took out an incense burner.
Li Lin bowed respectfully three times, and then inserted the incense into the burner in front of the tablet.
Next, he took out another three sticks of incense, lit them, bowed three times, and placed them in front of his master's wife's tablet.
Li Lin said in a ringing voice, "Master, Mistress, your disciple Li Lin will surely strive hard in his cultivation to avenge you both one day, and thereby comfort your souls in heaven."
With that, he knelt on the ground and heavily kowtowed three times.
......
Li Lin had no idea how many days he had spent in this cave dwelling. He felt neither hunger nor thirst—the sensation felt so unreal.
Li Lin couldn't help pinching himself hard.
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Grimacing and wincing, Li Lin rubbed the sore spot. This was not a dream.
Yet everything he had been through felt as fantastic as a dream.
If he spoke of it, perhaps no one would believe him.
He let out a long breath, calming his fluttering and unsettled heart.
Li Lin walked back to the stone table, picked up the book, and examined it closely.
The text that he couldn't read when he first arrived was now crystal clear. It plainly read: *Chronicles of the Tianyuan Continent - Authored by Tianji Pavilion*.
He opened the first page and began to read.
The Tianyuan Continent was originally a vast and boundless world, bearing endless mysteries and miracles.
In ancient times, when heaven and earth were first opened and chaos had not yet separated, this continent was known as the "Pangu Land."
Back then, every race could cultivate freely, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The methods of cultivation were countless; some even achieved the Dao and became immortals simply by eating rare heavenly treasures. Truly, a hundred schools contended and a myriad of flowers bloomed.
Ancient Qi cultivators roamed the world, mastering magical powers, capable of harnessing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for their own use, and cultivating to attain the Dao.
However, humans at that time were not the masters of this world, but lived alongside countless other races across this broad expanse of land.
In that era, a myriad of races stood tall, each possessing unique abilities and traits. Among them were various powerful desolate beasts, giant avians, demons, foreign races, and spirits.
These creatures varied in form: some were as huge as mountains, some as fast as lightning, some extremely cruel and bloodthirsty, and others possessed extraordinary intelligence and magic.
They roamed freely across the Pangu Land, competing or cooperating, forming a colorful ecological tapestry.
The desolate beasts possessed boundless strength and massive bodies, easily tearing apart mountains and rivers; the giant avians soared through the sky, their wings spreading wide enough to blot out the sun, their majesty awe-inspiring and their power boundless.
The demons possessed bizarre magical powers, able to manipulate elemental forces and cast various demonic arts against which it was hard to guard; while the spirits were adept at shifting shapes and bewitching human hearts, causing people to lose themselves.
In this world full of danger and opportunity, the relationships among the various races were complex and ever-changing.
Some races lived in harmony, exchanging skills; others clashed fiercely over territorial disputes or resource competition.
Humans, as one of the weaker tribes, needed to constantly strive and learn just to survive in this world.
With the rapid reproduction of all races, especially humans whose population grew explosively, the scramble for resources intensified, and conflicts grew acute.
Finally.
The "Calamity of the Myriad Races" erupted. Whether proactive, resistant, or neutral, no one could preserve themselves; all were forced to participate as the wheels of war crushed across the continent.
The "Pangu Land" was shattered, forests and plants reduced to scorched earth, towering mountains forced to change course, and great rivers completely evaporated by magical power. Heaven and earth grieved, the sun and moon lost their light, and the continent broke apart.
This huge "Pangu Land" finally fell apart, splitting into several pieces.
Hundreds of millions of lives were lost, and heaven and earth wept blood.
The "Pangu Land" became scarred and desolate, with living things nearly extinct.
Time flowed like water.
Time passed like a white horse galloping past a crevice, changing and transforming until seas became mulberry fields.
No one knew how much time had truly passed; it was impossible to verify.
Yet humans were truly the spirits of all things.
Through generation after generation of reproduction.
Humans slowly rose upon this surviving land, gradually becoming its masters.
With rapid population growth, a gradual scarcity of resources, and recurring struggles, conflicts arose once again.
Humans began to divide and oppose one another. They formed cliques, creating tribes of various sizes, as well as city-states.
Seeing that another catastrophe was imminent.
Respected wise men stepped forward from some of the large tribes. They conferred together and finally decided to divide the territory and distribute the spoils.
Some, unwilling to be bound, led their clansmen in migration and vanished without a trace.
The remaining tribes began to manage humans in an orderly fashion, thus averting a catastrophe. Later, those wise men were called "Prophets" by mankind.
This surviving Pangu Land was also renamed the "Tianyuan Continent."
Recorded as "Year One of Tianyuan."
The "Prophets" began to unify various scripts, weights and measures, currency, and established rules.
They improved cultivation techniques better suited for human practice and explored the mysteries of nature.
......
Today.
The cultivation system of the Cultivation World is roughly divided into: Qi Condensation Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, and Deity Transformation Stage.
Affected by the changing terrain of the continent, rare heavenly treasures are now practically gone, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth grows increasingly thin day by day. Many people spend their entire lives unable to reach the Nascent Soul Stage, let alone the legendary Deity Transformation Stage.
Yet some have forged a different path, and body-refining arts have begun to flourish. Their cultivation speed is extremely fast; it is said that reaching the peak allows one to shatter the void with martial prowess and ascend.
Today.
The various factions of the "Tianyuan Continent" can be roughly divided into four regions.
In the southeast lies the Daxia Empire, home to one top-tier faction, the Haoran Righteousness Academy, and first-tier factions including the Xuanguang Temple, Seven Swords Villa, and Yin-Yang Harmony Sect.
In the northwest lies the Canglong Empire, home to one top-tier faction, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, and first-tier factions including Wuzhuang Temple, the Golden Saber Sect, and the Heavenly Fiend Sect.
In the northeast lies the Fangyi Empire, home to two top-tier factions, the Demon Sect and the Immortal Sword Pavilion, as well as first-tier factions such as Vajra Temple... and the Spirit Beast Pavilion.
In the southwest lies the Qunman Empire, home to one top-tier faction, the Taiyi Dao Sect, and first-tier factions including the Iron Bone Sect, Kunlun Palace, and Heavenly Demon Valley.
The Cultivation World calls them the "Five Overlords and Thirteen Supremacies."
As for the four great empires, they are actually controlled by the various factions and must pay annual tribute. After all, mortals and low-level cultivators also exist within these factions.
Those necessary supplies and ordinary items required for cultivation are indispensable; the factions cannot possibly manage such things themselves.
At the central intersection of the four great empires lies a super city named "Zhongzhou City," which belongs to the neutral zone. It houses the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Tianji Pavilion, Alchemist Guild, Artifact Refiner Refiner Guild, Rogue Cultivator Alliance, Merchant Alliance, and others.
Their headquarters are all located in Zhongzhou City. They do not participate in the struggles of various factions and focus primarily on open-door business.
Other second-tier factions, third-tier factions, and cultivation families are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river.
Legend has it that there is an even more mysterious and powerful underground assassin organization called the "Red Flower Decree."
Even the Tianji Pavilion cannot find out where their headquarters are located.
They issue the "Blood List." As long as you offer enough Spirit Stones, they dare to assassinate even a great Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, striking terror into the hearts of men.
To the extreme east of the Daxia Empire lies the Endless Sea, said to be occupied by sea demons, where very few people have ever been.
To the extreme west of the Qunman Empire lie the Hundred Thousand Mountains, inhabited by Monstrous Beasts. It is said that even Nascent Soul cultivators who go there cannot return unscathed.
To the north of the Fangyi Empire lies the rolling Daxing Demon Ridge, where monsters run rampant. It is a paradise for demonic cultivators and the base camp of the Demon Sect.
As for the Canglong Empire, it backs onto the Death Desert. Rumor has it that no one can cross the Death Desert; it contains no vegetation, no living things, and no spiritual energy—it is an absolute dead zone.
Some also say that the other side of the Death Desert connects to the netherworld, a place of ominous portent.