Five years ago, on a certain day…
Dark red blood seeped into the dirt and stone, flowing between the cracks. All around, within miles of the stone forest, lay strange and misshapen remains, their colors vivid and unnatural. They gave this desolate land, untouched by human presence for centuries, a grotesque and almost bewitching ornamentation.
Amid the towering stone pillars came a jarring, utterly out-of-place clamor of human voices.
"No sign of it?"
"We've been tricked! First they pulled the wool over our eyes, then mixed truth with lies. Someone else must have taken it!"
"Hurry, after them! We might still catch up. Whatever happens, we can't let that treasure fall into Old Demon Luo's hands!"
Long after the voices faded into the sky, something stirred in the shadow of a narrow crack between the rocks.
A strange, flat object poked out from the crevice, then suddenly swelled and took on the shape of a man. In his hand was a peculiar multi-faceted crystal, casting dazzling, many-colored light under the moon.
He lifted the crystal and peered at the antique symbols visible beneath its translucent surface. "Southeast Forest Sea… Demon Thunder Monastery… mist… could it be…"
His reflection warped across the crystal's faintly curved face, twisting his features until the ecstasy on his face looked even more eerie.
He clutched the heaven-sent treasure tightly. After holding it in for a long time, he finally burst into wild laughter. "What a treasure, what a treasure! If it can make the Rogue Cultivators' Alliance send out two Ruling Councilors, and leave Old Demon Luo wanting it but unable to get it, then it must be a treasure indeed. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful!"
His laughter echoed and scattered among the rocks, rising higher until it seemed to soar into the clouds. Up in the sky, a petite, graceful young girl let out a yawn.
"Are cultivators these days really this stupid? Or is that cheap little junior brother of mine more interesting? Hm… I'll send him a beauty tomorrow… But Aunt Qing, how much longer do we have to put up with this boring business?"
The icy-faced woman in green robes replied coolly, "You know the answer better than I do. Why ask?"
"Well… ahh, let's just wait until Old Demon Luo and the others take the bait. This place is yours, I'm off."
The girl patted the "big black dog" she was sitting on, gave a cheerful cry, and rode off on a cloud, vanishing in an instant.
Down in the stone forest, the man in the shadows seemed to have heard something. He glanced around, then slipped away into the jumble of rocks, disappearing without a trace.