Fate is a faint line that guides the journey of every living being.
Some walk it toward glory, while others stumble into the abyss of ruin.
At times, humans are granted experiences so vast and precious that they later become eternal stories, never to be forgotten. Yet many are also forced to accept a cruel fate, even after once standing at the very peak of triumph.
In truth, mankind is nothing more than specks of dust scattered across the vast expanse of the mortal cosmos. To true gods, humans are fragile creatures incapable of shaking the heavenly laws. Their lives and deaths are like fallen leaves, dropping without meaning beneath the tree of time.
A destiny once set in stone is never absolute. In an instant, it can shift, turning one's life upside down.
Such was the fate of Qin Shan, a renowned Heavenly God of the Three Realms—an existence whose name once shook the heavens themselves.
Millions of years ago, the universe was plunged into darkness and chaos.
It all began with the Demon World Alliance, who sparked the flames of war in their ambition to conquer the entirety of the Three Realms.
These realms were three vast domains:
The Mortal Realm—the world of ordinary humans, small sects, and low-level cultivators. To high-level beings, it was nothing more than a training ground, a place where mortal life unfolded simply, yet could also serve as the foundation for the birth of extraordinary talents.
The Heaven Realm—the divine world of gods, Immortals, and the highest existences. Bathed in the light of heavenly law, it was known as the pinnacle of existence, a realm only a select few could ever enter.
The Nether Realm—the underworld, a place of darkness, blood, and suffering. At first, it served as a prison for sinful Immortals and wicked beings who rebelled against heaven's laws. But when chaos erupted, the prisoners escaped, seized control, and turned the Nether Realm into a nest of unimaginable evil.
The Demon World Alliance launched attacks from every front. Wars spread across both minor and major worlds, the flames of battle even tearing into the Heaven Realm, which had always been guarded by heavenly law. The destruction of ancient prisons unleashed Immortal sinners who united to form new powers, until even the Six Paths of Reincarnation—those that governed the cycle of life and death—were shattered to pieces.
Amid the storm of war, Qin Shan—one of the Heavenly Gods, marked with a crimson sigil on his forehead, symbol of blood and fire—was also cast into the current of chaos. Though his might towered above countless beings, the laws of the universe and the weight of fate still loomed over him.
Whosh! Whosh! Whosh!
Through the emptiness of the Endless Voidspace, Qin Shan shot forth like a ray of light. Behind him, two dark figures pursued with lightning speed, passing stars that trembled in their wake.
"Damn it! How did they know the Heaven-Sealing Scripture is in my possession?!" Qin Shan cursed inwardly, his eyes flashing with unease.
The two figures—one from the Sky Serpent race and the other from the Hellhawk clan—pressed in without mercy. Their cold voices echoed through the void.
"Khehehe… You won't escape, human!" hissed the serpent, his long tongue flickering, eyes gleaming with greed.
"Hmph! Just hand over the scripture. What's the point of resisting? You're only hastening your death!" sneered the Hellhawk, his tone dripping with disdain.
Qin Shan did not answer. He only pushed his speed further, occasionally turning to unleash sharp bursts of energy. Yet his pursuers brushed them aside with ease, as though his attacks were no more than sparks in a vast ocean.
Days turned into weeks in the endless chase. Until finally, Qin Shan came to a halt at a perilous boundary—the border between the Mortal Realm and the Nether Realm.
"Hey, old snake. Do you think he's giving up?" the Hellhawk asked, his long nose twitching.
"Fool. He's no ordinary man," the serpent replied sharply.
Qin Shan closed his eyes. His hands blurred through countless seals, his body glowing with a prismatic light that shimmered across the void. Then—BOOOM!
A colossal ancient seal, spanning thousands of meters, emerged, releasing a radiant brilliance that swept through the Voidspace. Its tremors shattered nearby stars like brittle glass.
"To defy the heavens—that is the path I chose. To commit the taboo—that is the sin I bear. But this… this is my only escape!" Qin Shan roared, his voice shaking the void itself.
His body blazed, his aura igniting the darkness. His two pursuers froze, their faces paling.
"That… that's a portal… Don't tell me—"
"The Path of Reincarnation?!"
Shock gripped them. If a Heavenly God truly forged a new Reincarnation Path, the entire Three Realms would quake. And indeed, from Heaven to the Nether, every being felt the suffocating surge of energy. Even Immortals faltered, breathless under its pressure.
The original Six Paths had been established long before mortals existed, their presence subtle, distant. But this new path, forced open by Qin Shan, siphoned energy directly from the Three Realms, unleashing a spiritual storm unseen in all of history.
"If he succeeds… we'll all be destroyed," one whispered, face ashen.
"Retreat!" the other barked, and they fled at once.
The radiant blue portal opened in full. Qin Shan's gaze sharpened as he faced it.
"Through this… I will be reborn. Though my power stands at its peak, none of it matters once I step into reincarnation…"
His body erupted with light. In the next instant, the portal swallowed him whole.
His physical form dissolved into ash. What remained was his True Soul—a being between reality and illusion, stripped of flesh, nothing but pure essence. He drifted across the vast cosmos, searching for refuge.
A thousand years… ten thousand… fifty thousand! For a soul, time was but an endless current. Qin Shan wandered seas of stars, passing fragments of shattered worlds, until at last he found a small, tranquil realm.
It was not filled with Immortals, nor stained with blood. A simple world, yet one that hid a mystery drawing him in.
Qin Shan's soul descended into the realm, drifting into the heart of the Tianmeng Empire—into a grand residence where a woman was struggling through childbirth. By her side stood her husband, handsome yet anxious, while a female physician assisted.
"My love, just a little longer. Our child… is almost here!" the husband urged, voice tight with emotion.
Moments later, the cries of a newborn rang out, echoing through the sealed chamber.
In a flash, Qin Shan's True Soul slipped into the infant's body.
It was the beginning of a new life.
Perhaps the child would grow to be nothing more than a merchant, a wanderer, or a simple soldier. Yet no one knew—the soul within him was Qin Shan, the Heavenly God who once defied the heavens themselves.
The parents gazed tearfully at their child.
"Congratulations, Third Elder. You have a son," the physician said with respect.
But joy was fleeting. The mother, Qing Li, pale and exhausted, clutched her husband's hand.
"My love… I can't hold on…"
"No! Don't say that! We've just been blessed with—"
With a faint smile, Qing Li pressed a slender finger to his lips. "Take care of him… don't let him grow up lonely…"
Her strength faded. Her final breath slipped away.
"No… Qing Li!!" the man cried, clutching her limp body, tears streaming down his face.
"I'll remember your words… I'll protect our son… until my last breath."
Through grief and sorrow, the infant's cries grew louder, piercing the chamber like a declaration.
The wail of a newborn—marking the beginning of a journey that would one day change the fate of the Three Realms.