Changing times, changing lands—yet the hearts of mortals remain the same.
Across this vast world, war and death touch every corner without mercy.
Humans, demons, and demonic cultivators are locked in eternal conflict, each striving for the same desires—to seize the world's resources, attain immortality, and ascend beyond the mortal realm.
The world stretches across hundreds of billions of kilometers, or even trillion, encompassing many immortal realms divided by boundless seas.
Among them lies the Ten Thousand Mountain World—a land territory over ten millions kilometers wide in its dimension
Ten thousand years ago, a massive demon army surged forth from the Northern Sea, seeking to conquer new lands and expand their dominion.
That war shattered the long-standing supremacy of the human race, leaving countless lives buried in its wake.
Amid the devastation, humanity's leaders made a desperate choice. As the tides of war consumed their people and the demon horde poured endlessly from the sea, they chose to yield half their territory—retreating south and drawing a new line of defense.
Through this bitter sacrifice and the unity of all human factions, the invasion was finally repelled. For the first time in Ten Thousand Cloud Mountain world history, humanity stood as one—not for ambition or power, but for survival itself.
Since then, a long-standing conflict has plagued the land.
Every century, a demon beast tide would invade the southern human territories to control their growing population caused by limited resources—or perhaps to seize more land and drive humanity out entirely, claiming the land's abundant resources for themselves.
One of these countless invasions was finally coming to an end.
Yun State, Green Sword Sect.
Yun State was a small territory—a land twenty thousand kilometers wide—located on the western edge of the Ten Thousand Mountain world. Positioned at the forefront of the war against the Demon Race, death and battle had long become the norm for its people.
However, the recent Beast Tide proved unlike any before.
A massive army of over one million demons had invaded Wei State—the foremost superpower in the region.
Due to the constraints of such a large-scale battle, the Immortal Jade Sect of Wei State could not afford to send reinforcements to its two vassal states—the Green Sword Sect of Yun State and its neighbor, Cheng State, on the frontlines.
With the Demon Race's army numbering over hundred thousand in Yun State, the Green Sword Sect could do nothing but huddle within their sacred mountain and allow low-level demons to wreak havoc across the land.
Many small and medium clans were annihilated, while others chose to abandon their ancestral homes and relocate to Wei State, struggling to carve out a place for themselves there.
Among these small clans was the An Clan—a humble Qi Refinement family once stationed in Qingfeng County, home to one of the two great fortified mountains of the Green Sword Sect, erected as bastions of defense against the endless tides of demonic beasts.
The already small clan, which once numbered twenty-three members, had now dwindled to an even smaller number.
As a result of the devastating scale of this Beast Tide, the clan was forced to send two ten-man teams under the Green Sword Sect's orders.
Failure to comply meant annihilation for the entire clan!
Such was the norm in the cultivation world.
Medium powers controlled the life and death of small ones, while great powers held dominion over all beneath them.
The An Family, though boasting a three-hundred-year history, was but a speck in the grand scheme of things. They could only follow the flow of time and pray to the heavens that their bloodline would survive and prosper.
Fortunately, due to the foresight of the second-generation member An Yuanshu—the third oldest of Yuan Generation, as well as the current Clan Leader and acting Ancestor—the clan had long been preparing for a catastrophe like this.
In his younger years, while exploring the vast cultivation world, An Yuanshu had stumbled upon a small spiritual micro-land in Baiyun County.
Even then, as a responsible youth groomed to lead the next generation of the An Clan, he saw the potential of this tiny yet spiritually rich land for the clan's future.
The small spiritual micro-land was situated at the center of a serene mountain lake.
Due to its limited size, no major power above the Qi Refinement level would even consider fighting for it—making it an ideal refuge, one that only loose cultivators or other small clans might contest.
It became a heaven-sent opportunity for the family—a hidden sanctuary to which they could retreat in times of great disaster, preserving their bloodline and continuing their legacy.
And his foresight proved to be a life-saving decision for the continuation of the An Clan.
When the second call for recruitment began, the entire clan sensed that something was amiss.
They sent the only two members of the Ling Generation to guard this land, while the rest of the clan departed to reinforce the frontlines—their current situation remaining unknown.
An Ling was one of those two members.
He now stood before the corpse of a second-level demon beast lying motionless on the shore.
Demon beasts were the equivalent of Qi Refinement cultivators, divided into three levels—first, second, and third—and further divided into early, middle, and late stages.
Human Qi Refinement cultivators, on the other hand, were divided into nine levels, with every three level forming the early, middle, and late stages. Those who reached the ninth level and perfected their mana were known as Peak Qi Refinement cultivators.
An Ling, at the peak of the middle-stage Qi Refinement Realm, held a clear advantage over the demon beast, which was only at the middle stage of the second level—equivalent to a fifth-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. He had just slain it for its assault on the island protective array.
"The beast is dead! Go back and continue your tasks—the ancestors will return any day now!"
An Ling addressed the crowd of mortals before disappearing from sight along with the corpse of the demon beast.
An Clan, Sacred Mountain.
Though grandly named a "Sacred Mountain," their new territory was merely a small, unnamed hill on the eastern shore. Yet, it was the heart of the island, where spiritual Qi gathered most densely. This was precisely why the beast had attacked—it sought to claim this ideal home for itself.
"Has the beast been slain, Brother First?"
An Ling appeared at the mountain gate, where An Lingqi waited anxiously.
He was the only other member of the Ling Generation besides An Ling.
An Lingqi possessed four spiritual roots and had reached the peak of the early-stage Qi Refinement Realm—which was why he hadn't participated in subjugating the lone invading beast.
Though An Ling had five spiritual roots—a poorer foundation than his junior brother—he was a special case. His extraordinary wisdom and talent in cultivation had allowed him to surpass those with better roots.
"It's been slain—no need to worry, Brother Lingqi."
An Ling reassured him with a faint smile.
"That's good. That's good," An Lingqi sighed in relief, his eyes tracing his elder brother's calm, composed figure.
If no one with two-spiritual roots emerged among the Ling Generation after the current Clan Leader's passing, An Ling would surely take up the mantle of leadership.
Despite his inferior spiritual roots, his early maturity and talent in cultivation had earned him a place beside An Yuanshu—already being shaped into the clan's future leader.
'Our relationship has grown distant since then…' An Lingqi thought silently.
He shook his head, brushing away his thoughts.
"Let's go drink some wine, Brother First. It's been too long since we've had time to talk."
"Too long?" An Ling smiled wryly. "We've been drinking ever since we were stationed here—the last time was just three days ago."
"Hahaha! What I mean is, we rarely get a moment away from the elders. We should seize this chance and drink to our hearts' content before they return and throw us back into boring training!"
"Whatever you say…"
An Ling sighed helplessly but didn't refuse.
Ever since An Yuanshu had him assist in managing the clan's affairs, his days had been filled with cultivation, responsibilities, and endless duties. It had been far too long since he'd shared a simple, carefree moment with his junior brother. For once, he decided to set his burdens aside and join him in his small courtyard.
After drinking with An Lingqi until midnight, An Ling quietly made his way back to the main building at the hill's peak.
He returned to watch over the protective array that shielded the clan—its faint spiritual light flickering beneath the moonlit mist.
The soft glow of the array plate pulsed beneath his hands as he adjusted the runes, ensuring their stability.
Once satisfied, he descended toward the mountain lake, his senses sharp and alert—patrolling the mist-covered shores to ward off any threat that might endanger the mortals under his protection.
After his final patrol around the sleeping mountain, An Ling returned to the main building. Within the serene silence of his chamber, he sat cross-legged, steadying his breath as he resumed his cultivation. The faint, soothing hum of spiritual energy was the only ripple in the deep, still quiet of the night—a tranquil blanket of stillness that held the world fast in the hours before dawn.