***
Alliance of Thousands Cultivators.
"INSOLENT!" someone shouted.
That day marked the peak of chaos on the planet of the Alliance of 1000 Cultivators, when a man in black-red robes with black hair arrived to demand blood vengeance. He was Yun Zhu.
Yun Zhu glared with sharp hatred at the ten cultivators standing before him.
Seven were True Immortals, and the other three were Golden Immortals.
At that moment, Yun Zhu's cultivation base had reached the level equivalent to a Golden Immortal.
Even so, Yun Zhu looked overwhelmed. Fighting a single Golden Immortal was already enough to drain his immortal crystal.
Now he was forced to face ten cultivators in the Celestial Divinity Realm.
"Yun Zhu! No matter how hard you cultivate, you will never be equal to us!" said an old man with a long white beard, a Golden Immortal.
"The destruction of Shenyun is something I cannot forgive. Even if I die, all of you will suffer a significant drop in your cultivation!" Yun Zhu declared.
"You killed hundreds of thousands of cultivators, and destroyed more planets than we ever did. Your crimes are far more brutal!" the old man shouted again.
Yun Zhu fell silent. His hands were soaked in blood, and many cultivators from various sects and planets had died by his hand.
But their deaths were not without cause.
Those sects and planets allied with the Alliance of Thousands Cultivators were the reason. Yun Zhu still spared other cultivators as long as they did not interfere with him.
Yun Zhu's actions were far more merciful than those who destroyed Shenyun and slaughtered all the mortals.
"A cultivator's death lies in the hands of other cultivators or the heavens. But you broke the basic ethics of cultivation: you killed the mortal humans!" Yun Zhu said firmly.
I don't have any other choice. With the highest power I have, I still won't be able to defeat them.
I might be able to make their cultivation drop, but the backlash will be terrible for me.
"Planet Shenyun was destined to be destroyed. Now, we will destroy you and make you suffer a thousand years of pain and regret!" the old man shouted.
Yun Zhu formed a complicated hand sign while flying and dodging their pursuit.
In an instant, he completed the magic. Runes appeared and stretched wide among the ten cultivators.
They stopped flying and were trapped inside a cage of lightning. Only someone of their level could break the formation core. Yun Zhu knew that.
That was why he planned to use the Sky God's blood essence to strengthen the formation.
He slapped his bag of holding and threw a drop of the blood essence into the center of the formation, then formed another set of hand signs.
[Stage and Realm Sealing Activated]
The Sky God's blood was absorbed into the red lightning runes, and the lightning struck the ten cultivators with tremendous force.
Yun Zhu pushed himself as hard as he could to maintain the runes until the sealing process was complete.
A red curse mark burned into the foreheads of the ten cultivators, causing seven of them to fall to the Immortal Ascension stage of the Immortal Realm, while the other three dropped to the True Immortal stage.
Yun Zhu succeeded, but the impact on him was severe. His immortal crystal was almost drained dry.
He no longer had the strength to fight them at full power, while they could still fight with the strength they had left despite being lowered in stage.
"Damn you, Yun Zhu!" shouted one of the True Immortals in frustration.
I can't keep fighting. I have to escape and save myself.
Just as Yun Zhu was about to flee, he was shocked by the arrival of a noble figure from the planet of the Alliance of 1000 Cultivators.
The pressure of the man's aura shook Yun Zhu's soul. It was clear that the man stood on a far higher realm.
"Yun Zhu… your crimes can no longer be forgiven," the man said as he walked in the sky, wearing white robes with ornaments on his back.
"Release the seal, and I swear upon heaven that I will give you a comfortable death."
Damn it, Yuan Xi!
Realizing he could not fight Yuan Xi, Yun Zhu summoned his legendary sword and began sealing himself into it.
Yuan Xi realized what Yun Zhu was planning, but Yun Zhu had a way to stall him.
"Tianlong!" Yun Zhu shouted.
A dragon emerged from his body and roared fiercely at Yuan Xi. The Tianlong Dragon fought violently against him, even though Yun Zhu knew the dragon would never defeat an Immortal King like Yuan Xi.
But defeating him wasn't the point. Yun Zhu needed Tianlong to buy time until the self-sealing was complete.
While Tianlong and Yuan Xi clashed fiercely, Yun Zhu flew away from them and focused entirely on the legendary sword.
Soon, Yuan Xi managed to defeat Tianlong and began chasing Yun Zhu. Yun Zhu dodged several attacks, and at last, his sealing was complete.
Yun Zhu went still and looked at Yuan Xi one last time.
"I cannot destroy all of you today. But one day, I will return bringing a far more terrifying disaster!"
"YUN ZHU!" the man roared.
Yun Zhu's sword shot out of the orbit of the Alliance of 1000 Cultivators at incredible speed, too fast for Yuan Xi to catch.
He suspected Yun Zhu had used the last of his strength to increase his speed so he could escape.
"Yun Zhu… the Alliance of Thousands Cultivators will hunt you to the end of the world!"
***
Five thousand years later.
Planet Canglan.
A female cultivator flew on her sword while avoiding attacks from her enemies. She was exhausted, with many wounds on her body from clan conflict.
"Young Lady of the Han Clan, don't run from us!" they shouted.
The woman, named Han Ruolan, kept flying while dodging. She had tried calling for help from her clan elders, but none came to save her.
Han Ruolan turned back and launched a blast of blue fire to block the enemies' vision.
Thick smoke rose into the sky, and she quickly hid when she spotted a cave beneath the mountain.
She arrived limping, moving deeper into the cave to avoid the entrance. With her enemies only at the Foundation Establishment stage, they would not sense her aura.
At last, Han Ruolan could breathe a little and sat on the floor, exhaling. She knew her enemies were still outside, and cultivating to recover would be dangerous for her.
Han Ruolan walked deeper into the cave, then slipped and fell into a steep ravine. Her awareness faded from exhaustion.
Right as she fell, Han Ruolan opened her eyes and saw a black-bladed sword embedded in a stone, radiating an extremely powerful aura.
"W-What sword is that?" Han Ruolan whispered.
She stood up and slowly approached the sword. The closer she got, the more it trembled, as if its aura resonated with her own.
"This is dangerous. I shouldn't take it. The aura is at least equal to a Nascent Soul cultivator," Han Ruolan said.
"But only a Nascent Soul's strength can defeat those people."
To her shock, Han Ruolan looked up and saw the three cultivators who had been chasing her. They found her.
They flew down into the ravine and saw Han Ruolan alone, weak, and injured. They also saw the black sword behind her, radiating power.
"A treasured artifact?! That sword would be the perfect gift for the clan leader."
"With it, he might give us a pill to break through to Core Formation."
"Haha! Let's play with the Han Clan's Young Lady first, then grab the sword and leave."
Han Ruolan grew more terrified. She stepped back as the three men walked toward her. Her hand accidentally touched the blade, causing the sword to vibrate violently.
Dust and hardened dirt fell away, revealing the sword's true colors and design, a navy blue blade with a dragon-shaped hilt.
Han Ruolan was stunned. She never expected the sword's real form to look like that.
The three men also stared, even more excited to take the treasured sword.
The woman acted quickly. She jumped back and forced herself to grip the sword.
The moment the blade left the stone, a surge of strength rushed through her body.
[Congratulations, you have obtained an item]
[Item: Yun Zhu's Sword (Mythic)]
[Cultivation power increased!]
Han Ruolan felt abundant qi flowing into her body. Her strength returned, and her wounds healed. With this sword, she could fight her enemies.
She dashed forward, slashing at them and releasing magic attacks until all three fell helpless to the ground.
They lay weak on the floor of the ravine while Han Ruolan stood before them, pointing the sword threateningly.
"Leave before I kill you!" Han Ruolan demanded. The three cultivators quickly agreed.
Limping and injured, they climbed onto their swords and flew away from the ravine. Han Ruolan finally exhaled in relief and looked at Yun Zhu's Sword.
"This is a good sword. I'm sure Father will like it."
"All right, time to return to the clan mansion."