The sky was the color of dried blood.
On the peak of Mount Tianxuan, the wind howled like a grieving ghost. Fang Ze stood at the edge of the cliff, his black robes tattered and soaked in crimson.
"Fang Ze! You have nowhere left to run!"
A thunderous voice echoed through the clouds. Floating in the air surrounding the peak were ten figures, each radiating an aura so powerful it distorted the surrounding space. These were the Ten Immortal Sovereigns of the Righteous Path—the strongest cultivators in the world.
Fang Ze wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his lips. He didn't look like a man facing his death. Instead, he smiled. It was a cold, mocking smile that made the glorious Sovereigns tremble slightly.
"Run?" Fang Ze let out a rasping laugh. "Why would I run? I, the Eternal Demon Venerable, have slaughtered millions and refined the souls of nine thousand cities. Do you hypocrites really think you defeated me?"
He looked down at the broken jade slip in his hand. What a pity, he thought calmly. I was only one step away from refining the Gu of Immortality. Just one step.
"Stop his nonsense! Kill him!" The leader of the Righteous Path, a man bathed in golden light, roared. "He is trying to activate the Blood Array!"
Countless swords of light, fire dragons, and thunderbolts rained down like a waterfall of destruction.
Fang Ze's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint.
"If the Heavens won't allow me to live, then I shall drag the Heavens down with me!"
He didn't defend. Instead, he reversed the flow of Qi in his dantian.
Boom!
A blinding black light swallowed the mountain peak. The self-destruction of a Tier-9 Demon Venerable was enough to shatter the void itself.
...
"Hah!"
Fang Ze sat up violently, gasping for air. His body was drenched in cold sweat.
The expected pain of his soul being torn apart didn't come. Instead, he smelled... mold?
He narrowed his eyes, his instincts instantly scanning the surroundings. This wasn't the peak of Mount Tianxuan. It was a small, damp wooden shack. The furniture was rotting, and the air was thin—the spiritual energy (Qi) here was pitifully scarce.
"This is..."
Fang Ze looked at his hands. They were pale, slender, and calloused not from holding a sword, but from chopping wood and hauling water. These were the hands of a servant, not a Demon Venerable.
He touched his chest. A faint heartbeat. Weak, but alive.
Memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave, merging with his 500 years of experience.
"I am back," Fang Ze whispered, his voice trembling not with fear, but with exhilaration. "I am back at the Fang Clan... back to when I was fifteen."
He turned his head to look at the broken bronze mirror on the wall. A young, malnourished face stared back.
Fang Ze closed his eyes, quickly organizing his thoughts. His logic was as cold as ice.
Current Status: Fang Clan's branch disciple.Cultivation: Body Refining Tier 1 (Trash).Timeline: Three days before the Awakening Ceremony.
In his past life, this Awakening Ceremony was the beginning of his nightmare. Because of his poor talent, he was bullied, crippled by his cousin, and eventually thrown out of the clan to rot. It took him twenty years of crawling through mud to accidentally stumble upon the demonic path.
"But this time..."
Fang Ze stood up. He walked to the window and looked towards the misty mountains behind the clan compound.
A cruel smile slowly curled up his lips. It was the same smile he wore when facing the Ten Sovereigns, but now, it was filled with terrifying anticipation.
He knew that exactly tomorrow night, a rare 'Blood Spirit Grass' would mature in the forbidden area of the back mountain. In his previous life, the Clan Leader's son consumed it to become a genius.
"The Heavens are kind," Fang Ze muttered, though his eyes held no reverence for the heavens. "My path to Immortality begins again. And this time, no one will stand in my way."
He clenched his fist. The air in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.
"I will take everything that belongs to me. And everything that doesn't."