The sun hung high over Feather City, casting long, shifting shadows through the dense canopy of the back forest behind the Mu Clan Manor. It was a place of vibrant greens and the constant hum of hidden insects, a sprawling natural playground that bordered the edges of the Great Xia Dynasty's civilization.
On this particular afternoon, the quiet rustle of leaves was interrupted by the light, rhythmic pitter-patter of small feet.
Mu Chen moved with a leisurely pace, his hands tucked behind his back in a manner far too composed for a six-year-old. He wasn't exactly exploring for his own sake; rather, he was keeping a watchful eye on a small, energetic blur of pink and white further ahead.
Xiaoyu, only four years old and brimming with the boundless curiosity of childhood, was in the midst of a high-stakes chase. A particularly vibrant butterfly, its wings shimmering with iridescent hues, flitted just out of her reach, leading her deeper into the foliage than she usually ventured.
Unknowingly, the pair pushed past the usual boundaries of the manor's safety, winding through ancient trees and over moss-covered roots until the forest began to thin, giving way to the jagged face of a cliffside. Nestled within the grey stone was the dark, inviting mouth of a cave.
Xiaoyu stopped at the entrance, her eyes widening as she pointed toward the shadows. "Brother Mu Chen! A cave is here! Let us go and see!" she chirped, her voice echoing slightly against the rock.
Without waiting for a response or a cautious word, the little girl gathered her skirts and vanished into the darkness, her laughter trailing behind her like a silk ribbon.
Mu Chen paused for a moment at the threshold, looking at the dark opening with an expression that sat somewhere between mild amusement and the weary patience of an older brother. He shook his head slowly, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and stepped inside to follow her.
The humid, heavy air of the forest was replaced by a refreshing coolness that washed over them like a spring breeze. As they moved deeper, the cave opened up into a spacious, natural chamber.
It was remarkably clean, devoid of the usual grime or bats one might expect. In the center of this grotto lay a stone pool, roughly two or three Zhang in diameter. The water within was so crystal clear that it seemed almost invisible, save for the way it caught the faint light filtering from above.
Xiaoyu stood by the edge, leaning over to peer into the depths. "Brother Mu Chen, it looks like spiritual liquid," she said, her voice filled with wonder as she sensed the faint, pulsing energy radiating from the pool.
Mu Chen walked up beside her, his gaze sweeping over the shimmering surface. He didn't need to test it; his senses, far beyond the limitations of anyone's thinking, confirmed the purity of the essence gathered there.
He nodded simply and said, "Here."
With a casual, almost lazy wave of his finger, the laws of the physical world seemed to bend to his will. The entirety of the stone pool's contents—gallons of clear, high-grade spiritual water—began to churn and swirl.
As if pulled by an invisible vacuum, the liquid compressed inward, shrinking smaller and smaller until the massive volume of the pool had been condensed into a single, brilliant drop of sapphire-like essence.
Before Xiaoyu could even blink in surprise, the drop flew across the space and pressed firmly against the center of her eyebrows. Mu Chen didn't just give her the liquid; he forced the world to assist in its refinement. Within a single breath, the vast energy was processed and integrated into her small frame.
The change was instantaneous. Xiaoyu, who had been a regular mortal child just a moment ago, suddenly underwent a transformation that would have made the world's greatest cultivators weep with envy. Her aura flared, skipping the arduous years of physical labour required for the Qi gathering Realm.
In this world, the Qi gathering Realm was the foundation, a gruelling stage focused on hardening the skin, strengthening the bones, and tempering the internal organs through sheer grit and sweat.
Only after passing through nine levels of Qi Gathering could one hope to touch the Foundation realm, where the body finally became capable of channelling Spiritual Qi.
Xiaoyu didn't just touch the Foundation realm; she stepped into it as if she were walking across a threshold into a neighboring room.
"Hehehe! Brother Mu Chen, thank you! I am feeling so strong now!" Xiaoyu giggled, hopping up and down. She clenched her small fists, feeling the newfound power thrumming in her veins. "Father and mother will be surprised!"
Mu Chen gave a short, affirmative nod. "Mn."
If any high-level cultivator from the Great Xia Dynasty or the super sects beyond had witnessed this scene, their eyes would have quite literally popped out of their sockets.
A four-year-old at the Foundation realm? Even the most favoured sons of heaven, the geniuses born into the richest of clans, didn't even begin the path of cultivation at that age, let alone reach a stage that many spent years trying to achieve.
As the silence returned to the cave, a soft tip sounded. From the ceiling of the cavern, a drop of bright red liquid—thick and glowing with an ethereal light—slid down a stalactite and fell into the now-empty stone pool, creating a series of slow, crimson ripples.
Mu Chen looked up. Embedded in the ceiling was a stone unlike any he had ever seen. It was covered in a dense thicket of mysterious, glowing runes that seemed to pulse with the heartbeat of the earth.
He reached out his hand, and the stone detached itself, flying through the air to land softly in his palm.
Touching it was a strange experience. The material was neither stone nor jade; it was soft to the touch, yet possessed an aura that was ancient, grand, and infinitely vast.
Xiaoyu leaned in, looking at the strange object. "Brother Mu Chen, is that spiritual water generated from this?"
Mu Chen nodded slowly. He could feel a budding consciousness within the object, a spirit that had been born from the stone's immense power. Furthermore, he sensed a remnant soul hiding in the deepest recesses of the artifact, huddled away like a frightened animal. He wasn't in any particular hurry to drag it out just yet.
Turning back to the little girl, he said, "Let us go."
Xiaoyu nodded, the excitement of her breakthrough finally giving way to a sudden wave of lethargy as her body adjusted to its new power. She rubbed her eyes and made a cute, exaggeratedly tired face at him. "Yes, I am tired. Pick me up."
Mu Chen looked at her pouted expression, a small smile playing on his lips. He shook his head at her antics but didn't hesitate.
He reached down and picked her up in his arms, her small head resting against his shoulder as he turned and carried her out of the cool cave and back into the forest.
...
By the time they reached the Mu Clan Manor, the evening sun was painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. They found their parents, Mu Xiao and Liu Yan, in the central courtyard.
Xiaoyu, having regained her energy during the walk back, immediately scrambled down and began to chatter excitedly. She told them all about the "magic water" and showed off her new breakthrough.
Mu Xiao and Liu Yan were stunned, their faces moving from disbelief to sheer joy as they realized their daughter had somehow leaped into the Foundation realm. They showered her with praise, making the little girl giggle and glow with pride.
In the midst of the family celebration, Mu Chen quietly slipped away and headed to his own room. He closed the door and sat cross-legged on his bed. He pulled the mysterious stone from his robes.
With a thought, his consciousness surged forward, and he entered the stone.
The interior of the artifact was a world unto itself—a mysterious, vast space that seemed to stretch into infinity. Mu Chen stood in the center of this void, observing the shifting shadows and the strange, ancient energy that permeated the air.
He didn't waste time exploring the periphery; his gaze locked onto a specific, dark corner of the space.
"Come out," Mu Chen called out, his voice echoing through the emptiness.
There was no response. The silence of the void remained unbroken.
Mu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold light flickering within them. "If you don't come out, I will destroy this space."
The warning hung in the air, blunt and undeniable. Still, no one emerged from the darkness.
Mu Chen didn't offer a third warning. He extended his hand and slowly closed his fist. As he did, the mysterious space began to groan. The fabric of the void started to tear as a massive, overwhelming suction force emerged, fuelled by a space void that threatened to consume everything. It was a power so absolute that anyone sucked into it would be scattered across the dimensions, lost forever.
Finally, a panicked, high-pitched voice rang out from the shadows. "Stop it! Stop it! I am coming out!"
Mu Chen loosened his grip, and the crushing pressure vanished instantly. The void stilled, and the space returned to its previous calm state.
From the darkness, a small, black shape scurried forward. It was a rat—or at least, it looked like a black rat—about the size of a human palm. It appeared in his hand, its tiny chest heaving as it gasped for air.
"Hey kid, are you out of your mind?" the black rat started cursing the moment it caught its breath, its voice trembling with a mixture of rage and sheer terror. "You're so young, why don't you do something else? Why do you stare at a completely bare space? Are you an idiot? How can you be so strong? I was about to die!"
The creature was merely a remnant soul, but its fear was palpable. It looked at Mu Chen with wide, frantic eyes, still unable to comprehend how a mere toddler could wield a force that felt like the end of the world.
The memory of that suction force, the feeling of being pulled into a bottomless void, sent a chill through its soul. Invisible sweat seemed to break out over its tiny form.
Mu Chen looked down at the creature with a flat expression. "I warned you." He observed the soul more closely, tilting his head. "What are you? A rat? A mouse?"
The creature's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and it bristled with indignation. "Bullshit! You're the rat! Your whole family are rats!"
"Huh. A talking mouse?" Mu Chen continued, his eyes full of hidden smiles as he leaned into the teasing.
"I'll say it again! I'm not a mouse! I'm the Celestial Demon Sable!" the black creature hissed sharply, struggling incessantly in Mu Chen's grip. "The Celestial Demon Sable, do you understand? I am from one of the four beast overlord families!"
It kicked and squirmed, but it was like an ant trying to push a mountain. No matter how hard it tried, it remained firmly held in Mu Chen's palm.
"Oh," Mu Chen said, his voice dripping with faux realization. "A mouse with a name that can talk."
"..."
The Celestial Demon Sable, which had been fighting tooth and nail just a second ago, suddenly went limp. It let out a long, defeated sigh and muttered blankly, "Kid, you win. I give up, okay...? Now can you tell me who the hell you are?"
"Mu Chen," the boy replied simply. "Now tell me what this stone is?"
Mu Chen could have peeled the truth from the stone's memory directly. But where was the fun in that? Being all-knowing was like reading a book where every page was blank.
The black rat—now identifying as Diao—settled down. "I am Diao. To be honest, I don't know exactly what this is, but it must be a supreme, valuable treasure. In my past life, I reached the Nascent Soul Realm, and it was because of this very treasure that I was attacked. My physical body was destroyed, and now only this remnant soul remains."
When a Golden Core hatches into a Nascent Soul, the spirit gains independence. Even if the body is destroyed, the Nascent Soul can escape and possess another or find materials to reform.
Mu Chen nodded. Since Xiao Diao didn't have the full picture, he decided to ask the one person who would. He snapped his fingers.
The sound echoed like a thunderclap within the space. Instantly, the spirit of the stone—which should have required a staggering amount of resources and primal chaos energy to awaken—snapped into consciousness.
A tangible, glowing spirit appeared in front of Xiao Diao and Mu Chen, radiating an aura of absolute order.
Xiao Diao's jaw dropped. "Is this... the treasure spirit?"
The spirit ignored the sable, bowing low before the six-year-old boy. "Greeting, Master. I am the treasure spirit, Shi."
Mu Chen nodded. "Tell me about it."
"Master, this is the Origin stone," Shi explained, his voice solemn. "It ranks second in the ranking of ancient divine artifacts."
Mu Chen nodded, his curiosity piqued. "Who created these?"
"All the divine artifacts and the Heavenly Seals were created by my previous master, Hong Zun," Shi replied.
Xiao Diao, recovered from his shock enough to be inquisitive, chimed in. "Where is your master now? And what are these Heavenly Seals?"
Shi's expression turned somber. "My previous master sacrificed himself to save this world from the demons. He sealed this plane by sacrificing his very existence. As for the Heavenly Seals, they are natural treasures created by the essence of heaven and earth themselves."
Mu Chen listened to the explanation patiently, processing the history of a world that was proving to be at least somewhat interesting.
He let out a long, slow yawn, his young body finally feeling the tug of a normal human's sleep schedule.
"Okay," he said, standing up within the mental space. "I am going to sleep."
Xiao Diao stood there, frozen, his mind reeling. Demons? Divine artifacts? Heavenly Seals? He was from one of the powerful beast overlord families, a high-level expert in his prime, yet he had never heard of these world-ending secrets.
"Hey, kid! Wait! Where are you—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Mu Chen's consciousness vanished from the space. Xiao Diao, desperate for more information, turned to Yan to ask another question, but the stone spirit simply flickered and disappeared as well, returning to his duties.
Left alone in the vast, silent void of the Origin stone, Xiao Diao felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. His face felt hot, a strange sensation for a soul remnant. He was an overlord of the Celestial Demon Sable tribe, and he had just been ignored by a toddler and a rock.
"This is fine," he said to the void. "This is completely fine."
It was not fine.