Beyond the Cage of Heaven
In a world where cultivation defines destiny, freedom is the rarest treasure of all.
The world of Tianheng is vast, layered, and cruelly ordered. Mountains float above seas of clouds, ancient sects rule territories older than recorded history, and every living being exists within a rigid hierarchy dictated by cultivation realms. From mortals who struggle merely to survive, to immortals who shape continents with a thought, all are bound by one unspoken truth: no one escapes the Great Cycle. Birth, cultivation, ascension, decline, death—this is the law of Heaven, enforced by the world itself.
To cultivate is to gain power, but also to step deeper into the cage.
The story follows Lin Yuan, a boy born in a hospital and abandoned by his mother. He is not born with a rare constitution, divine bloodline, or heavenly destiny. His talent is mediocre, his background insignificant, and his future—according to the world—already written. He is meant to live, struggle, cultivate if lucky, and die like countless others before him. Yet from a young age, Lin Yuan senses something deeply wrong with the way the world functions.
He notices it in the fear of cultivators who claim immortality yet tremble at the mention of tribulation. He sees it in sect elders who preach enlightenment but obsess over lifespan-extending pills. He hears it in legends of ancient immortals who “ascended,” only to vanish from history entirely. Power is celebrated, but freedom is never discussed.
This unease becomes the seed of his journey.
When a chance encounter pulls Lin Yuan into the world of cultivation, he initially walks the same path as everyone else, absorbing spiritual energy, refining his body, breaking through realms. But unlike his peers, he does not cultivate out of ambition or reverence for Heaven. He cultivates out of defiance. Each breakthrough feels less like progress and more like another shackle snapping into place. The higher he climbs, the more clearly he perceives the invisible walls surrounding the world
