Old Man Duotian
Ao Rai forged further and further through the mountain range, heading in the direction he remembered Floating Cloud City to be, hoping he was heading in the right direction.
Armed with only a crudely fashioned wooden spear, Ao Rai appeared like an asura who crawled out of the deepest layer of hell, with his clothes completely torn and ripped and covered in blood, his hair matted and dirty, and his body covered in filth, grime and blood. Despite this he appeared to have no injuries, even though it looked as if he had been through hell and back.
Ao Rai had run into many wandering beasts, and cultivators, however they were all low levelled beasts or cultivators, who would die to a well placed spear through the head or heart. Despite this, Ao Rai lacked cultivation and only had a strong and sturdy body due to the phoenix bloodline and world dao physique, enabling him to regenerate from any injuries. This allowed him to wear down his opponents slowly but surely, despite them being at the peak of the elementary profound realm, or even early nascent profound realm. Should he run into any beast or human higher in rank than that he wouldn't even have the opportunity to injure them despite his strong body and incredible regeneration.
Ao Rai was moving slowly through the forest, trying his best to avoid any unnecessary encounters which would cause him to deviate from his current course, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of movement.
Ao Rai reacted too slow however, his current body was unable to keep up with his mental state, and moved agonisingly slowly.
Ao Rai lifted the spear and tried to heave it towards the black blur, but it collided with him at breakneck speed, instantly ripping off his head, leaving his corpse on the floor, before turning around to survey its kill.
It was a black panther, with a lustrous coat of fur, dark as night. It was bound with incredible muscles, which seemed knotted as tight as iron, however as it turned around it let down its guard, assuming that it had successfully killed its prey.
What greeted the panther was a wooden spear straight through its left eye, sinking deep into its brain. Shock was evident in its other eye. As the panther breathed its last breath and slumped to the floor, the spray of blood from the headless body which was now standing upright and holding the spear which impaled the panther, slowly came to a halt, as new flesh formed at a pace visible to the naked eye, with an entirely new head eventually forming on the corpse, identical the head still grasped within the panthers mouth.
"Fucking shitty forest, although I can regenerate every time, it god damn fucking hurts." As Ao Rai mumbled to himself, before picking up his spear and continuing on.
Unbeknownst to Ao Rai, in the sky above him there was a black clothed old man, floating there watching this event unfold. He was wrapped in a black cloak, from the neck down, however he had a large profile, appearing bulky and tall. He had shoulder length hair, a pure white colour, and a face which seemed to belong to a 50 year old man, with a few wrinkles around the edges of his eyes and mouth, barely visible to the naked eye, but still showing the passing of time in his face.
The old man's eyes appeared to be as profound as an abyss however, deep and unfathomable, and when combined with his thick brows, appearing as if they were carved by swords, as well as his well proportioned face, it was clear that this man was once incredibly handsome and dashing as a youth. His very presence seemed to contain a sense of boundless arrogance and majesty.
As he watched Ao Rai in the sky motionlessly, a sliver of shock flashed across his eyes as he saw him regenerate after killing the panther.
"Hm, could it be?" The old man seemed to be pondering something as he watched Ao Rai move further through the mountain range. Suddenly, he flickered and disappeared from his spot in the sky, seemingly vanishing into mid air.
Meanwhile Ao Rai considered his slow trek, eventually deciding to find a place to set up camp for the night, since he was beginning to feel tired after the constant walking and fighting.
Ao Rai walked into a clearing in the forest, and was surprised, as he saw a cabin in front of him, which was incredibly small but seemed warm and cozy. It looked as if it hadn't been inhabited in years, seemingly the perfect spot to stay for the night.
As Ao Rai walked into the cabin, he was surprised since there was a bed in the corner, albeit nothing else in the entire place. Before he went to sleep Ao Rai went and attached a piece of string to the door, before attatching it to his wrist, that way if any beast or unassuming cultivator wandered into the cabin they would wake him up by tugging his wrist after opening the door
Collapsing on the bed, Ao Rai promptly fell asleep within a couple minutes, incredibly worn out by the start of his journey to return to Floating Cloud City.
After Ao Rai fell asleep however, a man appeared out of nowhere in the clearing, it was the old man from earlier!
Seemingly pondering something, the old man walked forwards towards the house.
"This boy even went into the house I used to live in when I began my cultivation journey. Interesting, interesting."
After saying this, the old man walked forwards and slowly pushed open the door to the cabin, instantly awaking Ao Rai.
As Ao Rai woke up he was shocked to see the old man there, before he stood up and grasping his spear instantly rushed the old man.
"Young one, I'm not here to attack you, my name is Duotian, and many years ago I used to roam the continent."
Ao Rai was shocked for a second, before saying,"Oh my bad senior, please forgive me." After saying this Ao Rai went forwards and appeared to be performing a bow, however he promptly angled his spear forwards once again and stabbed towards the old man's chest, aiming to instantly pierce his heart and kill him.
A sliver of disdain flashed across the old man's eyes before he released an incredible pressure, seemingly surpassing even that of the sovereign profound realm, down onto Ao Rai's body, crushing him to the ground into a meat paste.
"Young man, I know of your regenerative abilities, I am not here to harm you, merely to ask you a few questions."
After saying this the old man turned and walked towards the exit of the cabin, before sitting down directly in the middle of the clearing facing the cabin.
Ao Rai slowly formed his body again from the pile of paste that he was turned into, before following the old man out and sitting in the middle of the clearing.
"I can't run from this guy he's too strong, why is there a divine level cultivator on this planet anyway if there was one he should've ascended, moreover why does he want to talk to me. Also where have I heard the name Duotian before, Duotian hmm..."
After pondering the name Duotian for a few seconds, a flash of shock, and then incredible surprise, appeared in Ao Rai's eyes.
"Old man Duotian, the first ever Divine level cultivator from the Profound Sky Continent 10,000 years ago, rumoured to have ascended, and also who people believe is Yun Che's master for a short period of time. To think the old geezer was still on this planet, and seems to vaguely have got stronger, although I am unable to tell, I am only able to tell he has broken through to the divine level, I am just not sure whether he is Divine Origin Profound realm or higher."
Having ascertained who the man opposite him was, Ao Rai felt a hint of excitement, but also apprehension, as he was interested to find out more about this enigma of a man who's name shook the continent many years ago.