Father

Chu Sun realised very early on in his life that he was somehow different compared to the others.

He was born into into the Chu Clan, one of the nine great clans across the glorious Solar Planet Divine Grace. This planet was ruled by the Divine Grace Sect, and it was one of the most heavily favoured worlds under the Divine Court's grand reach.

It was said that not only had the Divine Grace Sect produced many Transcendents who now dealt with the entire immortal world throughout the Divine Star System for the Divine Court, but this sect, this planet, had actually once produced a divinity, a magnificent beacon of justice who went on to join the Divine Court, even becoming the Divine Court Lord's disciple!

Their rich history was the pride of the Divine Grace Sect, and frankly, of the entire Solar Planet.

Every single Solar Planet was highly valued in this world. Solar Planets were the size of life-stars, with a circumference 100 times that of an ordinary life-planet. The rich spiritual energy throughout the planet supported all living beings and counteracted the powerful pressure of gravity and spiritual pressure - that is, in most places. There were also many unique natural cultivation domains where cultivators could temper themselves by experiencing the true pressure of the planet.

As a member of the Chu Clan, and a talented prodigy of the main lineage at that, it was only natural that Chu Sun had entered the Divine Grace Sect at a young age. The Divine Grace Sect was located on a giant continent of territory encompassing one third of the North of the planet, but this was for immortals, Transcendents and their disciples only. Naturally, Chu Sun, as a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator back than, had first entered one of the Divine Grace Sect's many branch sects.

He had great talent, he performed well, and he accumulated a fair bit of fame by the time he reached the Spirit Core Realm.

He even attracted the notice of a passing immortal of his Chu Clan…

And just like that, so suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, Chu Sun was taken in as the sole disciple of his very own ancestor, a Dao Immortal Realm powerhouse!

His whole life seemed to progress so smoothly compared to those around him, as if he was favoured by fate itself…

But Chu Sun felt like something was wrong.

His life progressed smoothly and without issue…too smoothly, and with too few issues.

He had been suspicious since long ago, but after becoming an immortal himself, Chu Sun was taught about some of the deeper secrets of the Divine Grace Sect, the nine great clans, and their relationship with the Divine Court.

He had always wondered why the general cultivation talent, dao perception and dao heart attainments were so much superior amongst those in the clans compared to others, it really was a mystery that many often mused over…

When he learned that every single member of the nine great clans was actually a reincarnated person who had gone through the Spirit Plane's cycle of reincarnation, selected by the Divine Court to reincarnate into their subordinate forces, Chu Sun was so stunned that he couldn't focus on anything other than this for several days.

But his doubts about his life were not answered by this revelation. Those around him in the great clans were indeed talented, but none were like him, experiencing such a smooth life and clear cultivation path, for no apparent reason other than encountering lucky encounters whenever it just so happened to be exactly what he needed. His talent was indeed very good, but not so good that he could have become an immortal without all of these encounters.

His teacher being a Dao Immortal, who for some reason took interest in a Spirit Core Realm junior…

All of the righteous path inheritances that he had found, each of which always seemed to suit his characteristics, allowing him to succeed nearly every single time, and then always gain exactly what he needed…

Most of all though, it was the way his teacher, and many of the Supreme Elders of the sect, looked at him now and then. It was as if they were always keeping an eye on him, as if they were watching over him for some reason or other…

Chu Sun's doubts were finally cleared up several decades ago, when the truth behind his life and all the twists of 'fate' and 'luck' that he had experienced, were at long last explained.

After being summoned by the Divine Grace Sect's Circle of Supremes, the highest ranking elders at the Transcendent Realm in the sect, Chu Sun met him…

Law Empyrean, the Divine Court Lord!

It was revealed to him that he was the reincarnation of the infamous World Demon's father!

This was the reason that he had been taken in by the Divine Court - the Divine Court Lord was an expert in divination and very adept at reading karma, and way back then, he had deduced that Chu Sun's soul had some relation to the Primordial Sage and Primordial Devil. At that time, he had no idea what sort of connection this might be and whether or not it was anything significant, but he had a feeling that it would be worth taking this soul into his grasp.

When the Divine Court Lord finally connected Chu Sun to Yaan back then, after Yaan escaped from his grasp to the Blood Plane, he at last pieced together this mystery which had been growing deeper and deeper the more he looked into it.

And so, that was why Chu Sun had been taken in as the disciple of a Dao Immortal elder.

After that, his teacher and the Supreme Elders manipulated Chu Sun's journeys throughout the world whenever he went out to gain experience, ensuring that he stumbled across exactly what he needed to grow and progress.

It was difficult, taking a mortal and nurturing them into a True Immortal, and even more difficult pushing them towards the Ancient Immortal Realm.

After all, Chu Sun was a potential card that Law Empyrean could use against Yaan, so he needed to be kept alive. Law Empyrean started interfering with Chu Sun's life directly from the shadows following the destruction of the Spirit Plane, but it was only after Yaan finally ascended to the Divine Step and his 'identity' as the World Demon was revealed, that Law Empyrean finally revealed everything.

After all, before Yaan became a divinity, Chu Sun was just one of Law Empyrean's countless potential pawns and traps that he was nourishing within the Divine Star System.

But once Yaan gained true power and became a genuine threat, it was necessary to reveal everything to Chu Sun now, so that he could prepare for the day that his past life's son came to find him.

It wasn't certain that Yaan would seek out his reincarnated father, but Law Empyrean believed it to be very likely. After all, everyone knew that Yaan was an expert when it came to karma; how else could he have manipulated the Karmic River like that, using it to destroy the Spirit Plane, and even annihilating the Heavenly Dao's own dao of karma in the process? In fact, many believed that he had formed a dao heart of karma to ascend to the Divine Step.

They were incorrect, but not far off, since karma was indeed a facet of fate.

As Yaan stood there in silence, reading through Chu Sun's memories, he fell into thought and remained hidden as the young looking man cultivated in his temple abode, located on an island in the main branch of the Divine Grace Sect.

Only those in very high positions could have their own island, as every single island within the Divine Grace Sect's Lake of Heaven, was unique and possessed its own special properties pertaining to a specific dao. There were 3,000 islands in all, all occupied by Ancient Immortals and Dao Immortals.

Interestingly enough, the five islands pertaining to the dao of karma had cracked and fallen into eery ruins. Clearly, these islands were very special and connected directly to the Heavenly Dao's earthly daos!

As for Chu Sun, he followed the dao of life, reminding Yaan of Ga Shu, the Aztec from the Blood Plane.

Chu Sun had been pushed towards the dao of life solely because immortals who cultivated this dao had the greatest success rate when facing Heavenly Tribulations and Calamities. His entire life had been manipulated by Law Empyrean and his elders in the Divine Grace Sect, their sole focus being keeping him alive for long enough, until…

'As expected, Law Empyrean anticipated that I would read through his memories; these memories are of no use.'

Yaan struggled to read memories with his dao body, since after splitting his two bodies, his cultivation base body would inherit his Divine Step Sea of Consciousness, leaving his dao body with a Sea of Consciousness that completely lacked any power of cultivation; it was simply his preferred form of a consciousness.

That said, it was still possible to read memories with his dao body, just tedious. However…

Yaan was not here with his dao body alone, but with his complete, fused body!

In the same moment that his dao body followed the thread of fate to Chu Sun, his cultivation base body did likewise, after leaving Love Empyrean and the Sage with instructions to keep the matter of him leaving Rainbow Mountain a secret. He was attempting to escape Law Empyrean's deductions and observations by having his two bodies arrive in the exact same location simultaneously, smoothly fusing upon their arrival.

This made it look like only one body had arrived. If Law Empyrean was keeping an eye on the Paradise Sect, then he should have noticed by now that Yaan possessed two bodies, and that one of his bodies typically remained on Rainbow Mountain.

Yaan had no idea if he could actually deceive Law Empyrean like this, or if it would even do any good. Regardless, if there was a chance that it would give him an advantage in the coming trap, then it was at least worth trying.

He was taking this trap very seriously, especially after realising that somehow, the trap in the Neutral Star System was related to his father, meaning that he had already stepped into the abyss.

Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that the fates of these two traps - his father and the Neutral Star System - were intertwined and heading on a collision course along with several other factors.

Yaan had also discovered that Shi was involved in these fates. This was only natural though, since Yaan had completely suppressed Shi down to the point of a severely weakened Dao Soul, then disguised her Dao Soul as an additional rune on his robe, attaching her to his back.

Of course, he was pretending to be here with his dao body only, so he had concealed the four Divine Runes on the back of his robe, along with Shi's rune.

Back when Law Empyrean gathered Chu Sun and the Supreme Elders, he spoke of Yaan, the World Demon, as if he was the most heinously evil villain in this world, and as such, as the reincarnation of the father of this villain, it was Chu Sun's duty to fulfil his part in setting up a trap, should the World Demon seek him out.

Chu Sun had been told all of Yaan's greatest atrocities…of course, he left out the context behind these matters, instead fabricating a story that portrayed Yaan as a thorough evil-doer who was pursuing the demonic path to its extremity by doing these things solely for the sake of doing them.

As for Chu Sun's role in all this…

He was simply told that if and when Yaan arrived and met with him face to face, he was to engage him in conversation, and to do nothing else.

'So he knows that he is being used as bait for a trap, but he doesn't know a thing about the trap itself. As expected, I'll need to dig deeper.'

Quietly, Yaan sat down on the temple floor, opposite his reincarnated father. He faced Chu Sun, this tranquil and good looking young man, who wore a white robe embroidered with the emblem of the Divine Grace Sect, along with a rune that showed his status as a Great Elder. Yaan's eyes shone with winding red chains, a profound phenomenon that occurred whenever he used Reveal Truth to examine fate on a deeper level.

Yaan could see that the fate between Chu Sun, Solar Planet Divine Grace, and a certain location in the Neutral Star System - the exact centre of the star system, a giant gravitational vortex that could even threaten Deities if they were careless - were all thoroughly connected. This fate was so powerful that Yaan realised…the moment he stepped into this planet, he himself had become wrapped up in this very fate, and if he tried to leave Solar Planet Divine Grace, the trap would immediately be set in motion.

There were many formations surrounding the planet, some obvious, some concealed, and some 'completely concealed'.

They were indeed concealed so well that most Empyreans would probably overlook them, but how could Yaan not see through this illusion?

And how could Law Empyrean not know of Yaan's abilities, his understanding of concealment and illusions, and his ability to see through the truth in this world?

Every layer of formation on and around the planet, concealed or otherwise, existed only to distract and deceive him. However, the reality was that those extremely dangerous formations which would be activated in full force the moment Yaan left the planet, had nothing to do with the coming collision of fates. At least, they were not the trap that had been set for him.

Indeed, the formation that would self-destruct Solar Planet Divine Grace the moment he rose more than thousand miles into the sky, was not the real trap. The planet really would be destroyed if he tried to leave, but it couldn't kill him, especially not after he had seen through it.

Law Empyrean truly was ruthless, to actually destroy his own thriving subordinate force of faithful and devout followers, just to further confuse Yaan's analysis of the truth.

It was indeed confusing…he could not see through the true nature of this trap, not yet at least.

Finally, Yaan revealed himself. He did not pressure Chu Sun with his aura, but simply revealed his presence, disguising his aura as that of a mortal.

Chu Sun's eyes snapped open and he instantly became alert. He squinted his eyes and quickly examined Yaan, but all he could see was a mortal…

However, no mortal could survive the immense spiritual pressure formed by the dao of life which connected to this island! Not only that, but the child before him possessed an appearance that could only be described as flawless and transcendent, as if he had been crafted from the perfection of the dao itself…

Not to mention that his demeanour closer resembled a god than a mortal. Even just sitting there in silence, Chu Sun felt the pressure of an expert that surpassed his understanding, even though he came across as a simple mortal with no cultivation.

Eventually, Chu Sun, his heart racing with unease, managed to ask:

"Would you happen to be…the World Demon?"

"That's certainly what they call me in this star system." Yaan chuckled, attempting to lighten Chu Sun's anxiety.

Given that he knew of Yaan's identity, and had been fed a tale of him being a heinous villain who revelled in depraved evil, it was impressive that he could maintain his composure whilst keeping his emotions hidden within his heart. Even his aura remained calm and tranquil; after reading his memories, Yaan knew that Chu Sun had been taught by Law Empyrean, how to maintain his calm as much as possible under the pressure of an Empyrean.

"Lord World Demon-"

"Just call me Yaan." Yaan shook his head. Chu Sun's eyes widened, but before he could speak, Yaan pointed at his forehead casually and said: "You should have recovered your memories of your past life long ago, but Law Empyrean kept them sealed, most likely to prevent you from developing sentiment towards me. Lets fix that."

A golden mist of Divine Sage Power flowed from Yaan's Sea of Consciousness, though his finger, and into Chu Sun's forehead. The young looking man showed a vacant look for several minutes, before his eyes rapidly regained their clarity, and the way that he looked at Yaan completely changed.

He lost control of his aura concealment, and even his facial expression transformed to shock, melancholy, confusion, and pain.

"Yaan…" He muttered, staring at Yaan in a daze.

For years now, he had heard of the World Demon's abominable reputation, he had heard so many righteous immortals slander him and wish for his demise, and he too had held the opinion that the World Demon was a detriment to the world.

Chu Sun had always doubted some of the claims surrounding the World Demon, especially when it came to his motives. They said that he committed evil because this was his dao, and he enjoyed the demonic way of life, but something about this had never added up…

Chu Sun had also heard people laugh mockingly when they discussed the speech that the World Demon had given to the world upon his ascension to the Divine Step. He had claimed that he was going to become the world's saviour, but that was simply too blatant a lie, right?

The fact that the World Demon was in fact the son of his past life made Chu Sun feel complex, but he was committed to the path of righteousness in the end, and he didn't remember that life anyway.

But now, he remembered.

He remembered feeling a love that he had never experienced in this world.

He remembered that this love had ran so deep through his heart and soul, that he had given up his own life to save his son's…

Now, looking at the boy before him who looked so similar, yet somehow also so different, as the boy in his memories…

Chu Sun cried, for the first time since he had stepped onto the path of cultivation. He stared at Yaan, unsure of what to say, as tears streamed down his cheeks and he clenched his fists in helpless uncertainty.

His son…this was his son, the only son he had ever had. His last life was so much shorter than this life, and yet, now that those memories had suddenly returned, they became the memories at the forefront of his mind, as if those events of the past, those few decades that he had lived as a mortal, with his own mortal family, had actually transpired just now.

His son, Yaan, his blessed child whom he would give up his life for…

The World Demon, a cursed evil-doer, whom he was conspiring against in a trap set by the Divine Court Lord…

What was this?

What was he supposed to feel in this situation? What was he supposed to do?

Why did it hurt so much?

Yaan smiled lightly as a nostalgic feeling came over him.

He remembered that when he had been taken to see his mother on the Spirit Plane, he chose to turn away and leave her without revealing himself. Back then, there was nothing to gain by speaking with her, but more so than that, he had no idea what he would even say…

But now, the uncomfortable struggle flashing through his father's gaze, the confused mixture of love, bitterness, resentment and pain, did not make Yaan feel uncomfortable at all, but instead, intrigued.

After all, the moment he removed the seal on his father's memories, several of the formations encompassing this planet had been activated, and were now on a countdown to release their full power in combination in exactly one hour.

"It's been a while…father. This planet is going to be destroyed in one hour, courtesy of your oh so righteous Divine Court Lord. Until then, what would you like to talk about?"

Chu Sun's eyes widened in disbelief. His initial reaction was to assume that Yaan was lying - he was the World Demon after all…

However…why did the World Demon have such a calm, gentle gaze? Why was this demon before him so different compared to the legends? Why was it that his son looked nostalgic, and…honest?

For some reason, Chu Sun believed him - in one hour, Solar Planet Divine Grace would be destroyed.

He could question Yaan further about this, but oddly, Chu Sun found that he didn't really care.

His first question was instead something else, something that he just had to know.

"The reincarnation of your mother, and the evolution of your baby sister…did you really kill them?"

Without hesitation, Yaan nodded, his smile never fading, but changing ever so slightly.

"I did. I knowingly killed them when I destroyed the Spirit Plane. My reincarnated mother was simply there, she died just like everyone else. June…sacrificed herself willingly to help me complete my goal in destroying the Spirit Plane."

With a dry mouth, Chu Sun asked weakly:

"Why?"

"To survive. It was my only choice…the situation was a bit complicated. If you would like, I can start at the beginning?"

Chu Sun could only nod. How could he not want to know? How could he not feel curious, about what had happened to his darling boy, turning him into such a heinous monster, a fiend that could speak of these atrocious things with a smile on his face?

And so, Yaan began to tell his story, the story of his entire life. He never usually spoke of his past to this extent, because there was usually no benefit in doing so. However, seeing that his father's mind was somehow linked to the convergence of fates, Yaan decided to examine this strange machination, whilst reminiscing over the painful nostalgia of the past with his father in his final moments.