16 True Heart (Part 1)

"Isn't that too extreme?"

Hou Hui asked in a baffled tone. Tian Mo was Tian Mo. Hou Hui was Hou Hui. In front of the same problems, it was natural for them to have different answers. How could he so shamelessly put him through a trial where the only path to survival was to act like he would have?

Was he being examined on Tianmoness?

"Those are my terms. Whether to accept or not is up to you. In any case, aren't you confident in your ability to successfully cultivate six ancient paths? You can always pick that road. However…"

He paused, cleared his throat, then pursued.

"I first became enlightened in the holy path. Therefore, although my Immortal Demon Scripture englobes both the immortal and holy paths, without a rock-solid foundation in the later, you have no chance of understanding my cultivation method…unless you undergo the trial of course."

"Heinous, narcissistic creature."

Hou Hui silently cursed as he realized he truly had no choice in the matter.

"Very well, I shall undergo the trial."

"Good. I will now seal your memories, and have you experience…my heart tribulation!"

"Wait what?"

But before he could interject, Tian Mo waved his sleeves and nigh instantaneously, Hou Hui was wrapped into swirling purple light and vanished from the scene.

....................................

"Fire and brimstone. A scarlet red sky constantly oppressing its subjects with unruly hellfire. That is where I was born. Unlike the Celestial Realm full of splendor and beauty, our Demonic Realm is nothing but an incarnation of hell with tremendously harsh living conditions mortals simply cannot endure. Throughout the many worlds of the Demonic Realm, how many can hope for a few months of blue sky? None to my knowledge.

However, faced with natural oppression, we evolved. We refused to submit to the whims of heaven, refused to experience lifetimes of indignity, and so our bloodlines were sublimated. A new cultivation path was hammered. And thus, while a multitude of bloodlines spanned across the many worlds, we became known as…the demon race."

A young, black haired, handsome man thought while sitting at the highest point of a dark brown mountain and gazing at the scarlet sky.

"But I'm unwilling! I'm unwilling to spend a lifetime in such horrible conditions! Unwilling to not counterattack that sentiment of inferiority we bear within our bones when compared to those immortals! Unwilling to never bask under the light of a mild sun, and enchanting blue sky!"

The youth roared with blazing eyes and incomparable fervor seething with violent breaths.

"I'm Huo Yi, the son of the Flame Demon God. I became a Saint at the age of one-hundred. A Venerable Saint at three-hundred. A Nirvana Saint at six hundred. And a Great Saint at one thousand. Now, after two thousand years of cultivation, I stand at the peak of the Great Saint Realm. Half a step into godhood. However, this godhood…I do not want!"

"I must soar toward the starry sky, soar toward the Celestial Realm, seize a new cultivation road, and become immortal!"

Those were the last words that youth would ever speak within the Flame Demon World, his homeland. He then turned into a blazing beam of red light and flew toward the starry sky!

But although his cultivation base was unrivalled among his peers, as soon as he reached the Celestial Realm's starry sky, he was assailed by the innumerable ancient laws which suppressed his flight and threatened to obliterate him.

However, he didn't retreat, he didn't falter, and instead chose to remain true to his rebellious will and convictions!

"If the laws of the Celestial Realm wish to obliterate my existence…I shall swallow them whole!"

Immense holy qi burst from his body and met the onslaught of the Celestial Realm's ancient laws. Thirty-six holy totems of various forms and shapes followed suit and supplemented his strength in that ferocious struggle.

*BOOM*

The ancient laws were repelled, and small parts of them swallowed within his sea of consciousness. However, his holy body had also suffered horrendous damage with cracks and a profusion of golden blood gushing from his form as he drifted throughout the starry sky.

Unconsciousness, the youth kept drifting in the middle heaven layer until the atmosphere of a certain world pulled him in. And into that world he crashed.

That was the last straw. His holy foundation shattered, his cultivation base dispersed, but as he dived toward certain death, a slender figure soared from a seemingly boundless sea and with a wave of her hand, stopped his crash.

Unconscious, the youth certainly couldn't see her. She didn't know him. His identity was questionable, but unceremoniously, she wrapped him into a ball of blue light and pulled him into the sea!

Diving into its deepest recesses, they would quickly reach an ancient submarine country stretching across millions of square miles with towering palaces built in fully charged immortal jade and resplendent cities encompassing billions of lifeforms.

Unbeknown to him, the youth was led into the imperial palace's harem and straight into the woman's abode. Upon closely examining him, even though his cultivation base had been destroyed, she quickly realized his true nature. However, the difference between demon and immortal was not enough for her to abandon a person in need. Therefore, she hid his existence from all except a trusted few and through her own formidable cultivation base, slowly nursed him back to health.

What neither of them had expected was that as she used her immortal qi and mastery of the life path to mend his wounds, the ancient laws of the Celestial Realm quickly harmonized with his body and soul.

A whole month would pass before the youth awoke.

His vigilant eyes quickly locked on the slender figure watching over him. And he was surprised to see that it was a young woman who at first glance seemed to be in her mid-twenties with sea blue hairs, eyes, and a breathtaking beauty capable of bewitching the soul of battle-hardened veterans. That, however, didn't catch his attention. It was the formidable cultivation base rippling within her form which truly surprised him.

"W-who are you?"

He feebly asked.

"Shouldn't you first give me your thanks for saving you?"

She apathetically replied.

Outwardly cold and aloof but with a heart of gold, only waiting for the one capable of making it ripple. This was the youth's first assessment of her person.

Outwardly unbridled and conceited, but with an unyielding, righteous will and the desire to shield the weak from oppression. This was the woman's first assessment of his person.

And as their eyes locked in violent sparks of electricity, they each, for a very brief instant, wondered how it would feel to awaken the romantic flame within the other's heart.

"Thank you, fairy, for saving me. My name is…my name is…I don't…remember."

He muttered while attempting to put his memories back together.

"That is not surprising. After all you got assailed by the ancient laws of the Celestial Realm. Although I could save your life, your cultivation base and soul had already suffered horrendous damage. You are now mortal."

She calmly said while pouring lifeforce into his body to soothe his condition.

"My cultivation base…gone? How can this be?!"

He growled and dived into futile attempts to channel his now inexistent cultivation base. Of course, it was to no avail. Instead of despairing, however, he entered meditation and quickly found the ancient laws perfectly harmonized with his soul.

"It's fine. Lost cultivation can be regained. As long as the heart is strong enough, the foundation shall be rebuilt."

He declared. And seeing that his will had not been destroyed by this disaster, the woman's eyes showed greater appreciation.

"My name is Hai Meng, the princess of the Ancient Sea Country. Since you no longer have a name, allow me to give you one. You are a demon whose soul has been perfectly harmonized with the ancient laws of the Celestial Realm. Therefore, I shall call you…Tian Mo."

She nonchalantly said.

"Tian Mo? Good. Very good. This name, I accept."

And so, he was named. And so, time flew by with the two of them keeping each other company and growing increasingly closer. Using the ancient paths as his foundation, he became enlightened in the immortal road. And through his innate comprehension of the holy path, rebuild his holy foundation. Years became decades, decades became centuries, and centuries finally turned into a millennium.

During that enormous quantity of time stretching across numerous mortal generations, he only had her, and she only had him. There were words they had yet to speak, but within their hearts they had already understood what they meant to each other.