2 Times are changing

The inside of the shop was similar to the outside, decrepit and dim. There were rows upon rows of bookshelves, filled with various books and trinkets.

The shop seemed to stretch far back, as if the depths of the shop were obscuring a murky darkness.

For some inexplicable reason Ao Fi Lu felt the calling, the rumbling feeling in his stomach, intensify as he walked into the shop.

As he walked past the various bookshelves, heading deeper into the darkness of the shop, Ao Fi Lu felt the calling become more than just a calling, it was a burning desire, something he needed!

By the time Ao Fi Lu reached the back of the shop he was running in an almost full out sprint.

However what greeted Ao Fi Lu was a sight he wasn't expecting.

Seated at the back of this shop was an old man in ragged clothes, looking like a tramp who hadn't showered in months, caked in filth and grime.

He appeared to be half asleep and mumbling to himself.

"Oh ye, oh ye, hear ye, hear ye."

Listening to his incessant mumbling Ao Fi Lu was confused, however the intense burning feeling he had had only grown stronger.

Reaching out he went to lightly tap the old man on the shoulder, however as soon as he made contact the old man's eyes flew open, seemingly as bright as the stars and with an unbelievable speed for such an old man, his hand shot out grasping Ao Fi Lu's wrist in a vice like grip.

Shocked, Ao Fi Lu was speechless for a second, however before he could say anything the old man began to speak again, "No Spirit Root, hmmmmm, no Spirit Root, yes, YES!"

The last word was shouted by the old man, and promptly after he stood up and... started dancing around!

"This guy, this guy's fucking insane!"

Ao Fi Lu was shocked speechless. Was this really the source of that burning sensation deep within him that he'd felt?!

However the events that took place in the next 5 minutes wouldn't just shock Ao Fi Lu, they'd completely turn his world view upside down!

The old man stopped dancing, and once more turned towards Ao Fi Lu, and before he could react grasped his wrist and thrust something into his open palm.

"This boy, this is a Blacksun token. No one, no one yet has had no Spirit Root, not able to inherit, no... not able to."

Cackling the old man started hopping from one foot to the other, before, without any prior warning, collapsed back into his chair and passed out, snoring like a baby.

Shocked once more, Ao Fi Lu looked at his palm, to see what the crazy old man had slapped into his palm.

Looking down he saw that there was a small token, about the size of his palm and in a perfect square shape. In the centre of the token there was a spherical shape, which seemed to emanate a burning sensation without being hot when one looked at it, appearing very mysterious.

The spherical image was without a doubt depicting the Blacksun that hung in the sky above Earth!

Looking at this so called 'Blacksun token' Ao Fi Lu felt a sense of yearning, even stronger than before.

"It appears as if this was the thing calling me, but what is it and why did this crazy old man have it?"

Frowning to himself, Ao Fi Lu pocketed the token and turned to walk out of the shop, a bit spooked by the whole thing, planning on looking at the token later when he was at home.

As he leaved he didn't notice that the crazy old man had opened his eyes to observe him as he left, with none of the murkiness or craziness present at all within those bright eyes.

Rather, the old man looked as if he was clear headed and able to think with perfection, and his words he muttered to himself confirmed that.

"A human with no Spirit Root, finally one appeared, only took a couple hundred years... lets see if he can fulfil my expectations."

The next day all signs of the Nine Void Blacksun artificer shop would have disappeared, as if it never existed in the first place, and the crazy old man with it.

As Ao Fi Lu walked onto the street his home was on, on the very outskirts of the city, not in the mood to finish his run, he felt an unexpected and inexplicable sense of weakness, causing him to fall to the ground, and out of no where cough out blood.

Feeling as if he was about to pass out Ao Fi Lu saw that when the blood he coughed out landed on the Blacksun token it was absorbed.

His eyes needled into pinpoints, it was as if the Blacksun token had caused that weakness, as if it caused him to cough up blood onto it.

However, what happened next caused the biggest shock out of any event that day, or ever before in Ao Fi Lu's life.

The small and somewhat mysterious Blacksun token expanded instantaneously into a huge black doorway, twice the size of a man, and without any warning this door seemingly collapsed and enveloped Ao Fi Lu.

There were no traces of the door or Ao Fi Lu left on the street outside his house, as if he had vanished into thin air.

****************************************

The Blacksun, what the star known as the sun had been named after its mutation.

Earth had mutated with the inception of Spirit Qi, forming the Spirit Continent, and the Sea of Beasts, with many wonders left to be discovered even 200 years on from the Age of Expansion.

The inhabitants of Earth had gained incredible power and had expanded into the wider Solar System.

The peak powers of the Global Alliance had even reached the Nascent Soul realm, with a vast array of Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators beneath them.

However, even now there were two things that the cultivators of the Global Alliance had been unable to do.

Firstly, they had been unable to exit the Solar System, no matter how hard they tried. Outside the Solar System's borders there seemed to be an impenetrable mist, as soon as one entered they would be bewitched and turned back into the bounds of the Solar System no matter how they entered it.

Inadvertently, it was also discovered that all images sent back by the machines that had been sent out the Solar System were false as well.

As a result all that the people of the Global Alliance could be certain of was that their Solar System was part of a wider galaxy, the Milky Way, due to the records they had obtained from the fragments but apart from that, they were unsure if the Milky Way, known as the Nine Void Tempest Domain to the rest of the wider cultivation world, even looked as they thought it had.

Aside from their inability to leave or even observe the space outside their Solar System, the other enigma that faced the Global Alliance was the Blacksun at the centre of the Solar System.

The heat was so intense when one neared it, not even a Nascent Soul cultivator would survive getting too close, at around 1 million kilometres from the sun they would begin to feel intense burning pain, and within 10 metres of 1 million kilometres they would begin to burn up and be unable to withstand the heat at all.

These were now the two main aims of the Global Alliance, to breach the borders of their Solar System and truly explore the wider universe, as well as uncover the mysteries surrounding the Blacksun, the source of the monumental changes to their Solar System that remained as inscrutable as ever to them.

If the top echelons of the Global Alliance were to find out that right now an insignificant boy with the worst talent ever recorded since the inception of spirit Qi had been sent through the void of space into the centre of the Blacksun, and was about to be exposed to the origins of the spirit Qi inception that had come to their universe, who knew what faces they would make.

Ao Fi Lu himself was still in shock, unsure of what had happened.

One moment he'd been outside his home the next a black door twice the size of a man had enveloped him and now he was in a seemingly infinite space of pure black.

There was nothing and no one here except a vast sea of black.

Ao Fi Lu felt himself floating yet also standing on solid ground at the same time, it was an indescribable feeling as if he was trapped in limbo.

After what seemed like an eternity Ao Fi Lu heard a voice from behind him.

"Finally, a suitable candidate, only took a few hundred years."

As he turned around Ao Fi Lu heard a booming laughter following on from this sentence, and what greeted him was...

The crazy old man from the Nine Void Blacksun artificer shop!

However he seemed completely different, despite his appearance being the same.

He was ragged and beaten up looking and no waves of spirit Qi belonging to cultivators rolled off of him, as Ao Fi Lu had experienced when he had seen his mum or dad or other strong cultivators from the Ao clan.

Rather his very bearing, his innate presence seemed to have changed, as if he was a flood dragon just below the surface of a river, hiding his inner strength below a benign surface.

Turning around to face Ao Fi Lu, this old man, still covered in the same rags smiled an ugly smile, however it seemed to be filled with kindness and majesty.

"So young man, welcome to the Nine Void Blacksun, the last remnant of the Nine Void sect and our founding treasure!"

Hearing these words Ao Fi Lu was surprised for a moment, before he was indescribably shocked a moment later.

"N-Nine Void, as in Nine Void Tempest Domain, the Milky Way?"

Giving an approving look to Ao Fi Lu the old man said, "Quick thinking. Yes, this is the last remnant of the Nine Void sect, the previous ruler of the Nine Void Star Domain, although I expect the name's been changed by now."

As soon as he said this an imperceptible flicker of sorrow flashed across the old man's eyes.

"These are matters of the past, I only have one mission left and thats to pass on my life's work, a legacy for the successor of the Nine Void sect. And you, child, you are the only one who fits the category to become my successor, and the hope of the Nine Void sect. So how about it, would you like to become a cultivator, and not just any cultivator, but a true powerhouse, a powerhouse who can fly among the stars and past the barriers of your Solar System, into the void beyond?!"

By the end of the crazy old man's speech Ao Fi Lu could hardly contain himself, panting like a mad dog, an almost fanatical light in his eyes.

Even though it seemed too good to be true, a talentless boy like him chosen to be the successor of a sect so large it was completely outside the scope of imagination for most people, he couldn't contain himself even though there was a slither of doubt within himself, he just had been too fixated on cultivation since a young age, and here now was apparently an opportunity for him to enter the world he'd always wanted to.

Keeping his doubts in the back of his head, Ao Fi Lu composed himself.

"I doubt that someone who has the ability to put me into either an illusion of this magnitude, or truly teleport me to the Blacksun would need to use such round about methods to harm me."

Thinking this far ahead Ao Fi Lu felt at ease once more, and again felt a burning excitement.

"So, what do I need to do to become the successor to the Nine Void sect?"

Hearing these words the old man smiled again, and then began laughing, even louder than before.

"Good, good, good, then lets begin!"

After this he waved his hand and an astonishing change occurred to the black void around him and four separate objects appeared hanging in the void in front of the crazy old man and Ao Fi Lu.