Prologue: His previous life

Author's Note.

Skip this part for the real beggining of the story.

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Cultivation journeys were long and arduous, but it was never boring. It gives rise to unlimited possibilities and seemingly unending series of challenges. Like many others, Carl chose to become a cultivator to reach the top.

At the tender age of 15, he joined plenty of legendary cultivators who had started to make their mark in the continent before they reached adulthood. Carl was a cultivation genius, his physical body, feel, mental strength were in an another class with his peers additionally honed by his daily dose of training from his childhood.

Heading forward, he does not think anyone or anything could stop him from growing stronger. This was until he found out that he might not end as glorious as he thought and even lived as long as mortals usually last. To his bad luck, he was born with an incurable illness that only grows fatal as his cultivation continues.

With his cultivation journey in great danger of being cut short, Carl was defeated. That was when he met an old woman which revealed to him an ancient spell that can help him continue his cultivation journey in an another world.

He was in the study of the castle of a late ancient cultivator. The room was filled with the musty old shelves lining the sides with a feel of antiquity. He had roamed around enough territories in the different continents to accept this would be his last one. He scanned all the books which were full of dust, but he found no cure to his sickness.

"Years, I had amassed powerful spells and items in this journey but no cure." Carl muttered with disappointment, "What is this all for if I'm gonna die tonight or tomorrow?"

Carl slowly picked a small piece of paper in his pocket. The paper was called lcard; a special piece of paper produced by the mother tree. Quite expensive, but it has the ability to measure one's remaining lifespan.

Carl bought it ten years ago for six dragon crystals, and two years ago, it started to burn a little, and only continued burning more, until it noticeably started to go shorter day by day. Now, it turned to the size of toenail. This meant his life would only continue for a few years. If he suffered a severe injury, it would just burn faster. Who knows it might even snap in half in just one fight?

It was then that an old woman suddenly entered the perimeter of the castle and later found him in the study.

The old woman had long black hair, pale skin, amd was obviously beautiful in her younger years. She seemed to be in her sixties, maybe even fifties, but Carl had absolute belief she was a lot older than her appearance.

In his situation though, he couldn't care less about the old woman, as he put the lcard back to his pocket in case he loses it. For the intruder, he didn't care about their identity or the danger they posed.

"Hello."

Carl showed a slight smile while sitting in the corner against the wall in an attempt to startle the intruder. But the old woman just ignored him and did not even speak until she grabbed a certain book in the ground and put it in her infinity pouch.

The old woman was not finished, and kept looking for certain books in the floor.

It was obvious the boy behind him was the one responsible for the mess, but she hardly cared too. She could only sigh. She was actually lucky no one took the books as she had abandoned the castle a long time ago.

When she was sure he had obtained the books she was looking for, the old woman decided to give the boy a little conversation before she leaves the place again. In fact, if she liked the boy's attitude, she might give him a few gifts that would surely make every cultivators gleam with joy.

"My child, who are you?" she asked in a polite calm voice as she roamed her eyes over Carl's appearance.

Upon entering, she was aware someone was in the study, and knew the presence was extraordinary. Based on her estimation, the boy in front of him was probably capable of destroying a village singlehandedly. In the current status of the realm, that was what the cultivators in the present era called their elite.

It was a pitiful era, she always thought, but after looking at the boy a little, she was convinced the boy wasn't so simple. The boy should only be in his early teens; so most of his peers should only be starting their cultivation journey! Yet here he was.

Even her who had lived for a long time could tell that the aura that surrounded the youth was bursting with talent. If she trained him, he would at least be capable of destroying cities in a few years, she thought arrogantly.

Carl then answered and sighed.

"Name's Carl Craze, cultivator, if you're worried about me being here, I have no interest in fighting an old woman."

The old woman put the name on mind. It did not ring a bell, but she saw the defeated gaze of the youth and her interest was slightly piqued.

What could someone who was so young and talented be depressed at? Surely, there shouldn't be so much challenge for someone like him in such a mediocre era where he could easily stand at the top if he diligently trained?

Curious, she decided to peer at his soul. It was a powerful soul at the very least, containing an aggressive yet calm aura, whom many legendary cultivators share, but then she suddenly saw cracks and leaks appear along its edges as if a bacteria had emerged from within.

The old woman's eyes widened, shocked. She immediately understood the problem. Such bad luck! This boy was never meant to live long. The fact that he had gotten this strong also seemed to have aggravated the effect of his in-born illness that less than 1% of cultivators have.

"What? Do you have a problem?" Carl suddenly asked irritatedly as he aggressively raised an eyebrow, his eyes red. He naturally didn't like getting stared at by others, especially in this situation, much more by the eyes of a creepy old elder.

Carl had also been around cultivators enough to know when to put his guard up. The very gaze of the old woman was sending him alarms, so he slowly increased the pressure around him to a fighting state.

It was like oil was being boiled as they made their way to protect him.

Due to the nature of his illness, he had encountered several cultivation practices that were already supposed to be banned from the cultivation world. He had also discovered that some cultivators had succumbed to disgusting experiments that used humans and even cultivators as their test subjects. They were now strictly prohibited in the world, but they were very common in the past.

In fact, when Carl read some of the books in the study; it was obvious that the owner of the castle also shared those desires and even indulged in several inhuman practices. Since the old woman had appeared in such a place, it would not be an exaggeration if she was somehow connected to the owner or shared the same fetishes.

"You old hag, I might be a little depressed, but I am also angry, I might just bite," Carl grinned.

The old woman only showed a slight smile and this time it was warm, like a kind grandma. It was in complete contrast with the beast-like aura emanating around the youth glaring at him.

"Do not worry, my child. I do not share my husband's filthy desires nor his insane ambitions, just his curiosity," the old woman replied as if she knew what Carl was thinking.

Carl however remained vigilant, and did not move. Husband? It seemed like he was not that bad of a guesser. If worse comes to worst, he would use his favorite spell and blast her out of this castle and make it sure she knew to never think of approaching him ever again. However the words that came out of the old lady's mouth ultimately stunned him.

"Your illness is very unique and incurable, " she said after she went from a deep thought, "but I knew exactly the thing you need," she pointed at him, "You are also powerful enough to withstand its repercussions," she said with pride, "by any chance, have you ever heard of the spell "Parallel"?"

At that moment, Carl only knew to listen. He hadn't told her about his illness, nor did he remember telling an old woman about it in the recent past but somehow he could feel that the elder had seen through him.

The elder although most unlikely presented him a glimmer of hope. The elder looked around the ground and found a large book—the size of a child, and immediately threw it to Carl's position.

"Parallel Worlds. In theory, there is an another world beyond ours that we will never be able to see. We describe such world to be beyond the edge of ours. A mirror, in layman's terms. The theory suggests it is a separate, parallel universe, meaning all that is here, is also there. What is there is also here. Your life essence and mine for example, may be in different bodies, are supposed to be in this parallel world."

Carl was reading the big book while the elder was talking. The book discussed the theory of a parallel world, and Carl wasn't a stranger to it.

The notion of a parallel world was not new to him, but he had long disregarded the possibility of its realness. Fantasy: that was all it was. But now, he was willing to entertain even the absurd!

It was just like what the elder implied. If there was a parallel world, it meant there was also someone with the same body and name as he was which was not entirely different! This meant a new body he could easily occupy and fit into. There was also the sweet possibility that Carl Craze of such world have no in-born illness or hadn't aggravated it to the level of serious the Carl Craze of this world had yet.

For the first time in a while, Carl could see hope!

Going to an another world was one of the most difficult tasks in the realm, but it was not as futile as finding a cure to his extremely rare illness.