Prologue

Immortal Abyss Land.

A world where cultivation practices exists and where one's cultivation path determines their value. Standing at the top are Soul Cultivators who holds the power of manipulation of the soul, while Qi Cultivators and Body Cultivators are below them in power but not in numbers. This was because only one out of every 10,000 people could cultivate the soul, and the ones being successful amounted to numbers in tens among them.

Near the center of the Southern Plains, at the Ling family residence the new morning was ushered in by reverberating shouts calling for punishment. The entire clan huddled around the combat grounds trying to get a peek at the supposed criminal – a young man aged around mid-20's with disheveled black hair and eyes that were so lifeless that they seemed like a pair of black holes, wearing a pair of tattered robes.

Several gasps and exclamations spread through the crowd because the so called criminal was one of the best seedlings of the younger generation – Ling Hong, who used to a powerhouse trained in Soul Cultivation. Yes, used to be. He was a rare talent of the Ling family, awakening his prowess at just 10 years old and broke through ranks like a madman to reach the Empyrean Stage, the final step before stepping into the Divine Realm all within 12 years – a task that would've taken others a century at the least. But he was injured by a Heaven Grade Soul Devouring Worm that attacked the mainland which resulted in the death of millions.

After sacrificing nearly 3/4th of his soul he was able to kill the beast but that resulted in Ling Hong becoming wasted. Two years later he still had no way of recovering and finally opted to live out his days with his younger sister Ling Yue. Although he gave up on recovering his cultivation, he began to collect an and all information available, to plan out a future where his sister would have a good life. The brother-sister pair lived happily for the next few months till tragedy stuck.

One evening the people from Disciplinary Hall took away Ling Hong from home accusing him of forcing himself on a girl. Confused, he followed them to the detaining cells where he was astounded to see his own sister crying her eyes out claiming that she had seen her brother forcing himself upon other girls for long time but threatened her not to speak. She then left the hall accompanied by two youngsters, without even batting an eye towards her brother. Ling Hong was beaten till he fainted and thrown into a dark icy cell.

After an unknown period of time Ling Hong's eyes opened up and he crawled to the wall to make into a sitting position. He recalled his sister's betrayal and the smug look on the face of one of the youths – Ling Hao. He realized that he had been caught in a sinister plot.

"So that's how it is….." he murmured in a weak tone. Ling Hao was always against him from what he could remember. If there was no Ling Hong then he would be the clan's most talented youngster. Even though he lost almost all his power, Ling Hong was still the best talent around – he had astounding talent in pill refining, a photographic memory and quick reflexes that he used to teach the other younger generation.

"Ling Hao must want to humiliate me so that the clan only focuses on him. It's understandable that he would do this. But why would Xiao Yue help him?" Ling Hong was puzzled.

As long as he could remember, his sister clung to him and he adored her. Ever since his parents had passed away at the age of four, he raised her on his own without missing anything. There seemed to be no enmity between the two, only love.

"There must be something deeper to it. Forget it, let's see what they've planned for tomorrow." he came to a decision and then slept.

Now here he was standing in the combat grounds as a smirking Ling Hao stood next to the Disciplinary Hall elder who said "….. as for the punishment he shall be crippled and banished from the Ling Clan!"

"Elder" Ling Hao interrupted him and spoke "I think considering the merits of elder brother Hong a public confession and begging for apology would be satisfactory."

This was his real motive – to make the image of hero disappear completely. Suddenly a burst of mad laughter rang across the grounds. Everyone looked at Ling Hong who stood proud and wondered if he had gone mad.

"Good, very good. What a vicious plan to make me humiliate myself. You even made my sister turn against me." Ling Hong said in a cold voice that made everyone chilly as if the seasons had turned. Seeing things not going as planned, Ling Hao panicked and said "Ling Hong, admit your wrongs and apologize. Stop slandering others."

"Apologize? Me?" Ling Hong's lips curled as he smiled. Facing the sky, he spoke loud enough so that everyone heard "I, Ling Hong have always been a good man. I have done no evil neither assisted any evil. The heavens smite me for all eternity if I dare lie!"

Silence. No one let out any sound as Ling Hong carried out the heavenly oath, waiting for the result. After a while, seeing that no tribulation occurred everything turned to chaos. Ling Hao fell to the ground and pointing a finger at Ling Hong, spoke in a shaky voice "Y-You..You..You.."

At this point everyone understood what was going on. But before anyone could react to the situation, Ling Hong spoke up "Every single breath of my life I lived for others and yet this is my reward. As no one seems to want me around, I'll just go to the next life."

He turned towards his sister, who for whatever reason had sided against him for the first time in 14 years, completely destroying everything they had. Yes, he had been observing her from the corner of his eye and when the plot was revealed there was not even the slightest bit of surprise on her face. This was enough to see that she had known the truth long ago.

"Yue'er, I don't know how you came to this choice. Know that I would never blame you. I love you and want you to live a good life, even if it means me losing everything." Ling Hong spoke in a loving tone and smiled at her. He turned around and started to channel all his energy through his meridians, getting ready to extinguish his lifeforce.

"This is farewell." his final words reverberated in everyone's ears as Ling Hong turned into a streak of light and disappeared, never to set foot on this world again.