1 Death is just the Beginning Part I

Circling the tallest mountain in the Demon God Valley located in the great land of Da Xian was a wave of life energy. This form of energy was known by the name ‘qi’. The wind gathering and blowing was a sign of someone trying to forge a superior qi weapon.

There was a man sitting on said mountain. Although he looked young, he had lived for tens of thousands of years. He was the only one in the great land who had succeeded in practicing god-level qi, the most supreme level of qi power. He had been ranked as the greatest martial artist for millennia. Everyone in the great land knew his name—Bai Hu, the man from the Bai family. He had obtained the power to live forever. He would never get old or sick. However, he could be killed or poisoned.

Bai Hu was sitting in front of a large filigree iron forge. The qi characters which were delicately carved all over its surface were shimmering. It served as a weapon forge. He was trying to craft a god’s weapon, a weapon that no one had ever succeeded in making.

‘Just a little more. Soon, the smelting process will be done.’ He intertwined his hands, carefully controlling the qi that he put in. One mistake could destroy all the work, and his life could also be lost from the force of the explosion.

Crack…

That which he was most scared of finally happened. The massive power from the weapon started to strain the forge. It was too much for the forge to handle. A single crack broke out in one particular spot and spread all over quickly.

‘Damn it to hell!’ Bai Hu noticed the crack immediately. Aware that his life would soon be over, he swiftly drew qi characters in the air.

‘One, property. Two, memory. Three, knowledge. Four, holy creatures’ blood. Five, qi.’

He sealed everything into his soul. In this way, he would still have all his knowledge and the memories of this life even if he died or had to be reincarnated. Even so, he had to practice and meditate until he reached the Heart qi before he was able to access the property, holy creature’s blood, and qi power in his soul.

Boom!

Bai Hu finished everything at the same time that the forge exploded. The blast was so disastrous that its white flames scorched everything within five hundred kilometers to ashes. Everything had vanished: people, animals, the demigods. The only thing left was a wasteland with nothing on its surface.

Bai Hu turned into a spirit. He was preparing himself to enter the hereafter when an invisible force started to pull at his soul. It came from a black crack. The crack was drawing down rocks, sand, and dust from the explosion, as well as the man’s spirit.

‘This must be the dimension crack caused by the explosion of the forge.’ Unable to resist it, he let the force pull his spirit toward the crack. He then lost consciousness. However, something still remained stuck in the ground, something able to resist the force from the crack. It was...

…………..

“Sniff…sniff.” The sound of sobbing from a boy nearby woke Bai Hu up.

“Hmm.” He slowly opened his eyes. Bai Hu found his soul in a place that looked like a massive chamber in a cave. There was a path stretching forward in the four cardinal directions. The source of the sobbing which had woken him up was sitting in front of him.

The crying boy was pale and gaunt. He had sunken cheeks and deep-set eyes with dark circles under them. Still, the features of his face showed signs of handsomeness.

“Who, pray tell, are you?” Bai Hu asked.

“M...My name is Bai Zhe, sir,” answered the boy.

“Could you enlighten me as to what this place is?” the older man asked.

“The female spirit who was here before me explained that this place is called the Dimensional Crossroads, sir. In front of you is the road to hell. On the left is the road to heaven. To the right is to the netherworld, and the living world is to the back,” he explained.

“And why have you not made your way to heaven, then?” Bai Hu asked.

“I cannot do that. There are invisible walls preventing us from going there. If we try to break in, our spirits will be torn apart. Without such a wall, all the spirits would go to heaven,” said the boy.

“How long must I wait until I can continue my journey? And how can I know which is the correct path if these walls are invisible?” Bai Hu questioned.

“The same female spirit also told me about this. She said she had to wait for a long time. Her spirit was pulled toward the living world. I think she might have been reincarnated by now.”

“I understand now. Do you mind if I ask the reason you are crying? Do you know that a spirit with negative thoughts can go down only one path, which is the one to hell?” said Bai Hu.

“R…really?”

“Yes. So, calm yourself and stop crying. If you have any weight on your chest that needs to be lifted, you can tell me. I might look young, but I had lived for ten millennia before death found me.”

“So, that’s why the way you speak sounds so old-fashioned.”

“I just died. Why would you say my words are old-fashioned?”

“The words you speak sound like the ones my country quit using hundreds of years ago.”

“Well, that also explains why your clothes look strange. I thought you came from a tribe in some mysterious place. Anyway, why don’t you tell me your story? At least it would make you feel better to let it all out.”

“All right. I lived with my parents in a small apartment. I woke up at dawn to deliver the newspapers. That’s why I went to school late every day. I was hired to work after school and finished very late at night. Then, I went back home and straight to bed. I didn’t have much time to study, and I usually could not stay focused in the morning classes. So, I got bad grades. I also got bullied by a gang in my class. One day, I had the misfortune to make eye contact with the girl whom the gang leader was flirting with. The leader was the son of our local politician. Politicians are like your noblemen, I guess, but they use their authority in immoral ways. He then sent some of his father’s men to wait for me on my way back home, and they beat me up until I passed out. I dragged myself back home. I took some painkillers and went to sleep. Then, I found myself here.” As Bai Zhe told his story, tears welled up in his eyes again.

“So, you are worried about your parents, aren’t you?”

“Yes. But there is nothing I can do. I am already dead. I cannot go back to them,” said the boy. He seemed to be letting go of his sorrow.

“At least you had your parents. I was an orphan. Luckily, my teacher raised me. He taught me martial arts and how to practice my qi until I reached god-level qi. So, I’ve never gotten old, sick, or died. I wouldn’t have died if I hadn’t made the mistake of forging a god’s weapon and having it explode, destroying my life and those of other living things around the mountain,” Bai Hu said. At the same time, he noticed Bai Zhe’s twinkling up eyes looking at him.

“Mr. Bai, you practiced martial arts?” Bai Zhe asked.

“Of course. Do not tell me you have never met a martial artist?” answered Bai Hu, before putting the question to the boy.

“No. I have never met one. In my time, internal forces, qi, martial arts, and martial artists exist only in novels, TV series, or movies,” said Bai Zhe.

“What is a ‘novel’? …And what is a…See…rise?”