Victory and Defeat

It was the Apocalypse.

The ground trembled violently, and the seismic energy from the hexanodes deep underground tore through the tunnels with a ferocity that felt almost alive.

Entire sections of the northern forest were swallowed by gaping chasms. Ancient trees were uprooted and devoured by the hungry earth. Screams of terror echoed through the air as disciples from various sects found themselves caught in the unstoppable destruction.

Bodies were crushed under tons of rock and soil, lives snuffed out in an instant.

Disciples clung to each other, trying to save friends and family. Some held hands as the ground opened beneath them, only to be torn apart as they fell into the abyss. Others had their bones shattered and their lungs crushed under the weight of the ground. 

"Brother, help me!" a young disciple screamed as he clung to the edge of a chasm, his fingers slipping on the loose dirt.

"I'm here, just hold on!" his elder brother shouted, reaching out desperately. But as he grabbed the boy's hand, the ground beneath him gave way, and they both plummeted into the darkness, their screams echoing until they were no more.

You Mei also desperately clung to the jagged edge of a rock in the abyss walls, her body dangling precariously over the void.

"You Mei! Hold on!"

You Rou scrambled towards his cousin. He could see the blood pouring from You Mei's head where a large tree had struck her.

With gritted teeth, You Rou reached the edge and his hands immediately latched onto You Mei's wrists. "I've got you! Just hold on a little longer!"

He felt his arms burning. The wounds on his body were not light, but he had the confidence to lift her up as long as the ground stopped shaking.

You Mei looked up at his cousin, her vision blurring.

The pain was excruciating, but worse was the sorrow that filled her heart.

"Li An..."

A whisper. Barely audible over the roaring chaos around them.

"I'm so sorry... I couldn't create that new world for you."

Pain.

Overwhelming pain.

Pain that seeped into her skin, crawled across her bones and squeezed her heart.

Tears welled up in You Mei's eyes. As death loomed before her, she could only cling to a single, cherished memory: sitting beside Li An above the tranquil waters of the river when they were just seven years old.

Li An, I will be with you forever!

The memory slipped away... perhaps never to return again.

"You Mei, don't you dare let go!" You Rou tightened his grip, his muscles straining as he tried to pull You Mei up. "We can still get out of this. Just hold on!"

"I... can't..."

You Mei knew her strength was fading. The blood loss was too much.

Her fingers slipped slightly.

"...Rou... you have to let me go," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

He didn't answer, merely pulling harder. But the edge crumbled further, dirt and rocks falling into the abyss below.

You Mei mustered a weak smile.

"Li An, please survive."

With this final thought, her body hit the rocks below, turning into a blood-soaked paste.

You Rou sat down and looked around in despair. You Bing, Wen He, and the other people he grew up with were killed mercilessly. The abyss yawned wider, its maw dark and insatiable.

"Ha..."

He vomited out blood. His internal organs surged in reverse. After heaving out something soft and wet, he lost consciousness.

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Liu Yi hovered in the air as he stared down at the apocalyptic scene unfolding below. His robes were billowing around him like a storm cloud. The northern forest of their sect was now a shattered wasteland.

Huge cracks had opened in the ground, swallowing everything in their path. Trees, rocks, and people were being sucked into the void, leaving nothing but chaos behind.

His jaw was set, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He had been guarding the fog to the west, but the collapse had happened too quickly, too violently, for him to intervene. The sight of his comrades, of the disciples and friends he had vowed to protect, being crushed and consumed by the earth, sent a surge of raw, unbridled rage through him.

He took a deep breath, trying to control his fury, but it only seemed to fuel it more. "Someone needs to be held accountable for this tragedy."

Without a word, he dashed toward the epicenter of the spiritual energy, a trail of blazing light marking his path. As he closed the distance, the devastated landscape blurred around him, his speed fueled by a single, burning desire for retribution.

When he reached the source, he found Elder Jiang, the Battle Elder, Ning Bing, and Tong Zi, all battered and bloodied, running after an armless Li An.

The sight made his blood boil even more. "These traitors are helping the Hidden Valley Sect kill our disciples!"

In his mind, they were all enemies that needed to be killed, especially when they were chasing a disciple from their sect with killing intent in their eyes.

With a roar of anger, Liu Yi descended on them like a lightning bolt. He aimed straight for Elder Jiang, the most accursed traitor of them all.

"You betrayed us!" he shouted with bloodshot eyes.

The Battle Elder quickly stepped in, shouting to his allies, "Catch Li An! I'll handle him."

Elder Jiang, Ning Bing, and Tong Zi hesitated for a moment, stunned by Liu Yi's fury, but they obeyed and went after Li An, who kept moving forward despite her injuries.

"I want to see how you are going to handle me! You are just a snake that bites the hand that feeds it."

Liu Yi's sword qi was relentless, sending flames everywhere that scorched the earth and destroyed anything in their way. 

The Battle Elder blocked and parried, using all his remaining strength to keep Liu Yi at bay. Usually, he would win in a fight between them, but he was injured and missing most of his spiritual energy.

Sparks flew as their weapons clashed, sending shockwaves through the air.

"You let this happen!" Liu Yi yelled, eyes locked on the Battle Elder. "You let our people die!"

"We're not the enemy!" The Battle Elder shouted back, struggling to fend off Liu Yi's attacks. "Li An is the one you want. We're trying to stop her!"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?! I can see how you are protecting Tong Zi from miles away! Shut up and give me your life!"

Liu Yi's rage left no room for reason. His strikes grew fiercer, driven by the images of his fallen comrades and their dying screams.

"I will never forgive you!"

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Li An's breath came in ragged gasps as she sprinted through the forest. Her side throbbed where her arm was missing, but she ignored the pain, focusing instead on getting as far away as possible in the north direction. The war scythe was safely guarded inside her ring.

She glanced back and saw Elder Jiang, Ning Bing, and Tong Zi gaining on her. "This Elder Jiang is a problem."

It was obvious to Li An that both Tong Zi and Elder Jiang were running on empty. Elder Jiang, as a late-stage Essence Condensation cultivator, had used up all her energy just to escape the destruction. However, she was still not someone who could be defeated with a spiritual bullet. 

Tong Zi had also fought against Jian Feng and was already low on spiritual energy before the encounter with Lord Mao. As for how she knew about their fight?

"He." 

Li An chuckled and glanced back again. She saw Tong Zi finally stop, unable to continue. However, Elder Jiang and Ning Bing pushed on, one with higher cultivation and the other with full spiritual energy.

She quickened her pace, weaving between trees and leaping over fallen branches. She didn't need to shake them off, but to create some distance from the forest.

"The plan will work-"

The world seemed to stop.

Li An's eyes widened, and a claw made of demonic energy ripped through the air, tearing into her leg.

She didn't even have time to react. One moment she was running, the next she was on the ground, pain exploding in her leg.

For a second, Li An couldn't even process what had happened.

As the searing agony hit her full force, she gasped, but she refused to scream. She wouldn't give anyone that satisfaction.

With an empty face, Li An started to crawl, dragging herself forward with her one remaining arm.

Every inch she gained felt like a mile.

Her vision started to blur, and through the haze, she saw a figure standing over her. It was the old servant who used to bring her Spirit pills, but his lips were twisted into a disgusting smile.

"So, this is where you've been hiding." He spit on the ground. "I've been looking everywhere for you during the martial contest. Didn't expect to find you here, crawling like a worm."

Li An's heart sank. Only a demonic cultivator would talk this way. And with his peak stage Core Formation cultivation, she didn't stand a chance against him.

"You had everything planned out, didn't you?" he mocked, crouching down to look her in the eye. "Get the scythe, kill the disciples of the sects, create chaos... you are good, but not good enough."

Li An's thoughts drifted as she lay there, blood pooling around her. She had planned everything. She had been so close. If this demonic cultivator hadn't appeared, she would have been free. 

But there were no ifs in life. 

Just cold, hard facts.

She stretched her good arm, just for the unknown demonic cultivator to sever it and send it flying towards Ning Bing and Elder Jiang.

...

Tip... Tap...

Between the gaps of the dark clouds, several drops of rain began to fall. The raindrops, which were closer to being scattered than they were descending, overlapped one another on their own until they soon grew into streaks of rain.

Li An believed the rain was similar to the streaks of blood that came from the endless humans striving to defy the heavens, who were made to pursue this path against their natural will of being free. 

The things that flowed there could not be helped. However, would it not be bitter to consider the things that were made to flow as something that also could not be helped?

Tip, tap, tip, tap...

The story that she had started, had begun to flow like a storm alongside that rain.

Her body grew cold.

The mocking words of the old servant were lost in the haze of her memories.

Li An watched the sky, hollow-eyed.

"O ye heavens, how art thou so cruel?"

The pain in her body mixed with the searing heat of another time, another place.

Earth. Scorched lands. The smell of burning flesh. Endless desolation.

And the screams.

Oh god, the screams of agony as people were burned alive.

She was no longer in the forest; she was back on Earth, dying in the ashes of her world. The roars of the flames and the cries of the dying were her only companions.

She was lying on the debris with a face carved by hatred. Broken. Burnt. Speared by a metal pole.

Death had never been so close. But then, a figure descended in front of her. It was a man with short, smooth black hair and eyes darker than shadows. He was not very tall, but his worn brown robes and radiant smile made him look towering.

"Is this the end?" she had whispered.

The man stared at her and opened his mouth.

Woosh, shoooo!

She returned to the forest, her hair drenched and hampering her eyes.

The pain grew more distant, replaced by a numbness that spread through her body.

"What did he say again?"

Li An closed her eyes.

The man, her teacher, was caressing her cheek. His gaze was like a black hole, forever starving.

"No, child. This is only the beginning."

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Rumble!

When the first rumble of thunder echoed across the heavens, a collective shiver ran through every cultivator in Yi Jian Valley, whether they were young children or the oldest powerhouses.

It was a sound that heralded doom, a harbinger of inevitable catastrophe.

The fight and chaos stopped. Everyone's hearts pounded in their chests, an instinctual response to the deep, primal fear that clawed at their souls.

The heaven and earth spiritual energy began to form a massive vortex, all of it surging around Li An and curling up together.

The old servant frowned and tried to grab her with a demonic claw, but the attack was dissolved as if it were nothing. Li An was radiating a dazzling golden light from every pore of her body while it floated above the ground.

The cultivators could feel the world itself pressing down on their spirits with a weight that was almost unbearable. Dread was pooling in their stomachs as they looked to the sky and saw dark clouds gathering, swirling with liquid spiritual energy.

The air grew thick with tension, making it hard to breathe.

Rumble!

Li An's limbs began to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye. Not one, not two, but three thousand spots of golden light vibrated within her, destroying her previous meridians to nothingness.

Even Li An did not understand the true implications of her new cultivation system.

Faces paled, eyes widened, and breaths quickened. The cultivators had heard the stories about this sequence of events.

Rumble!

Each rumble of thunder felt like the tolling of a death knell, reverberating through their very bones.

This was the wrath of the heavens.

A Heavenly Tribulation.

The purple lightning crackled within the tribulation clouds, preparing itself to kill the one who dared to break free of its control.

The might of the heavens must not be challenged!

Rumble!

The lightning struck.

Blinding, searing, and all-consuming.

The fear reached its peak, a crescendo of terror that resonated in every fiber of every being. Although they knew the lightning bolt only carried the power of a first stage Spirit realm cultivator, knowing was one thing and seeing was another.

Li An's chest erupted in flames, and the skin was charred almost instantly.

However, as quickly as the damage was done, her body began to regenerate. Skin and muscle knit together at a ridiculous rate. The searing wounds closed and vanished, not even leaving faint scars behind.

"Is she human?" The three people in the audience flicked their eyes upward just in time to see the second bolt descending.

This one was fiercer, carrying the power of a peak stage Spirit realm cultivator.

It struck Li An's newly healed right arm with a force that shattered bone and flesh alike, obliterating it entirely.

She gasped and opened her eyes, her body swaying but refusing to collapse. Li An watched, almost detached, as the stump of her right shoulder began to regrow. Bone formed first, then sinew and muscle, followed by skin, until her arm was whole once more.

The only thing she knew in that moment was that the artificial hexagonal meridian system had finally finished fusing with her body after so many hours, and the benefits were immeasurable. 

Her eyes shone. She still had a chance at victory!

Before the old servant could even react, Li An grabbed his waist and hugged him with all her strength.

"What are you doing?" The old servant panicked and punched her face, but the girl didn't budge.

Inside the vortex of spiritual energy, he could not bring up any defenses.

The third bolt descended with the full rage of the heavens, imbued with the power of a low stage Core Formation realm cultivator. It came down with a terrible roar, the light so intense it seemed to turn the darkness into day for a brief moment.

When it struck, more than half of Li An's body was obliterated. The left side of her torso, her arm, and much of her lower body were vaporized instantly, leaving nothing but scorched, skeletal remains.

The pain was beyond comprehension, a torment that went beyond the physical and tore at the very essence of her being. She teetered on the edge of consciousness, darkness creeping at the edges of her vision.

However, the old servant wasn't so lucky.

His head and upper half didn't last for even a second. The tribulation lightning killed him as easily as blowing on a feather.

Li An gritted her teeth. Even in this state, her body's resilience was godly. As long as her heart and brain were not destroyed, it was too hard to kill her!

Breathless and trembling, she stood again. There were no traces of the horrific damage she had endured just moments before.

Li An took a deep breath, feeling the life return to her limbs.

Rumble!

With a last roar, the storm's wrath abated and the sky cleared again. 

She curled up her lips in a devilish grin.

Li An's new meridians were unlike anything she had ever experienced before. The spiritual energy within her surged, flowing through the circuits like an unstoppable river.

Her muscles and bones also felt different, stronger. The lightning that had sought to destroy her had instead tempered her body. As the saying went, the heavens would never cut off all exits.

Even though it would try to obliterate all existences that violated its rules with supreme and unstoppable power, the heavens would always leave behind the slimmest chance of survival!

As long as one got a hold of that chance, the benefits would naturally be immeasurable.

She flexed her fingers, marveling at the newfound strength that coursed through them. There was no way to know how strong her body was, but it would definitely be tougher than a normal cultivator's at Spirit realm.

But even then, there were still more benefits.

Li An could sense her cultivation had improved drastically, propelling her to the ninth stage of the Foundation realm, just a breath away from the Spirit Realm. It wasn't because she had one primary meridian left to unlock—she had no primary meridians anymore. 

Now, she just needed to condense her spiritual energy further, to refine it until it reached a level of density that would allow her to break through.

Nevertheless, all of these were problems for later. Presently, she had to execute the grand finale of her performance, which had become rather anticlimactic in light of the terrifying storm.

Li An sighed. "Ah, the sacrifices I make for the sake of art."

Elder Jiang stepped forward, her gaze more intense than usual. "Li An, I know we've had our disagreements, but I would rather not make an enemy out of you."

She grinned.

"I propose an exchange: the war scythe for whatever it was that summoned the Heavenly Tribulation."

Li An found it almost unbearable to witness such idiocy. She understood precisely what was at play: Elder Jiang sought to acquire the source of the Heavenly Tribulation, eliminate her, and claim the weapon for herself.

Li An shook her head. "No matter how many times I try to teach you, you don't seem to learn, old hag. Let me guess, if I refuse, you intend to kill me now, and if I agree, you will kill me later.""

"Indeed," Elder Jiang didn't try to deny it. "You might have gotten stronger, but you're still much weaker than an Essence Condensation realm cultivator. I can't let you live with the potential you just showed, or I'll never have peace."

She was not wrong. Li An would most likely eradicate these sects in the future to prevent issues from arising. 

It wasn't because she was angry at them, but because the world was governed by the law of the jungle. Individuals had the right to kill and to be killed. The losers could only do their best to survive.

A slight amusement glided past the corners of Li An's lips.

"I like you, old hag."

Elder Jiang shuddered.

"Stop with the nonsense!" she shouted. "I require only a simple yes or no to my proposal."

"I do genuinely like you, Elder Jiang," Li An mused inwardly. Elder Jiang was neither the strongest, the smartest, nor the bravest. She possessed talent, but her low status among the greater elders was due to her mediocrity in all other aspects.

"Elder Jiang is just like myself."

Li An, too, has had only one talent since her youth. Curiously, she discovered it when she forgot her homework at school back on Earth.

That singular moment remained etched in her memory. One might call it a revelation from God or an enlightenment from Buddha. Words mattered not.

Li An had lied to her teacher about being sick the day before, fearful of the consequences of being caught. Tears welled up before she could even think, and her body trembled like a leaf on the brink of being carried away by the wind.

She knew she was doing something wrong, yet...

Despite that.

It was enjoyable beyond her wildest imagination.

Treating another person's actions and emotions like toys was the most interesting game she had ever played.

Thus, much like Elder Jiang, she used her singular talent to sell herself to various parties across the Galaxy, striving for a chance to rise.

For one to attain true freedom, one must be willing to discard it first.

Something so simple, yet everyone was afraid to do it.

Li An stared at the gray sky. "The weather today is rather unpleasant, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Elder Jiang made a confused expression.

"It's a shame, old hag."

Indeed, it was a lamentable matter. Elder Jiang had never grasped the significance behind leaving her alive.

Li An was not one to allow uncontrollable individuals to roam freely. The sole reason she had not moved against her sooner was because, from the moment they first clashed, Elder Jiang's fate had been sealed to forever remain a puppet.

"Do it."

Shhhhhunk!

A sharp, excruciating pain in Elder Jiang's chest.

Her eyes widened as she looked down to see the jagged, rusty edge of the war scythe protruding through her body. Blood seeped from the wound, staining her robes a deep crimson.

She slowly turned her head.

There stood Ning Bing, her disciple, holding the war scythe with both hands. Ning Bing's face was smiling faintly.

Truthfully, it was too ungainly to even be considered as a smile. It was just the gesture of 'raising the corners of her mouth'.

Elder Jiang could see pain, pleasure, satisfaction, and hatred in her gaze.

"Since... when?" The words barely escaped her lips.

But before she could finish, the war scythe began to pulse with a black aura.

The blade had come alive. It had been starving for too long, and now it has finally acquired its first meal.

Elder Jiang convulsed, her muscles seizing as the scythe hungrily devoured her soul. Her eyes rolled back, and blood foamed at her mouth. Her body was jerking violently, every vein standing out as if her skin were about to burst.

Her soul had been drawn from her body, pulled into the scythe like water being sucked into a vortex. She was now reduced to a lifeless husk.

Elder Jiang's corpse fell to the ground.

Her eyes were wide open but devoid of life, and her face was frozen in a grotesque mask of pain and disbelief. 

Li An walked closer and stroked her cheek.

"It is truly a shame, old hag. But rest assured, your death was useful," she said with a melancholic expression.

"What are you pretending for?" Ning Bing frowned at her. "We both know master wouldn't care about your feelings."

Li An looked up.

"Ah yes, there is still her."

The chess piece she had strategically placed next to Elder Jiang. Ning Bing was the most important key to her plans. The one who had crippled her arm's meridians during the Advancement duel, the one who told her about the entire strategy of the three sects, and the one who was 'spying' on her within the sect.

Li An had expertly manipulated Ning Bing's desire for revenge against Elder Jiang, offering her a choice that was not truly a choice.

If you do as I say, I will show you how easily Elder Jiang can be defeated. You need not openly betray her; simply carry out the small tasks I assign, and you will have the chance to witness her death. Even if I fail, you lose nothing. You will remain her disciple and continue your life as before. Not a bad deal, right?

Thus, while Li An ventured into the forest to investigate, Ning Bing did what she asked and ensured that the main disciples of the three sects encountered a series of misfortunes.

She directed Jian Feng towards Tong Zi's path. She bribed her fellow disciples to pursue Bai Shen. She deceived Wen He, convincing him that Tong Zi would appear in the west region of the forest, knowing it was Zhao Tian who was there.

Everything for the sake of depleting their spiritual energy for the upcoming conflicts. Everything to create this situation where they were isolated with Elder Jiang.

"I am glad you understood my plan when I threw my arm in your direction with the ring. How did it feel to have your revenge?" Li An asked.

Ning Bing shrugged her shoulders.

"Satisfying, but not as fulfilling as I had hoped."

Both girls could feel the tense atmosphere surrounding them. The scythe was still in Ning Bing's hands.

Li An smiled bitterly. "I was already expecting this."

Dementia's hunger was starting to corrupt Ning Bing's soul. The thrill of betrayal and the intoxicating energy of the weapon consumed her, twisting her mind with insatiable greed.

Her gaze locked onto Li An, and without a second thought, she swung the scythe toward her neck, aiming to decapitate her with a swift, lethal strike.

But just as the blade was about to connect, Elder Jiang's head suddenly erupted.

The violent explosion sent blood and brain matter splattering in all directions. Ning Bing screamed as the blast vaporized her legs in an instant. She collapsed to the ground, her screams mingling with the sickening sizzle of her burning flesh.

Li An watched her with furrowed eyebrows.

There was no joy in playing against a child. Ning Bing didn't even suspect a trap in Elder Jiang's body when she touched the latter's face.

Li An stepped forward and seized Dementia from the ground.

Ning Bing writhed on the ground, her upper body still intact but her lower half a mangled, smoking ruin. She could see Li An approaching. Her mouth opened and closed as if to beg for mercy.

Li An raised the scythe high,... and brought it down with a fast swing.

The blade split Ning Bing's skull with a snap. 

The blood sprayed upward, coating Li An's hand and face. Ning Bing's eyes had rolled back, her final expression one of utter horror as her life was extinguished in an instant.

"As I said, rest assured, Elder Jiang. Your death was useful."