Chapter 1: Joyous Occasion

In the Xu Prefecture lay the behemoth known as the Xu Family. They were a large-sized family that ruled the Xu prefecture. Its golden period had started with its seventh generation's family head, but as decades passed, the Xu family started to fracture.

Greed and power-hungry maniacs took control of the family, shattering its unity and causing chaos. Some have already started to branch out away from the main family, traveling to other prefectures for safety and stability.

Xu Yong was the first-born child of the Sun Prefecture's Xu Family branch head, and on this day was a joyous occasion. He was about to become fifteen years old, in which he could push the gates of cultivation, and step foot into the grand cultivation world.

However... fate is a fickle thing.

...

He woke up, his brain racked with pain. Shaking his head, he got up and looked at the mirror. Black hair descending down to his shoulders, dark eyes with a tint of white within, and a handsome face with phoenix-like eyebrows. His sharp nose accented his thin lips, giving him a mysterious but indifferent expression.

Xu Yong touched his face. He felt weird looking at his own face, feeling something to be not right. From the moment he woke up, his brain was only filled with confusion. He couldn't remember what day it was nor what he was up to the past few days. He tidied himself up and finally left his room. But what he didn't notice was his face replicated on the mirror.

Walking through the family's region, he saw pure creatures such as birds flying through vibrant trees. He was currently walking on a stone path, leading to a large tree on a cliff. This was his favorite spot to relax and not think of anything else.

As he was passing through servants, he noticed a joyous expression within their smiles and eyes.

"Greetings young master!" An old man bowed to him.

"Old man, why does it seem like everyone looks weirdly happy today?"

"Oh! Of course young master, all of us are happy for you!" The old man said with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, but what's the occasion?" He knew these people wouldn't be happy for no reason.

"Young master have you forgotten? It is your birthday today! It is precisely why we're happy." Continuing with his smile.

Xu Yong then slapped his own forehead, wondering how he could forget such an occasion.

"Thank you, old man. Tell my father to give you 50 gold coins for your actions today."

"Thank you so much young master!" The old man left before Xu Yong could even blink.

He continued walking the path, the sun hitting his eyes at some point. He fastened his pace and arrived at the large tree. He sat down beside it, leaning on it. He faced the vegetation below the cliff, instantly becoming relaxed and smiling faintly. He closed his eyes and began to dream.

...

In a dark spacious room, two figures could barely be seen muttering something. Their voices were so low that you wouldn't be able to hear them if you put your ears on the door to the room.

"Today's the day, are the preparations ready?" A tall dark figure asked a similarly-dark short figure in front of him.

A feminine voice rang out. "Yes, but we should only start at the end of it."

"Alright, be careful with the execution of the plan. Nothing should go wrong or you know the consequences."

Those two figures began to disperse in the air, vanishing within the darkness.

...

Xu Yong began to dream, but he never expected to be aware of his own dream. He was standing in a desolate rocky terrain, nothing could be seen throughout his vision except the ground and the sky. He could control his body here, as if he wasn't dreaming at all.

Minutes passed but nothing happened. His patience began to run thin, so he started walking. However, as soon as he took that first step, the environment changed. He was stuck there as he was amazed by what he saw. With his right foot stuck, he saw small bits of greenery around him. Then, he took another step, and those greenery began to grow to become grass. The environment was still mostly rock, but now grass began to spread. He began to walk, his environment constantly changing.

He then saw flowers, trees, and even water change this environment for the better. He couldn't even count his steps before he was in a very different world now, filled with vegetation. Furthermore, the rocky terrain he was on was no longer present at all. It was as if he walked through the life of the world.

But, it didn't stop there. He continued to walk, and the vegetation withered but became seeds for new ones to grow. Then, the smallest bit of life began to show up. From ants to butterflies, he saw countless insects spread through the environment. He fastened his pace and even saw huge creatures, bigger than he was. They ranged from foxes to giant birds. Eventually, he became infatuated with the ever-changing world.

Deep in his mind though, he was comprehending something. It felt like he was comprehending life and death itself, he saw countless entities be born and die in a matter of seconds. This was no dream, Xu Yong thought to himself. He had countless questions but he couldn't find the answers to them.

He tried to touch his surroundings once, but that just cause his fingers to pass through what he tried to touch. Now, he was befuddled by his predicament. He knew it wasn't a dream, but now he found out that he couldn't even touch things here. It was not a dream not was it reality, he thought himself to be in a special state, so he cast aside his questions for now.

He continued to walk, until he finally saw a faint elderly figure in front of him.