Chapter 1 - Traces of a Fading Imprint

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"Mo Yang, you caused the death of the Fourth Elder! How dare you still kneel here!"

"The fall of the Fourth Elder has brought immense loss to our Lingxu Sect. You should atone with your death!"

"You've been cultivating for so many years, yet you can't even break through to the Qi Condensation realm. Mo Yang, you're nothing but trash! The Lingxu Sect doesn't keep trash. Get out!"

"With the Fourth Elder gone, no one will protect you anymore. The Sect Master has ordered that from tomorrow, the Wood Peak will be merged into the Main Peak. There's no place for you in the Lingxu Sect anymore!"

…

At the back mountain of the Lingxu Sect, in front of a cenotaph, a young boy of about fifteen or sixteen knelt in a daze. The shouts and curses from over a dozen sect disciples seemed to pass right through him, as if he were a lifeless corpse.

This was Mo Yang, the last remaining disciple of the Wood Peak.

The Wood Peak was once one of the five main peaks of the Lingxu Sect, but over the years, it had completely declined.

Because the Fourth Elder was often away searching for medicinal herbs for Mo Yang, he had neglected the affairs of the Wood Peak. The sect had grown increasingly dissatisfied, and over time, the disciples of the Wood Peak had either been reassigned by the sect or had voluntarily joined the other peaks. The Wood Peak had long been deserted.

Mo Yang had anticipated the merger of the Wood Peak, but when the day finally came, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss.

As he stared at the newly built cenotaph, images of a kind and gentle face kept flashing through his mind. To him, the Fourth Elder was not just his master but also his only family.

Mo Yang was an orphan. Ten years ago, the Fourth Elder had saved him from the jaws of a ferocious beast during a training expedition and brought him back to the Lingxu Sect, taking him as a disciple and teaching him cultivation.

At the time, Mo Yang had been able to condense Qi as soon as he began cultivating, astonishing the entire sect with his incredible talent.

But what followed was not the glory he had dreamed of, but endless despair and darkness.

After ten years of cultivation, he still hadn't been able to break through to the first realm of cultivation, the Qi Condensation realm, because he couldn't store the condensed Qi in his meridians.

Over the past decade, Mo Yang had memorized all the martial knowledge and cultivation techniques the Fourth Elder had taught him, but none of it had been of any use to him.

The Fourth Elder had tried every method to prevent Mo Yang's prodigious talent from being wasted, but in the end, it had all been in vain.

Half a month ago, news had spread that a sacred herb had appeared in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, attracting sects from all over. Despite everyone's dissuade, the Fourth Elder had insisted on going, only to never return.

Later, several elders from the Lingxu Sect secretly went to investigate and learned from other cultivators that the Fourth Elder had been killed by a powerful expert from the Dao Sect while trying to seize the sacred herb.

The Dao Sect was an unimaginably powerful force, with a history spanning tens of thousands of years and unfathomable Background. Faced with such a behemoth, the elders of the Lingxu Sect dared not voice their anger and instead shifted all the blame onto Mo Yang.

The disciples followed suit, drowning Mo Yang in a flood of venomous words.

"After tomorrow, the Wood Peak will no longer exist in the Lingxu Sect. You're on your own!" The Second Elder glanced at Mo Yang from a distance, tossed out these words, and then turned to leave.

After the disciples had left, Mo Yang sat alone in front of the cenotaph, surrounded by overgrown weeds and the mournful sound of the wind. His heart was heavy with sorrow.

"It's time to leave…"

After a long while, he murmured to himself.

But then an endless sense of confused washed over him.

Where would he go? Where could he go?

After a brief moment of confused, a look of determination flashed in his eyes.

"I'm just an orphan. The world is vast—anywhere can be home!"

"Master, don't worry. I will step onto the path of martial arts. I will become strong, and one day, I will avenge you!"

As for his own condition, Mo Yang couldn't understand it. Everything seemed normal, but he just couldn't store the condensed Qi in his meridians. Every time he condensed Qi, it would dissipate shortly after. This had been the case for ten years.

The Fourth Elder had once asked the other elders of the sect to examine Mo Yang, but none of them could find any clues or reasons for his condition.

As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, the world was plunged into darkness.

Mo Yang knew this would be his last night in the Lingxu Sect.

He silently sat cross-legged in front of the cenotaph, circulating his cultivation technique. A wisp of Qi slowly condensed in his meridians, but as usual, it dissipated shortly after.

He sighed in resignation. This had been the case for ten years, and he had long grown accustomed to it.

But at that moment, his body suddenly trembled.

Immediately after, a crisp cracking sound came from his dantian, as if it had shattered.

The dantian, which should only be opened after reaching the Spirit Awakening realm, had inexplicably been unlocked in an instant. The sudden change left Mo Yang completely stunned.

Because at this moment, a vast surge of Qi erupted from his dantian, flooding his meridians in an instant.

Mo Yang was dumbfounded. Had the Qi he had condensed over the years not disappeared but been absorbed into his dantian?

Moreover, the moment his dantian was unlocked, it felt as though something had been broken open. Along with the Qi, a powerful force erupted from his dantian.

Mo Yang's expression changed drastically. In just a few breaths, he felt as though his meridians were about to burst, sending waves of Tearing pain through his body.

This had never happened before, leaving him completely unprepared.

Before he could react, the scene around him changed dramatically. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a gray, misty space.

Mo Yang's heart was in turmoil. His consciousness was clear, but everything happening now defied his understanding, as if he were in a bizarre and surreal dream.

Where was this place?

He quickly scanned his surroundings. It looked like the ruins of a broken-down structure, with shattered stones scattered everywhere. It seemed as though a terrifying battle had taken place here, as the remnants of Incomplete corpses could still be seen among the debris.

Then his pupils contracted sharply, because not far away stood a figure!

The figure stood with its back to him, tall and imposing, like an insurmountable mountain, resembling an ancient god or demon.

This completely surpassed Mo Yang's understanding of cultivators. The figure exuded an overwhelming pressure, and even a single glance made one feel its unparalleled majesty.

As Mo Yang's gaze fell on the figure, it slowly turned around.

It was a middle-aged man!

But his face was somewhat blurry. Though he stood not far away, it felt as though he were millions of miles distant.

"Who are you?"

Mo Yang instinctively stepped back, unable to stop himself from asking. His intuition told him that this was an existence far beyond his comprehension.

The middle-aged man silently looked at Mo Yang, his expression unreadable. He didn't answer Mo Yang's question but instead said, "Since you've made it here, it means you've survived the darkest times."

These calm words struck Mo Yang like a bolt of lightning, leaving him completely stunned.

It was clear that this man knew about his past!

At the same time, countless questions arose in Mo Yang's mind. Where was this place? Who was this man? He was certain this wasn't an illusion!

"Who are you?"

Mo Yang asked again, growing more alert.

But the middle-aged man still didn't respond. Instead, he continued speaking as if to himself, "What is lost will be gained. After the darkness, the dawn will come. When the seals within you are broken layer by layer, and you inherit the power of defiance, you will embark on an invincible path!"

Mo Yang stood there in a daze. There were seals inside him? And what was this power of defiance?

His intuition told him that this middle-aged man had likely done something to him long ago.

If that were true, then the ten years of darkness he had endured were likely because of this man!

If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he wouldn't have believed it. Why would such a terrifying and unfathomable expert do this to him?

As for his own past, Mo Yang's memories were a complete blank. The earliest thing he could remember was being brought to the Lingxu Sect by the Fourth Elder, followed by ten years of darkness.

Mo Yang's heart was in turmoil. He had already noticed that when his dantian was unlocked, not only had a surge of Qi erupted, but a powerful and mysterious force had also emerged.

Could that mysterious force be the power of defiance the man had spoken of?

"What is this power of defiance you speak of?"

Mo Yang's emotions were in turmoil as he looked at the middle-aged man who seemed both close and infinitely distant.

"The legacy of the heavens!"

The middle-aged man seemed to smile, his eyes shining like stars. At this moment, he exuded an aura of overwhelming dominance. As the words left his mouth, they echoed like thunder, causing the entire gray space to tremble.

"I am but a lingering imprint, waiting for you to arrive."

Without another word, the middle-aged man's body suddenly dissolved into a mist of light, and the gray space began to shake violently, as if a massive mechanism had been triggered.

Before Mo Yang could react, he felt a force push him out.

…

The night breeze brushed past, and Mo Yang's thoughts returned to the present. He slowly opened his eyes. The newly built mound was still there, looking even more desolate under the hazy moonlight.

After regaining his senses, he quickly circulated his cultivation. Qi flowed through his meridians, and he realized that his cultivation had already broken through the Qi Condensation and Spirit Awakening realms, directly reaching the third realm of cultivators—the Earth Profound realm.

He could hardly believe it. The nightmare of ten years of cultivation had been inexplicably resolved, and in such a short time, he had broken through six minor realms!

The Qi in his meridians circulated continuously under the influence of his cultivation technique, and the Qi emanating from his body confirmed that he had reached the first stage of the Earth Profound realm.

Remembering the strange space, he quickly focused his mind and discovered that a stone pagoda had appeared in his dantian at some point.

With a thought, the scene before him changed again, and he found himself standing in front of the stone pagoda. Up close, he could see that the pagoda was incomplete.

The pagoda had eight levels, but above the eighth level, it seemed to have been Truncation, with a clear Broken gap visible.

Light shimmered on the surface of the pagoda, and a few ancient characters appeared. Mo Yang Careful identification, and the characters seemed to read—Star Emperor!

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