Squelch!

  Squelch!

  Squelch!

  With each stomp the blood of the poor man beneath his feet stuck to the underside of his shoe. Every single step made a disgusting sound like that of orange being forcefully squeezed.

  "Disgusting… pant… vermin!"

  The assailant eventually grew tired of stomping him and walked away back to the clan base.

  Ptoh!

  Not before spitting on the blood covered head of the young man.

  As he pushed against the grass attempting to lift himself off the ground one his teeth that had been knocked out sunk into his palm. Although he didn't react. Everything was unclear after being beaten for heaven knows how long.

  All he knew was that he had to get out before they change their mind about letting him go.

  'Just wait… one day I'll find who really did this'

  A dangerous glint appeared in his bruised eyes.

  …

  Limping through the forest his gaze couldn't help but linger on each of the ginourmous trees he gripped onto for support. There were many of them for as far as the eye could see. Everytime he looked he couldn't help but be reminded of what happened to the Heaven Piercing Oak.

  How it's destruction got him exiled. How he was framed for it. How everyone, even his own family abandoned him. But he still had hope.

  Even if he wasn't a cultivator yet, he couldn't be far off. His foundation had to have been set.

  'I just need to find an actual cultivator's legacy to awaken my pathways'

  Some cultivators left behind legacy's for people to inherit. They could have a myriad of stuff ranging from lost and ancient cultivation techniques, to relics that even "Heavenly" cultivators would fight over.

  Although those were rare and scarce in nature.

  Throb

  He fell onto the ground banging against it hard.

  As he lifted himself up with his hands he could see water falling onto the ground. He pulled up one of his hands to his face and could feel tears running down them.

  "Dammit…"

  His nose shriveled as he sobbed.

  "Dammit!"

  He punched a nearby tree, tears flowing down his face like a waterfall.

  Although he was a bit old for crying, did it matter? There was no one to tease him for it or reprimand him. There was no one to cheer him up or comfort him.

  He had no one.

  He gripped the ground hard with his hands, dirt coming up and ending up beneath his finger nails. As he cried he kneeled over while on his knees banging the ground.

  "Why? Why!"

  "What did I do to deserve this…." His shouts grew to a whisper.

  He curled up onto the ground letting the cold night wind hit his body without flinching.

  Then he flipped onto his back. Staring up at the Red and Blue moons in the sky.

  While holding one hand against his forehead he thought to himself.

  "Hua Wei, why was I given this name?"

  His father had named him since his mother died after giving birth to him. No matter how many times he asked him he refused to give him a straight answer. From what he could tell he supposed it meant something akin to "Great Success".

  But his life was anything but that. He was never bright, nor smart. He wasn't strong. He wasn't resilient. The single thing he could ever be proud about was his revealed cultivation aptitude. But even that was the lowest of the low. Even if he didn't get framed he probably would be an lower disciple for his entire life.

  "Hahahahah…"

  "Kicking this Hua Wei while he's already down, how despicable can I get?"

  By now his tears had already stopped. He got up and kept walking towards the nearest city. Which was 10 - 5 miles away at minimum.

  'No rest for the wicked I suppose…'

  A small smile came onto his face. He would need this if he wanted to survive this journey. Not just to this city, but to redemption.

  "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

  …

  Throughout the journey he took many detours, eventually find a river that flowed down hill and following it to avoid dying of thirst.

  When he was hungry he ate grass or the occasional rabbit he found.

  And eventually…

  ….

  'I made it!'

  'I truly made it!'

  He couldn't hide the wide smile on his face. In front of him was Shen city. It was as big as a country with many many people inside. There were nothing but opportunities here.

  "This is it… This is my first step…"

  The guards around the gate let him in quite easily once they saw his outfit. Although they looked a little suspicious with how dirty it was, cultivators and mortals alike had their own circumstances, it was rude to pry.

  'Now where to start'

  With a starry eyed gaze he starred at the sights to see only at one of the entrances. There were many beauties of either gender with their own charms. Many stands and trades and stores. And many job openings seen on flyers posted on different buildings. There were also cultivators and mortals alike walking side by side, which was a rare thing to see in this world.

  However this was only possible because of the Heaven Assimilating Overlord ruling over the entire city. Only someone with the power to match Heaven could even think of creating a land as peaceful as this.

  'Enough yapping though, first I must buy my first cultivation technique and open my pathways'

  Things were starting to look up for Hua Wei.

  If only they stayed this way…

  In the distance a loud bell could be heard. Of what it was signaling no one would know until it was too late.

  _____

  11 Years Later

  _____

  Bzzt.

  Bzzt.

  The unpleasant humming of flies.

  Rummage.

  The sound of someone digging through something.

  Probably trash. Whether that refer to the person or the something is something that can't be decided.

  A certain mortal came into view from underneath the bag. Covered in a myriad of different and disgusting substances.

  And in his hand was a piece of strangely colored something. It was most likely food before, but it's new form had no equal for comparison.

  He slumped onto a wall and stuffed the "food" into his mouth. Ignoring the gagging sensation he kepy pushing it down and swallowed. On his body if one looked close enough and inspected hard, they could recognize his outfit as the faded uniform of the formerly great Tall Tree Large Oak Clan.

  A small amount of light shined down into the dark alleyway illuminating a man. His hair was long and unkept with a beard befitting of the same description. He was also horribly skinny and malnourished. It was a miracle he was still alive even now.

  Ring

  Ring

  Ring

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  That horrible sound of a bell.

  Knowing what would come next he went to the entrance of the alley and looked outwards conservatively.

  However a glorious light soon filled the area between the crowd.

  Then it began to coalesce. Forming a vaguely human figure, and with one bright blast of light, it's form appeared. The man had long white hair however the tips were dyed to resemble the rainbow. His eye's were sharp like that of an eagle and he had a soft yet strong face. He was wearing a robe with cloud patterns embroidered on it.

  On his hip were 7 different bells being red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet respectively.

  "Hello everyone!" The man spread his arms out and waved towards the cheering crowd.

  "We love you Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell!"

  "Have my kids!"

  "To be blessed by your presence how blessed we are! How Blessed!!"

  All sorts of kowtowing comments could be heard from the crowd.

  Hua Wei couldn't even show the displeasure on his face.

  As he walked through the path provided by the crowd a trail of blood followed him.

  Then as he turned his body a severed head came into view. There was a permanent look of terror stuck on the head's face. Preserved through some methods unknown to Hua Wei.

  This head belonged to no one other than the Heaven Assimilating Overlord.

  11 years ago, quite suddenly in fact, a loud bell was heard all across the city. No one knew where it came from. But afterwards the severed head and bloodied body of the Heaven Assimilating Overlord appeared on a pike in the center of the city. And reality for all the residents of Shen city- Or rather Bell city, as it was titled now.

  In the new city mortals were less than they were even in regular cities. They were less than animals, less than insects even. The only way a mortal could live was maybe becoming a boy toy of some low rank female cultivator with strange kinks.

  Hua Wei felt indignant.

  All his dreams had been taken by this scum whose balls were bigger than his bells.

  'Despicable'

  'How truly despicable'

  Years of pain and torment came up and bubbled like boiling water.

  So what if he were to die?

  Better to live content than it is to die unhappy.

  He suddenly lunged out from the crowd and dashed towards the Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell.

  The first thing he noticed was that all the aggression in his heart disappeared once he stepped onto the road of light. Like being in a stasis he couldn't feel anything.

  Despite this he charged on. Maybe his hate came from someplace deeper than his heart. It mattered not.

  Before he could even react though the Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell stuck his arm out. Although he wasn't facing Hua Wei he somehow grabbed onto him by the neck.

  Hua Wei tried breaking the invisible grip to no avail.

  "Interesting… How interesting, a mortal that dares appear before me"

  He turned around to face him

  "It makes me want to vomit"

  He could almost sense a trace of mirth in Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell's tone

  "I suppose it's only right that I kill you"

  "That's the only logical course of action"

  Hua Wei tried to say the word "Monster" but his grip was too tight.

  The Red bell on Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell's waist shook without ringing. And suddenly a small particle of white light came out from it.

  'He wouldn't dare?"

  "Will you survive and become a Gueniea pig among vermin?"

  "Let us see" The smile on his face was wide and filled with true joy.

  When the white particle hit Hua Wei, instantly, the formless power of Heaven assaulted his body. He began to violently convulse as his body began to hollow out.

  In order to awaken one's pathways there are two methods. One is using an Earthly cultivation technique and using an outline method that is normal unique to the technique.

  Or feeding someone the essence of heaven.

  Using heavenly essence was an uncommon because not only were cultivators on that level rare, it is also extremely dangerous for a mortal body.

  Humans are not meant to feel heaven.

  However if by some stroke of luck this person were to survive this.

  They would surely see strength in their future.

  The sky began to tremble and rumble as unnatural lightning struck all around. Instead of the normal blue it struck with a fierce yellow.

  And as it hit the ground, the sparks began to jump out towards people and wrap around them.

  One man was slow to react and was fried black from it.

  "RUN!"

  The person next to him, who was already fleeing shouted out. Instantly the entire crowd began running away.

  However the sparks chased them relentlessly, jumping from person to person, leaving charred bodies in its wake.

  But if these people were being instantly murdered by mere remnants of the tribulation…

  How was the person going through it fairing? Surprisingly well in fact.

  Looking at Hua Wei from the outside he looked like ash in human form. His eyes, muscle, nerves and skin among other things had already been incinerated from his body. But he could still feel it. That mystical sensation of something immaterial flowing through him. Something that had surrounded him forever but he couldn't quite grasp.

  Like cracking a puzzle after an eternity of pondering. Or finally getting the answer to a question you've had for years.

  'I could get high on this feeling'

  What was flowing through him thought wasn't pure earthly nor pure heavenly essence. But a mix of both called Celestial essence.

  Normally the natural creation of Celestial essence was impossible but there were two things that made Hua Wei the exception. One was that the Heavenly essence injected into him was clearly not Heavenly essence. Secondly Heaven could not interfere because of the aura of Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell. Once one reached the stage of Assimilating Heaven, Heaven was like an additional limb. Hua Wei, of course, had no knowledge of this.

  One would not attack themselves willingly.

  Although if there were something to anger Heaven truly so perhaps only a True Angel could stop it.

  "Pant… Pant…" he breathed heavily.

  He had successfully survived the tribulation.

  "How… unexpected." Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell said with a hint of mirth

  "Hehehe, it seems you were stronger than I could predict"

  "I must kill you however, I can't allow randoms to run about freely with Celestial Essence flowing through them."

  The Indigo bell on Transplendent Empyreal of the White Bell's waist rung in an eerie way.

  Then-

  Splat

  Hua Wei's entire body turned into meat paste on the ground.

  Without skipping a beat the Cultivator stepped onto and past this paste.

  In this way, Hua Wei's life came to an end.

  _______

  In this world there exists a place where people go after death, formerly known as "The Border". In this place souls were dissolved and filtered until nothing remained of them besides the inherent essence they were born with. And after this they would disappear forever.

  Absolutely no one in existence had ever escaped the Border. At least not any that were willing to share.

  …

  He looked up at the sky above, it was a pretty light show of glowing yellow lights floating upwards. Of course these "lights" were actually Heaven essence.

  Currently he was sitting with his back against a Star Swept tree. Each leaf on it was a star of varying size and color.

  Hua Wei couldn't help but notice that he was the only thing not dissolving.

  No essence melted from his body.

  "…."

  "…."

  Heavy thoughts….

  "I…"

  He stopped for a moment

  "Why must I be so unfortunate."

  "Why did my life turn out this way?"

  The now decrepit man who looked way older than his actual age looked pitiful.

  Who was he directing his questions to. Himself maybe, Heaven also. But there were no responses.

  "Answer me!"

  After yelling he bent over in a fit of coughing.

  From the star swept tree he looked over into the horizon. It looked to be pure earth but if one looked closely they could see that large portions seemed to be shaving themselves off and flowing downwards. This was where earthly essence went after one's death.

  With nothing more to do he decided to take a quick walk.

  That walk soon turned into a trip.

  And that trip to a journey.

  To some place, far beyond The Border…

  …

  As he walked various thoughts went through his brain.

  'What went wrong'

  'Does this world view me as something to be trampled.'

  'Why did heaven block all of my paths'

  'If only… If only!'

  Soon he came to a conclusion.

  "I am missing something"

  He suddenly stopped and his eyes widened. He had reached an epiphany.

  "Yes! It's obvious in hindsight"

  "From a disciple of a large clan to a beggar I've seen the difference."

  "I only need more"

  There was a hint of madness behind that last statement.

  And so his journey continued.

  …

  In front of him was a large impossibly vast and endlessly deep void. Essence of both sorts did not exist here.

  But strangely Hua Wei could feel a weird force pulling and drawing him towards it.

  'What reservations would I have about leaving?'

  With no hesitation he jumped into the void.

  …

  Chirp

  Buzz

  On a grassy plain an arm suddenly pops out of the ground. The hand on it grasps at the air, before coming back down.

  Then an entire section of earth was uplifted.

  The force of it causing all of the small insects and animals to run off.

  From this section of earth, a human figure emerges.

  His jet black hair reaching the ground below he had a lean build with a small amount of muscle. His face was obstructed by the amount of hair covering his and he was completely naked.

  He tried taking a step and staggered before up righting himself again.

  …

  Jay was a bandit.

  Like most he was born into this lifestyle and it was all he knew. Stealing from others was as natural as breathing. Of course his family was omitted from this. In fact they were doing a run through, looking for caravans and merchants traveling alone for their next pick.

  He was driving one of the horses, his hand a bit stiff from the hidden dagger underneath his sleeve while his wife sat next to him commanding the other. His adolescent daughter in the carriage behind.

  The land scape was quite repetitive. Green grass. Small animals. The usual Jay could suppose.

  But suddenly there was something strange. A wave of creatures rushing away from the area in front of him. He tapped his wife on the shoulder while signaling for his horse to stop.

  'High mana density?'

  His brow scrunched for a second before his pupils expanded and a large smile grew on his face.

  'We might've hit it big'

  'A dungeon this large could have treasures who's value is only comparable to the stars.'

  Jay looked at his wife who appeared to have came to the same conclusion.

  Carefully they told their daughter the news and made a makeshift post to tie their horses to. Then cautiously they moved towards it. There was no telling where the entry point might be… and wandering into it by accident would be a death sentence.

  But then he saw someone in the distance. He couldn't quite make out their appearance since they had entirely too much hair.

  A greedy look filled his eyes. The idea of someone stealing his treasure was extremely unpleasant in the mind of a bandit.

  He held his hand back signaling his family to stop and began focusing his Mana outside of his body.

  Once he had an adequate amount the formless teal substance began to reshape itself into 3 separate daggers. Then he shot them out.

  They moved at an abnormally fast speed.

  However once they collided with the hair of the "man" in front of them they simply ceased to be. No collision, no sign of being blocked, it was almost as if the attack never happened.

  "Wha-"

  Jay only had a second to think before that enormous density turned onto him. The force made him fall to his knees immediately as his mind swarmed to come to a conclusion.

  "Don't tell me… this isn't a dungeon, but rather the mana of a singular person?!"

  The weight and pressure began to increase dramatically. While at first he was on his knees now he couldn't even raise his torso from the ground.

  Splat

  Someone was crushed.

  "Anisa!"

  He already knew who had died. Even with the immense pressure he imagined both him and his wife could survive for at least 5 minutes. But his daughter had only just started forming her core. She couldn't even touch her mana without risking great backlash.

  'I should've left her behind.'

  Jay attempted to click his teeth but force on his head sealed his mouth shut. Although he was a bandit he still had love for his family. But emotion would only cloud him in the moment.

  Splat

  Blood splattered against Jay's body.

  This time he couldn't even react. He could distinctly feel something stabbing into his upper organs. Most likely his ribs.

  Then suddenly,

  "Blegh-"

  He threw up blood and raised himself up. The weight was gone?

  Then he could feel a hand on his chin, lifting his face up towards it. In front of him was what he could now identify as a naked man. Although his face was still completely covered in hair.

  One could only imagine that this was some incredibly powerful existence. The kind reverend and worshipped by everyone.

  But from his mouth came a strange question-

  "You, tell me, what is it that you wish to have the most" His tone lacked any human qualities to it.

  Jay already had an answer. It was quite the basic question anyway.

  "Everything!" He resolutely replied

  Then the strange man suddenly threw his head back and… laughed?

  It wasn't a light laugh by any means but boisterous. Loud and genuine. The kind that lights up a room and can change the entire vibe.

  The man lifted up the hair in his face.

  Now that Jay could see his face he could identify his features. Completely pure, jade like skin. With soft features. His eyes were two different colors. One green and the other was… odd?

  It seemed to be made up of swirling particles. Some yellow, some brown, some purple.

  "How greedy!"

  He looked down at Jay with an earnest smile on his face.

  "I know right?" He replied with a grin

  Then Jay lunged at him while activating the hidden dagger under his shirt sleeve.

  The man easily stopped it.

  Then-

  Splat

  The bandit named Jay had died.

  "What a sad death I suppose."

  The naked man took a moment to looked around

  "But where am I?" Hua Wei asked himself