The Three Realms was filled to the brim with the utmost of legends from unthinkable origins, their denizens manifestations of the farthest reaches of civilization's march in time.
Mannerisms, names, practical interests and personalities – everything in the Three Realms possessed a unique origin. Though Shang Xuan had never really departed from his abode for the majority of his existence, he was well aware of the diversity of the immortals in both the Immortal and Demon Planes.
…finding immortals with names that originated from regions and worlds these mortal citizens of Hua would label 'westerners', was not so uncommon.
Not to mention, the Bloody Mary that had become the focal point of Meng Po's exorbitant exhortation against the Flame Ancestor had derived its identity from its progenitor, the Holy Mary of the West.
"Holy Mary of the West…" the youth rolled his eyes as he lifted his gaze from the narrow scope of the sniper rifle to gaze upon the skies. Immersing himself into the infinite backdrop of stellar lights, Shang Xuan's heart tinged with a not-so-insignificant shard of discontent.
Holy Mary of the West, what a grand name.
The actual immortal being in question was rather weak compared to her peers, but her reputation that presided forth as her chariot could astound the souls of many with ease.
Even the heavyweights of the Three Realms including the Jade Emperor, the Phoenix Conclave, and the Palaces of Sin would shiver upon recalling to legend of the mortal girl that pierced through the barrier restricting mortal souls from assuming authority.
She ascended not from self-cultivation and gross assimilation of the worldly essence into her body and soul to increase its purity and quality until the mortal world ejected it to preserve itself and the remaining mortal existences, but from the sheer accumulation and forcible seizure of hundreds of millions of souls and their loyalty.
Incorporating the myriad emotions blazing through the mortal soul and branding upon her own, the mortal had shaken off the shackles that allowed her soul to traverse through the Spiritual Conflux.
The Three Realms labeled this method of ascension as an obscure, unorthodox method, but the mortal worlds had a different label for the legend of the Holy Mary of the West.
The word unified the mortal souls from primordial existences into sublime units of civilization, to form their unique societies and achieve their own subordinate legends. Though easily spoken, the power hidden underneath could never be denied or underestimated.
Religion.
The Holy Mary of the West had chanced upon the brilliant insight to redeem herself as a goddess of salvation, enacting upon the primal natures of society to project a paradigm shift from tribal society to a massive nation. Planting the seeds of mysticism and expertly conducting her movements to ensure the lack of any mishap, the small collection to tribal units expanded to form an enormous empire.
The mortal girl wielded neither divine strength nor rigid control over the elements, but the unshakable strength of millions of mortal souls underneath her fingertips.
The mortal souls laced before her feet as the protective armor that guarded against any offense, and their bravery and morale served as her biting sword to slash down the incoming enemy. Hindered only by time, the Holy Mary was invincible in the mortal world of which her soul resided.
…and she sought to throw off the final chains restraining her to conventional order, assuming her position as one of the celestial legends of the stars.
Having gathered an entire empire's population of mortal souls willing to heed her commands without any hesitation nor refute after leaking a bit of the divine secrets of the Three Realms that Meng Po's soup had accidentally forgotten to purge in her haste to resume a match of mahjong, the Holy Mary of the West had finished her preparations. To complete her ascension, the mortal required only one more step.
To brand the valor and brilliant flare of emotional turmoil of the souls underneath her fingertips onto her soul; to trick the mortal world into believing that an immortal had invaded without heeding the rules decreed by the Three Realms.
And what could perform such a magnificent and resplendent miracle than a brutal conquest – an insane crusade heralded by holiness and righteousness?
Under her command, the empire underneath her fingertips stretched itself to it utmost limit to obey her desires. Soldiers rushed forth towards all corners of the mortal world, to confer the Holy Mary of the West's judgement to those unwilling to concede.
A judgement of merciless death regardless of social distinction.
The mortal dared to command her influence to slaughter everyone in the mortal world, whilst her soul greedily assumed the tumultuous emotions rushing throughout the soldiers' hearts as they fell into mental turmoil upon their actions. The Holy Mary swept forth as she consoled her troops and maintained a healthy, almost untainted morale, at the same time issuing the continuation of her bloodstained order.
It was unknown how long she had maintained such a holy crusade of crimson and steel, but the mortal eventually gained her ascension. The mortal world relinquished its shackles upon the soul that dared to absorb the unstable emotions of hundreds of millions of mortal souls, and the Holy Mary of the West truly achieved divinity before her pious, fanatical worshippers.
A divine goddess just as she had preached at the beginning, directly before their eyes.
As for this goddess and her long trail of crimson, the Three Realms responded with a simple action. It could hardly be amounted for much when compared to the overwhelmingly awe-inspiring techniques invented by the immortals bored to an undying death, but Shang Xuan feared it the most.
A precious, dear little sanction.
Upon the Holy Mary of the West's arrival upon the Immortal Plane, the Three Realms recognized the incompatibility concealed within the depths of her soul compared that to other immortals – including Shang Xuan himself – and imparted its fearful sanction without hesitation. The former mortal could hardly celebrate her success before she found herself cast aside by the entire Three Realms.
The sanction was simply a sealing in spacetime; locking the spatial coordinates of the immortal existence to prevent them from moving around and interacting with others.
The sanction did no direct harm to the immortal, hence it could easily slip through any prepared measures of defense.
However, for an existence with an unlimited lifespan, to be sealed in a single spatial coordinate for the remainder of eternity without the slightest chance of interacting with another soul, and unable to create a subordinate entity for the sole purpose of staving off boredom – that was considered a miserable 'death' in the Immortal and Demon Planes.
At the same time, the Three Realms released a universal statement that shocked everyone to the depths of their hearts.
Any being who dared to ascend into the immortal realm through the means of religion was to suffer the same fate!
From Shang Xuan's long experience, the Three Realms never cared if an immortal being massacred mortal souls in a mortal world, as long as it wasn't the only action committed during the immortal's stay. From what he had heard from his subordinates, many of the newcomer immortals had climbed from the Mortal Plane through countless means of genocide and mass extermination of fellow mortal life.
However…
For the Three Realms to condemn the act of ascending to become immortal through the usage of self-deification and the viable tool as religion – this was the absolute worst outcome for the Holy Mary of the West after her immediate sanction.
Furthermore, it was how the curious immortals had become aware of the former mortal's existence, leading to numerous investigations into her identity and eventually granting her the moniker of a holy lady. Moreover, it was after this announcement that the item that was both revered and feared by the immortals was created.
In honor of the Holy Mary of the West who frightened the Three Realms' usually indifferent nature to issue an immediate sanction – the Bloody Mary.
In essence, a Bloody Mary was a mortal soul whose emotions were siphoned and crystalized into a tangible form, not unlike that of the spiritual stones employed by mortal cultivators. Upon successful transformation, the crystal could bring forth a euphoric reminiscence of the mortal's life.
To the long-lived beings forbidden from change, to experience a completely different lifestyle despite being a short-lived illusion, was an irresistible temptation.
More so, the process of siphoning and crystalizing the emotions of a mortal soul was by no means difficult, and easily completed by the average immortal.
The only problem was that whoever dared to create a Bloody Mary, would be sanctioned by the Three Realms once the crystal's aura seeped into either the Immortal or Demon Plane.
Thus, after numerous unwilling and unfortunate sacrifices, the immortals who dared to exert their influence to create batches of Bloody Mary's did so in pocket mortal worlds – to be discarded upon completion of the crystal.
As for how the crystals were transferred and hidden from the probing search of the Three Realms, Shang Xuan had no idea. It was only…
[Oh, you haven't contacted me in so many years. Old Shang, you starting to pay off your debt now?]
The teasing voice of Meng Po raced through the small jade mirror attached on a necklace to nag at the Flame Ancestor's voice, the greed underneath barely hidden. The youth's countenance creased into a determined scowl, and Shang Xuan nearly swatted the sniper rifle off of the rooftop in his outburst.
"Remember the deal, Old Meng," he growled into the mirror clasped in his hand.
"I mark the souls with a spiritual imprint – one that only you will recognize, and you do the rest to create those darned Bloody Mary's. That's the extent of the bargain, and I refuse to be sanctioned by the Three Realms!"
[Hehe, Old Shang, business with the Flame Ancestor never gets spoiled, even if it is a few years overdue!]
The reply was swift, and Meng Po's cackles continued to emit from the jade mirror as though they were a malignant ghost fully intent on haunting its prey to death.
"Never gets spoiled, my ass!"
The youth groaned, and his finger pulled at the slender trigger of the sniper rifle.
The PGM 338 earnestly praised by Na-er gently quivered as a small spark of flame burst from its tip, dispatching a message that began a long spiral of troubles for both the Flame Ancestor and the Spiritual Conflux.