'Where am I?'
A thought suddenly sprang up.
'I can't see, I can't hear, I can't smell and I can't feel. What is this place?'
Despite being in a state where all 6 senses were down, the being at the centre of all this remained calm and collected.
'Where was I before? What was I doing before all this?'
Recollecting itself and going through its memory, the being stuck in space suddenly received the answer to its questions.
The Heavenly Tome.
'Right after that moment of enlightenment, I went back to studying the Heavenly Tome. After that...'
The thought stopped as it realised that was the end of its memories.
'Did the Heavenly Tome bring me here?'
It wondered.
The Heavenly Tome was an eternal-rank secret manual that was desired by all cultivators, both strong and weak. The reason for this was simply because of its rank. An eternal-rank art, also known as immortal art, was one that would enable its practitioner to gain immortality.
Progress in one's cultivation typically brought about an increase in lifespan. Nonetheless, having a large lifespan didn't mean that one wouldn't die. There was a limit to all things underneath the heavens so even if one had a lifespan as long as eternity itself, they still weren't immortal and would truly die once killed or when their lifespan comes to an end. This was where an eternity-rank art came in.
Being the only guide out of mortality to the realm of immortality, the value of an eternity-rank art was one that couldn't be calculated. Even great gods and malevolent demons all thirst for it. Sadly, creating such an art was impossible for a mortal.
Since the art itself couldn't be made by a mortal, there was only one way for it to exist. To be made by the only thing truly immortal, the heavens themselves. But since no one was above the heavens, they couldn't compel the heavens to compile such an art. And even if one who was above the heavens existed, they wouldn't be interested in doing such as they would have attained true immortality as soon as they surpassed the heavens.
Luckily for all cultivators in existence, the heavens were fair and always left a way out for all. After countless years of calculations and divinations, the world of cultivation divined the way out. A secret art of the eternal rank formulated by the heavens had been existing since the beginning of time but was lost in its flow. And so, the search for the Heavenly Tome began, and in the end, the Divine Celestial Emperor had come out on top, gathering all 12 pages in his hands.
'But I somehow ended up here.' The thought laughed ruefully.
'I guess this is the end of the great Divine Celestial Emperor as well as the Divine Celestial Palace. All that I have built over the course of a million years, has come to an end in my pursuit for eternity. Was I perhaps greedy for desiring true immortality? To be unkillable and ever-existing like the heavens? Now, I'm stuck in this strange realm, my senses are sealed if not deaf, and I have no means of escape.'
With a sigh, the consciousness was about to resign to its fate, but suddenly a flash of insight crossed through it, awakening it from that gloomy atmosphere.
'No! I have to get out of here.' The consciousness thought.
'Even if the heavens want me dead, I won't go down so easily. I defied the heavens to become a Celestial Emperor and I will still defy it to become eternal. This can't be the end of me, Yi Feng.'
Immediately after the declaration, a brilliant flash of light appeared in the senseless zone for only a brief moment. It was a bit far from the remnant consciousness of the Divine Celestial Emperor Yi Feng but it easily stood out in this dark zone due to the opposing nature of the light.
'Hmm? Was I imagining things?' The consciousness thought.
However, the flash appeared once again, proving him wrong. And again, and again, till it finally stabilised to form a small hole of light that looked like a miniature sun from the distance of Yi Feng's lingering consciousness.
In this dark zone, where no form of life existed, where the passage of time couldn't be felt, that little 'sun' became a beacon of hope for the consciousness.
'I need to reach it.'
Yi Feng continuously told himself. However, he couldn't move an inch. In this strange realm, he had no limbs or extension, even a body was non-existent so, he couldn't move from his designated spot.
'I have a way before me but I can't approach it. Is this a joke or what?' Yi Feng was dismayed at his situation but he refused to give up. This might be the only chance for him to depart this strange world and if he missed it, only the heavens knew when another opportunity might come his way.
As Yi Feng was considering what to do in this situation, he noticed as the light got closer and closer to him. At the same time, it exhibited a sort of pulling force on him that also made him approach it.
'What's going on?'
Though confused, Yi Feng didn't resist the force; even though he actually couldn't. On the contrary, he welcomed it with open arms. No matter what, Yi Feng wanted to leave this silent place as soon as possible. Even for a grown man like himself with an age of at least one million years, this deathly silent void was terrifyingly eerie.
An unknown period of time had gone by before the 'sun' finally devoured Yi Feng's lingering consciousness. A new world was then revealed to him, one that would mark the beginning of a whole new adventure for him.
...
In a certain labour room located within a castle, a group of midwives rushed in and out of the place with guards preventing unwarranted access to the room.
A middle-aged man stood by the entrance of the door, staring ahead with soft eyes filled with care, compassion, worry and anxiety.
"Push, push."
"Ahhh!" A young-looking middle-aged lady gave out a blood-curdling scream as she experienced an intense flood of pain.
Suddenly, the extreme sensation of pain left her as she slumped back on the bed, breathing out heavily like an overworked farm animal.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Arnhaunt. It's a boy."