Two figures could barely be distinguished through the murky air
The air had turned a misty red from the blood of the thousands of corpses, piled to make a mountain below the two figures. One of the two whom remained standing was the ice demon. A man so beautiful you doubted if he was a man, and you would mistake him for a prostitute if he wasn't wearing the distinct robe of the ice demon. His flowing white hair, stained by blood, pale skin, long eyelashes, and his arctic blue eyes adorned in a silk robe were quite the spectacle. He scanned the surroundings, until his eyes landed on the other figure. The figure that stood across from him was the first young master of the Baek manor of Zhenjiang , which had been neglected by the orthrodox faction due to the orthrodox - unorthodox war. The demonic cult had subsequently learnt of this information and attacked it to strengthen their hold over Zhenjiang.
"Why won't you give up?" The ice demon questioned the young man, genuinely curious at his resolve
"Though we've been abandoned by the orthrodox faction, we still fight for what is right" the ice demon made a slightly dissapointed expression. So you're loyal to them even though they threw you away.
the ice demon pointed his sword at the other man, and the other man matched him
A short exchange of swings ensued, and jin baek was left kneeling, lacking an arm, and blocking the blade of ice with his other.
"So how was it? My ice dance. You're the first to survive after witnessing it's beauty. "
The ice demon put his chilling blade to the former's neck
"Out of all of my enemies, I acknowledge you as the strongest"
"Stop talking like that. I still have one final farewell gift"
The ice demon's pupils dilated for the first time in his life.
"You bastard… you were never planning to leave this battle alive in the first place."
Jin baek only replied with a smile, as if to show his satisfaction that the ice demon was being dragged down to hell along with him.
The young master of the baek manor had gathered the entirety of his dantian and innate core energy in his arm.
"Fare well, demon."
It really is a shame. Under different circumstances, we probably would've been friends.
The surge of energy destroyed the plains, creating a valley.
White flower petals descended from the sky.
After that, plants refused to grow there, and the valley would go on to receive the moniker "valley of ten thousand corpses" of which included Jin baek, and the ice demon.
He was supposed to be the future of our clan. He was an incredible prodigy, reaching the peak realm at 18, which could usually only be achieved by the great sects and clans through the usages of advanced cultivation techniques and elixirs. But he achieved it without any help. Our future was laid out for us. He would be the catalyst to the rise of the baek family, and ascend our status to a martial clan. Everything was going well until the orthodox sects decided to wage war on the unorthrodox. The demonic cult dived in like vultures and attacked us. And in our singular moment of weakness. We had no one to turn to. My brother sacrificed his life so that at least the children could escape, and despite everything, perished with a smile on his face. The same smile when he would read bed time stories to me as a child. Why…..
Why can't the world just let me be happy, or even content with my life?
The news of the fall of baek manor and Jin baek's sacrifice reached everyone a few days later. The kunlun sect's leader took it especially badly, because him and the patriarch were like brothers. The only known survivors were a few of the children (between 10-20 of them) but unfortunately, the second young master did not seem to be one of them. "What a cruel fate. they were only 18 and 9" the sect leader stated, frowning. All of the orthrodox sects and clans were filled with shame at the news, and even the unorthrodox sects mourned his death. "Unfortunately, Murim is a place where only the strong survive."
Running
Mu-Jin baek ran for his life. He ran until his feet bled. As he was resting in a cave,the previous events flashed vividly through his head. And he could only conjure a single thought.
I'll kill them all
He finally stopped to rest after his feet no longer worked, and crawled into a cave. The cave had a dim blue light that could only be seen in the darkest hour of the night and would be nearly impossible to find otherwise. This is a pretty concealed cave, it should be safe for the time being. he grasped at the moss in the luminescent cave and was about to eat, when a calm yet powerful voice rang out from behind him. "I wouldn't eat that if I were you." When he turned around, he was met with an old man. Normally, he would be scared, but at this point, he had nothing to lose. "Who are you?" The old man simply sat back down on a boulder and went back to painting. "This cave is the entrance to an underground qi forest which sprouted due to the battle between chun ma, and the sword saint. You are the first to find it. Every beast and plant in this cave is filled with immense qi and could cause a qi overflow with a single bite of that moss." He said, painting the battle between the heavenly demon and the sword saint. "You say it as if you're recalling your own past." Mu-Jin said, puzzled. The old man simply stroked on his white beard and smiled. "Amazing." He said after a few minutes of silence. Mu-Jin was about to ask him a question but was interrupted. "Most average people would be dead by now." Mu-Jin was about to speak again but was grabbed by the old man, who stated "you will be my final disciple." As he was being forcibly dragged through out the forest, he took a look around. The trees all around him were glowing black and white, or had a mixture of a shade of blue and red,light blue and pink especially were common. "It seems you've noticed the qi trees. White and black ones are still completely pure with qi, but some lose qi over time, and the colors of their leaves change." The old man said. Mujin reached out, and a white petal fell into his hand. The petal slowly evaporated in his hand, and he felt like his fatigue was gone. "Even a first rate martial artist would've barely survived that."
"I have a question."
"Speak."
"Are you chun ma, or the sword saint?"
"I am but a mere hermit."
They stopped at a log cabin before the old man dropped him and put his hand on a tree. The tree almost instantly evaporated, and what was left was a tiny shrivel of wood. They entered the cabin, and a fur pillow was on the floor. "You may rest here. Training begins tomorrow." Mu Jin fell asleep immediately after given the opportunity.