Chapter 1
It was an unspoken rule to all who live in Ox village that the temple that lay to the east of the village is off limits to all the villagers.
For the young children who grew up in the village, they often used it as a test of courage.
Despite knowing that if caught, they will be punished by their parents, they did it anyway, Just like today.
Amongst them today was Wang Shitian, the youngest son to the village chief. He had just turned 12 and was very excited to prove himself.
There was a unique rock that could only be gotten within the temple and to prove the task successful, you had to go in and retrieve the rock.
The older and younger kids stood a distance away from the temple and sent him in. Having never been here before, he didn't know what to expect.
As he approached he saw a broken down gate and a door that led straight into the temple. The design of the temple was ancient and gave one an archaic feeling as though it had been standing here for ages. The door to the temple was blocked with a chain that ran from one end to another and the was also a warning sign.
As soon as Wang Shitian stepped across the chains, he had an eerie feeling and a chill crept down his spine. This place made his skin crawl and although he didn't wish to stay here any longer, he also did not want to give up either otherwise he would be looked down upon.
He progressed without even noticing that there was a talisman hanging at the top of the door.
But gradually, it started to crumble.
Rushing into the temple at his best speed he headed to the room where the rocks could be found.
He soon came to the room and saw the stones.
Within this room, there was an old carving of a man. It looked like it had been carved from the wall. The face of the statue was facing the door and looked like it was in despair. However, right now the eyes of the statue trembled slightly, barely noticeable but in this silent environment, the sand particles that fell down were very ear wrenching, frightening Wang Shitian would had already bent down to pick the rock.
He picked the rock up and instinctively rushed back, looking at the statue, he didn't notice any difference so he turned to leave.
However, as he turned his backed and was already at the door, the eye looked at him again but only this time the eyes were gold.
A beam from the eyes shot towards Wang Shitian and entered his back. He felt a stinging pain but that was it, at this moment he didn't notice the big tattoo that was imprinted on his back.
He rushed out and announced his success to the happiness of all the children. They celebrated in their own way not knowing that calamity would befall them because of today.
Two years later, a young man of 14 was in the forest fetching wood for his family. He was Wang Shitian, despite his immature face, he looked handsome and tall with well defined muscles and a physique well beyond his age.
A few hours later, he returned only to find the village in flames and everyone dead, his entire family and all his friends were gone in one afternoon. Despair washed over him as he sobbed silently.
Soon he saw some immortals on their flying swords as they arrived the village. He had seen this emblem before. It belongs to the sect that always come to conduct exams in their village, One Leaf Sect.
Looking around the village and the destruction, they knew they had arrived late.
They had been notified by Wang Shitian's father who had been given a token to crush in times of danger. The time from when the token was crushed to when they arrived was relatively short, nevertheless the assailants were gone.
Looking at Wang Shitian, they felt pity for him. He had already explained everything according to his understanding.
A few days later, in other to help him, he had been admitted as a handyman disciple of the sect due to the fact that he had no spiritual root and thus could not cultivate.
He was in-charge of odd chores but he was not in this alone as there were many disciples of similar status within the sect.
The pain that it brought him knowing that he could not cultivate was unimaginable, because he knew he needed strength if he was going to have vengeance. Having this denied from him was like a blade to his heart.
He already had his suspicions about where to start his investigations but now it was hopeless.
"Hey, looser, if you are done with your chores then leave that place and stop being an eyesore to everyone"
He suddenly heard someone scold. He did not need to look to know that this was deacon Mao.
A handyman disciple manager and he did not like Wang Shitian in the least. The look in Wang Shitian's eyes showed that he wanted to slap this man's face but it was no secret that Mao Song had already reached the 4th level of the longevity art.
This means he was already at the 4th level of Qi gathering realm and it was suicide for Wang Shitian to provoke him thus he just turned around and walked away.
The disdain in the eyes of Deacon Mao and his lackeys would not be forgotten anytime soon.
The disciples of the One Leaf Sect practiced the longevity art and it had 13 levels. Once a disciple reaches the 6th stage of Qi gathering, he would be promoted to the inner sect and at the 10th level they become core disciples.
Mao Song was an outer disciple without much talent and despite his age he had only reached the 4th level of Qi gathering thus he was only fit to be a handyman deacon but to him this was an opportunity to display his might to those who had not begun cultivation. To him, it was better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.