Immortals as old as they may become all perish still young.
These words did not ring more true than that on this year.
Spiritual energy did not decrease. That was not the end.
In fact, spiritual energy had increased, causing a sudden influx of self proclaimed cultivators, believing they were the ones destined under heaven.
Ancient cultivating monsters throughout the planet simultaneously cried tears of joy, hopeful, believing that now was the chance they had to finally break through.
However, it wasn't always that simple, was it?
At every corner of the world, cultivating geniuses that were sure to ascend died simultaneously.
Gods revered by the mortal realm and average cultivators alike, died just like that.
The cause of death, unknown.
That wasn't the end of it either.
The only ones that seemed to be unaffected of this effect were those with an inferior spiritual root, demonic cultivators, and beast cultivators.
It truly was a paradise for the evil and unorthodox alike.
Conversely, it was a living nightmare for the righteous and orthodox.
Sects that stood for centuries, sects that stood for thousands of years, all crumbled!
The mortal villages did not stay intact either.
With no one to protect them, they were destroyed.
Mortals with special constitutions of all kinds, the young, the old, none were spared from the demonic and beast cultivators.
The only way for one to survive was to either join the evil forces, or to hide. Hoping that one day, the cause of death for the righteous cultivators would be unveiled.
One such young cultivator held high hopes of this.
Dressed in a black cloak, he wandered city to city, not staying at one place for too long lest he be discovered.
Resources such as food and common herbs were abundant due to them being deemed useless by the evil faction.
"Sigh.. how did things turn out like this?" The young man couldn't help but lament upon entering a destroyed town.
Bodies of mortals littered the streets and their blood painted the town scarlet, a color that seemed permanent as it failed to be washed away by the downpours rain.
The young cultivator shook his head, attempting to shed his momentary sorrow. Time could not be wasted on such things, lest he be discovered.
He turned his gaze away and refocused himself on his task.
After gathering some food that was not rotten and searching for anything of use, he left the destroyed town and entered a nearby cave.
The cultivator took off his cloak and used some of his Qi to start a fire. He hung his cloak up to dry and took out some supplies from his interspacial ring, creating a temporary abode.
The cultivator then set up an illusionary formation that hid the entrance of the cave and then finally relaxed.
He sat in a meditative position and took out his old identification jade. This was his sole momento of the days of old, before the fall of the world.
"Lin Fan, Outer sect disciple of the Eternal Sunrise, 9th grade inferior spiritual root"
Above these words showed a picture of himself. His looks weren't remarkable but did paint a better picture than the current one that always seemed to have a mark of despair on it.
Lin Fan put the jade away and calmed himself.
"It's already been 10 years.." Lin Fan sighed.
His fellow disciples, seniors, juniors, even his dual cultivation partner whom he spent 10 days and nights winning over, were all gone.
Lin Fan's face of sorrow was replaced by one of anger as he took another deep breath and began to cultivate.
"8th layer of Qi Condensation, I will break through!" Lin Fan said resolutely as he began to channel qi like mad.
"I finally did it!" A yell boomed out in joy.
Lin Fan immediately jumped up with a cautious look on his face. He grabbed his cloak and took out a sword, preparing for battle.
"Have I been discovered?.." Lin Fan wondered as he stared at the cave entrance, waiting to see if someone would enter.
The one who yelled was not him, afterall.
Soon after a man entered the cave with a bamboo hat on and a mask covering his face, he wore a black robe with red lining.
Lin Fan immediately burst out with all the strength he could muster and launched himself with his sword aimed at the neck of the intruder.
Lin Fan opened his eyes in shock as he realized his attack had failed and he would most likely die.
He looked down to see that the man did not even move. The sword could not even penetrate the man's skin!
"That's one way to greet someone." The masked man stated with a neutral tone as he walked forward, pushing Lin Fan back with each step.
Lin Fan had no choice but to step aside and hope that the man did not kill him.
'There is no way this man is not an evil cultivator. He is far too strong to be righteous and alive.' Lin Fan thought internally as he watched the man.
The masked man then sat down by the fire and signaled for Lin Fan to join him.
Reluctantly, Lin Fan took his seat across from him and put his sword away.
"What do you want?" Lin Fan asked with a tinge of worry.
"Sigh.. I have some things to discuss with you. That's all."
Lin Fan looked down at his feet for a short moment before steeling his resolve.
"I have some things to do, people to protect.. must you really kill me?" Lin Fan asked, hoping that the man would for some reason, show mercy.
"You don't listen very well do you? Well, given the circumstances, I understand."
The masked man then took out some wine from his interspacial ring and poured the two of them a cup.
The two began to drink and the masked man gulped his cup down and sat it down.
"To put it simply, I'm you." The masked man looked at Lin Fan with a serious look on his face.
Lin Fan couldn't help but laugh out loud at hearing such an outrageous claim, thinking that the demonic cultivators before him was attempting to toy with him before torturing him and ending his life.
"Look. Do what you need to do, but I'm not going to play into your game." Lin Fan said as he quieted down. He finished his wine and put the cup down and began to come to grips with his fate.