Battlegrounds
Several Thousand Years Ago
Under the dark night sky, the moon was waning, and signs of conflict were everywhere. The battle had ravaged a vast area of the plains all night; however, the Sword Saint managed to escape the carnage and hide somewhere in the dark heart of the plains.
Wandering between the mountains and the plains, he had barely evaded his pursuers, who sometimes chased him on the ground and sometimes in the air. He controlled his severe wounds using spiritual energy, significantly reducing the bleeding. He had been fleeing for several days and nights until his condition worsened, and his spiritual energy was depleted.
Sunlight, like a sacred pillar, passed through the green bamboo stalks, illuminating the suspended dust in the air. A small pond, surrounded by green bamboo trunks, had turned red.
The Sword Saint collapsed on a smooth stone slab. He had lost a lot of blood. His left arm was severed at the elbow, and his right arm was almost burned. He had numerous small and large wounds on his body. However, it wasn't the pain that defeated him but the despair.
While fighting for his beliefs, he realized that the Righteous Path had betrayed its teachings. Many officials had allied with the Dark Path. The only condition of the Dark Path was one thing: the death of the Sword Saint.
Bai Mo had joined the sect at a young age. Due to his good talent, he quickly advanced through the stages of cultivation. He had a determined and dignified face. His eyes were as deep as Dao, and his smile was like the caress of the sky.
But from those deep eyes and beautiful smile, only regret remained, withering on his sorrowful face.
As he sighed, he remembered the first time he had seen the sword dance; when everything was simpler.
"So this is the end of my Dao…"
He sat cross-legged and entered a trance for the last time.
The world darkened. While he hadn't completely lost his senses, his emotions withered. Now he was entirely separated from his mortal body and one with the sky. He could clearly see his heavenly path; the constellation of the warrior, the six heavenly goddesses, and the constellation of the Sword God stood before him.
"So this was the truth of Dao…"
Simple yet magnificent, bright yet dark; it was beyond human comprehension. Bai Mo saw the path of Dao extending into eternity. He stood on that heavenly bridge, its foundations sinking into the heart of the sky. The spirits of deceased cultivators, whose cultivation had ended, shone like blue flames. These floating flames were visible throughout the path.
Bai Mo took the path of Dao and headed towards eternity.
After a long time, moving along it became increasingly difficult. Each step exhausted his soul, preventing him from continuing. Despite this, he kept going.
The path narrowed. The stars became distant and unreachable. Now it seemed that all the white light came from somewhere beyond this sky. As if this world couldn't bear that grandeur. A sky upon another sky. This was Bai Mo's first understanding.
The number of flames dwindled, and darkness engulfed everything. The stars' light weakly and dimly illuminated the surface of Dao. Bai Mo could barely see anything. However, the fire of passion burned in his heart. This passion caused the light of truth to shine from his eyes onto Dao, illuminating the path.
A little later, the path narrowed again. Now, if he took one wrong step, he would fall into the abyss of nothingness, but that wasn't the real problem.
Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his legs, preventing him from moving. His body went numb, and the light in his eyes faded. Darkness swallowed everything again. Bai Mo became worried.
"Senior brother…"
He heard a voice from beneath his feet. A green spirit had grabbed his leg. It was his younger brother, Xing Chu, who had been killed in a battle with the Dark Path.
Inner demons were a term in cultivation that referred to a person's psychological burden and emotions. Those who walked the path of cultivation were always wary of inner demons; they often didn't marry, didn't accept just any disciple, and avoided taking lives without reason as much as possible. These measures were to prevent the formation of inner demons.
The heavier a person's psychological burden, the harder it was to overcome inner demons. Of course, people could always control their inner demons, but when advancing to higher levels of cultivation, these demons would rebel.
Xing Chu was Bai Mo's younger brother. They had been sent on a mission to this forest but were attacked along the way. Bai Mo suffered deep wounds and even lost his hand, but Xing Chu couldn't survive. He died in the worst possible way. His death had a profound impact on Bai Mo. Now, this burden of guilt weighed heavily on him, hindering his progress.
"Brother!!!" Bai Mo shouted.
Hanging from the edge of the bridge, Xing Chu said in a terrified voice, "B…brother!!! They're trying to take me!!! I'm… I'm not ready to die yet!!! Don't let them… don't let them take me!!!"
Bai Mo panicked. Xing Chu had turned into a zombie. His body had decayed, and his flesh had separated from his bones. His eyes saw nothing. Bai Mo remembered Xing Chu's beautiful eyes; eyes that had turned into two white orbs.
"Brother!! You're dead! You have to accept it, you have to leave the world of living."
But Xing Chu held his leg tighter. Bai Mo tried to free himself, but the path was narrow, and one wrong move would lead to his destruction.
"No, brother!!! Don't leave me alone… I'm… I'm afraid of the darkness of nothingness… I don't know what it's like not to exist… I can still exist!!!"
Xing Chu was afraid. He felt the world of death. Although his eyes seemed blind, he could see everything.
"Brother Bai Mo!! Didn't we cultivate to become immortal?? So why am I dying!!! Please, please help me…"
Xing Chu held Bai Mo's leg tighter. Bai Mo momentarily lost focus, lost his balance, and fell.
He held onto the edge of Dao with one hand. The darkness below him was like a sea of tar.
Xing Chu's cries grew louder.
"Brother… brother!!!"
But all of Bai Mo's attention was on that black sea. Now he felt Xing Chu's fear too. The black sea churned. Bai Mo panicked. Unconsciously, he kicked Xing Chu in the face; then delivered multiple blows to his shoulder, chest, face, and head.
"Let go of me!!! I don't belong to your world!!! You're dead, so rest in your grave like the dead!!!" Bai Mo screamed.
"But master asked you to take care of me… you promised!!! Keep your promise, brother!!" Xing Chu cried.
"Nooooo!!!"
With a powerful kick, Bai Mo sent Xing Chu into the depths of darkness. Xing Chu called out to Bai Mo until the very end.
Tap Tap* Tap*
The sound of slow footsteps echoed.
Bai Mo tried to pull himself up when he suddenly saw his master at the edge of the cliff.
"Master!!! Help me."
His master's brows furrowed.
"Where is the brother I entrusted to you, Bai Mo?"
It was as if an arrow had pierced his heart. Bai Mo looked into the depths of darkness below him. He didn't dare say that he had drowned the brother entrusted to him in the darkness of nothingness.
"I asked, where is your brother??!!"
With a single strike, his master crushed the fingers of Bai Mo's right hand.
Bai Mo screamed.
"Why didn't you save him, Bai Mo!!!" His master asked again.
Bai Mo writhed in pain. His fingers loosened.
"Master, please…" He begged through tears.
"Did you show mercy to your brother, Bai Mo?" His master coldly replied and at the same time, he crushed the fingers of Bai Mo's left hand.
Bai Mo screamed, the path of Dao drifted away from him. A tear fell on his cheek. Thousands of hands surrounded him. The mutilated corpse of Xing Chu appeared in his mind. He was smiling. He was satisfied that he wasn't the only dead one in that group. Bai Mo screamed. He reached out towards Dao. But the stars' light faded, and darkness enveloped the world. His voice was silenced. His head spun, and he sank into the depths of darkness.