Location: Tianxian Continent, Shufeng Peak
The Tianxian Continent—a world revered for its supreme combat prowess across the heavens and realms.
Here, the peak of martial arts, demons, and immortals all converge, dwelling in a wondrous land where even the weakest Golden Core cultivator can shatter small worlds with ease.
With Immortal Emperors, Martial Gods, and Demon Lords capable of manipulating time and space with a mere raise of an eyebrow, or creating worlds with the flick of their fingers, Tianxian had been declared a taboo continent by all who knew of it.
Yet, this forbidden world was on the brink of destruction.
The once blue skies were now stained a deep, blood-red hue, a signal of the continent's impending doom.
Fertile lands had been torn apart, riddled with cracks and chasms, with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions plaguing every corner.
The once radiant sun flickered, threatening to go dark at any moment. Billions of corpses littered the ground in an unending sea of death.
"Heavenly Demon Ye Tian! Even if this world is destroyed and my soul is obliterated, I, Zhang Yang, on behalf of the Heavens, will never let you live!"
The voice of an old man resounded through the shattered landscape.
Standing before an army of thousands of immortals, Zhang Yang's tone was filled with wrath and determination.
Zhang Yang, the Ancestor of the Immortal Road and one of the ten Immortal Emperors of the Tianxian Continent.
Ranked first in the Way of the Sword across the heavens. A being whose life spanned longer than the world's itself now stood at death's door.
His right arm was broken, the light in his eyes dim. His hair was disheveled, and golden blood flowed profusely from a wound on his skull.
His stomach was riddled with holes, exposing his golden skeleton, which was covered in cracks.
Adding his invisible soul injuries, had it been anyone else, they would have already perished.
"Heavenly Demon Ye Tian!" he bellowed again.
"Do you have no remorse for anything? For all the souls you refined, for all the lives you took?"
"Even the demons of the Demon Path show respect to their peers, but you possess not a shred of compassion.
If I had known this would happen, I would never have saved you all those years ago!"
Regret filled Zhang Yang's face as he recalled the small child he had rescued so many years ago.
Now, the young man chained and kneeling before him—the one they dared not approach, even in chains—was that very child.
In all the heavens and worlds, among billions of realms, only twelve Immortal Emperors existed.
Ten hailed from the Tianxian Continent. And yet, the man before him had slaughtered eleven of them, leaving he Zhang Yang, the twelfth, on the verge of death.
Thinking of the trillions of lives lost at the hands of this man—of even his own Dao companion and lover—Zhang Yang's eyes suddenly blazed with the full might of an Immortal Emperor.
The power of the world itself gathered behind him, ready to annihilate Ye Tian in a single stroke.
Yes, even the Heavenly Dao—the world's will itself—had decided to sacrifice everything, even its own existence, to destroy Ye Tian.
At this moment, forces both within and outside the world had combined their powers with a singular purpose: Ye Tian must die, no matter the cost.
Unfortunately, they failed to notice that, even in his dire straits, the Heavenly Demon, Ye Tian, still wore a smile.
A mistake they would come to regret in the far future.
.....
[Ye Tian's Pov]
Sensing the countless attacks converging on him, Ye Tian sneered, ignoring Zhang Yang's words and the gazes.
To him, the so-called Immortal Emperors and even all the beings of the heavens were beneath contempt.
Were it not for the intervention of the Heavenly Dao, the will of the Tianxian Continent, he would have never been captured.
Heavenly Dao... he thought, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Also known as The world's will, a confluence of laws manifesting the strength of its inhabitants.
And fortunately or unfortunately for a world at the peak like the Tianxian Continent, it wielded a power at least ten times that of an Immortal Emperor, a force so immense that even he couldn't resist it.
*But it's not like there's no way to deal with it... it's just that I discovered how a little too late*, Ye Tian mused, a sigh escaping his lips as he felt a wave of dizziness.
"Cough, cough..."
"Damn Immortal Emperors, damn world... I can't believe they forced me into such a sorry state."
He coughed up a clot of blood and shook his head, trying to keep his blood from dripping into his eyes.
Kneeling with his neck, hands, and legs clamped in golden chains forged from the souls of trillions and the very power of the heavens, there was no way he could break free.
Even at his strongest hour, he doubted he could break these chains much less his current sorry state
His once pristine white robe was stained with patches of blood, and his waist-length red hair, now a darker shade from blood, hung down his back.
His dark red eyes showed no fear despite his imminent end, and his jade-like skin, though riddled with wounds, still emitted a faint immortal glow.
Ignoring the chaos outside, Ye Tian closed his eyes and reminisced about his first days in this world, ten thousand years ago.
He remembered the brothers and sisters he had made in the sect after being picked up by Zhang Yang and he remembered their faces filled with despair when he devoured them
He remembered being crowned the saint son of the sword immortal sect only to be hunted down after finding out he practiced demonic arts
And finally, he remembered the young child whose body he had possessed, who had just lost his family.
Yes, he thought with a slight smile, unknown to the world, I am not just the Heavenly Demon… but a transmigrator as well.