Staring intently at the mysterious ring in his hand, a flicker of anticipation flashed across Yang Fan's face.
"Ring... Xianhong Space... can you truly fulfill my desires?" Yang Fan muttered softly under his breath.
"Don't doubt it. Xianhong Space can grant your every wish."
At that moment, a voice full of disdain echoed in his mind. The voice sounded eerily familiar...
Whoosh!
In the next instant, Yang Fan found himself once again inside the peculiar realm known as *Xianhong Space*, standing on a patch of lush green grass. Nearby stood a humble straw hut, and beside it, a small dog. Beyond this green patch, the surrounding land stretched out in barren, dark red-black earth, exuding an aura of deathly silence.
The voice that had just spoken clearly belonged to that dog.
"Now think carefully," the dog said, its tone casual yet strangely human-like. "Xianhong Space can help you achieve anything. And more importantly, it holds the second of the 'Heaven-defying Techniques' in this vast universe. Countless realms, countless worlds, trillions upon trillions of souls... encountering Xianhong Space is a rare fortune."
"Heaven-defying Technique? What exactly is that?" Yang Fan asked, perplexed. "In all my time in the cultivation world, I've only ever heard of techniques being categorized as entry-level, low, mid, or high-tier. Why have I never heard of a Heaven-defying Technique?"
"Heh," the dog snorted, sounding somewhat smug. "Heaven-defying Techniques are one-of-a-kind. Across the entire great cosmos, there have only ever been two. How could a backwater place like this have even a hint of one? And if it did, it would surely be fake."
"That powerful?" Yang Fan instantly grasped the gravity of such a technique. It likely surpassed even the most advanced techniques in all of East Victory Continent.
"So, have you made your choice?" the dog asked, a crafty grin spreading across its face.
"But..." Yang Fan hesitated, recalling the infamous warning: *To master this art, one must first castrate themselves.* He felt an instinctive wave of reluctance.
"Right! Didn't you mention there was a more... moderate option?" Yang Fan's eyes brightened as he suddenly remembered.
"Indeed," the dog replied. "To cultivate this technique, one must first inflict self-harm, a sacrifice of sorts. Becoming a eunuch is one way—it renders you impotent, a shell of a man. But there's another option: you could abolish your cultivation. In other words, become powerless—a cripple."
The dog's eyes gleamed with a sinister smile.
"What? Abolish my cultivation?" Yang Fan recoiled in horror, his guard instantly rising. For cultivators like him, the mere thought of losing one's hard-earned power was a fate worse than death.
He had spent years reaching the state of *Condensed Spirit*, a cultivation level attained only after more than a decade of relentless effort and dedication. The idea of watching all those years of grueling work vanish in an instant was as devastating as the thought of castration.
"Hmph, you don't want to pay the price?" the dog scoffed. "Before you, I've met ninety-nine people, each faced with the same choice. They couldn't bring themselves to sacrifice their bodies or didn't trust Xianhong Space's powers. I hope you'll make a wiser decision than they did. After all, this is the second Heaven-defying Technique in the entire universe. If you knew the unimaginable terror unleashed by the first Heaven-defying Technique, you wouldn't hesitate so much."
Yang Fan's face shifted between uncertainty and determination as he sank into deep thought. In that moment, his master's words suddenly echoed in his mind:
"Your father may very well be dead, and the Yang family of the capital is likely among his killers. The moment you enter the Yang family, you'll be like a lamb entering a tiger's den."
"No matter what happens at tomorrow's *Wen Tian* gathering, you must not agree to join the Yang family in the capital."
Right. A cripple!
If I become a powerless cripple, I'll be worthless to the Yang family. They won't care about someone who's lost all their strength. And then... I can use this opportunity to train in secret…
For the sake of my father, for the dream of immortality…
With unwavering resolve, Yang Fan made a decision that would alter the course of his destiny forever.
He would abolish his own cultivation!
Yang Fan's eyes gleamed with newfound clarity. In that moment, his mindset underwent a profound transformation. He began to understand the meaning of "destroy to rebuild, break to rise again."
Imagine—someone with the audacity to be this ruthless with themselves, how could they not stand out from the masses? How could they not ascend beyond the ordinary?
"Place your hand on that patch of dark-red earth, and you will successfully abolish your cultivation," the dog instructed, a look of approval crossing its face as it noticed Yang Fan's resolve.
"I don't have to do it in the real world?" Yang Fan asked, surprised.
"Exactly. Xianhong Space is no mere illusion, nor is it a realm of pure thought. The version of you here is perfectly synchronized with your real body. Meaning, if you die here, you die in reality too," the dog explained with a smile.
"Is it really that miraculous?" Yang Fan struggled to wrap his mind around this place and its mysterious rules, baffled by the idea that it was linked so closely to the real world.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Fan knelt down and, with trembling hands, reached toward the patch of blackened earth near the green grass. The air around him was heavy with the eerie energy of the space; aside from the green patch beneath his feet, the dark-red soil emanated a terrifying, deathly aura.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Yang Fan's hand touched the darkened earth.
*Thud!*
He pressed his hand firmly into the ground.
Instantly, a horrifying force began to surge from the earth, pulling at the very essence of his being. His body glowed with faint blue light as his vital energy was drawn uncontrollably into the blackened soil.
In that moment, Yang Fan's body underwent unimaginable torment. His meridians shattered, his internal organs suffered immense damage, and as his life force drained away, his once-vibrant complexion turned deathly pale. Even his skin and hair began to age at a visible rate.
"Ahhh!" Yang Fan cried out in agony, cold sweat dripping from his brow as his body convulsed uncontrollably. This was no ordinary pain; it was the kind of suffering few could endure. Only Yang Fan's indomitable spirit allowed him to withstand it.
After what felt like an eternity, the patch of dark-red soil that had absorbed his vital energy began to transform, slowly turning into the same vibrant green as the grass beneath his feet.
Gradually, the earth's oppressive pull weakened, replaced by a growing vitality.
With a final burst of energy, Yang Fan collapsed to the ground. His cultivation had completely dissipated, leaving him a mere shell of his former self—a powerless cripple.
His once jet-black hair had turned stark white.
Just as Yang Fan's power was drained, the ring on his finger pulsed with a strange energy. A faint green light mixed with the blood-red glow from the ring, and a phantom-like aura entered the depths of his soul.
At that moment, a flood of information surged through his mind.
*The Art of Xianhong*.
This was a technique unlike any he had ever known.
"The Art of Xianhong? Could this be the Heaven-defying Technique that the dog mentioned…?" Yang Fan's heart raced with a mix of shock and awe.
Suddenly, thunder roared over the Southern Ridge Yang Clan. Purple lightning crackled across the sky, shaking the heavens with its immense power. An oppressive force radiated from the distant horizon, covering the entire East Victory Continent.
This celestial might was unstoppable, beyond the strength of any mortal.
The phenomenon was vast, encompassing an unimaginable distance. Ordinary cultivators and mortals could only witness the flashing lightning and hear the thunder, marveling at the extraordinary spectacle. But those of immense power felt the true weight of the oppressive force.
"Could it be that someone is undergoing the *Great Heavenly Tribulation*, about to ascend?" Divine senses fluttered across the continent, each great figure reeling in shock, their lips trembling as they coughed up blood.
"No, impossible! No heavenly tribulation has ever had such power!"
In the eastern lands of the continent, atop the ancient and majestic Star-Seeking Tower, a figure draped in shimmering starlight floated in the sky. She radiated celestial grace, her form like that of a goddess bathed in the light of countless stars.
"The descent of a calamity heralds the arrival of an anomaly," a voice as ethereal as the heavens reverberated through the starry night. The starlit woman sighed softly, blood trickling from her lips.
"The descent of a calamity heralds the arrival of an anomaly…"
"The descent of a calamity heralds the arrival of an anomaly…"
The message spread like wildfire across the East Victory Continent, reaching the minds of every great cultivator.
This celestial woman's status was evident by how quickly her words spread.
Aside from these powerful beings, Yang Fan was the only low-level cultivator, now essentially a mortal, to bear the full brunt of the oppressive force. To him, the celestial storm seemed a hundred, no, a thousand times more intense than to anyone else.
Yang Fan could not shake the feeling