Within the Dark Demon Realm, One of the three Continent on the Ark planet. It has a population of roughly seventy billion.
Deep within a cursed valley, rivers of molten soul essence flowed like lava, casting an eerie, ghostly green glow across the landscape. Jagged black obsidian spires rise into the crimson sky, forming the areas main structures.
Yet, its scary appearance helped those inside… specifically molten soul essence.
In a desolate area, a tall teen about 16 years old, features seemed carved from jade he could simply be called a handsome youth...With common pitch black hair at the back a couple white strands as his hair dropped down to the back of his robe.
He was no stranger to this place, he had lived here for years accustomed, to such sights. Even its cursed energy and dark presence shrouded. Years in the Dark Demon Realm had dulled his senses to such horrors. But today, something felt…off.
He heard a subtle shift in the rubble up ahead, a sound that sent him on alert. He slowly walked over suspicious.
'Human presence… no different,' The teen pondered…"No ordinary human could be here... not in this place." He muttered, having spent much of his life surrounded by humans. Their presence was always unmistakable.
Though it was thanks to human under the control of demons.
It's cause was that humans are naturally born, weaker than the Demon race and God race…Likewise three races have existed for a long time.
The Dark Demon Realm thrived on strength, unlike the crumbling remnants of humanity. Few humans could survive here without falling prey to its darkness. The human race also prospered once, flourishing and even occupying half ark world at the beginning.
As a result there weren't anymore, more precisely, cause of the Era of the Seven Pillars Awakening…
Yet, there was no mistaking it, still he felt the presence.
Xing Lin's chest tightened. He took a step back, his fingers brushing the bronze ring his finger. What technique is this? To lie buried beneath the earth... Who could have such mastery?
Just thinking about it he felt his hair stand.
Still his eyes scanned around to see if its a trap at the same time of the arm, then the rest of a body climbed out.
"A human? No..." Xing Lin's eyes narrowed. "This presence... It's not ordinary. Could it be a soul puppet?" The youth's mind whirled, he understood that no one down here is capable of using soul puppets.
If this was one, someone had placed it here for a reason…for what…? He had no idea, but it couldn't be good.
Tian Mo awoke, confused his gaze instinctively saw the blood-red mist sky. The air was thick with a poisonous fog that barely allowed any light through, and his heart hammered in his chest.
Due to what he felt like a nightmare.
"Where... where am I?"
His eyes landed on the teen before him, the teen was unmistakably a figure of power dressed in simple, tattered robes that bore faint, glowing green runes along the edges.
Its emblem of a broken skull was worn on his chest, his robes were like made intentionally drab and incomplete.
"Senior, please... help me?" Tian Mo's voice cracked.
The teen eyes locked with him, his instincts were warning him of a trap. Still, he stepped closer, in his approach he saw Tian Mo dropped down like he was unconscious.
He lifted Tian Mo up then hoisted him onto his shoulder, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Tian Mo every detail feeling unease. Due to him being a uncrurupted human the oposite you don't want to be.
Too warm. Too alive…something is off.
"Thank you," Tian Mo whispered, his voice barely above a breath.
The teen pondered about Tian Mo, he muttered to himself, "If I return this puppet to its owner, surely there's a reward." he had been around a couple puppet before, an one able to talk showed it's high value.
"Puppet? What are you talking about…?" Tian Mo spoke, before passing out.
Still, something about it threw the teen off. "This puppet is too refined," he mused. 'Soul puppets lack true vitality, yet this one has a warmth to its skin… 6Could someone have engineered this to deceive?'
This thought he had to push away, to return back to what he was doing.
…
With that the teen hide Tian Mo away, then while walking around him three other teens were dressed like him. Though their features looked worse.
The teen continued arriving where the area looked vile, it was the devils combat grounds a massive arena carved into a canyon of jagged obsidian cliffs. The floor is an uneven mosaic of cracked stone and molten soul energy, glowing faintly its green and red hues. Faint, spectral mists rise from the cracks, creating an eerie battlefield.
Around the arena are towering Soul Warden Statues, carved from blackstone and enchanted to absorb stray soul energy, preventing destruction of the grounds.
"Xing Lin did you finally come to fight?"
When the teen named Xing Lin walked around, he was approached by a robe man with sickly yellow skin, carring a arrogant smirk.
Xing Lin, didn't answer instead walked away, to the other side of the area where he stood behind a group. Yet, he keep a eye on the man, as he wasn't really arrogant he played it to survive here he didn't entertain such people.
'Do they think I'm a fool? This Eternal Soul Sect if I fight him, then another one shows up. It's a cycle that never ends. I'd be a fool to play along.' he contemplated.
Beside, he knew the Eternal Soul Sect, is a top power one of top of the four in the southern area of the dark de4mon realm.
While in thought, Xing Lin saw the group was distracted, he walked over pulling up his robe, then carefully placing a letter beneath a supply crate before knocking it down.
When walking away, his plan instantly worked, the group was attracted to the noise, they all saw Xing Lin. However, he already speed away when they were about to chase, they noticed a letter on the ground.
For the past couple days, Xing Lin had planted small yet critical misdirections, ensuring that the group decisions played into his hands…When tensions reached it's peak, this was his final step using their chaos to secure his position.
"There so bold to kidnapped one of own…Lets tear each other apart." The one who read Xing Lin forged letter sneered.
Xing Lin, smirked watching the group run away into chaos. "Like baiting a tiger with its prey." he muttered outloud, as he walked toward a yard.
Well what did Xing Lin just do? What does he gain from it?
Before Xing Lin was interupted by Tian Mo he was going to do this and the results were to 'steal' resources from the group yard, because his sole journey is harder to get his needed resources to strengthen oneself.
However, with a group it easier and the they were constantly getting stronger and now he was able to take from then without them knowing.
It may seem like 'stealing' It wasn't in his eyes because it was like.
Plundering a thief's spoils.
In a world like this, where betrayal and exploitation ran rampant, Was there really any moral high ground left? Those people took from others without hesitation, so why shouldn't he take what they had stolen?
To him, it wasn't theft it was reclaiming what had been stolen. They've looted, they've killed, and now there real the same.
Our to him, maybe it happened to him he wanted to the same, in a better way…
…
Tian Mo had just woken up, surprisingly felling unharmed despite having ended up on the ground. When he looked around, he was in small stone room couple bags of rice and sand and he was laying on a stone slab.
That when, his memories slowly returned, he gritted his teeth, he felt unease. A calm before the storm.
"Mom…Dad…" Tian Mo whispered, even tears was about form, there were tear that never fell.
His heart, a fractured mirror, reflected only shards of a once-hopeful future.
That is to say, no longer around what he loved, bringing his joy. He didn't know it was slowly ruining him, it always did to others in the world.
Tian Mo's fingers tightened around the stone slab beneath him, the sharp edges biting into his palm. The urge to avenge his family clawed at him, but the doubt... it lingered like a cold hand wrapped around his chest.
How could he, when he didn't even know where he was?
"Worst Yet, I can't get help because I don't know anyone." He muttered. His parents had barely spoken of their past, leaving him with little knowledge about his family.
A low groan interrupted his thoughts, he stirred around, eyelids fluttering. It was Xing Lin tensed aura crackling around him like a coiled serpent.
Tian Mo pupils contracted. "Who's there?"
Xing Lin stepped forward, his voice cold. "That depends… What are you?"
"Oh… it's you senior" Tian Mo said then bowed to Xing Lin. "Thank you for helping me"
"I asked what are you?" Xing Lin demanded.
Xing Lin was still suspicious of Tian Mo, of being something else beside a puppet based on his appearance and presence like usually puppets have qi that they can sense, yet Tian Mo had none.
Rumors, there are some that are impossible to detect energy, still there also have a weakness to destroy and puppet and find its energy.
Tian Mo stepped back once he saw Xing Lin sharp eyes enought to cut off his airwave. "…Senior I don't understand… if you want me to leave I can leave." he said.
Why did just to treat me this way? Are outsiders really like this.
Xing Lin scanned Tian Mo 'Does, he really not understand?' he pondered, easing up on him.
He saw from Tian Mo eye full on fear he deemed him being truthful, it dwaed on him I'd it possible a human made it into into the eternal sect but he denied that theory, it had to be the boy lost something and can't remeber still its impossible to enter.
"Do you know where you are" Xing Lin asked.
"N-no, Senior, that's what I was going to ask you," he stammered.
'This is really weird no one can enter the sect undetected…I will find out more before I make my choice.' Xing Lin thought.
"You're in the Eternal Soul Sect," Xing Lin replied coldly. "Within the Dark Demon Realm."
Tian Mo face became pale."The Dark Demon Realm."
Tian Mo knew from the legends of outsiders, The Dark Demon realm where real demons species lived. It was a mystical land. No one knew how large it was, how deep it was, or where it led to. Yet, the Dark Demon realm, the world Laws were different from the Laws of the human realm and the God realm. The power the realm used was different from that of the other realms martial artists.
'This realm… a large percentage of its population consists of demons… I'm going to die,' Tian Mo realized, he felt dread... before be had passed out while free falling he had thought of how to get revenge and did his parent send down the hole so it had to be secure.
It made it worst…
Still, he didn't know who to go after first or get stronger because both demon and gods are dangerous, even demon are more dangerous.
Demons were a ruthless and tyrannical race, there was often slaughter within their own race, and in this sort of endless slaughter the Demons would constantly evolve and transform however, Tian Mo didn't know the whole truth from both demon and gods of the outside world of his village.
"How do I return to the Human Realm?" Tian Mo asked, his voice cracking.
Xing Lin scoffed. "Impossible!. Humans cannot enter nor leave this realm so easily."
Unless someone powerful must have brought you.
"Senior, what do you mean? Isn't it easy for demons to enter the Human Realm?" Tian Mo asked..
Xing Lin who ignored, Tian Mo walked over to a wooden table, there a couple thing that appeared onto the table and there was a flash each time, it came from a bronze ring on his finger.
Tian Mo something was familiar.'That's the same thing that happened with father… he thought. What happened to the things he gave me? He at felt joy.
Tian Mo, began patting his chest trying to find a way he can get back the two glowing things. In the end nothing happen he couldn't fell it like he did when he collected them. A deep sense of helplessness came.
Tian Mo decied to ask for help. "Senior, what are doing?".
Xing Lin who had a sighed, hearing Tian Mo talked again, when he was about to answer he heard a voice that speed his heart up.
"What happening in here!"