Under the moonlight, the towering trees of the Demon Forest shun with a mysterious glow, it was enveloped by an eerie silence. Currently, two figures where making their way across the forest as they leaped from tree to tree carefully as if in search of something.
One of the figures in the two man party was a middle aged looking man and the other was a young boy around the age of 15, this duo was undoubtedly a pair of father and son judging from the way the young boy addressed him.
"Father we've been searching for days without results, I think it'll be more effective if we split up." The young boy spoke in a slightly frustrated manner.
The person who spoke was an extremely Handsome boy that looked to be around 15 years of age. His brows were strong and well-defined, framing his face with an intensity that drew others in. His deep-set, piercing eyes held a captivating depth, as if harboring secrets beneath their surface. His nose was perfectly proportioned, adding to his noble appearance, while full yet firm lips hinted at a quiet confidence. With a sharp jawline and high cheekbones, his face appeared almost chiseled, each feature blending seamlessly. His skin was smooth and radiant, glowing with an almost ethereal vitality. His bearing was poised and dignified, an aura of quiet strength that naturally commanded respect.
"Hmm... The deeper you go the stronger the beasts you'll face, be careful not to wonder too far." The man who was addressed as father spoke, the moonlight cascaded down his face showing his handsome features, he bore a few similarities to the handsome youth beside him.
This pair of father and son where naturally Li Jianfeng and Li Tianyan.
"Hm..." Li Tianyan nodded before leaving in a flash.
As his silhouette faded into the night, a smile crept onto Li Jianfeng's face. "Foundation establishment realm at the age of 15, the pride of my Li clan." Li Jianfeng muttered to himself before vanishing from the spot.
In the world of cultivation, there were cultivation stages that defined a cultivators standing, the higher your cultivation the higher your strength and status depending on the place, for example someone at the Core formation realm within a small city like Qinglong was a peak existence, among the 12 great cities of Azure Cloud Kingdom, Qinglong city was the weakest in strength, With Core formation realm experts leading as top-tier cultivators, while all other cities possessed at least one Nacent Soul Realm cultivator.
Swish... Swish...
The sound of leaves rustling echoed through the quiet forest as Li Tianyan approached a cave surrounded by thick trees.
As soon as he spotted the cave, he pulled out a goat skin map from his spatial ring. "This looks like... Hm? So it north from here, that means Father should already be at the location."
"I should go..." As Li Tianyan turned to leave, he stepped on a branch with a loud crackling sound, "There doesn't seem to be any Demon beasts around here so i should be able to..."
Whoosh...
With a loud whooshing sound, a woman appeared before him, draped in flowing white robes that shimmered faintly like moonlight. Her pale skin glowed softly, ethereal and flawless, as if carved from alabaster. Delicate, curling white horns crowned her head, elegant rather than imposing, blending seamlessly into her silken, snow-white hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Her eyes were pools of serenity, their silver hue catching the light with a mesmerizing gleam, as though they held ancient wisdom. Despite her otherworldly appearance, she looked to be extremely sick and pale.
Crash...
When Li Tianyan saw the figure in front of him, he was overwhelmed with fear because he knew all to well that this could only mean one thing, a demon had appeared before him. "A...a...a demon?" Li Tianyan struggled to utter those simple words, it was clear the terror that the name "Demon" held.
In the world of cultivators there were seven mortal realms to cultivation, the first was the Qi gathering realm, where Qi is absorbed and used to refine the body, the others where, Foundation establishment realm, Core formation realm, Nascent soul realm, Soul ascension realm and Void tribulation realm. However if one were to attain immortality, they must reach the peak of the Immortal Ascension realm and undergo a full heavenly tribulation to ascend to the Desolate Realm of Immortals, a world void of mortals.
A Demon beast that had reached the Void tribulation realm and under went a pseudo heavenly tribulation would transform into a demon and gain the ability to transform into a human like existence, some demons even prefer to look exactly like a human.
"A...a...a demon?"
"I won't harm you child, if you come with me..." As soon as the White robed woman finished her sentence, she walked past Li Tianyan and headed towards the cave he was just about to leave.
'Did she come from that cave? I didn't even see her move, it was like she appeared in front of me from nowhere how terrifying' Li Tianyan thought to himself, at this point he was unsure what to do, should he try to run? If he did would he be able to escape? or should he just follow since he might die either way.
"My patience, fragile as it is, nears its final breath. Do not tempt the fates by testing it further." A cold and commanding yet alluring voice could be heard from the white robed lady in front cave, her head was tilted to the side as she stared at Li Tianyan with her cold silver eyes.
Chills ran down his spine as he slowly stood up and made his way towards her cautiously, sadly he was too weak to resist, if he tried anything, he was certain the only outcome would be death.
"Good." The white robed lady uttered before disappearing in the cave as Li Tianyan followed behind her.
The entrance was dark and narrow, there was no light whatsoever as far as the eyes could see.
'Lets see what we have here.' Said Li Tianyan as he activated his eye bloodline, Eye of Heaven. His eyes gleemed with a red glow as his pupils turned red, strange inscriptions surrounded them and began to rotate slowly, as soon as the Eye of Heaven was activated he immediately tried to peer into the true form of the figure before him.
'WHAT!? I couldn't see it, wh..who is this?' Just as as Li Tianyan tried to see her true form, a mysterious energy shielded his gaze from her. To Li Tianyan this was an impossible feat, he was told that although he hadn't unlocked the full power of his eye bloodline yet he could see almost everything, even the true forms of demons at the peak of the Immortal Ascension realm. 'Dose that means she...'
"Your next will be your last." The white robed woman said coldly.
'She noticed? Just who is she, an immortal? But immortals can't descend to the mortal realm after ascension, right?... Hmmm' Li Tianyan body stiffened as his thoughts reached this point.
As he looked around the walls he could see strange engravings shrouded in darkness, countless drawings and ancient text covered the walls but he couldn't see it no matter how hard he tried.
"Sigh... You won't be able to see anything child, your eyes may be remarkable but your spiritual energy is far too weak." The white robed woman's voice suddenly softened
Li Tianyan suddenly shivered for no reason as cold sweat drenched his back, he drew a deep breath to control his breathing and spoke slowly. "W-what is it you want from me." A few minutes went by without a response from the White robed woman.
"As you may have already deducted, I'm not of this world..." Just when Li Tianyan thought he wouldn't receive an answer, the White robed woman spoke.
"Are you an immortal?" Li Tianyan asked
"You can say so, yes. I came here partly because I want to keep it safe and partly because I wanted to fulfill my master's final wish and find a new protector and that's you child." The white robed woman said
"Wait, what "it" are you trying to keep safe and how did I become it's protector." Li Tianyan's face fell as soon as he heard that, judging from the current state this white robed woman was in and the fact that this was her masters last wish, Li Tianyan was able to deduce that it meant her master died trying to protect whatever "it" was and the white robed woman before him seemed to have suffered heavy injuries which meant harboring this thing wasn't anything good.
"Hehehe, you shouldn't worry about whether or not you would be able to keep it safe since they cannot find you in this remote world, besides, the fact that it was I who found you means that you no longer have a say in the matter so just shut up and listen, I am Zhao Ming and I am the ninth Protector, you child shall succeed me, but for now you will be known as the ninth Candidate Protector..." Zhao Ming spoke slowly.
"Just what does that mean and what do I have to do with it, what am I supposed to even protect anyway?" Anger welled up inside Li Tianyan as Zhao Ming spoke his fate so casually.