Nine years ago.
"Husband, are we really going to settle down here?"
Walking along the streets of Baiwa City, a delicate-looking woman asked the man beside her.
The man, named Shen Sheng, nodded. "This will be the place. It's situated on the border between the Wu Kingdom and a small demon kingdom in the Southern Realm. It's an ungoverned city, with no one in control. Here, we can avoid those hunting you, Qiongman."
The woman, Zhao Qiongman, lowered her head slightly, her expression full of guilt. "I'm sorry, husband. If it weren't for me…"
"Don't say such things," Shen Sheng interrupted her. "What's done is done. Since we've come to a new place, let's start fresh and live a good life together."
"Alright," Zhao Qiongman agreed softly. "I'll follow whatever you decide."
Shen Sheng tightened his grip on his wife's hand. "Don't worry. Now that we're here, we can finally live in peace. No one will find us."
Zhao Qiongman nodded firmly.
Shen Sheng found a broker in Baiwa City and purchased a small courtyard, just big enough for two or three people to live in.
Having their own home, no longer wandering aimlessly, Zhao Qiongman's restless heart gradually began to settle.
She followed her husband around the city, buying necessities for their new life.
With each item they purchased, Zhao Qiongman felt a growing sense of belonging to their little courtyard.
Once they had settled in, Zhao Qiongman lived with her husband in Baiwa City. Aside from cultivating, the two would hunt nearby demonic beasts to sell or take on bounty tasks from the city.
For cultivators, earning enough for daily expenses was incredibly easy.
Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman only needed to complete a task or two to cover their costs for two or three months.
Though Baiwa City was an ungoverned city, its order was maintained by a delicate balance, with various factions controlling different areas.
These factions included both human and demon clans.
While the human and demon factions often clashed, it wasn't unusual for human factions to include demon cultivators or for demon factions to have human members.
Given Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman's high cultivation levels, the factions treated them with respect. Not only did they avoid causing trouble for the couple, but they occasionally sent gifts, hoping to recruit them.
However, Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman chose not to join any faction, unwilling to complicate their peaceful life.
As time passed, the couple lived a stable life, almost forgetting the dangers they had fled from.
Zhao Qiongman's once-anxious heart finally found peace.
Their neighbors, a family of lizard demons, even laid a clutch of eggs. Zhao Qiongman helped deliver the hatchlings.
The lizards named their young rather casually: the first to hatch was called Lizard Dalang, and the second was Lizard Erlang.
In Baiwa City, the harmony between humans and demons reached an astonishing level.
But one day, Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman noticed something strange about the city.
The flow of spiritual energy within the city felt different from that outside, and flashes of white light would often streak through the city.
The blazing sun in the sky seemed unusually large, as if it might fall at any moment.
At night, the moon turned into a blood-red orb, and the demons in the city could no longer maintain their human forms.
By the time Shen Sheng and his wife realized that a powerful artifact might have emerged in Baiwa City, the city itself had already formed a massive array, trapping them inside with no means of escape.
Left with no other choice, the couple decided to settle down temporarily while searching for a way out.
An artifact capable of forming its own boundary was undoubtedly extraordinary—likely the kind of treasure coveted even by cultivators at the Fifth Realm and above.
Although Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman had initially wanted to make this place their long-term home, they knew it wouldn't be long before the presence of the artifact attracted the attention of major factions. When that happened, Baiwa City would become a battleground, filled with chaos and danger.
Even worse, their enemies might discover their whereabouts.
Reluctantly, they acknowledged that they would have to leave.
Adding to their concern, the beams of white light descending from the sky caused cultivators in the city to vanish without a trace.
Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman couldn't determine whether those who disappeared had returned to the outside world or perished, their essence becoming nourishment for Baiwa City itself.
This sense of uncertainty gave them yet another reason to leave.
"Do you think we'll be able to wait until the blood-red full moon rises?"
One night, after Zhao Qiongman completed the intricate array she had been working on, she leaned exhaustedly against her husband's shoulder, gazing at the starry sky.
The night sky was dotted with countless stars, forming a breathtakingly beautiful tapestry.
Sometimes, Zhao Qiongman would think: if Baiwa City could remain hidden as a secret realm and never be discovered by outsiders, she and her husband could stay here forever.
"Who knows?" Shen Sheng wrapped an arm around her shoulder, smiling faintly. "Perhaps we'll vanish tomorrow. Anything's possible."
"Do you think if we disappear, someone will find what we've left behind? Will it help them?" Zhao Qiongman asked softly.
"Who can say?" Shen Sheng replied uncertainly. "These things depend on fate. There are relics and tombs left behind by great cultivators that have remained undiscovered for thousands of years."
"True, it all comes down to fate," Zhao Qiongman said, turning to smile at her husband. "Meeting you has been my greatest fate and my greatest fortune."
Shen Sheng kissed her forehead gently. "The feeling is mutual."
After doing everything they could to prepare, the couple resumed their usual lives, waiting patiently for whatever was to come.
And one of the hardest things for anyone to do is to learn how to wait.
During this idle time, Zhao Qiongman, using her lifetime of knowledge and insights into the rules governing Baiwa City, extracted a fragment of Dao and condensed it into a single drop of rainwater.
She wasn't sure if this creation had any purpose—perhaps it was just meant to serve as a keepsake.
Then, one day, the blood moon didn't appear, but the white light did.
The light descended upon Shen Sheng. Zhao Qiongman, however, remained calm and held her husband tightly in her arms.
Together, they quietly awaited the unknown.
Bathed in the white light, their consciousnesses felt hazy, their minds blank. It was an odd sensation, as if they had been struck unconscious, yet could still sense their own existence.
When the white light faded and they regained their senses, they found themselves outside Baiwa City.
But before they could feel any joy, they noticed dozens of black-robed cultivators standing nearby.
The aura emanating from these individuals was strange—human yet not entirely human. The leader, in particular, radiated the powerful spiritual energy of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
"Who are you?" Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman instinctively drew their swords.
"We are members of the Black God Sect," the leader said, stepping forward with a sinister smile. He gestured to his subordinates. "Don't waste time. Capture them!"
"Yes, sir!"
One by one, the cultists of the Black God Sect drew closer, like brainwashed puppets.
Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman fought desperately while trying to escape. Yet, in the end, their efforts proved futile.
Surrounded on all sides, they used all their strength but couldn't break free.
"You've got quite the talent for formations," said the leading man in a black robe as he stepped forward. "Judging by your skill and understanding of arrays, could it be that you're a disciple of the Heavenly Array Sect?"
Zhao Qiongman pressed her lips tightly together and remained silent.
The black-robed man stared straight at her. "I've always admired the disciples of your Heavenly Array Sect. Our leader often praises your sect master as an unparalleled genius. Coincidentally, I'm in need of a formation master. Serve me, and I'll reward you generously. What do you say?"
"Keep dreaming!" Shen Sheng stood protectively in front of his wife, glaring fiercely at the man. "Don't think for a second that we'll serve you!"
The leader of the Black God Sect smirked and said to Shen Sheng, "What use is your life, really? You're not the one we need."
"I'll never serve you either!" Zhao Qiongman shouted at the black-robed man.
The man tilted his head slightly, staring at her in feigned confusion. "Don't you want revenge for your Heavenly Array Sect? This world is already rotten—rotten to the core. Join us, fight alongside the Black God Sect, and we'll overthrow this broken world together!"
"Madmen! All of you are madmen! Let us go!" Zhao Qiongman refused angrily.
The black-robed man sighed, looking regretful. "In that case, you leave me no choice."
He ordered his men to seize Shen Sheng, dragging him forward and pressing a longsword to his neck.
"If you don't join us, I'll cut your husband's flesh piece by piece. Our sect branch has an important mission to accomplish, and I'll use any means necessary to ensure your cooperation."
"Let him go!" Zhao Qiongman lunged forward but was immediately restrained by two cultivators at the man's side.
The black-robed man pressed the blade into Shen Sheng's flesh, slicing it open. Blood dripped down the sword. "I'm waiting for your answer."
"I..."
"Agh!"
As Zhao Qiongman hesitated, just beginning to speak, the man's sword slashed across Shen Sheng again, drawing a scream as a piece of flesh fell to the ground.
"Stop!" Zhao Qiongman shouted, tears streaming down her face.
"Beast! If you've got the guts, just kill me already!" Shen Sheng gritted his teeth, cold sweat pouring from his forehead in pain.
But the black-robed man paid no attention to Shen Sheng, his eyes fixed solely on Zhao Qiongman. "Think carefully before you respond."
"I..."
"Mm—!"
Another slash of the sword tore through Shen Sheng's body.
Shen Sheng clenched his fists tightly, enduring the pain in silence. He looked at his wife and shook his head vigorously.
"I'll do it!"
Just as the black-robed man was about to strike a third time, Zhao Qiongman finally relented.
"A wise decision." The man sheathed his sword and fed Shen Sheng two pills.
"I've given your husband two pills. One will heal his injuries, and the other is a poison. If you ever betray me, I'll activate the poison."
The black-robed man turned away without sparing Zhao Qiongman another glance. He issued orders to his subordinates.
"Take them away."
The black-robed man led Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman deep into a mountain peak.
Inside, the entire mountain had been hollowed out, with molten lava flowing below. The surrounding rock walls were teeming with roaring demonic beasts.
"What is your view on the concepts of 'human,' 'demon,' and 'beast'?" the black-robed man asked Zhao Qiongman.
Zhao Qiongman responded coldly:
"Humans are born with innate spirits. Some can cultivate, while others cannot.
Demons are animals that have gained intelligence. All demons can cultivate and even take on human form.
Beasts are born as they are, unable to gain intelligence, savage and violent, and incapable of transforming into human form."
The black-robed man nodded. "And what do you think of the relationship between mortals and cultivators?"
Zhao Qiongman replied, "Cultivators are simply mortals who have undergone cultivation. They are one and the same."
A smirk appeared on the black-robed man's lips. "Are they really the same?"
Zhao Qiongman frowned. "What do you mean?"
The black-robed man, his tone patient, explained:
"Exactly what I said. While it's true that cultivators come from mortals, do cultivators really treat mortals as equals?
From what I've observed, cultivators see mortals as demons see ordinary animals, or as humans see demonic beasts.
To cultivators, mortals are no longer beings of the same level. In fact, mortals are nothing more than tools to them.
There are cultivators who perform blood sacrifices using mortals.
Some use mortals for breeding; if a child is born ordinary, they abandon them. If a child is born with spiritual roots, they take them for training.
Cultivators will destroy entire cities or even nations for their own selfish desires.
Never, not once, have cultivators truly cared about the lives of mortals."
Zhao Qiongman's tone turned sharp. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"It's simple."
The black-robed man turned around to face Zhao Qiongman and removed the hood of his cloak.
Following his lead, the others around him also removed their hoods.
Seeing their faces clearly, Shen Sheng and Zhao Qiongman's eyes widened in shock, their pupils trembling.
Some had horns growing from their heads.
Some had lizard-like scales covering their cheeks.
Some had beast-like pupils.
All of them bore features that resembled those of demonic beasts to varying degrees.
"We are both ordinary humans and beasts," the black-robed man declared. "Join us! Together, we can change everything in this world! One day, all mortals will rise and trample those so-called celestial beings beneath their feet!"