In the heart of the small village of Mount Tu, where life moved with simplicity and tranquility, Lian, a sixteen-year-old youth, sat in his humble room, deeply immersed in reading the ancient books left to him by his mother before her passing. The books contained secrets about spiritual farming, ancient techniques of cultivating Qi and building foundations, and legends of the Golden Seed and the Awakened Spirit. His mother had always warned him that the world was filled with dark forces, and that if he wanted to survive, he needed to learn to control these energies.
"If I understand these techniques, maybe I can change the fate of my village," Lian whispered to himself as he flipped through an old book detailing the secrets of Qi cultivation, the first level of spiritual farming. He felt a surge of excitement and determination, but suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a powerful tremor in the ground, followed by a massive explosion in the distance.
"What?!" Lian exclaimed in panic as he ran to the window.
The sky was dark, and the village was engulfed in fierce flames, with tongues of fire rising from the houses. "An attack!" Lian shouted to himself. Without thinking, he ran through the streets to the village square, where the scene was growing increasingly chaotic. The attackers were from strange sects, releasing dark energies from their hands, destroying everything in their path. They were groups of cultivators, but they didn't resemble any cultivators Lian had known. Their features were distorted, their eyes red as if they were carrying evil powers—almost as if they weren't human at all.
"Who are these people?" Lian wondered as he watched the attackers from a distance. He didn't know who these cultivators were or what their goal was, but it was clear they weren't here for good.
Amid the chaos, Xian, the village chief who was the only one capable of using spiritual farming, fought fiercely. Xian had reached the fourth level of Qi cultivation and began to display tremendous power that Lian had never seen before. His hands glowed with concentrated Qi that he wielded skillfully, using his own unique fighting style. But even with this advanced level, the attackers were far stronger.
"You won't get away!" Xian shouted as he advanced toward them, trying to stop them.
But the attackers were faster and stronger. Each one was at the sixth level of Qi cultivation, and their powers clearly outmatched the village chief. One of them, who appeared to be the leader, raised his hands to the sky and unleashed a ball of dark energy toward Xian. The ball exploded in midair, causing massive chaos.
"Xian!" Lian screamed as he watched the village chief fall to the ground, severely injured. It was clear that despite Xian's strength, he was no match for the attackers, and the intensity of the battle was beyond his capability.
"This is just a small village. It's not worth all this trouble!" said the leader of the attackers with a sinister smile, watching Xian fall to the ground. His eyes glowed dark red, as if he was watching everything around him carefully.
"You're from the Dark Demon Sect! Why are you attacking us?" Xian shouted from the ground, trying to get up, but his strength was failing him.
"Because human blood is what we need to grow stronger!" replied the leader coldly, as he looked at the object in his hands. "Blood sacrifices and powerful rituals will enhance our spiritual energy. Your village will be part of these rites."
"I won't let you!" Xian shouted defiantly, trying to gather what remained of his strength. But it was clear he couldn't keep up with the attackers' power.
"Don't underestimate our power, old man!" said the second attacker with a mocking smile, raising his hand to launch another dark energy blast at Xian. "This is just the beginning. If we want immortality, we must begin with the rituals... You are merely an obstacle in our way."
But before the second attacker could launch his strike, the third attacker suddenly shouted, "Look!" He pointed toward Lian, who was running away, trying to escape.
"Did you see that?" said the leader, watching Lian flee toward the forest. "It seems this boy has powerful energy... We may need him for our rituals."
"He won't run for long. We'll find him," replied the second attacker, letting out a suppressed laugh.
"Let him go. We'll come back to him later. First, we need to finish with this village," the leader said, his voice carrying a cold tone, as he turned his attention back to Xian. "This place is not worth the effort anymore. But we will take what we need."
As the attackers began to retreat, the sky grew darker, leaving Xian severely wounded and the village in ruins. The leader decided it was time to search for Lian.
At that moment, one of the attackers approached Lian, smiling a sinister smile, but for some reason, he suddenly disappeared into the shadows before he could reach him. Lian was running as fast as he could toward a safe place, but his mind was preoccupied with memories.
Lian had been small when he first heard about the Dark Sect. His father, Guo Wen, had always spoken of this sect that would kill and destroy villages for blood sacrifices, rituals that used human blood to strengthen their spiritual power and summon dark forces.
"Lian, you must be very careful, even if you don't understand everything now. You need to learn spiritual farming like your mother did. This sect won't stop at anything," those were his mother's words as she treated a deep wound on her arm.
One day, the village was calm, but that night, Lian's parents disappeared. They left behind only mysterious letters:
"Lian, there's a chance we may not return. But you must stay safe. A great threat is approaching this village. Don't ask about the details, just learn spiritual farming, and prepare yourself."
Those letters were filled with worry and mystery, but they never revealed the true reason for their sudden departure. Yet, Lian felt something strange in that moment, as if there was something bigger than he knew behind that journey—something he would discover later.
"Were my parents' words true?" Lian muttered to himself as he ran through the forest, trying to escape the attackers. "Has the time for the sacrifice come..."
He didn't know if there was any hope left for survival, but he realized one thing: he had to escape to protect himself and find a way to become strong enough to fight these attackers who showed no mercy.
He didn't have the power now, but he felt something strange. Qi energy was beginning to gather in his body, and he now knew that if he wanted to survive, he had to learn spiritual farming and reach higher levels. "I won't let them destroy my village!" Lian whispered as he ran toward a dense forest near the mountains, where he believed he had a better chance of survival.
As he fled, he realized that he would need to learn everything about spiritual farming: "If I'm going to survive, I must learn... I'll learn everything."
Lian kept running until he reached a cave and hid inside. When he calmed down, he discovered that he had started sensing Qi and had entered the first level of Qi cultivation.