In the Boundless Strife Realm, strength is the ultimate currency, and power dictates all. A land brimming with spiritual energy, it is blessed with celestial herbs, divine ores, and ancient inheritances, but cursed with an unforgiving hierarchy where the weak are trampled beneath the ambitions of the strong.
The world is saturated with spiritual energy, but not all cultivators can harness it freely. Only those born with Heavenly Meridians or possessing rare Spirit Physiques can absorb energy efficiently, while the rest must rely on dangerous pills, blood sacrifices, or consuming the cores of powerful beasts.
Beyond this, there are rumors of a realm where the Divine Monarchs reside, wielding authority over laws of existence itself, but few ever glimpse such beings.
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The moon hung high in the night sky, casting its cold, silver light over the mist-choked forest. The air was thick with an unnatural stillness, broken only by the soft rustling of leaves beneath the delicate steps of Yu Yan.
Her figure moved like a shadow, her long violet hair flowing behind her, her beauty as ethereal as it was deadly.
The cultivation world had long feared her, for while she possessed the charm of a goddess, it was her ambition and ruthlessness that truly made her feared.
But tonight...
Behind her, a group of sect elders, all leaders of powerful sects, were closing in.
They had tracked her for weeks, biding their time, knowing that she had discovered a powerful treasure.
Rumors were heard of her use of a sheet of music—an artifact unlike any other. With one verse, she had completely destroyed countless cultivators.
What was surprising was that she led them to the Battlefield of Fallen Heavens, a forgotten and barren land where divine beings once fought. Now only dust and ash remains.
The sect elders realized that they had been tricked as she turned to looked at them. Thus leading to the current predicament. Still, they would not go back empty handed. At the very least, they would get that sheet of music.
Yu Yan, however, had no intention of letting anyone take what was hers.
Her slender fingers tightened around the jade scroll, its cold surface pulsing with a faint light. She could feel its power, a strange harmony that resonated with her very soul. It was not just a treasure, it was one of the most beautiful music she had ever heard.
The madwoman's heart leans toward beauty, chasing flower shadows in the wind.
Suddenly, the bushes behind her rustled. A voice, dripping with venom, broke the silence.
"Give it to me, Huayun! I can spare your life and even let you be my concubine!"
It was an elder from the Abyssal Fang Sect, his large frame towering over the others as he emerged from the shadows.
His bloodshot eyes gleamed with a mix of greed and malice, and the wicked grin on his face showed his eagerness to claim what he believed was his.
Yu Yan did not flinch.
Instead, she turned slowly, her gaze locking onto him with a mixture of disdain and amusement. Her lips parted slightly, the barest trace of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Is this really how you think this will play out, Elder?" Her voice was soft and playful. "You think you can take this treasure from me? How amusing."
Her words dripped with arrogance, her demeanor regal, unshaken by the violence around her.
Her beauty only enhanced her confidence, but it was the coldness behind her eyes that sent a shiver down the elder's spine.
The elder's face twisted with anger. "You may be beautiful, Huayun, but beauty alone will not save you!" With a snarl, he raised his hand, and a massive blade of qi shot toward her, cleaving through the air with the force of a hurricane.
Yu Yan, however, was already moving.
With a fluid motion, she sidestepped, her figure graceful, yet her speed unmatchable. She raised a hand, and the crimson dagger she had concealed slipped silently into her grasp, its blade gleaming with a cold light.
She moved with the precision of a predator. Her strike was swift, a flash of crimson as the dagger found its mark, cutting through the elder's neck before he could even react.
He collapsed without a sound, blood pouring from the wound, and the others paused in shock.
Yu Yan surveyed her handiwork with detached amusement, her cold gaze flicking to the remaining sect leaders. "Is that all? Was that truly the best you could do?" she mocked, her voice laced with a venomous sweetness.
The remaining elders exchanged uncertain glances.
They had come prepared for a fight, but none of them had expected her to be so... devastating.
And it was clear now that they had underestimated her.
A woman from the Skyfall Pavilion, her robes embroidered with silver thread, stepped forward, her expression haughty.
"You think you've won, Huayun?"
Yu Yan's smile widened, her eyes darkening.
She had never been one for alliances nor had she ever been a fan of sharing. All beautiful things belonged to her.
Jewels, treasures, and all things that sparkled.
Such is the way she's ever lived.
And anything that that challenges her way of life?
"Oh, I don't need to escape," she purred, stepping toward the woman with slow, deliberate steps. "I'm not running. I'm simply..." She paused, her gaze shifting to the jade scroll still clutched tightly in her hand. "Taking what is mine."
With a flick of her wrist, Yu Yan activated a formation hidden in her palm, sending a surge of dark qi spiraling outward.
The force of it shattered the ground beneath her feet, and the woman from Skyfall Pavilion was thrown backward with a scream of pain.
Before the other cultivators could respond, Yu Yan was already gone, disappearing into the trees in a blur of motion.
The remaining sect elders were left standing in stunned silence, too slow to follow.
Yu Yan stood atop a cliff, her breath steady, the cool wind tugging at her hair.
She could still feel the power of the sheet music as a part of its essence ranged out, its melodies whispering to her soul, urging her to claim its depths.
With one last strike, she ended all of her enemies.
She would not be denied.
Yu Yan's smile turned to one of pure, unadulterated satisfaction. The world would bend to her will. She would become its ruler.
The wind howled through the trees, the darkened forest now a tangled maze as Yu Yan moved deeper into its heart.
The jade scroll was still in her grasp, its faint glow pulsating like a heartbeat. She could feel its power coursing through her veins, soothing and invigorating her at once.
Yet, as she moved forward, a strange, creeping sensation filled the air.
A presence.
....
Hahaha
HAHAHA!!!
It was old, ancient even.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as a voice, oily and dripping with malice, echoed through the stillness.
"Such beauty, such power… In my lifespan, not even the great saintess of Sword Star sect could make me feel this way!"
Yu Yan froze, her fingers tightening around the scroll. She had felt it, an aura. One that reeked of decay and age.
With a single, fluid motion, she turned around, eyes narrowed.
There, standing just beyond the treeline, was an old man.
His body was hunched with age, yet his presence was commanding, twisted in a way that made Yu Yan's skin crawl.
His long, silver hair hung in clumps, his skin pale and mottled with age spots.
Those eyes of his gleamed with a sickening, hungry lust, and his mouth twisted into a grin that was more grotesque than any beast.
He stepped forward, each movement deliberate, as if savoring the moment.
"Ah, Huayun... The flower of the Boundless Strife Realm. I have heard of your beauty and the rumors themselves have proven to under value you. Your beauty, your strength... You are a rare gem. It would be a shame to let you waste away in these woods."
Yu Yan's stomach twisted in disgust. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her, but she remained unyielding, her expression as cold as the moon above.
"You speak of waste," she said, her voice sharp and laced with venom. "But you are nothing more than a withered old fool."
The old man laughed, a low, raspy sound that grated on her nerves. "Such fire. I like it. You'll make a fine wife... when you learn your place." His words were filled with a sickening glee.
Yu Yan narrowed her eyes, her hand subtly moving toward the hilt of her dagger, but before she could act, the air around her grew thick, constricting.
Dark tendrils of qi shot out from the ground, wrapping around her limbs like shackles, restricting her movements.
With a cruel grin, the old man stepped forward, his filthy, gnarled hands reaching out to touch her face.
His touch was ice cold, his fingers leaving behind a trail of repulsive energy.
"You are too beautiful to be wasted on mere fighting. I could make you my queen, if you only knew how to submit," his breath rancid with age and decay.
Yu Yan's breath hitched as she struggled against the tendrils, but they only tightened, cutting into her skin.
The feeling of his touch lingered like poison, and for the first time, she felt the stirrings of fear—a feeling she had long since learned to suppress.
"You disgust me," she hissed, her voice like steel.
With a defiant twist of her wrist, she summoned her qi, but it was sluggish. The tendrils were draining her power and her vision blurred.
Yu Yan, though still alive, felt her body betray her.
The tendrils of dark qi wrapped around her, sapping her strength, twisting her power into something foreign, something vile.
Every inch of her being screamed in resistance, but the more she fought, the more the ancient energy drained her.
Her body trembled, her blood boiling as the old man's sickening touch tainted her every breath.
His fingers grazed her face like claws, his laughter echoing in her ears.
"I knew you'd be a challenge, my dear. But you will learn, eventually. You will submit to me," he crooned, his voice low and filled with malice.
But Yu Yan's spirit was unyielding.
She had never bent, never broken. Not even in the face of the strongest foes, nor the most dangerous situations.
She refused to let herself be reduced to a mere plaything for this disgusting, ancient fool.
She could feel her vision dimming, the poison spreading through her veins. Still, her mind was sharp.
As the old man reached for her, his disgusting fingers poised to grab her again, Yu Yan made her decision. She would not let him take her. Not this way.
Not while she was still breathing.
Her mind surged with defiance. Her fingers, though trembling, closed tighter around the jade scroll, the faint pulse of its energy sending a wave of power through her.
For the first time, she allowed herself to feel the full extent of the treasure's resonance, letting its energy flow through her with a single, frantic thought: escape.
Her body was weak, but her will was a raging fire.
The old man, sensing her resistance, grinned wider. "Foolish girl. There's no escaping me now—your strength is gone. You are mine."
But as he reached out, Yu Yan's eyes narrowed. Without warning, she threw herself backward, breaking free from his grasp. Her movements were slow, sluggish, but there was still power in them.
She could feel the jagged rocks below the cliff, feel the deadly drop beneath her, but there was no hesitation in her heart.
With a final, triumphant sneer, she jumped.
The air rushed past her, her body falling faster than she could register, the scream of the wind filling her ears.
The ground loomed below, sharp and unforgiving, but Yu Yan didn't fear death. Death would come, yes, but it would come on her terms, not at the hands of this vile creature.
As the fall dragged on, the sensation of freefall became something else, almost peaceful, like surrendering to the inevitable. Her thoughts slowed, and she felt a strange, numbing calm wash over her.
She closed her eyes, prepared to embrace the darkness.
Then—the impact.
The world spun wildly around her, and the pain was immediate and excruciating. She crashed against the jagged rocks, every bone in her body screaming.
But through the agony, she felt something else—a pull, like an unseen hand guiding her through the suffering.