《JIN》
Chapter 1 - Fall
In outer space, large rocks in varying shapes and sizes drifted pass.
Darkness covered all areas that mortals see, however, to cultivators or those called "Immortals", grains of light akin to a thousand fireflies illuminating the night sky was what they saw.
The smell of blood was heavy, whimpers can be heard. Figures coated in blood was seen as their enemy encirclement narrowed down on them.
The general of the enemy lifted his fist, shouting something to prepare the next barrage of attack. Even though his army outnumbers the figures trapped in the center by far, he did not dare to underestimate them. This was their sole chance, and failure will only lead to the ruins of all Clans involved in this ambush.
Jin Feng, the Emperor of the Immortal Divine Domain noticed that the next onslaught would soon begin, a sense of dread crept up on him. They had received too much damage, any more would surely kill them.
Hatred and fury reflected in his eyes as he glared at the enemy general.
"Don''t expect to get away! Even if I, Jin Feng perish here today, the traitorous Clan will not escape judgment!" Jin Feng shouted with conviction.
Behind Jin Feng, both knee on the ground was a child. His eyes moist with clear streams rushing down, anxiousness on his face. Lied in front of him was a woman dressed in a luxurious silk robe, her beauty blinding. However, her eyes dull as she lied lifeless on the cold ground. Neither a tug nor nudge from him could compel her to move again.
"Father! Mother is not responding, please, do something!" the boy implored.
Even though grief was eating away at his heart, Jin Feng could not turn around now. The enemy would take advantage of that moment of distraction. He struggled as he thought of a way out of this situation.
"Jin Meng, come over to my side." Still facing the enemy general, Jin Feng spoked.
Jin Meng turned his head to face his father, who was covered in fresh blood and a shirt that was torn in pieces. An appearance unfitting of an Emperor.
He was a child, but he was not like any other child his age. He was the son of an Emperor, thus since youth, he was groomed to always keep a calm mind and never let emotions blind him.
Even though he was still filled with grief from the death of his mother, he knew nothing would change even if he kept holding her. He gritted his teeth while lowering his mother''s head on the ground and with heavy strides, moved to his father''s side.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
''All of you! All of you that brought harm to my family shall suffer for an eternality!'' Jin Meng looked at those that harmed his family, engraving their image into his mind.
He unleashed his aura, preparing to fight them to the death. However, before he even finished processing all the faces he saw, an overwhelming force lifted him up.
"FATHER!" Jin Meng screamed as he looked towards his father.
"Meng''Er, everyone can die today, but you must survive!" Jin Feng said to his son as he lifted him up with one hand.
"Wh-what are you doing! NO, PUT ME DOWN!" pleaded Jin Meng.
Jin Feng''s body glowed with golden light as he ignored the cries of his son. Blinding radiance surrounded his son, with his other hand, he tore a crevice in space. Opening a portal to the Primordial Chaos, or more commonly called the "Void".
He turned his waist, channeling power with all his remaining strength, and launched Jin Meng into the portal.
"You... Jin Feng, you are mad." the enemy general who saw this couldn''t help but exclaimed.
The Void was a place filled with unfathomable peril, even the Emperor himself could not be confident that he would survive a day in it.
"Hahaha... Even if you kill everyone here, the Jin Family will not die!" Jin Feng shouted as he closed the portal to the Void.
"Hmph, the chances that your son will survive through the Primordial Chaos is non-existent. You killed him with your own hands."
"RELEASE!" The general shouted.
Multi-colored light carrying unimaginable might shot towards the remaining members of the Jin Family.
In this place of darkness called the Void. There was no light anywhere to be found, in fact, it seemed as though there was nothing at all. Spanned over the horizon was just infinite emptiness.
Immortals avoid this mysterious place as the pressure it exerted can crush a person in less than five seconds. However, immortals with top-tier cultivation such as the Emperor of the Immortal Divine Domain, can less for a few hours in this place.
Though, it should be said that immortals with comparable cultivation with the Emperor would never have a reason to come here. There existed no treasures in this forsaken domain. With no treasure, there would be no reason to risk their lives.
However, the possibility of any treasure was a knowledge that no one knew. After all, Who would be foolish enough to explore this infinite plane filled with peril?
Somewhere in this emptiness, a slit of light appeared. After a few seconds, a ball of golden light that contrasts completely to the darkness around shot out from the opening.
Jin Meng, surrounded in this golden light was flying at breakneck speed through the Void. The force exerted by his father had knocked him unconscious. Around him is a clear barrier, it was the cause of the radiance, his father had used this technique to temporarily protect him from the pressure exerted by the Void.
Hours later, the light flickers and dims periodically, as though its life was coming to an end. It was clear that the barrier would not hold much longer, once it broke the person inside would have to face the pressure of the Void.
[BOOM]
The sound of impact was heard. The barrier shattered.
However, in its place was a circle of light. Another portal.
A Long distance away from Jin Meng''s family, a circular spatial tear occurred.
Jin Meng flew out of it, still maintaining his initial momentum. However, the blinding radiance that surrounded him was gone.
Towards the unconscious Jin Meng was a huge rock, it was floating right in line with his trajectory. Due to his current state, there was nothing he could do to avoid it.
[BOOM]
The sound of impact was heard once again, but this time he did not escape unscathed. His momentum was too much that the impact created a hole that passed through the rock.
Jin Meng blasted through the rock, his body with cuts all over. But he was still unconscious, even though this kind of impact would instantly kill other average cultivators. With his high cultivation and tempered body, the wounds were only superficial.
Yet, his momentum did not end there, farther ahead was a sphere. A star.
[BOOM]
Another impact. But not a few hour later-
[BOOM]
This time, he crashed into a planet.
This scene kept repeating itself eight times. With each crash, his momentum decreased.
Presently his momentum was low enough that the next impact would stop his journey. Millions of miles ahead was an azure planet, with nothing else in his path, the unconscious Jin Meng shot towards it.
Chapter 2 - Eastern River Sect
At the courtyard of a Sect. Numerous disciples were gathering there, afraid of missing a great show.
"Senior Sister! You can''t do this!"
A boy went down on his knees, his hand clutched his chest as if he was in pain.
"Humph! I''ve already told you that unless you can get to the intermediate Spirit Realm, don''t bother talking to me."
Said a girl, her arms folded in annoyance.
"Bu-But, Senior Sister I merely began breathing 14 years ago, began cultivating 6 years ago, it is just not possible to get such a high goal!"
"Then, it is just not possible for me to be with you!"
"Senior Sister, just give me thre- No, two years! And I swear on my honor I will not disappoint you!"
"Enough, I gave you a chance, but since you did not take it, you can''t blame anyone but yourself."
After saying so, the girl walked away, leaving an empty shell of a man staring at her slender back, his eyes filled with longing.
Entering the woman''s inner disciple house, Xue Ri sighed.
From the time she first became a disciple of the Eastern River Sect, she had received more love declarations than could be counted on two hands.
Not unlike Luo Hongyi, the boy she rejected earlier, all other suitors met with the same fate.
Her close friends had always said to just reject them and not give them a shred of hope. But, try as she might she could not bring herself to stomp on other fellow disciple''s heart. Thus, she thought of a solution, presenting them with a goal.
Goals that only geniuses could realize. Thus, if they could not reach that goal, she would not feel as guilty for rejecting them as she had presented them with a chance.
With that said, it still made her guilty to have to put up this cold facade when she did her "rejection speech". As to scare off other disciples with a similar motive.
''I should not think about this too much, finding a cultivation partner is a lifelong decision that cannot be underestimated.'' Xue Ri assured herself.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
She continued walking down the hallway when-
''Ahhh! The Sect mission!''
Her eyes went wide as she thought of this. Due to her being in secluded cultivation for six days, she had forgotten about the weekly Sect mission. Failure to complete the weekly mission would lead to punishments.
The first offense leads to a reduction of cultivation resources for six months, the second lead to a trial by the Elders and the most severe verdict was expulsion.
To cultivators that devoted their lives to reaching a higher realm, reduction of resources was akin to caging them. As that would lead to slower improvements and ultimately being left behind by their peers.
The Sect had implemented this rule to prevent their disciples from procrastinating, after all, which Sect wanted to waste resources on a bud that never grows.
Not sparing another second, she turned and hurried to the Sect Hall.
At the entrance of the Eastern River Sect Hall, a girl with a slender frame, long black hair that reaches her waist and robes only Inner disciples could wear was seen panting as she enters.
Male disciples that noticed her began chattering.
"Brothers, do you see that beauty over there?" A disciple said while pointing in Xue Ri''s direction.
"Of course I see her! One of the top beauties of the Sect, I would be blind to not see her!" replied his friend.
"What do you think? How are my chances?" the disciple asked while looking at his band of friends, filled with anticipation.
His friends looked at one another.
"Puuiii! Hahaha! You sure know how to jest brother!" was the reply followed by group laughter.
Xue Ri, scanned her surroundings as she walked to the front of the hall. The hall was spacious enough to accommodate five thousand disciples, numerous little makeshift stalls opened by disciples were selling cultivation pills, manuals, and even student lectures can be seen. Hundreds of her fellow disciples were gathered, some chattering amongst their clique while others were browsing a board filled with pinned papers.
She continued surveying the board when she spots a counter nearby with a sign hanging overhead that read "Missions".
Sitting behind the counter was a man that looked to be in his forties, his face was stern as he talked to a disciple. His hair mainly black, with small streaks of gray. But the most conspicuous aspect about him was his aura.
When a mortal started cultivating, the first realm would be Qi Condensation, if he could surpass that realm he would be in the Spirit Realm. After the Spirit Realm is the fabled Sky Realm, that a minority of cultivator could ever reach, it was the Realm that allowed humans to soar like birds in the sky. The dreams of all greenhorn cultivators.
''At least Novice Sky Realm! As excepted of Elder Chou, he broke through! I have to work harder to break through to the Sky Realm as well.'' She convinced herself as she started walking towards Elder Chou''s counter.
Sect missions were compulsory for all members of the Sect, not even the elders were spared.
The Eastern River Sect had three class of disciples; Outer disciples, Inner disciples and Core disciples.
The Outer disciples were mostly new recruits that had not cultivated long. But it also contained a few lazy and problematic disciples. They were only expected to do one Sect mission a month.
Inner disciples were disciples that could differentiate themselves from the rest of the Outer disciples, whether it be consistently winning inter-tournaments or doing exemplary service for the Sect. They had to do at least one Sect mission every week.
Lastly, the Core disciples. They were the pride and future of the Sect, most of the Core disciples grow up to become the Sect''s elder. To become a Core disciple, they must differentiate themselves from the Inner disciples. Similar to the Inner disciples, they were expected to complete one Sect mission a week. However, the missions for Core disciples had a large increase in difficulty.
The Sect Missions were ranked from F to A. F being the easiest, ranging from missions such as clearing rubbish to cleaning toilets.
Rank A missions were usually reserved for the Elders, they mostly consisted of hunting Devil Cultivators or killing a high-tier demon beast.
Xue Ri approached the counter.
"Disciple Xue Ri greets Elder Chou." greeted Xue Ri with her palm and fist together in salute, her respect towards Elder Chou clearly displayed.
"Hm, what do you want?" questioned Elder Chou with an indifference glaze.
"Elder Chou, please allow me to choose a mission."
"Fine, since you are an Inner Disciple you may only choose missions ranked D or higher. Go pick one from the notice board then come back."
"This disciple understands, thank you, Elder."
After bowing towards Elder Chou, she made her way in front of the notice board.
Chapter 3 - Preparations
Looking at the notice board, Xue Ri saw three papers with the heading "Rank D".
''This first one requires me to hunt five Mountain Boars, ten contribution points. Although they were easy to kill, finding them would be troublesome.''
''Guide the new batch of disciples for one day, five contribution points... Hmm, I could do this, but one day is too long, I want to get back to training as soon as possible.'' Xue Ri furrowed her brows, dissatisfied with the choices.
''Ah! Head to the Eastern Forest to collect five wild blade grass, eight contribution points. The Eastern forest is merely two miles away and wild blade grasses should be in abundance on the outer hills. The only trouble would be encountering demon beasts on the path.''
''But with my cultivation level of Peak Qi Condesantion they would not differ from pesky flies, this shouldn''t take long. I''ll take this one!'' Xue Ri smiled as she decided.
She reached out to take the notice of the wind blade grass and proceeded back to the counter.
Elder Chou, who was dozing off at the counter stretched his back upright to exhibit an image of an imposing elder, as he saw the previous girl making her way back.
"Mm. You''re back, have you decided?" he asked when she reached the counter.
"Yes Elder, I will take this one," Xue Ri replied while handing Elder Chou the notice.
"Eastern Forest... Wild blade grass..." he murmured to himself while reading the notice.
Elder Chou prepared a brush to write the details on a book.
"Xue... Ri..." He murmured as he wrote her name, the wooden counter made from cedar creaked as he wrote.
"Done, you can set out any time." He said while storing the brush.
"Thank you, Elder Chou, this disciple will take her leave now."
Taking back the notice from Elder Chou, Xue Ri bowed and left the hall.
Walking upon the cobblestone path, Xue Ri was thinking to herself about the items she might need for the upcoming mission.
''Although the mission should be easy considering my cultivation realm, proper precautions never hurts. Who knows whether a fearsome demon beast that lives deep in the Eastern Forest might come out further to feed.''
Deciding that she ought to purchase certain items before setting out, she followed the path to the marketplace.
Compared to the makeshift stalls at the Sect Hall, which were primarily run by disciples, the official marketplace was many times larger and reputable. The only downside was that the price could never compare to the makeshift stalls.
The reason for the increase in price was because, to operate a stall inside the Sect''s official marketplace, a rental and protection fee had to be paid. Unlike the personal stalls that could be opened at the Sect Hall, the stalls in the marketplace were many times more professional.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Majority of those stalls were opened by wealthy merchants that hired experienced salesman that could rope in customers and swiftly complete transactions. Those salesmen had ample knowledge of the products they were selling, thus any questions would have gotten a satisfactory answer.
Makeshift stalls were predominantly used by disciples to sell their leftover pills, unwanted cultivation manuals, and used weapons. No one could vouch for the condition of those mentioned items, however, newer and poorer disciples still frequented those stalls.
After walking for five minutes, the marketplace came in sight.
Dozens of stalls lined the circumference of the circular stone path with a diameter that spanned eight hundred meters. At the center of the circle was a huge three stories building with an awe-inspiring sign with "Crescent Moon Treasury" written upon it.
The Crescent Moon Treasury, a part of the three giants as people called them. With the power that could trample a mid-tier nation and wealth that could entice even the noblest of souls, they were an entity that few dared to offend.
Other members of the three giants were Dawnstar Company and the Thousand Alp Union. Each of them had similar levels of wealth and influence and each was trying to overthrow the other.
"Beautiful young lady, why don''t you take a gander?" the salesperson of a clothing stall called out.
Since she had no desire for new clothes, Xue Ri returned with a smile and kept walking onwards.
''The first order of business should be a talisman! Whether to protect me or to escape a talisman will be essential. Hmm, I could use some restoration pills too, it seems that I am running low on those.''
Passing by stalls that did not have what she needed, she did some window shopping.
''Ah!''
In the corner of a food stall sat familiar faces.
"Rougang, Yuhan! This was where you guys were hiding!" Xue Ri yelled while stomping towards them.
The girl in question had her brownish hair in a ponytail, big hazel eyes that were staring at a bowl of steaming hot wanton noodle.
Beside her was a boy with a lean frame, similar to Ren Rougang, he was eyeing his plate of fried rice with desire.
Just as they were about to begin chowing down on their dishes, a shout came from behind them. Both were startled as they turned and saw a girl with fury in her eyes moving towards them.
"Oh no, here she comes." Huang Yuhan whispered to Ruogang.
"What should we say?"
"What do you mean "we"?" Rougang replied before casually taking her first bite of food.
"Huh?" Yuhan was taken aback by her reply.
After a sudden flash of enlightenment, he understood the meaning behind her words.
"Ren Rougang! Don''t you try to push all the blame on me!" he said, trying to keep his voice down.
"Ooh, enjoying your meals huh?" Xue Ri asked while she stood right behind them, her face with a "gentle" smile.
"Ahahaha! Sister Ri, what a coincidence!"
"What coincidence?! Why didn''t you guys meet me after I finished my secluded cultivation?!" Xue Ri yelled as she stood elbows out and both hands on her hips.
"Because you guys weren''t there, I had to deal with Luo Hongyi alone!"
"*Sighs*... Sister Ri, situations like that happen thrice a week to you. You can''t expect us to always be there. Look, we haven''t even eaten breakfast yet!" He pointed to the dish.
"Thrice every week?? Tell me under which rock did you pull that number out from!" she said while glaring at Yuhan.
"Hmpf. Whatever, finish your food before I get back, you two are coming to help me complete my sect mission."
"WHAT!" hearing what Xue Ri said, the previously silent Ruogang exclaimed.
"Xue Ri, I have something to do later!"
"What do you have that could more important than your dear friend?" Xue Ri said, turning her head towards Rougang and showed her "gentle smile" again.
"Ah... Fine... You''re so unreasonable!"
"Hehe, it''s good that you know." Xue Ri gave them a triumphant grin before turning and leave.
The two people with dejected sighs ate their food.
''Now the mission will definitely take no time at all!''
Feeling satisfied with herself, she headed towards a stall that sold talisman and restoration pills.
The stall was lined with six glass counters, under the glass displayed numerous talisman with a variety of colors and words written on top.
At the back of the store, the shopkeeper looking like he was in his thirties was tidying up some shelf when he spotted a girl walking in his stall.
Noticing her white robes that only inner disciples could don, he perked up and walked towards her.
"Welcome young lady, how may I help you?" he said a line that he had trained on for many years as a salesman. Reaching near-perfect mastery in his tone and gestures.
"Hello, do you still have any restoration pill and short-range sound talisman available?" inquired Xue Ri.
"Most definitely! The each of the talisman costs two spirit stone and the price for the pills is five for three spirit stones, how many of each would you like?"
Spirit stone was the main currency of cultivators, only obtainable from spirit stone mines, it contains pure spirit essence that helped tremendously with cultivation.
It was also one of the resources that disciples got every month from the Sect. Outer, Inner and Core disciples get a different amount of spirit stones each. Outer disciples got five, Inner disciples got twenty and Core disciples got thirty.
"Please take five pills and two talismans for me."
"Right away." the shopkeeper replied before walking to behind a counter to take out two talismans.
"Here they are, do check them."
Xue Ri walked up to the counter and saw a bottle of pills, and two talismans placed upon the glass.
Both of it had the characters of "Sound" calligraphed in the middle.
She picked up both talisman and sent some of her internal energy into them.
"They are working, here are the spirit stones. Thank you."
"Ah, it was my pleasure. Make sure to return should you need more!"
Storing away the pills and talismans, she prepared to meet up with Rougang and Yuhan.