In a realm far, far away from Xiantu Realm.
A realm with only a single planet, two suns, and nine moons. This planet was so enormous that it's diameter exceeded ten billion li. The planet was placed directly in the center of the realm, rotating elegantly within as if it was a sovereign of the whole realm! It seemed like, unlike normal realms, the two suns and nine moons rotated around the planet's axis rather than the other way around.
The realm was called the Sirius Titan Realm(*). On one of its nine moons was a grand heavenly palace that exceeded the total size of Presba. It was black in color but had a golden luminance that exuded heavenly might. Above this palace was a single character written in heavenly language! It only illustrated one word: "Gigantus."
Despite the name, not a single individual that roamed its halls were beyond seven feet in height. Yet, it was proudly displayed and seemed to radiate some profound bodily law. If Yan Zaizen had seen this character, he would have found its aura remarkably similar to the Herculean figure he saw before!
In the outer halls of this palace, two elderly women were following a young girl in a hurry. The halls, even in the outer areas, were so wide that cities could be placed within.
"Miss! Miss! Please, we need an answer." An elderly woman with grey hair but a good complexion said with a tinge of panic in her voice. On her grey outfit was a character written in basic language: "Yun."
The other elderly lady, however, had a worrying look in her eyes for the girl. She had a cyan outfit with the character 'Xiuhei' on it.
The young girl, who looked about thirteen or fourteen walked ahead with indifference in her eyes. She was pretty and from her developing body, one could tell she'll grow into having splendid assets worth being proud of. If Yan Zaizen saw this girl, he would be shocked!
Ma Xiuren!
It seemed she had aged seven or so years since their separation. For a cultivator, this wasn't so strange but for someone who was three thousand years old woman who had a little girl's body before, it brought a lot of questions.
"..." Ma Xiuren didn't answer. She continued walking the wide outer halls till she arrived at a mountain-sized metallic door. With a clenched fist, she threw an earth-shattering punch. It rumbled forward with immense power.
Boom!
An explosive impact resounded. It seemed her physical body and vital energy was far stronger than before! The metallic door burst wide open as if a mortal violently kicked in a normal door.
BANG!
The doors smashed heavily to the wall as they were sprung open violently. Ma Xiuren flew in without hesitation and the two elderly women followed along. As they followed, the grey-robed woman had a look of contempt and disdain in her eyes. As for the cyan-robed woman, she looked even more worried.
The inside of the room was filled with people taking care of various duties, but when the door smashed opened, they all looked towards Ma Xiuren with shock and suddenly, a look of clear contempt and ridicule appeared on every worker's face. As if they were united together in a planned course of action.
Ignoring all the scorn and disdain she received, Ma Xiuren rushed forwards until she reached a tall, wide podium. A lazy looking middle-aged man stood behind the podium. He took a single glance at Ma Xiuren and seemed to have turned ten times lazier.
Without saying a single thing, Ma Xiuren slapped a coin on the table. It had two sides depicting two characters, "Xiuhei" and "Heaven." After that, she simply left.
However, the two elderly women looked at the token with utter shock in their eyes, no longer following Ma Xiuren any longer. The lazy looking man glanced at the token and his eyes widened in disbelief. With a voice filled with awe, he shouted, "You've chosen?!" The moment those words were said, the hundreds of people looked over in shock and widened eyes.
"Who?!" He thundered, his eyes weren't filled with disbelief or laziness any longer. Instead, it was filled with dense laughter and mockery as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Fine! One thousand years! After, no objections!"
BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!
He slammed his hand on the podium three times. Each slam was louder than the last and it resounded for a hundred thousand li.
"Hmph! Foolish!" The grey-robed woman snorted in contempt, directly departing.
"Why…? Will it do any good?" The cyan-robed woman muttered, her voice filled with sudden weakness and exhaustion. "At least, it'll finally end." With that, she directly left.
-----
In chaotic space, suddenly, Yan Zaizen felt lightning circulate throughout his body. "What?" Shocked, he analyzed his condition to find no abnormalities, but his instincts had just told him...somewhere...somehow, trouble was created.
His eyes suffused with killing intent, immediately sending transmissions to Tao and Bai Lufeng. After learning that they hadn't done anything, he felt odd. "Then...what was that?"
-----
In Presba, Basilisk Forest.
"Wait! Please!" A well-built middle-aged man shouted in fearful hysteria. He had an arm recently severed, a fresh sword scar ran from the top of his forehead down to his lip. If it was just an inch deeper, one could see that his life would've been reaped.
Wearing a blood-colored martial outfit with a black belt and shoes, a man in a crimson oni-mask stood before him. In his hand was a pure-black sword that seemed to contain an ocean of black liquid that gave off a heavy scent of blood.
If Yan Zaizen was here, he could recognize the muscular man. The Earthly Titan Sectmaster! Currently, he seemed to be horrendously pale, suffering from massive blood loss. His cultivation seemed to have been ignited for power and was in a complete wreck. Even if he went all out, even an initial-Qi Unification Cultivator could kill him, let alone the blood-colored figure.
With a cultivation at the half-step Origin Core, he was more than enough to end the sectmaster. And he did.
SWISH!
A swipe of his blade, without a single word, caused the sectmaster's head to soar through the skies. His body went limp, but shockingly, not a single ounce of blood erupted from his corpse. As if all blood was already moved beforehand.
After taking action, the young man looked towards the sky and a weight as heavy as the earth itself seemed to have been lifted from his shoulder. A hoarse but powerful voice resounded, "Now, I must do better!" His voice was as dense as steel.
He took a step and vanished from the area. The corpse of the sectmaster would later be a snack for a lucky little serpent. Little did the man know, this snake would one day shake the entirety of the Fallen Stars Continent!(**)
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(*) Prologue. Our first mention?!
(**) I wonder how many people got this? Only true fans will. Mhm. True. Fans.