My name is Li Ran. At the age of five, I was brought back to the Yunjin Sect by my great-great-grandfather, Daoist Yuhong, to be taken in as a personal disciple. My master was extremely protective, and his constant, meticulous care often left me feeling quite helpless.
Consequently, whenever I went out for tempering, I never used my identity as a disciple of the Yunjin Sect. This allowed me to make many friends among rogue cultivators. Spending time with them taught me many things I could never have learned within the sect. Through extensive experience in life-and-death combat, my cultivation also grew significantly.
On one occasion, a rogue cultivator friend and I went to East Cloud Mountain for tempering. We entered an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling and discovered a journal and a map. Due to our shallow experience, we accidentally triggered a restriction when opening them. Realizing something was wrong, we immediately fled East Cloud Mountain. Unfortunately, we were intercepted just as we reached the foot of the mountain. To our horror, our pursuers consisted of two Core Formation middle-stage cultivators and five at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Such a lineup struck terror into our hearts.
They didn't bother asking for an explanation; they attacked with lethal intent the moment we met. My friend was quickly killed, and I was forced to decisively use the Blood Escape Technique to flee for my life.
I hid in the secular world tens of thousands of miles away for two months. My cultivation dropped to the eighth level of Qi Condensation. I tried to contact my sect using a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman, but to no avail. I then tried to use my essence blood to contact my Lifebound Lamp, but that failed as well. It was then that I realized the Mangyun Mountain cultivation world had been completely sealed off. Knowing that people of their strength would soon track me down, I had no choice but to continue my flight toward the secular lands of the south.
Days of long-distance flight and the continuous use of secret arts had severely depleted my essence blood and spiritual energy. By the time I reached a small village, I collapsed and lost consciousness. I was saved by a girl from the village.
Afterward, I carefully studied the map and journal left behind in the cave dwelling. I discovered that it might be the legendary Star Map, which contained the fabled Hongmeng Star Domain. Knowing the gravity of the matter, I knew I had to find a way to send it back to the sect, and especially to uncover the identities of those attackers.
Later, I discovered that the girl who saved me, Xia Xiaoqing, possessed five-element roots. She was delicate and lovely, an orphan with a pitiful background. Since she had saved my life, I was determined to find a way to help her. Seeing her shy and affectionate manner toward me, a thought suddenly occurred: Why not marry her and have children here? I could look after her for a lifetime while slowly waiting for an opportunity to return to the sect.
After our marriage, life was very happy. My wife was gentle and virtuous, and she soon became pregnant. Meanwhile, I learned from the journal that the ancient cultivator had been searching for a teleportation array. One such suspected ancient teleportation array was located within the Tianyuan Secret Realm. This shocked me, as the Tianyuan Secret Realm on the outskirts of Mangyun Mountain was about to open. Furthermore, I felt more and more that those mysterious people were closing in on me. With the power to seal all of Mangyun Mountain, finding a single person would surely not be difficult for them.
I began to prepare. Every day, I infused a strand of spiritual energy into the child in my wife's womb and taught her a simple heart manual to help strengthen her body. By the fifth month of her pregnancy, I could already sense that our child possessed spiritual roots. At that point, I formed a plan: I would have my child return to Mangyun Mountain as a blood descendant of a core sect disciple. They would find the Yunjin Sect and bring my token back; that way, my master would learn the secret of the Star Map.
As for me, I would head to the Tianyuan Secret Realm. Firstly, I could lure those people away to prevent them from discovering my family's existence. Secondly, I could search for that suspected ancient teleportation array to strive for a slim chance of survival.
Looking at my wife’s tear-streaked face, my heart ached incessantly. But for the safety of her and the child, I had to harden my heart and leave decisively, hoping only that we might meet again one day.
As expected, when I exhausted every means to sneak into the Tianyuan Secret Realm, that group of people tracked me down. I fled to the Black Gorge within the secret realm. Using the methods left in the ancient cultivator's journal, I entered a formation and hurled talismans violently toward the formation eye. I felt a surge of ruthlessness in my heart; I would rather use a secret art to scatter my own soul than let those people capture me as they wished.
The entire valley shook under the assault of the talismans, and a massive suction force pulled at me. Amidst my shock, I was sucked inside. Waves of piercing pain racked my body. My Lifebound Dharma Treasure only had enough time to protect my Primordial Spirit before my physical body was ground into nothingness. At the same time, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was already in a lifeless space. My Primordial Spirit drifted for a long time under the protection of my Lifebound Dharma Treasure, but I could never find anything living. Because I lacked a specialized magical tool to house a Primordial Spirit, my soul grew weaker and weaker. If this continued, my soul would eventually dissipate.
Then one day, a surge of energy suddenly pulsed from the depths of my soul. This should be a fluctuation coming from my Lifebound Soul Lamp; my master must have used a secret technique. I thought of the Soul Imprint secret art, which was mostly used between husbands and wives. Could it be that my wife and child really found the sect? It must be them. I was overcome with excitement. I had to survive; I had to see them again.
At that moment, the sound of thunder echoed through the sky. Was someone undergoing a tribulation? I hurried to use my Lifebound Dharma Treasure to shield my Primordial Spirit. Fortunately, energy was flowing from my Lifebound Soul Lamp; otherwise, I would have surely been obliterated by the aftershocks of the lightning tribulation.
Suddenly, a powerful wave of divine sense swept over. My dharma treasure was completely unable to resist such formidable power. I felt my surroundings go dark, and I instantly lost all perception once more.
