Whirlwind Town – a village situated on the outskirts of the Heavenly Martial Empire – enjoyed mild weather year-round.
Nearby was the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, where demonic beasts from level 1 to level 7 resided, from the forest's edge to its center.
Legends also spoke of the ninth-level spirit beast overlord, the Burning Heaven Dragon Ancestor, imprisoned within it.
Therefore, few people here dared to trespass, except for adventurers specializing in hunting demonic beasts.
Demonic beast carcasses were highly valuable; their meat was used as food, their bones for weapons, and especially their inner cores, which could enhance the refining of elixirs.
At the edge of the forest, a figure, covered in blood, with disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, was desperately running at full speed to escape a group of people behind him.
A closer look would reveal this was a middle-aged man, around 34-35 years old.
In his left arm, he carried a child, about 5-6 years old, who was trying to bury their head in his chest and cry.
His other hand held a sword, occasionally turning back to parry incoming throwing darts.
"City Lord Zhuo Feng, do you really think that with your Foundation Establishment third-level cultivation, you can escape our grasp? Just obediently surrender and die. I can grant you a painless death." A black-clad figure pursuing him sneered.
As he spoke, he launched a hidden weapon after them.
"Don't even dream of it! Even if I die, I will die a glorious death! How can I show cowardice or weakness in front of my child?" As he replied, Zhuo Feng swept his sword in an arc behind him, deflecting the hidden weapon. His steps did not falter; he continued to run straight ahead.
"You can't escape! Ahead is the Hopeless Abyss; where else can you run? Just obediently die and hand over the City Lord's Seal!" Seeing Zhuo Feng stop before the abyss, with no escape route left, the black-clad figure and his companions gradually advanced, spreading out to block Zhuo Feng's escape routes.
"Second Brother! I, Zhuo Feng, a man of wisdom my entire life, never expected to fall into your trap like this. Haha! Go tell Zhuo Yu that if he can betray his own senior martial brother just for a City Lord's position, he shouldn't dream of ever gaining our respect!" Throwing his head back and laughing loudly, Zhuo Feng gently hugged the child in his arms tightly, his hand quickly slipping the child's Spirit Ring sachet onto them. Then, without looking back, he exuded an aura that made the black-clad figures hesitate for a moment; after all, a cornered beast would fight back fiercely; who knew what Zhuo Feng would do? He gently kissed the child's forehead.
"Fan'er, your father has failed you. I couldn't protect your mother. And now I've brought you into this dangerous situation. Don't blame your father." Looking at the child in his arms, whose face was streaked with tears, Zhuo Feng couldn't help but shed tears himself.
As if sensing the despair in his father's eyes, Zhuo Yifan gently raised his head, speaking with determination: "Father, Fan'er doesn't blame you. If anyone is to blame, it's Second Uncle, for being so malicious, using me to offer you filial tea laced with poison, damaging your vital energy. If we must die, then father and son will die together."
"Haha. Very good. My efforts to teach you propriety and to read the books of sages have not been in vain. But I cannot bear to let you die like this. You must try to survive, Fan'er." With eyes clouded with tears, Zhuo Feng took off his long robe and wrapped it around Zhuo Yifan. Before the child could even understand what was happening, he threw the child down the abyss. Then, with bloodshot eyes, he turned back to face the hesitating black-clad figures.
Zhuo Feng raised his dark aura to its absolute limit and charged straight at the black-clad figures. "Oh no, he's going to self-detonate, get away quickly!" The black-clad figures' expressions changed drastically. They immediately channeled their energy to swiftly retreat from the explosion. Two unlucky ones who were too slow were suffocated by the aftershocks.
Before Zhuo Feng self-detonated, he smiled a sorrowful smile. "My son, your father's cloak is a second-grade demonic treasure that can reduce injuries. Try to survive and avenge your father and mother." "Father...!" Amidst the desperate cry, the image Zhuo Yifan saw was his father's body exploding and perishing. His tears mixed with blood in his eyes, sending shivers down one's spine. He fell into the Vowang Abyss, and from then on, people forgot the existence of Zhuo Feng's family.
The place where Zhuo Yifan fell was next to a mountain cave. If someone with high cultivation were there, they would discover a sealing formation. While his flesh and blood were indistinct, he saw a red speck fly from somewhere, which then coalesced into the image of an old man. The old man came to Zhuo Yifan, gently examined his injuries, and then carried him into the mountain cave. Inside, there was a set of skeletal remains showing signs of weathering, clearly belonging to someone who had died many years ago. Afterwards, the old man formed an inscrutable hand seal. A red light entered Zhuo Yifan's body, and then a faint red flame appeared on his forehead. The old man's luminous figure then blurred and vanished. Not long after, several demonic beasts, seemingly sent by someone, brought fruits and continued to do so every day.
Three years later, in a mountain cave deep within the Vowang Abyss, a young figure sat in meditation right at the cave entrance, facing the dawn. His youthful face was covered in a layer of dust. His black hair was disheveled and messy, haphazardly tied up, looking no different from a pile of straw. His child-like body was surprisingly robust and bare-chested. Below his waist, he wore a tattered cloth that looked like a rag. If one looked closely, they might recognize this as Zhuo Yifan, who had fallen into this abyss three years prior.
His eyes slowly opened, and a faint silver light emanated, briefly illuminating the entire mountain cave. Gently exhaling, Zhuo Yifan sat up, stretched his body, and then extended his arms, taking a deep breath. "It's been three years, Zhuo Yu. You probably never imagined I'd still be alive. Just wait for the day I come to personally claim your life and avenge my parents." A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. For these three years, not a day went by that he didn't think of the day his family met their demise, and how his father had to self-detonate to create a slim chance for him to survive.
"After three years of body tempering and cultivating my spiritual power with the White Light Divine Eye, perhaps it's time to start learning cultivation techniques. Maybe I can advance from the first stage of Qi Condensation to the second." As he thought this, he held a faded parchment book in his hand. He walked to the grave where the skeletal remains were buried that year, knelt down, kowtowed, and said: "Blood Spirit Demon Emperor, I, Zhuo Yifan, having fallen into despair, encountered your remains and precious tome, which I consider a great fortune. In recent years, I have diligently followed the teachings of the tome, and finally, I am qualified to begin cultivating the Star Devouring Great Transformation Art that you left behind. At this moment, I respectfully acknowledge you as my master, so that your supreme art may not be lost to time."
Three years ago, after an unknown period, Zhuo Yifan woke up feeling that his injuries had somewhat lessened and he could move. He sat up and ravenously devoured some fruits that had been placed in front of the cave entrance to quell his hunger. After eating, he looked around the mountain cave and noticed the decaying skeleton. Beside the skeleton was a parchment scroll.
This is a spiritual power cultivation manual, inscribed on the outside with "Bach Quang Than Dong." Normally, modern cultivation techniques are stored in jade slips, but this parchment scroll looks quite ancient.
The so-called Bach Quang Than Dong involves absorbing the essence of sunlight every early morning, training the pupils until they become transparent, which can enhance one's vision.
When one reaches the realm where spiritual power transforms into a primordial spirit, they can unleash a white divine light to attack the enemy's primordial spirit.