Above the mortal realm was the heaven, where spiritual energy infused, everything thrived, rare animals roared in mountains, and exotic herbs as well as flowers flourished.
With abundant treasure materials, the place was known as the paradise for cultivators. If a person cultivated for one day here, his achievement equaled one-year cultivation in the mortal realm. Obeying the law of jungle, it was also a hell for cultivators at the same time, and as cruel as a beast world crammed with slaughters and traps.
At the eastern endpoint of the heaven, lay a severed cliff separating the heaven and the earth into two halves. One half was a wonderland with vigorous creatures and picturesque scenery. The other was a dungeon for ghosts with rolling clouds, lightning and thunder.
A story that between the mortal realm and the heaven was the border cliff and one could reach the mortal realm once he jumped from the cliff, went popular among cultivators. But the story never proved to be true, because no one returned once they leapt there.
Now, a teenager sat on the cliff in lotus position. Bounded by some anonymous forces, the spiritual energy around him rushed into his body through the top of his skull. After some time, rays of lights glowed; a purple lotus blossomed at the top of his head and enwrapped him in divine purple light. Above the cliff permeated a light fragrance. People would feel refreshed when smelling the scent.
With a grim look on his face, the handsome boy seemed to be at a critical moment. The floating purple lotus also began to shake violently.
"Break!" The purple lotus separated into two as the teenager screamed.
Two lotus flowers flew up and down just like two naughty children, forming a mystic scene. The boy's expression was not that gloomy, and a warm and charming smile showed at the corner of his mouth.
Two lotus flowers merged into one and returned to the boy's body gradually as he waved his hands slowly before his chest. Afterwards, the purple light faded. The boy opened his eyes, and his starry eyes shone brightly.
"I have made breakthrough finally!" Facing the rolling clouds, the proud boy stood up and exhaled with relief.
Qin Dong had studied The Classic of Nine Lotuses that instructed unique skills of Daoism since he was six years old. Until now, he had been cultivating for twenty years and ultimately reached the second stage described in the Classic: twain lotus flowers on one stalk.
If others had known his current condition, they would have been astonished. The Classic of Nine Lotuses was one of the top three profound classics instructing unique skills in the heaven. It took at least a hundred years for the talented to understand the first stage lectured in the book, let alone spending a dozen of years to reach the second stage. Qin Dong was credited as the No.1 genius in the heaven, thanks to the guidance of his father, Qin Tailong.
Having made the breakthrough of the second stage, Qin Dong felt so refreshed and excited that he screamed, and his vociferousness stirred several cloud waves.
Swoosh! A golden flash threw itself towards Qin Dong from the west in a second.
Raising his sword eyebrows, Qin Dong seized the golden flash in hand, which was a little delicate golden sword with a length of around three cun. "Is it father's golden messenger sword? "
Qin tossed the sword, and it rose and floated in golden light. He heard his father's hoarse and deep voice, "Qin Dong, I have been murdered when you receive the sword. The killer is Lord Wanpeng--Fu Yanshan! Bear that in mind! Do not go for your mother, your mother…You just listen to me! I have hidden our treasure magic chaos ring on the border cliff, and the golden messenger sword will help you find it. Afterwards, you just jump off the cliff and go to the mortal realm. Never return before you open the triple seals of the ring, gain massive energy and reach the highest stage described in The Classic of Nine Lotuses--nine lotus flowers gathering at the top! You are my only hope, kill Lord Wanpeng and revenge for me!"
Everything happened abruptly. Three days ago, Qin Dong and his father had chatted happily and discussed the law of heaven. Now his father was killed by Lord Wanpeng. What happened to his mother, whom his father missed a lot and kept seeking? Why did his father conceal something? Was it difficult for his father to reveal everything? Or did he have some secrets? Qin Dong had a lot of puzzles in mind.
But he had no time to contemplate or indulge in sorrow. Harsh sounds were heard from the messenger sword. It changed its form into a flicker of golden light and knocked on a huge rock not far from Qin Dong. As the rock smashed, an ancient ring and a crystal clear jade card flew into Qin Dongs hand with the messenger sword.
Qin Dong was familiar with the two treasures. The magic chaos ring was cherished by his family, especially by Qin Tailong. He had studied it every day and hoped to unchain the triple seals cast by primitive gods on the ring and release its energy that could make people saint. The jade card named Qian Kun Sheng, had been carried by Qin Tailong all the time. With a capacity to store mountains and seas, the jade card encompassed different valuable materials collected by Qin Tailong when he had traveled between the heaven and the earth.
Holding two treasures in hand, Qin Dong had no time to scrutinize the treasures, but saw three flashes of green light across the skyline in an instant.
"Little bastard is here."As three flashes of green light reached ground, three people in dark green robes with bamboo hats on their back and magic tools like talon claw on their waist appeared. Qin Dong recognized that they were Lord Wanpeng's subordinates. Seeing Qin Dong, three people showed disgusting and greedy look in their eyes.
Their arrival reminded Qin Dong of his father's death. A trace of anger flashed in his eyes, but vanished soon. The three were master-hands in the fifth stage, not commoners. He just made the breakthrough of the second stage, and reluctantly reached the fifth stage. Qin Dong had confidence to win any of them if he beat them one by one. But if the three fought against him together, he had no chance to win.
In the heaven, the cultivation base could be ranked from one, the lowest level, to thirteen, the highest level. Lord Wanpeng and Qin Tailong were masters at rank ten. The superior at rank eleven rarely showed themselves, but pursued the laws of heaven. It was said that the top master in the heaven. Heaven Emperor with unimaginable cultivation base had reached stage twelve, almost close to god. Stage thirteen was a legend, and no one could reach.
"Go back and inform Lord Wanpeng: the day I return is the day he dies." Glaring at the three, Qin Dong stressed each syllable.
"Huh, huh… ha… ha… ha…Little bastard, you are so stubborn and reluctant to admit your defeat even before death! Watch my claw!" One showed his talon-claw magic tool and plunged it towards Qin Dong's head with roars of laughter.
Smiling coldly, Qin Dong cast a glance at the guy, turned away courageously, rose in the air, and jumped off the border cliff into the rolling cloud sea like ghost dungeon.
"Is the little bastard crazy?" Seeing Qin Dong jump, the three subordinates were astounded with mouth wide open.
"The little bastard is brave. He did jump!" One of the subordinates nodded admiringly for Qin Dongs bravery.
"He is smart. If he were caught by Lord Wanpeng, his destiny would be worse than leaping from the cliff! Lets go, and report on completion of the task. "With words finished, the three turned into green light at the same time and disappeared at the skyline.