This was a peaceful village, nurtured by a winding stream that looked like a galaxy. People rose with the sun to work and rested as it set; though life was a bit hard, the hearts of the simple villagers were content.
However, on this day, the peace and tranquility were shattered by an “immortal” flying in from the sky.
The village chief stepped out from the crowd with a solemn expression, thinking to himself that there was still over half a year until the once-every-five-years recruitment; why had they come so early this time?
But immortals were beings beyond their reach, so how could he speculate on their thoughts? The chief suppressed his doubts and prepared to receive the guest as in previous years. If any youngster could be chosen by the immortal, it would be a great stroke of luck to stand out from the rest.
However, the village chief did not know that the “immortal” he and all the villagers admired was covered in invisible black aura, and those crimson eyes were staring at them greedily, like a wolf or leopard that had spotted meat.
Only in the terrified eyes of a boy about ten years old, standing at the back of the crowd, was the demon-like figure of the “immortal” reflected.
But what could a child do? Even if he reported it to the adults, the villagers, blinded by the “immortal,” would not believe the words of a child.
The boy could only retreat, turning to run toward home. Fear made him instinctively seek the warm embrace of his father or mother, but the moment he turned around, he witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A sudden, bloody maw bit off half the body of the village chief, who was closest to the “immortal,” and bright red blood spurted out…
Black mist shrouded the sky, mingling with the terrified screams of the villagers.
The wild laughter was harsh and piercing; the crowd fled in all directions, but the entity didn’t care, treating it like a game of cat and mouse.
The pleas, the screams, the wild laughter it felt as if they were being infinitely stretched.
Hot liquid splashed onto his face; the boy reached out dazed it was red…
“Listen! Li’er, hide here and don’t come out, do you understand?”
Before him was his father’s incredibly stern face, brooking no refusal as he stuffed him into a wooden barrel.
The boy opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He could only watch through the gaps of the wooden barrel as his father charged toward that devilish figure, and was then torn in half.
The crimson color spilling in the air stung his eyes.
…
When a true immortal passed over this once peaceful and serene, now resembling a Shura field even he could not help but feel regret.
The middle-aged man, possessing the air of a transcendent being, patted the small head reaching up to his waist behind him, and then descended onto the open ground of the village.
“It seems we arrived late.”
Cultivator Wuyan looked around. The entire village was dead silent. Aside from the bright red blood splashed across the earth and houses, proving a tragedy had occurred, there were no remains on the scene; they had likely all been eaten by the demon.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Wuyan turned his head, looking in a certain direction with a slight, uncertain frown, and then the hem of his garment was tugged.
“Father.”
A fair, tender little hand pointed in the direction Wuyan had just looked.
Wuyan smiled. “Good, Father knows.”
Saying this, he walked in that direction, passing two houses and arriving at a cowshed. It was empty save for messy hoofprints and a broken wooden railing, suggesting the cows inside might have escaped.
Wuyan frowned, but before he could look closer, the small figure beside him ran out first. With an accurate target, the child headed straight for a row of wooden barrels outside the cowshed.
Then, the child stopped in front of the third one from the end and lifted his hand to suddenly open the lid.
For the boy hidden in the barrel, this was a scene he would never forget. After witnessing the death of his closest kin, in a numb and hopeless world, it was as if a beam of light had shone in…
Yan Lin also looked at the boy in the barrel who seemed to have lost his luster, and a brilliant smile slowly blossomed on his exquisite, beautiful face.
“Father, I found him!”
First meeting, this world’s… protagonist.
Wuyan uttered a “yi” of surprise and looked seriously at the child, a flash of thoughtfulness crossing his eyes… To be able to hide from the demon, and nearly hide from his own Divine Sense at the Transformation Stage, yet resonate with Lin’er there is only the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone…
A dark light flickered in the depths of his eyes. Wuyan said to the boy who had tumbled out of the barrel: “You are the sole survivor of this village; come with me.”
The boy, however, fell to his knees with a thud and kowtowed several times, his voice choked and hoarse.
“Immortal, I know you are a true immortal. Can you, can you—”
Wuyan shook his head and sighed with regret.
“The dead cannot be brought back to life. I hope you find peace.”
At this moment, a childish, sweet voice chimed in:
“If you want revenge, go do it yourself. Even if you can’t do it now, won’t it be possible once you’ve succeeded in your cultivation? Even though I understand this logic; surely you must know it too?”
The boy turned his head, and that elf-like, serene, and beautiful face entered his sight once more. Even though the child was young, one could already see an appearance that would overturn kingdoms in the future.
Where would one normally see such a beautiful person in a mortal village? The boy’s heart inevitably throbbed again for an instant, and he immediately lowered his head.
“Yes, I know… Thank you, Immortal Sister…”
Yan Lin: “…” I have a handle! Is this protagonist blind?!
However, the boy had already turned back toward Wuyan and kowtowed three more times.
“Please allow the Immortal to let me bury my fellow villagers.”
Although he said “bury,” there was not a single corpse at the scene, not even a severed limb; only a ground full of terrifying blood spoke of it all.
The boy understood, having seen with his own eyes how that devil tore apart, chewed, and swallowed his parents and his kin into its stomach, while he could only watch, helpless, his eyes nearly bursting.
In a single night, he was forced to grow up.
Small mounds of earth were raised one by one on the open ground of the village. The boy knelt before them, his red, swollen, and bleeding forehead lowered deep. On that youthful face obscured by shadows, not a trace of the liveliness and activity suited for his age could be seen only silence and deathly stillness.
At this moment, he swore in his heart that he would make that devil pay every price.
…
The deathly silent village gradually shrank behind him; the lush green earth moved away; birds accompanied them at their sides; mountains and rivers were all beneath their feet.
With such divine means, even the boy, whose heart was filled with grief, could not help but feel a bit more cheered at this moment.
The boy’s name was Yan Li. After some hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask Wuyan what kind of thing that devil was that had harmed and devoured his kin.
“That was an Evil Demon, from the Abyss.”
The one who responded was a crisp, sweet voice. Turning his head, the extremely beautiful “Immortal Sister” was swaying her head while educating him.
“…tens of thousands of years ago, it was sealed by ten of the strongest Tribulation Transcendence True Cultivators of that era. Now the seal has loosened, allowing the demons inside to escape.”
“Also, I am a boy!”
Yan Li, who was listening with a dazed expression, suddenly widened his eyes, his face written with disbelief. Yan Lin’s fists almost hardened at the sight.
Wuyan chuckled, very pleased to see the two of them getting along harmoniously. His gaze then shifted to the boy, flickering slightly. It was confirmed that this child indeed possessed the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone… Han Ji, our Lin’er will not repeat your path.
Did Wuyan take the protagonist away out of a moment of kindness, or was there an ulterior motive?
Perhaps, it was both.
Yan Lin, who was familiar with the plot, naturally knew that the latter possibility outweighed everything. Even though Wuyan was an orthodox cultivator, he could do anything impossible for “Yan Lin.”
Including harming the protagonist, gouging out the protagonist’s Supreme Profound Spirit Bone, and using it to extend “Yan Lin’s” life.
“Yan Lin” was born missing one soul and one po-soul; he was a “rootless one” who would not live past twenty-two. Only the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone could complete the missing soul and po-soul. His mother was also a rootless person; she met Wuyan at the end of her life and passed away after giving birth to “Yan Lin.”
At that moment, Wuyan swore an oath on his Heart Demon that he would absolutely find the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone and never let Lin’er repeat the same fate.
But the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone was exceedingly rare, not appearing for hundreds or thousands of years. Moreover, those who possessed it were all peerless geniuses of cultivation. Even if one appeared, they would probably be hidden immediately by other major sects as the saying goes, “the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind,” a logic everyone understands.
And now, unexpectedly encountering Yan Li and confirming that this child possessed the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone, how could Wuyan not be excited? The Supreme Profound Spirit Bone he had searched for twelve years since Lin’er’s birth without any success!
The protagonist, currently only ten years old, thought Wuyan was a true immortal who had rescued him from the sea of bitterness after losing his kin and he was indeed a true immortal yet he would once again drag him into the abyss.
Perhaps Wuyan could be said to be driven by fatherly love, but the role “Yan Lin” played in this was called the “Villain.”
He was a stumbling block on the protagonist’s path of growth, an existence the protagonist wished to eliminate, someone who pushed the protagonist to grow quickly and would eventually be successfully destroyed by the protagonist.
And now, Yan Lin has become “Yan Lin.” He would continue the work of the villain as a condition for returning home. Once the late-stage plot arrived and he was killed by the protagonist, he could retire with honors.
This was the deal for resurrection that Yan Lin made with an existence called the “Villain System” after dying in a car accident in another world.
He could be resurrected and live a carefree dozen or so years in this world. How could Yan Lin possibly pass up such a wonderful thing?
Thus, it was a match made in heaven. In the blink of an eye, Yan Lin arrived in this magical world of cultivation.
Absorbing the original host’s twelve years of memories was not difficult; besides, how much could a child remember? Yan Lin adapted well. Turning around, the clear mirror reflected his small figure in this life.
An appearance seventy percent similar to his own childhood; perhaps due to growing up on spiritual springs and mountain dew, he was full of spiritual energy, very beautiful and serene, with a sort of androgynous feel.
But that was no excuse for the protagonist to get his gender wrong!