The drone of cicadas echoed through the quiet forest, and the cry of birds pierced through mountains even more distant.
Primordial Continent,1 on a nameless mountain in the most remote northern part of the Great Primordial Western Province,2 there was a dense sea of trees, mysterious and secluded. On this day, a chariot broke the eternal stillness of the nameless mountain. The chariot tyrannically entered the forest.3 The trees that reached into the sky were pulverized underneath the chariot, which was pulled by two enormous horses. Their entire bodies seemed to be made of bronze, appearing real yet fantastical, powerful and vigorous.
Bronze Demon Horses!
Wild and rare Fierce Beasts.
The charioteer was a tall and sturdy man, with bulging muscles that were full of explosive power, yet sitting next to the man was an elegant young man, whose hand gripped a treasure fan. The chariot stopped at a hill. At the top of the hill was a a large slab of limestone.
“Young Master, we have arrived at the Heaven-devouring Stone.”4 The burly man said.
The youth raised his head and squinted. He looked at that seemingly unremarkable rock. “There seems be nothing special about it.”
The man said: “Young Master Shang Ci,5 this Heaven-devouring Stone is already a thousand years old. It consumes both Primordial True Qi and the Essence Qi of the sun and moon You must not underestimate it.”
The young man nodded. The Heaven-devouring Stone was an old, widely circulated, terrifying legend in the “Shang Tribe.”6 It was said to be capable of consuming the life force of everything around it. Even if one cultivated to the True Immortal level of True Qi Ninth Deva,7 sticking around for too long near the Heaven-devouring Stone risked destruction of the soul. As a result, in the ten li around this Heaven-devouring Stone, there was a quiet, deathly air and extremely low cultivator activity.
“Very good. Shang Kui,8 throw that piece of trash to the Heaven-devouring Stone.” The young man sneered.
The tall man jumped off the chariot and snatched up another young man from the back. That youth was handsome, though his expression was pale, and blood trickled down his forehead. He was already without either breath or heartbeat; clearly, he had been dead for some time.
“This trash dared to compete against This Young Master for his woman and seat. He truly brought about his own doom. The other tribes feed corpses to the vultures, but today, This Young Master will feed you to the stone.” The young man arrogantly fanned himself with the treasure in his hand, the “Crow Feather Fan.”
Shang Kui hefted the dead youth’s body onto his shoulder and strode up the hill.
The sturdy man’s strides were long and strong, one pace covering several zhang, yet he was still cautious as he walked towards the Heaven-devouring Stone. When he was a dozen meters away, he did not dare to advance further. He lifted the young man’s corpse and tossed it.
The young man’s body slammed into the Heaven-devouring Stone. Even more blood flowed from his head, but there was no reaction.
The Heaven-devouring Stone emitted a red light that began to absorb the young man’s essence-blood, honestly like the legendary Ancestral Demon that ate people.
The sturdy man and the young man shivered. They were unwilling to stay any longer, and the sturdy man urged the “Bronze Demon Horse War Chariot” to immediately leave this place.
Not long after, crimson qi appeared in the sky, descending towards the stone like a bolt of silk.
A wail that came from the Mysterious World lingered above the young man’s corpse, echoing for a while.
…
“Big Brother, are you awake?”
A slow, drawn-out voice echoed in his ears. Qi Lin9 slowly opened his eyes. A Dark Yellow fog seemed to linger in front of his eyes. Slowly, his vision began to clear. The fog dispersed, and a sixteen to seventeen year old girl appeared in front of him.
She wore a beast-patterned short skirt and armor. Her skin was wheat-colored, and her neck was long and slender.
The girl’s eyes were golden, radiating light, filled with innocence. Qi Lin had never seen anyone with eyes so resplendent. Under the light, her two little fangs were very cute.
Wait…
Young girl??
Qi Lin suddenly came to his senses. Stupefied, he looked at the young girl in front of him.
Layered brown hair that reached her hips, golden eyes, thin lips, and a small nose all constituted absolutely beautiful features, but the girl appeared considerably simple and pure. Her large, blinking eyes were like a fawn’s.
Wrong, Qi Lin remembered that he and his Senior Sister had found the ruins of the Xuannü of the Nine Heavens. They were questioning the veracity of the Xuannü, and they followed the trail to find a mysterious tomb of Xue Rengui. In the tomb, Qi Lin and his Senior Sister saw the legendary Heaven-shaking Bow, Cloud-piercing Arrow, Water And Fire Cannon, and more.
Right, there was also a blank Heavenly Book.
This discovery filled Qi Lin and his Senior Sister with joy because they could quite possibly confirm that the Xuannü of the Nine Heavens of Chinese history was a real existence, not a figure of myth. Prior to this, because Qi Lin had investigated the remains of the qilin that Emperor Wu of Han had hunted, as well as the Illuminated Nine Yin and Chiyou Banner, and significant controversy and repercussions arose in the field of Chinese archaeology.
If the Xuannü of the Nine Heavens was a real existence, then Qi Lin’s “Huaxia Ancient Diagram”10 project could honestly be realized.
However, when Qi Lin impatiently opened the blank Heavenly Book, the deathly quiet Heavenly Book suddenly glowed with dark light. Then, a vortex seemed to suck the two of them in. His own memories stopped here.
“Big Brother?” The girl blinked, staring at the blank Qi Lin with an expression of bewilderment.
Qi Lin came to his senses. For the sake of research on the “Huaxia Ancient Diagram,” he had, for better or for worse, gone through life and death, braving many a danger. Very quickly, he calmed down and analyzed the situation before him.
Don’t tell me I crossed over?
Qi Lin first reached out and stroked the girl’s hair. It was very soft and very real, unlike a hallucination. However, he remained unconvinced and pinched the girl’s cheeks, forcing her to make a face.
“Big Brother?” The girl’s eyes widened, a cute expression.
“Sorry.” Qi Lin blushed with shame. It seemed everything was real.
Qi Lin looked around. He was on top of a hill. Qi Lin stood up, but all of his bones seemed to ache enormously as if they were broken. “Big Brother, be careful.” The girl hurriedly supported him.
“Thanks.” Qi Lin’s heart warmed, and he petted her head.
He straightened himself. A ray of sunlight blinded him, and Qi Lin blinked very uncomfortably. His skin felt burning hot and was a bit unpleasant.
After a while, his body slowly adjusted. Only then did Qi Lin dare to look around at the world.
But with just the first glance, Qi Lin realized that he had indeed crossed worlds.
As far as the eye could see, there were steep cliffs, layers of mountains, bunches of clouds, tens of thousands of hectares of rolling green hills, luxuriant seas of trees, and boundless seas. On Earth, Zhangjiajie and Jiuzhaigou Valley had scenes of absolutely beautiful mountains and lakes, but they appeared miniscule compared to the landscape before him.
Fresh and clean air filled his lungs. Qi Lin felt all of the cells in his body brim with vitality, and a seemingly real True Qi appeared to move around in his body. This was something miraculous.
“Where is this?” Qi Lin took a deep breath, recovering his consciousness.
The girl shook her head.
“What’s your name?” Qi Lin then asked.
The girl was just about to answer when there was suddenly a crash in the forest. A bronze chariot barreled out from the woods, drawing Qi Lin’s gaze.
There was a large and sturdy man on the chariot. His arms were bare, and he brandished an iron club.
Qi Lin was astonished to see that chariot. What kind of horses were those. They were like bronze, their manes like gold.
“Shang Xuan?”11 The man looked in shock at the Qi Lin standing on top of the hill.
“Shang Xuan?”
Qi Lin wrinkled his brow. The name was a bit familiar.
“Your luck is truly great, trash, you are actually still alive. It was fortunate that the young master made me come check if your corpse had been completely consumed yet.” The large and burly man coldly said.
“To dare oppose Young Master Shang Ci is to walk a road of ruin. Give me your life.”
The sturdy man bellowed like thunder. The forest rustled, and a soundwave burst forth, causing Qi Lin’s ears to bleed. The man swung the iron rod in his hand.
Pop.
The air screamed, and white light dazzled, ripping part the atmosphere as it hurtled towards the girl.
“Look out.” Qi Lin promptly shielded her.
Slam.
The club dragged along Qi Lin’s back. It seemed to burn, causing searing pain down to the bone. This blow made Qi Lin feel his soul nearly scatter, and his vision went dark.
“Big Brother.” The girl was stunned.
The large man drove the Bronze Horse War Chariot. Thunder clapped, and the iron club in his hand rumbled.
Qi Lin’s heart howled in grief. This truly was too unfortunate, to die again after only just crossing over. Qi Lin hoped very much that this was a dream, but the scorching pain on his back from the club cruelly denied his delusion.
Bone Scraping Club first style.
Flesh Lacerator!
Like vicious fangs, the club fired beams of cold light towards Qi Lin’s head. This club was enough to flay all the skin from a person, let alone the areas targeted for attack.
Slam!!
A delicate hand snatched the incoming club like a vice grip.
The strength on the club instantly vanished in this tiny hand.
Qi Lin blankly looked at this girl who called herself his little sister. Her whole body emitted a blind light, as if something had awakened in her body.
“You actually dared to hurt Big Brother. Unforgivable, unforgivable!!” The girl bared her teeth. Her cute expression suddenly was like the Lei Gong, brimming with malice.
A berserk Fiend Qi swirled about, darkening the world.
“Ah, Ancient Divine Energy.” The sturdy man, who weighed three hundred catties, shrieked in panic like a rabbit under this Fiend Qi. The Primordial Fierce Beasts Bronze Demon Horses fled in terror. Shang Kui immediately brandished the iron club, using all of the Seventh Deva Primordial True Qi in his body.
Bone Scraping Club.
Thousand Pieces Corpse!
The club-shadows were manifold, fragments twisting over.
“Roar.” The girl let out a shrill roar. The majestic Fiend Qi overwhelmingly launched, jolting apart the Thousand Pieces Corpse’s club-shadows. Shang Kui nearly lost consciousness. The girl threw a punch, and there seemed to be a giant, heaven-obscuring monkey behind her.
The color drained from Shang Kui’s face. He raised a fist, using his strongest “Bear Chop” to defend with all his might.
His Seventh Deva True Qi that threaded through his arm was sufficient to smash apart a ten thousand catty boulder.
Unexpectedly, the girl’s punch was swifter and fiercer, easily pulverizing Shang Kui’s arm. He screamed in pain: “You are an Ancient Fiend Star!!” The second punch directly smashed all of the bones in this man’s body into bits.
Shang Kui collapsed onto the ground, his eyes wide open, blood leaking from his seven apertures, in fearful disbelief.
“You…what…is your name…”
“This Old Lady is the Great Sage Equal Of Heaven, Sun Wukong!!”
The girl sneered, then stomped apart the man’s head.
Great Sage Equal Of Heaven Sun Wukong?
Qi Lin was flabbergasted.
The girl calling herself the “Great Sage Equal Of Heaven” took a deep breath. She turned back to look at Qi Lin. As if feeling embarrassed, she leapt away, vanishing into the mountain woods.
Qi Lin wanted to chase after her, but his entire body was in pain and completely unable to move.
This girl is Great Sage Equal Of Heaven Sun Wukong?
What is going on?
There was a burst of pain in Qi Lin’s mind. A memory poured in, “Register of Deities, Shang Xuan, Shang Tribe, Ten Thousand Beasts Unbounded…” Countless memories thundered through his mind, exploding.
The last scene, Qi Lin saw a dead body sprawled on top of a rock. When his soul possessed this corpse, the blood on the ground seemed to come to life, emitting a red light that covered the stone.
The strange stone nestled in the red light then became an innocent, completely threadbare girl.
A line of information jumped into his mind.
Invested Deity Contract!12
Divine Name: Sun Wukong
Nickname: Great Sage Equal Of Heaven
Rank: Undefined
True Name: ??
Innate Skill: Battle
Attribute: Unknown
Contractor: Qi Lin
Divine Rank: Middle Ancient Realm13
Divine Weapon: None
Divine Powers: Omitted
Karma: None
Kills: 1
Destiny: …
…
Oh wow! Th8s story had a great opening!
108 Maidens of Destiny is still my current favorite and Maiden Galacy was… honestly not that great.
But this?
This has promise!
Sun Wukong though huh? Nice!
Nice to see you again! Hopefully, this work manages to keep this strength throughout the rest of the story.