It is the third month of the lunar calendar, and autumn has arrived.
This month should be a time for everyone to enjoy the Autumn Festival. However, this is not the case for a young man in trouble.
Somewhere, a young man is being pursued by cultivators from the Ice Cloud Sect. He is about fifteen or sixteen years old.
"Hey! Stop!"
He is just an ordinary human; how could he possibly fight cultivators at the Golden Core realm?
He is being chased by cultivators riding flying swords, and he runs as fast as he can into the forest. The forest is full of thorny bushes.
His body is scratched by the thorns, and red liquid slowly flows out. But that doesn't stop him.
The young man passes many large rocks, almost getting caught.
He keeps running towards the unknown. The young man is being chased because he has a jade storage ring from his parents, who were killed by the cultivators pursuing him.
No one knows what is inside it that makes the cultivators keep chasing him.
The clouds begin to darken like spilled ink. Red lightning dances, making the situation even more terrifying.
Despite his exhaustion, he keeps running with all his might, hoping to find someone who will help him.
The rain falls heavily, making the ground slippery. The scent of wet earth fills the young man's nostrils.
As the young man runs north, he stops abruptly upon finding a very deep ravine.
The cultivator descends from his flying sword and slowly approaches the young man, ready to cut off his hand if he doesn't hand over the ring.
"Quickly hand over that ring, or die!"
The cultivator gets closer and closer. The young man doesn't have much time left, so he jumps into the ravine.
"Mother, Father, forgive me."
The cultivator immediately jumps, hoping to still get the ring.
Something shocking happens. An azure dragon, long enough to encircle three mountains, emerges from the ravine.
Its glowing light blue scales and its breath turn the leaves into extremely cold ice crystals.
Its bright red eyes with a hint of orange stare sharply at the cultivator who wants to kill the young man.
The dragon saves the young man, who has fainted from exhaustion. The shocked cultivator quickly retreats.
"Damn it! How can there be a dragon here?!"
The dragon chases after him. The surrounding nature becomes chaotic, as if unable to withstand the azure dragon's divine qi. The dragon opens its mouth wide and devours the cultivator alive.
The dark clouds slowly dissipate, revealing a beautiful orange light. The wind blows gently, as if signaling the end of the disaster.
The dragon carries the young man to a place deep in the forest. The dragon stops in front of a mountain, and at the foot of the mountain is a small wooden hut in the forest, its roof made of palm fronds.
The dragon slowly descends in front of the house. An old man comes out of the house.
"Senior, what brings you to this junior's humble abode?" asks the old man, bowing respectfully.
The dragon replies with a voice like tearing paper. "Take good care of this child, or I will kill you!"
The surrounding nature rumbles upon hearing the azure dragon's threat.
"Yes, Senior," says the old man, cold sweat dripping down his still-bowed face.
The azure dragon leaves the place, entrusting the young man to the old man.
The departure of the dragon brings heavenly tribulation that follows the azure dragon, as if telling it not to interfere with humans in the mortal realm.
After the azure dragon leaves, the old man looks at the unconscious young man.
"Why does the azure dragon care so much about this child?" the old man murmurs, stroking his beard. "Is there something special about him?"
He finally carries the young man into his house to treat him immediately.
The light begins to disappear and is replaced by the light of the full moon shining over the entire place. The blue sky is filled with colorful stars.
Inside, the young man sleeps soundly. He suddenly dreams of the incident when his parents were killed.
Everything is dark, the sound of a sword piercing someone. Shouts telling Xiao Jun to leave, carrying his family's heirloom ring.
The young man chased by the Ice Cloud Sect cultivators is Xiao Jun, the sole heir to the heirloom sword 'Night Chaos Destroyer,' and he is also the rightful heir to the azure dragon's power.
The sword is inside the ring Xiao Jun carries, and that is what the Ice Cloud Sect wants for their demonic cultivation ritual.
The leader of the Ice Cloud Sect, Teng Xu Lan, is the one who ordered the killing and forceful seizure of Xiao Jun's family heirloom.
"Mother! Father!"
He wakes up with heavy breathing.
"Damn it! Why am I so weak that I couldn't protect my parents!" Xiao Jun holds his head, cold sweat dripping from his pale face.
"You're awake?"
A hoarse voice comes from the corner of the room. An old man with a white beard reaching his waist sits cross-legged on a bamboo mat. His wrinkled eyes gleam with a strange light, as if they can pierce the soul.
Xiao Jun immediately gets up, but his legs tremble. His body is still weak after being severely injured.
"Wha... where am I?"
"In a safe place, for now," replies the old man, then points to the fireplace. "Drink this. Wound-healing concoction."
Xiao Jun looks at the earthenware pot over the fire. A thick green liquid boils, emitting a bitter, pungent aroma. But he has no choice. Trembling, he takes the bowl and gulps it down.
"AARGH-!"
It feels like his throat is burning! But a few seconds later, warmth spreads throughout his body. His previously aching wounds begin to feel numb.
"You're lucky the Azure Dragon happened to pass by. Otherwise, your body would have been shattered at the bottom of the ravine," the old man mutters.
Xiao Jun remembers the events of a few days ago. The Golden Core cultivator, the blue dragon that suddenly appeared, and then...
"My ring-!" His hand immediately reaches for his finger. Relieved, the jade ring is still there.
The old man frowns. "So, that's why you were being chased?"
Xiao Jun nods slowly. "My parents... were killed for this. I don't know what's inside, but they said it's a family heirloom."
The old man stands up, his steps as light as if he's not touching the ground. "May I see it?"
Xiao Jun hesitates, but after a moment's thought, he takes off the ring. The old man holds it, his eyes suddenly glowing blue!
"Hoh... very interesting."
"What's interesting?" Xiao Jun asks curiously.
"This ring has a seal. Only the blood of the original owner's descendants can open it."
Xiao Jun gasps. "That means...?"
"It means," the old man smiles mysteriously, "you have to train until you are strong enough to shed your blood as the key. Otherwise, it will kill you."
"Can you open the seal, old man?" Xiao Jun says.
The old man sighs deeply, looking at Xiao Jun's ring.
"Alright, if you insist."
Before the old man can forcibly open the seal, danger approaches again.
The howl of a wolf echoes menacingly from the distant forest. The night wind whispers, carrying the scent of danger drawing closer...
"They've found you," hisses the old man, his eyes sharp. "That Golden Core cultivator wasn't alone."
Xiao Jun looks out the window. Among the trees, black silhouettes move quickly. Gleaming swords are illuminated by the moon.
"What should I do?!"
The old man throws an old book into his lap. "Choose: die like a rat, or... learn how to take revenge?"
The cover of the book has golden letters:
"Azure Dragon Art - Forbidden Legacy"
"The choice is yours, child."
Xiao Jun is confused and keeps staring at the book the old man gave him.
"Damn it! What to do? If I refuse this, I will surely be killed by the Ice Cloud Sect cultivators."
Finally, Xiao Jun strengthens his resolve to learn the technique from the old man.
"Grandfather, I am ready to learn that technique from you!" His eyes widen, filled with a strong determination to learn from the old man.
"As Daoism's Laozi said: 'A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step.' Start your training tomorrow at dawn."
The old man smiles, turning slightly towards Xiao Jun.
"It seems our meeting has been ordained by the heavenly path."
The old man finally goes outside to defeat the cultivators chasing Xiao Jun.
Once outside, he makes the wind blow fiercely, and dark clouds gather, signaling that something big is about to happen.
Wild animals in the forest scatter in random directions.
The old man has already reached the Nascent Soul realm.
"Are you looking for that child?" the old man asks, narrowing his eyes. "Face me if you don't want to die young."
"Damn it! Why do we have to face a Nascent Soul realm cultivator?"
"Have you finished chatting?" the old man asks, stroking his beard.
The Ice Cloud Sect disciples exchange glances as if planning something big.
"It seems we have to report this to the sect leader," whispers one disciple to another.
One of them tries to leave the place, but his body cannot move at all, as if bound by chains.
"Where do you think you're going?" the old man asks, stroking his beard. "It's impolite to leave so soon after arriving."
"Damn it! Does he already know our plan?" he wiggles his body, hoping to break free from whatever is restraining him.
"None of you will be able to go anywhere," says the old man, his gaze sharp on the five Ice Cloud Sect disciples.
"We have no other choice, let's attack him!"
A battle is inevitable on a full moon night that should have been calm and peaceful.
Now it has become a battle between five cultivators at the Golden Core realm against one cultivator at the Nascent Soul realm.
The five Ice Cloud Sect disciples unleash an Immortal Sword Array formation, creating dark clouds that lower a giant sword.
The old man only smiles, his hand moving in the air, a talisman with red ink appears, inscribed with: 'Heavenly Fire - Phoenix'.
The Ice Cloud Sect disciples' immortal sword slowly descends, slamming towards the old man who is making the talisman. The wind blows fiercely, uprooting several trees, creating a large area like a sword slash.
The old man's talisman is completed. He spits sacred wine on the talisman and immediately chants a mantra: "'Heavenly Fire,' lend me your power."
The talisman transforms, releasing spinning fireballs that merge, and the fireball transforms into a miniature phoenix.
The violent collision between the Phoenix Fire and the immortal sword shakes the forest violently. Many trees and the ground are destroyed. The aura from both is felt by the demonic beasts resting, causing them to open their eyes.
The Ice Cloud Sect disciples and the old man are thrown quite far. The five Ice Cloud Sect disciples are severely injured, clutching their chests.
"Damn it! Hey, you damn old man! If you don't release us, prepare to be killed by our sect leader!"
The old man smiles, his right hand stroking his beard and his left hand behind his back.
"You started it first, and you're the ones who want to end it," says the old man. "You're really quite amusing."
The Ice Cloud Sect disciples glare sharply and resentfully.