The pale light of dawn barely touched the forest floor, filtered through the dense canopy of ancient pine trees. Mist clung to the undergrowth in rolling white waves, swirling around black roots and fallen branches. The silence was heavy, broken only by the whisper of cold winds through the needles overhead.
The mysterious being moved through this silence like a drifting wraith. His torn robes brushed against low branches, leaving behind faint traces of black qi that quickly dissipated. His long black hair swayed behind him, damp from river water and dew. Each step felt heavier than the last; his weakened vessel trembled with exhaustion, though his expression remained calm and distant.
Behind him, ragged breathing echoed through the forest.
"Senior… wait… please…"
Jian Tian stumbled over a protruding root, nearly falling face-first onto the wet moss before catching himself with trembling arms. His sword clattered against his thigh as he forced himself to stand. Sweat dripped from his brow despite the morning chill, soaking into the torn collar of his robe.
He had been chasing the mysterious being since before dawn, driven by something he could not name – fear, gratitude, desperation, or perhaps the instinct to cling to an existence so far beyond mortal comprehension.
The dark figure finally halted at the base of a towering pine. He turned slowly, his pale face expressionless as his cold gaze fell upon the exhausted youth.
"Why do you follow me, boy?"
His voice was soft but carried an edge like a blade hidden in velvet. Jian Tian flinched, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I… I owe Senior my life," he gasped, clutching his side where the sealed wound still burned with cold pain. "If not for you… I would have died by that Flood Dragon's fangs."
He lowered his head, panting heavily. The forest around them seemed to darken with each word, as if the trees themselves held their breath in fear.
The mysterious being watched him silently, noting the dim flicker of gratitude and resolve in his qi. His gaze then shifted eastward, deeper into the forest. He sensed no obvious threat nearby, but his mind was not at peace. He had been walking for hours yet remained trapped within these endless woods.
In truth, he was lost.
This forest was unfamiliar. The rivers, mountains, and stars were alien to him, for the world he remembered had been reshaped by countless cycles of time. Even the celestial patterns were subtly changed. In his weakened state, his divine sense could barely sweep a few li ahead, rendering him little more than a blind old man wandering aimlessly.
He felt annoyance flicker within his chest – a rare emotion after millions of years of indifference. But it faded quickly, replaced by a silent acceptance.
"Very well."
He turned away, stepping deeper into the misty undergrowth. His bare feet sank into the moss, leaving no footprint behind. Jian Tian hesitated only a moment before stumbling after him.
They travelled in silence for another hour, weaving between fallen pine trunks and thick ferns that brushed against their legs with cold dew. Finally, as the sun climbed into the late morning sky, the mysterious being stopped at a small hollow near a rocky slope. The trees parted slightly here, allowing pale beams of light to illuminate a dry patch of ground scattered with pine needles.
Without a word, he lowered himself onto a flat stone. His robes pooled around him like a shadowy mantle. Closing his eyes, he extended his right hand. Black qi flickered at his fingertips as he pointed to a pile of dead branches nearby.
"Gather them."
Jian Tian blinked, startled, before realising what he meant. He hurried forward, ignoring the pain in his side as he gathered twigs and branches into a small pile before the stone. The mysterious being gestured again, and a faint spark of black flame erupted from his fingertip, igniting the wood with eerie dark-red embers.
The campfire burned quietly. The warmth it offered was muted, tinged with a faint spiritual coldness that made Jian Tian shiver even as he extended his trembling hands towards it.
Silence fell again. The mysterious being closed his eyes, his breath steady and silent. Inside, his mind was in turmoil.
He sifted through fragmented memories like broken shards of jade. Flashes of ancient battlefields, skies torn apart by divine tribulation, and the laughter of Old Heaven as his true body was shattered. The betrayal of his closest allies burned deeper than any blade, each memory etched into his soul's core like branding irons.
He clenched his left fist slowly, feeling the weak pulse of spiritual energy within this vessel. Though fragile, it still contained traces of his true origin, hidden away when he prepared this backup body before the final battle. Without it, his soul would have been erased completely in the void of annihilation.
"Millions of years… and yet this vessel remains intact," he thought, opening his eyes to stare into the flickering black flames.
He could feel the seals within his meridians constricting every attempt at drawing power. Breaking them would require time, cultivation, and rare spiritual resources. More importantly, he needed to understand this era's cultivation systems. The arts and realms he once mastered might no longer exist, replaced by diluted or corrupted versions under new immortal doctrines.
A faint sigh escaped his lips, dissolving into the morning mist. The path ahead would be long.
Beside him, Jian Tian watched in silence, sensing the immeasurable depth of sorrow and cold rage hidden behind that still face. Gathering his courage, he spoke softly:
"Senior… may I know your name…?"
The being did not respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed upon the flames. After a long silence, he said, his voice carrying a quiet, ancient weight,
"Ren Moxi."
He spoke the name softly, almost tasting it on his tongue as if testing whether it still belonged to him. Jian Tian felt the syllables etch themselves into his mind like an unbreakable seal.
"Ren Moxi…" Jian Tian repeated in a whisper. The name carried no grand titles, no boasts of immortality or heaven-defying cultivation, yet it radiated an oppressive heaviness that made his knees weak.
Ren Moxi fell silent once more, slipping into deep contemplation beneath the rustling pine trees. Jian Tian sat beside the fire, listening to the soft crackle of black flames as the shadows shifted across his saviour's face.
Despite the fear coiling in his chest, he felt an unexplainable resolve hardening within him. He knew instinctively that this encounter was not mere coincidence. Perhaps it was as Senior Ren Moxi had said – fate itself had woven this meeting into his destiny.
Above them, the morning mist rose slowly, curling into the cold blue sky like drifting spirits ascending into the heavens.
And in that quiet forest clearing, beneath ancient trees that had watched countless mortal lives come and go, the path of a forgotten dark sovereign and a young cultivator entwined – setting into motion ripples that would one day rise into storms strong enough to shatter heaven itself.