Ming Ren lost control. Pain, suffering, and humiliation filled his mind. Not even with all the experiences inside the Bright Scripture he could contain such a fury.
The ancient roar from his slumbering soul transcended anything in this lower world, affecting the nearby cultivators first. The stronger ones shook, shivered, and fell to their knees. Some even passed out. The weak-willed ones died without even understanding how.
The spirit beasts had it worse. Weaker ones died on the spot. The others ran like mad beasts, destroying everything in their path. Beasts hiding in the depths of the forest got out of their lairs, creating a powerful stampede of destruction.
And yet the roar didn’t only affect the Vagrant Woods. The scene of madness and destruction repeated itself around the entire Soaring Country. Tamed spirit beasts lost reason, forests, and mountains emptied as great spirit beast tides of unheard proportions engulfed the country in disaster and chaos.
*
In the hidden cave where the six masked dark-robed figures waited, the beast tamer once again opened his eyes behind the mask, “Three-headed lioness, chimera-spider, dead.”
He remained expressionless but his voice trembled. All those spirit beasts were uncommon, but the chimera-spider was truly a superior species with tremendous potential, possessing high intelligence and the ability to manipulate Qi threads and drain spiritual energy. Above all, they were gifts from the young lord.
“A Spirit Gate cultivator intervened,” another figure concluded.
“We’ll know more once we receive information, however…” One figure looked at the leader.
“We have failed. Not only the bigger clans didn’t send people, but if those from the City Lord’s Mansion and White Clan survived, Bluecloud’s strength hasn’t weakened,” the leader sighed, unwilling to bring failure back.
“We need t-” Just then the soul-shaking roar pierced the air, dropping them to their knees. They shook uncontrollably, and could hear a huge rumble coming from deeper into the cave.
The beast tamer recovered first, quickly becoming pale, “RUN, NOW.”
He bolted out of the cave without waiting for anyone else. The leader and three others trusted him and followed, but two of them ignored his sudden warning. The beast tide engulfed them, some of them too strong to resist.
“What in the world is going on?” The four-robed figures ran for their lives.
**
Bluecloud City.
The city lord waited for news when the roar came. His entire body shook, and he barely stood, feeling as if his soul would run away on its own at any moment, “What in the Heavens? Which supreme beast let out such a powerful roar?”
He had seen many things in his lifetime, but nothing so intense. The roar came from afar but shook even him at the Spirit Gate Realm, so it could only come from a powerful spirit beast. Cries for help echoed from the city as tamed beasts lost control, running away and attacking anything that tried to stop them.
Cultivators didn’t only use spirit beasts for combat, they worked in different tasks such as transport, farming, or guard duty. When all spirit beasts in a city went crazy, it could only be described as hell.
“What is this!” The city lord commanded through jade transmission, “All troops of the city, hear me, subdue the rampaging spirit beasts without killing them! Watchtower guards, pay attention to the surroundings, look for a powerful beast!”
Similar rampages occurred on the White, Silver, and Cloud Clans. The patriarchs issued orders, but the damage piled up.
***
Soaring Country, royal family hidden chambers.
The piercing roar echoed and a pair of deep blue eyes shone in the dark as the hidden figure frowned. After a while, a man with richly adorned gaudy gold and silver robes came running.
The king of the Soaring Country kowtowed with the utmost respect in front of his ancestor, “Royal ancestor, spirit beasts tumults have broken out in the entire country after the beastly roar. The situation is dire. I have dispatched forces to contain the damage, but it will be too late. Even the most powerful spirit beasts went crazy, and it worries me we haven’t found the source of the roar.”
“Cloud Province, Vagrant Woods,” the ancestor replied with a dignified voice.
“As expected of royal ancestor. I will send troops right away!”
“You will do no such thing. Send an urgent message to the palace, let them know what happened.”
The king frowned, “The palace? But…”
What happened might be a disaster to the Soaring Country, but it wouldn’t concern the palace. They weren’t even qualified to contact them in a normal situation. The royal ancestor said nothing else, and the king understood. He bowed and left without questioning his orders again.
The royal ancestor knew the secret of the Vagrant Woods. His elders told tales of the forest and its meaning. In the beginning, it was only called the Vagrant Wood, named after a sacred tree that obtained sentience, becoming a powerful cultivator in the Upper Realms.
Millenniums later a supreme being hid in the forest, and no other beast dared to offend it. If someone or something had truly offended such an existence, his Soaring Country would be doomed. They could only rely on the palace to survive.
****
Around the world, powerful spirit beasts that lived in seclusion awakened. The roar resonated deeply inside their souls. Some of them could wipe out the Soaring Country without effort. They remained hidden but cursed the foolish thing that dared to offend the legendary being.
Jana sneezed, “Which fool is talking about me?”
Its expression turned grim right away. The roar from before shook its core and resonated even deeper than the others because Ming Ren possessed its bloodline. Its body still trembled, and Jana peeked into the forest once again, “To shake even me, that’s not only because of the ancient spirit beast soul. Wait, there’s….”
Something attacked Jana’s immortal sense, forcing it to retreat hastily. The powerful and sinister force almost entered its consciousness. For the first time in a long time, Jana felt fear, “Beyond ancient…?”
*****
“What the hell just happened?” The flame commander, white elder, forest patriarch, second elder, and Lin Dong recovered first, still dumbfounded by the situation. Cultivators from the White Clan and City Lord’s Mansion died, but the Forest Clan had no casualties. Even without control Ming Ren’s powers still avoided his allies.
“Ming Ren!” Lin Qiang didn’t receive the same impact as the others as her Beast God’s Blessing softened the beastly roar.
“Was that roar from him? What in the world is that boy?” Fear swept through the flame commander as he gazed at an unmoving Ming Ren.
“Benefactor…” Lin Dong also worried.
When Lin Qiang took a step closer, Ming Ren moved, flickering as the wind itself. They could barely see his movement. The white elder raised his arm to block in instinct, but felt a chill, and the wind softly speeding by. He then noticed the boy standing next to him, sword in hand pointing down, as if it just slashed something.
“Elder, grab him, quickly!” The flame commander shouted, stepping closer. Lin Qiang and Lin Dong also moved, but at that moment the white elder’s blood gushed everywhere. He died standing, then his lifeless body fell to the ground with regretful eyes, a big diagonal cut from the neck to the chest.
The flame commander halted in a hurry. Died? A Body Tempering Realm boy killed a late-stage Spirit Sea cultivator with a single stroke?
Dark spiritual energy flowed out, not from Ming Ren’s spirit sea but from his soul, his aura taking a sinister turn. Ghastly laughter filled the air, “HahAhAHAhAhaHa, death to all that stand in my way, you puny h-”
Ming Ren suddenly dropped the sword, struggling to get back control. His face twisted, and he grabbed his own head, “Get… OUT….!”
The dark energy receded, and the sinister aura slowly disappeared. Ming Ren breathed heavily, the flow of Qi in his body erratic.
He lost control, and that entity used his maximum power to kill the white elder, even activating Jana’s bloodline for an instant. His wounds regenerated, but the burden on his body was unimaginable. Ming Ren’s cultivation soared for the attack, yet the consequences were terrible, ‘I’m going to pass out… I need to get away…’
Ming Ren glanced without pity at the elder’s body. Even without losing control he would have done the same. Killing someone from the White Clan could hurt the Forest Clan, but he touched his bottom line, “From now on, hurt someone from the Bright Clan, and die! All enemies of the Bright Clan will die by my hand!”
He was only at the Body Tempering Realm yet no one took Ming Ren’s declaration as a joke. They all saw him as a Heaven’s Chosen son of the Bright Clan. The youth nodded to Lin Qiang and Lin Dong, bolting away with [Sky Steps]. No one else followed. Who would dare? Who recovered from the shock?
‘He is hurt… Little Bird, you help him, take him away and stay by his side!’ Lin Qiang gathered all the remaining spiritual and summoning energies in her body and created another curlew, sending it flying after Ming Ren.
“Elder!!!” The White Clan cultivators rushed to the fallen elder, “You… you bastards from the Forest Clan, we’ll report this to the patriarch!”
“… This…” The forest patriarch had a headache.
“The city lord won’t be happy either,” the flame commander glanced at the direction Ming Ren went and cursed. He knew they had to kill the boy and thought about sending everyone after him, but gave up after looking at Lin Dong and Lin Qiang.
He went out together with the White Clan, planning to pin the blame entirely into the Forest Clan.
“Should we go to the city lord? If we explain…” The second elder asked. Lin Huangfu seemed to be in deep thought.
“Patriarch, second elder, we must hurry back home, I have something important to show you!” Lin Dong’s eyes shone.
Everyone else thought the Forest Clan triggered a calamity, but he wasn’t worried, because he met their benefactor. Lin Huangfu and the second elder thought about their mysterious transformation and saw hope. With true element cultivators, the clan could find enough backing to survive.
Lin Qiang gazed with determination and hope towards Ming Ren’s trail. Lin Dong monitored the movements of the flame commander for a while, in case he went after Ming Ren. He clasped his hands, “Benefactor, be well! We will meet again!”
As the Forest Clan left towards Redwater Town, what stood in their way was a sight of destruction and death. Cities and villages damaged, strong constructions such as forts in ruins. Spirit beasts, cultivators, and commoners laid dead on the ground. The events in the Vagrant Woods echoed not only on the Cloud Province, but on the entire Soaring country.
Those who knew a young boy at the Body Tempering Realm was in the center of such destruction shivered in fear. They might not know exactly what happened, but the smart ones swore never to harm anyone from the Bright Clan.
******
Ming Ren ran at full speed until the forest was far behind and his consciousness faded. The feather-bladed curlew grabbed his unconscious body, flying away. When it couldn’t go on any longer, he placed Ming Ren’s under the shadow of an oak tree and stood guard.
At some point, a caravan stopped nearby. While the leaders discussed something, a young girl played around until she spotted the unconscious Ming Ren, “Father, there is someone under the oak tree!”
The girl got closer but froze with a warning screech from the feather-bladed curlew perched atop the tree. The members of the caravan rushed to her aid, and the middle-aged man she called father quickly stood in front of her.
“A summoned spirit beast?” The man looked at the unconscious Ming Ren, “It’s guarding that youth? How remarkable!”
“It’s okay, we won’t hurt him, little birdie!” The girl smiled. The feather-bladed curlew seemed to understand and nodded, slowly disappearing.
“The summon understood that…?” The girl’s father checked Ming Ren’s condition, “He’s still breathing. Ragged clothes, but no external wounds. Bring him with us, he might be from the villages nearby.”
*******
Ming Ren’s consciousness once again drifted into the dreamland. He stood in front of a bright gate leading into a sea of stars, wearing black and white armor with two majestic swords floating by his side.
A veiled figure said in a sinister voice, “Why did you stop me, fool? I could have killed them all.”
“I will kill those I want to kill, why would I need your help? Your only wish is destruction. What would be the difference between me and an irrational beast?” Ming Ren spoke without taking his eyes off the sea of stars, bewitched by the ten thousand worlds.
“HaHaHaHa, I like your arrogance! But I know you will lose control again, and when you do, I will devour them all.”
“…You called me Divine Monarch before, which realm is that?” Ming Ren glanced at the hidden figure.
“I don’t know, I don’t remember, I don’t give a damn. All I want is to destroy. Let us burn our enemies together, no one can stand in our way!”
But Ming Ren knew, he knew that thing couldn’t be trusted.
“Be gone.” His eyes stared again into the sea of stars, and he stretched his hand forward, “No matter what, I will discover the mysteries of the Dao. What point is there in destroying everything? I want to learn it all, I want to live it all, I want to become the embodiment of the Dao!”
“Fool!” The veiled figure became quiet and spoke no longer, but his eyes contained a certain glint. Even it became interested in the youth’s dreams.
End of Book I – The Vagrant Woods