During his captivity, Han Yi had attempted to escape. However, the monsters seemed to place great importance on him, maintaining a seamless, constant watch. They never gave Han Yi the slightest opportunity.
Faced with the relentless, predatory stares of his monstrous guards, Han Yi could only swallow his frustration and abandon his escape plans. Fortunately, the conditions in this prison weren’t too unbearable; the monsters would bring him food and water on time each day, so he wasn’t overly uncomfortable.
After about ten days, the monsters once again tied Han Yi up tightly and brought him to the stake for another sacrificial ritual.
“My fate is sealed! If I’d known it would end like this, I might have preferred to die at the hands of that other cultivator!” Han Yi thought to himself.
Just as he was despairing, something unexpected happened. Thunder rumbled across the sky, and soon a torrential downpour fell, instantly extinguishing the fire that had taken so much effort to ignite.
This turn of events left not only the monsters shocked and terrified, but Han Yi was also stunned. He stared in bewilderment, barely registering when he was brought back to his cell.
The third sacrifice was particularly delayed. Among the monsters, it seemed some internal conflict was brewing. Even from within his cell, Han Yi could hear faint sounds of fierce arguments coming from outside.
After a full thirty days, they finally brought him out again. This time, the day seemed carefully chosen—clear and bright. Each monster wore an expression of grave seriousness, and there was no trace of the noisy scene from the previous sacrifices.
In contrast, Han Yi felt utterly calm. Not only was he unafraid, but he even found himself anticipating something.
Just then, a strange wind swept through, throwing the previously orderly monsters into disarray, scattering even the carefully stacked firewood. Flames burst forth, setting the monsters’ village ablaze, yet Han Yi stood miraculously untouched.
Seeing this, Han Yi couldn’t help but laugh aloud, while the chaotic monsters looked at him with fearful glances, carefully observing his figure among the flames.
From that point on, Han Yi’s status in the monster village changed dramatically. Not only was he no longer imprisoned, but he was given the most comfortable house in the village, and his meals were now the best the village could offer. When the monsters saw him, they no longer glared menacingly but instead bowed their heads in submission, avoiding his gaze.
Despite his improved treatment, Han Yi, a proud Qi Condensation stage cultivator, found it difficult to accept this almost primitive lifestyle. He considered escape again but ultimately decided against it. This world was vastly different from the cultivation world and lacked spiritual energy. Here, he was no different from an ordinary, powerless human. In the monster village, he was safe; attempting a reckless escape could lead him straight into danger and cost him his life.
Thus, Han Yi decided to temporarily settle in the village. He began learning the monsters’ language, hoping to communicate with them. Over time, Han Yi slowly came to understand his situation. This village was called “Zhu,” located in an endless wilderness inhabited by similar human-beast hybrid creatures.
The fewer human traits a creature had, the stronger it was. Villages like Zhu, with human bodies and beast-like faces, were among the weakest. In the depths of the wilderness, it was said that fully beast-like supremes possessed the power to split mountains and rivers.
Han Yi, fully human in appearance, was seen as an “aberration,” a being that offended the divine. He was destined to be burned alive as a sacrifice to appease the gods’ wrath. Yet, after three failed sacrificial attempts, the monsters of Zhu village sensed that Han Yi, this aberration, was extraordinary and reluctantly abandoned their plans to burn him.
In the village’s central altar, Han Yi saw a statue of what the monsters called their god. It was a majestic, proud mystical bird, standing tall. Seeing the statue, Han Yi was deeply moved, confirming his suspicions. This deity strongly resembled the fabled black bird of destiny recorded in the “Heavenly Fate Sutra” he practiced.
“Though there is no spiritual energy here, preventing me from cultivating, the ‘Feather of the Black Bird’ I prepared for Foundation Establishment in my dantian feels as though it has returned home,” he thought, feeling an inexplicable energy flowing through the air, allowing the feather to undergo a gradual transformation.
According to the “Heavenly Fate Sutra”, the Black Bird Clan’s powers, cultivated to the utmost, could achieve a state where “Heaven’s fate aligns with my fate, and my destiny is Heaven’s mandate.” Heaven and self would become one, indistinguishable. Achieving such a state in the Xuanhuang Realm was virtually impossible. Not even a beast lord could reach that level.
Thus, the Sutra suggested an alternative approach: to find a small world as a personal sanctuary. Merging with the small world’s fate would be much easier, and once achieved, the Black Bird would become akin to the very essence of Heaven’s Way within that small world, capable of transforming landscapes with a mere thought.
“What the Feather of the Black Bird is absorbing must be this world’s fragmented, wandering ‘Heavenly Fate,’” Han Yi pondered. “The heavenly fate of this world should have belonged to the Black Bird that once ruled here. Under normal circumstances, an outsider like me shouldn’t be able to absorb it—even with the Sutra and the Black Bird’s feather.”
“The only possible explanation…” Han Yi’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“…is that the Black Bird that once fused with this world’s fate has perished!”
“And it couldn’t have been too long ago, for the world’s original fate has yet to recover. The Heavenly Fate remains broken, scattered like unclaimed treasure.”
“The path of fate is incredibly subtle; most cultivators can’t detect it. Even if they do, it would be useless to them,” Han Yi thought, a glint of ambition and greed flashing in his eyes.
“This place is nothing short of a treasure trove for me!”
“By instinctively reaching out for survival, I can manipulate the dispersed Heavenly Fate to summon wind and rain. If I could fully absorb the Heavenly Fate of this world…” Ȑ
Han Yi’s eyes glowed with a fierce determination and boundless ambition.
“I narrowly escaped death, and now fortune favors me!” He looked out over the vast, unknown world with a surge of boldness.
“When I return to the Xuanhuang Realm with control over the Heavenly Fate of this world, I shall soar like a dragon, unstoppable!”
Imagining the scenes awaiting him, a faint, uncontrollable smile crept onto Han Yi’s lips.
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