"It is clear that some of these clothes aren't dirty; she only wants me to suffer," Tao murmured as he stared at the pile of clothes.
The master's wife's clothes, rich and foreign, felt thick against his hands.
The comparison of the texture of the master's wife's garment and his own humble fabric that clothed him reminded him of the unforgiving world he found himself in.
Tao's hands moved mechanically; his fingers working through the thick fabrics was a wasted attempt at trying to get the stains off.
He had gone to the level of using his Qi in every area of his life, and he didn't have to physically wash clothes.
"How is this even done? How do I get the stains off just by scrubbing these thick fabrics?" Tao murmured.
Tao struggled with the whispers of discontent and anger that surged through him, but he remembered what was stated in Technique 1.
"Technique 1: Let your anger build silently; don't express it until it builds into power," he murmured, reminding himself, just like what Li Feng would say when he was there.
Tao's mind went through the unfairness of his situation. The chore was not merely about washing the clothes; it was clear that the master's wife only gave him those clothes to show him her position above him.
"How long will I have to suffer this?" Tao said, as he kept washing.
He looked up at the sky after completing the task, and he saw that it was already dark everywhere. It was night, and he had to return to the servants' quarters.
Hunger clawed at his stomach; after washing for so long, he needed to eat, no matter what it was.
The creaking door of the servants' quarters closed behind him, bringing him back to the harsh reality of where he would have to sleep.
Tao collapsed on one corner of the floor, weariness seeping into his bones.
Tao's consciousness slipped into the world of dreams, and the barrier of the Elder realm materialized before him. A sense of dread filled the atmosphere.
A strange mist swirled around him; Na'ru, the Air Demon, emerged from the shadows.
"Former Light Warrior," Na'ru's voice echoed. His voice made Tao tremble.
"Did you think you could escape the consequences of your defiance?" Na'ru laughed.
Tao felt the weight of Na'ru's words like an arrow to the heart. His eyes locked on the darkness in the form of Na'ru.
"You! You think you can resist the natural order of things," Na'ru sneered, "for that, you will pay the price."
Tao began to see flashes of his earthly struggles so far and more to come. Na'ru reveled in the suffering he had endured—the servitude, humiliations—all playing before his eyes. The demon's laughter filled Tao's ears.
"You wanted to defy fate; now, your existence will become even more agonizing," Na'ru proclaimed, his voice echoing with rage.
Na'ru mocked Tao's stubbornness and determination, reminding him of how he ignored the counsel of his friends.
"You should have listened to them! Now, it is your fault that they are where they are," Na'ru said.
"My friends, where did you send them to? Tell me, please... are they still alive, did you send them to this world too?" Tao called out to Na'ru; he was frustrated and felt really guilty for what his friends might be facing wherever they were because of his mistakes.
"Your friends, they are in a deeper suffering than you are. I'm telling you so you can see the outcome of your determination to go against my command!" Na'ru said, and guilt surged through Tao.
"What have I done?" Tao murmured, and it reached Na'ru's ears.
"What have you done?" Na'ru laughed.
"I will tell you what you did. You created a channel for my darkness to creep into the light of the air tower; now everyone you left behind has become slaves at my feet, the air tower had become my prison for them," Na'ru said and Tao's mind shattered.
"No, no! They didn't do anything, I was the one who tried to ascend the elder realm, not them!!" Tao shouted, but the response he got back was laughter.
Suddenly, Tao awoke, gasping for breath; his mind raced through the memories of the dream he just had, fear gripping him.
"I must find Master Li Feng," Tao whispered.
Confused and seeking understanding, Tao approached Li Feng's corner. He was older, and with the respect Tao had for him, he believed Li Feng could hold answers to the revelation he just had.
"Master, Master Li Feng!" Tao screamed, his voice showing urgency, "I had a dream, a vision... Na'ru spoke to me, face-to-face," Tao said, walking to take a squat before Li Feng.
"Shhh! I told you that you can't call me master! The commanders will have your head for that," Li Feng, who was resting, sat up and whispered to Tao.
"What was it about, Tao? Even after I was sent down by Na'ru, he didn't appear to me. He never did, why did he appear to you? Are you sure he was the one you saw?" Li Feng whispered.
"Yes, master Li Feng. I know the demon. I interacted with him before he sent me into this world. He spoke to me; I saw his darkness!" Tao said, and Li Feng's brows furrowed.
Li Feng didn't know exactly what happened before now. Tao had not told him how his own played out, what happened before he was sent down too.
"Did you just say you've seen him before?" Li Feng whispered, and Tao nodded.
"Yes, master, I have seen him before, and in my vision tonight, I still saw him," Tao said and something clicked in Li Feng's head.
"Even during my journey and struggles to ascend the elder realm, I never got to see the demon, Na'ru. This means that you went deeper than I went before he sent me here. It means you crossed the barrier," Li Feng said, putting pieces together.
"Yes, I did cross the barrier. It wasn't easy, but I did, and I didn't last up to a second in it before Na'ru surfaced," Tao explained.
"That is it! That is why your case is different. That is why Na'ru appeared to you again; you did what no one else did, and you drew extra attention to yourself, he still isn't satisfied with where he has put you; that is why he revealed himself to you again," Li Feng said, and fear gripped Tao.
One encounter with the demon turned his life upside down; he wondered what this encounter would unveil in his life after that night.
"Tell me everything you saw," Li Feng whispered.
As they spoke, they were vigilant. They let their eyes linger, so that they made sure no one else was listening.
"He told me that my friends, Yu and Liang, are in deeper suffering than I am. He also told me that his darkness has taken over the entire air tower..."
Li Feng's eyes shone brightly. He was speechless. He could not believe what he had just heard. The home he had longed for and hoped to gain access to once again had been swallowed by Na'ru's darkness.
"The channel... It was a trap. Na'ru used you; he knew that you would keep pushing, he used your attempt to break in to create a channel..." Li Feng muttered, staring into the dark.
The night stretched out over the desert, and when everyone had slept off, Li Feng woke Tao, and they both snuck out of the servants' quarters into the expanse of land by the backyard.
"Listen, Tao," Li Feng whispered with a calm assurance. "To reclaim your powers, you must attune yourself to the Qi that lingers within!"
"Close your eyes, and try to feel the currents of the air around you," Li Feng added, and Tao was confused.
"Master Li Feng, I do not believe my Qi can be rebuilt. Besides, this is a normal world belonging to humans; do you think I can cultivate in a world like this?" Tao said; it seemed impossible.
Tao's mind thought it was a waste of time. Magic didn't flow in this air, he thought.
"Just do what I asked of you!" Li Feng shouted, and Tao sighed.
Sitting cross-legged on the cool sand, Tao obeyed. He took in a deep breath, inhaling the desert's dust-filled air remembering him that he was in a world of mortals now.
"Good," Li Feng nodded approvingly.
"Now, let us focus on breath. Inhale slowly, let the air fill your lungs, and exhale with purpose. Align your breath with the heartbeat of the desert," Li Feng whispered.
"urrgh......"Tao groaned as he stirred awake. His whole body ached. He couldn't even feel some part of his body because of how much it was hurting.After the multiple works he did the previous day he still had to sneak out of the servant quarters to go train with Li feng in the middle of the night.He trained endlessly for hours following everything master Li Feng taught him.Li Feng had told him that the only way they could return to their home and save their people from Na'ru was if he got his powers back."My whole body aches" he grumbled as he tried getting up from the floor.It was the early hours of the morning, all the slaves were still asleep but commander Chen had told him the previous day to report to him early the next day."I don't know why Commander Chen hates me so much" he mumbled to himself as he trudged out of the servant quarters rubbing his eyes to be fully awake.He bowed to the guard stationed outside commander Chen's quarter."State your business here" the guar
Darkness covered the entire air tower, people were screaming and running away from the darkness. The darkness of Na'ru had covered the entire cloud. A once peaceful and blissful home was now chaos. Li Feng could see himself standing helpless as the darkness consumed everyone and everything in it's part.He saw his family trying to escape the darkness but their effort was of no use. Na'ru had come and he had made the air tower his home. Li Feng watched as his family was consumed by the darkness.He fell to his knees crying out in pain as the chaos was too much for him to bear. Just at the time the darkness was about to consume him li Feng jolted awake. Beads of sweat covered his forehead as he gasped for breath trying to catch his breath.Li Feng looked around him trying to understand his surrounding, he was back at the desert."It was a dream" he breathed out trying to even out his breathing."It looked so real" he said rubbing his forehead. He couldn't get the image of his friends
EARTH KINGDOM [ SOUTHERN DESERT]The pace of his heartbeat increased as his life force slowly returned to his body. In that moment, he started breathing again."Uhhh..." he groaned in pain, his whole body sore, as if all energy had been drained out.He raised his head from the sands and found himself totally lost in a desert.The sands were swirling violently in the air surrounding him and the desert view seemed endless to him."Where is this place?" he asked himself as his head was void of any memory. A more urgent question popped into his mind, and he was no longer concerned about where he was at the moment."Who am I?" he asked, standing up from the sands and looking up to the sky.He saw a bright light from the sun and found it harsh."I can't remember anything," he murmured as he looked around himself. He glanced down at his body and found that he was bare. He was completely naked without any piece of clothing. The swirling sands behind him didn't give him a clear view of wha
Chen spat thick saliva onto Tao's face while he was unconscious, and they all laughed loudly."Wake up!""Wake up, you fool, I have to take you to the camp before sunset," he growled into Tao's ear.Slowly, Tao regained consciousness and found himself bound and surrounded by unfamiliar faces. He realized the harsh reality of his situation and fought against his restraints.With a victorious grin, Chen walked up to Tao. "Welcome back, 'Immortal.' I hope you enjoyed your little nap."The bleeding from the knife wound had ceased, but there was unimaginable pain tearing into his gut where he was stabbed.Tao stared at Chen, anger burning in his eyes. "You can't keep me here. I have to go back to the air towers and put a stop to Na'ru."Laughter spread through the group of warriors. "The air tower again? You really are delusional," Chen mocked.Tao remained determined and focused on channeling his Qi to break free from the shackles. But to his dismay, the energy that once flowed effortless
FLASHBACK[AIR TOWER]The world of immortal cultivators was surrounded by air that sparkled with energy and light.Tao sits cross-legged, trying to get stronger by cultivating the Qi in the air around him.Even though he was already powerful and the best cultivator in the transcendent realm, he wanted more. Most other cultivators in the transcendent realm were satisfied and put off all desires to move further. But Tao, ever determined, found out that there was a realm above the transcendent realm known as the Elder realm.Tao was determined to break into this realm and be the first cultivator to attain this height."I need to connect to this realm," Tao spoke in his mind as he continued to sense the energy around him. Reaching it to harness it was the most difficult task he had ever faced.As he focused, deepening his meditation, trying to snap the barrier between the transcendent realm and the Elder realm, a voice called out to him."Tao, you must not attempt to go deeper!"Tao could
It was deep into the night, and Tao felt something strange biting into his stomach as he kept walking.His throat was dry, and it was a strange feeling to him."What is happening?" he thought in his mind."Am I-" he thought, but it was too unbelievable to be let out.His stomach was rumbling for the first time in a long while."Hunger... how can this be? Hunger and thirst?" he murmured.It dawned on him that he was no longer an immortal. When he was at the Air Tower, the moment he ascended the transcendent realm, he no longer needed to feed or drink; his Qi found a way to nourish him. But now, he was human and had to face one of the challenges of life: hunger.Without his Qi to nourish him, he'd starve to death if he didn't ask for food.How was he going to ask when he couldn't even stand Chen? But hunger bit deeper into his stomach, and he broke."I need water," he asked politely."Okay, I'll give you water to drink," Chen said, and Tao was surprised by how easily Chen agreed.Chen p
Tao was still in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening yet. "Who are you? And how do you know my true identity?" Tao whispered, numerous thoughts racing through his mind. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy, and they call me a servant, but you— you know who I am," Tao spoke with a curious tone. "I assume you saw the star last night on your way here; it signifies hope, doesn't it?" the old man said, and Tao's eyes shone. Tao's mouth was wide open. How could someone from the human world know about the star? How did he know so much? "You know the star too?" Tao said, and the old man chuckled. "Who are you? And... How do you know all this?" Tao asked, and the old man smiled softly. The old man placed a hand on his shoulder and exhaled. "I was wondering why the ira appeared in the sky after 20 years of being here. I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but now I understand what it was trying to show me," the old man said. Tao looked at him, not fully comprehending yet. "You are the