Chapter 1

Prologue

In the ancient era of chaos, the great god Pangu created the heavens and the earth, and the great goddess Nüwa molded humans from clay.

However, in the age of rampant beasts and demons, the frail humans struggled to survive. As Pangu's lifespan neared its end, he sacrificed his life to write the *Pangu Heavenly Book*, hoping it would help humans survive better.

With the *Pangu Heavenly Book*, human talents emerged one after another, gradually becoming the dominant force in the vast world!

But mountains do not always have a constant shape, and water does not always have a constant form. After several years, the *Pangu Heavenly Book* disappeared without a trace! As a result, humans declined, and demons once again roamed the vast world...

Chapter 1: A Thread of Life and Death

With a deafening roar, a massive water column shot up into the sky.

A dark figure was thrown from a ten-thousand-foot cliff and crashed into the cold pond below.

Instantly, countless blood-red waves rippled through the green pond.

After a frantic struggle, the dark figure's limbs finally gave out, and it sank into the depths of the cold pond, the water gradually turning red with blood.

"Crack!" At that moment, dark clouds rolled across the sky above the cliff, and a thunderous boom echoed through the heavens. A bolt of lightning, as if from ancient times, swiftly tore through the clouds, resonating through the nine heavens.

Amid the raging thunder and lightning, a torrential rain began to pour, splashing into the cold pond and instantly diluting the blood-red water.

"Thud!" The dark figure, whose eyes had been tightly closed, suddenly trembled violently, swallowed a mouthful of cold pond water, and then, stimulated by the bone-chilling water, opened his eyes wide and struggled to swim towards the surface.

Finally, with all his might, the dark figure surfaced, revealing his true appearance.

If there were outsiders present, they would have been frightened to faint at the sight of this person.

The figure was a young man, about twenty years old, with fairly handsome features, but a two-inch-long, one-inch-deep wound on his forehead, extending diagonally down to his right eyebrow, still bleeding profusely. This wound was clearly recent.

Additionally, the body of the dark figure, now above the water, was covered in bruises and scars, indicating that he had suffered inhuman torture and abuse before being thrown into the cold pond.

"I, Lu Tianyu, swear to heaven that if I survive this, I will tear you, Lu Tienci, to pieces... cough, cough!" The young man's eyes blazed with overwhelming hatred.

He was none other than the unfortunate Lu Tianyu, who had been thrown into the cold pond.

Not long ago, Lu Tianyu had been brutally beaten to near death by his cousin, Lu Tienci, and a group of vicious servants, and then thrown off a ten-thousand-foot cliff. He thought he was surely going to die, but fortunately, he landed in the cold pond below, narrowly escaping death.

Stimulated by the extremely cold pond water, Lu Tianyu's brain became active again, and the desire to survive overcame everything. He struggled to break free from the bottom of the cold pond and float to the surface.

Looking around, Lu Tianyu realized that the cold pond was vast and boundless, with countless white mists rising from the water, obscuring his view and making it impossible to see the edges of the pond.

"What kind of place is this?" Seeing the situation, Lu Tianyu was terrified. Suddenly, a searing pain from the wound on his forehead spread throughout his body, and the hope that had just arisen in his heart instantly vanished.

"Am I really destined to die here today? I am not willing, I am not willing..." Lu Tianyu looked up at the sky and let out a desperate cry.

Regardless of the size of the pond, the cold water was not something his frail body could endure for long. Moreover, he had been brutally beaten, and the deep sword wound on his forehead was a serious injury. He might freeze to death in the cold pond before reaching the shore.

In less than three minutes, Lu Tianyu already felt his entire body gradually becoming numb, especially his legs, which were losing sensation as if they no longer belonged to him.

"I cannot die like this. If I die, who will avenge me? Who will take care of my mother?" At this thought, Lu Tianyu's eyes immediately flashed with an unusually determined light. Having endured bullying since childhood, he had become as resilient as grass, unbreakable by wind or fire, and ready to sprout again with the spring breeze.

Moreover, having suffered much torment and bullying since childhood, he had long understood a truth: everything depends on oneself.

With this in mind, Lu Tianyu immediately swam forward with all his might. In the darkness, he could only choose a direction and keep swimming, hoping to reach the shore and save his life.

"Hisss..." After swimming less than three meters, Lu Tianyu immediately heard a sharp, piercing hiss behind him. This sound was not unfamiliar; it was identical to the hiss of a venomous snake.

Lu Tianyu was terrified and turned his head to look. What he saw made his heart nearly stop. Behind him was a massive python, about as thick as a barrel, with a head as large as a small hill, now opening its cavernous mouth and rapidly charging towards him.

"Monster... monster?" Lu Tianyu's eyes bulged, staring at the python with mottled black patterns, and all hope was lost.

Although he was not a cultivator, he had heard many stories about monsters. Moreover, in the Lu family, they kept many monsters to guard the estate.

Those domesticated monsters were tamed and would not easily harm people, but the python behind him was clearly a wild creature, and it would show no mercy.

Lu Tianyu was already terrified, his eyes wide as the python drew closer, almost within five meters in the blink of an eye.

"Whoosh!" The python, with its cruel red eyes, suddenly accelerated like an arrow, reaching Lu Tianyu in an instant and opening its cavernous mouth to bite at his head.

"I am doomed..." Lu Tianyu closed his eyes in despair, two tears of unwillingness slowly rolling down his cheeks.

A foul, fishy smell filled his nostrils, and he felt death approaching.

But at that moment, a violent cold wind suddenly swept over his head, like a heavy hammer, slamming him back into the pond.

Stimulated by the bone-chilling water, Lu Tianyu regained his senses, opened his eyes, and found himself rapidly sinking to the bottom of the pond. He struggled with all his might to swim back to the surface.

Although the python was still at the top of the pond, he had no choice. Without any cultivation, he could not survive long in the water and would suffocate. Rather than drowning, he decided to break the surface and see what was happening.

The wind that had just blown over his head clearly indicated that another terrifying monster had appeared, or he might have already been swallowed by the python.

"Thud!" After swallowing a few more mouthfuls of the extremely cold pond water, Lu Tianyu finally struggled to the surface.

As soon as his head emerged from the water, he was stunned by the incredible sight before him.

A massive, colorful firebird was circling above the cold pond, engaging in a life-and-death battle with the python.

The firebird's wings, when spread, emitted intense heat, forming brilliant flames that fiercely burned towards the python in the pond.

But the python was no less formidable. With its cavernous mouth open, it spewed out jets of freezing water, instantly extinguishing the flames from the firebird.

For a moment, the pond was in turmoil, and the two monsters' speed increased. Even with his eyes wide open, Lu Tianyu could hardly see their specific movements, only two massive shadows, one black and one red, fiercely entangled in battle.

The intense heat from the firebird gradually raised the temperature of the pond, and Lu Tianyu's limbs, which had been numbed by the cold, began to recover.

"Taking advantage of the battle between these two monsters, I must escape. If they finish their fight, I will still be devoured by the victor." Lu Tianyu's mind raced, and he turned around, swimming in the opposite direction with all his might.

The two monsters, engrossed in their battle, ignored Lu Tianyu, allowing him to escape.

Swimming and swimming, Lu Tianyu did not know how long it had been, but he kept swimming forward with all his might.

The further he swam from the battle, the colder the water became. His limbs, which had just recovered, began to numb again, and his swimming speed slowed.

Moreover, the occasional earth-shattering roars from the two monsters in battle made Lu Tianyu even more terrified. Once the battle was over, the victorious monster would surely come after him.

"Only by reaching the shore as soon as possible do I have a chance of survival!" Lu Tianyu muttered to himself, and with all his remaining strength, he swam forward, despite his exhausted and injured body.

To the readers:

New book release, please add to your collection, thank you!

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