This world was of an inconceivable vastness, far greater than anything BaiShe had ever known. It spanned multiple planes, each governed by its own laws and inhabited by its own beings. Three great strata structured existence: the upper plane, the subterranean plane, and the lower plane.
The upper plane was the epicenter of cultivation, the domain of the powerful, celestial empires, and gods. Divided into several continents, it stretched across distances so absurd that a journey from one end to the other could take millennia, even for a being transcending the laws of time and space. Fortunately, each continent had a portal connecting it to another. Every continent spanned trillions of kilometers and possessed its own cultures, royal lineages, and wars.
BaiShe hailed from the Eastern Continent, a land of cultivators and scholars, dominated by ancient sects that had passed down their knowledge for eons. Allied with the Southern Continent, this region shared many similarities with its neighbor. Manesh, the blind monk, was one of their greatest representatives, yet his own disciple came from the Eastern Continent, proof of the strong alliance between the two.
Opposing them stood a formidable enemy: the Western Continent. A millennia-long war had just ended there, leaving behind ravaged lands. At the conclusion of this titanic conflict, Chronos had seized power by killing his own father, Ouranos, with the aid of Odin, the ruler of the Northern Continent. Odin was a feared strategist and an invincible warrior. His involvement in the war against Ouranos not only strengthened the Northern Continent's influence but also marked a shift in the balance of power in his war against the Vanes.
Only the Central Continent remained untouched by these incessant conflicts. It was the most mysterious land of the upper plane. No war, no conquest had ever reached it. No messenger had ever returned from it. This unsettling silence granted it a special status. Some believed it was the domain of forgotten gods, while others thought it hid civilizations so advanced they had no need to interact with the rest of the world.
Beneath this vast upper plane lay the subterranean plane, another dimension home to the five great demonic races. Unlike the celestial continents, which were ruled by emperors and gods, these races lived in perpetual chaos, where only the law of the strongest prevailed. These peoples were in constant war, seeking to determine which among them would give birth to the next Celestial Demon, a being destined to disrupt the balance of the planes.
The five demonic races were the Tengu, the Yama, the Shonen, the Kitsune, and the Yurei.
These five races waged an endless war, too absorbed in their own conflicts to concern themselves with the other planes. Yet, one thing was certain: the day a Celestial Demon emerged from their ranks, the entire world would tremble.
And finally, there was the lower plane.
Unlike the other two, this plane was an infinite mosaic of worlds. Some had been created by gods, others by the Tree of Tao itself. Many lacked the talent to cultivate their Qi and could not sustain cultivation, leaving their inhabitants bound to an existence limited by the laws of flesh and time. Others, however, were cradles of exceptional talents, unlikely heroes, and forgotten treasures.
It was in this lower plane that relics of bygone eras could be found, artifacts from another age, left behind by vanished civilizations. Because of the emergence of the Devourer, anything became possible in this infinite chaos. Geniuses could rise from insignificant worlds, legendary artifacts could resurface in the most unexpected places.
In the vast Eastern Continent, five million kilometers south of the Temple of Tao, stood the sole dominant sect of the region, the Immortal Tao Sect. Its influence extended far beyond its borders, resonating even in the lower planes where even a mere outer disciple of this sect received the honors and respect due to a king. Yet, in their own land, these disciples were scarcely regarded as more than trash. Joining the Immortal Tao Sect was a feat reserved for exceptional individuals. Only those who had achieved spiritual refinement before the age of twenty could hope to enter, and even among them, only the most deserving managed to climb the ranks.
The sect's territory was so vast it equaled an entire country, divided into three distinct sections. At the foot of the mountain lay the domain of the outer disciples. These formed the majority of aspiring cultivators, living in modest conditions with little access to precious resources. They spent their days performing menial tasks, hoping to catch the attention of a master or progress enough to join the inner court.
Higher up, in the inner court, resided the elders and inner disciples. These were all cultivators who had reached the Born of Soul stage. Here, the atmosphere was vastly different. Intrigues and power struggles were omnipresent, with each disciple vying for the favor of the elders to climb the hierarchy. The sect's elite, however, was at the summit of the mountain, where the air itself was saturated with Qi so dense it took a liquid form, dripping in shimmering droplets along the cliffs. This sacred place was the domain of the Three Pure Ones, the Tianzun, and the grand sect leader himself.
Becoming a core disciple within the sect was no small feat. One had to be chosen by an elder, and the treatment a disciple received depended greatly on their master's status and power. Those fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of an influential elder enjoyed unparalleled privileges, while others often found themselves relegated to the fringes of power, condemned to serve the stronger.
It was a ruthless world, governed by the law of the strongest. Here, the weak had only one choice: to bow and become the underlings of the powerful, or be crushed without mercy. It was not uncommon for a single misinterpreted glance to lead to the extermination of entire families up to the third generation. Breathing too loudly in front of a young master was enough to sign one's death warrant.
In this merciless environment, BaiShe was considered weak. However, unlike others who tried to rise through their own efforts, he had an advantage many envied: his family background. Thanks to his name, he had secured a position as a core disciple without difficulty. But instead of using this position to strengthen himself, he abused his power, making life hell for those unlucky enough to be unaffiliated with an influential family.
BaiShe was not just weak. He was also a coward.
Far from facing his opponents head-on, he preferred to hide behind the prestige of his lineage. He relentlessly persecuted the most vulnerable disciples, knowing full well they had no means to defend themselves. He humiliated, punished, and broke those who dared stand up to him, not out of courage or ambition, but simply because he could do so with impunity.
However, such behavior never went unnoticed in such a competitive environment. The most powerful disciples barely tolerated his existence, and many awaited the perfect opportunity to crush him once and for all.