I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

Chifeng naturally lowered its body, gesturing for Si Chen to climb on.

Si Chen didn't stand on ceremony. He lightly leaped onto its broad, warm back, settled into a comfortable position, and Red Bean perched obediently on his shoulder.

"Hold on tight, Brother Si Chen!"

Chifeng let out a low growl, its four limbs surging with power as it transformed into a streak of crimson shadow weaving through the forest.

Heishan strode heavily at the front, clearing the path. The ground trembled faintly beneath its steps, yet its pace was anything but slow.

This unspoken coordination had been forged over the past month.

It had started when Si Chen tried a few times to go pick wild fruit on his own nearby — and without fail, every single time, he got hopelessly lost in the ancient forests of Wanji Mountain.

Every time, it was Heishan and Chifeng who tracked him down by scent after a great deal of effort.

From then on, whenever they needed to go somewhere a little farther out, either Chifeng carried him or Heishan led the way.

The two demons had long since moved past their initial speechlessness at Si Chen's terrible sense of direction, and now simply accepted it as a matter of course.

Si Chen himself was perfectly at ease about it. After all, he'd survived two years of getting lost — this was nothing new.

* * *

The Dragon's Fall, where wind and clouds were converging, looked as though it were right before their eyes — but as the saying goes, mountains that seem close can exhaust a horse. The actual distance was far greater than it appeared.

Along the way, they encountered several groups of beings all heading toward the source of the dragon might.

There were human Cultivators riding Artifacts, their expressions guarded, moving in groups of three to five and speaking in hushed tones. There were also demons of all shapes and sizes, their auras fierce and wild, some traveling alone and others in pairs, all surging in the same direction.

Sure enough, the news of the Flood Dragon's fall had drawn out every manner of creature hiding in the shadows.

The closer they drew to their destination, the more people and demons they encountered.

Chifeng and Heishan made no effort to conceal their auras, letting them radiate freely. Most ordinary Demon Beasts and human Cultivators who sensed those two overwhelming demonic presences chose to step aside on their own, saving everyone a great deal of trouble.

They traveled for the better part of a day. By the time the sun sank in the west, after crossing one final ridge bristling with jagged, grotesque rocks, the scene before them suddenly opened wide.

It was an enormous sinkhole — its edges sheer and precipitous, its depths unfathomable, wreathed in a faint grey mist.

Most striking of all was the very center of the sinkhole, where a faintly glowing entrance could be dimly made out, as though it led to another world entirely.

Yet a visible barrier sealed the entrance, blocking everyone's path.

The human and demon factions each occupied one side, clearly divided, both regarding the other with open wariness.

On the human side, robes of every style were present — Sect members, clan members, and no small number of Rogue Cultivators — all conversing in low voices, their gazes drifting frequently toward the depths of the sinkhole.

The demons were a wild and varied lot, most maintaining their true forms, some crouching, others pacing.

When Si Chen's group arrived, they drew considerable attention.

A white-robed young man riding atop a majestic crimson-eyed tiger, accompanied by a mountain-shaking bear the size of a small hill — it was impossible not to notice such a combination.

What surprised the human Cultivators even more was that several demons of considerable power within the demon faction, upon spotting Si Chen, let out familiar low growls in greeting.

"Hey! Brother Hei, Brother Feng, you're here too!" a pig demon oinked out.

"Little Brother Si Chen, you're interested in that old Flood Dragon's stash too?" A giant eagle with feathers sharp as blades landed on a nearby rock and spoke in human tongue.

Si Chen gave them a nod. These were all "neighbors" he had come to know over the past month while wandering with Heishan and Chifeng.

Over that month, Heishan and Chifeng had taken Si Chen on many strolls deep into Wanji Mountain.

His nature was simple and straightforward, and with Heishan and the others making introductions, he had become a familiar face to quite a few demons who had awakened their intelligence.

The Demon Beasts found this human youth agreeable and accepted him in kind.

Their easy familiarity, witnessed by the human Cultivators, immediately stirred a round of whispered murmurs.

"What's that kid's background? How is he so chummy with those beasts?"

"Looks pretty close to them... those Demon Beasts are actually being that courteous to him?"

"A Foundation Establishment Stage kid wandering into a place like this, calling Demon Beasts his brothers..."

Their voices weren't loud, but everyone present had sharp ears and heard every word clearly.

Heishan gave a disgruntled snort, blasting out a puff of white breath, its copper-bell eyes glaring over: "What are you staring at?! Who my brother chooses to befriend is none of your damn business!"

Those words stirred up a hornet's nest. The human Cultivators erupted at once.

"Insolence! Such brazen words!"

"Consorting with demons — wallowing in depravity! A disgrace to the human race!"

A sharp-faced, monkey-jawed Cultivator jabbed a finger at Si Chen and snarled: "Boy, didn't your parents teach you how to conduct yourself as a human being?"

Si Chen had paid the earlier remarks no mind — but the moment he heard this, his eyes went ice-cold.

His parents, his family, the warmth of home flashed through his mind.

He would not allow anyone to use such words to taint that warmth.

Hum—

A long spear forged entirely from blinding thunder condensed into shape in his palm in an instant, then tore through the air toward the foul-mouthed young Cultivator with a piercing, explosive shriek!

The Spear of Thunder — that was the name Si Chen had given this technique.

The young Cultivator had no time to mount any effective defense. He felt a wave of death wash over him and stared in terror, his eyes wide with horror.

"Watch out!"

An older Cultivator beside him shoved him hard to the side.

Splat!

Blood burst forth!

The thunder spear grazed the young Cultivator's shoulder as it passed — his entire right arm was instantly vaporized by the savage thunder, vanishing without a trace. The shockwave even blasted a scorched black crater into the ground behind him.

The young Cultivator let out a shrill, agonized scream, clutched the stump of his severed arm, and collapsed unconscious.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden, devastating strike.

That savage thunder power, that unmistakable thunder spear...

Someone in the crowd cried out in shock: "It's him! Si Chen — the one who killed Elder Lü of the Liuyun Sword Sect in Wanggu City two years ago!"

Those words sent the human Cultivator camp into an uproar.

Two years ago, the name of the one who, at the Foundation Establishment Stage, had defied a Core Formation Stage powerhouse and razed the Liuyun Sword Sect's stronghold had already spread throughout the surrounding region.

Now, seeing that unmistakable thunder spear, he was recognized at once.

"Si Chen! So it really is you!!"

A roar saturated with bone-deep hatred rolled across the sky like a thunderclap.

Several streaks of fierce sword-light split through the clouds, arriving above the sinkhole in an instant.

At their head was a man in magnificent robes, his features bearing a five-part resemblance to the late Lü Yan — none other than Lü Ci, Sect Master of the Nascent Soul Stage! Behind him followed two Elders with dense, powerful auras at the Core Formation Stage.

Lü Ci had heard the commotion and that name he despised to his very bones from far away.

His gaze locked instantly onto the white-robed young man riding atop the crimson-eyed tiger — the only human among the demon faction.

When enemies meet, hatred burns all the brighter. The vengeance for his slain brother, the humiliation of his Sect — all of it condensed in that moment into a towering killing intent.

"Your life is mine!"

Lü Ci wasted no words. A terrifying sword-qi, refined to its utmost and laden with the oppressive might of a Nascent Soul cultivator, came crashing down toward Si Chen!

That sword strike was fast as lightning, carrying the full force of a Nascent Soul Cultivator's all-out blow, sworn to cut Si Chen down on the spot!

"Roar!"

"Howl!"

Without any need for words, Chifeng and Heishan moved simultaneously.

Wind blades whirled wildly around Chifeng's body; Heishan reared up on its hind legs, its massive bear paw wrapped in mountain-shattering force, and roared as it swatted at the sword-light!

Boom—!

A deafening explosion rang out across the sky. The savage energy shockwave scattered in all directions, sending many lower-cultivation Cultivators stumbling and staggering.

Chifeng and Heishan's massive frames slid back several steps simultaneously — they had taken the full brunt of a Nascent Soul Cultivator's furious strike head-on.

"Old bastard, you dare make a move on our brother right in front of us?" Chifeng bared its fangs, wind blades swirling around its body.

Seeing Heishan and Chifeng act, the other demons stepped forward one by one, every single one entering a combat-ready state.

Among demons, the law of the jungle was the norm — fighting to the death was commonplace — but when faced with human aggression, they showed a remarkable unity against the outside threat. And besides, this was Wanji Mountain. This was their territory!

The other human Cultivators in the human camp frowned at the sight.

They had come here for the draconic relic of the Dragon's Fall, not to help the Liuyun Sword Sect settle a grudge, and certainly not to go to war with the demon faction. Several of the leaders among them spoke up to urge restraint:

"Sect Master Lü, please calm yourself! Exploring the Dragon's Fall is what matters right now!"

"Indeed — personal grudges can surely be set aside for the moment, can they not?!"

Lü Ci's face was ashen, his chest heaving violently.

He glared fixedly at Si Chen, sheltered behind the two great demons, then swept his gaze across the demon faction opposite, all poised and ready to strike.

He knew that here, today, he would likely not be able to finish this.

Forcing a battle would only make the Liuyun Sword Sect a target for everyone.

"Hmph!"

Lü Ci let out a heavy cold snort and forcibly suppressed his roiling killing intent: "You little wretch — I'll let you live a moment longer! Once we're inside the Dragon's Fall, let's see who can still protect you!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve, led his disciples back to the front of the human camp, and turned away.

Heishan spat contemptuously in the direction of the Liuyun Sword Sect, then looked over at Si Chen with a wide grin: "Don't be scared, brother. We're here! Anyone who wants to touch you will have to answer to Old Hei's paw first — I'll smack their guts out!"

Si Chen looked at the bear and tiger standing before him, and at the demons around him — acquaintances of only a short time, yet willing to stand up for him — and felt a warm, enveloping sensation wash over him.

He gently patted Chifeng's neck: "Big Brother Heishan, Big Brother Chifeng — thank you, just now."

"Thank my ass!"

Heishan turned its head away, utterly unbothered. "We're brothers — don't pull that stuff. Be any more polite and I'll sit on you!"

Chifeng gave its tail a flick as well, indicating there was no need to mention it.

Just then, the dark, muted Flood Dragon scale inside Si Chen's Storage Ring began to tremble violently once more.

He had only just taken the scale out when something extraordinary happened.

Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

From within the crowd — among both humans and demons — dozens of objects flew up simultaneously! Looking closely, they were all similar Flood Dragon scales! As though answering some unseen summons, they transformed into streaks of flowing light and rushed one after another toward the dark entrance at the center of the sinkhole!

"My scale!"

"What's happening?"

Si Chen's scale likewise slipped from his grasp and flew into the air. It turned out that those who held this "key" were far more numerous than just him!

Before the astonished eyes of all present, these Flood Dragon scales from many different holders converged rapidly in the air, faintly assembling into the blurred outline of a Flood Dragon!

The outline let out a silent roar, then abruptly changed direction — as though it had come alive — and plunged headlong into the sinkhole below, vanishing into the entrance.

Both humans and demons alike stared in stunned silence at this scene beyond all imagination.

"Could this be the true key to opening the Dragon's Fall?"

As if to confirm everyone's conjecture, the very moment all the Flood Dragon scales disappeared into the sinkhole, the barrier that had blocked everyone's path at the entrance slowly faded — and finally vanished entirely.

An ancient aura, laced with dragon might, drifted out from within the deep, dark opening.

The Dragon's Fall had opened.

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