"Heaven-Swallowing Serpent, we have finally found you, you bastard!" a man in blue robes roared, his arm whipping forward as he pointed accusingly at the man before him. The Esteemed Blue Flower's eyes burned with fury as more Masters caught up, surrounding the two.
Shen Luo, the Heaven-Swallowing Serpent, leaned casually against a tree, his long dark-green robe flowing behind him. He looked arrogant and prideful, towering over the other Masters despite being forced into a corner.
"You Righteous fools," the pale man spoke gently as he stepped forward, making the others flinch and ready their weapons, Inner Heavenly Gifts, and Feis. "Do you truly think I shall go down so easily?" Shen Luo hissed, his arrogant expression twisting into fury.
His lips parted as he inhaled deeply, his bare chest swelling. A green hue radiated beneath his skin. But the Masters reacted immediately, not giving Shen Luo the chance to retaliate.
Within moments, the forest around them was reduced to cinder and ash, green flames still devouring anything they touched further away. Spears of condensed light pierced through his shoulders and thighs, nailing him to the earth. Blood seeped down his calves, hissing as it met the scorched soil. Behind him, the mountain that had loomed over the forest minutes ago was reduced to nothing more than a broken hill.
Looking up at Blue Flower's battered face, Shen Luo couldn't help but laugh at the smug and proud expression painted across it. "Because of you, dozens of Masters died, and their Sects shall die with them. And for what? To capture me?" the Heaven-Swallowing Serpent laughed maniacally. "You truly are foolish."
The Esteemed Blue Flower's expression shifted slightly, though the smugness remained. "They sacrificed their lives to rid this world of the vile corruption that calls itself the Heaven-Swallowing Serpent!"
Shen Luo continued laughing, ignoring the Master standing before him. He was at Blue Flower's mercy, so why would he laugh?
The answer was simple. He had said he would not go down so easily.
And he would not!
When his laughter finally subsided and Blue Flower summoned his sword, Shen Luo tilted his head upward and looked at the sky.
Thick grey clouds veiled the sun as heavy rain began to pour. Large droplets fell onto Shen Luo's dirtied face, washing away mud and dried blood. Closing his eyes, he reached inward, his lips moving soundlessly.
Sensing something amiss, Blue Flower raised the radiant azure sword and roared with manic ecstasy, "Die, you demonic scum!"
'Self-Devouring Divine Serpent,' Shen Luo called out within his mind, his Furnace and Core churning as something vast slithered inside him. 'I call upon you. Use the power I helped you cultivate and let me escape death!'
Time slowed down first. Then it stopped completely.
Raindrops froze mid-air. The wind fell silent. Blue Flower's lips were curled into a vicious grin, his sword no more than an inch from piercing Shen Luo's throat.
Now it was Shen Luo's turn to smile. It was working. The power he cultivated for over ffity years, the power he sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives for, was working!
'It is a shame I must destroy the Divine Serpent merely to escape a cockroach that needed that woman's help to corner me,' he thought as green light flashed within his eyes and a jade serpent slithered out from his solar plexus.
'But now that I have a second chance, I will shatter the ceiling that restrained me in this life. I shall reach the Divine Realm, no matter the cost!'
The serpent grew larger, its body expanding as the frozen world remained still. It opened its maw and swallowed Shen Luo whole.
***
800 years ago
Shen Luo's eyes snapped open as he suppressed a pained groan, confusion flashing across his face while he pushed himself upright and looked around in a daze. 'What is this…?' The memory of the blade inches from his throat was still vivid, yet he was very much alive. As awareness settled in, a slow, disbelieving chuckle echoed in his mind. 'It actually worked. The power of a Ninth Realm beast truly defies reason.'
For a brief moment he did not know where he was, nor what year it might be. The Self-Devouring Divine Serpent possessed the ability to consume itself and force Fate and Time to reverse until true safety was reached, and in doing so it had dragged him backward along the river of years until his death was no longer inevitable.
"So where am I?" he murmured under his breath as he examined his surroundings more carefully.
He found himself sitting atop a large carriage pulled by four sturdy beasts, his back pressed against several heavy wooden crates bound with thick rope. The wheels creaked steadily beneath him, and the scent of dust and leather filled the air.
'A caravan?' he thought, narrowing his eyes as he noticed more carriages stretching both ahead of and behind him, all traveling along a wide sandy road that cut through familiar mountain terrain.
Then realization started to seep into his mind.
The caravan, the surrounding mountains, the white robes draped over his shoulders and the sword resting beside him, far too short and plain for the man he once was.
"Don't tell me…" he whispered, raising his hands to his face and running his fingers over smooth skin untouched by scars or age.
"Don't tell me I returned all the way to the beginning. This is only a few days before the Awakening Ceremony!"
A laugh escaped him, low and almost incredulous, as he stared at his hands. They were smaller, lacking the callouses and old wounds carved into them over centuries of struggle. Yet they were — undeniably — his.
He wasn't dead.
'Let's see what came back with me,' Shen Luo thought as he closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, allowing his consciousness to sink inward.
Within the depths of his soul, there was emptiness. That much was expected, since he had not yet awakened his Furnace or his Innate Heavenly Gift. The ceremony would take place in two days, and until then his soul should have remained quiet and untouched.
But deeper still, beneath that stillness, he sensed his Core.
He was a member of the Shen lineage and a descendant of Hei Cangqiu, the founder of their village, so possessing a Core was only natural. Even in a dormant state, it should have been there.
Yet as his awareness focused more intently, something felt wrong.
A dormant Core was usually dim and lifeless, resembling grey clouds hanging heavy before a storm. His, however, glowed with a faint green radiance, pulsing rhythmically like a living heart hidden beneath flesh. It remained dormant, since he could not feel the presence of his Furnace, but it was undeniably altered.
"No way…" Shen Luo whispered, disbelief creeping into his voice.
This Core was not purely his own. It was a fusion between the dormant Core he had been born with and the Divine Serpent's Core that had accompanied him through time.
He had obtained the Verdant Serpent Physique!
Countless creatures existed within this vast and cruel world, some far stronger than others. Those powerful enough could pass down their Cores and inheritances.
"Damn it," Shen Luo muttered as the implications sank in.
He had yet to step into the First Realm, yet he already carried a Core with potential far beyond what his current body could withstand. Such power was not a blessing without consequence.
"If I'm too slow, the Verdant Serpent Physique will tear me apart from the inside."
When he had activated the Self-Devouring Divine Serpent, he had known he was gambling against time itself, but he had not expected the aftermath to place him in such immediate danger. The advantage of rebirth had come with a blade hanging over his neck.
"I need to break into the Third Realm as quickly as possible!" he thought grimly. "Once I reach it, I should be stable for a while, and only then can I begin searching for a true long-term solution."