Pain arrived before hunger. Mo Tianyu's fingers had barely brushed the dust-covered meat bun when a heavy leather boot came crashing down onto his hand. A sickening crack echoed across the stone street. Bones ground against stone. His breath caught in his throat.The meat bun rolled away, disappearing beneath the wheels of a passing carriage. Laughter erupted."Even dogs wait for permission before eating."The young nobleman pressed his boot harder, twisting the sole until fresh blood seeped between Mo Tianyu's trembling fingers. Dressed in embroidered jade robes that glittered beneath the afternoon sun, the youth looked no older than eighteen. A jade pendant shaped like a soaring phoenix rested proudly against his chest, marking him as a member of one of Azure Cloud City's influential merchant families.His name was Zhao Ming. He enjoyed making spectacles of the unfortunate. Today, Mo Tianyu had become his entertainment."You filthy beggar," Zhao Ming sneered. "Did you really think foo

The voice did not welcome him. It judged him. The instant the ancient words echoed through the underground chamber, an invisible force slammed into Mo Tianyu's chest with enough power to throw him backwards. His body struck a weathered stone pillar, sending cracks racing across its surface. Blood filled his mouth. His vision blurred.The air itself had become impossibly heavy, pressing against every bone in his body."...Who are you?" he managed to ask, forcing the words through clenched teeth.Silence.Then the voice returned, deeper this time, carrying the weight of forgotten ages."You do not remember."It sounded disappointed."No..."The voice softened."You cannot remember."Before Mo Tianyu could answer, the pressure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. He collapsed to one knee, struggling to steady his breathing. His heart pounded wildly. Every instinct screamed for him to run. But another force, one he couldn't explain, pulled him deeper into the darkness. It felt like walking to

The chains shattered. A deafening crack echoed through the endless sea of stars as the black-and-gold seals wrapped around the final memory, fracturing one after another. Brilliant light burst from the prison, swallowing Mo Tianyu before he could shield his eyes. The world disappeared. When his vision returned, he was no longer inside the forgotten sanctuary beneath the Forbidden Spirit Mountain.He stood in Heaven. Not the Heaven mortals imagined in prayers or paintings, but a realm so magnificent that language itself seemed inadequate. Endless palaces floated among rivers of stars. Celestial dragons glided through seas of clouds. Nine colossal thrones rested atop an immense platform carved from a single piece of radiant jade, overlooking countless immortal worlds below. Immortal armies stretched to the horizon, their armour shimmering like constellations.Every soldier knelt. Every general bowed. Every celestial beast lowered its head. Mo Tianyu followed their gaze. A young man sat

Lightning descended with the fury of a world determined to erase a single man. The crimson bolt tore through layers of ancient stone, reducing the ceiling of the underground sanctuary to molten fragments. The air exploded with unbearable pressure as the Heavenly Tribulation reached for Mo Tianyu's life. He could have dodged. Every instinct inherited from eleven lifetimes urged him to survive. Instead...He took a step forward.Then another. He walked directly toward the descending lightning. The mountain trembled. Even the spiritual veins buried beneath the earth recoiled as though they could not comprehend what they were witnessing. The bolt struck. For an instant, Mo Tianyu disappeared within a sphere of blinding crimson light. Pain, unlike anything he had ever endured, tore through his body. His flesh cracked. His bones groaned. Every vein felt as though it had been filled with molten stars. Yet beneath the agony, another sensation emerged. Warmth.The Origin Divine Blood awakened.

The first challenge found Mo Tianyu before he reached the foot of the mountain. A frightened hunter stumbled onto the narrow trail, carrying his injured son on his back. Blood soaked the boy's torn sleeve where the claws of a spirit beast had ripped through flesh. The hunter froze the moment he saw the young man with glowing golden eyes standing in the mist. Rumours claimed the Forbidden Spirit Mountain had awakened. Rumours also claimed demons now wandered its forests.The hunter tightened his grip on a hunting spear."Stay back!"Mo Tianyu stopped several paces away. His Divine Sight revealed everything in a single glance. The father's fear.The boy's fading life. The poison is spreading through the child's meridians. The hunter was no threat. He was simply desperate."I won't harm you," Mo Tianyu said quietly. You came from the mountain..."The hunter's voice trembled."People who enter never return."Mo Tianyu glanced back toward the towering peaks hidden behind swirling clouds."Then pe