Crimson Flame world
In a faraway land, there is a place surrounded by peculiar volcanos that are large enough to eclipse the sun burning bright in the sky. The natural shade of the volcanos fall onto a valley deep beneath it completely eclipsing the light of the sun from falling onto the valley looking like the maw of a creepy dark creature ready to gobble anyone into eternal darkness. But, the mountain surrounding the valley looks full of vitality as if ready to spill terrifying heat contained within them. This contrasting scene brings a sense of awe and terror in anybody staring at it however not a single soul of a human, bird, or animal can be seen who can enjoy this scenery except...
Whistle, whistle
A middle-aged man in an ancient-looking reddish robe draped around his body protected by shining bronze armor who is seen walking up the mountain humming a carefree tone as if he just magically appeared out of nowhere. He slowly reached above one of the old volcanic mountains in the middle which went inactive a long time ago creating a large plain land on top of it.
This is a universe of boundless potential where people strive to cultivate their energies, explore mysteries of the unknown, evolve the capabilities within to ascend through higher realms, and scale higher planes of existence, aspiring to reach the apex.
In this secluded mountain, the peak expert of the Crimson Flame world, the Pure Yang Lord, was going to reach the cusp of a breakthrough—one that would push him to the highest realm known in these lands, the Martial Emperor Realm. He was finally going to take the step that has stopped innumerable greatest experts of this age.
After finding a spot to his liking, he sat down cross-legged on an open space on the mountain preparing himself for what was about to happen. Excitement surged through his veins as he focused his inner energies pushing his cultivation to its limit.
Suddenly, peace in the clear sky was disturbed as dark storm clouds started gathering in the sky, teeming with ominous and destructive aura.
BOOOOM!
He had an inkling of what was coming, but before he could fully attune himself to the changes in the surroundings, a flash of silver lightning streaked down, faster than the blink of an eye, sending shockwaves for thousands of miles. The large mountain under his feet was also struck with immense force, crushing it into pieces with the broken rocks flying in the air creating large clouds of dust.
Whoosh
With a shout, a disheveled figure broke out from the dust clouds, coughing up blood along with some bits of his organs mixed in it. The remaining aura of thunder and lightning was still shimmering around his armor which had already broken into numerous pieces with just a few pieces remaining attached to his body.
Before he could catch his breath and barely support himself on the rubble, another lightning struck, more fierce than before. This time it was slightly different as he hastily gathered all the remaining energy in his body, creating a shield around him but that unfortunately was unable to obstruct the strike. The lightning tore through the defense, forcing him to face it with his own body.
Despite the battered and burnt body, he summoned a silver sword with his rapidly dissipating energies.
A smell of charred flesh wafted out but a man with tattered clothes stood up trembling, using a sword as a crutch with determination burning in his eyes.
Instead of panic and fear, a strange serene expression appeared on his face.
"I, Pure Yang Lord, have roamed the myriad worlds with this sword in my hand. Even if my journey ends here, so be it. I will not back down," he declared.
He shouted and beckoned the lightning proactively like a madman or in positive words akin to a firework willing to show the greatest splendor at its end.
"Come! Give me your best shot!"
The clouds churned and the thunder rumbled as it responded, preparing an even more deadlier attack as if angered by his words.
Pure Yang Lord regained his footing and pointed his sword at the sky preparing for the worst.
Finally, a blood-red lightning bolt tore through the sky and struck his sword. But this time, something strange happened. The sword which looked as if made of some kind of silvery glass astonishingly absorbed the whole attack, glowing ominously. Suddenly, the dark clouds in the sky slowly dispersed as if it found something much more ominous and terrifying.
Unfortunately, the Pure Yang Lord was unable to observe this spectacle as he had already closed his eyes affected by a compelling force of the universe, and entered a mystical state with his status unknown.
If not for the occasional twitch and movement in his body depicting the struggles and pain that he was experiencing internally, he almost looked like an unmoving statue.
The whole forbidden area suddenly became eerily quiet as if the destruction and turmoil the land went through was just an illusion.
After few hours, faint sounds of movement and murmurs could be heard in the surrounding area unbeknownst to the Pure Yang Lord.
After three days of internal struggle, he finally opened his eyes as if he just came out of a nightmare and looked at his own body and sighed in relief.
'still alive, huh!'
He felt some great changes were happening inside his body along with his surroundings. His eyes turned to the sky to witness the clouds in the sky slowly transform into shimmering forms with golden drizzle falling out from it and the world around him lit up as if celebrating a joyous occasion.
The golden drizzles poured onto him and slowly fell upon his body. When these drizzles formed of some mystical liquid touched his skin, they started healing his body rapidly. Meanwhile, a large vortex surged, gathering energy from the surrounding thousand miles, rapidly pouring into his body, giving him a euphoric feeling.
Ignoring the injury and the pain in his body, a smile bloomed across his face as he rejoiced at the thought of reaching this realm, something no one had been able to attain since the previous era.
The history books talked about a world rich in etheric content, where mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes, heartless devils, and evil demons roamed freely. However, a great cataclysmic war broke the world into several fragments, reducing the overall strength of the cultivators.
The stories of people ascending higher realms like Martial Emperor realm and further before breaking the limit of this world to reach a higher plane of existence had always been his inspiration.
Despite his pitiful state, he felt excited as he reached one step closer to his dream.
Pure Yang Lord clenched his fists as he perceived this new feeling of power and strength that was coursing through his body.
However, this feeling was cut short when a formation suddenly sprang up and transported him into an open terrain.
---------------
"Nine-nine Extreme Yin Formation, activate!"
A loud voice of an old lady sounded and thousands of yin lights lit up in the surroundings, dancing like ethereal wisps of moonlight. Thousands of young maidens can be faintly seen in the distance, sitting cross-legged in crescent circle formation, collectively powering the formation.
A beautiful young lady sneered. "The Pure Maiden sect has surrounded you with the most powerful Nine-nine extreme yin formation. There's no escape for you now."
"Today, the enmity between our two sects will end with your death," she announced.
"Your Pure Yang sect has disrupted the harmony of the world, blaspheming the heavenly rules of procreation reducing the population by half. You cannot be allowed to grow any further!" a sage-like old man declared in a serious tone brimming with righteous aura.
Another voice sounded—a white-robed beauty wailed, "You snatched my lover and made him a celibate! Not even death by thousand cuts can atone for your sins!"
Amidst the accusations, a woman exclaimed in a sultry tone. "You rejected me for the 9,999th time! I'd rather turn you into a puppet to serve me for life than allow you to stay single forever~"
A man with eyes blazing with anger stepped forward with a saber in his hand. "You destroyed my entire dual-cultivation sect! Today, you'll get retribution for all the sins that you've committed."
Then, he laughed as if remembering something amusing, "Before you die, I want you to know that I've killed every last one of your Pure Yang sect disciples. Consider this fulfilling the debt of blood for all my fallen disciples. Now, you can experience the same agony that I had to go through."
A voluptuous woman beside him ranted in a grand tone, afraid of being left out. "You better pay for destroying my husband's balls. An eye for an eye! Blood for blood!"
Another female beside her spoke, "I've heard that those with Pure Yang physique have the most potent of balls—a priceless treasure for dual cultivators."
Another person chimed in. "Stupid! Why did you spoke out loud? What if he breaks his balls before dying?"
The women who spoke became pale at the thought.
The voluptuous women wanted to speak but she fell silent under her husband's fierce gaze.
Amidst the ruckus, a powerful man with a ruthless gaze spoke breaking the awkward atmosphere. "Quietly hand over your mystic sword and I'll give you a quick death!"
Pure Yang Lord's mentality took a great hit as he looked around at the large crowd of people who had surrounded him. Almost all of the peak experts in this world had gathered.
The most shocking of all was that many of them were comrades who had shared several life-and-death situations with him. But now they were avoiding his gaze. His heart sank as the feeling of betrayal hung heavily in the air.
Today was supposed to be a day of joy where he survived the ruthless lightning tribulations that had been stopping countless experts from evolving further. He had even thought of paving the path for future generations with his experience in overcoming it yet the situation in front of him brought him back to the harsh reality.
Hearing the taunts and scornful words thrown at him, he thought of how he had sacrificed many things, restricting himself and his desires for the greater good of the world. He had successfully defended this world against several disasters and fought against invading devils and demons. He went to the brink of death several times to resolve problems from foreign entities.
He was considered the most upright, noble, and righteous person in this world, extremely so to the point of madness because he even dared to spare the defeated invaders and went against the sentiments of his own world, preventing the invader's world from being completely massacred due to his moral standings.
He was the epitome of righteousness and impartiality. But today, the moral compass has turned against him, as the world and the people he worked so hard to protect, stood in front of him pointing their weapons at him, with their righteous reasons.
In fact, many people dared to confront him because they knew that due to his extremely righteous nature, he wouldn't strike back with the ruthlessness they deserved.
The physical pain and his broken mind robbed him of the joy he was supposed to experience with the subtle changes happening in his body bringing newfound vigor and vitality.
Though he was deprived of the baptism from the heavenly tribulation, his body was instinctively absorbing the invisible energy in the air due to his newfound potential belonging to the Martial Emperor Realm, slowly filling him up with a new level of energy.
Tortured with the sadness from being betrayed and the pain he was feeling remembering the faces of his disciples who were most likely dead, he pointed his sword ready for battle with an unyielding gaze.
He noticed the intricacies of this Extreme Yin formation which was subtly affecting his body slowly sealing his powers. Even with his Martial Emperor Realm strength, he felt this formation was far more powerful bringing an extreme sense of danger in his heart. Even at the height of his powers, escaping this formation would be tall order, not to mention his current state.
It finally dawned on him that despite his new strength, this might very likely be his last day.
His righteous ways of life have always restricted him from indulging in desires and simple pleasures that even a normal man enjoys. The only thing he regretted in his life was choosing to follow his righteous doctrines over his freedom-seeking heart.
He sighed and took a deep breath.
"If I'm anyway going to die, I want to die as a free man," he muttered in a slow and deep voice. Suddenly, his eyes sparkled with a different glimmer that had never appeared before in his life. Something deep within him shattered—a barrier he had never realized was broken.
"Haha, Ahahaha!"
A maniacal laughter erupted from him, sending chills down the spine of everyone present. The image of righteousness and invincibility they once held in their hearts towards him suddenly overlapped with a sinister tyrant, cackling with wicked delight in front of them.
He had finally prepared to throw caution—and righteousness—to the wind as his grip on his sword tightened, and a crazed grin appeared on his face.
"Whatever your reasons may be, come forth! I'll battle until the last drop of my blood is spilled."
He wanted to let himself loose for the last time, celebrating his ascension into this new realm by indulging in a bloodthirsty spree, filling up rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.
He laughed out loud. "This is your final warning. Today, I'll kill to my heart's content."
Note:
In these worlds, cultivation ranks were divided into 11 different realms: Qi sensing< Body Refinement< Foundation Establishment< Core formation< Soul transformation< Nascent Soul< Spirit severing< Martial King< Martial Saint< Martial Emperor and the 11th Peak.