Red Wine Mountain—where even the wind dared not linger too long.
The summit was cloaked in crimson mist, as if soaked in the blood of history. Here, legends whispered of battles lost and sins too great to bury. And now, two figures stood at the peak, locked in a moment fate had carved with fire.
One of them, a white-haired man in flowing robes, exuded a cold, crushing aura. His sharp brown eyes scanned the stranger with suspicion. He was Yun Lin—the Red Wine Sage. Revered. Feared.
The other was younger. A black-haired swordsman, silent as stone. A crimson blade rested at his side. His eyes held no anger—only a quiet, smoldering rage that seemed older than his years.
"Who are you?" Yun Lin's voice was sharp. "How did you reach the peak of my mountain?"
The swordsman took a step forward.
"You don't remember me," he said, calm as a still lake. "But I remember everything."
He paused, the wind swirling around his dark silhouette.
"I was ten the day you slaughtered my clan. You murdered my father—Feng Lin, the Evil Swordsman—before my eyes."
Yun Lin's composure cracked. His brows furrowed. "You… You're Feng Lin's son?"
The swordsman smirked.
"My name is Feng Yun. And I've come to bury your legend."
His hand twitched. The crimson blade hissed from its sheath.
CLANG!
Yun Lin barely blocked in time. Sparks exploded. The shockwave cracked the stone beneath their feet.
BANG!
Both men were flung backward. Yun Lin regained balance, eyes narrowed. "How… How did you match me?"
Feng Yun rolled his shoulders, hiding the tremor in his arm. "Looks like legends are exaggerations after all."
Yun Lin noticed the tremble.
He vanished in a blur—
SWOOSH!
—reappearing behind Feng Yun, blade slicing toward his spine.
SLASH!
Feng Yun twisted. Too close. A few strands of hair floated to the ground.
"Predictable," he whispered.
Then, he vanished.
A cold voice whispered behind Yun Lin's ear:
"You never saw it coming."
BANG!
A burst of Sword Qi erupted from Feng Yun's fingertip, piercing straight through Yun Lin's chest.
The Red Wine Sage staggered back, clutching his wound as blood poured out. "Y-You… Sword Qi? Only Deity Transformation cultivators can—"
Feng Yun approached.
Yun Lin's mind raced.
And then he understood.
"The Bloody Pill… You took it…?"
Feng Yun's smirk faded.
"I did."
Yun Lin laughed—a bitter, broken sound. "You fool. You've traded your future for a corpse."
Feng Yun raised his blade.
"Then I'll drag you to hell with me."
SHINK.
The blade pierced Yun Lin's heart.
His body collapsed.
The legend was dead.
Feng Yun stood over the corpse. Breathing heavy. Empty.
It was over.
But not without cost.
Pain bloomed in his chest. His knees hit the stone. His vision blurred.
His fingers brushed his cheek.
Red.
Blood.
"So this is… the cost," he whispered.
The strength that fueled him burned out. His body gave way.
He collapsed beside the man he'd killed.
And the world went black.
A cold, soundless void.
Feng Yun lay motionless. He felt no heartbeat. No breath. No weight.
Just awareness in a place that should not allow it.
"I died," he whispered. The words felt distant. Hollow.
But then—why was he still here?
He sat up slowly. His limbs moved, but they weren't truly his. His Qi was gone. His sense of the world—a blank slate. No north, no ground, no sky.
He walked.
Each step echoed without sound.
Time passed—minutes, hours, eternities. He sat again. "Five hours? Or five centuries?"
Then a voice echoed through the void.
"Done wandering, little ghost?"
Feng Yun stood up at once, fists clenched. "Who are you?!"
The voice was deep. Mocking. Ancient. "No need to shout. I simply caught your soul before it scattered."
"You caught me?" Feng Yun frowned. "Why?"
"You intrigue me. That's all. But if you wish to leave, be my guest. I'll open the gate of the abyss. Step through—and your soul will cease to exist."
Feng Yun went still.
"So I'm dead. And this… this is mercy?"
"Of a sort," the voice said.
Silence fell again.
Feng Yun exhaled slowly. "What do you want?"
Laughter.
"Smart. Here's the offer—one task. Complete it, and you'll have a second life. A new body. In a new world."
Light bloomed.
A golden box floated before him.
"Inside is a seed," the voice continued. "Plant it in the central world I send you to. And your soul will be reborn."
Feng Yun narrowed his eyes. "I don't deal with shadows. Show yourself."
"You'll have proof," the voice said, amused.
A glowing scroll appeared before him, floating in midair.
"A contract. Binding by soul. If I break it, I die. If you fail your task—you die. Simple enough?"
Feng Yun read the terms carefully.
And signed.
"I accept."
The contract vanished in flame. The golden box landed in his hands.
He looked into the abyss one last time.
"This time," he whispered, "I won't live for vengeance."
His eyes burned.
"I'll walk the path of the seeker. The path of absolute domination."
Light swallowed him whole.
And his second life began.
As the divine light faded, warmth replaced the eternal cold.
High above the sky, the sun had already reached its zenith, casting golden rays across a forgotten corner of the palace. In a dust-choked chamber, a man lay still upon a once-grand bed. His features were hollow—sunken cheeks, pale skin, blackened eyes—his body long surrendered to ruin.
He looked more corpse than king.
And yet, faint breaths stirred his chest.
Outside the room, two maids whispered, unaware that fate itself had stirred.
"It's been five years," one said while arranging wilted flowers. "Five years since he was dethroned by his brother and fell into that coma. The prince had to shoulder the kingdom at ten… all because of him."
"Shh!" the other hissed. "Do you want to be executed by Sir Roman?"
"No one comes here anymore. Not even the little prince. Besides…" Her lips curled into a cruel grin. "Sometimes I think maybe I should smother him myself. Put him out of his misery."
The second maid paled. "You're heartless. He's only thirty-two."
"Once, maybe," the first muttered. "But grief twisted him. When the queen vanished, he went mad. Spent the treasury searching for her. When she wasn't found… he broke. His hair turned white overnight. Then the coma."
Evening crept in, and the maids finally left.
They didn't notice the storm waking behind them.
Inside the king's broken shell…
A new soul opened its eyes.
"Tch… What rotten luck," the voice muttered. "A madman's body? Dethroned, abandoned… and I have a son now? Wonderful."
With effort, Feng Yun sat up. Bones creaked, joints screamed.
"Ah… my back. This thing's falling apart."
Then—
DING!
A translucent screen shimmered into existence.
| Greetings, Successor of Ourospawn. |
"What the hell…?"
Feng Yun waved his hand through the screen, fingers passing clean through.
| I am your guide, forged by the will of the Outer God Ourospawn. || I exist to aid you in fulfilling the pact… and to ensure your survival. |
| Do you accept me as your guide? Y/N |
Feng Yun gave a slow grin. "When the gods offer you fire, you don't ask if it'll burn. You grab it."
| Acknowledged. Pact confirmed. Initiating soul analysis... |
Name: Feng Yun
Class: Unknown
Qi Type: Evil
Age: 200+ (Soul Age)
Realm: Mortal Path – 1st Stage
| Notification: Gift received from Lord Ourospawn. Open? Y/N |
"Gift? Sure. Let's see what you've got, Outer God."
Skill Unlocked: [Devour – Soul Eater]A divine technique. Limitless. Unbound.Feed on souls. Grow eternally.
Feng Yun smirked. "Now that sounds like something I could get used to."
CREAK.
The window crept open. A shadow slipped inside.
A man, cloaked in black, approached the bed with two daggers drawn. His voice trembled.
"Forgive me, former king… You were a just ruler. But duty is duty."
He stood over Feng Yun's unmoving body.
"I promise to make this painless."
The blade descended.
But Feng Yun moved.
A flash. A twist of the neck.
The dagger missed.
"What?!"
Feng Yun's fingers jabbed into the assassin's eyes. The man screamed, staggering back. His daggers clattered to the floor.
Feng Yun stood. Pain gripped his spine, but he forced himself up. He snatched the daggers.
"Still hurts like hell… I'll finish this fast."
The assassin lunged blindly, slashing wild.
Feng Yun dodged effortlessly, then drove both daggers into the man's stomach.
The assassin screamed again—until a punch to the throat silenced him forever.
He collapsed, lifeless.
Feng Yun exhaled, rubbing his back. "Poisoned daggers… Great. But now I know someone wants me dead. And if those maids were right… it's my dear brother."
He raised his hand.
"Let's test this new toy."
Black energy surged from his palm—a swirling vortex of devouring hunger.
The corpse glowed gold.
A stream of soul essence tore from the body, sucked into the void in Feng Yun's hand. The corpse shriveled, turning gray and hollow like burnt parchment.
Power surged through Feng Yun's veins.
The pain vanished.
His bones straightened, his hair turned midnight black. Wrinkles faded. Muscles tightened. His face sharpened—like jade kissed by moonlight.
| Soul Devoured. || Realm Advanced: Mortal Path – 5th Stage. || To ascend: Devour ten similar souls, or one of greater strength. |
Feng Yun grinned. "Now I understand."
| Would you like to recover the memories of this body's original owner? Y/N |
"Yes."
PAIN.
A spike drove into his skull. Memories slammed into his mind like a flood—laughter, betrayal, poison, heartbreak, a vanished queen, a brother's cruelty.
Feng Yun opened his eyes slowly. Memories still echoed in his mind—warmth, sorrow, betrayal.
"Haha… he really was a fool," he murmured. "Same name. Same tragic orphan past. But unlike me, he clung to emotions."
He leaned back, eyes narrowing.
"His brother tried to kill him—multiple times—and he still forgave him as a child. The only time he acted was when that bastard insulted his wife… called her a low-born whore."
Feng Yun's tone shifted.
"He exiled his brother. Broke inside. Poisoned himself into a coma. All for a woman… a traveler… who vanished like smoke."
He stood, stretching his body that now felt younger and stronger.
"He was weak… but I thank him for this vessel. I won't waste it."
Feng Yun's smile darkened.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
A voice from behind the door:
"Father… I'm coming in."