The mist was heavy that morning—so dense that even silence seemed to stretch across the mountains like a living thing. The birds did not sing. The dogs had ceased to bark. It was as if the world itself had sensed its fate before it arrived.
Rin, the orphaned boy, sat at the edge of the cliff, watching the first rays of sunlight pierce through the peaks that encircled his mountain village, Xuan Hua.
But he felt it before he saw it.
A suffocating darkness—like a blade pressed to his throat.
He ran toward the village, his heart screaming louder than his feet. And when he arrived, he saw what would never leave his memory.
Black flames, burning without fire.
Men with crimson eyes, and banners of black blood fluttering above their heads.
"The Sect of Black Blood…" he whispered.
The men of his sect tried to resist. Its sages unleashed their powers—but they fell, one by one, like autumn leaves swallowed by a demonic storm.
And amidst the falling world around him—he saw him.
A masked man, standing motionless at the heart of the slaughter.And yet, all who approached him died… without a touch.
For a single moment, their eyes met.And in that instant, Rin tasted death—while still alive.
He ran… and ran… and ran…
He hid in the mountain's cave, wrapping his frail body in his mother's old cloak, his eyes weeping in silence.
He ran—stumbling through mud, blood, and ash.
The sound of his feet on shattered stone mixed with the groans of those barely clinging to life.
And his heart kept screaming:
"Run! Run! Don't look back!"
But he stopped—suddenly.Something broke inside his memory… or perhaps, something opened.
His father's face.That rough, gravelly voice… on that final night before he vanished forever.
"Rin… if anything happens to me, take the paper I hid beneath your mother's chest…"
In the darkness of the cave where he now hid, he pulled the paper from his tattered clothes.It had been wrapped with care in an old cloth, stitched shut with a single red thread.
With trembling hands, he opened it.
Inside was a faded, hand-drawn map.A mountain unlike any he had ever seen—its peak shaped like a spear piercing the sky.
And beneath it, words:
"When you have nothing left… go to the dead shadow beneath the third moon."
He understood none of it.Yet something in his heart stirred—this was no mere map.
It was breathing.It was waiting.
In the night when everything burned…Rin was left with nothing but the map.And in the nights that followed…He was left with nothing but time.
Four years later...The parchment still lay safely tucked inside a worn leather pouch hanging at his waist.He had opened it a thousand times—yet never dared to follow where it led.
But now, time was drawing near.
Four years had passed...
Four seasons of hunger, of fear, of sleeping beneath trees.Four years carrying a map he never found the courage to trace—until now.
Tonight, he would leave the cave.
The wind whispered in his ears, as though speaking just to him:
"The dead shadow beneath the third moon…"
He sealed the pouch tightly.Grasped his wooden staff, buckled on his old belt, and began the descent toward the road leading to Lin Shu—the first civilized outpost at the edge of the Land of Men.
The night was still… far too still.
But somewhere on the hilltop, he saw a flicker—a faint glow, blue, as if the moon itself had come down to kiss the earth.
He approached cautiously, without a sound.
There was someone there—a boy.
Wearing a grey cloak, a longbow slung across his back.
He was gazing at the sky, as if waiting for something.
"Are you lost?"The words came gently, without turning around.
Rin froze, his hand tightening around his small dagger.
"I don't attack kids—unless they're stupid."The boy smiled, still not looking at him.
"…And who are you?"Rin asked at last, his voice sharp.
"Just a traveler. Same as you."He turned, and his eyes were truly moonlit.
"My name is Li Yang."
Rin sat beside him hesitantly.The air felt strange—comforting, yet dangerous.
Li Yang suddenly said:
"You're searching for something, aren't you?"
Silence.
"Something someone left behind…In a place you've never dared to go."
Rin looked at him, startled.
"How do you know?"
Li Yang smiled.
"Because I'm searching too. And maybe… my path crosses yours."
Then he stood, lifted his cloak, and pointed to a trail behind the trees:
"I'm heading to the Forest of the Seven Beasts.There are secrets there. Enemies.And maybe… answers."
"If you want, come with me.Or crawl back to your cave, and wait for death to find you."
Rin hesitated—but followed him…
The night was eerily calm.
Hours passed. The rain had stopped.A low hill appeared, overlooking a wide plain swallowed by fog.
Li Yang halted, then looked at Rin.
He smiled and said:
"Sit. The road is long.And the world is far too vast to understand while standing."
Rin hesitated, but sat beside him on the damp earth, pulling his worn cloak tightly around his thin frame.
Li Yang pulled something from his pouch—A strip of dried meat and a piece of hard bread, handing him half without looking.
Rin took it slowly.He eyed Li Yang warily… but he didn't resemble anyone Rin had ever met.
Softly, Li Yang spoke:
"You want to know where your feet have taken you, don't you?Very well… I'll tell you about the world that's trying to swallow you whole."
The Seven Realms of Qing Lian:
The Land of Men:"This is where we're born. Where all stories begin."Cities, human sects, kingdoms, and markets…But don't be fooled—humans are sometimes worse than demons.
The Land of Beasts:Forests, mountains, and spiritual creatures.If you survive, you can form a pact with a spirit beast… or die and be digested.
The Land of Spirits:Home to ancient beings who've transcended flesh.No bodies here—only will and energy.
The Land of Demons:"Don't enter… unless you hate yourself."Internal wars, deranged sects, and laws unlike any you've known.
The Celestial Realm:It appears only to those who've reached the heavenly stage and beyond.Some say it's not a land at all… but a higher layer of existence.
The Realm of Emperors:Home to great sects and ancient arts.No one enters without permission from one of the Seven Emperors.
The Forgotten Realm:No one knows what lies there.They say those who enter… either vanish from existence, or return with something stronger than death.
"And within each land, there are sects… thousands of them.Some small. Some rule entire cities.Each with its masters, its techniques, and its secrets."
"And then there are…"He paused and lowered his voice:
"Ancient treasures. Sacred weapons.Maps that lead to places no one should ever know."
"And you?" he asked while walking again, "Where do you plan to begin in all this madness?"
Rin replied in a quiet voice:
"I didn't come to survive…I came to rise.And to avenge."
Li Yang gave him a long look.
Then whispered:
"Then we're after similar things…This world doesn't favor those who wander aimlessly."
"…I have something.I don't know if it's valuable, but my father… left it for me."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Your father? I thought you were an orphan."
Rin nodded.
"He vanished before the massacre.He told me: Don't open it unless you feel you've reached the edge."
Rin pulled a tightly wrapped cloth from his leather pouch.He unfolded it slowly, as if revealing something sacred.
A hand-drawn map, faded by time.It showed a strange mountain—like a spear stabbing the heavens.
Beneath it, written in a strange, ink-black script:
"When you have nothing left…Go to the dead shadow beneath the third moon."
Li Yang fell silent.
He didn't speak for long seconds, then murmured:
"This… is unlike any map I've seen.It might be worth more than everything I own."
Rin eyed him with suspicion but didn't pull the map away.For the first time in years, something like trust stirred within him.
"You helped me tonight… that's why I'm telling you."
Li Yang gave a faint smile.
"Don't worry, Rin…If your path leads through shadow, I know how to walk in the dark."
He studied the map quietly.His eyes traced the faint lines, as if trying to remember something—or compare it to something he'd once known.
Then, suddenly, his gaze narrowed.He whispered to himself, careful not to let Rin hear:
"That symbol… it only appears on maps from before the fall of the Lin Tian Sect…Could this be… one of the keys to the Ancient Blades?"
But he smiled as if nothing had happened.
"Strange map, truly. Let's see where it takes you, Rin."
Rin carefully took it back and wrapped it again.
He didn't notice the faint gleam of greed that flashed in Li Yang's eyes… and it wouldn't be the last time.
A rustle… then a roar!The silence shattered by the tearing of leaves… and a deep, ground-shaking growl.
Li Yang leapt to his feet, bow already in hand.
"Get up! This isn't the time to rest!"
From the fog, a massive creature emerged—wolf-like, with glowing red horns protruding from its back.
"A Boiling-Blood Wolf!"Li Yang shouted, loosing his first arrow toward its right eye.
Rin jumped back, his heart pounding.But his hand gripped his small dagger—there was no time for fear.
Li Yang moved swiftly, arrow after arrow flying, eyes locked on the beast.
Rin dashed between the rocks, striking beneath the tail, between the ribs.
At the critical moment, he shouted:
"Now! Aim for its other eye!"
Li Yang fired—dead on.Rin leapt and plunged his dagger into the exposed throat.
The beast collapsed… then froze.
Its blood receded. Its body shriveled and vanished, leaving behind a red energy core.
Li Yang picked it up, examined it, then looked at Rin.
"You were good. Quick-thinking."
Rin smiled, exhausted:
"And you… were precise."
Li Yang handed him the core.
"Take it. You're the one who killed the beast."
Rin accepted it, unaware that he had just been tested.
In Li Yang's heart, a decision was made:
"I'll follow this boy… until I uncover the secret of that map.Then… I'll decide what to do with him."
But he hid the thought behind a gentle smile.
"Come on… the Forest of the Seven Beasts awaits."