Myth Beyond Heaven

In a secluded mountain valley of an unnamed timeline, Yun Lintian sat motionless upon a flat stone. Snow piled upon his shoulders, his hair, his lashes—yet he did not stir.

For three years, he had sat thus.

The accumulated power of Primordial Gods churned within him, their essences resisting assimilation. Golden veins pulsed beneath his skin as he forcibly refined them, one by one, turning stolen divinity into his own strength.

Seasons changed. The snow melted, then returned. Animals came and went, sensing the dangerous aura yet finding the strange man harmless in his stillness.

Then, one winter morning—

A rustle in the undergrowth.

A girl of perhaps twelve stumbled into the clearing, her thin robes tattered, her lips blue with cold. Hunger hollowed her cheeks, yet her dark eyes burned with stubborn will to survive.

Yun Meimei froze when she saw the snow-covered figure.

“A dead cultivator?” she whispered, her breath puffing white.

Hesitantly, she approached. The wild berry in her palm—her only food after three days of searching—felt suddenly heavy. Her mother’s words echoed in her mind: “Always show respect to the dead, Meimei. Their spirits watch over us.”

With trembling fingers, she placed the berry before Yun Lintian’s crossed legs. She clasped her hands and bowed.

“May… may you find peace in the next life,” she murmured.

A gust of wind scattered the snow from Yun Lintian’s face.

His eyes opened.

Yun Meimei screamed, scrambling backward. “Y-you’re alive?!”

Yun Lintian regarded her silently. His gaze dropped to the single, withered berry—more precious than any treasure to this starving child.

Something long buried stirred in his chest.

Without a word, he raised a hand. A wisp of green energy—the power of life—flowed into Yun Meimei.

“Ah!” She gasped as warmth flooded her limbs. The constant ache of hunger vanished. Her meridians, previously clogged with impurities, burned clean in an instant. The power settled in her body, forming the foundation of a cultivation path far beyond her world’s understanding.

“This… what is this?” Yun Meimei looked at her arms in confusion.

Yun Lintian didn’t say anything and continued to stare at her.

“T-Thank you, Senior,” Yun Meimei stuttered. “My mother… She’s sick—I was looking for medicine—”

She tried to explain to Yun Lintian, who didn’t even ask her a question.

Suddenly, a storage ring landed in the snow before her. Yun Lintian’s voice was quiet.

“Go home.”

Yun Meimei grabbed the ring, sensing the immense treasures within—spiritual herbs, pills, even cultivation manuals. Tears welled in her eyes.

“Thank you, immortal!” She kowtowed deeply. “May I know your name? I swear to repay this kindness!”

A long pause. The wind howled through the valley.

“Yun Lintian.”

The name hung in the air as he closed his eyes once more. The snow began to gather on his motionless form again.

Yun Meimei kowtowed three more times before sprinting toward home, her heart lighter than it had been in years.

Just like that, Yun Lintian sat motionless for another month, the snow piling high around him.

The God Slaying Sword hovered nearby, its dark blade humming faintly as it absorbed the residual divine energy leaking from his body.

Suddenly—

His eyes snapped open.

A frown creased his brow as he sensed it—the faint aura of his storage ring being forcibly opened. His divine sense exploded outward, covering hundreds of miles in an instant.

At the edge of the forest, a village burned.

Houses collapsed into roaring flames. The streets ran red with blood as cultivators in black robes slaughtered villagers for sport. Their laughter echoed amidst the screams.

In a small hut at the village outskirts, Yun Meimei lay sprawled on the ground, blood dripping from her nose. Her mother was pinned against the wall by a sneering cultivator, his fingers digging into her throat.

Another cultivator—taller, with a cruel smirk—twirled Yun Lintian’s storage ring in his hand.

“Where did a little rat like you get something like this?” he demanded, kicking Yun Meimei in the ribs.

She gasped but didn’t answer.

The cultivator’s smirk widened. He turned to his companion. “Break one of the woman’s fingers.”

The other cultivator grinned, wrenching Yun Meimei’s mother’s pinky finger backward with a sickening crack.

“NO!” Yun Meimei screamed.

The lead cultivator crouched before her. “Tell me who gave you this ring, and I’ll let your mother live.”

Yun Meimei’s lips trembled. Tears streamed down her face. But she clenched her fists and spat, “Go to hell!”

The cultivator sighed. “Pity. Such a pretty face, such talent… wasted.” He raised his sword. “Kill the mother first. Let the girl watch.”

The blade descended—

And froze midair.

A voice, colder than the deepest winter, spoke from the shadows.

“Why?”

Everyone in the hut stiffened. The cultivators whirled around, their blood running cold.

Yun Lintian stood there, having appeared without the slightest ripple of energy. His golden and black eyes burned into Yun Meimei.

“Why didn’t you tell them about me?”

Yun Meimei’s breath hitched. Fresh tears spilled over. “M-Mother taught me… never to betray a benefactor. Even if it costs my life.”

Yun Lintian stared at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, he turned to the terrified woman still pinned against the wall.

“You raised a good daughter.”

The cultivators finally snapped out of their shock. The one holding Yun Meimei’s mother snarled, “Who the hell are—”

Puff!

His arm fell to the floor, severed at the elbow.

A second later, the other cultivator’s arm followed.

They barely had time to scream before Yun Lintian flicked his wrist. Yun Meimei’s mother was yanked from her captor’s grip and deposited gently beside her daughter.

Yun Meimei sobbed, clutching her mother close. “Thank you… thank you, Senior Yun!”

Yun Lintian didn’t respond. He turned his gaze to the two writhing cultivators.

Their eyes widened in realization.

“W-Wait—”

Yun Lintian raised a single finger.

The God Slaying Sword shot forward.

Two heads hit the ground.

The remaining black-robed cultivators froze as an oppressive aura blanketed the entire village.

One by one, their bodies stiffened. Their eyes bulged.

Then—

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Like overripe fruit, their heads exploded.

Not a single drop of blood touched the surviving villagers.

Inside the hut, Yun Meimei trembled as she watched Yun Lintian step toward the door.

“Senior… where are you going?”

He paused.

“I’m leaving.”

However, before Yun Lintian could take another step, he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine.

Puff!

As he turned around, Yun Meimei’s head was already flying into the air. Her eyes were still filling with concerns… Clearly, she didn’t even know how she died…