It was once told, that long ago, the world was filled with nothing but boundless oceans. There was neither land nor life. No flora, nor fauna. No time, nor providence. There was only light; a nine-coloured radiance that burned ceaselessly in the sky.
The Architect descended, his eyes radiant with ten rings, seeking to forge a path for life to flourish. He designed the world, working without end.
His skin was used to lay the foundation. His breath was used to form the heavens. His blood was used to burgeon life. His heart was used to forge the Grand Paths.
When the stained glass grew, The Architect desired to pass on his knowledge. He used water to soften the earth; forming clay. Shaping it into a form, he used fire to harden it. He breathed into it, allowing the Heavens to envelop it. He then blessed it with valence; wisdom of a greater world.
Thus came the advent of the Firstborne.
"I bequeath you with my heart. I bequeath you my blood. I bequeath you my skin. I bequeath you my breath. I bequeath you my valence." And the Architect's eye's dulled.
"My Child, explore! Use my teachings to complete this world. You are only forbidden from one thing…"
On that land, there was a barrow behind his son.
"Do not dig up that grave."
That was the First Testament of the Architect.
***
Shuren thought back to one of the tales told to him as a child.
The dead must never be disturbed. That concept has prevailed regardless of the continents you lived in.
"Feeling homesick already, young master?" Hebi taunted, standing guard at the manor, yawning as the auroras danced around late at night.
"Enough nonsense. I'm here for a few errands. Do your job and escort me inside." Irate, Shuren insisted, trying to hide the fact that the prospects of opening a door was too strenuous.
Hebi saw the mess of a state Shuren was in. Tired, blue eyes that seemed deeper than before, he walked while carrying his ripped silk robes over his left shoulder. Blotches of deep blue coursed across his right arm, and Hebi almost went to slap his back for a job well done. But as he neared Shuren, his jovial expression simmered down as his eyes narrowed.
"You reek of death."
Shuren could only sigh. "Hebi, do you know much about the Nekron Path?"
"You-" Hebi widened his eyes with realisation, but cut himself. "That Path shouldn't even exist. If there's even a hint of someone practicing it, the entire world would chase them down. And you're telling me there's one roaming around Cloud City? You're lucky you came back with your life. There's even an entire Era forged by a Nekron Path cultivator. Scum used armies of the dead to almost bring an end to all life."
"The Architect forbid the desecration of graves, not even a monarch would get away with it. That is the dignity of us humans that should never be crossed."
Shuren pondered for a while. The Grand Elder mentioning someone attempting to sow discord amongst ourselves.
And the warning from Veseil, the seemingly ordinary factory head. Of wolves in sheep's clothing, swarming around Cloud City. Who wouldn't care even about the influence of the Liu Clan.
How would he know that?
He shook his head, trusting the Seven Clouds Sect to handle it in the background.
"This is out of my hands. The Seven Clouds will investigate further.'' Shuren said, his left hand warmed by his pocket.
"Be prepared. You'll be getting in a lot worse situations from now on," Hebi said as he heaved open the two large doors inscribed with defensive runes. The old butler had caught the sight of Shuren's sorry state and clicked his fingers, assembling the servants to tend to his wounds.
"Young master, stop resisting and let us dress your wounds." A young maid said, grabbing Shuren to undress him. Shuren winced as a pair of maids carelessly grabbed the hem of his right arm.
"Enough! I will go have a bath first. Come in afterwards." Shuren ordered, almost getting dragged along.
After an arduous struggle of washing himself and cleaning the blood from the various nicks, Shuren called in for the maids. He still had the decency to wear an undergarment, and they began to dry him off and rubbed medicinal salve on his bruised arm. Thanks to Aerestia's pill, Shuren had sped up recovery, now needing only the night to heal completely. After the maids handed over to him his night robes, he gave a slight nod, signalling them to leave.
The Seven Clouds Sect was renowned for their freedom and lax rules. Due to the prevalent concept of missives encouraging disciples to leave the sect often, there was no restriction on returning. The status of a missive could also be used to avoid classes, but abusing it to avoid your responsibilities as a disciple would eventually lead to you falling behind. Shuren heard from his father that most sects were fiercely adamant about having their disciples stay in the sect as much as possible.
It was one of the methods; of severing their mortal ties and to embed loyalty to the sect.
Once a person had spent years in their sect, they were pretty much guaranteed to spend the rest of their life there. Leaving a sect to find another one would not only be looked down upon, the loss of resources and beginning from the bottom of the hierarchy in another sect was immensely difficult. In most cases, you would be branded a traitor.
The only result was either becoming a vagrant cultivator or a demonic cultivator. Vagrant cultivators made their living off being glorified mercenaries, while also being the driving force behind the Treasure Hunters Guild, Beggar's Foundation and Codexuan Society, just to name a few. The most famous Vagrant Cultivator was a cartographer, known as the King of all Seekers.
Though most of his life was shrouded in mystery, lost to the tapestry of the world's history, he was still unanimously decided to be one of the most influential cultivators. Existing between the Second and Third Grand Era's.
The culture and beliefs among demonic sects were vastly different, and their entire system was efficiently optimised to predate on those wanting to leave their sects because of feelings of anguish, or isolation from them with nowhere else to go. Becoming a demonic cultivator was the largest stain one could have on their life, a brand that would go with them no matter where they went. This also doubled as a chain to retain their members and remain relevant to this day. The underbelly of the realm of cultivators was an insatiable parasite, and wisdom prevailed in ensuring you don't let it anywhere near your Path.
As these thoughts swirled around Shuren's mind while reconsidering the incident, he made his way back to his bed. Irritation was plastered on his face. "Weak, I'm still too weak. I must break through to Path Foundation within one year. Only then can I get an opportunity to become a Core Disciple and gain more resources from the sect." Whenever he was this agitated, he'd struggle to sleep. In these situations, he would blow off steam by training, but Shuren cut that urge.
With nothing but his mind to keep him accompany as he lay in his bed, he further re-established his plans. "Zhou Yan, Wu Ming, Aerestia, and even the Huang Clan's Junyu, they're not bad. If I keep a good relationship with them, I can reap many benefits. Huang Junyu seems easy to befriend, as someone who admires the arts of life. And if I -" He sighed, reeling back his thought process. In the end, he was a man that wouldn't scramble around networking anyone for the sake of it. Even rejecting the nepotism offer from his mother, his pride and arrogance served as a chain to his soul. "What am I thinking? I'm rushing too much. If it happens, it happens. And if things don't fall into place, it was never meant to be."
If he really wanted to power through to Path Foundation, he could've just went back to the main Liu Clan, pledging subservience for its resources. But that was not what his father wanted. He could've begged his mother to bring their best pills and techniques from the Liu Clan, or sold off his claim to succeeding the Liu Clan with a binding oath. But that was not what he wanted.
It was irrational, but it was his ego that desired it. "I'll prove it to to that new Patriarch. I refuse to accept him!" That was his pride and arrogance. And with strengthening the foundations of his beliefs, he fell asleep.
***
When Shuren woke up, he made sure to feel out his right arm. Tensing it and stretching it didn't bore him any pain. Leaving his room, Shuren committed to his usual routine. Take a bath, get dressed, spray some perfume and look after his hair.
Shuren's father was absent, but Shuren left a note on his study desk that he was going to borrow two of his older Spiritwood sculptures. He held a small wooden plaque with a chain that would fit around one's wrists. An inanimate object given spirit, it was a celestial reading that showed live progress of Heaven's Eye, regardless of the weather or if you were inside buildings. One of the other woodspirit prototypes was a bell that could be adjusted to be used as an alarm during meditation.
The second object was an illusory wooden abacus. You could insert a will of your Qi to add and change the numerals inscribed on them, a tool most useful for mortal merchants. Shuren made his way to the main hallway of the manor, looking for the butler head.
"Where are my box of Candeseal Tea Leaves, Old Xuan?" Shuren demanded. The aged butler of the Liu Manor slightly bowed to Shuren.
"Unfortunately, young master, the last boxes you had were given away to our recent guest. We tried to procure some more from our supplier, but they've had issues securing it from the Volkahor Mountains." Old Xuan replied with grace.
Volkahor Mountains again… You're telling me even tea leaves aren't free from troubles as well?!
"Useless. How could a store not have a backlog prepared?" Shuren grabbed his bag of Dan Zi's scriptures, some medicinal pills and the wooden trinkets. He grumbled while meandering with his items. Once he reached Path Foundation, he would have enough mastery of Qi to use a spatial pouch or ring. One year, no, even faster.
"There's no need to prepare a carriage. I'll head back on my own." He waved the servants away, leaving the exit. Half expecting to see Hebi being carefree and joking around, but was nowhere to be found at the front. Probably having a nap in the courtyard. He thought.
The moment Shuren was about to fly to the sect, the cloudmulet bangle on his arm vibrated, with glistening red lights forming.
Information streamed into his mind, informing him of the signal it meant.
"An urgent request from the sect?!"