The cultivation world was divided into ten great cities, each controlled by one of the most powerful factions in existence.
The locations of these cities had never been chosen by chance.
Each of them stood upon a single colossal earth vein known as the Heavenly Conqueror Dragon Earth Vein.
This immense vein stretched deep beneath the land like a sleeping dragon, and along its length rose ten towering mountains. Every one of these peaks possessed the purest and densest spiritual qi in the world, making them the most coveted cultivation grounds in existence.
The earth vein had been discovered twenty thousand years ago by a legendary figure known as the Heavenly Conqueror.
At that time, he was acknowledged as the strongest cultivator in the world.
After subduing every rival and conquering the entire cultivation world, he had been granted that title — a name that symbolized absolute dominance.
By cultivating atop the Dragon Earth Vein, he eventually broke through to the Void Transformation Realm, shattering the limits of the mortal world and ascending to a higher domain beyond heaven and earth.
From that moment onward, the most powerful factions in existence moved their strongholds to the ten mountains of the vein.
Over countless years, each mountain gradually developed into a massive cultivation city.
Though all ten cities were rooted in the same earth vein, each possessed a unique atmosphere and culture. Different factions governed them according to their own laws, beliefs, and customs.
They competed endlessly for resources, spiritual qi, and influence, their rivalries often erupting into fierce conflicts that could shake entire regions.
At the same time, these cities became the commercial centers of the cultivation world, attracting cultivators from every corner of the land.
---
Blood Moon City was one of those ten great cities.
Unlike the others, it remained shrouded in perpetual darkness, as though the sun itself refused to shine upon it. The air was saturated with dense Yin Qi, making it a natural gathering place for devils, ghosts, and cultivators who walked dark and sinister paths.
It was the only city that did not belong to any faction.
No single power ruled it.
Here, killing and chaos were as commonplace as sunlight in the rest of the world.
In a forgotten corner of the city stood an unremarkable establishment known as the Free Heart Inn.
Inside, a lone man sat quietly by a window, gazing out at the dimly lit street.
The faint glow of lanterns barely illuminated the drifting fog, casting long shadows that seemed to sway like restless spirits.
He remained still, his expression calm and unreadable.
Moments later, five figures appeared one after another.
Without speaking a word, they spread out and surrounded him, their silent gazes fixed upon his face.
The man looked at them without the slightest change in expression and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
"It is not too late to regret your decision."
The five men remained silent.
None of them responded.
Each of them already understood that there was no turning back. Regret held no meaning for people who had long since lost everything.
The seated man was none other than Liang Yifei.
He looked at them for a long moment, then let out a quiet sigh as he opened his spatial ring.
Reaching inside, he withdrew five pitch-black formation disks and handed one to each of them.
"Each of you will travel to one of the ten major cities," he said calmly. "Go to the locations we previously arranged and place the formation disks there. When the time comes, I will notify you to activate them."
The five men nodded silently.
Without another word, they departed one by one, leaving the inn as quiet and empty as before.
All five of them had once been talented cultivators with promising futures.
But in the cultivation world, talent alone was never enough.
Offending a powerful faction was often a death sentence.
The first man was named Li Gang.
One day, he had returned home only to find the lifeless body of his dao companion lying on the ground.
After investigating, he discovered the truth.
An elder from the Divine Phoenix Sect had taken an interest in her rare physique.
Although the city's laws forbade murder, the place where Li Gang lived was Rising Flame City — a city entirely controlled by the Divine Phoenix Sect.
The elder who killed her was a Nascent Soul cultivator.
In a city ruled solely by his sect, no one dared question him.
Consumed by grief and fury, Li Gang had stood beside her body, trembling with helpless rage.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed someone standing behind him.
A cold voice spoke from the shadows.
"What would you be willing to do for revenge?"
Li Gang burst into loud laughter filled with madness.
His eyes were empty as he replied without hesitation.
"I will do anything."
Liang Yifei handed him a thin sheet of paper.
"I can grant you the revenge you seek," he said calmly. "But the price may be your life. If you accept, leave a portion of your blood essence here."
Without even a moment of hesitation, Li Gang forced out several drops of his blood essence and let them fall onto the paper.
---
The second man was named Guan Wei.
He had once been arrogant and prideful, believing himself above others.
In his recklessness, he insulted elders of the Heavenly Conqueror Sect and even mocked their founder.
The sect responded swiftly.
Disciples were dispatched to hunt him down, nearly killing him. Though he managed to escape with his life, he was left gravely injured.
By the time he recovered, he learned that his own sect had been completely exterminated in retaliation.
With nowhere left to go, he became a wandering cultivator.
It was during those aimless years that he encountered Liang Yifei and signed the same contract.
---
The third man was Zhang Lie, once a disciple of the Hidden Moon Sect.
His sect had been annihilated in a sudden attack by a group of bandits.
He alone survived.
Only later did he discover the truth — those so-called bandits were actually agents of the Heavenly Thunder Palace, the faction that controlled Thunderbolt City.
They had attacked purely to seize one of the sect's treasures.
Left with nothing, Zhang Lie wandered the world alone, surviving day by day while silently nurturing his desire for revenge.
---
The fourth man was Han Zhi, a gifted cultivator from the Dragon Terrace Sect, which ruled Dragon Terrace City.
One day, he was falsely accused of stealing a priceless artifact from the sect treasury.
Though innocent, he had no power to defend himself.
He was expelled from the sect, and a bounty was placed on his head.
Forced to flee, he spent years hiding while being relentlessly hunted by his former fellow disciples.
---
The fifth man was Li Xin, a disciple of the Green Lotus Sect.
He had fallen deeply in love with a woman from the Immortal Jade Sect, the faction that governed Myriad Fantasy City.
When their relationship was discovered, the sect executed the woman without hesitation.
Li Xin was stripped of his status, publicly humiliated, and cast out.
With nothing left, he wandered the world alone, his heart filled with bitterness and hatred.
---
Every one of them had signed a contract with Liang Yifei.
A contract that promised them revenge.
And one that would almost certainly lead them to their deaths.