Prologue: Heaven Devouring Pearl
The Celestial Hall stretched infinitely, its floors like rivers of liquid starlight, pillars of star-crystal reaching into the void. The entire heavens had gathered: tens of thousands of gods, immortals, and celestial beings, their presences bending reality itself. All eyes were fixed on the Emperor of the First Heaven, Fang Yuan, and his bride, Yue Ning.
Fang Yuan's aura radiated absolute majesty and terror. Even the faintest movement from him distorted the air and star-light. Beside him, Yue Ning floated like a goddess, breathtaking in beauty, her eyes glimmering with ambition that no mortal or immortal could comprehend. To the untrained eye, the union was flawless, but beneath her serene visage burned a lust for ultimate power, greater than any love.
The sacred marriage music began to flow, harmonizing with the cosmic pulse of the heavens. And then, without warning, a jagged rift tore the sky apart. From the abyss fell a sphere, black as the void and veined with crimson fire—the Heaven Devouring Pearl. Its arrival sucked the light from the heavens, twisting reality, and whispering promises older than creation: power, betrayal, death.
Yue Ning's eyes blazed. "It… belongs to me," she whispered, reaching toward the Pearl.
"Do not!" Fang Yuan roared, his voice splitting the heavens. "Its power is beyond comprehension! One touch, and all will fall!"
Ambition eclipsed love. Yue Ning lunged. Cataclysmic energy erupted, tearing apart the Celestial Hall. Rocks, shattered stars, and divine pillars rained across the void. Fang Yuan was thrown back, gravely wounded, blood streaking through his immortal aura.
With no time left, he activated the Sacrifice of the First Heaven, a forbidden technique capable of annihilating a constellation. Energy surged like a dying sun, striking Yue Ning and the enemy forces simultaneously. She fell lifeless. The enemies were annihilated. Yet the Pearl resisted, floating free, untamed.
Broken, bloodied, and near death, Fang Yuan hurled the Heaven Devouring Pearl toward the mortal realm. His final words echoed across the heavens:
"May the one who finds it… surpass all… become Heavenless."
The heavens shook. A marriage meant to unite eternity had birthed catastrophe. The Pearl, alive with cruelty and betrayal, descended to the mortal world, waiting for the ruthless, brilliant mortal destined to claim it.
In the remote Qingyu Village, a boy was born under a strange omen. From the moment of his birth, villagers sensed something unusual—a faint pulse of power hidden within his body.
That boy was Feng Yan.
The first sixteen years of his life were ordinary to the casual eye: he played, studied, helped his parents in the fields. Yet within him, the Heaven Devouring Pearl stirred quietly, a sleeping storm in his veins.
Today, Feng Yan stood atop a jagged ridge overlooking the village, his eyes sharp and calculating. Birds flinched at the slightest sound. The river's ripples seemed to respond to him. He was mortal, weak in body, yet his mind was far beyond ordinary.
"Yan'er! Breakfast!" his mother called, worry in her voice.
"Coming, Mother," he replied, though his attention remained on the northern hills, where faint pulses of energy echoed within him. The Pearl was awakening, and with it, a destiny that would shake the heavens.
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Early Rivalries and Foreshadowing
From the edge of the forest, a figure watched silently—a boy slightly older, carrying faint traces of cultivator energy. Even now, he sensed Feng Yan's unusual aura.
"He… is different," the boy whispered. "Yet he is mortal… weak. Interesting."
Thus, the first seed of rivalry was planted, unseen but inevitable.
High above, Lian Mei, Daughter of Heaven, observed from the clouds. Though distant, she felt the Pearl's chaotic energy resonate with the boy. A faint smile curved her lips—destiny had begun weaving.
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Feng Yan's Resolve
Feng Yan returned to his simple home, sitting at his wooden table, gazing at the faint shimmer beneath his skin—the Pearl inside him. Though powerless now, he knew he could feel its calling.
"I will not remain mortal," he whispered. "I will awaken this power, walk all paths, defy the heavens, and surpass all who stand in my way."
And with that, the journey of the Heavenless Immortal began.