In the 7840th year of the Tianyu Continent, the Great War of the Nine Kingdoms erupted. After more than a decade of conflict, four kingdoms were annihilated, and the remaining five were severely weakened, no longer capable of waging war. The ruling classes of the five kingdoms finally reached a consensus and signed a non-aggression pact.
The continent lay in desolation, yearning for renewal.
By 7878, more than twenty years had passed since the Great War of the Nine Kingdoms. The surviving five kingdoms—Qingfeng, Baiyue, Han-Tang, Wushuang, and Xinming—had fully recovered their vitality through years of rest and recuperation. The continent thrived once more, bathed in a scene of peace and prosperity.
Longevity Valley, located within the borders of the Han-Tang Empire, remained lush and vibrant all year round, brimming with life.
An ancient legend lingered here: in primeval times, a peerless Demon Lord resided in Longevity Valley. His martial arts reached an ethereal realm, allowing him to roam the continent unrivaled, looking down on all his contemporaries with no equal to challenge him.
For unknown reasons, the Demon Lord incurred the wrath of immortals, triggering a celestial-demonic battle within the valley. Truly a prodigy of nature, the Demon Lord had cultivated his mortal body to the realm of immortals and demons; his overwhelming strength pushed the immortals to the brink of defeat.
The battle raged for three days and three nights, with no one knowing the outcome. It was only long afterward that villagers outside the valley dared to enter. What they saw was a landscape of devastation—broken branches and withered leaves scattered everywhere, and piles of beast bones accumulating like mountains. For decades thereafter, not a blade of grass grew in the valley, and it lay in utter silence, devoid of any trace of life.
Nearly a century passed before the valley gradually regained its vitality, restoring its year-round lushness and vibrancy.
Even so, no one dared to step foot inside again.
These were merely ancient legends, fading from memory as time went by.
In 7878, Longevity Valley welcomed its rare visitors—a family of four moved in to reside there.
Three months later, on a moonlit night, the young woman of the family went into labor. Painful moans echoed intermittently from a thatched cottage, mixed with the old woman's words of encouragement and consolation.
A young man paced anxiously outside the cottage, his face etched with worry. Meanwhile, an elderly man in his fifties sat quietly on a chair in the courtyard, his demeanor exuding unparalleled calm.
"Yanzhi, stop pacing. Rest assured, everything will be fine. When your mother gave birth to you, I wasn't half as flustered as you are now. Back then, I set up a table of wine and dishes in the courtyard, drinking alone as I 'awaited the good news'."
The young man halted his steps and smiled. "No wonder Mother always scolds you whenever she talks about the past."
At that very moment, a loud, clear cry pierced the silence of the night.
"She's given birth! She's given birth!" The young man nearly jumped for joy, turning to rush into the cottage.
But in that instant, an extraordinary phenomenon unfolded. A dazzling blood-red light burst forth from the thatched cottage, instantly flooding the entire Longevity Valley. The radiant crimson light then soared straight into the sky, dimming the glow of the moon and stars into insignificance.
The young man froze in shock, while the elderly man rose abruptly to his feet.
Across the continent, dozens of martial artists pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts sensed this anomaly simultaneously, all turning their gazes toward the direction of Longevity Valley.
On Chaotian Peak in the Wushuang Empire, a white-haired elder sat cross-legged on the ground, with a heroic young man standing behind him.
The young man asked, "Master, what is that soaring blood-red light?"
The elder's eyes sparkled with divine radiance as he stared at the blood-red light thousands of miles away, sighing with emotion. "It is defiance—it is refusal to submit."
In the Moonlight Palace of the Qingfeng Empire, an old woman murmured to herself, "Slaughter approaches."
A whisper drifted from the Yunyan Pavilion in the Xinming Empire: "A lost chapter of history."
An elder in the Baiyue Empire spoke solemnly: "Breaking through the void to ascend as an immortal."
In the Han-Tang Empire, someone exclaimed: "A battle between immortals and demons."
At the summit of Yunshan Mountain, a voice echoed: "Undying and imperishable."
...
The soaring blood-red light lasted for half a minute before vanishing abruptly without a trace.
The young man snapped out of his daze, shouted, and rushed into the thatched cottage.
Inside, his delicate and beautiful wife lay exhausted on the bed, while his mother—the old woman—was teasing a chubby, jade-like baby. The infant did not cry or fuss; instead, a pair of pitch-black, bright eyes stared unblinkingly at him.
The young man cried out excitedly, "Mother, is this my child?"
"Hush, keep your voice down. Don't wake Tingting—she just gave birth and is still very weak."
The young man asked anxiously, "Is Tingting okay?"
The old woman smiled. "She's fine. You're a father now, yet still so impulsive. Come quickly to see your precious son—look how adorable he is."
Affection radiated from the old woman's face.
The young man reached out to take the baby, unable to resist planting a kiss on the infant's chubby cheek.
"Mother, didn't you see that soaring blood-red light just now?"
The old woman replied, "You're talking nonsense. There was no blood-red light at all. Hurry and carry the baby outside to let your father see him."
The young man held the baby and walked out, shouting joyfully, "Father, it's a boy!"
The elderly man said, "Quick, take him to my and your mother's cottage. The night air is damp—be careful not to harm him."
The young man and the elderly man entered another thatched cottage, and soon the old woman followed.
The baby's big, bright black eyes rolled around, curiously observing the three of them.
The old woman said, "Look how lovely this child is. He can recognize people right after being born, and he doesn't cry at all."
The elderly man's expression turned grave. "Old woman, did anything strange happen when the baby was born?"
"What's wrong with you father and son today, talking such nonsense?"
The elderly man replied, "You don't understand. Something extraordinary just occurred."
He then recounted the entire incident in detail.
The old woman listened in stunned silence, finally speaking after a long while. "Nothing happened in the cottage at all. I didn't see any red light."
The elderly man said, "We'll set this aside for now. As long as mother and son are safe, that's all that matters."
At that moment, the young man suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! The baby's hands are covered in blood!"
The elderly couple hurried to look. The baby's small fists were clenched tightly, with faint traces of blood between his fingers. The elderly man gently pried open the baby's fists, revealing a blood-red character on each palm: "Bai" (Defeat) on the left, and "Tian" (Heaven) on the right.
The elderly man muttered to himself, "Left hand 'Bai', right hand 'Tian'—his name shall be Baitian (Defeat Heaven) by birth. What courage, what arrogance. Little one, who on earth are you, to be born with blood-stained characters in your palms?"
"Father, what are you saying?"
"Nothing. Old woman, you and Yanzhi quickly pack your things. We leave here tonight."
"Old man, have you lost your mind? Tingting just gave birth, and the baby is so small—how can they endure the hardships of travel?"
"Mother, Father is right. We must leave immediately. The anomaly that just happened will surely attract the attention of various forces. Soon, countless people will come here to investigate. If we stay, our lives will never be peaceful again."
The old woman sighed. "Very well, I'll go pack our things."
... "Baitian... born with blood-clotted characters... a heaven-defying battle soul... a heaven-defying battle soul..."
The elderly man stood alone in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky, muttering almost inaudibly.
The next day, Longevity Valley returned to its former tranquility. However, within three days, it was flooded with a multitude of visitors.
If you are reading this for the first time, please note that when searching for this book in the future, look for Undying and Imperishable—this work will soon be renamed. It will also be signed shortly, a recognition of its quality and a commitment to all readers: the serialization will continue without interruption, and it will never be abandoned.