Snow blanketed the large expanse of the Death Valley giving the uninhabitable place a mystically beautiful feel. It was called that not because it contained any mortal danger, but because anything which wasn't a cultivator or a demonic beast would wither and die, producing a sparse land with a lack of any vegetation.

A city built with iron walls filled with the sounds of clanging. Dozens of men were seen chained together and swinging pickaxes mining at chunks of purple ore protruding from the ground. Even more men worked in the mines scattered around the city.

A young man with a developed physique and curly hair stood out from the line of workers. His unadorned upper body did not have the presence of the usual tattoo burning with power found among every other man but despite this, his performance did not lose out. His eyes exuded an aura which made others want to follow him.

The repetitive work grinded at the endurance of the men causing their tattoos to slowly lose their glow, their movements becoming stiffer. Only the young man with curly hair remained unchanged, the deep and powerful look in his eyes only becoming stronger. When the sky grew dark and the guardsmen came around to release the chains, the young man did not stop mining. The look in his eyes was released without any reservations, halting the movement of others.

The guardsman who unlocked the chain one by one stopped when he came close to the man. When he kneeled down to unlock the chain, his eyes met the other party. His mind felt lost as if overwhelmed by a sea and he gradually lost the will to resist. Slowly he stood up and bent down to retrieve a pickaxe taking a pose similar to the young man. The other party still did not heed him at all, continuing the repetuous cycle of swinging.

"Bo Chen, what are you doing?" A stern voice sent the guard out of his daze. He looked down at the pickaxe in his hands in confusion before looking at the young man next to him. The superior, who was looking at his confused subordinate, quickly came closer and grabbed the pickaxe in his hands.

Swish

A blow landed on Yin Yufan's back with the backside of the pickaxe, sending him flying into the dirt. "If the slaves aren't listening, just hit them untill they do, understand?"

Yin Yufan realized that everyone had already left and quickly apologized before leaving. The stunned guard watched the latter’s back, speechlessly trying to comprehend what had happened.

"I finally did it!"

After about eight years Yin Yufan had finally learned how to replicate the technique of the being. Although he wasn't training or practicing the technique, his repeated observation of the technique from visiting the cave often helped him lay down a foundation and sense a mysterious energy while working monotonously allowed him to clear his mind for the first time and fully apply what he had seen.

At first, he didn’t practice the skill that much, but as he got older and learned more, he realized the immensity of his luck. From the point when he realized the potential of the technique, Yin Yufan studied it relentlessly day and night for around 3 years before he finally suceeded.

During that time, he did not visit the mysterious creature at all because of his freedom being confined. Moreover, he realized that if the creature easily taught him this powerful technique on a whim, it’s standards were definitely unbelievably high. If he did not even manage to cultivate what the other party considered as simple, Yin Yufan would not have the face to come back.

He walked in a tent and saw his father who had just come home.

"How did your first day working for those bastards go?" Since a few years ago, a sect has gathered all the nearby tribes to use as slave labor in cities like this one. Their objective was apparently a deposit of rare ore found in this region. All men over fifteen were forced to mine the whole day while children collected the ore and women processed it.

"It wasn't too difficult, but still it is humiliating to be a slave. I don’t understand why we don’t rebel?" Yin Yufan was a little indignant about being hit with a pickaxe. Hearing his question, his father's face turned angry.

"Didn't you ask before? There is a Foundation Establishment Expert overseeing the city."

"If everyone works together it should be possible to beat him, no?" Yin Yufan was confused on this point.

"Have you ever seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator? A legitimate cultivator who battled others all his life." His father paused and continued with a bittersweet expression.

"You know we can't leave Death Valley without getting killed by the established sects, even here, it's hard enough to find food for us. You have to understand that people with bleak futures like us have little hope. Most of the people would rather work hard and be served hot food instead of having to hunt monsters and face uncertainty every day. Even if we do somehow overtake the city, where will we run? When the sect sends reinforcements our fate will be worse than death." Yin Yuhan turned gloomy. His father continued.

"Yuhan you haven't cultivated the tattoo method and you have a good body and talent. I still have some savings enough to send you away as a disciple of the sect" The previous joy of learning the technique was completely wiped away. On one hand, Yin Yuhan wanted to protest against leaving the city and his family but on the other, he did not want to be a slave for the rest of his life. At least as a disciple of the sect he could later come back and provide for his family.

Yin Yufan’s fists clenched. He felt like a huge fish in a small pond, stifled by its walls and not able to grow. He wanted to venture much further on the path of cultivation than his father or even his ancestors and it seemed like the mysterious creature was the only one who could change his fate.

“No matter what, I must go back and convince the creature to become its disciple or to get its teachings. Hopefully my talent is good enough!” Anxiety made him feel a chill in his body, he really hoped that his efforts in comprehension would pay off.

Not wanting to talk any more, Yin Yuhan stepped out of the tent to meet up with friends. He soon found and joined a group of young men. They were all slightly younger than him because fifteen year olds were considered adults and did not hang out with kids anymore. Everyone swarmed Yin Yufan to ask about his new work.

"Yin Yufan!" Everyone made way as a tall kid ran while yelling.

"Ning Feng, what's the matter?" Yin Yufan looked at his best friend who seemed to be panicking. Catching his breath, Ning Feng pulled him away from the crowd to talk privately.

"Brother Yufan, my father and his friends gathered to drink and I overheard them talking," Ning Feng said in a quiet voice.

"Are they planning to marry you off or something? Just get to the matter." Seeing his friend dead serious, Yin Yufan realized that the problem was grave.

"They said that the mining has been going on for over two years already. Lately, the ore has been getting a bit sparse so very soon the sect might leave"

Yin Yufan was confused. Wasn't that a good thing?

Ning Feng continued. "Apparently this ore is very important so they don't want anyone to know what they were doing here. Do you think they will just let us go free once they leave and hope we don't talk?" Yin Yufan realized what the problem was.

"They will kill us" Both of them went silent before he realized something.

"Then my father, he knows and wants me to.." He couldn't finish his sentence, everything suddenly became clear to him. His whole world came crashing down, even if he had to risk it all, he couldn’t accept his loved ones dying.

It just so happened that on the day that he finally comprehended the technique of the mysterious being, this crushing news came. In Yin Yufan’s eyes it was not a coincidence, it was fate encouraging him!

"Brother Yufan!" Ning Feng yelled at the figure which was running away. Yin Yufan ran up to the wall and jumped with all his might. As he was propelled into the air, his hand reached up to one of the protruding rocks in the stone wall. Hanging with one hand, he pulled himself and reached up to grab another one. This way he quickly scaled the wall under the astonished gaze of the crowd.

"Stop him!" The supervisor from before quickly noticed what was happening. A guard at one of the watchtowers on the wall was awakened by the yell and spotted a young man quickly scaling the wall.

When Yin Yufan climbed up the wall, a guard was already near him with his sword drawn. All the guards were cultivators from the sect, this one was a middle aged man at the sixth Qi Gathering realm. Seeing his opponent was just a mortal young man, the guard relaxed. He swung his sword at Yin Yufan's arm in order to severely punish him but not kill him.

Condense!

Yin Yufan's eyes emitted a dominating light. The guard's movement slowed to a crawl as if he was moving through a swamp. In just a moment, the look in his eyes became blank and lifeless. His body even faintly trembled.

The sword which was now slowly moving towards Yin Yufan was grabbed by him and swung in the direction of the guard. He didn’t hesitate at all because once he escaped once, he would definitely not be able to again.

Shua!

His head was directly cleaved off! A cultivator was slaughtered like a chicken by a mortal without any weapons training. Truthfully, Yin Yufan didn't initially want to kill anyone but knowing that he would have to fight the cultivators later, what good would sparing the other party do?

Before any reinforcements came, Yin Yufan directly jumped off the wall to the other side.

Sh*t, my legs!

Falling more than ten meters almost broke his legs, but for some reason the dominating light he was still releasing from his eyes made his body feel stronger.

Upon stabilizing himself, Yin Yufan broke into a run. His destination was the cave of the mysterious being! He randomly zigzagged as arrows penetrated the ground on both sides near him. He finally managed to make it far enough where the guards on the wall stopped firing and started running in his direction to catch up.

His only option was the mysterious cave, he felt only the being could help him in this situation!

Not long after, Yin Yufan found the familiar crater and revealed an elated expression at the sight of the cave nearby. He almost stumbled as he rushed inside, the guards not far behind him. The familiar passage did not seem to change even after all these years except this time golden eyes did not greet him.

"Great being, I beseech you to help me!" Yin Yufan knelt on the ground and begged the darkness. He didn't actually know if the being was still there but all he could do at the moment was have faith.

After a moment of silence, a familiar ancient voice appeared in his head only this time weaker.

"Not bad, initial success in Domination after only eight years”

“Senior, I-” Before Yin Yufan could explain, he got cut off.

“I already know everything that happened, don't worry about those little cultivators, the question is what do you want and what do you propose in exchange."

Shocked, Yin Yufan’s respect of the being increased by a few levels. After a moment of thought, Yin Yufan reached behind him but awkwardly retracted his hand when he realized he didn't bring anything.

Yin Yufan could only plead. "I know you are really strong so I ask you to help free the city where my parents and friends are. There is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator which probably wouldn't be difficult for you. As for what I give in exchange, I can become your disciple or servant. After all, I did learn the Domination technique you taught me and from what I understand it did not take me too long!"

Time slowly passed in the dark without the being responding. Yin Yufan maintained his position and bowed even deeper. Finally after what felt like eternity, a reply sounded.

"I have done a similar thing in the past, fleeing from my home to become strong. In the end this is where I end up."

Yin Yufan felt that the being was even more mysterious than he dared to imagine, but at the same time why would he stay in a cave in some desolate place?

"If what you seek for is my help then you are a fool. Let's assume I even slaughter the entire sect, what do you think would happen? Without me to back you up, others would swoop in and annihilate or enslave you again. It is already commendable your tribe stayed free for so long."

Yin Yufan felt himself blush and realized that he was still ignorant of the larger picture. Before he could continue begging the voice continued.

“If you want to rebel, then rebel all the way! If you start something, then persevere until the end! If you cannot understand this simple principle then you don’t even deserve an opportunity”

The grandiose voice boomed in Yin Yufan’s mind. All he could do was bow his head even further and stay silent.

"Alright enough rambling, you have indeed surprised me with your growth. Let's make a deal. I will give you a power beyond your imagination which will easily allow you to slaughter the sect and even rise up in the world. At the same time this power will bestow upon you an equally grave responsibility.."

Without even hearing out the rest, Yin Yuhan shouted.

"I agree!"