The surroundings were filled with black mist.
A warm glow descended from the "Illusory Sun" above, shining on the young witch, Tietie.
The young witches, Jin and Yin, wiped the sweat from their faces and happily watched the swing they built between the two stone pillars after three days of hard work.
Wutong carried Tietie and placed him on the swing.
Wujin smiled and pushed the swing.
The swing soared high into the air.
Tietie laughed with a mix of fear and delight, his clear laughter resounding in the distance.
Wutong stared at the swing, forcefully turned his head away, and pouted, "What a child's thing... I'm Wutong...no, Wuchangming now, I'm already an adult... I won't play with these childish things."
Wuzhan carried a snake as thick as a bowl's rim and walked into the warm red light from the black mist.
He smiled at the harmonious quartet, patting the still wriggling snake on his shoulder, "Later, we'll have snake soup..."
Wujin, Wuyin, Wutong, and Wutie laughed loudly together.
The laughter suddenly stopped, and countless pale and swollen faces, grotesquely covered in blood, emerged from the surrounding black mist.
The distorted faces crowded towards Wutie.
Wuzhan disappeared.
Wujin disappeared.
Wuyin disappeared.
Wutong disappeared.
Wutie woke up, screaming in agony, with his entire body convulsing.
"Dad...big brother..." Wutie hoarsely cried out, an indescribable heartache engulfing him, crushing his fear into nothingness.
His hoarse cries echoed, tears obscuring his vision as he stared blankly at the object that had scared him unconscious.
A snow-white skull, so white that it almost blinded one's eyes, with a touch of ferocity, eyes flickering with a dim red light, lay crookedly beside Wutie, fixedly staring at him.
On the high rock dome, numerous luminous gemstones emitted bright light.
The surface of the white skull was exceptionally clean, kicked out from the bundle of dirt by Wutie and untouched by any dust or dirt, completely pristine.
Despite its immaculate surface, it did not reflect any light.
The bright light of the gemstones shone on the white skull, seemingly swallowed up by it, giving Wutie the illusion that the skull was pitch black.
In this unfamiliar strange world, Wutie, physically and mentally exhausted, suddenly saw the eerie white skull. It startled him, causing him to faint.
He dreamt of the pain of losing his father and brothers, the agony of losing his family, and the pain squeezed his heart, temporarily overpowering his fear.
Wutie cried, trembling uncontrollably.
The white skull, lying crookedly on the ground, moved its eerie scarlet eyes, diligently examining Wutie.
Wutie couldn't see it with his naked eyes, but a faint light emanated from the skull's eyes as it meticulously scanned him.
"Did dad die?" The white skull suddenly spoke with a stiff, icy tone.
"Uh!" Wutie choked, nodding.
"Did big brother die too?" The joints of the white skull's jaw did not move at all, yet it spoke.
"Uh!" Wutie nodded again.
"Help your grandpa stand upright." The eyes of the white skull suddenly lit up, two blood-colored glints piercing Wutie's eyeballs, causing him to hurriedly turn his head.
"No, help your grandpa stand up. Why are you crying?" The white skull coldly snorted. "If I'm not mistaken, you are a man...a man."
Wutie opened his mouth.
"A man can only bleed. He shouldn't shed a single tear." The white skull sneered. "Once tears flow, the bones become weak..."
Wutie stopped crying.
In his mind, he seemed to see his father and three older brothers.
He seemed to hear his father's roar after Wuzhan knocked Wujin into the sandy soil on the drill ground.
Wujin curled up in the sand, groaning in pain, while Wuzhan bent over, glaring down at him, yelling.
"Stand up, Wujin...you're a man...stand up!"
"Stand up straight for me!"
"Remember, unless you're dead, even if your spine is broken, you still have to stand straight!"
"No matter who the opponent is."
"In short, remember, anytime, anywhere, stand straight for me!"
Wutie clenched his teeth and wiped his face, wiping away the tear stains.
Wujin, who had always been taught to stand upright by Wuzhan, knelt in front of his enemy for the sake of his useless younger brother.
Wutie struggled to stand up, his eyes fixed on Wujin kneeling in front of the enemy, and forcefully straightened his back, gnashing his teeth, staring sharply at the strange white skull.
After standing firmly, Wutie realized that this white skull, kicked out from the dirt bundle and completely clean, had a head three times the size of a normal person.
Its shape was also somewhat peculiar, with a protruding back of the head, a streamline-like appearance exuding an indescribable eerie beauty.
"Don't cry?" The white skull sneered. "Help your grandpa up!"
Wutie swallowed, then bent down and carefully picked up the white skull.
It felt cold to the touch.
This white skull was actually cast entirely in metal.
"Huh?" Wutie looked at the white skull in horror.
"Impressive." The white skull continued to sneer. "I'm made of metal, and you are flesh and blood...why use your own fists? Can't you find a stone?"
Wutie suddenly realized. He bent down and picked up a fist-sized stone near his feet, silently smashing it onto the white skull's head.
"Saying that I can't cultivate...is because of my dad!" Wutie lashed out at the white skull while furiously pouring out his words.
Hitting it more than a hundred times, the white skull's clean surface remained unscathed, but the stone shattered.
"Worthless." The white skull laughed coldly. "I'm made of metal, and you are flesh and blood...why use your fists? Can't you find a stone?"
Wutie had a sudden realization. He bent down to pick up a fist-sized stone and silently smashed it onto the white skull's head.
"The one who said I can't cultivate...it's my dad!" Wutie fiercely hit the white skull while shouting hysterically.
"It's my grandpa who said I can't cultivate...you haven't shed tears like this, avenging the one who killed your father and brothers and even his whole family."
A wave of heat and madness rose inexplicably in Wutie's heart, filling his exhausted body with fanatical strength.
"Revenge!"
Wutie roared with all his might.
"Revenge," this word was not unfamiliar to him.
"I want revenge!"
"But..." The two lines of faint red tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, and Wutie shouted at the white skull, "I cannot cultivate...how can I take revenge?"
The eyes of the white skull flickered with blood-red light, and it suddenly had a stiff, ice-cold voice, as if a knife was stabbing Wutie's heart, "Seeking revenge for your father carries heaven-defying hatred. As a man, you should make your grievances clear."
"He killed your father and brothers, so you should kill his whole family."
"If you haven't avenged your father's death, kid, you don't even have the right to die!"
A surge of heat and madness rose in Wutie's heart, his exhausted body filled with fervent power.
"Revenge!"
Wutie screamed, his voice hoarse.
"Revenge," he was no stranger to this word.
"Let me cultivate!" Wutie shouted with all his might.
"Listen to me, I can make you cultivate... I can help you get revenge..."
Wutie quickly devoured a piece of snake meat, regaining some strength. He stood up, biting his teeth, and stared at the white skull intently. "How do I do it?"
The eyes of the white skull glowed. "First, answer me...what year and month is it now?"
"What year, what month?" Wutie looked at the white skull in confusion.
"Chronology? Calendar? Or something similar." The glowing eyes of the white skull dimmed slightly. "I used to know the time...but it's been too long since I encountered a living being...little one, do you understand the meaning of despair?"
Wutie opened his mouth, silent for a while. He forcefully nodded.
Despair...
Wasn't it looking at his father being reduced to ashes in a thunderous explosion?
Despair...
Wasn't it witnessing his brother being beheaded by the enemy on the spot?
Despair...
Wasn't it his brother kneeling before the enemy, begging for mercy while he himself was utterly powerless?
"I understand!" Wutie uttered the word with great difficulty.
"That kind of despair can't compare to 10,000 times of my former despair. It's a kind...of despair you can't imagine." The white skull suddenly sighed dryly. "However, it's great; at this moment, I'm suddenly filled with boundless motivation."
"Really, why did I say so much nonsense to you, a little brat?" The voice of the white skull suddenly became extremely sharp and forceful, the sound clashing like two sharp swords. "Come, now, hold me and follow my instructions!"
"But, I really don't know...what year, what month... I've never been taught by my teacher," Wutie walked behind the white skull and held it with both hands.
Several semitransparent tubes drooped from the broken neck of the white skull, patting Wutie's wrist as they swung.
"Recognize that direction...the direction with a hint of red light, that's right, come on, stride forward with big steps!"
The voice of the white skull was full of strength.
"Kid, start walking...one, two, one...one, two, one..."
"Stand straight, lift your head, keep your legs straight, pay attention to breathing, follow the beat of grandpa’s clapping."
"One, two, one, one, two, one..."
Although the white skull had a head three times the size of a normal person and Wutie was frail, with an average height for an eleven-year-old, holding the white skull was like a little mouse holding a big egg. It was very difficult for him to walk.
Although the white skull was not heavy, Wutie didn't have much strength left.
In addition to the slippery ground covered in thick moss and weird vines, Wutie fell several times soon after they started walking.
However, the "one, two, one" sound from the white skull exuded a strange power, motivating Wutie to stand back up and continue moving towards the direction it indicated.
Fortunately, the white skull had a special texture, and even when Wutie dropped it several times, it remained clean without a speck of dirt.
"One, two, one, one, two, one..."
The white skull said, "You're improving, kid...carry on like that...what's your name?"
"Wutie." Wutie gasped for breath. "Wutaiping...what about you?"
"Wutie? Not bad...a man should be as tough as iron!" The white skull said, "But Wutaiping? 'No peace'...who named you that? It's unlucky."
Wutie drooped his head.
Dry laughter came from the white skull. "Haha, I really do run my mouth...get used to it, get used to it..."
Eyes flickering with blood-red light, countless invisible light nets scanned in all directions, enveloping an area of one hundred meters.
"Wutie, Wutie...let's call you Xitie, it sounds closer and more affectionate!"
"As for my name...you can call me... Lao Tie!"
"Lao Tie?" Wutie felt that the name was a little perfunctory.
"Of course, Lao Tie...don't you see that my whole body is made of iron? It's a literal representation!"
Dry laughter followed Lao Tie's words. "Don't worry about my nonsense...just get used to it...get used to it..."
The eyes flickering with red light grew dimmer. Lao Tie sighed, "I used to remember time...but it's been so long since I encountered a living being...child, do you understand the meaning of despair?"
Wutie clenched his fists and nodded firmly.
"Good, very good. My previous despair was definitely ten thousand times more than yours. It's...a kind of despair you cannot imagine." Lao Tie suddenly laughed harshly. "But it's good, now I have unleashed boundless motivation."
"It's only that my mouth is really malicious...heh, heh, get used to it, get used to it..."