The rain is pouring from the clouded dark sky.
Rumble!
The ground is trembling from the loud thunderous sound of the lightning.
In the midst of the heavy rain, an old man wearing a tattered robe and an old bamboo hat walks under the protection of an umbrella.
"Hmm… Something seems to be happening. The emotionless heavens are crying so loudly today."
The old man shakes his head as he strokes his long grey beard and continues walking.
"waah.. waah… Owaah!"
Suddenly the sound of a crying baby falls on his ears and he pauses. At first, he decides to ignore it but… the guilty conscience in his heart stops him.
Sigh!
With a deep sigh, he walks to the sound of the baby. Soon he reaches a tall tree.
In the gaps between the tree's roots, he finds a small, newborn child wrapped in green cloth, crying.
"Waah!"
"How can someone be so cruel to leave such
a small life to die."
The old man looks at the pitiful child and rocks him in his hand.
"Waah.. waah!"
The old man's eye softens as he gently tries to calm him down.
"There there… don't cry, everything will be all right. No need to be afraid."
Sensing the sincerity in the old man's gentle voice, the child stops crying and opens his green eyes, looking at the old man.
The old man smiles seeing that the child also smiles.
"Gyaa."
Suddenly the rain stops sensing something wrong and the old man looks at the sky.
Clang!
Between the dense clouds golden rays of light shine and fall on the small child as the rattling of chains echoes in heaven and earth. Sonorous. Endless. Sacred.
The sound travelled across the entire Heavenly Dao World. It echoed in the ears of mortals, cultivators, and divine beings alike.
Farmers in distant fields dropped to their knees in awe. Beasts in ancient forests lifted their heads to the sky.
Transcendents in the hidden realms stirred from meditation, their gazes piercing toward the source.
"An omen…" whispered an elder in seclusion.
"A child touched by the Dao itself. But why does it sound like chains?"
"Is this the birth of a child loved by heaven or… a disaster that will shake the entire heavenly dao world?"
A billion miles away in a world with golden-white sky shone with a bright and pure lustre. Countless exquisite halls made of golden jade could be seen everywhere, empty and tranquil.
Among the halls, there was an old white palace named Heavenly Fate Palace.
Heavenly Fate Palace is bright from the golden light coming from the top of a white tower located in it.
The white tower has nine floors. Each floor is wrapped with golden spider webs in gaps of spider webs. Countless scenes are flashing.
At the very top of the tower at the centre of the room on an eight trigram, a great being is sitting cross-legged.
The being could be described as a being of two worlds: one of a celestial, ghostly white and gold, and the other of a deep, midnight blue and pulsing, digital light.
His form is a paradox, a fusion of ethereal cloth and electric, glowing circuitry. The white robe, draped like starlight, suggests ancient wisdom and authority, its gold filigree patterns whispering of forgotten rituals and power.
Yet beneath this celestial shroud, his skin is a canvas of dark, cosmic blue, crisscrossed with lines of brilliant light—a living circuit board mapping an otherworldly intelligence.
His face is a void of shadow and light, with only two piercing golden eyes to betray the consciousness within.
Above the man, there is the source of the golden spider web surrounding the entire white tower.
But one of the golden threads of the web has turned pitch black.
Seeing this he lifts his finger and seals his mouth. Next second the everything around him fell silent the world has lhad its voice.
Then he lifts his left hand, closes his eyes and begins counting on his fingers. As his finger stops counting he looks in a certain direction with a deep gaze.
Then he lifts his left hand and touches his forehead with two fingers.
A white light erupts from the centre of his forehead. Then he moves the two fingers and points them forward.
The space shatters and a white light flies from his forehead into the shattered space. Then he slowly closes his golden eyes.
— — —
In a vast chamber, far larger than any ordinary dwelling, yet crafted to feel intimately grand.
The walls were panelled in dark, lustrous ebony hardwoods inlaid with intricate patterns of gold leaf depicting scenes of imperial glory.
Heavy tapestries, woven with threads of silk and silver are hung from floor to ceiling, muffling all sound and imparting a sense of profound stillness.
Illustrating historical victories, allegories of virtue, or serene landscapes from distant, conquered lands.
In the centre, dominating the room like a throne is the Emperor's bed. It is an edifice in itself—a massive, four-poster design, carved from rare, dark wood lacquered to a high sheen.
The posts rise to touch a canopy of rich velvet embroidered with the imperial crest, tassels of gold thread dangling at each corner.
Beside the bed, a small, inlaid table holds a delicate porcelain teacup, a scroll of poetry and a small, jewelled dagger.
Oil lamps and candles in ornate silver and gold sconces, carefully placed to cast a warm, flickering glow, illuminating only what was intended.
In the bed, the emperor is sleeping soundly under a red and golden silk blanket. But suddenly the sky of the imperial palace turns white and a vast and mighty pressure falls on the emperor as he wakes up.
"Who is it?" Woken up from his sleep the emperor looks around then in front of him a white ethereal figure manifests.
As the manifestation appears, heaven and earth begin to vibrate. Their eyes hold the stillness of a deep lake, reflecting not just the present moment, but a thousand forgotten sunrises.
The emperor's face was drained of all colours. His knees buckled before he even realised it, striking the floor with a dull thud.
His fingers clawed at the silk sheets as though clinging to life itself, his forehead pressed so hard against the marble floor it left a faint mark.
"Gre.. great divine being wh… what.. brings.. yo.. You're here." The emperor is so frightened that his voice is trembling and he can't even say a sentence straight.
"An anomaly that breaks the law of heaven has appeared in the land in the east, find it and erase it."
Their voice, when they speak, does not just resonate; it vibrates with an echo of ancient forests and the hum of distant stars. It is a sound that carries the weight of history.
The white manifestation then disappeared but the emperor dared not look up. The entire time he was looking at the ground in fear he didn't even dare to look at the feet of the manifestation.
"Your majesty, are you alright?"
After a minute the door of the emperor's bedroom opens and a man with a few soldiers enters the room.
The emperor then gets up and gives him an angry look and says "Go call the cultivators and prepare them for a mission to the Divine continent in the east."
The man is taken aback and says " But your majesty.."
"Just do it. I want them to be present here in three days." The emperor cuts off the man and says in anger. "And they all should be Rank 3 masters or above."
The man wants to say something but he swallows his words as the furious eyes of the emperor fall on him.
"As you command your majesty."
The man takes all the soldiers with him and leaves the bedchamber of the emperor.
After all of them had left the emperor began to take deep breaths. His body was trembling as he couldn't shake the fear of the divine being that had manifested before him.
— — —
As the rattling of the chains stops the sky clears and a night sky filled with stars shows its face.
The old man then turned to the child's face.
"A child born with the destiny of the heavens. Hmm… let's call you Tian Ming."
"Gyaa."
"Oh, you like the name." The old man turns around.
"Let's go. I have a granddaughter. She is just a year older than you. She will also be happy now that she has a younger brother to play with."
The old man soon disappears from that place as a few men wearing green robes appear and examine the area near the tree.
The man in green thoroughly examines an area of hundreds of metres.
"Senior brother there is nothing here."
"Search thoroughly according to the elders. The source of heavenly omen should be somewhere here."
They all expand the search area and continue searching. But even after examining the area of a couple of miles they don't find anything.
"Did you find anything?"
"No… it seems nothing is here."
"Hmm let's check in the nearby towns and cities if someone must have taken the child."
They nodded at each other and everyone dispersed in different directions.