Rain falls upon a dark forest. Flashes of lightning illuminate the forest floor as a powerful wind thrashes the trees about. A boy dressed in blue runs past a startled deer, followed by two men and one woman all in black robes. Half of the boy's long, black hair is up in a ponytail, while the rest is plastered to his skin as he desperately flees from his pursuers. His robes are tattered and soaked in blood and rain, and injuries cover his body. The most glaring of these is a large hole in his dantian.

"Heh heh, Ning Taisu, you can't run from us!" One of the shadows jeers and laughs at the boy they are chasing.

As he nears a large tree, the boy quickly turns his head to look toward his pursuers, revealing his handsome face. This youth's black eyes are filled with despair as he draws a plain sword. Pain wracks his body as he slashes behind him toward the closely following figures. A weak blade of air flies from the tip of his sword, cutting through the falling rain. The lead assailant easily blocks it, laughing and continuing his pursuit.

Why? Why is this happening? the boy thinks to himself. He is Ning Taisu, the young master of the Ning Clan! In his memory, he doesn't have any recollection of offending anyone, especially not these three who are so much more powerful than he is. Even though he is crippled, does he not treat everyone with respect? What changed?

He has been fleeing for an hour now and is running out of spiritual energy. His damaged meridians and punctured dantian leak spiritual energy with every breath. HIs last air blade used up most of his energy, and now his meridians can't handle any more power.

The first pursuer snorts and mutters under his breath, "This job is beneath me. Killing a pup such as this young boy is a waste of my talents. I could be fooling around at the Queen's Crystal, but that bastard seemed to think this boy was an important target. For that man to pay us so much to do this job seems like overkill. Oh well. Might as well make the most of it."

Turning to his companions, the man snarls viciously, "His soul is not yet ripe for the picking. Let us torment him some more." He takes out a censer, a small bronze bowl that hung on a brass chain, and begins chanting. White smoke pours out of the censer and wraps around his figure, creating a mysterious aura.

His companions nod and begin making hand seals in preparation for an attack. Seeing this, the boy's breathing becomes ragged. A powerful feeling of death washes over him as he forces his remaining spiritual energy to circulate faster. He feels his meridians begin to disintegrate at an alarming rate. His dantian trembles, and he forces most of its qi into his legs.

One of the assassins speaks in a hoarse female voice, "Let me test my new bow!" A light flashes in her hand, revealing a green bow. Pulling back on the string, a green, spectral arrow appears. With a soft twang like a harp, the arrow punches through the rain. Ning Taisu can't dodge in time, and the arrow pierces into and through his shoulder. Meanwhile, two poison-covered daggers appear in the hands of the last assassin. Cackling, he becomes a black blur and charges toward his target.

The terrified youth doesn't even look back as he pushes his legs even harder. Every ounce of his spiritual energy goes toward running faster and avoiding arrows. Behind him, white smoke billows out of the leader's censer. The tendrils of smoke stretch toward the boy like tentacles. He feels a strong sense of danger. Desperately, he punches his stomach, causing his dantian to burst. Endless pain courses through his body as he propels the surge of spiritual energy into his limbs. Consequently, his speed almost doubles, but it will not last long, perhaps a minute at best. In his mind, this burst of speed, however short lived, may be enough to outpace the assassins and find a place to hide.

As these thoughts rush through his head, he notices a strange sight ahead. Rushing out from the trees, he finds himself in a clearing filled with ancient ruins that seem to be the remnants of a large structure reminiscent of a temple. Several toppled buildings and columns surround a large, central dome with a hole in the center of the roof. The dome is the only standing structure in the entire complex. If he was aware of his surroundings, he would realize he isn't familiar with them at all, even though he had been out here with his grandmother many times. Keeping his focus on the large dome, he hears the assassins closing in behind him.

Dashing to the domed structure at the center of the ruins, the boy enters the temple. Its interior is lit only by intermittent flashes of lightning through a hole in the center of the domed ceiling. Although the floor and walls are overgrown, it appears to have been richly decorated at one point. Crumbling statues litter the floor while cracked, faded murals line the walls and dome overhead. Curiously, the only part of the temple that is not overgrown is a central altar. This centerpiece is carved to look like a crown of twelve horns piercing through the earth and reaching for the heavens. An area between the horns also boasts a flat slab of jade. An incredibly fierce aura comes from the slab.

Ning Taisu runs up to the altar and sees a dull black horn the size of his forearm lying on it. Breathing becomes difficult so close to it. He can tell that the overpowering aura emanates from this object. His eyes glitter as he struggles over whether he should take the horn. Perhaps it is a powerful magical treasure that can help him against his pursuers?

Outside the temple, a shout rings out, "You can't escape from us, boy!" The assassin with the daggers charges inside the temple, closely followed by the bow-wielder. Trailing behind them is the one with the censer. Startled, the boy instinctively grabs the horn.

Immediately, a powerful and ancient aura explodes from the altar and surrounds the entire domed area, locking down the space inside. The assassins that entered the temple find their movements restricted by this sudden force, while their leader slams into an invisible wall as he attempts to enter the temple. Blood trickles from a gash on his face as he tries to stabilize himself. Additionally, a secondary barrier surrounds the central altar and Ning Taisu, preventing him from having his own movements restricted.

Suddenly, a powerful suctioning comes from the floor under the two assassins within the temple, resulting in all of their life force and spiritual energy being drained from them and drawn to the altar. Bloodcurdling screams echo throughout the temple. The boy and the assassin outside watch in horror as the two wither up into mummified husks within a few breaths. At the same time, the bow, daggers, and all of the vegetation in the temple crumble to dust.

The drained energy and lifeforce cause the ancient aura to grow more powerful, and the statues and murals reassemble themselves. The statues seem to be robed humanoids that appear to be worshipping the central altar, although the youth can't be sure; they are obscured by a strange haze that causes their faces to become blurrier the closer he looks. Only the altar remains fully visible.

Realizing there is still one assassin remaining, Ning Taisu looks at the temple entrance where the censer-wielding assassin is desperately trying to break through. However, when the man looks at the statues, he lets out a low moan and drops to the floor like a stone.

Once the statues and murals are reassembled, another force emerges from the statue's bodies. This force merges with the whirlpool of life force, creating a blinding column of light that shoots up toward the hole in the dome. Within this light, the boy just makes out a beautiful illusion consisting of many floating islands, colorful flora, a large and curved mountain covered in structures made of jade, and a massive palace standing at the peak of the mountain.

The curved mountain trembles once and begins to shrink until it is the size of a finger. All of the structures and islands in this scene crumble as if they never existed in the first place. The illusory mountain slowly becomes clearer until it is a solid object. If one looks closely, one would notice that this mountain, along with the black horn in Ning Taisu's grasp, actually looks like one of the horns in the crown making up the altar.

As the Ning boy examines the tiny mountain, it suddenly moves toward the horn in his hand. The horn shivers as if excited and flies out of his hand. They collide, and the mountain disappears into the horn, causing it to shine. Its original dull black color deepens, and multicolored streaks appear on its surface. A majestic aura emanates from it.

He stares dumbfoundedly while the horn turns toward him and darts into his skull, sinking into his brow. Now it is his turn to scream as the object burrows through him toward his damaged dantian, releasing a brief yet piercing spiritual attack. His soul can't withstand such an assault and shatters shortly afterward. Following this, a healing force emanates from the horn, and his soul is reformed again.

Just as his soul fully heals, another attack comes, and it fractures again. This cycle continues for a few breaths until the thing reaches his heart. The pain is so excruciating that he passes out. A flash of red briefly lights up his pupils before his eyelids droop shut.

After passing through his heart, the horn releases a storm of qi. Restorative energy spreads throughout the boy's exhuasted body and slowly heals his injuries. Although the physical injuries are gone, his damaged dantian and meridians remain untouched.

Once this process finishes, the horn settles where the boy's dantian once was. All of the energy it released disappears and it becomes still. At the same time, the ancient aura in the temple fades away, and the statues and murals revert to their original state. The temple slowly fades away, leaving only the unconscious boy and the remaining assassin.

...

The night slowly passed, as did the storm. Morning came. The birds chirped, and the bugs buzzed. As the morning light danced over the forest floor, it passed over the youth's face. He stirred, and slowly opened his eyelids, revealing a pair of intelligent, black eyes.

"What... Where am I?"