Sacrifice to the River of Stars

Gods, demons, Buddhas, and humans: four realms stood side by side. Yet the human realm was but a speck of dust beneath the three realms, a lowly patch of earth looked down upon by the gods.

“They may be insignificant, but who says they should willingly crawl at our feet?”

At the divine court, golden steps and jade stairs reflected the fire in the young man's eyes. He faced his mighty father on the throne, his voice shaking the palace. He was the divine realm's most defiant Red Dragon Crown Prince, clad in crimson-gold dragon armor that blazed with the light of the heavens.

“Since you refuse to see reason, I banish you to the human realm to undergo eighty-one tribulations. If you do not awaken when they are over, you will be stripped of your divine status forever.” His father's voice was as cold as ice that had endured for ages.

The young man clenched his fingers at the words, then raised his brows and smiled. “Your Majesty needn't trouble yourself.”

The sharp clang of armor hitting the ground shattered the silence in the hall, crimson-gold scales scattering across the steps. He turned and strode toward the Wheel of Rebirth, his solitary figure like a broken blade. Only the glimmer of moisture at the corner of his eye disappeared into the clouds.

“I'll go with him.”

A clear female voice broke the dead silence. The young mistress of the Phoenix Clan, her skirt trailing flames, pushed past the immortal attendants trying to stop her.

“Do you understand that once you take this step, you will lose your Phoenix bloodline forever?” The clan elder's rebuke was heavy with sorrow.

The girl lifted her eyes, fierce enough to burn all dust to ash. “It was never the bloodline I wanted. I want to walk this road of tribulation with him.”

As their sleeves billowed, the glow of the flames and the broken armor fell together into the mist of the human realm.

Above the clouds, the white-haired Lord Lao gazed at the afterglow of the Wheel of Rebirth. In the patterns traced by his calculating fingers lay half a verse of fate that no one could decipher.

It had all begun...