Beneath the night sky, a lonely cliff towered high, and an ancient tree stood in the wind.
A storm that would sweep through the mountain forests was about to arrive. The branches and leaves of the tall pine swayed, like a person trembling gently.
Above it, dark clouds massed, with flashes of thunder glow surfacing now and then.
Before long, those dark clouds grew inexplicably vast. The surrounding wind and rain seemed blocked by an invisible barrier; though they still raged unchecked, they could no longer shake the pine below in the slightest.
At the same time, however, a forked bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket shot out like a spear. After an instant's flash, a tremendous ribbon of white connected heaven and earth, cleaving the entire tree in two.
The flames began to spread. Raindrops occasionally fell upon the trunk, yet the raging fire burned as though drenched in thick oil, soon reducing everything it touched to ashes.
Then the ensuing wind and rain suppressed the blaze.
Another short while passed, and the wind and rain ceased. The dark clouds dispersed, leaving what looked like a clear night sky.
At some unknown point, a silver-white flying ship a thousand zhang long drifted across the sky. Ye Tianming stood at its prow, gazing down at the earth. Suddenly, mild surprise crossed his face, and he jumped down.
He hovered above the burned-out trunk. Suddenly, the shadow beneath his feet moved as though alive.
The enormous dark shadow spread like a monstrous serpent, biting down on the dead tree's shadow.
Then a humanoid figure was forced out of it.
He prostrated himself on the ground, trembling in terror. "Spare my life, Celestial Immortal! Spare my life!"
An interested look appeared on Ye Tianming's face. "So a thousand-year-old tree became