In the episode of the hit series Beyond Time's Gaze (光阴之外), a villain does something unthinkable: he reads the protagonist's future, realizes the kid is basically immortal, and then decides to murder him anyway. It is a decision so stupid, so brilliantly backwards, that it turns a standard chase scene into a tragicomic masterpiece of self-destruction. This is the story of the Ancestor of the Vajra Sect, a man who looked destiny in the eye and then flipped it off, only to have his entire world burn down as a reward.
A Villain With a Death Wish
The Ancestor of the Vajra Sect isn't just some random bully. Standing tall with a thirty-foot Dharma form, he is a force to be reckoned with in the Cultivation world. But his real power isn't his brawn; it's his apparent access to the story's script. He somehow sees that the protagonist, Xu Qing (许青), carries the "Chosen One" destiny—the kind of plot armor that guarantees survival and future vengeance. In the world of cultivation, this knowledge is power. A smart villain would use it to recruit the kid, or at the very least, steer clear.
This Ancestor, however, decides to speed-run his own demise. He looks at this inevitable future and thinks, "I can beat that." He doesn't just ignore the warning signs; he doubles down. Equipping his top disciples with high-level tracking talismans, he launches a full-scale manhunt. His logic seems sound in the moment: crush the threat before it grows. But in the narrative economy of a cultivation drama, actively hunting the protagonist is less a strategy and more a written invitation for personal ruin.
The Home-Field Advantage of Hell
Cornered and outnumbered, Xu Qing makes a choice that looks like suicide. He flees directly into the Forbidden Zone—a nightmarish landscape that every other cultivator avoids like the plague. To the Vajra Sect elders chasing him, this seems like the end. They assume he is either dead or soon will be. What they fail to understand is the critical difference between a visitor and a resident. For them, the Forbidden Zone is a death trap. For Xu Qing, who survived there for over seven years, it is his childhood home.
This is where the Vajra Sect's strategy falls apart. The two elders split up, each driven by a fatal flaw. Elder Li, arrogant and eager for glory, charges ahead alone, viewing Xu Qing as an easy kill. But Xu Qing isn't fleeing; he is hunting. During the chase, he breaks through to a higher cultivation level, turning the tables on his overconfident pursuer. Elder Li's solo mission ends abruptly, his life force becoming just another boost on the protagonist's journey. He learned the hard way that in the Forbidden Zone, the hunter can become the prey in an instant.
The Boomerang Effect of Stupidity
Elder Chen takes the smarter route, calling for backup and trying to ambush Xu Qing. But he, too, underestimates the environment. The Zone isn't just empty land; it's filled with entities that defy logic. He is captured by a terrifying faceless woman—an amalgamation of the dead. In a moment of dark poetic justice, Xu Qing’s past kindness comes full circle. Having spent years burying the bodies he found in the Zone, the faces on this creature are those of his "old acquaintances." It recognizes him, spares him, and instead turns its wrath on the Ancestor, trapping the master while the student works.
With the Ancestor tied up by a ghost, Xu Qing demonstrates a ruthless efficiency that deserves its own business case. He doesn't just escape; he counter-invades. He raids the Vajra Sect headquarters, taking everything valuable and burning the rest. He even lops off the arm of their Grandmaster before flying away on the very talismans they gave their elders. When the Ancestor finally breaks free and limps home, he finds nothing but ashes and a future guarantee: the Chosen One he tried to kill is now safely under the protection of a major power, and he will be back. The Ancestor’s last thought, one imagines, was simply, "Well, that backfired."
