The Immortal Region had never been kind to the weak and helpless. It had always been a land of savage and ruthless men...
About 680 years ago, a Great War devastated the Northern Region. At that time, the Southern Region was merely a forgotten land.
In the ruins of what had once been the grand White Moon Kingdom, an independent country that had eventually been annexed, survivors fought for their lives like cornered beasts.
On the streets that had once been the kingdom's commercial center, orphaned children and young people hid from small groups of assassins and slave hunters.
Crouched among the rubble of the houses, two children hid from the hunters. A few weeks earlier, around twenty children had been captured and taken away by force. Their fate? No one knew, but what had happened to some of them left everyone terrified.
Hunger had descended upon the survivors, and the merciless men did terrible things to them. There was no hope left, nor any faith in God...
Among the two children hiding there was a little girl of about nine years old, with long, light-brown hair that was tangled and covered in dust. She wore nothing but a few old rags that barely protected her small body from the cold. Her once-innocent eyes carried the weight of a recent war and the loss of her parents. Every day, she and her older brother fought for a little food, clinging to each other to survive. The girl's greatest fear was not hunger or the cold, but losing the only family she had left.
As she listened to the pleas of several captured people, she tightly held her brother's hands, fearing that the worst would happen to them one day.
The young man, who was around sixteen years old, had red hair and a relatively thin build. He hugged his little sister and tried to comfort her. He was frightened as well and knew there was nothing he could do.
They both cried as they listened to the desperate screams of those who had been captured.
Three days after that incident, the red-haired youth was desperately running with an injury to his leg. Not long before, he had fought relentlessly against a Black-Fanged Boar, a low-level wild beast whose meat was consumed by mortals and novice cultivators.
Something strange was seen moving among the trees, and worried, the young man grabbed his prey and ran. However, he was surprised by several men who clearly belonged to the Slave Hunters.
He dropped his prey and confronted them, but the difference in strength was too great, and he was eventually injured. However, his reaction had been swift, and he soon descended the cliffs to escape.
Back in the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, the little girl trembled from the cold as hunger ravaged her small body. However, she held a rotten apple and refused to eat it—not because it tasted bad, but because she was worried about her brother. Her heart raced with fear whenever he went out to hunt.
Her small eyes had lost their light long ago. She watched the alley leading to the road, always waiting for her brother and praying for him.
The place where the little girl was hiding had once been a fork between the houses. After the destruction, however, the entrances to the streets had been buried beneath the rubble, and now it was necessary to pass through a narrow alley to reach the area.
Suddenly, she saw him arrive, but there was a problem. He was gasping for breath, his eyes filled with terror, while blood poured from a deep wound in his leg.
The young man ran toward his sister and, with a sorrowful expression, took a strip of old cloth and tied it over the little girl's mouth. He quickly led her deeper into the rubble and, with gestures, told her not to make a sound.
Soon, voices could be heard.
"He's here!"
The young man returned to the entrance of the alley and encountered the hunters. He then began a desperate hand-to-hand struggle to prevent them from discovering his sister.
"Hold him!"
"This bastard's pretty strong!"
The constant shouting did not frighten the little girl away. She was worried about her brother and wanted to help him. She knew these people were evil because they smelled horrible.
Crawling beneath a huge piece of rubble, the little girl caught sight of her brother being captured. At that moment, she wanted to scream, but the cloth tightly tied around her mouth prevented her from doing so. She understood that if she revealed her hiding place, her fate would be tragic and all her brother's efforts would be in vain. Her eyes filled with tears and despair.
In her mind, she cried:
Don't hurt my brother! Stop, please!
While they were tying up the young man, a moment of carelessness from the hunters opened a gap, and the Red-Haired Youth threw a punch at one of them in the face. It was useless. The young man suffered a heavy blow to the stomach and lost consciousness.
However, completely enraged, the man who had been struck drew his sword and slashed twice at the Red-Haired Youth's throat.
The little girl, tears streaming down her face, widened her eyes as she witnessed the horrifying sight of her beloved brother being violently killed.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you bastard?!" one of the men shouted, furious at the young man's death.
"That bastard deserved it. He dared to test my patience," the killer replied.
"He's our merchandise, and you killed him just like that! I should do the same to you!"
The men were about to clash, but the third man stopped them.
"I think you two should stop. It's not worth fighting over a single piece of merchandise. There are many children hiding among these ruins. We should return and wait."
Thus, the four men left, abandoning the young man's body behind.
A moment later, a section of rubble that had been slightly tilted was lifted by small hands. The little girl looked from side to side, and when she saw that no one was left, she approached the body...
...in tears.
She did not scream or thrash about, and even if she had wanted to, an old strip of cloth was still tied around her face. But she did not care about any of that...
...that day, the little girl lost the will to live.
Her mind was blank. She could no longer think or reason. Over her brother's body, she sobbed, tears streaming endlessly down her face as she clung tightly to the young man's now-cold chest.
Blood flooded the surrounding area. The little girl was kneeling in the crimson pool, silently staring at her brother's head, which lay two palms away from his body.
Suddenly, the little girl began to tremble. She then crawled over to her brother's head and brought it closer to his body, putting it back where it belonged. Afterward, she leaned over his chest once more, staring at his face with wide, tear-filled eyes.
The weather was harsh, and snow ravaged the world that day. But the little girl did not care about the intense cold. She did not even care about her hunger...
She remained there, over her brother's body.
...
More and more people were immobilized and killed; the cave was narrow, and the main members of the Bai Mansion were being kept and protected at the front.
The situation was more than desperate. Little by little, the entire guard force that had been holding the family together was brought down. Bai Lanyue pushed the remaining survivors forward while slowing down the enemies behind them.
After the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, somewhere outside the ancient city of Qingyao, a boulder broke loose and was pushed aside by tremendous force. The rock shattered into several fragments, and through the passage that had now been opened, several silhouettes hurried out.
"Run!"
The Bai Family moved away from the cave, but the enemies followed close behind. Bai Lanyue could not hold them all back, and several groups of assassins surrounded the weaker members. Of the Bai Family, only two guards remained: Feng Qi and Luo Zixuan.
"Behind us!" Feng Qi shouted.
While dealing with hordes of enemies, one of them stealthily approached Luo Zixuan from behind. The enemy was about to strike him when Feng Qi caught him by surprise, swiftly delivering a horizontal slash across his throat.
The calluses on Feng Qi's hands had been torn open and were raw. He had never been involved in such a fierce confrontation before. And the enemies seemed to increase in number with every passing moment.
Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, Bai Lanyue formed eighteen hand seals and grabbed all the survivors with her Mental Force. An indigo aura enveloped her feet, and she quickly leaped into the sky, flying above the clouds at an extreme speed.
The speed was something Bai Lanyue still could not control, but in order to save her family and friends, she had no choice but to take the risk.
This was a flying technique called the Azure Firmament Steps. Although it was difficult to control, its astonishing speed could easily rival that of Core Formation Experts.
It was the first time Feng Qi had seen such a panoramic view of the world. The clouds and plains below looked like tiny specks that soon vanished from his sight.
"Miss Bai Lanyue! Have you reached Core Formation?" Luo Zixuan asked.
"Unfortunately, no!" Bai Lanyue did not want to prolong the conversation. There was no time for that now.
She frequently glanced back with concern. There were many experts capable of flying, but most of them had obviously been left behind because of the technique's extreme speed.
However, using this technique consumed too much energy. Her eyes were already growing heavy, and little by little, her speed decreased. Bai Lanyue did not wait. As soon as her feet touched the ground again, she quickly formed eight hand seals and covered everyone with an aura resembling Heaven and Earth.
"This is my final trump card," she gasped. "I won't have any energy left to fight after this." A thread of blood trickled from her nostrils as she formed the Eighth Seal. "Everyone, pay attention! Stay within this aura and do not dare to step outside! This is a small-scale Concealment Technique. I won't be able to maintain it for long, so be prepared!"
Although it was considered a small-scale technique, it was impressive. Its name was the Heaven and Earth Veil Technique. It returned everyone's presence to Heaven and Earth within a small radius around the caster. Even Nascent Soul Experts would find it difficult to detect any trace.
An Expert's Spiritual Sense was incapable of distinguishing the caster's presence from Heaven and Earth. They could not even imagine something of this magnitude. How could a living being return to the heavens if its body still remained there? The caster of the technique simply no longer existed—or had disappeared completely.
Suddenly, hundreds of presences emerged above the concealment aura, and everyone remained silent, relatively frightened by the possibility of being discovered. But that did not happen. The presences quickly split apart and headed in different directions.
However, Bai Lanyue did not dare to dispel the technique. She kept it active for several hours until, on the verge of a mental collapse, she finally dispelled the concealment technique.
Blood poured incessantly from her seven orifices. Her eyes were sunken, and her body trembled without pause.
"Big Sister!" Bai Lan cried through her tears as she caught her sister before she could fall.
"Dear, take these. They are Healing and Qi Recovery Pills." Bai Tianheng took several Miracle Pills from his Spatial Ring and handed them to Bai Lanyue.
Her recovery was slow because her injuries were not external. Although the Qi Recovery Pills had helped, her problem was something far more serious.
Bai Lanyue sighed and raised her index finger, taking out a different Miracle Pill from the ones Bai Tianheng had given her.
"Mental Restoration Pills!" the Former Governor exclaimed. "You used that technique excessively, exhausting your reserve of Spiritual Qi and consequently affecting your mental state."
But Bai Lanyue was not satisfied. She took out another small box containing Soul Restoration Pills.
"These are techniques I avoid using unless absolutely necessary. My soul was injured by using them repeatedly." She bit down on the pill and felt her mind and soul being revitalized once again. "Under normal circumstances, I only use them for a few minutes."
The Soul Restoration Pill could rapidly restore a cultivator's Mental Force and Spiritual Energy, as well as stabilize their mind when it was on the verge of collapse.
"Using the Azure Firmament Steps consumes a great deal of energy... but the Heaven and Earth Veil goes even further. It relies not only on Spiritual Qi and Mental Force, but also on Soul Power... I overdid it."
A painful expression appeared on Bai Lanyue's face. It took the time of one incense stick before she ordered everyone to continue moving.
In her hand, a small doll made of spiritual clay concealed everyone's presence. As an inferior Concealment Artifact, it could not escape Spiritual Sense, but it could go unnoticed by ordinary people's eyes. It was considered useless, but this was a desperate measure.
The group, composed of the Bai Family, their relatives, Feng Qi, and the only surviving member of the Luo Family, walked aimlessly through the dense forest.
Everyone was exhausted and devastated. They did not know the exact distance from Qingyao, but it was estimated that they were about 1,200 miles away.
Everyone quickened their pace. Before long, they found an old path that led to the Main Road. This had been Bai Lanyue's intention.
The Main Road connected other provinces and districts. It was the primary route linking the entire Southern Region.
Suddenly, the Jade Pendant shone brightly inside her pouch. At that moment, Bai Lanyue sensed that help was approaching. Relieved, she explained the situation to everyone.
And so, the time had come for Feng Qi to say goodbye.
"This path will lead you to the Main Road. The position of the sun reveals the direction of Linhe, the city closest to Qingyao. Follow the road to the left. Remember that."
Bai Lanyue explained this after handing him a map depicting all the important regions of the area.
Feng Qi, on the other hand, was deep in thought. He stared at the map with a sad expression before turning his attention to the rest of the group.
His duty to the Bai Family had finally come to an end, albeit earlier than expected.
He was not happy about the situation. Things had been far too chaotic these past few days.
He sighed, not because he was leaving the Bai Family, but because things had ended this way. He would probably never see them again...
...and Bai Lanyue. Something about this woman left him unsettled. What he felt for Lu Yuhuan could not compare to what he felt for Bai Lanyue.
Feng Qi was in love...
However, he had been disappointed by love once before, and because of that, his heart had grown cold. Now, he would follow his dream. Feng Qi turned his back and, without saying a single word, left everyone behind.
Luo Zixuan was angered by his attitude, but Bai Lanyue stopped him. She watched Feng Qi's silhouette and sighed. She had not had many opportunities to speak with him. In fact, the number of times they had spoken together could be counted on one hand, but strangely... she felt something for him.
"Good luck, Feng Qi..."
The group remained on guard. They never knew when enemies might attack. Bai Lanyue constantly stared at the sky, waiting for something.
Some time later, while they were walking away from the road, she sensed a presence beside her. Her gaze quickly shifted, only to find the new Governor of Qingyao... or rather, Lingxiao.
What she had feared had happened sooner than expected. Escaping from an Immortal Master of such caliber was practically impossible, and she knew it. Things had reached this point because of her own stubbornness. Bai Lanyue acknowledged her mistake. Being under the tutelage of a powerful Master did not mean she was immune to problems. Even Spirit Kings had problems of their own.
"You are truly extraordinary," Qin Xue said. "You possess impressive techniques for someone with such low cultivation. The Heaven and Earth Veil is considered a High-Level Technique, and the Azure Firmament Steps? Impressive, impressive!"
She clapped her hands while displaying a wide smile.
Beside her, several other people followed—her disciples and Elders of the Glacial Lotus Sect.
Pūtōng!
Bai Lanyue's heart raced. Her body seemed to lock up before this existence. There was nothing she could do. She had been waiting for help, but something had happened. This was probably the work of another Spirit King.
"I have been watching you since I arrived. Your talent for cultivation is more than remarkable." Qin Xue, the Northern Immortal, slowly approached Bai Lanyue, ignoring everyone else.
"I cannot see your Future, nor can I see your past..." Qin Xue's gaze was deep, as if she were analyzing every secret within Bai Lanyue's body. "This can only mean one thing—your Destiny is to become a Transcendent."
Bai Lanyue did not understand at first, but she remained motionless, not daring to move a single muscle.
"An extremely rare talent, bordering on a miracle. A talent like yours is worth more than the entire Southern Region. It seems that this time, I am the one who has won my wager against the heavens."
Qin Xue said this while caressing Bai Lanyue's face.
Her family remained on guard, but they knew that nothing would help. It was a futile effort.
The disciples and Elders beside her respectfully bowed before Qin Xue, congratulating her on discovering such an extraordinary talent.
"Congratulations, Master Xue!"
"Master Xue, you will certainly take her as your Disciple, won't you?"
The old Elder radiated joy, but in truth, he was envious of the discovery. In his heart, he had many possibilities that could allow him to break through the Soul Transformation barrier, and one of them was...
...Spiritual Root Extraction!
The old man was tempted, but he would never show it, nor would he dare to in front of Qin Xue. Even his thoughts could be read.
For that very reason, he buried his intention deep within his heart.
However, before he could realize it, Qin Xue was staring at him with her usual sinister smile.
At that moment, the Old Elder feared for his life.
"Old Wuheng."
Qin Xue slowly approached him, her voice filled with coldness.
"Keep that shameless greed of yours far away from my Disciples."
The Old Elder quickly lowered his head and said, "P-Please forgive me, Master Xue. I promise it will never happen again!"
He saw his life flash before his eyes. Even though he had concealed his thoughts, his intentions were as clear as day before this woman.
Qin Xue paid no attention to him and turned her focus to what truly mattered. Never before had she encountered such divine luck. Finding a talent this rare made her feel that her efforts throughout all these years would finally amount to something.
I will use every resource available to nurture her. Those Heavenly Grottoes... I will use them all for this girl's cultivation.
A genuine smile appeared on her lips.
"Little girl, you are my Disciple from this moment onward!"
Qin Xue did not care about Bai Lanyue's past, much less her wishes. She had decided to accept her as a disciple, and so it would be, whether Bai Lanyue wanted it or not.
Bai Lanyue, on the other hand, had no options. Her heart tightened at that moment, because in order to preserve her family's lives, she would be forced to accept. Not that she had any choice.
However, while she desperately tried to escape the situation, her mind suddenly cleared, and at the same time, something enveloped her entire being, like a veil concealing her mind and heart.
Then, a voice from the depths of the Void said:
"Disciple, bring her!"
The voice also explained something else, and suddenly, Bai Lanyue was enlightened with a new technique.
Her heart was still racing as she swallowed hard. She cupped her hands before her chest and respectfully bowed to Qin Xue.
"This Disciple greets Master Qin Xue."
Her family members and servants seemed relieved when she accepted without hesitation. Their lives would finally be spared.
Qin Xue found no resistance in her mind, nor any falsehood in her heart. Bai Lanyue had truly accepted her as her Master.
Then, a sinister laugh echoed through the forest. Qin Xue was more than merely happy. To her, this was her greatest discovery since she had found the Small World of a Spirit King.
Trembling, Bai Lanyue said, "Master, now that I am your disciple, there is something I must confess."
"Oh? What does my adorable Disciple have to confess?"
"It is this Jade Pendant, Master."
The Pendant, which was still in her hand, was handed over.
Qin Xue took it and examined it carefully.
"It seems to contain a mysterious ener—"
Suddenly, the Immortal Master of the Glacial Lotus Sect disappeared from everyone's field of vision.
The Old Elders shouted in unison and searched for her with their Spiritual Senses, but they found nothing.
"What did you do to our Master?!" shouted the Core Disciples of the Glacial Lotus Sect.
"I cannot sense Qin Xue anywhere. What happened?"
With Qin Xue's whereabouts unknown, the Old Elders did not know what to do.
But Old Wuheng did.
Sensing danger, Bai Lanyue used the remainder of her strength to flee. However, she was quickly caught before she could reach her family.
Old Wuheng grabbed her by the neck and lifted her from the ground.
"Girl, hand over the artifact and tell me where she went. If you lie, I will make you wish you had never been born."
Bai Lanyue's expression was one of pure despair. The old man's strength was so great that he could break her neck at any moment.
Gathering her remaining strength, she shouted to her family:
"What are you waiting for?! Run now!!!"
The situation had once again become desperate. Luo Zixuan, the only surviving Guard, took a deep breath and thought one last time of his entire family.
While the members of the Bai Family ran, Luo Zixuan bought them time.
But it was in vain.
A single Core Disciple was at the Core Formation Realm, as powerful as the Old Elders of the Tian Family. They could reshape mountains, dry up seas, and even touch the sun.
One of them passed directly through Luo Zixuan.
At first, nothing could be seen. In truth, the body of a Core Formation Cultivator was made of pure Spiritual Energy. Ordinary people and cultivators were incapable of even seeing them. What stood there was merely a false physical body.
When the Core Disciple took a second step and grabbed Bai Lan, Luo Zixuan's body was split in half.
He had been completely unable to see anything.
Before dying, a tear rolled down his face as he imagined the peaceful days at the Bai Mansion and his great duty of protecting the daughter of the head of the household.
He apologized to everyone and gradually lost consciousness.
His soul was quickly collected by the Spiritual World.
Luo Zixuan was now in a better place...
At that very moment, the other disciples caught up with the remaining members of the Bai Mansion.
Meanwhile, Bai Lan was being assaulted by the Core Disciple.
Bai Tianheng even tried to save his daughter from such an act, but his strength was pathetic compared to that of these monsters.
"Since things have come to this, I will make this woman mine!"
The Disciple declared.
Bai Lan's screams were desperate, and Bai Lanyue struggled with all her strength to free herself from Old Wuheng and save her sister.
Tears streamed endlessly from her eyes. Even though she was on the verge of death, her sheer willpower allowed her to continue.
"L-e-a-v-e... my sister alone!!!"
Bai Lanyue frantically burned her Vital Qi. Her strength surged in a desperate explosion, allowing her to momentarily break through Old Wuheng's suppression.
She was no longer conscious of her own body. Her mind had almost completely dissipated, leaving behind only the deep hatred that kept her standing.
Because of the strangulation and the use of Vital Qi, her face was drenched in blood.
In the next instant, with a single step, Bai Lanyue appeared at the location where the assault was taking place.
Without any hesitation, she delivered a powerful kick to the Core Disciple's head, employing an advanced hand-to-hand combat technique.
The man's head exploded like fireworks as his body collapsed onto Bai Lan.
Blood splattered in every direction.
At the same instant, Bai Lanyue extended her palm and dispersed a sphere of concentrated Spiritual Energy capable of disrupting the Spiritual Sense of the Old Elders, even if only for a few moments.
Bai Lanyue removed the man's body from on top of her sister, then carried her in her arms.
However, on the third step she took, Old Wuheng emerged before her.
And now, with her consciousness completely gone, she remained motionless while tightly holding her sister.
"This woman is incredible!" one of the Elders said.
"Tsk! That bitch destroyed my physical body. I should make her mine as well!"
A voice echoed from somewhere invisible.
Suddenly, a silhouette could be seen, and little by little, a physical body took shape.
It was the man who had just been killed.
In truth, Bai Lanyue had destroyed only his physical body.
That was what it meant to reach the Core Formation Realm.
The Old Elders did not seem to care about the others, but they prevented the man from doing anything to Bai Lanyue, fearing Qin Xue's retaliation.