Chapter 1: The Frontier (1)

Xu Qianyu ran away.

To be precise, she escaped from the sect with the critical treasure of Penglai, the “Demon Bone,” hidden in her possession.

Thick clouds hung low, covering the sky. The north wind howled through the tree branches, snapping them with a sound akin to the howl of a wild beast.

She abandoned the giant kite that had burned its spirit stones and all her belongings on it, moving swiftly through the forest in the dark.

As she hurried along, the branches and twigs brushed back rapidly, the wind rustling the pine needles, and she found herself alone in the wilderness.

Tension, panic, and breathlessness filled the air as she stumbled, stepping carefully with one foot deep and the other shallow.

Suddenly, the surrounding darkness transformed into light, illuminating her dual hair buns. Xu Qianyu looked up at the sky, on alert.

The thick clouds slowly parted to reveal a gap.

It was the residual spiritual energy of a fierce battle among cultivators, forming a whirlpool in the air that lingered for a long time, like a lifeless eye coldly gazing down at her from above.

Even though Xu Qianyu was usually proud and arrogant, she felt a moment of unease at this sight. Just then, she was crossing a river, and as she stepped on a stone crevice, her strength gave out, causing both her and her sword to fall into the stream, splashing water high.

The icy river water collided with the heat on her face and body, sending a shiver down her spine. Xu Qianyu’s eyelashes fluttered twice as she opened her eyes and saw her reflection.

In the water, her reflection showed a pale face. Her disheveled hair clung to her cheeks, and her lips and face were smeared with mottled blood, mixed with sweat and dirt, almost unrecognizable. The only feature that stood out was her pair of dark eyes, staring intently at the water’s surface.

Xu Qianyu stared at her reflection for a moment, unable to tolerate her own disheveled appearance. Ignoring the sting of her wounds, she cupped water to wash her face. After rubbing it a couple of times, her face gradually revealed its original shape.

Seventeen years old, the girl had skin as white as snow, with a hint of bright red cinnabar on her forehead—not applied, but a birthmark that gave her face an inherent elegance. Her eyes were wide and bright, with long and thick eyelashes, droplets of water hanging and dripping down from them.

Her eyes resembled some luxurious, fragile gems—quite proud and difficult to approach.

However, on her right cheek, there were several swollen fingerprints. Her delicate skin made the marks particularly conspicuous.

When Xu Qianyu raised her sleeve to wipe her face, she accidentally touched her wound and involuntarily gasped, frowning in annoyance.

Although over the years, her sharp tongue, reckless hands, and piercing gaze made her many enemies, she had always relied on her senior brother, Shen Suwei, being by her side, and her own high cultivation level, which had kept her from being slapped in the face.

—And the one who struck her was none other than her senior brother, Shen Suwei.

Before she left, she had used a hallucinatory incense to set a trap for him, worried he might have a backup plan. She had even secretly drugged his tea beforehand, taking advantage of his weakened state to steal the item she needed from his embrace.

The Demon Bone, as its name suggests, is a piece of the demon king’s tailbone, which contains all of the demon king’s cultivation.

The box that held the Demon Bone was originally said to be stored in the Liuying Pavilion, waiting for the elders of other sects to come and observe it. However, Xu Qianyu did not go to the Liuying Pavilion to steal it.

She knew her Shi, Xu Binglailai, was cunning and secretive by nature; something as controversial as this treasure would likely not be announced to the public. It was always entrusted to the most reliable person.

That most reliable person was her senior brother, Shen Suwei.

Her plan was a sudden impulse, initially full of flaws. However, it happened that Shen Suwei had just returned from the Demon Domain, still recovering from his injuries. No one in the sect expected anyone to be bold enough to steal from Shen Suwei, allowing her to succeed effortlessly.

Naturally, Shen Suwei did not anticipate this.

He was merely a victim of an unexpected turn of events.

As he lay on the ground in his daoist robe, he had just enough strength left. He could have grabbed her by the throat or struck her vital points. She was prepared for such a reaction, but to her surprise, he merely reached out, his hand brushing against her sleeve while she was rummaging through things. Then, with a sudden force, he yanked her forward and delivered a crisp slap to her face.

This slap contained no internal energy; it surprisingly didn’t break her neck, only striking her cheek, causing minimal physical harm but significant humiliation. She sank to the ground, stunned and unable to comprehend what had just happened, trembling inside and afraid to meet his gaze.

“Do you have any shame?”

She distinctly heard those three words, which jolted her to lift her head in shock.

Her senior brother did not look at her. His eyes were tightly closed, expressionless, and his lips pressed together. Beneath the beautiful arch of his butterfly-like eyes, the shadow of a fallen eyelash lingered.

His hand that had just struck her was curled inside his sleeve. From the curve of the fabric, it was evident that he was clenching his knuckles, trembling slightly with restrained effort.

An invisible, sparse killing intent clashed within the room, causing the curtains to ripple as they caught the drafts, matching the flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder outside.

Shen Suwei was known for his cool demeanor and restraint, always maintaining a sense of propriety, embodying the demeanor of a gentleman. Most of the time, he was even indifferent; he wouldn’t bat an eye at matters unrelated to him. Xu Qianyu had never seen him act so harshly, let alone lose his composure like this.

The current scene felt like a surreal dream—dark, chaotic, and bizarre.

Seeing him so furious, Xu Qianyu felt a wave of fear. But it was only natural; what she had done was indeed a severe betrayal of her senior brother.

Shen Suwei rarely made mistakes. If he lost the Demon Bone this time, their Shi would definitely hold him accountable.

However, that slap awakened her, making her suddenly realize: there was no turning back from this; once she had drugged him, her fate had been sealed, and she was destined to part ways with her past.

With that thought in mind, she felt a surge of recklessness and reached into Shen Suwei’s embrace, probing for the mustard seed gold pearl. Since he hadn’t placed any seals against her, her theft went uninterrupted.

The box accidentally fell to the ground, and a piece of inconspicuous blackened object rolled out. In her panic, Xu Qianyu bent down to feel around and, in the flickering light, picked it up.

“Xu Qianyu.” However, Shen Suwei’s voice struck her like a hammer, both soft and cold. He knew he couldn’t stop her, so he ceased struggling and remained still, allowing her to rummage.

When Xu Qianyu looked up, his eyes suddenly opened wide—such a beautiful pair of eyes, with an excessively pure quality: black like jade, white like snow, reflecting a strict order and a merciless path: “Once you step out this door, you will have betrayed the sect. The next time we meet, I will kill you.”

Xu Qianyu’s hand trembled.

Perhaps this was the righteous way’s intimidation of the demonic path. Shen Suwei had already stopped resisting, but her hands shook so much that she could hardly hold on to what she had taken.

Xu Qianyu had overheard her second senior brother gossiping behind her back, saying that third senior brother Shen Suwei was the sword of the sect and the dog of their Shi. Having been his junior sister for ten years, she knew he was emotionally detached and prioritized the sect’s reputation above all else. Now that she had tarnished the sect’s honor, she understood he would follow through on his words without mercy.

Even the way he looked at her changed in an instant.

For a brief moment, she felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.

But at this moment, who among them didn’t loathe her?

A few years ago, the younger junior sister Lu You had joined the sect and served as a mirror for Xu Qianyu. Seeing how others treated Lu You made her realize that perhaps there had never been a single person in the world who truly cared for her.

This resentment suffocated her. She felt humiliated and had played the fool for far too long. Now, everyone’s attention had returned to her.

Even the hateful gazes before they intended to kill her gave her a long-lost sense of exhilaration.

“Fine, let it be betrayal.” Finally managing to grasp the Demon Bone, she threw down this reckless remark, steeled herself, and jumped out of the window without looking back.

…

After leaving the Penglai sect, she traveled north for a day and a night, her body weary enough to wear away all her emotions. After falling, she could no longer run. Fortunately, she had reached the vicinity of the Wufu Cliff. She guessed that Xie Yuzhen really was hiding nearby; she just needed to search for him.

Xu Qianyu took a sip of water to quench her thirst. She tore off a piece of her skirt fabric and picked up her blood-stained narrow sword, “Deafeted Snow”, to wipe it down, but she didn’t dare to fully relax her guard. Instead, she used the sword’s reflection to keep an eye on her surroundings.

What she feared was indeed coming.

A shadow flickered on the sword’s surface, and Xu Qianyu caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye; she instantly reacted and leaped several feet away.

A pale bony hand reached for the back of her head. Xu Qianyu reacted swiftly, intercepting it mid-air. The five bony fingers were forcefully struck but remained unharmed, with a crunch as they gripped the blade.

“The sword is a good sword, but unfortunately, it bears the word ‘defeat,’ which brings misfortune.” A woman’s sultry voice echoed.

With a surge of immense power, the sword was forced downward, and Xu Qianyu was compelled to face the newcomer. Beneath the black veil and hat was a ghastly white skull. The pursuer was an elder from the Penglai Discipline Hall, Hua Qingyu, who was rare for entering the righteous path from the demonic realm.

Hua Qingyu was terrifying in appearance, yet she spoke in an enchanting tone: “I used to think you were just willful, but I never realized you had such guts to steal the Demon Bone and harm your own sect members. You truly are impressive.”

The people from the Discipline Hall were skilled at tracking and pursuit, and they were closing in; others would not be far behind.

Xu Qianyu sensed that something was amiss. As she assessed her surroundings, she tried to stall for time. Perhaps Xie Yuzhen, hidden in some nearby bushes, would hear the commotion and know she had come to rescue him; then her efforts wouldn’t be in vain.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“Who else did you expect? Your senior brother?” Hua Qingyu replied with a laugh. “Thanks to your hallucinogenic incense, he’s still trapped in the realm, unconscious, while Junior Sister Lu is taking care of him. You should be grateful it’s me; otherwise, do you think you’d even be able to keep your corpse intact?”

This was indeed true, Xu Qianyu thought. When she left, her senior brother had given a warning.

—Forget it, why dwell on such grim thoughts?

Suddenly, the heavens raged with thunder, blowing Hua Qingyu’s hat and veil away, revealing two bottomless black skull eyes. A bolt of lightning split the thick clouds, illuminating the shadow before her like a ghost, with five fingers transforming into sinister shadows. Xu Qianyu retreated step by step.

Xu Qianyu’s sword was swift, especially evident in her panic; it was indeed the elegant swordsmanship passed down from her third senior brother, displaying beautiful movements. Even as the bony claws shattered her strikes, her sword still glimmered like light on snow.

However, the bony fingers erupted like new branches, with thorns sprouting, quickly intertwining to form barbed tendrils that ensnared Xu Qianyu’s sword. With a tremendous force, they flung her and her sword into the nearby water.

Xu Qianyu felt a heat on her face, quickly followed by a sharp pain.

“Let me see.” Hua Qingyu, always cruel, laughed as she saw a clump of the girl’s hair come undone, black-red blood flowing from the gaps in her hands that covered her face. “Oh, how beautiful! That little face of yours probably won’t recover to its former glory.”

Then she shouted angrily, “What? Just because of a fake marriage, you’ve lost your mind and really think you’re ‘Uncle Shi? You’re willing to abandon your sect?”

Xu Qianyu, dressed in a snow-white disciple robe and with two buns in her hair, adorned with spring apricot flowers that she hadn’t had time to remove, looked somewhat proud. But now, as she raised her eyes to meet her opponent’s gaze, a hint of viciousness flickered within them.

“‘Uncle Shi’s bride’”—the words pierced her heart.

Suddenly, seven talismans flew from her waist like floating catkins, drawing several golden lines as they surged toward Hua Qingyu, signaling a mutual destruction.

However, Hua Qingyu raised her right hand to her chest, gathered the talismans with her left hand, and swiftly began writing on them with her fingers before pushing her hand open.

The talismans floating in the air instantly transformed into a blue-purple fireball. Xu Qianyu couldn’t retreat in time and was thrown back by the heat wave, crashing into a nearby stream with a splash.

“I’m from a Fu Xiu! Let this ungrateful little waste of talent see some real skills.”

Hua Qingyu stepped onto the water, knowing Xu Qianyu was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage. How could she possibly contend with her, a Yuanjun with over a hundred years of cultivation? It was already surprising that Xu Qianyu had resisted for so long; she had likely shattered most of her bones from that last blow, leaving her only capable of crying in pain. Her tone softened:

“It’s not your fault. Young girls think of love. But to sacrifice all your cultivation for a man is rather pathetic. If you want my respect, then redeem your sins and hand over the demon bone. Come back to the Discipline Hall with me, and I’ll grant you a complete corpse.”

She walked step by step toward Xu Qianyu.

Though her words were harsh, she didn’t intend to kill Xu Qianyu unless she was too ungrateful.

Xu Qianyu’s face was pale, her gaze unfocused as she looked at her. Suddenly, her eyes shifted to behind Hua Qingyu. “Uncle Shi?”

Hua Qingyu quickly turned around, but behind her was nothing but heavy clouds and pouring rain. Realizing she had been tricked by a little ploy, she became furious. “You!”

In that fleeting moment of distraction, the figure in the water, like a broken puppet, struggled to turn over, crawling and swimming away several feet.

Hua Qingyu rushed forward, catching a glimpse of a wilted apricot flower floating in the shallow red of the stream and noticed the figure struggling ahead. She was somewhat surprised.

She had seen many love-struck fools, but this one was surprisingly bold.

Such a pity for a love-struck fool.

…

Xu Qianyu was not a person of the immortal sect but one of the children chosen from the mortal realm and brought to Penglai.

Cultivating in immortality was best started young; the earlier, the better. The four major immortal sects selected children with spiritual roots from the mortal world every year, ideally at five years old, seven years was acceptable, but nine years old… at nine, even the outer sect senior brothers wouldn’t bother choosing a disciple for cleaning.

Yet Xu Qianyu was an exception.

When she was forcibly brought back by her master Xu Binglai, she was already nine years old, mysteriously separated from her family, crying every night in distress. Missing the critical period for a child to cultivate Qi, she had mediocre talent, was completely ignorant of cultivating immortality, and faced a great deal of cold disdain.

With such a beginning, it was clear how much effort she had put in to rise to the status of a named inner sect disciple under the sect leader.

There were benefits to being nine years old. Xu Qianyu was clever and learned early, so once she arrived at the sect, she quickly grasped her studies. Not only did she not reject cultivating, but with no one paying attention to her, she had no choice but to focus on her practice, using her rapid advancement in skills to alleviate her anxiety and loneliness.

She also had a hobby: participating in various “spring outings.”

Every spring, the various immortal sects would select disciples to form teams and venture to dangerous places in the Kyushu to search for “Ice Spoons.” This activity was known as the “Spring Outing.”

Rumor had it that “Ice Spoons” were fragments of the Heavenly Ladder, and if gathered together, they could open the Heavenly Gate, allowing spiritual energy to descend into the mortal realm, eliminating evil and blessing the world. Now, practitioners of immortality could ascend to become immortals.

Her grandfather, Shui Rushan, had told her before parting that once she became an immortal, she could transcend life and death, reversing time, and they could meet again.

She didn’t know if it was true, but having a hope was much better than having no motivation at all.

This was her goal, and the shared goal of all the immortal sects of Penglai. Thus, even though she wasn’t favored by her Master, her diligence and hard work earned her care and praise.

Xu Qianyu’s cultivation was a history of blood and tears; looking back, all that remained in her mind was the single word “suffering,” soaked in sweat and tears.

Through hard work and practice, she gradually distanced herself from the group of disciples who entered at the same time, advancing to the inner sect. At this point, the ridicule and mockery lessened, while the respect and “goodwill” she received increased.

Her life began to improve: Senior brother Shen Suwei was gentle and meticulous, teaching her to speak freely about everything; Xu Qianyu drank and played chess with junior brother Ruan Zhuqing every day, or they would banter among themselves surrounded by other disciples.

In the daily spring breeze, she blossomed, shedding the irritating stubbornness and aloofness that made others weary of her. Now seventeen, she transformed completely, blossoming into a fairy. The way others looked at her began to change, filled with gentleness, indulgence, amazement, and admiration.

With so many disciples from Penglai, she thought she would surely make close friends, especially since she was smart, skilled, and attractive.

She had always believed this until Lu You arrived.