Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

"What are you thinking? Are we cowards, helping monsters harm humans?"

Under the moonlight, the second senior sister found Ye Chaosheng sitting alone by the sea.

Ye Chaosheng glanced at her sideways. The woman's appearance was not outstanding. The only unique feature was her pair of blue eyes. She was very tall and had a petite figure.

The woman's tone of voice was somewhat strange, and Ye Chaosheng listened carefully before he could understand her.

His face remained expressionless: "I didn't do anything either."

The woman sat down beside him, and Ye Chaosheng, remembering what Senior Brother Yan had said, shifted his position warily.

"My name is Shunzai. Junior Brother Yan should have told you about my background. This is a name I gave myself."

The woman didn't seem to care about his shifting of his hips and continued her introduction.

"We can all tell you're very resistant to things during the day. Why is that?"

Ye Chaosheng paused for a moment: "I was driven here by demons. My hometown was destroyed, so naturally I hate demons."

He paused, then continued, "Besides, aren't we cultivators? Our master is a Qi Refining expert, how could he not defeat that Abyss Serpent? Senior Brother Yan said that the demons came to plunder, and I thought..."

Shunzai interrupted with a sneer, "What do you think? So what if you can beat them? Are you going to fight monsters to the death? Drive them away?"

"Hmm...we're all human, shouldn't we?"

Shunzai glanced at him in astonishment, then burst into laughter: "Humans? Can those animals be considered human?"

She raised her hand and flung out a water arrow, instantly blasting a large crater in the sand not far away, laughing as she said, "Mortals are just cattle and sheep."

She gestured towards the moon, as if trying to hold it in her hand.

"Junior brother, we can easily live for over a hundred years and even have the possibility of breaking through to a higher level. But they struggle every day to find food in the ground, and their lives are destined to end in just a few decades."

"Mortals will be harvested again and again, so why should we risk our lives for them?"

Ye Chaosheng was speechless, wanting to refute but not knowing where to begin.

Shunzai continued, "So what if all the mortals on the island die? There are plenty of islands in the sea. It's just a matter of spending some time capturing and taming some wild savages."

Ye Chaosheng finally came up with a reason and retorted, "But... Master is clearly very angry."

Upon hearing this, the woman laughed even more unrestrainedly, her tone showing no respect whatsoever for her nominal master.

"He's only angry because Abyss Serpent lost face in front of you, his new junior brother. Do you think it's because of those extra animals?"

These words finally silenced Ye Chaosheng completely. It seemed that this young man, who had come from the livestock yard, was experiencing the world of immortals for the first time.

Shunzai, who was standing nearby, nudged him to stand up.

He then asked, "Look around carefully, what's there?"

Ye Chaosheng looked around blankly, only hearing the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

"Is there...the sea?"

Shunzai pulled him down to sit, nodded, and her voice carried a strange undertone: "You're not entirely stupid, so how do you plan to fight against the monsters in the entire sea, a mere cultivator at the third stage of embryonic breathing?"

"This is the land of demons. The sea monsters like to eat blood and gourds, which is why we're able to survive. We're their shepherd dogs, understand?"

She thought her words would completely shatter the boy's inexplicable thoughts, but unexpectedly, they made him speak with a firm tone.

"Then... I will cultivate, leave this place, leave the sea. There will always be a place in the world where there are more people than demons."

"What?" Shunzai stared wide-eyed, seemingly unable to understand how this Nascent Soul cultivator dared to utter such arrogant words.

"I said, leave the sea, I want to go to a place where people live."

A strange look flashed in her blue eyes. She chuckled softly, and after a while, she took out a jade bottle containing red liquid from her bosom and put it into Ye Chaosheng's hand.

Ye Chaosheng shook the bottle, and the scarlet liquid inside swayed, the mist it emitted dyeing the entire jade bottle red, giving off a dark red light under the moonlight.

"What is this?"

"Drink this before you begin your cultivation. This dose can be used five times, with two days between each use. This is something that will help you leave the sea sooner." After leaving these words, Shunzai walked away.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Did you give him the things?"

"I gave it to him," Shunzai pursed his lips and continued, "But... that kid is a hothead. Even if he uses his blood energy now, there will probably be complications when he finds out later. I think that in the end, I will most likely still have to kill him."

Seeing that his two disciples had said this, the old Taoist on the stone platform couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He casually waved his hand and said, "Let's see one last time. Get closer and make sure he doesn't get away."

Shunzai did not retreat, but licked his lips and asked, "Then, Master, could you entrust me with the matter of giving birth to the child?"

"Oh? You've taken a fancy to him?" He sounded somewhat surprised, then, remembering the shifty-eyed looks of his other two male disciples, the old Taoist suddenly realized that he was quite at ease with this uncivilized woman he had picked up years ago, who was originally a primitive, bloodthirsty person.

So he casually agreed: "Then go ahead. The probability of a child born from two cultivators being a spiritual being is probably higher. It would be best if we could keep him."

After Shunzai left, Old Daoist Rong lowered his eyes and plotted something. The Huang family and Yuefeng Sect's influence in the surrounding area was growing, and their appetites were also growing.

There are still only a few people on his island. He injured his body when he was young and is unable to have children. Now his cultivation is stuck at the second level of Qi Refining and he can't make any progress. He doesn't even dare to leave the island casually. So he has to rely on the method of refining blood and qi to keep people here.

But overseas, which family doesn't refine blood essence? His three disciples have been at sea for so long and there's still no news of them. They've probably joined his family. Old Daoist Rong closed his eyes in pain, a hint of madness flashing in them.

……

Ye Chaosheng lay on his back on the bed, playing with the jade bottle in his hand. He hesitated. According to Shunzai, this thing should be a spiritual object that could accelerate cultivation.

He had just opened the lid and taken a sniff. The red mist it emitted did indeed excite him, but for some reason, after the excitement subsided, his spiritual energy calmed down, as if it were resisting this thing.

A few days ago, Senior Brother Yan gave him a small bowl of spirit rice. After eating it, he felt no discomfort at all, only that his spiritual energy was more active.

After careful consideration, he hid the item under his bed and decided not to use it. He could tell that the people in his sect really wanted to keep him, so they sent him both spiritual items and maids. He had nowhere else to go, so he didn't object to it.

But since this thing makes him feel unwell, it probably isn't a good thing. As for the excitement, the blood splattered on his face that night also excited him, so perhaps this thing is made of blood too.

"The immortal said I could achieve the Golden Core stage, and I can cultivate quickly on my own. I won't use anything bad."

Ye Chaosheng was slightly lost in thought. What worried him most now was that his cultivation technique could only reach the sixth level of embryonic breathing. Although he knew that the next step was Qi cultivation, he didn't know where to start.

He felt that the old Taoist priest would not teach such a secret technique to him, a disciple who had only recently joined the sect.

Moreover, he will be able to break through to the fourth round tonight, and the day when he needs to practice Qigong is not far away.

Ye Chaosheng couldn't help but wonder if the immortal needed to test him, so he only led him in and let him find the cultivation method on his own.