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

Six months later, Ye Chaosheng woke up from his sleep, somewhat dazed. In his dantian, the sixth wheel, which originally radiated a milky white, creamy light, lost its luster and faded into crescent moon patterns as he completed his final cycle of energy circulation.

After returning from the market, the crisis that Shunzai had anticipated did not materialize. Instead, the island became completely peaceful, with no monsters coming to plunder, and Yan Zhou and his companions no longer visiting.

Ye Chaosheng was happy to have some peace and quiet. He simply sprinkled spiritual rain on time every day, and then cultivated steadily, reviewing his swordsmanship. Now he has even reached the sixth level of perfection.

Jiang Shi, observing from the side, also noticed something remarkable: apart from the initial Xuanjing Wheel residing in the first dragon vein, which was golden, the other six wheels of Ye Chaosheng corresponded to the five water virtues.

In Jiang Shi's view, as Ye Chaosheng reached the sixth level of perfection, the golden flames on his body began to burn again.

Jiang Shi hesitated for a moment, considering whether to directly teach him the Qi cultivation technique and then go to the market to get a Qi to help him grow faster.

The ends of the earth were too remote. He wandered around the market for a long time but did not hear any news about Jiangnan. After thinking for a while, Jiang Shi released part of the concealment of Ye Chao's life number.

Two days later, that night…

Shunzai arrived with a mixture of joy and trepidation. Upon seeing Ye Chaosheng, he immediately said, "Junior Brother, he's about to break through and has summoned us over."

Ye Chaosheng sat cross-legged on the bed, opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air. He picked up the sword on his lap and looked at it for a moment with a strange expression. Then he looked at Shunzai and felt that there was something strange about her.

However, Shunzai, who was standing at the door, was the first to express her surprise. After carefully sensing the surroundings, she asked with some doubt, "Junior brother, you... you've broken through?"

Ye Chaosheng pondered for a moment, then got off the bed. He was certain that his exact cultivation level hadn't been revealed, so he nodded with a hint of joy: "It's all thanks to Senior Sister's pill. I just broke through to the Azure Origin Wheel yesterday."

Shunzai's face flashed with realization: "So that's how it is. It seems that the cultivation methods we practice are from the same source. It wasn't obvious before, but now that you've just broken through and your aura is showing, I've sensed it."

Shunzai gestured for him to follow, and they walked outside. As they walked, she wasn't nervous at all; instead, she became quite interested in discussing Taoist principles.

"Having been unable to breathe for so long, I naturally had to find a way. I spent a lot of spirit stones and killed a lot of people before I learned that our path is called Female Water, which is good at hiding and concealing one's breath."

"It's just that my cultivation level is too low, so I can only work on the technique of concealing my breath."

Shunzai's tone was regretful, but his face became unrestrained: "Junior brother, can you imagine that perhaps when this path is cultivated to a high level, one can stand openly in front of others without being discovered?"

Jiang Shi followed behind the two and nodded in agreement, pondering some things in his mind. This woman was truly wasted in such a place.

"This is the path I desire, and I will accept whatever it takes!"

Ye Chaosheng listened quietly without saying a word. He had a feeling that the woman beside him was emerging from a state of "concealment" and revealing her true self.

As for cultivation techniques, he felt that he should not be of the so-called "female water" path, as his body was much stronger than that of a fetal breathing cultivator.

He suddenly realized something: "Senior sister, are all the mortals on the island... dead?"

"No, but it should be soon," Shunzai said, his words carrying a hint of admonition and warning: "Junior brother, now that things have come to this, you wouldn't want to stop me, would you?"

Ye Chaosheng shook his head, tightened his grip on the sword, and remained silent. He knew that if he tried to stop her, the first person to draw her sword against him would be his senior sister.

He chuckled with a self-deprecating smile: "When I was a kid, I used to secretly listen to the old man in the village tell stories. There was a character in one of them called... Hypocrite, which was probably a description of someone like me."

"I can't stand certain things, but I have my own calculations, so I find a lot of reasons to convince myself."

Unexpectedly, Shunzai suddenly shoved him, her face showing a hint of anger at his lack of ambition: "You haven't even learned to read properly, where have you been? You talk a good game, you idiot."

Ye Chaosheng smiled casually and said softly, "Senior sister, I believe you. I will help you reach the Qi Refining stage."

The woman, who had been smiling, fell silent, her face returning to calm. She looked at him intently, shook her head, and chuckled softly, "Let's go, junior brother."

……

Beside the cave, the old Taoist restored the blood pool to calm, his face showing madness and a hint of pain. He turned around and regained his composure, looking at the other two disciples who were walking from the mountain path with a smile.

"Master...the people have been brought here," Shunzai said, glancing around with some suspicion. He was met with a sinister smile, and his heart skipped a beat. "Where are Junior Brother Yan and Junior Brother Zhou?"

Old Master Rong raised an eyebrow: "Oh, they've gone down first."

The old Taoist's answer made her feel increasingly uneasy, but she forced a smile: "Then this disciple will also go down the mountain to help my two junior brothers bring back the mortals."

Having said that, she took a step back, her unease reaching its peak.

The old Taoist priest had already used his magic to subdue the two of them, his voice chilling, "Alright, my good disciple, if you can see through it, then stop trying to hide it."

A strange look appeared on his face: "Master needs a powerful elixir for his breakthrough. I observed the stars last night and saw that the four of you are a perfect match. How about Master grants your wish to repay this debt? Hahaha!"

Shunzai struggled frantically, his voice urgent: "Master, our paths are different. If we transform into blood and drink it haphazardly, I'm afraid it will not end well."

"So what?"

"So what!"

The old Taoist priest, who had already stepped onto the stone platform, could no longer contain his madness, which overflowed and made his face flush red.

Ye Chaosheng glanced at him and knew that the man had gone completely mad. He felt a little gloomy and tried hard to break free from the old Taoist's control, but to no avail. The difference between Qi cultivation and embryonic breathing was the fundamental difference.

Knowing she couldn't escape this calamity, the woman spoke vengefully, staring intently at the old Taoist priest, hoping to see pain and resentment on his face.

Her voice was chilling: "Old man, do you know that I killed Senior Brother?"

Contrary to expectations, when she mentioned this matter, the old Taoist priest only showed regret on his face: "That's a pity. He and I cultivated together, and he should have been the main material."

Upon hearing this, Shunzai's face showed a hint of surprise, but he stopped struggling.

She scoffed, never imagining that after years of meticulous planning and careful execution, she would die at the hands of a madman at the very last moment.

It truly is a matter of timing and fate.

The old Taoist on the stone platform stopped talking and, fearing something might go wrong, immediately made a hand seal. With a shift of spiritual energy, he threw the two into the blood pool, where they were instantly refined!

Then he patted his storage bag, throwing in all sorts of miscellaneous spiritual items. He then completely sealed the blood pool, sat cross-legged on it, and began refining it with his eyes closed.

"Task: Witness"

"The dragon's body has no fixed form, it can contain Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed, and spread across the vast heavens. Its size is determined by its will, and its form is not bound by the rules of heaven and earth."

Reward: "Jie Zichen"

The dragon vein roamed through the blood and devoured spiritual objects. Jiang Shi took advantage of this to collect the remnant true spirit of Shunzai and squatted down to the side with great interest.

In the blood pool beneath the stone platform, the golden flames had already reached their peak.

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.

Ps:

It might be a bit rushed, but continuing to write about the Huang family or Yuefeng Sect in this small place, and adding some fateful face-slapping plots, feels unnecessary. Dragging out the pace wouldn't be interesting for the audience, and continuing towards [Qingxu Temple] would be too drawn out, so I might as well stop here.

I found the concept of immortals and mortals in the original book quite interesting, so I wrote the character Ye. He became an immortal halfway through his life, but his body was that of an immortal while his mind hadn't changed. As a result, he struggled but was trapped by reality. He only had his family in his heart and no one else in his mind. However, I am an amateur after all, and my writing skills are not good enough. What I wrote may have been pretentious.

Next, you can slowly progress to the main storyline in Jiangnan. The original text describes the Southern Frontier less, and the straightforward demon-eating-demon dynamic is more suitable for a pure cultivator like Shunzai. Coincidentally, female water is very important, and according to the theory of Yin and Yang, it should be transformed into a carp. Everyone is welcome to help suggest a name.

The last time I wrote a novel was two years ago. I couldn't handle it and gave up. I'm an amateur, and people were criticizing me in the comments. Although I understand and can accept it, I still feel bad inside.

Thank you for your support and corrections, but I will delete any negative comments.

yaoyaoda ⸝⸝⸝╸▵╺⸝⸝⸝