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

Southern Xinjiang, nestled against the mountains on the outskirts of the city…

"Roar~"

A leopard demon at the sixth level of Qi Refining skillfully weaved through the crowd, stirring up clouds of blood mist.

In its frenzy of killing, it couldn't help but stand on the pile of corpses and roar. A golden light suddenly appeared, shattering most of its body.

Minghua watched in the shadows in the forest, marveling at the sight. Although the leopard demon was not known for its defense, its body was still much stronger than that of humans. With just a golden ray, it shattered most of the leopard's body from such a distance.

With such power, even a demon at the peak of Qi Refining would likely lose its life in just a few arrows.

Her Dao foundation is the "Fountain of Rebirth," which has extremely strong vitality and regeneration, but her offensive skills are much weaker. Therefore, she has become more focused on the swordsmanship in her hands.

Canlu Fu used various spiritual objects, along with its scales, to forge a sword for her. It was about three feet long, dark green in color, with several lifelike scales interlocking and stacking on its blade. When activated by spiritual power, it could also transform into a soft sword, bringing up wisps of rain.

Ordinary demons would have large chunks of flesh burned off when they touched Luyu, so Minghua named the sword [Zhuolin] after it, but this sword was actually a Luyu sword.

She looked around for a while, and saw a large pile of corpses and rivers of blood left at the foot of Yishan City. Then she spoke softly, "Alright, that's enough dead."

Her figure disappeared among the thick branches of a tree. The demons below, who had cultivated Qi since childhood, conveyed her message, and roars began to echo through the forest. The demons fled in panic, leaving behind corpses everywhere.

This is how the war between the demons of the Southern Frontier and the human race came about. The major demon kings had already discussed it with the Purple Mansions of Qingchi. They drove the demons in the forest to serve as provisions for the human cultivators and to train their disciples.

Qingchi naturally conscripted many mortals as cannon fodder and bait. Large numbers of them died. After a fierce battle, their blood and energy were considerable and were distributed among them. Then, high-quality cultivators were sent to the Southern Frontier to serve as food for the Demon King.

The prey below died one after another, and the several noble families and demon kings of Qingchi feasted on their corpses with grease on their faces.

This way, they could save face and grow their clan, allowing them to have more energy to raise more prey.

A few days later, as Minghua was studying a sword manual in his cave, a demon knelt before the stone gate and respectfully said:

"Seventh Miss, Yishan City will be sending a few people to collect spiritual dew by the southern pond recently. There happens to be a sword cultivator there who has also cultivated sword qi. The mountain lord said that if you are interested, you can go and have some fun."

…………

Half a month later, several figures carefully concealed themselves in the forest and slowly approached a pool with clear and turbid water.

The journey was uneventful, but the group showed no joy on their faces. Having lived in Yishan City for so many years, almost everyone who wasn't completely stupid understood the ins and outs of the situation.

Sure enough, as they got closer, a woman was already waiting quietly by the pool, gazing intently at the clear and turbid water.

At this point, the group stopped hiding and gripped their magical artifacts tightly, showing very little resentment on their faces.

"Whoever cultivates the sword and defeats me will be allowed to leave." Minghua turned around, drew her longsword, and spoke softly.

She made no attempt to conceal her cultivation level, but there were only a few Qi Refining cultivators opposite her. A middle-aged man holding a long sword stepped forward upon hearing this, a hint of interest flashing across his weathered face.

"Brother Qiao, we're counting on you!"

Once he got into position, a much younger-looking figure behind him couldn't help but cheer him on, even though the outcome of the fight was obvious.

The middle-aged man waved his hand with his back to him, without saying anything.

……

Water spontaneously flowed from the sword, washing away the blood. The headless corpse of the middle-aged man fell to the ground. Minghua carefully pondered the last sword strike he had just delivered when he was on the verge of death, and a smile appeared on his face.

She glanced at the cultivators who still didn't show any disappointment on their faces, but instead tightened their grip on their magical artifacts. She had no interest in killing these people, so she waved her hand and said, "Alright, you can leave now."

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.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye…

Beside a tree stood a thatched hut. Yu Yuxi wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, took the initiative to kiss the man beside her, her pretty face slightly flushed, and said reproachfully, "How much longer are you going to wait before we go back to Jinyu? You're already..."

Su Ming then covered her mouth with a kiss, only letting go when she struggled. He grinned and said, "How about... we get married first? If I go back to Golden Feather with you like this, your master will beat me to death."

Yu Yuxi blushed, feeling the man's inappropriate hands, and stammered without saying anything.

Su Ming was overjoyed. His cousin's words were actually true. One had to be a little shameless to get by in this kind of situation. Once that barrier was broken, everything was negotiable.

"When do you plan to establish your foundation?" Yu Yuxi hummed softly, without struggling, and asked with some concern.

"I feel like something's missing. Also, I haven't found the Suiyuan Pill yet. I'll wait a while longer. The Li family has a close relationship with the Xiao family of the Purple Mansion Immortal Clan. I'll see if I can ask them for help."

"You come back with me, I..." Yu Yuxi stopped talking. She was only a Qi Refining cultivator and didn't have much confidence that she could exchange for a Suiyuan Pill.

"Yu tide, I have a technique for the bedroom, would you like to try it?" Su Ming smiled and changed the subject, becoming increasingly bold as he stripped her naked.

"I don't want to, you... you're disgusting!" Yu Yuxi was stunned for a few moments, then blushed and struggled, but her strength waned.

Su Ming was pressing down on the woman beneath him, and was boldly trying to go further, when a bell in the room suddenly rang. A look of annoyance flashed across his face. Why did someone have to come looking for him at this time?

Yu Yuxi caught her breath and quickly pushed him away, pulling the covers over her head.

Since he had decided to stay, he naturally set up some concealment and concealment formations in the thatched hut. If the Li family had something to do with him, they would not be able to barge in directly. So he made two interconnected bells, and when he activated them with spiritual power, the other bell would also make a sound.

After calming himself down and getting dressed, he hurried out and saw a handsome young man standing in the distance with a somewhat anxious expression.

"What's wrong, Xijun? Why do you look like that?" Su Ming rarely saw this composed young man like this, so he quickly went over to ask.

"Senior, this is the market. Demonic cultivators are causing trouble. My master is still inside. Please..."

"Okay, don't rush, it's at Guanyun Peak, right?"

Li Xijun nodded hurriedly: "Uncle has already left. The matter is urgent, so he sent me to invite him. Afterwards..."

Su Ming stopped Li Xijun from speaking and reassured him, "The Xiao family is a Purple Mansion Immortal Clan. They can't be completely disrupted by mere demonic cultivators. Just stay on the lake and don't wander around, lest some demonic cultivators sneak over."

Yu Yuxi, dressed neatly, emerged from the thatched hut behind them. Upon hearing Li Xijun's words, her face was filled with surprise. The two exchanged a glance and then rode off.