I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

Their bodies are as fragile as paper beneath this sphere.

If they could die cleanly and quickly, they, as cultivators, wouldn't be so afraid.

But this sphere was different. It was shrinking little by little. The speed seemed fast, but to the seven of them, every second felt like an eternity. Every inch it shrank made them go crazy.

Death itself is not frightening; what is frightening is the process of waiting for death.

They could all imagine what they would become: they would be flattened by the sphere, their bones twisted and broken, their flesh squeezed into a pulp, their internal organs bursting open and slowly flowing out from all parts of their bodies, then mixing with the blood and pulp and "merging" with the bodies of the other six people.

In this despair, the old woman couldn't hold back any longer. When the sphere had shrunk to the point where it was pressing tightly against her head, she simply gritted her teeth and committed suicide, her eyes filled with resentment and bitterness.

It was not easy to reach the stage of becoming a deity.

Not all of the seven people had the courage to commit suicide, and the rapidly shrinking sphere gave them no time to choose.

The inside of the sphere wasn't so bloody. After being compressed to the extreme, the flesh and blood turned into specks of light, which were the cultivators' rich life force. In their silent pleas and struggles, all seven of them transformed into the purest life force.

The sphere of light exploded violently, and the scattered energy nourished the land. It is believed that in the near future, many demons will be born here.

Bai Qingyu didn't care what was happening outside. She submerged in the water and began searching along the snake's scent.

The snake's scent was still fresh; it was impossible to lose it so quickly.

Emerging from the water once more, Bai Qingyu gazed at the rushing river, searching downstream as a memory from the depths of her heart resurfaced.

When Tamamo-no-Mae appeared to her in a dream, there was a part of the dream where a small snake was seriously injured and on the verge of death. She was then washed ashore along a river, and then people in the village by the river found her. They believed that a divine dragon had fallen, and the villagers all came with kitchen knives and wooden bowls to eat the dragon's meat and drink the dragon's blood.

They believed that this would make them immune to all diseases and even grant them immortality.

The same scene, the same river, the same location, the same village...

Bai Qingyu had previously thought that as long as her power was strong enough, none of her offspring could be injured under her protection, including the little snake. She believed that the dream would not come true, and with her around, how could the little snake be so badly injured?

Now reality tells her that fate is hard to defy; it's not that it won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet.

Everything was so strange.

With her destiny bestowed upon her and the power of faith supporting her, she could fight even a Mahayana cultivator. So why couldn't she even find a small snake?

This river was not big, even insignificant, to her.

She could even retrieve a small snake that had fallen into the sea.

"I am ordained by Heaven, and in the end, I cannot escape fate."

Bai Qingyu sighed, took a step and the space shifted, and in the blink of an eye he arrived above the village where Qingji was.

Sure enough, a group of villagers went berserk and surrounded the snake's corpse. They didn't bring knives or bowls, but were even more cruel than in the dream, directly lying on the snake's wounds and drinking its blood.

Even the weakest little snake is still a Nascent Soul stage dragon, whose strength and vitality are far beyond what a group of mortals can withstand.

The villagers who drank some all had bloodshot eyes, violent expressions, and extremely distorted facial expressions. Even the veins on their bodies were clearly visible, and their whole bodies were covered in an unhealthy dark red color.

Bai Qingyu frowned deeply, feeling a disgust she had never felt before.

Neither the Fate Cult nor those seven people had ever made her feel so disgusted and loathed.

With a wave of his hand, the platinum-gold power swept across the area, and without exception, all the villagers who had drunk the little snake's blood were obliterated by the golden light, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

The riverbank was cleared away in an instant. Bai Qingyu landed in front of the little snake's head. Looking at the little snake, which was covered in wounds and whose aura was barely perceptible, like a candle flame in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment, Bai Qingyu found it difficult to control her emotions. Countless complex emotions surged into her heart like waves.

As she channeled the purest life force into the little snake, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She felt that she had already tried her best, diligently raising her child, teaching those innocent and adorable children in the private school, squeezing out her own time to become as strong as possible, and also trying her best to maintain her public persona as a penniless mother who was extremely protective of her own.

But no, all she did was far from enough, because her negligence and arrogance almost led to a tragedy.

If she had arrived even a moment later...

She wasn't unaware of the principle that one is born in hardship and dies in comfort, and she knew that such things were unavoidable. Human nature is greedy, and she couldn't stay by the children's side forever.

She just felt that she hadn't done enough.

If she had been a little better, even after this happened, she could have minimized the damage. At the very least, the little snake wouldn't have been beaten up like that...

Her body was enveloped by a warm current, and the world around her was no longer cold. The little insects were no longer crawling on her body and gnawing at her. In her confusion, the little snake opened her eyes a crack and the first thing she saw was Bai Qingyu holding her head.

"Auntie, Auntie, I knew you would come."

Having regained some strength, the little snake tried to make its tone sound more relaxed.

"Auntie, please don't hold my head, I can't see you clearly anymore."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingyu stood up. She couldn't let the child see her tears, so her eyes were slightly red as she softly asked, "How are you feeling now? Does your body still hurt?"

"It really doesn't hurt anymore, it's so amazing! It feels like the warm feeling when my aunt touches my head. But I still don't have much strength in my body, I feel so tired."

Seeing that the little snake had recovered considerably, at least able to speak, and its injuries had stabilized, Bai Qingyu felt much relieved.

"It's good that you're not in pain. As for why you're not feeling strong, that's normal. You've lost too much of your life force, and the blood in your body would have been drained if I had arrived any later. You definitely wouldn't have any strength left."

"Then I'll have to heal for a long time, Auntie?"

"Of course, it will take at least a year and a half for your injury to recover."

"Does that mean I don't have to do any work?"

Bai Qingyu almost couldn't hold back when the little snake said that.

"You think you're so smart."

"Hehehe, of course I'm the smartest. I used to hang out with Sister Holly."

"Alright, stop talking and rest. We can talk after I've avenged you." Bai Qingyu narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists.

She will definitely avenge this!

"I'm fine. Is Auntie going to find those bad guys? But they seem really powerful."

"It's alright, I have my own plans."

The Demon Subduing Sect's move this time was rather sudden, but they were very well prepared. They must have been keeping an eye on me for some time.

I can't understand it. If they were concerned about the fate of the nation, why didn't they go and cause trouble for Xu Yuanqing?

Or was it that Tianyang Palace already knew about their actions, so Xu Yuanqing's side was already protected?

Bai Qingyu didn't think too much about it. She couldn't care less about Tianyang Palace's attitude. All she wanted now was for the Demon Subduing Sect to pay the price.

"If everyone comes out of Tu Nan Mountain, then none of them should leave."

The demonic power stirred up the small snake, and Bai Qingyu flew towards the direction of Nanshan.

Wasn't the Demon Subduing Sect well-prepared? Didn't they use the power of destiny to trap her in Shangchuan Prefecture, unable to provide support? Fine, let them experience that feeling too, and while they're at it, let them see how the power of destiny is actually used.

Chaos erupts in Nanshan as disciples of the Demon Subduing Sect battle the demons of Nanshan.

Unbeknownst to them, the area around Nanshan was already enveloped by a barrier invisible to the naked eye.

Bai Qingyu didn't rush to the stage, but instead glanced around.

Given this action, the fact that the leader of the Demon Subduing Sect did not come suggests that he intends to act according to circumstances.

Then let him see from outside the barrier how the Demon-Subduing Sect was destroyed in Nanshan.

Regardless of whether the Demon Subduing Sect and the Heavenly Sun Palace have any connection, once the barrier formed by their respective fortunes envelops them, no one can break it unless they mobilize great spiritual fortune.

So here's where things get interesting: the barrier created by the Demon Subduing Sect actually separated them from themselves, leaving the Demon Subduing Sect leader and the Tianyang Palace only able to watch as their disciples were trapped like turtles in a jar.

Please vote for me, I'm begging you!

Volume One: Chapter 160 Fate and Destiny

A massive barrier enveloped the entire Nanshan area. At this moment, all the disciples of the Demon Subduing Sect within the barrier were unaware of what was happening. They were locked in a fierce battle with the Nanshan demons, and with their strength, they were still unable to suppress the Nanshan demons.

Bai Qingyu didn't rush over, but instead flew to Tongzhou.

Shuten-dōji held the line, fighting against more than ten powerful members of the Demon Subduing Sect all by himself.

The Demon Subduing Sect is indeed quite powerful; they had two Nascent Soul stage cultivators and five Void Refinement stage cultivators besieging Shuten-dōji.

Bai Qingyu unleashed a burst of platinum-gold light, enveloping the heavens and earth. Appearing above Tongzhou, he held a wooden umbrella and severely injured a Void Refinement cultivator with a single blow. His golden power transformed into golden lightning, engulfing all the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators and instantly forming a golden ocean of lightning, killing them all on the spot.

Shuten-dōji sent a fusion-level cultivator flying with a single punch, and was overjoyed to see Bai Qingyu arrive.

"aunt!"

With a flick of its wrist, several figures in the sky were sent flying by the wings of the golden phantom bird.

Bai Qingyu, dressed in white and bathed in platinum light, looked like a deity descending to earth. She glanced at the group from the Demon Subduing Sect and asked Shuten-dōji, "Is everything alright down there?"

"Don't worry, Auntie, I'm here, they won't get hurt!"

Shuten-dōji was quite exhausted, but he didn't have any obvious injuries. He patted his muscular chest hard, his eyes fierce. "Aunt, you've come at the right time. Go and protect the courtyard. Leave the rest of the people to me. These damned bastards dared to send people to attack my Nanshan."

"Let me do it." Bai Qingyu raised her hand, and golden light gathered all over her body. She threw the wooden umbrella in her hand, letting it be bathed in golden light.

The wooden umbrella was continuously reinforced, and in a short period of time it became as dazzling as a small sun.

The overwhelming pressure made Shuten's eyelids twitch.

Over the years, he had always felt that he was stronger than his aunt, so he should show some manly courage to protect her and everyone else. He never expected that his aunt's limits were far beyond what he had seen. For example, the form his aunt was in was so strong that it made his scalp tingle.

Bai Qingyu focused her mind, raised her hand, and the small sun flew up under her control. With another wave of her hand, the small sun crashed towards the group with an extremely terrifying aura.

The powerful members of the Demon Subduing Sect cooperated well, concentrating their power into one. The leader, a Nascent Soul cultivator, unleashed a large golden seal, combining the strength of the group to push it out and smash it violently towards Bai Qingyu's little sun.

They had no idea how Bai Qingyu returned or why she possessed such great power.

All that is known is that Bai Qingyu is incredibly strong at this moment, no weaker than an ordinary Mahayana cultivator.

The golden seal and the small sun collided with a loud boom. The shockwaves that spread out could easily tear apart a Void Refinement cultivator. Shuten-dōji quickly descended and kept attacking to block the overflowing power.

He felt quite helpless. He had just relaxed for a while and this happened. If he had been any slower, Tongzhou would have been in serious trouble.

The little sun and the golden seal collided but could not defeat each other for a moment. Bai Qingyu leaped into the sky again, and the power of faith behind him condensed into a pair of platinum wings.

She pointed to the sky with one finger, her wings flapping rhythmically behind her.

At this moment, her figure seemed to expand to hundreds of feet, and a fairy phantom with her head reaching the sky and her feet on the earth stood between heaven and earth.

The countless people of Tongzhou below and the excited demons with tears streaming down their faces could not see Bai Qingyu's phantom image because his body was too large; they could only see Bai Qingyu's true form. However, those outside the barrier could see him clearly.

Countless powerful figures soared into the sky, gazing towards Tongzhou in the distance.

Their gazes seemed to span thousands of miles, locked onto Bai Qingyu's illusory figure. Seeing the scene in Tongzhou, they were all shocked.