Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Crunch, crunch.

What is that? It's making a scorching sound.

The black-haired girl transformed into a swift shadow, rushing out of the Thousand Ghost Forest, leaving behind a wisp of faint blood smoke that traced the direction she was heading through the dense forest.

But when the girl actually stood at the entrance of the former Jinglin Village, she was stunned.

Zhang Ruoxue looked up and saw a colossal structure that covered the entire Jinglin Village.

A giant magic circle.

The square-shaped crimson array has seven layers, each with at least three array eyes. Countless spells are rapidly rotating under the dense crimson aura, and fist-sized crimson crystalline spheres are constantly rising from Jinglin Village, converging on the strange array.

With each blood orb absorbed, the magic array grows stronger, and so does the terrifying aura that sends shivers down one's spine.

Just standing there, Zhang Ruoxue could feel the biting cold.

That slowly rising blood sphere was none other than... the product of the corpses and souls of the dead villagers being corrupted and devoured by demons!

Those are essence blood beads condensed from the flesh and blood and soul of mortals!

Blood sacrifice...it really was a blood sacrifice!

The woman was right. Such a massive demonic aura, such a bloody scene... there was no doubt... the demonic cultivator was indeed using the entire Jinglin Village to perform a blood sacrifice!

What a joke!

What a joke!

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Like a maddened beast, Zhang Ruoxue burst forth with dazzling flames, and in an instant, a figure engulfed in flames charged headlong into the dark and gloomy Jinglin Village.

This kind of thing... this kind of thing...

Her eyes were wide open as she raced forward at an incredible speed, leaving behind bursts of furious flames beneath her feet that, after a brief delay, would instantly explode.

Puff puff--

Along the way, all the writhing demons near Zhang Ruoxue were blasted to ashes by the flames, turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating under the endless scorching heat.

Zhang Ruoxue, from beginning to end, only focused on one place.

My former home, the simple little house of the Zhang couple.

Her mind was filled with memories of the past.

Ruoxue, you'll be my little brother from now on, so you'll have to take good care of Xiaohan!

[Hey, honey, don't just spoil our son and neglect our daughter anymore. Ruoxue is such a good girl.]

[Ruoxue, today is your birthday. Dad is going to cook something delicious for you himself~ Don't worry, although your dad's cooking skills are a bit lacking, but... it shouldn't kill anyone, right?]

【My dear Xue'er, you'll be a cultivator from now on. Focus on your cultivation at the Thunder Feather Sect. Don't worry about us; we're just ordinary mortals, nothing to fret about.】

【That's right, don't worry. I had Yu the Pockmarked Man at the village entrance do my fortune telling. Your mother and I are definitely going to live to be a hundred years old, and at the very least, we'll have grandchildren someday, hehehe】

……

Yes, they won't die.

A hopeful anticipation for the outcome that was about to unfold rose in Zhang Ruoxue's heart.

They said they would live to be a hundred years old.

They said they'd wait until the day they could hold their grandson...

They said they would take care of themselves.

The reassuring words spoken by that couple to allow their child to cultivate with peace of mind still echoed in Zhang Ruoxue's ears to this day.

No... nothing will happen...

Zhang Ruoxue gritted her teeth and stomped her foot.

boom!

The ground instantly caved in, creating a huge crater, while Zhang Ruoxue suddenly accelerated, passing through two corners and arriving at the place where the thatched hut used to be.

The scene... appeared before my eyes.

The thatched hut, corroded and scorched by the black flames, collapsed.

The folding shed used for cooling off outside was crushed into dust, and the wooden table under the shed was split horizontally, with one half still burning with black flames.

The vegetable garden next to the house, enclosed by a fence, was scorched black, and the damaged green leaves were being devoured by several writhing, disgusting monsters. The fence was also mostly broken.

Zhang Ruoxue didn't look at these things carefully.

Her gaze was drawn to the two figures lying on the ground.

"Father! Mother!"

The girl ran over and knelt down beside the two men.

Her trembling hands didn't even dare to touch their backs. The two lying in the pool of blood seemed not to hear Zhang Ruoxue's cries... motionless.

Breathing... stopped...

My heart... stopped beating...

Everything stopped, even the body temperature slowly disappeared.

Zhang Ruoxue knelt there, trembling all over, her shoulders slumped, and her arms hanging limply at her sides.

Gone.

That couple... are gone.

……

In the shadows.

A pitch-black shadow stepped out from the black flames.

Wearing a long black robe and a pure black mask with bat patterns, the man, who appeared to be a young man, stood several dozen meters away from Zhang Ruoxue.

He first looked around to make sure there was no one else besides Zhang Ruoxue, then rubbed the stubble on his chin with amusement.

Those eerie, ghostly eyes looked at Zhang Ruoxue, and a hoarse voice came through the mask.

"So it's you... the one who's getting in the way of those lowly demons outside the village."

"..."

Zhang Ruoxue did not answer, her head still hanging down, not moving an inch.

Seeing this, the man laughed and said, "It looks like you're a cultivator from this village, right? I never expected that such a mortal village would have someone who can cultivate. It's quite surprising."

"What a pity, you're too late. Everyone in this village has already been slaughtered."

He spread his hands at this point, and said in a helpless tone:

"There's no other way. After all, the higher-ups require me to set up a blood sacrifice array for tens of thousands of people. Although your village doesn't have that many people, every little bit counts. After that, I can find a few more villages to target and meet the quota."

"As expected of the Demon Dynasty...they really have a lot of hard and tiring work to do..."

Before he could finish speaking...

The dark figure leaped backward at an incredible speed, transforming into a cloud of mist and retreating nearly ten meters in the blink of an eye.

Where he had originally stood, stood a black-haired girl who seemed to be burning like the god of fire himself.

Zhang Ruoxue's eyes widened in anger, her teeth clenched so tightly that the muscles in her mouth clenched and cracked, making a sound as if they were being torn apart by excessive force. Blood seeped from between her teeth, staining the girl's lips red.

Hiss--

His blood boiled, and at the same time, the tears that kept flowing from the corners of his eyes were burned away in the endless, desolate flames.

She didn't speak, she didn't say anything.

The man wearing a black mask sneered, "Interrupting others is not a good habit."

Zhang Ruoxue lowered her body and rushed towards the man at top speed.

His left fist bulged with veins, and with one punch, flames erupted.

The fiery phantom behind the girl blasted out the five-meter-wide lava iron fist, creating layers of sonic waves as it hurtled towards the man with overwhelming force.

Of course.

The man snorted coldly, did not dodge, raised his left hand, and slapped out with a palm strike.

Thousands of demonic forces gathered in his palm, forming a dark whirlwind. Sharp and icy wind blades struck the lava iron fist repeatedly. At the same time, the fist and the palm collided.

Fist against palm!

A tremendous force struck her, and Zhang Ruoxue even heard the sound of her left hand bones breaking. Immediately afterward, she was struck by thousands of demonic energies and sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

She was blasted dozens of meters away, rolled several times, and barely managed to stop.

"Still too inexperienced, with only this level of skill, you dare to challenge me..."

The man didn't finish his sentence.

Because he saw Zhang Ruoxue quickly get up and stare at him with eyes that held nothing but murderous intent.

That gaze... even made him feel a little creeped out.

Ignoring her broken hand bones, the black-haired girl charged at the masked man in black once more.

die! die! die!

kill!kill!kill!

"act recklessly."

The man didn't take Zhang Ruoxue's attack seriously at all. He watched as Zhang Ruoxue's fist grew larger in front of him, and with just a sidestep, he easily dodged it.

His gaze fell on Zhang Ruoxue's left leg, he sneered, and kicked her hard from the side with his right foot.

click!

Zhang Ruoxue's left kneecap was broken by the kick; the shattered and dislocated bone was almost piercing her skin.

But Zhang Ruoxue seemed completely oblivious to the pain, her face still contorted with rage and fury.

She forcefully turned her left leg around, and as blood gushed out, she forced herself to stand up again.