In the Demon Race's realm, by Qingyang Creek.
Bathed in the morning light, the creek shimmered, as if countless gold coins were glinting within the water. Numerous animals came to drink by its banks, deer from the forest, birds from the sky, rabbits from the grass, and even a ferocious tiger from the mountains. Yet, as the majestic tiger lowered its front paws to the bank and lapped at the water, the other creatures seemed utterly oblivious, paying no heed to the king of the jungle.
In the Demon Race's realm, there were its own rules.
Within this world, to preserve the continuation of life, the Ancestral Mountain of the Demon Race had designated areas rich in spiritual energy as "Kill Cessation Zones." Once a region was under a Kill Cessation Order, animals were forbidden from hunting each other. To survive, one had to seek food in other territories. The reason Qingyang Creek was listed as such a zone was that it was once the homeland of the great demon Wu Li.
Back then, a small black carp swam back and forth in this very creek, only to be slapped by a large yellow dog. Holding a grudge ever since, Wu Li never expected that he would ultimately perish by Su Qingjiu's sword.
Morning.
An old Daoist priest in a grey robe, leaning on a heavily scratched walking staff and carrying a blue wine gourd at his waist, ambled through the forest. He reached the creek and scooped a handful of water to wash his face, feeling refreshed. The animals seemed to pay no mind to the old Daoist's arrival; even the timid deer of the forest showed no alarm, as if the old Daoist was an intrinsic part of the jungle.
This is called, "The unity of Heaven and Man."
The old Daoist took a sip of the creek water. It was quite sweet, but alas, it still paled in comparison to the wine in his gourd. Wine, after all, was the essence of grain – the saying was true. The old Daoist felt a pang of regret. He shouldn't have been so particular when leaving Neon Dress Realm; he should have just emptied the wine cellar of the Silver Dragon Sword Sect. Now, without wine, life felt rather bland.
He glanced up at the creatures on both sides of the creek and smiled faintly. They were inherently part of this world, but later, as they absorbed spiritual energy and cultivated sentience, they became what people called demons. As for his attitude towards demons, the old Daoist was quite moderate. Demons were not inherently evil when born; it was only later, as they cultivated and attained enlightenment, that greed festered within them.
"Hmm..."
The old Daoist narrowed his eyes, gazing at the forest, and chuckled, "Let it begin from here."
With that, he reached out and, with a scoop in the wind, grasped a gossamer thread invisible to the naked eye of mortals. He gently tugged, pulling it from Neon Dress Realm all the way to the Demon Race's realm. It wasn't just one thread, but myriad strands, as if he were pulling and weaving the very mysterious veins connecting the Demon Race's realm and Neon Dress Realm.
A group of animals continued to drink and graze, paying no attention to the old Daoist. He had suppressed his cultivation to an extremely low level, making him appear like a human Daoist cultivator of the Lower Five Realms surveying the feng shui of the area. Thus, most of the demon cultivators who passed overhead merely cast a glance and moved on. Human cultivators were not uncommon in the Demon Race's realm; they constituted half of the martial world there. The reason for the life-and-death encounters between demon and human cultivators at Snow Domain Heavenly Pool was that it was considered human territory. In other words, human cultivators willing to venture into the martial world of the Demon Race did not have such stark distinctions of grudges. Therefore, the Ancestral Mountain of the Demon Race had previously issued an order: no arbitrary killing of human cultivators within the Demon Race's realm was permitted. If one wished to kill, a reason must be provided, otherwise, it would inevitably invite ruthless retribution.
...
In the mountain peak villa, morning dew dripped onto the grass and leaves by the roadside.
Tong Yu, a nine-year-old girl clad in a red dress, had already blossomed into a beauty as exquisite as a hibiscus emerging from water. Her reputation as the most promising beauty of the Eastern Wu Kingdom was not undeserved. Furthermore, after following Lin Wanhua into the Way of the Sword, Tong Yu practiced the most orthodox Fusang Great Wall Sword Dao. Her posture was straight, radiating the noble bearing of a sword cultivator, making her far more than just a promising beauty; she was akin to an immortal maiden from the mountains.
At this moment, the senior disciple of the younger generation in the mountain peak villa, Tong Yu, stood on sword stances, emanating sword intent, and ascended the stone steps towards the summit. With every few steps, she turned back to look at Zhang Luobai, who was practicing sword stances behind her, and Zhuang Yirong, who was practicing fist stances. "Hurry up. You're taking too long to breathe, and too frequently at that."
"Yes, Senior Disciple Sister!"
The two youngsters nodded in unison, showing immense respect to their senior disciple sister.
Tong Yu was not entirely satisfied with their cultivation levels, but she was quite pleased with their attitude. Since Zhang Luobai and Zhuang Yirong had arrived on the mountain, Tong Yu had felt the supreme authority of being the senior disciple sister. Especially when Zhuang Yirong secretly slipped her a boiled egg every morning, Tong Yu felt even happier. Her junior disciple sister was truly sensible.
"Senior Disciple Sister."
Zhang Luobai, carrying the wooden sword "Willow Form" on his back, with his hands clasped behind him, ascended the mountain on sword stances. "Master hasn't been on the mountain for several days. Do you know where he went?"
"I don't know."
Tong Yu shook her head. "Brother Lin Zhao is the Lord of the Mountain and the Commander of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. He has many military and mountain affairs to attend to. How could I possibly know what he's busy with? I'm still young, after all, and can't help with anything."
Zhang Luobai said, "I haven't seen Master for many days. I feel a bit empty inside."
"Missing him?"
Zhuang Yirong chuckled. "Zhang Luobai, you're so lazy and slack in your training. If Master really returns, he'll spank you first. Just you wait and see!"
"Haha~~~"
Zhang Luobai scratched his head. "Master spanking his disciples is only natural. I wish Master would spank me every day. I feel uneasy if I'm not spanked once a day. But ever since I became his disciple, Master has never spanked me, nor has he ever spoken a harsh word. Does this indicate something? That I, Zhang Luobai, was born a Sword Immortal prodigy, filled with Confucian knowledge, so Master has nothing more to guide me on?"
Tong Yu turned back, her face filled with astonishment. The next moment, she raised her hand and unleashed a wisp of sword intent, which immediately wrapped around Zhang Luobai's feet, suspending him upside down in the air.
"Senior Disciple Sister, what are you doing?" the boy blinked and asked.
"Pouring out the water in your brain," Tong Yu said.
Zhuang Yirong burst into laughter, hands on her hips, and exclaimed like a little adult, "Zhang Luobai, you totally deserve it!"
"Alright, alright."
Zhang Luobai, hanging upside down, clasped his arms and said calmly, "It's about poured out. Senior Disciple Sister, quickly put me down. If Sword Immortal Wu Zhi sees you bullying your junior disciple brother, perhaps Senior Disciple Sister's backside will also get a spanking."
"Sister Wu Zhi wouldn't hit me."
Although Tong Yu said this, she quickly and gently lowered the boy. Then she looked around furtively, lightly patting her slightly budding chest, feeling a wave of relief. Thankfully, no one noticed. This brat Zhang Luobai talks too much. If I wanted to spank him, I'd do it secretly. If he went to complain, no one would believe him. With this thought, Tong Yu took a deep breath. Realm is the fundamental thing! If I could create a small sword realm of my own now, I'd spank this brat Zhang Luobai every single day. Such days... how delightful would that be?!
With this thought, Tong Yu's eyes crinkled with a smile. Although she felt a bit sorry for the Lord of the Mountain, Brother Lin Zhao was so kind. It was just spanking his disciple, he probably wouldn't mind. After all, who wouldn't spank someone?
...
Late at night, around midnight.
The Map of the Stone of Destiny had been open for a full twelve hours. During this time, Lin Zhao had been relentlessly grinding monsters. When he encountered players from the Northern Four Tribes' faction, he took them down as well, thus obtaining an abundance of Divine Covenant pages. Just after midnight, he summoned another Earth-grade Boss and obtained his ninth True Martial Scroll. All that remained was one more True Martial Scroll to summon and challenge the ultimate Boss, Emperor Ren Huang Chong!
In the studio chat, Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Luo Man, and others were all busy with their own tasks. Everyone was achieving good results. In just 12 hours, Lin Zhao's inventory had increased by 12 pieces of Earth-grade equipment, while Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, and Ding Chi also had five or six pieces each, far more lucrative than usual map grinding.
"Rustle..."
As Lin Zhao strode across the desert, walking slowly along the edge of an oasis, he did not fly on his sword. That would be too ostentatious. Although it would allow him to avoid the harassment of quicksand vortices, it might also make him a target. After all, a flying target in the sky was too conspicuous, visible from afar. However, quite a few Golden Core realm players still chose to hunt in the air, seeking monsters and PK, relying on the method of "fighting to sustain oneself" to gain more benefits.
"Swish!"
Suddenly, a beam of sword light shot from afar, passing by Lin Zhao's coordinates. From a distance, it appeared to be a Golden Core sword cultivator with his hands clasped behind his back, clad in armor, his eyes filled with killing intent. Although he was flying on his sword, he lacked any elegance, his greed and murderous aura being too heavy, with no trace of the bearing of a Sword Immortal.
Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes and confirmed the identity.
Guke Wuming, the player renowned as the strongest in the Northern Four Tribes' faction. Just an hour ago, Guke Wuming had killed three players from the Scarlet Moon Knights within the main map. Now, he was delivering himself to my doorstep. How could I miss this opportunity?!
In a flash, Lin Zhao leaped onto his flying sword, Hongye, and soared into the sky, charging directly towards Guke Wuming. Hongye was an immortal sword, and its flight speed enhancement was significantly faster than Guke Wuming's Heaven-grade flying sword. Thus, he caught up within mere moments. Guke Wuming, still standing in the air with his hands clasped behind his back, enjoying the strong wind, remained unaware.
"Wuming!"
Lin Zhao did not intend to ambush. It would not be a righteous victory. He said with a smile, "Die!"
"Ah!?"
The moment Guke Wuming turned around, a Rising Dragon Slash sword intent enveloped his body. Guke Wuming's eyes were filled with horror. "White Robe, you're ambushing me?!"
"I've already greeted you!"
Lin Zhao raised his sword eyebrows. The next second, twelve Great Desolation Ancient Swords shot out like a volley of arrows, piercing Guke Wuming's chest. He then thrust out his sword, its light imbued with the brilliance of " Qian Kun Yi Zhi " (A Throw of Heaven and Earth). At that very moment, a surge of heat flowed into his arm, and the 5% effect of the Sun Chaser's strike arrived!