The Tianyuan Continent was vast and sparsely populated, but filled with abundant spiritual aura. From the sky, the view extended for thousands of miles, revealing boundless fertile soil and dense greenery of spiritual plants. The mountains and rivers below were even richer in spiritual aura, shrouded in celestial mist, with sects hidden amidst the peaks. Occasionally, cultivators could be seen flying about on their swords, leaving trails of radiant light behind them.
Stretching south was a seemingly never-ending expanse of perilous mountain range. Thousands of years ago, the righteous faction united to drive the devil race and devil cultivators out of the central plains, using the mountain range as a natural barrier to build a solid defense line.
From then on, Qianqi Pass became a strategic choke point nestled between these towering mountains. Behind the pass lay a 2,000-mile stretch of plains, narrow and spindle-shaped, with a round body of water resembling a pearl at its far end—that was the Yunshui Plain.
At this moment, the area from Qianqi Pass to Yunshui Plain had fallen to the devils. From a distance, one could see a land marred by the marks of battle, full of destruction and devastation. The devils had no concept of territory. Like locusts, they ravaged everything they conquered, leaving behind only a desolate wasteland in their wake.
By this point, the vanguard of the devil army had moved beyond the plain, advancing deeper into the continent, while the main forces remained stationed along the line of Yunshui Plain to Qianqi Pass.
Since the death of the Devil Lord, the devil army had become even more chaotic, operating purely on instinct. To put it simply, once they had turned one fertile land into a barren wasteland, they would launch an all-out assault on the next stronghold. They burned, killed, looted—committing all kinds of evil while leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Cultivators who reached the Nascent Soul stage could fly on their swords, while devils who attained the Nascent Realm1 would grow black wings on their backs. It was said that when high-ranking devil troops moved out en masse, they resembled a swarm of locusts, their black wings blotting out the sky, stirring up a foul, bloody wind long before their arrival.
Wei Liang and Lin Jiu had just flown over the pearl-like circular section of the Yunshui Plain when they spotted a dense cluster of devils ahead, surrounding an area from the ground to the sky in a tight enclosure that resembled a gigantic hornet’s nest. From a distance, more devils were flying toward it, like sharks drawn to the scent of blood.
Wei Liang raised an eyebrow slightly and descended on his sword.
Crescent-shaped rings of sword beams erupted from within the encirclement. With each flash, more than a dozen devils were sliced in half, their agonized screams filling the air as they crumpled into the mud. Devils possessed a life force far more resilient than humans—as long as their hearts and brains remained intact, they could continue to drag their mangled bodies toward their enemies for days before succumbing. It was this relentless vitality that struck fear into the hearts of humans.
Suddenly, another burst of sword beam exploded in the densest part of the devil swarm. This time in the form of a beautiful full moon. The moonlight soared high, momentarily outshining even the bright sun and casting a dimness over the entire landscape.
Of course, that was the poetic way of putting it. If you asked a certain transmigrator, she would honestly say, “Too blinding!”
Lin Jiu recognized it instantly—this was one of the female lead Liu Qingyin’s signature moves: the Fullmoon Radiance.
‘Why is Liu Qingyin here?’ Lin Jiu was still puzzling over this when she suddenly heard a clear sword hum approaching. A figure clad in grayish-blue, exuding the invigorating aura of a verdant forest, charged into the devil horde like a roaring storm.
A vivid image appeared against the bright full moon, like crabapple blossoms blooming beneath the moonlight. This move complemented Liu Qingyin’s perfectly. In an instant, a gaping breach was torn in the seemingly impenetrable encirclement.
Murong Chun’s robe fluttered even without wind. Chasing into the verdant sword beams, he quickly slipped through the breach and entered the encirclement. “Junior Sister, are you injured?! Leave now!” His usually calm voice tinged with urgency.
But Liu Qingyin’s response was calm, almost cold. “Fourth Senior Brother, don’t bother with me. I made a mistake and am willing to accept my punishment.”
Murong Chun urged, “The punishment for not properly disciplining your disciple is to eliminate one hundred Nascent Realm devils and spend half a month in confinement! You’ve already killed enough! Leave now; I heard rumblings of thunder on my way here—a Soul Realm high devil may be approaching. This place will become too dangerous soon!”
The Soul Realm was equivalent to the Soul Transformation stage for human cultivators. While Liu Qingyin and Murong Chun were both Great Sword Immortals at the late Soul Transformation stage and wouldn’t fear a direct confrontation, this land was occupied by devils. If they are not careful and find themselves surrounded by enemies, by the time they consider retreating, it may already be too late. Three of their sect’s Great Sword Immortals had lost their lives by getting carried away in the battle, had their retreat cut off, and eventually succumbed to siege and exhaustion.
“As cultivators, why should we fear death?” Liu Qingyin let out a cold chuckle. “At worst, I’ll just go join Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, and Fifth Senior Brother2 in the underworld. With them as a company, I certainly won’t be lonely.”
For some reason, when she said the words “won’t be lonely,” a faint sorrow seemed to spread through the air. Even the tough, usually indifferent Lin Jiu couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy, almost wanting to step forward and offer some comfort.
Of course, her senior brother Murong Chun was even more heartbroken. He was nothing like his usual calm and composed self, his voice rising with a hint of frustration. “Junior Sister! Why are you doing this to yourself? There are plenty of fish in the sea! There are countless worthy men in this world, so why do you keep insisting?”
Liu Qingyin’s voice carried a touch of self-mockery. “Senior Brother, when you someday meet your destined one, you will understand.”
“He is not your destined one!” Murong Chun’s sword intent wavered slightly.
“He is.” Liu Qingyin was already showing signs of exhaustion.
Suddenly, flashes of lightning and thunder rumbled on the distant horizon, with dark clouds gathering thickly. Crimson bolts of lightning flashed and slithered through the sky, casting a purple hue over half the plains.
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Translator’s note:
WUML has been added to advanced chapters~
You can subscribe via Ko-Fi to read up to six weeks ahead, or you can buy me a coffee for extra releases on Friday.
Oh, and I have also added a glossary page, which is basically where I dump my footnotes.
Lastly, I have added a new novel, Three Years After Falling Off A Cliff. This is a historical romance novel, similar to Greetings Ninth Uncle, by the same author of Eight Treasures Trousseau and To Be a Virtuous Wife. The release schedule follows Daughter of the Dao and Devil Venerable (Monday and Wednesday). Hope you will enjoy it!
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- Here are the levels of cultivation in this novel: 炼气(Qi Condensation), 筑基 (Foundation Establishment), 金丹 (Golden Core), 元婴 (Nascent Soul), 化神 (Soul Transformation), 大乘已 (Great Ascension). Meanwhile, the corresponding level of devil cultivators are (to be updated): ???, ???, ???, 婴境 (Nascent Realm), 神魔境 (Soul Realm), ???.
- Yes, I know Second Senior Brother is still alive and kicking (see chapters 2 and 5), but that’s what the raw said—and I’m just a translator.
Why look at that, the white lotus using any means to gain the ML’s attention. 🙄