Chapter 1 A strong arm wrapped around her waist.

The woods were quiet. A cool breeze swept by, blowing the hair at her temples past her ears. A long cut appeared on Ling Shu's fair face, and blood flowed from it.

"Come out here!" Ling Shu shouted angrily.

The lurking shadows remained silent.

Suddenly, a rattling sound, like a rattlesnake vibrating its tail, came from behind the tree trunk beside me.

Ling Shu glanced at his side out of the corner of his eye, but stepped forward, silently counting in his mind, one, two, three... The wind speed changed rapidly, and the tip of the sword reflected the cold moonlight, stabbing straight towards Ling Shu's heart.

Ling Shu turned her foot and glanced back. The sword pierced through her body. The person holding the sword was shocked, but the next second, his right wrist holding the sword was firmly grabbed.

The sword suddenly slipped from his hand, but Ling Shu's right hand moved with lightning speed, grabbing the hilt just as the sword was falling.

A flash of lightning illuminated the darkness, and in the blink of an eye, Ling Shu launched a counterattack, kicking the person who wanted her dead to the ground, her sword pressed against the other's neck.

The person in the disadvantaged position suddenly sneered, "Little Ling Shu, if you don't let me go, I'll crush your demon core. Your mother will die with me, and we'll be a pair of star-crossed lovers on our journey. How delightful! Hahahaha!"

Ling Shu reached out to snatch it, but the person gathered spiritual energy in their hand, tightly surrounding the golden demon core—a power beyond her reach.

The man was utterly vile: "Come on! Kill me!"

Ling Shu glared at her fiercely: "Give me back my mother's demon core!"

Suddenly, the person clenched her hand tightly around the demon core, on which faint cracks were already visible. Then, a bright white light suddenly shone from her hand, and a thunderous roar echoed overhead. Ling Shu cried out urgently, "No!"

The man stopped abruptly, raising an eyebrow and saying disdainfully, "What? Scared now?"

Ling Shu glared angrily as she listened to her say, word by word, "The only demon core in this world is gone. It's such a pity. She raised you for many years, and now she's seriously ill, her life force exhausted. She's just a body waiting to die. Why not give me this demon core? I'll use it for cultivation, and one day I can ascend to immortality and become a guardian immortal of the Shangqing Realm alongside the Qingxi Immortal Venerable. Wouldn't that be of great benefit to all living beings? My dear daughter, please listen to your stepmother."

"Bah! Who is your daughter! You hypocrite who talks about the common people! I have a mother! If you hadn't deceived my mother's feelings, how could she have fallen victim to your cruelty!"

"You have a mother? Hahaha, the mother you're talking about is the Shangqing Sect leader who abandoned you for nineteen years and married a new wife? What is her status and what is yours? You're just her bastard child! How dare someone who doesn't even acknowledge his wife and daughter call you 'mother'? It's a huge joke, hahaha! If it weren't for me, a demon hunter, humbling myself to accompany you and your daughter, would you have been able to evade the pursuit of so many cultivators?"

"Who in this world doesn't know that refining the demon core of a nine-tailed fox can lead to instant ascension to the Great Ascension stage? Do you think I'm the only one eyeing such a coveted opportunity?"

The earth trembled, leaves rustled down, and the chilling spiritual energy emanating from behind made Ling Shu's hair stand on end.

Ling Shu glanced sideways, but before she could get a good look at the person behind her, a splatter of rusty, fishy liquid splashed onto her face.

Turning around abruptly, she saw that the person she was supporting had a blank look in their eyes, then their pupils dilated, and the spiritual energy covering the demon core instantly dissipated. The demon core floated out of her hand, and Ling Shu reached out to grab it, but the demon core simply walked past her and went backward.

Ling Shu got up and chased after the demon core. Under the shadow of the tree, the demon core fell into the hand of a white-robed cultivator.

The newcomer was half-hidden in the shadow of the tree, the cold moonlight shining on her white skirt, which trailed on the ground. The skirt was embroidered with white plum blossom patterns along the edges, the embroidery exquisite, as if it had the rich luster of a precious pearl.

She was a woman, and her entire being exuded a chilling aura.

A person with an ice-elemental root.

The pressure was extremely heavy, and the cultivator's realm was at least at the Mahayana stage. However, in the Shangqing Realm, only the five masters of the Shangqing Sect were at the Mahayana stage.

who is she?

No matter who it is, Ling Shu is no match for her, because she is not only not a cultivator, but also a half-demon. In the Shangqing Realm, where demons have no status, half-demons are the lowest of the low.

Ling Shu's eyes were resolute, as if she were throwing an egg against a rock, but when she spoke, her voice was childish: "Give it back to me."

The other side remained silent.

As Ling Shu gripped her sword, poised to strike, the golden demon core floated back from the man's palm and landed squarely in Ling Shu's hand.

Ling Shu was taken aback: "Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

The woman in white remained silent.

Ling Shu tentatively took a step forward, and in an instant, the woman in white robes disappeared.

As the lightning and thunder faded into the distance, large raindrops began to fall. Without a second thought, Ling Shu gazed in the direction of home and ran wildly through the rain.

A strong stench of blood filled the air, and the faint sounds of fighting could be heard.

Ling Shu was extremely anxious, wishing she could fly on her sword: "Mother, you must hold on until I come back."

Ling Shu stood in front of her own courtyard gate, holding the stolen sword, on the verge of collapse.

The millet that had not yet been harvested before sunset was stained with blood, mixed with mud, and trampled by footprints into a dirty puddle of sand.

The chili peppers, corn, and garlic drying under the eaves were splattered with blood. She rushed inside, but there was no one there, only the mess left after the fight.

With tears in her eyes, Ling Shu followed her sense of smell to a valley where blood-red liquid floated on the flowing water.

Four people dressed as monks cornered a nine-tailed fox that had revealed its true form in the middle of the river. Their attacks were ruthless and bloody.

The cultivator in the eastern position pressed, "Hand over the demon core, and I'll spare your life."

The cultivator in the western position chanted incantations and hand seals to continuously reinforce the formation.

The cultivator to the south pointed his sword at the nine-tailed fox: "You dead fox, we only want your demon core, not your lives. Hand it over, and you will be spared."

The nine-tailed fox said, "You bunch of heartless and stupid creatures, if the demon core falls into your hands, the Shangqing Realm will be thrown into chaos. I cannot allow you to do evil."

The cultivator in the north said, "Hey, hey, don't get angry. You can't even protect yourself. Why are you still thinking about those people's lives? Is it worth it?" After saying that, he used his sword to cut off one of the nine-tailed fox's tails and arrogantly laughed and cursed, "Fool."

Ling Shu tucked the demon core into his robes. Seeing that he was about to draw his sword again to cut off the tail of the nine-tailed demon, he shouted in desperation, "Get out of my way! Don't hurt my mother!" and then swung his sword at the cultivator.

"Shu'er! Don't come any closer! Run!"

The sharp-eyed cultivator in the western position noticed the aura of the demon core in her arms and hurriedly said, "The demon core is on her!"

The cultivator from the north said, "Well, that explains why I couldn't force out her demon core no matter how I fought her. It turns out it wasn't even on her." With that, he stepped on the water and rushed towards Ling Shu.

With the north side missing, the formation trapping the Nine-Tailed Fox collapsed instantly. The Nine-Tailed Fox reacted swiftly, rushing to the cultivator's side and tightly protecting Ling Shu behind him. The cultivator from the north thrust his sword, which the Nine-Tailed Fox blocked with his magic power. The two sides were evenly matched, and the Nine-Tailed Fox was not at a disadvantage. However, when the other three cultivators stood behind him together, the Nine-Tailed Fox could only barely hold on with all his might.

Ling Shu clutched the demon core and said urgently, "Mother, I brought the demon core back for you. Eat it quickly!"

The nine-tailed fox's remaining three tails wrapped around Ling Shu, then flung her away fiercely: "Shu'er, run!"

Ling Shu fell heavily to the ground, then struggled to her feet: "Mother, I'm not leaving! If you want to leave, we'll leave together!"

The nine-tailed fox suddenly said fiercely, "Stop talking nonsense and get away from me, you bastard."

Ling Shu said, "You have your choices, and I have mine. You gave birth to me, and I can never repay your love in this lifetime. I'll return the demon core to you. You should live well."

Ling Shu leaped back to the water's surface, stubbornly insisting on returning the demon core. The demon core flew out of her hand and slowly flew towards the nine-tailed fox. The four cultivators witnessed the golden demon core and their greed was fully revealed. They gathered their strength and attacked again. The nine-tailed fox's desperate efforts were on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, all three tails were severed.

The three-tailed demonic energy leaked out, knocking the demonic core floating in the air back. A powerful force forced her to open her mouth, and the demonic core flew into her mouth. The next instant, Ling Shu was knocked into the water by the backlash from the demonic energy of the three-tailed demonic energy, which was used to contend with the cultivator's power.

Just now, the nine-tailed fox severed three of its own tails. The power of these three tails completely repelled the cultivators' power, severely injuring four people.

This also caused the nine-tailed fox to completely lose her strength, and like a lamp going out, she slumped into the water.

The four monks also fell into the water.

The rain gradually subsided, and the drizzling raindrops fell on the water's surface, creating ripples. The water gradually calmed down, and even the water rings created by a person falling had spread far away.

Underwater, the four cultivators swam towards Ling Shu, following the scent of the demon core.

With the thousand-year-old demon core entering her body, the surging spiritual energy rushed wildly through her meridians. Her nineteen-year-old body was carrying an excessive amount of spiritual energy. She felt that her body was about to be tormented by this overflowing spiritual energy, but she didn't care about herself and searched for her mother's figure with her eyes.

In the darkness, with nothing visible underwater, she could only rely on the bond between mother and daughter to find her mother's whereabouts.

Mother, Mother, Mother...

I sensed my mother sinking slowly underwater.

Ling Shu held her breath and swam downwards. After swimming a few meters, her right arm was suddenly grabbed and pulled upwards with great force. Ling Shu tried to pry open the hand and touched the ring pattern embroidered on the cuff of the hand. It was a cultivator!

The thousand-year-old demon core entered her body, which her weak body could not refine. This caused the wildness of the demon in her half-demon bloodline to become uncontrollable. Her ears and fingers evolved into the shape of beasts. Ling Shu scratched her hand with a claw. It was not visible in the water, but an extremely strong smell of blood could be smelled.

The grip on his right hand disappeared.

The atractylodes quickly swam downstream; Mother couldn't wait much longer.

The sensation was intense; her mother was right in front of her. She swam forward and touched the hem of her clothes with her left hand. Her mother still had the strength to take human form!

Ling Shu tried to move forward, but her legs were grabbed and she was dragged upwards.

She struggled with all her might, but the men were too strong, and the three of them carried her up.

The sharp claws scratched the cultivator, and the four of them were locked in a stalemate underwater. The river water was icy cold, and they had been holding their breath for too long. In the struggle, Ling Shu gradually lost his strength.

She was pulled to the surface of the water by the cultivator. The fishy air rushed into her lungs, and she was able to breathe freely. Before she could recover her strength, the cultivator grabbed her and carried her away from the water.

The water below flowed swiftly, the fishy smell gradually fading away, and the wind on the river was icy cold.

"Who goes there?" The cultivator suddenly stopped.

Ling Shu looked up and saw a person dressed in white with long hair reaching his waist. His temperament was as elegant as a secluded orchid in a valley. He stood quietly in the wind, the moon shining down, exuding both coldness and elegance. He held a cold iron sword in his hand, and his aura was solemn and imposing.

Ling Shu did not recognize this person, but when she looked down, she noticed the white plum blossoms embroidered on the edge of her skirt.

It's her! The one who helped her retrieve the demon core.

In an instant, she slashed around Ling Shu with her sword, killing three cultivators. The grip on her loosened, and Ling Shu suddenly fell.

The wind blew past my side, and the river appeared larger in front of me.

"Mother, I'm here..."

A strong arm wrapped around her waist, and then she fell into a rather cold embrace.