[Gu Xinyue's full-force strike at the Void Refining Realm was far beyond what an old man at the Spirit Transmutation Stage could withstand. He died on the spot beneath her Sword Qi.]
["You're courting death!"]
[At that moment, you heard an enraged roar from behind you. The aura that erupted from it was actually slightly stronger than Gu Xinyue's.]
[Gu Xinyue's expression turned grave at those words. She suddenly stopped and looked at you.]
["Little Junior Brother, go first. I'll hold this city lord back."]
[From the burst of spiritual energy just now, you knew the city lord was at least at the Void Refining Mid Stage. You could not help worrying about Gu Xinyue.]
[Gu Xinyue, standing beside you, seemed to see through your concerns and gave you a reassuring smile.]
["Don't worry, Little Junior Brother. Your Senior Sister isn't that weak! Don't forget, the Sword Pavilion has never had weaklings!"]
[Her words immediately woke you up. The Sword Pavilion's requirements for accepting disciples were extremely high. Without being a supreme genius of the sword path, one could never join the Sword Pavilion.]
["Senior Sister, I'll leave markings along the way. Follow them, and you'll be able to find me."]
[With that, you no longer hesitated and left Qingshan City with Wei Qing.]
[You knew that staying here would only hold Gu Xinyue back.]
[Shortly after leaving Qingshan City's borders, you sensed a fierce battle erupt within the city.]
[You looked at Wei Qing beside you and asked where the two of you should go next.]
[Wei Qing was clearly more familiar with the Southern Region than you, an outsider.]
["We definitely can't go back to Qingshan City now, and the nearby cities all have dealings with Qingshan City."]
[Wei Qing lowered his head and pondered for a long time before raising it and looking in one direction.]
["We'd better go to the capital. Fighting is forbidden there, so it's suitable for us."]
["The capital?"]
[You did not know what place he meant by the capital, so you told him that you came from You Prefecture and did not yet understand the situation in the Southern Region.]
[Wei Qing was surprised that you came from You Prefecture. In his impression, it was basically difficult for Void Refining experts to appear in regions outside Central Prefecture.]
[He then explained that the area where you currently were lay within the Great Zhou Dynasty of the Southern Region.]
[Qingshan City was merely a remote little city under the Great Zhou Dynasty.]
[As for the capital, it was the central city of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, where powerful experts were as numerous as the stars.]
["Alright! We'll go to the capital!"]
[And so, Wei Qing led you onto the road to the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty.]
[It took you nearly a year to reach the capital.]
[After entering the capital, you discovered that even its guards had a minimum cultivation of the Nascent Soul Realm.]
[With such cultivation, one would at least be an Outer Sect elder in the Azure Cloud Sect, yet here they could only serve as guards.]
[A year later, you and Wei Qing had fully settled down in the capital, buying an abandoned little courtyard in a corner of the city.]
[However, what worried you somewhat was that Gu Xinyue had not come looking for you even after more than a year.]
[When you left Qingshan City, you had left her Sword Qi, telling her that you would be heading to the capital.]
[Yet Gu Xinyue still had not come to the capital. You did not know whether your Senior Sister had successfully escaped Qingshan City.]
["Su Ming, I'm back. Here are the spirit stones I earned this month. Take a look!"]
[Just as you were worrying about Gu Xinyue, Wei Qing pushed open the courtyard gate.]
[Since settling in the capital, the two of you had chosen not to join any faction. Instead, you earned spirit stones through your status as a Fourth-grade Alchemist.]
[After briefly checking the number of spirit stones, you took a portion and left the rest for Wei Qing to buy materials and for his own cultivation.]
[In the tenth year, your fifth year since arriving in Central Prefecture, your cultivation finally broke through to the Nascent Soul Late Stage.]
[At the same time, your alchemy rank also advanced to that of a fifth-grade alchemist.]
[Over these years, your reputation in alchemy had rapidly grown throughout the capital. With low prices and excellent quality, you won the favor of countless customers.]
[Yet after so many years had passed, Gu Xinyue still had not come looking for you, and you gradually forgot about the matter.]
[Gu Xinyue had originally talked you into coming here so that you could seek opportunities in the ruins of Central Prefecture.]
[But now, you had spent five years waiting for Gu Xinyue alone.]
[In the fifteenth year, ten years after arriving in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Gu Xinyue still had not come.]
[By then, many people in the capital had begun calling you Pill King Su.]
[Gradually, you began to enjoy this life. It seemed that you had sunk into the beautiful life of the Great Zhou Dynasty, forgetting that these people were actually Sinister Worms.]
[At the end of that year, a rumor began spreading through the capital. Wei Qing told you about it the moment he returned to the little courtyard.]
["Su Ming, did you know? One of the Great Zhou Dynasty's princesses has been stripped of her status and reduced to a commoner."]
[You had no interest in such gossip, so you did not press further.]
[The next day, as usual, you went to the Rogue Cultivator trading street in the capital. To put it bluntly, it was the capital's black market.]
[After selling the pills you had refined yesterday, you prepared to return to the little courtyard.]
[When you returned to the little courtyard, you discovered that a young girl had somehow been following behind you. You used True Sight to inspect her identity.]
Zhou Lingxi: Human Race Talent: Natural-Born Immortal Eyes Cultivation: Third Level of Qi Refining Spiritual Root: None
[When you saw that she possessed Immortal Eyes, you froze slightly where you stood.]
[She had no Spiritual Root, yet she could cultivate to the Third Level of Qi Refining. You felt that these Immortal Eyes were simply too terrifying.]
["Miss, I'm home. How long are you planning to keep following me?"]
[Zhou Lingxi looked at you with clear, bright eyes.]
["I'll keep following you!"]
["Ahem! No, no, no! I don't take in anyone!"]
[As you spoke, you prepared to close the gate, but Zhou Lingxi's next words stopped your hand.]
["You're not a monster, so I'm following you!"]
[You understood the meaning behind her words, but what astonished you was how someone at the Third Level of Qi Refining could detect the existence of Sinister Worms.]
["Can your Immortal Eyes see Sinister Worms?"]
[Upon hearing your words, Zhou Lingxi trembled slightly and stared at you with wide eyes.]
["You... how did you know I have Immortal Eyes..."]
["Come in first. It's not safe outside!"]
[You did not answer her question directly, instead telling her to come inside first.]
[After you entered the little courtyard, Wei Qing saw that you had brought back a young girl and immediately looked at you strangely.]
["Su Ming, where did you abduct her from?"]
[You did not respond to Wei Qing. Instead, you shot him a glance and said solemnly.]
["She's an Awakened One!"]
Before you continue