Black Wind Valley

That night, the oil lamp in Iron's Distillery's inner courtyard never went out.

Su Yueli and Tie Ling'er talked about many things—the grudges and debts of the past, as well as amusing tales of the small vendors and peddlers of Azure Province City over the years.

Though time had taken away Tie Ling'er's youth, it had also given her the open-mindedness of one who had seen through the ways of the world.

The next morning, before the morning mist had dispersed, Su Yueli had already slung her pack over her back.

Tie Ling'er escorted her all the way to the entrance of the distillery.

She did not cry. Yet her clouded eyes were filled with the resolve and bitterness of a farewell never to be met again in this lifetime.

The thirty-five-year rift in time had long since sent their lives down paths leading toward different ends.

Su Yueli patted her shoulder. "Take care of yourself. Drink less strong liquor. Stay safe."

Tie Ling'er forced out a faint smile and nodded, watching the figure in azure robes gradually vanish into the morning light.

She understood in her heart that this parting would last forever.

Once she left Azure Province City, the warmth in Su Yueli's eyes receded. The tenderness of reunion had come to an end. The road ahead held only mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Only... becoming stronger without end!

This time, her destination was the Azure Moon Sect.

Whether her master Lu Chen's death had truly been Shen Huai'an's dirty work, committed to sever his worldly ties, she had to get to the bottom of it.

Beyond that, she needed to seize the opportunities along the way and find a method to break through the Tenth Realm of the Martial Dao.

The ten realms of the mortal world culminated in the Martial God, yet even that was still not worth a glance before the lofty cultivators. She had to find the path to the Eleventh Realm of the Martial Dao.

As for the Azure Cloud Sect, which had killed her parents, she could not yet confront that blood-deep vendetta head-on with her current strength. She could only put it on the ledger for now and settle the account slowly in the future.

The Azure Moon Sect stood within the Azure Moon Mountains, very far from Azure Province City.

For cultivators who could ride swords through the air, it might take only a day or two. But for martial artists who could only rush onward on foot, even though Su Yueli was already a Tenth Realm Martial God, traveling at full speed would still require five or six days.

Su Yueli sped along the entire way. At noon on the third day, she arrived at a border town called Sunset Glow City.

Three straight days of high-intensity travel had drained some of her stamina, so she found an inn by the street to rest.

She chose a quiet seat by the window, ordered two plates of braised beef and a pot of clear tea, and observed the local customs and people of the city.

Just then, conversation from the neighboring table reached her ears.

Su Yueli glanced over. Two young men sat there, both dressed in moon-white robes, with a crescent moon embroidered upon their collars.

They seemed to be wearing the uniform of the Azure Moon Sect?

Faint spiritual energy fluctuations surrounded them. Judging by their aura, they were likely at the Second Realm of cultivation.

However, Su Yueli was not a cultivator after all and possessed no immortal spiritual sense. Her perception was not particularly precise, so she did not dare be certain.

"Senior Brother, the bounty mission issued by the sect this time is truly tempting. That Fourth Realm demonic beast entrenched in Black Wind Valley—if we can kill it and obtain the core materials from its body, we can exchange them for at least three Origin-Nourishing Pills once we return to the sect!" One of the cultivators, round-faced, lowered his voice, his tone somewhat excited.

The older cultivator shook his head, his expression grave. "The bounty may be high, but that is a Fourth Realm demonic beast. Even if it is badly injured now, it is absolutely not something minor Second Realm cultivators like us can easily provoke."

"Still, according to news from the inner sect, several Third Realm senior brothers have already formed a team and gone there. We might be able to try our luck around the outskirts, see whether we can pick up some scraps, and get hold of some scattered demonic beast flesh and blood."

A Fourth Realm demonic beast!

Upon hearing this, Su Yueli's hand holding the teacup paused slightly. The blood and vitality of the Martial God within her began to boil of its own accord.

And those two truly were Second Realm cultivators. It seemed her perception had been exactly right; she had made no mistake.

While Su Yueli was still deep in thought, the two Azure Moon Sect cultivators happened to turn their heads as well, and their gazes collided with hers.

The instant they saw Su Yueli, a flash of amazement passed through both their eyes.

The young woman seated by the window possessed beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms. Her bearing was cold and otherworldly, carrying an air that seemed beyond the dust of this world.

The round-faced cultivator instinctively wanted to approach and strike up a conversation. But when he habitually released his spiritual sense to examine Su Yueli's cultivation, his expression instantly fell.

No Purple Mansion Radiance. No spiritual roots or spiritual power.

She was a mortal...

Though the blood and vitality within her were remarkably vigorous, she was merely a mortal martial artist.

"What a pity."

The older cultivator withdrew his gaze and shook his head at his companion in a low voice.

His tone brimmed with lofty arrogance and disdain. "No matter how fine her appearance, she is only a mortal martial brute, with no connection to the Immortal Dao."

"We cultivators can enter seclusion for decades at a time. By the time we emerge, mortal beauties like her will likely already be powdered bones and a skeleton, transformed by birth, aging, sickness, and death into a mound of yellow earth. Let's go. Immortals and mortals are different. Do not delay our proper business."

Hearing this, the round-faced cultivator also sighed in disappointment and followed his senior brother to settle the bill and leave.

Watching their departing backs, Su Yueli raised an eyebrow and frowned faintly.

Immortals and mortals are different?

The superiority oozing from these cultivators was simply absurd enough to make her laugh.

Once I punch you so hard that even your ashes scatter to the wind, I wonder whether you will still be so proud.

As long as I keep my head down, I will surely break through to the Eleventh Realm of the Martial Dao and carve out an even higher Fifth Realm.

Still, the Fourth Realm demonic beast mentioned by those two immediately piqued Su Yueli's interest.

Back then, she had benefited immensely merely from buying a bottle of processed Fourth Realm beast blood. Now, she was worrying over how to find an opportunity to shatter the shackles of the Tenth Realm Martial God...

If she could obtain the essence blood of a Fourth Realm demonic beast and forcibly devour it, or take its rare materials to exchange for resources from the cultivation world, then breaking through to the Eleventh Realm would be just around the corner, would it not?

Third Realm cultivators were going to besiege a heavily injured Fourth Realm demonic beast. Wasn't this perfect? High-end hunters often appeared in the form of prey.

Since they wanted to try their luck, then she was definitely picking up those scraps!

After all, wealth and honor were sought amid danger!

With that thought, Su Yueli paid the bill. Her figure flashed, and she raced toward the direction the two Azure Moon Sect disciples had gone—toward Black Wind Valley.