Night had fallen over a mountain hollow.
Sharp crackles occasionally rose from the fire.
Fang Ling sat cross-legged beside it, cultivating. The firelight shone on his face, roasting his cheeks a faint red.
Layers of spirit stones lay beneath him, all obtained from the Qin Family.
Before long, the entire pile of spirit stones had crumbled to dust.
He abruptly opened his eyes and nodded in satisfaction.
"No wonder my masters sent me down the mountain. There really are plenty of good things out here..."
"If I'd had these spirit stones growing up, my cultivation would surely be far beyond this."
He murmured to himself, marveling at the spirit stones' effects.
"Too bad there were so few. I'll have to get more later."
Just then, he turned toward the east, sensing someone approaching.
With a casual sweep of his hand, he scattered the dust on the ground.
Before long, two figures gradually came into view.
One was older, the other younger. The older one looked about thirty.
Her figure was voluptuous, her grace and beauty unrivaled.
Her hair was piled in a high bun, and she exuded the allure of a mature woman.
She held a little girl by the hand. With her hair tied in two buns, the girl looked utterly adorable.
"Aunt Qing, that big brother is so handsome!"
The little girl looked at Fang Ling beside the fire and spoke with a giggle.
The woman she called Aunt Qing glanced at Fang Ling, then led the girl straight over.
"It's late, and my little girl is frail. May we spend the night by your fire?" she asked Fang Ling.
Fang Ling nodded and shifted aside, making room for both of them.
This woman's cultivation is quite impressive... Fang Ling thought.
The strongest person he had sensed in Willow City was Qin Hui, the head of the Qin Family.
But compared to the beautiful woman before him, Qin Hui was hardly worth mentioning.
Qin Hui was merely at the perfected Heavenly Pivot Realm, while this woman was at the middle stage of the Heavenly Balance Realm!
One stood in the first realm of martial cultivation, the other in the third.
"Big brother, would you like some flatbread?"
"I have some delicious flatbread. It's really fragrant and crispy!"
The lively little girl produced half a flatbread from somewhere and offered it to Fang Ling.
Fang Ling smiled faintly and accepted it from her little hand. "Thank you."
The beautiful woman called Aunt Qing watched silently without saying anything.
In her eyes, Fang Ling was merely a young scion from a family of some standing, unworthy of her attention.
"Big brother, why are you here all alone?"
The little girl drew closer to Fang Ling and asked another curious question, her eyes wide.
"I'm going into the mountains to look for something," Fang Ling replied.
The girl pouted and shook her head repeatedly. "Don't! Don't go into the mountains!"
"Aunt Qing said this mountain is dangerous. There are demons in there that eat people!"
"If it's so dangerous here, why are you going into the mountains?" Fang Ling asked with a smile.
The little girl had no guard on her tongue and immediately spilled it out. "We're looking for something in the mountains too! But my Aunt Qing is really strong!"
"With her beside me, nobody can hurt me!"
"Then what treasure are you looking for?" Fang Ling asked again.
The girl was about to answer when the beautiful woman beside her gave a cold snort.
The girl immediately shut her mouth and obediently returned to the woman's side, resting against her lovely legs.
The beautiful woman looked at Fang Ling and said coolly, "Young man, don't be so curious."
"Heavenbreak Mountain is no place for you."
"If you don't want to die, hurry home!"
Fang Ling merely smiled and gave no reply.
Suddenly, hearty laughter rang out nearby.
"Yun Shuiqing, it's been years, but you're still as gorgeous and captivating as ever!"
"Truly worthy of being the Heavenly Net Church's greatest beauty!"
A tall, burly bald man walked over.
A demonic aura emanated from him, its source a long gray snake coiled around his waist.
"Is this little girl your daughter? She doesn't look much like you, though." He looked at the pair, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
Yun Shuiqing glanced at the bald man and said coolly, "If you don't know how to speak, you'd best keep your mouth shut!"
"All these years, and you're still as spirited as ever," the burly man said with a laugh, sitting down as though he belonged there.
Then he glanced at Fang Ling, his brows drawing together slightly. "And who's this brat?"
"No idea. He made this fire," Yun Shuiqing said indifferently.
"What a handsome young fellow, with such tender skin. Perfect snake feed!"
The bald man sneered and reached down to stroke the gray snake around his waist.
"Sweetheart, why don't you have an appetite today?"
"Go on! That's your favorite food!"
Yet the gray snake coiled around his waist had gone rigid.
Although Fang Ling had long since refined the Devil Ancestor's Heart into a part of himself,
the Devil Ancestor was a taboo existence among demons.
Even a few lingering traces of his aura were enough to make ordinary demons tremble with terror.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
The bald man patiently tried to soothe it, but in the blink of an eye, it shot away with a whoosh!
"My precious sweetheart, what's gotten into you tonight?" He hurried after it and only managed to bind it back around his waist after a struggle.
"Lucky brat. My sweetheart has no appetite tonight, so I'll spare your life." The burly man glanced at Fang Ling and snorted.
Fang Ling remained silent, finding things more and more interesting.
The bald man's cultivation was not low either. He was at the early stage of the Heavenly Balance Realm, only slightly weaker than the beautiful woman.
Meeting two capable cultivators at once was a rare occurrence!
The beautiful woman glanced at the listless gray snake around the man's waist. A flicker of puzzlement crossed her eyes, but she did not investigate further.
"Yun Shuiqing, why did you summon everyone this time?"
"Could you have found the church leader?" the bald man asked, looking at her.
Yun Shuiqing did not answer immediately. Instead, she raised a hand and gently stroked the little girl's head.
The girl, who had been brimming with life a moment earlier, immediately fell asleep.
Only then did she reply, "You could say that. But the church leader is already dead. He died here in Heavenbreak Mountain!"
"Python Venerable, do you know who this little girl beside me is?"
"Could she be connected to the church leader?" the bald man asked dubiously.
Yun Shuiqing nodded slightly. "Indeed. She is his daughter."
"That can't be right! Why is she so young?" The bald man's brows knitted tightly, and he did not believe her at all.
"It's been over two hundred years since the church leader disappeared, but this girl is only seven or eight, isn't she?"
"Did the church leader only die in the past few years? Then why didn't he come out all that time to take charge?"
"Because when I found Little Yao back then, I temporarily sealed her in ice. I only lifted the forbidden art in the past few years," Yun Shuiqing replied.
"I don't need to spell out what everyone is thinking."
"To keep you from tearing each other apart, I decided to conceal this."
"I waited until now, when we have the strength to subdue that vile beast and retrieve the Heavenly Net Divine Art."
"Once we pass the Heavenly Net Divine Art to this little girl, our Heavenly Net Church can restore its former order and revive its dread renown as a demonic sect!"
"I know you've always been loyal to the sect. Since you and I happened to meet first, I've told you the truth."
"To accomplish this, I need your support!"
Before you continue