Danger

Sure enough.

After breakfast, cries rang out through the village again.

"Waaah... why are you hitting me again?"

"I've eaten my fill and have nothing better to do. Might as well stretch my muscles!"

"You're being unrea... Mom, Dad's hitting me again!"

"You deserve it!"

Hearing that reply, the boy had no idea what he had done wrong. He could only cover his head and run.

Sitting outside the Village Elder's house, Li Qingyue watched it all in silence.

Her arrival had gotten these children beaten twice in a row.

She actually felt rather guilty about it.

When I leave, I'll repay you all!

Li Qingyue made that silent promise in her heart.

She would have to leave eventually, to learn about cultivation and study its scriptures.

Although she still did not know where she could learn, she had to venture out into the world.

And she would repay every kindness this peaceful little village had shown her.

She would keep her word.

Not long after breakfast, the villagers headed toward the center of the village, accompanied by that pack of mischievous youngsters.

The stone blocks that had been sitting beside the walls were hauled out one after another.

"No slacking! Anyone who slacks off gets no lunch!"

The adults spoke sternly, clearly not joking.

The children grimaced as they approached the stone blocks.

Those who could lift them did so, while those who could not pushed them. They used every possible method to build strength and temper their muscles and bones.

This was the most primitive way ordinary people trained.

They knew nothing of cultivation, and some could not even read. Only by exercising this way and building strength could they ensure the village's future survival.

Seeing this, Li Qingyue fell into a slight daze.

The best way to repay them would actually be to teach them some cultivation methods.

Unfortunately, she knew none herself. She could not even sense her Sea of Bitterness or Wheel of Life and had no understanding of them at all.

Her cultivation method was suited only to herself.

Only if she perfected it step by step and organized it into a true cultivation art...

...could she leave behind a legacy that others might practice.

I don't even know how I'm supposed to cultivate yet!

Li Qingyue sighed softly and looked toward the village entrance.

There was no willow tree, nor anything else of the sort. This was not that Stone Village, and it had none of those ancient legacies.

Still, the next step must be to send my True Qi beyond my body, perhaps even devour the essence of heaven and earth directly.

Instead of relying solely on eating!

Li Qingyue had a vague sense of the direction she needed to take.

Relying on food alone was far too inefficient.

Once I can directly devour the essence of heaven and earth, I'll have taken another step forward.

Silently, she activated Kunpeng Devouring, visualizing the Kunpeng in her mind as she tried to find a path.

But it was easy to look down from a lofty roof and see the whole picture.

For an ant to shake a great tree was another matter entirely.

Without enough knowledge to point the way, without sufficient talent and insight, how could she possibly find it so easily?

Life in Stone Village was peaceful.

Apart from the hunts every fortnight, there was almost nothing to worry about.

And those children still gathered around her every day.

Some still got beaten, but certain adults no longer bothered interfering.

If the boys liked her, they could simply ask the Village Elder for her hand once they were old enough.

They could consider it raising their future daughter-in-law ahead of time.

The girl was exceptionally pretty, and over these past two months, she had gradually filled out. Her hips and chest had both grown fuller.

Though she still had a long way to go compared with the village women, she was young, after all.

Besides, the Village Elder had a hard life too. Too old to hunt, he could only spend his days busily studying medicinal herbs, contributing the last lingering warmth of his life to the village.

They could hardly leave him to fend for himself.

Once she grew familiar with everyone, Li Qingyue occasionally helped out and also went out on her own.

Besides hunting small game, she set traps as well.

Living solely on the village's food, her True Qi had not increased in a long time.

One day, after checking her traps and collecting several unfortunate wild rabbits, Li Qingyue headed back toward the village.

But from far away, she saw a group of dark figures moving swiftly across the land.

The sound of hoofbeats followed.

What happened?

At the sight, Li Qingyue instinctively sensed something was wrong, yet she still sprinted toward the village.

But when she entered it, what greeted her were broken walls and collapsed houses.

And streaks of blood that stained the ground red.

Among the rubble lay familiar bodies, not one of them still breathing.

Thud!

Li Qingyue dropped the rabbits in her hands and looked warily into the village.

The True Qi within her circulated rapidly as she took heavy steps forward.

"Erya!"

"Stone Monkey!"

"Little Chubby!"

"Second Stone!"

"..."

The children who had once gathered around her now lay in pools of blood, every last one of them utterly silent.

A sudden wave of grief welled up in her heart.

It reminded her of when she had first transmigrated, when savage beasts had rampaged through the village and slaughtered everyone.

Back then, she had not known fear, much less thought to hide. She had been indifferent, as though her heart were dead.

But now, faced with such a scene again, her heart clenched painfully.

She had not even had the chance to repay the villagers' kindness, yet now they were all dead.

"Clop, clop, clop..."

Hoofbeats suddenly sounded, followed by an excited shout. "Boss, there's another one here! A pretty girl, too!"

"Pretty? Only you would think women in these mountain villages are pretty. If you saw the fairy maidens out in the world, you'd probably just..."

Before that deep voice could finish, a figure shimmering with light strode over from the distance.

He was a burly man with a twisted scar slashing across the bridge of his nose.

Though he was not riding a horse, he moved no slower than one.

The moment he saw Li Qingyue, he froze slightly, unable to finish his sentence.

His eyes stared straight at her.

Her skin was fair and tender, like fine jade suffused with a rosy glow.

Her slightly swelling chest lifted the loose men's robe, while her gently curved backside outlined its rounded shape beneath the coarse cloth.

Although her waist was hidden, her delicate figure suggested it was slender enough to fit within a single hand.

She was like peerless jade wrapped in coarse cloth, half concealed and half revealed, impossible to look away from.

Her face, especially, was far more beautiful than those fairy maidens from the sacred cultivation grounds.

Unconsciously, the scar-faced man touched the scar on his face.

That had been the price of taking one extra look at a fairy maiden. He had survived only by kneeling and begging for mercy.

The girl before him was even more beautiful, yet she had no cultivation whatsoever. There was not the slightest fluctuation of Divine Power around her.

She was a mortal girl.

At that thought, the scar-faced man unconsciously licked his lips.

He had nearly been killed simply for taking another look at a fairy maiden.

Now a mortal girl even more beautiful than those maidens stood before him. How could he possibly restrain the anger and urges in his heart?

More than anything, he wanted to vent all the humiliation he had once suffered.

"What's your name, little girl?"

The scar-faced man approached with a smile, his steps leisurely.

The riders arriving behind him saw this and laughed lewdly from a distance, their expressions full of insinuation.

Though it was ordinary laughter, Li Qingyue heard the meaning behind it.

They seemed to be waiting for their boss to violate this woman on the spot, then take their own turns.

He's actually a cultivator!

Sensing the scar-faced man before her, Li Qingyue's heart pounded wildly as traces of panic and fear rose within her.

She had only ever sensed this kind of aura from people of the Feathered Divine Dynasty.

Though he was not strong, he must have opened his Sea of Bitterness.

Once the Sea of Bitterness was opened, Divine Power could arise within the Bitter Sea, nourishing the body and allowing one to wield mystical arts.

Even an ordinary person with poor talent could gain several thousand to ten thousand jin of strength after opening their Sea of Bitterness.

Mortals could not possibly compare.

This was probably why Stone Village had been destroyed so quickly.

Thinking of the bodies on the ground, Li Qingyue raised her head slightly and looked at the scar-faced man with cold eyes.

By now, she had calmed down. Death was not frightening.

What frightened her more was being raped!

Her killing intent suppressed her fear and panic, and the thought of taking him down with her rose in her heart.

All her True Qi circulated madly within her body, ready to erupt into a deadly strike at any moment.

Against a cultivator, her speed would never be enough to escape.

If she refused to suffer that humiliation, death might be her only choice.

"What? A mere mortal dares to resist?"

"But that's exactly how I like you, just like those lofty fairy maidens, struggling beneath me!"

"Hahahaha..."

The scar-faced man roared with laughter, utterly delighted.

A woman like this was a rare find even after razing ten or a hundred villages.

How could he bear to toy with her here, only to let the men behind him reap the benefits afterward?

Besides, although the girl before him was beautiful, her men's clothing somehow dampened his excitement.

With that thought, the scar-faced man waved his hand. A fiery-red Divine Chain flew out and wound around Li Qingyue.

It was formed from the Divine Power of his Sea of Bitterness.

It was also the simplest application of Divine Power after opening the Bitter Sea.

Then he lifted Li Qingyue with one hand and leaped onto a horse.

"Move out! Take the spoils and head back to the stronghold."