Murong Yu

More than five hundred years ago, before Lu Qingshan became patriarch of the Lu Clan, he left White Cloud City alone to make his way in Qingzhou.

Though he had been brimming with confidence then, he was neither arrogant nor impatient, and always kept a humble heart.

In his view, he could only be called the greatest genius in White Cloud City. Across Qingzhou as a whole, he was not really all that outstanding.

So, on his travels, he was careful at every turn and planned everything thoroughly.

One day, he stumbled into a valley.

Mist filled the valley, and it was easy to lose oneself in it.

Lu Qingshan carefully entered the valley, and after expending the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, he finally reached its depths.

"Hahaha! My guess was right after all. There's a great mystery hidden in this valley."

Looking at the vast space within the valley and sensing its abundant Spiritual Qi, Lu Qingshan could not help bursting into laughter.

As it turned out, the mist in the valley was a formation. Lu Qingshan appeared to have made his way through the valley, but in truth, he had found a weakness in the formation, which had allowed him to enter.

And there was clearly a great opportunity within the valley.

Just as Lu Qingshan excitedly prepared to venture farther in, a tremendous roar suddenly came from the valley in the distance.

The entire valley then began to shake.

"What?!"

Lu Qingshan's expression changed in alarm. He immediately spotted a pale-faced woman racing toward him, with a vicious beast radiating a terrifying presence behind her.

At the sight of the vicious beast, which was as large as a small mountain, Lu Qingshan's eyelids twitched wildly.

Run!

Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Qingshan turned and fled.

"Damn it, someone actually beat me here."

As he ran, Lu Qingshan discreetly studied the woman behind him. She was dressed in white, but her clothes were now soaked in blood, and she looked miserable.

This woman looks badly injured. If I strike now, she might not be able to withstand it. When she dies, even if I don't get the opportunity, I can still use her to cover my retreat and shake off this beast.

Lu Qingshan pondered the matter.

But just then, the woman's speed suddenly increased, and she closed the distance between them in an instant.

At the same time, she cried out sharply.

"If you dare attack me, I'll take you down with me!"

Lu Qingshan's expression darkened when he heard that.

She had actually guessed what he was thinking.

"Miss, I have no grudge against you. Naturally, I wouldn't attack you."

Lu Qingshan hurriedly denied it.

The woman snorted coldly but continued, "This mist formation is easy to enter but hard to leave. Hold off the beast for me, and I'll break the formation."

"Otherwise, we'll both die here today."

Lu Qingshan's expression changed at her words, and he said coldly, "You want me to hold off that beast? Miss, are you joking?"

He was already frustrated enough at missing out on the opportunity.

Now he was being chased for no apparent reason. All he wanted was to get out of the valley safely, yet this woman actually wanted him to cover her retreat.

Lu Qingshan also had some doubts about what the woman had said.

But when he charged into the mist and dashed this way and that, he could not find a way out, whether he followed his original path or tried anything else.

Seeing the beast drawing closer and closer, Lu Qingshan grew anxious.

"Hurry up and find a way to break the formation, or we'll both die!"

With that, Lu Qingshan charged toward the beast alone. He only drew its attention, however, not daring to confront it head-on. After all, the beast was immensely powerful, and its cultivation was likely at the peak of the Void Shattering Realm.

Fortunately, the beast was not very intelligent. Using a few tricks, Lu Qingshan managed to run it around in circles for the time being, but even so, he still came close to losing his life several times.

Seeing that Lu Qingshan had succeeded in holding the beast back, the woman let out a soft breath and hurriedly employed her methods.

Soon, the mist began to disperse.

Seeing this, the woman smiled.

But just then, her expression changed, and she abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood.

This is bad. My injuries are too severe. I can barely hold on any longer.

The woman's face was pale, and she clenched her teeth. Finally, as her senses began to fade, the mist dispersed completely.

Then she collapsed.

One day later.

The woman weakly opened her eyes.

"I... I'm actually still alive."

"Without me, you'd have died long ago."

A voice suddenly sounded from beside her.

The woman turned to look and immediately exclaimed in surprise, "It's you."

The person who had saved her life was none other than Lu Qingshan.

When Lu Qingshan saw her faint, he had carried her out of the valley with him.

He had originally intended to take whatever opportunity she had found in the valley, but for some reason, he had given up on the idea.

"I saved you. Tell me, how do you intend to thank me?"

Lu Qingshan nodded as he spoke.

The woman was silent for a moment, then felt her body. Seeing that her clothes were intact, she checked her storage ring.

Only after seeing that the divine sense safeguard on it was also intact did she turn her gaze slowly toward Lu Qingshan.

"Why did you save me?"

the woman asked.

Just as Lu Qingshan had said, she and Lu Qingshan had no grudge against each other, and he had no need to save her at all.

As she saw it, Lu Qingshan must have had his own reason for saving her.

Lu Qingshan smiled.

Could he tell her that he had saved her from the valley because he wanted the inheritance within it?

Naturally, he could not.

Lu Qingshan took out a token engraved with two characters: Murong.

"This is yours, isn't it?"

"My token!"

Lu Qingshan chuckled. "As far as I know, there's no Murong Lineage in Qingzhou. Judging by the look of you, you're probably not from Qingzhou."

That was why Lu Qingshan had not made a move against her.

The woman before him was young, about the same age as him, yet her cultivation was at the Void Shattering Realm. One look was enough to tell she belonged to some major power.

If his attack on her were discovered, not only would he be in trouble, but his lineage would be finished as well.

Fortunately, the woman had been so badly injured that less than a tenth of her strength remained.

The woman fell silent. After looking at Lu Qingshan for a long time, she finally said slowly, "My name is Murong Yu. I'm from Central Province."

"Lu Qingshan, from Qingzhou."

"Whatever your reason, since you saved my life, I naturally won't repay your kindness with malice."

"These are the azure crystal stones I found in the valley. I'll give you half."

Azure crystal stone was a very rare resource.

It could be sold for a considerable sum.

Lu Qingshan's eyes lit up, and he laughed. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After that, the two went their separate ways.

Not long afterward, they met again in a sage's ruins. This time, they worked together in perfect harmony and became friends.

As they spent more and more time together, feelings began to grow between them without their realizing it.

But the lineage behind Murong Yu learned of the matter.

The lineage was furious and sent an expert all the way to Qingzhou, where the expert severely injured Lu Qingshan.

Had Murong Yu not insisted on stopping the expert, Lu Qingshan might have been beaten to death.

"Young miss, the family head said it doesn't matter if you don't come back, but you mustn't go around flirting with people out here. We of the Murong Clan aren't for just any stray cat or dog to lay hands on."

Murong Yu held the gravely injured Lu Qingshan, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. At those words, a flash of hatred appeared in her eyes.

"Can't I decide for myself whom I love?"

The Murong Clan expert shook their head. "Young miss, that's impossible."

"Oh, impossible? What if I insist? Push me too far, and I'll kill myself right in front of you!"

The stubborn Murong Yu rebuked the expert.

The Murong Clan expert's expression softened somewhat. "Young miss, why must you do this?"

In the end, the Murong Clan expert left.

Murong Yu rushed about everywhere, seeking to heal Lu Qingshan's injuries.

But before long, trouble struck again.

Lu Qingshan received word from his lineage that it was in mortal danger, and he had to return.

"Qingshan, I'll go back with you."

"Murong, my lineage is only a very small power. Are you really willing to come back with me?"

After what had happened, Lu Qingshan had often pondered this question.

Were he and Murong Yu truly suited to each other?

Could the two of them truly stay together until the end?

Murong Yu, however, nodded without hesitation. "All I want is for you to be by my side. That's enough for me."

Lu Qingshan was deeply moved, and the two returned to White Cloud City together.

As soon as they returned to White Cloud City, Lu Qingshan took over as patriarch.

At that point, the Lu Clan was already on the brink of collapse.

Lu Qingshan was under immense pressure and stayed busy until late into the night every day.

During that time, the Murong Clan sent another expert to visit, who warned Murong Yu that she was not to intervene on the Lu Clan's behalf, or she would be forcibly taken back to Central Province.

With no other choice, Murong Yu agreed.

Even so, she was grateful that at least he could still remain by Lu Qingshan's side.

But as time passed, Murong Yu grew increasingly restless.

Lu Qingshan had devoted all his thoughts to his lineage.

It was as though Lu Qingshan had forgotten her. Sometimes, after a long while, he would come to ask how she was doing, only to leave again.

As this went on, Murong Yu found it hard to bear.

"Qingshan, why don't you come back to Central Province with me? I can promise you won't be treated unfairly there. You'll have plenty of resources to support your cultivation."

"With your talent, your future achievements will be far greater than if you stay cooped up here."