The Northern Snowfield
Inside a teahouse in the Twin Orchid Realm.
The wisps of fragrant spiritual tea lingered around everyone's noses, but the chatter among the passersby was far more attention-grabbing than the tea itself.
Seated in the center of the teahouse were a group of cultivators who had just arrived from other minor worlds.
As the group at the table began chatting about their interesting experiences elsewhere, a Golden Core Rogue Cultivator who had just returned from the Immortal Spirit Realm spoke up at the opportune moment:
"It's quite a coincidence, actually. I recently observed the sect competition in the Immortal Spirit Realm. I mentioned to you before that there are three major sects in the Immortal Spirit Realm. In the past, the Mara Gate and the Azure Feather Sect always stole the show, while the more powerful Ten Thousand Daos Born was always inferior to them. But this time, the outcome was quite different!"
The Rogue Cultivator took a sip of tea, and his companion, whose curiosity had been piqued by him, urged him on a few times when he suddenly stopped.
"Don't be impatient, let me explain slowly," the Rogue Cultivator chuckled. "In this sect competition, Ten Thousand Daos Born not only unexpectedly won first place, but the usually domineering Mara Gate didn't even manage to get a last-place ranking, and slunk back to their sect in disgrace."
Those who staked most of their wealth on Mara Gate are now kicking themselves!
Recalling the despair and collapse of those cultivators, the Rogue Cultivator was extremely grateful that he hadn't gotten involved.
Although some people insisted on betting on Ten Thousand Daos Born and made a fortune from it, the Rogue Cultivator knew they definitely didn't have that kind of luck, so they never dreamed of getting rich from the start.
At this point, someone asked curiously, "Didn't you tell us before that Ten Thousand Daos Born was extremely strict in recruiting disciples and repeatedly made mistakes in the sect competition? How come he was so amazing this time, directly overwhelming the other two sects and taking the top spot?"
The Rogue Cultivator had only heard rumors and had not personally witnessed the birth of the champion in the competition.
However, based on the rumors leaked by other sects, he also learned some inside information.
He leaned down and lowered his voice to the crowd. "I also heard that Ten Thousand Daos Born recently recruited a group of capable disciples, and at a crucial moment, he joined forces with two other sects to defeat the Mara Gate."
"However, according to rumors, the key player in this competition is Ten Thousand Daos Born's newly appointed chief— Sang Ying!"
The name acted like a switch, instantly changing the atmosphere in the teahouse.
The people sitting at the table with the Rogue Cultivator had all spent decades in other small worlds before returning, so they naturally didn't know how special the name "Sang Ying" was in the Twin Orchid Realm.
But the two young men sitting at the table next to the Rogue Cultivator knew everything perfectly well.
Seemingly impatient, the young woman at the next table tossed down a few Spirit Stone and abruptly stood up and walked out. The man at the same table did the same.
The two's actions caught the attention of the Rogue Cultivator, but they were walking in a hurry, Rogue Cultivator could only catch a glimpse of the female cultivator's red dress and the long sword on her back that exuded Sha Qi.
The Rogue Cultivator was startled by the imposing aura of the longsword and muttered to himself, "Where did this female cultivator come from? She actually cultivated such an extraordinary sword."
When the waiter who came to clear the table saw him asking, he offered, "Immortal Master, you may not know this, but that fairy in Hongyi is the beloved disciple of the Palace Master of the Layered Heavens Palace. I heard that she has already passed the sect's assessment at such a young age and will inherit Layered Heavens Palace in the future!"
The waiter spoke with pride; having such a person sit in the teahouse was a great honor, and they could use that as a selling point to attract customers!
As for the ripples his few words stirred in the hearts of the Rogue Cultivator, that was none of Xiao Er's concern.
What the people in the teahouse didn't know was that the two people who had just been drinking with them soon appeared beside the temporary passage between the Twin Orchid Realm and the Immortal Spirit Realm, and spent a large sum of Spirit Stone to reserve two spots for the next trip to the Immortal Spirit Realm.
When the owner of the transgressing flying boat asked the two men about their purpose, these two prodigies of the Twin Orchid Realm immediately replied in unison, "To find someone!"
The words, spoken by the male cultivator, were filled with excitement and nostalgia. But when uttered by the female cultivator, they carried a hint of gritted teeth.
Upon hearing this, the owner of the flying boat couldn't help but feel worried for the stranger he had never met.
The Immortal Spirit Realm, the Northern Snowfield Qing Zhou.
The vast land was covered in a blanket of white, and at a glance it seemed as if one had stumbled into a world of pure white. Not only were there no flowers or grass, but even withered trees were covered in frost and snow, frozen into dry "jade sculptures."
The silence was broken by a Snow Beast that had recently reached adulthood.
It lowered its massive body, crawled on the snow, and moved swiftly. If it weren't for the few piercing cries that came from between its sharp teeth, probably no one would have noticed that a small child was being carried between its teeth.
The child looked to be only two or three years old. Due to hunger and cold, his cries were intermittent, and he probably wouldn't last much longer.
If Snow Beast didn't like to bring their live prey back to their dens to eat, this fragile child probably wouldn't have survived until now.
As the Snow Beast drew ever closer to its lair, rescuing the child would become even more difficult if it hid inside its underground den.
The Snow Beast slowed its pace, as if it were about to dive headfirst into the cave.
However, the next second, a loud sneeze interrupted its progress.
It immediately sensed something was wrong and instinctively tried to swallow the noisy child whole!
The child was tossed high into the air, and the Snow Beast's gaping maw revealed countless sharp teeth with bits of flesh and blood still clinging to them.
Those who had been lying in wait inside the cave could only sigh regretfully before drawing their swords and rushing out of the snow.
The little girl, sensing the danger, cried even harder. She suddenly screamed, as if she could smell the stench emanating from the Devil Beast's mouth.
But in the blink of an eye, instead of falling into the Devil Beast's belly, she landed in a warm, fragrant embrace.
Before the little girl could even get a good look at the person holding her, a hand covered her eyes. "This kind of scene isn't suitable for children."
It was a female voice with a touch of coldness, sounding like shattered jade.
The little girl only felt a flash of light pass before her eyes, and then heard a muffled "thud," as if something huge had fallen into the snow.
"Alright." He patted her head with both hands. "It's time to take you home."
The person finally lowered their head, the thick clothes covering the lower half of their face, leaving only a pair of clear, bright eyes visible.
Her pupils still reflected the little girl's half-fallen tear at the corner of her eye.
The mysterious man quickly returned the girl to a nearby village. Her parents, overjoyed to see their daughter again, kowtowed several times to their benefactor.
But the mysterious person dodged quickly and did not accept this great gift.
By the time everyone came to their senses, the mysterious man had already vanished without a trace.
The girl's mother pondered for a moment, then suddenly patted her husband's arm. "Do you think that person just now was the one they've been talking about, the Devil Beast hunter who appeared not long ago and has been roaming the snowfields ever since?"
Upon hearing this, everyone compared the information they had heard from the rumors with the identity of the mysterious person. After some discussion, the villagers immediately decided on the identity of the mysterious person.
The girl's father held his daughter in silence for a long time before suddenly speaking, "Let's erect a monument for our benefactor, just like in other villages!"
The villagers readily agreed, so excited that they wished they could erect the longevity monument that very day.
The mysterious person who left early was unaware that another village, under the attack of rumors, had worshipped her as a guardian deity.