Who would have thought that there could be a hundred years’ gap between my first and second lives.
Even as an orphan in a mountain village, Qingmu could still sense the earth-shaking changes in this world.
Because of a mere Qingmu, humans and the demon race once again ignited the flames of war, and fierce struggles had played out repeatedly over the course of a century.
What surprised him even more was that the two opposing sides were people he was intimately familiar with.
To be precise, it was a person and a demon.
The human had become an idol admired by everyone in the cultivation world.
The demon had become a Demon King of the demon realm.
So what about himself?
Thinking of this, Qingmu found it rather amusing.
Though it was the same world, he had already lived three lifetimes.
Thus, his gaze and temperament were naturally different from the other children.
His eyes were filled with vicissitudes and helplessness, while a subtle, satisfied sense of accomplishment was deeply hidden in Qingmu’s heart.
The fact that the demon race came to the human realm under the name of Youjian Sect to take away children—this, he hadn’t expected. But the thought of meeting Nong Li had occupied his mind for a long time.
With the mission of meeting Nong Li in his heart, Qingmu kept thinking of ways to leave the mountain village, though he didn’t know how a mere child could make his way to the demon realm.
No matter how hard he tried, he, the child who was passed from one villager to another for care, simply could not find a way to escape.
A few days ago, he tried to practice a qi technique, ready to act whenever possible, but unexpectedly the demon race arrived.
How convenient—just as he wanted.
The wind was strong on the spirit beast’s back. Qingmu gripped the handrail, inside a large pavilion built atop the beast. Railings protected the sides, and there was a canopy above.
Compared to more than a hundred years ago, when he was still a peerless genius, the technology of the cultivation world hadn’t changed a bit.
Where were these demons planning to take him?
It would be great if it were Nong Li’s place.
But vaguely, Qingmu felt that even if he saw Nong Li, things might not be so simple.
The other children whispered among themselves, while the demon disciples in disguise stood calmly to the side, occasionally discussing Qingmu.
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a loud boom sounded, and Qingmu staggered, clutching the handrail, only to see they were surrounded by several giant birds.
“Youjian Sect is here! Who are you? We warn you not to impersonate Youjian Sect!”
There were people on the backs of the giant birds. Upon hearing this, Qingmu looked over—it really was disciples of Youjian Sect.
The outcome was obvious: the imposters shed their disguises, revealing their strange, monstrous forms.
Seeing them half-human, half-beast, the children all screamed and cried in terror.
At this point, even Qingmu felt like crying.
What a mess! Why did these interlopers have to show up now!
“Attack!”
Without another word, the demons formed hand seals on the spirit beast’s back as if from nowhere—they had come prepared.
The seals spun and trembled, firing snakes of flame. The Youjian Sect disciples riding the giant birds hurriedly dodged and countered with sword energy and spells.
The fire snakes shook the pavilion on the beast’s back. For safety, Qingmu quickly crouched down, hiding in a corner as the deafening noise rang in his ears.
“Remove the canopy!”
A demon shouted. The canopy suddenly dropped, flying to the rear of the spirit beast. Once it was removed, the wind overhead became even fiercer; several children were blown off, and the Youjian Sect disciples hurried to guide their birds to catch them.
After this round, half of Youjian Sect’s pursuers had been taken out.
“Throw all these human brats off!”
Then, the demons charged at the remaining children, grabbing and tossing them over the side.
Seeing the children fall, the pursuers seemed not to care. Just as Qingmu thought he’d be next, a man riding a giant bird drew up alongside the spirit beast, swept his arm, and in an instant, a glowing net appeared, spreading in all directions.
The falling children were caught in the glowing net. The demons shouted and cursed furiously.
The net moved with the spirit beast, foiling the demons’ plan. As they tried to break the net, the man led his people onto the spirit beast’s back.
“We’re almost into demon territory! Hurry up!”
Watching the Youjian Sect disciples and the demons, Qingmu suddenly found this man, who looked to be in his thirties, very familiar.
This is…
“Elder Qin Feng!”
Someone shouted. Memories surged through Qingmu’s mind like a tide.
Qin Feng?
Who would have thought that upon entering his second simulated life, he’d meet Qin Feng first?
So, when a certain Youjian Sword Immortal came to the demon realm and caused that incident, was it because Qin Feng betrayed them?
In just a blink, Qin Feng and his men had subdued all the demons.
While counting heads, Qin Feng looked at Qingmu for a moment, as if finding him familiar, and frowned.
“Land the spirit beast. We’ll take the children down first and check if the demons have done anything to them.”
Qin Feng instructed his disciples. Before long, the spirit beast began to descend, and the children were ushered onto its back.
Qingmu said nothing. Suddenly, he felt he ought to meet Lin Qiyou first.
But…
Remembering being stabbed, Qingmu’s stomach ached, though at the time it seemed Lin Qiyou had been hallucinating?
She hadn’t really meant to kill him, had only mistaken him for Ben Ji?
“Hoo….”
The Youjian Sect disciples herded the children onto the spirit beast. Once it landed, they began inspecting everyone.
Qin Feng remained alert to his surroundings; Qingmu stared at him.
Who’d have thought, Qin Feng had become an Elder of Youjian Sect?
Since Qin Feng’s mother and the Sect Master knew each other, guessing her identity wouldn’t be hard.
“Pfft—”
Just as Qingmu was lost in thought, trying to decide what to do next, a stream of blood suddenly spurted from Qin Feng’s chest.
“Thud!”
Qin Feng fell to his knees. A towering female demon appeared behind him.
Seeing her, Qingmu’s heart trembled.
The female demon stood over two meters tall, wearing a long, flower-patterned dress. Her curves were as lethal as blades, a pair of golden fox ears atop her head, seven white tails trailing behind, and her signature bean-shaped brows.
Her golden eyes radiated a majesty that looked down on all creation. With her arrival, everyone held their breath, stunned by her beauty, yet trembling under her gaze.
The aura she exuded was suffocating—just standing there, she shone like the sun.
“This is demon territory. Why have you humans invaded?”
Other lesser demons appeared all around, surrounding the Youjian Sect disciples and the children. The spirit beast roared in fury, expressing its anger at what the humans had just done.
“Heh, so our ally has betrayed us?”
Qin Feng looked back at the silent female demon.
“Wuu—”
The female demon could not even be bothered to look at Qin Feng. Foxfire ignited in the center of her right palm, which she lowered, aiming to strike Qin Feng’s back.
No mistaking it!
Even if she turned to ashes, Qingmu would recognize this fox.
“Nong Li! Stop right there!”
Hearing someone dare to call her by name, Demon King Nong Li frowned and looked over. A child stepped out from the crowd, fixing her with a solemn expression.
“And who are you?”
Nong Li asked coldly.