That evening, Qin Lietu returned home.


    “Lietu, Lietu,” Lady Chang Lan hurried to meet him, dismissing the maids with a wave of her hand before whispering, “Do you know a young woman named Yi Xiao?”


    “Yi Xiao?” Qin Lietu looked puzzled and shook his head. “Madam, where did you hear that name?”


    Lady Chang Lan explained, “She accompanied Yun’er to Mount Cangya.”


    “That I know. I''ve heard of a Miss Yi who is currently staying at the Governor’s Mansion,” Qin Lietu replied.


    “She came to our house today, all alone, asking to see Yun’er,” Chang Lan said. “It seems they have a close relationship, but she left shortly after. And Yun’er—he didn’t even see her off. Sigh, ever since Yun’er embarked on the path of cultivation, I’ve worried he’d lose interest in such matters of the heart.”


    Cultivators often forgo marriage and children.


    “Leave Yun’er’s affairs alone,” Qin Lietu chuckled.


    “He’s my son! How can I not worry? He’s already twenty-one!” Chang Lan retorted.


    “Haha…” Qin Lietu laughed heartily.


    At that moment, Qin Yun appeared in the distance, walking along the winding corridor.


    “Father, Mother,” he called out from afar. “I won’t be home for dinner today. I’m heading out for a stroll.”


    “Alright,” Qin Lietu and Chang Lan both responded.


    They watched their son leave the mansion.


    “Madam,” Qin Lietu murmured, “Yun’er seems to have something on his mind. Could it be that he and Miss Yi had some sort of disagreement? After all, he didn’t escort her back to the Governor’s Mansion.”


    “Weren’t you the one who said not to interfere?” Chang Lan asked with a sly smile.


    Qin Lietu was momentarily taken aback, then feigned a cough. “Call me when dinner’s ready. I’ve had a long day and need some rest.”


    Qin Yun wandered out of the mansion alone, aimlessly strolling along the streets. When he passed a lively tavern, he decided to enter, taking a private seat by the window on the second floor. He ordered some wine and dishes and drank alone.


    “I saw the Governor from a distance today—he’s changed so much! He looks much younger, not much older than his son, Young Master Wen Chong.”


    “Impossible!”


    “Can the old grow young again?”


    “I’ve heard the Governor really does look much younger now.”


    “That’s nothing! I’ve heard that some immortal masters refine miraculous elixirs capable of raising the dead and extending life. The Governor must’ve taken some immortal pills.”


    At another table on the second floor, a group of patrons chatted away. Qin Yun could hear them clearly.


    Cultivators occasionally displayed their powers in the mortal world, but ordinary people rarely came into contact with them, and rumors often grew exaggerated. Reviving the dead? Attaining immortality? Such defiance of the natural order was fraught with unimaginable difficulty and even heavenly tribulation.


    Drinking alone, Qin Yun gazed at the bustling street below.


    “Thirteen years.”Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    “It’s been thirteen years,” Qin Yun murmured as he drank.


    He would never forget what happened when he was eight years old.


    The Water God Demon sought ten boys born under pure yang stars and ten girls born under pure yin stars to personally devour. The children offered by villages were often bestowed by the Water God to the demons under his command.


    That day…


    Qin Yun’s father, the head of the village’s militia, was a formidable warrior at the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Even in the city, he would have lived comfortably. He had fought countless battles to defend the village, leading the militia against minor demon incursions. His contributions exempted his family from the lottery. But when the villagers learned that his young daughter was born under pure yin stars, they urged him to offer her up to save the village from annihilation.


    Facing the demons’ demands and the villagers’ betrayal, Qin Lietu was furious. But what could he do? In the end, he lost an arm, and the whole family was imprisoned. His daughter was taken by the demons.


    “Little sister! Little sister!” Eight-year-old Qin Yun cried, his face streaked with tears. His mother was held down, struggling; his father, bleeding profusely, had lost an arm; and his little sister, being taken away by demons, called out desperately, “Father! Mother! Big Brother! Second Brother! Save me! Save me…” Her cries haunted Qin Yun’s dreams for years.


    Afterward, the family left the village and moved to the city.


    Life in the city was harsh. Once Qin Lietu’s injuries healed, his strength, tempered by the ordeal, grew. Eventually, he became a constable for the Six Doors Law Enforcement. Only then did the Qin family gain a foothold in the county city, and life began to improve. But young Qin Yun grew increasingly obsessed with cultivating his swordsmanship.


    His relentless practice earned him the nickname "Mad Cloud" in the Western Mountain Sword Academy.


    “Thirteen years.”


    “I’ve never forgotten my sister’s death!” Qin Yun drained another cup, his face calm, but deep within, his anger and hatred burned like a volcano waiting to erupt.


    When the eruption came, it would be cataclysmic.


    “At fifteen, I left home, determined to become a sword immortal.”


    “I’ve faced countless dangers, yet still haven’t opened the Immortal Gate. Without a mentor to guide me or rare treasures to assist me, I’ve relied on my own strength. Breaking into the higher realms of cultivation is incredibly difficult.”


    “On the northern frontiers, I pushed myself to the brink of death.”


    “It was either death or opening the Immortal Gate!”


    “And I finally succeeded.”


    “I’ve gathered all the information on the Water God Demon… He is cunning and extraordinarily difficult to kill,” Qin Yun murmured. “Whenever a Xiantian cultivator approaches, the Water God retreats to his riverside mansion. If the situation turns dire, he escapes into the river.”


    “As a Houtian cultivator, can I slay the Water God Demon?”


    “According to my original plan…”


    “First, I must master the Misty Rain Sword Intent. Second, I must forge my Natal Flying Sword. Third, I must achieve spiritual unity with nature, enabling me to wield the sword-controlling technique. These three techniques are legendary among sword immortals. Only then will I have a chance to kill the Water God Demon as a Houtian cultivator.”


    All three were immensely challenging.


    The Natal Flying Sword was relatively easier but typically required decades of nurturing with rare treasures. Qin Yun’s Misty Rain Sword Intent accelerated the process tenfold, allowing him to complete it within half a month.


    Achieving spiritual unity with nature was even harder. Most Xiantian cultivators couldn’t reach that state, relying instead on their purer Xiantian energy to forcibly wield the sword-controlling technique. As a Houtian cultivator, Qin Yun had to attain spiritual unity to borrow the power of nature. His mental state had long reached its peak, capable of extending his consciousness five meters beyond his body. He estimated he could achieve spiritual unity within a year.


    The Misty Rain Sword Intent, however, was the most difficult. Even among Xiantian cultivators, only a handful could grasp a hint of sword intent.


    This sword intent was Qin Yun’s hope of slaying the Water God Demon.


    “One year.”


    “My original plan was to achieve these three within a year, reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship as a Houtian cultivator,” Qin Yun thought. “But Yi Xiao’s information suggests the Water God Demon has accumulated enough power to break through to the Xiantian realm at any moment. If he succeeds, how can I kill him?”


    For this one sword strike, Qin Yun had trained for thirteen years.


    For this one strike, he was willing to lay down his life.


    No matter how Yi Xiao tried to persuade him, Qin Yun refused to budge.


    If he failed to kill the Water God and only gravely injured him, the demon would flee and become even more cautious. The next time they met, the Water God would be prepared and refuse to give him another opportunity.


    “I only have one chance. If I fail, the Water God Demon will never take the risk again.”


    “A year from now, I’d have tenfold confidence.”


    “But the Shenxiao Sect, a holy land of Daoism, believes the Water God Demon is on the verge of breaking through. That can’t be false.”


    “If he breaks through within the year, how can I kill him?”


    Qin Yun gripped his wine cup so tightly it shattered.


    If he missed this chance and failed to kill the Water God Demon, allowing him to continue wreaking havoc, Qin Yun would die with regret.