Chapter 144: The Qiu Siblings

After dealing with the three demonkin, Ji Mo and Su Ye did not return to Black Pool Town. Instead, the two of them and their two beasts wandered aimlessly. Having only recently arrived in the Lihao Cultivation Realm, they knew neither the people nor the places, and naturally had no particular destination in mind. Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Since their encounter with the three demonkin in Black Pool Town, they had not come across any further trace of the demon race.

Throughout those six months, the two humans and two beasts had traveled through mountains and rivers, sought out fine wines and delicacies wherever they went, and lived a life of unparalleled freedom. Half a year later, they entered the mortal world.

Ji Mo had entered the cultivation world from the mortal world, and the happiest memories of her life were the years she had spent in Zhao Village. Now that she had returned to the mortal world and saw before her a mountain range that bore some resemblance to the one behind Zhao Village, she was suddenly filled with a deep sense of familiarity.

Compared with the cultivation world, the mortal world possessed far thinner spiritual energy. It naturally could not compare with the cultivation world, where spirit herbs, miraculous medicines, immortal birds, and demonic beasts could be found everywhere. Yet the environment here was far better than that of Zhao Village in the past. The mountain range before them rose some seven thousand meters high, its forests lush with verdant trees, flowers, and grasses. Every so often, they even caught sight of a spirit herb with several years of growth. Birds flitted through the woods, while wild beasts raced among the trees. Everywhere they looked was bursting with life.

“Senior Brother, have you ever lived in the mortal world?” Ji Mo asked Su Ye as she admired the beautiful scenery before her.

“The mortal world? I’ve been there twice, but both times I merely passed through it,” Su Ye replied with a smile.

“Really? I lived in the mortal world until I was eight, though I spent all that time in a mountain village and never saw anything of the outside world. Since we have nothing urgent to attend to for the time being, why don’t we properly experience life in the mortal world?” Ji Mo suggested with a smile.

“An excellent idea. For cultivators, the mortal world is the finest place to temper the heart. The so-called seven emotions and six desires, the warmth and coldness of human relationships—only mortals, who possess no extraordinary powers, can truly experience them in all their depth. If we wish to climb toward the supreme path of the Dao, such trials are unavoidable.” Su Ye nodded.

As they spoke, the hurried pounding of feet and the low growls of a vicious beast came from the forest, drawing their gazes. Several thousand meters away, deep in the woods, a young boy and girl, both covered in blood, were running for their lives.

Both were body cultivators. They were very young: the boy appeared to be eleven or twelve, yet had already reached the peak of the Body Tempering realm. The girl seemed only about ten and was at the ninth stage of Body Tempering. Both children were delicate and handsome, but their faces bore a determination far beyond their years. Chasing close behind them was a spotted hyena at the peak of the first rank.

“Heh. These two children are quite remarkable. Even a peak first-rank spotted hyena might not be easy for a peak Qi Refinement cultivator to deal with, yet these two have managed to escape with their lives,” Su Ye said, unable to restrain a soft laugh of admiration.

“Indeed. They have not even embarked upon the path of cultivation, and they practice nothing more than the most ordinary body-tempering techniques of the mortal world. To possess such ability at their age is truly astonishing.” Ji Mo nodded in agreement.

“A twelve-year-old at the peak of Body Tempering is certainly impressive. Still, compared with you, Junior Sister, it is not quite enough. I once heard Master say that you had never practiced anything before the age of eight. Yet after joining our Moonwatch Sect, in merely six years you not only cultivated all five elements and reached the third level of Qi Refinement, but also attained the Transcendent Realm in body cultivation—and you were only fourteen at the time,” Su Ye said.

“Senior Brother, I was in an immortal sect, while they are in the mortal world. How can the two be compared? If our circumstances were switched, I might not necessarily be stronger than they are. After all, Brother Zhao Hu had only reached the fifth stage of Body Tempering at the age of ten.” Ji Mo shot Su Ye an annoyed glance.

At the mention of Zhao Hu, Ji Mo’s eyes dimmed unconsciously. She wondered whether he was still alive. Su Ye stole a glance at her and wisely said nothing.

While they were speaking, the two children in the forest were overtaken by the spotted hyena.

“Little Sister, run! I’ll hold it back!” The slightly older boy quickly surveyed the surroundings and the beast that had caught up with them. Raising the black woodcutter’s knife in his hand, he spoke to his sister with grim determination.

“No, Brother! If we leave, we leave together! I won’t abandon you.” The girl stopped and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, her expression stubborn.

“Little Sister, Mother is waiting for us at home. If neither of us makes it back, have you thought of what will become of her?” the boy shouted sternly.

“No, Brother! I can’t leave you here alone.” Tears rolled down the girl’s cheeks.

At the sight of this, Ji Mo felt a sudden sting in her nose. She could not help remembering Zhao Village and Zhao Hu. Back then, Zhao Hu had protected her in precisely the same way.

Roar!

The spotted hyena clearly had no patience to listen to the siblings lament their fate. With a furious bellow, it opened its cavernous jaws and lunged at them.

A fierce light flashed through the boy’s eyes. Gripping his woodcutter’s knife, he threw himself forward. The girl also shouted and, wielding her own knife, struck at the beast’s lower jaw from another angle. The siblings moved with astonishing coordination. Both the angle and timing of their attacks were perfectly judged.

But the spotted hyena had fought them repeatedly and was already thoroughly familiar with their tactics. As the two blades descended from different directions, it took a small step backward, opened its jaws, and spat out a cloud of strange smoke.

The boy, already seriously wounded, was the first to be enveloped. As the smoke washed over him, his legs trembled, and the wrist holding his knife sagged. Instead, he sent his own head straight toward the beast’s gaping maw.

“Brother!”

The girl’s face went deathly pale. Somehow, a surge of strength burst forth from within her, and the speed of her descending blade suddenly doubled. With a vicious slash, she struck the spotted hyena beneath the jaw.

With a wet tearing sound, the ordinary woodcutter’s knife passed completely through the beast’s lower jaw and plunged deep into its throat.

The spotted hyena stared at the two children with wide eyes, unwilling to accept its fate. Then, with a heavy thud, it collapsed to the ground, bright red blood gushing from its mouth.

“Little Sister, you…?” The boy, having barely snatched his life back from the beast’s jaws, stared at her in shock.

The girl herself stood there blankly, staring at the woodcutter’s knife in her hands, utterly unable to recover her senses. Although the knives they wielded had been forged from refined black iron, they had fought the spotted hyena several times already without being able to inflict any real harm. How had this happened now…?

“Hello. May I ask where this place is?” A warm, melodious voice suddenly sounded beside them.

The siblings raised their heads at the same time and saw a young man and woman standing before them, seemingly descended from the heavens.

The woman appeared to be around twenty years old. Dressed in pale yellow, she possessed a beauty so clear and exquisite that it was beyond compare. A small golden beast lay upon each of her shoulders. The man beside her looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and a red-haired cat sat upon his shoulder.

A warm, friendly smile rested on the woman’s face. Pale golden sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell upon her features, making her beauty seem even more otherworldly, like that of a celestial maiden.

The two children stared at her in a daze. At last, the boy was the first to recover. He hurriedly withdrew his gaze and answered, somewhat nervously, “Fairy, this is Phoenix Parasol Mountain.”

The woman was, of course, Ji Mo. Smiling at the boy before her, she asked, “Phoenix Parasol Mountain? Are you residents of the area beneath the mountain?”

“That’s right. We are from Falling Parasol Town, at the foot of Phoenix Parasol Mountain. My name is Autumn Coldcloud, and this is my younger sister, Autumn Ripple,” the boy replied.