At the end of summer, the heat had not dissipated yet, and the sun on Dusu Mountain scorched over people's heads.
The mountain road of Dusu Mountain was steep, with towering bones and stones. Between the two cliffs, a water stream flows from top to bottom, and the splashing water collides with the blue rocks, dancing into small water droplets.
A carriage was parked in the shade of a tree, next to the stream. People and horses were fetching water and cooling off by the stream. This was the carriage of Yue City's Wang family, who was on its way to the Taiyan Sect's selection of disciples in Duzhou.
The Taiyan Sect is one of the major sects in Duzhou. A competition was held once-in-a-decade, and outstanding individuals from various cities in Duzhou gathered here to showcase their talents, in order to stand out in the competition and advance their cultivation path to immortality.
The young lord of Yue City, Wang Shao, was sitting in the carriage to cool off. He is seventeen years old and has reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from the third level. There were still about ten days before they would reach Gufeng Mountain for the selection competition. In these days, as long as he used spirit elixirs and pills every day, coupled with constant cultivation, he may enter the late stage of Foundation Establishment before the start of the competition.
Wang Shao is the hope of the entire Yue City.
Yue City is a small border town, and its existence cannot even be seen on the map of Duzhou. There had been no cultivators from the city who had successfully entered the Golden Core stage for many years. At the age of ten, Wang Shao reached the Qi Refining Stage, and at the age of twelve, he achieved the Foundation Establishment Stage. It took him five years to reach the second level from the first level. If he can successfully break through this time, he will be the first genius in Yue City who entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment before the age of 18. If he can successfully enter the Taiyan Sect and become a disciple of the Taiyan Sect, the entire people of Yue City would be overjoyed.
Therefore, all the spirit stones, elixirs and pills from the entire Yue City were brought as tribute to this genius.
Beside Wang Shao, there was also a beautiful girl in green clothes. This was Wang Shao's fiancée, Yang Zanxing, the eldest daughter of the Yang family in Yue City. She was accompanying Wang Shao to the Taiyan Sect selection competition. Miss Yang had little interest in cultivating, and besides being of the same age as Wang Shao, she was barely in the early stage of Qi Refining. For women in Yue City, it's better to marry a cultivator than to work and cultivate themselves. They would not only have honor and be respected by others, but would also be able to eat and dress up without worrying.
"Ah Shao, have some tea." Miss Yang smiled and brought a cup of tea close to Wang Shao's mouth.
However, Wang Shao's gaze fell elsewhere, and he stood up and said, "I'll go out for a while".
He shook his sleeve and got off the carriage. Miss Yang looked at the direction he was going, and a bit of ruthlessness appeared on her pretty face. She gritted her teeth and said "That vixen!"
Her maid, Hongsu approached and asked anxiously, "Miss, isn't the young city lord trying to take that woman in? "
"She can dream on!"
Wang Shao walked for a while, stopped and looked at the girl dressed in a yellow skirt, leaning against the tree. The girl is about sixteen or seventeen years old, with an exceptionally clear and beautiful appearance. Her skin is a bit pale, and it made her appear even weaker and more charming. Wang Shao looked at her and a smile formed on his face. He asked "Miss Liu, it's so hot outside. Do you want to come in the carriage of this city lord?
Liu Yunxin was a bit afraid of him and timidly replied, "Thank you, young master, for your kindness. No need, this place is very good.
Liu Yunxin was accompanying her elder brother Mu Cengxiao to participate in the selection competition of the Taiyan sect. Mu Cengxiao and Liu Yunxin are not biological siblings. Back then, Liu Yunxin's parents took in Mu Cengxiao, an orphan and after the Liu couple passed away, the siblings relied on each other for survival. Wang Shao had long admired Liu Yunxin's beauty, but Liu Yunxin's family was poor and was not worthy of his status. Being a wife was impossible, but being a concubine... was still more than enough.
It was a pity that Liu Yunxin turned a blind eye to his advances multiple times. Moreover, her older brother, Mu Cengxiao, also guarded him like a thief, preventing him from finding a chance to take action.
He had just said a few words to Liu Yunxin when Mu Cengxiao, who was fetching water, saw the situation and immediately strode forward and stood in front of Wang Shao. He angrily said, "Wang Shao, what are you trying to do?". Wang Shao looked at Mu Cengxiao who was in front of him.
Mu Cengxiao had handsome features, thick eyebrows and starry eyes. Although he was wearing patched clothes, there was a clear and resolute spirit. It was said that he reached Qi Refining stage at the age of 8 and was once favored by the people of Yue City, thinking that he is another genius. However, up to this day, he has not been able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Miss Liu, I heard you are not well", Wang Shao was not angry, on the contrary,he smiled at Liu Yunxin in a graceful manner and said, "Maybe your brother wants to join the Taiyan Sect for the spirit elixirs and pills to cure your illness. I can understand that you siblings have a deep bond, but..." He looked contemptuously at Mu Cengxiao: "It's a bit naive to place your hopes on a waste that couldn't even break through Foundation Establishment, don't you think? It's better to be my woman and wait for this city lord to join the Taiyan Sect. In the future, you can use the elixir there….
"Shut up!" Before he could finish speaking, Mu Cengxiao interrupted him and angrily said "So shameless!".
"What qualifications does a trash have to say about others?"
The two of them were arguing with each other and as they were about to draw their swords, a cry of surprise came from the side of the stream: "Young city lord, it's not good… come and have a look!"
The two who were arguing looked towards the water stream together.
The weather was clear and there was no trace of wind. As the stream descended, there seemed to be a dark shadow passing under the surface of the water. In the next moment, several black shadows shot up from the water towards the humans. Immediately after, a series of screams rang out.
"It hurts so much -"
"Ah ah, help, what are those?"
"My eyes, my eyes!"
The horses were startled and wanted to run forward, but the reins were tied to a tree, causing the people in the carriage to fall out. Miss Yang crawled out and hid behind Wang Shao. She panicked and asked, "Oh my god, what is this?"
"This is the demon beast 'Hu'."muttered Mu Cengxiao.
"What is 'Hu'?" Wang Shao frowned.
"It is a legendary monster that can hide in the water and secretly harm people. The mouth of 'Hu' contains sand particles and can shoot people. Those who are shot will get sores, and those whose shadow gets shot are killed!" Mu Layxiao ran to the water stream without turning back and said, "I will save those people, Wang Shao. Please protect Yunxin and don't let it touch your shadow!"
Wang Shao looked at Mu Cengxiao's back and pulled Liu Yunxin behind, mocking him as he said, "I've never seen a fool rushing to die!"
In this moment, the stream that was originally between the two cliffs rose, and the water surface immediately overflowed, as if it was about to submerge the land where they were located. At the same time, the dark shadows under the water became more pronounced. With just a few sounds of "poop poop", the servant girls around screamed and dyed a portion of the stream red.
Wang Shao was so frightened that he covered his head and ran away, not caring about his fiancée and Liu Yunxin. Liu Yunxin was already sick and weak and after taking a few steps, she gasped for breath. Miss Yang saw this and her eyes darkened. She grabbed Liu Yunxin's shoulder with one hand and was about to push her into the water.
A small drop of water fell out of the splashing stream and shattered on the moss covered rocks, but in an instant, it reverted to the appearance of dewdrops.
Liu Yunxin let out a startled cry and widened his eyes.
A hand grabbed her arm.
Liu Yunxin turned around and saw Miss Yang tightly gripping her arm, with an undisguised concern in her eyes: "Are you okay?"
She was stunned and about to speak when suddenly she heard someone shouting behind her, "Yunxin, run! It's behind you!"
The surface of the water suddenly rose, it was clearly a flat land, but it was like being in a turbulent sea or splashing stream. Liu Yunxin turned around and saw the true face of "it", like a vague black shadow, like a huge beetle, enveloped in a fishy water smell.
"Be careful!"Exclaimed the woman in her ear.
Liu Yunxin felt a force pushing her away, and the green shadow beside her was instantly engulfed by the black shadow.
The water gradually calmed down, and the damp land that was covered by the stream earlier was exposed to sunlight. Faint rainbow colors appeared, making everything seem like a mirage.
Liu Yunxin murmured: "Miss Yang...disappeared."
---------------------End of Chapter 1----------------------
This is the first time I am translating a web novel so please do not be too harsh. I will try to post at least one chapter a week once school begins, but now I have more free time so maybe 1 chapter a day, depending on my program and mood ٩(◕‿◕)۶
