My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"Sister Cui Ying, didn't you used to hate fighting and killing? How come you're so bold as to come to the mountains alone today?"

A rogue cultivator in blue robes carrying a short sword turned his head and looked at the little girl dressed like a sapling, asking curiously.

Cui Ying remained expressionless, ignoring Zhu Chaoyun, and simply looked around, not missing a single blade of grass or tree.

Because she knew that it was in the Red Sun Valley ahead that something happened, killing her father and several other rogue cultivators who were traveling with her.

But an elderly man with gray hair, watching Cui Ying looking around anxiously, couldn't help but frown and say:

“Third daughter of the Cui family, Chiyang Valley is full of miasma and poisonous insects. It’s not your backyard. What’s there to see?”

"It's getting late. You'd better take the miasma-dispelling pill and come with us quickly. If you miss the appointed time, the miasma will get worse and that will be troublesome."

Upon hearing this, Cui Ying looked up and realized that the speaker was her new neighbor, Zhao Sihai.

Almost at the same time, a black line shot out from the pile of dead leaves opposite.

"Brother Zhao, watch out behind you!"

The speed was so fast that even with Cui Zhengming's eyesight at the fourth level of Qi Refining, he could only barely see a blurry figure. He panicked and tried to help, but it was too late.

Cui Ying didn't say a word, but suddenly turned around and kicked Zhao Sihai hard in the back of the knee with lightning speed.

Zhao Sihai, who was also at the fourth level of Qi Refining, was caught off guard and was kicked to the ground by Cui Ying, who was only at the second level of Qi Refining.

"bang"

The black line grazed Zhao Sihai's back before shooting into the nearby rock, piercing it and nearly shattering it.

At the tip of this black line was a dark, sharp hook, no more than a few inches long, and a faint, nauseating stench emanated from it.

"It's a poisonous scorpion!"

Upon seeing this scene, Zhu Chaoyun, Zhou Yefang, and other rogue cultivators were all startled.

"Third daughter of the Cui family, how did you find out!?"

Zhao Sihai's face turned deathly pale, and he gasped for breath as he stared intently at Cui Ying and asked.

If Cui Ying hadn't kicked him away, that scorpion tail would have pierced Zhao Sihai's head.

There was a "pop" sound.

Suddenly, a large bulge appeared in the surrounding sand, and as if it had come to life, it moved rapidly toward the group.

"Are you all just standing here waiting to die? Make your move!"

Cui Zhengming, who was in the lead, was also terrified. He turned around and pulled Cui Ying behind him. Then, without thinking, he suddenly pulled out a three-foot-long, scythe-shaped magic weapon with a shiny top and slashed downwards like lightning.

There was a muffled sound.

The rapidly moving mound of earth suddenly exploded, and a poisonous scorpion about a foot long flew out from it, moving swiftly while enveloped in a cloud of green poisonous mist.

Cui Ying clearly saw that on the side of the scorpion's body, there was a dark hole about the size of a thumb, with wisps of black energy swirling around it, indicating that it was injured.

She sighed inwardly, thinking to herself:

"Judging from the density of the demonic aura, it should be a Sand Shadow Scorpion at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Although it was severely injured, its attack power is still terrifying. If that's the case, the tragedy of my previous life may really have just been an accident."

Just then, the scorpion shrouded in green smoke suddenly moved and burrowed into the sand beneath it.

"This poisonous creature is injured; don't let it escape!"

Reminded by this, Zhao Sihai, Zhou Yefang, Zhu Chaoyun and others naturally noticed that the Sand Shadow Scorpion's aura was weak. Amidst their panic, a hint of joy appeared on their faces, and they all chanted incantations and made hand seals.

Zhao Sihai was the first to make a move. With a flick of his hand, a flash of blue light appeared, and a wind blade the size of a palm shot out.

There was a "pop" sound.

The Sand Shadow Scorpion on the opposite side dodged the wind blade in a flash, but startled, it stopped burrowing into the nearby sand and instead, enveloped in green smoke, retreated rapidly in the direction it had come from.

"Chase!"

Cui Zhengming made a quick decision and took the lead in chasing after him.

The Sand Shadow Scorpion ran half a mile in one breath, then with a flick of its tail, it burrowed into the rock and soil layer again. Its movements were incredibly fast, and in an instant, it had burrowed more than half of its body into the soil.

But at that moment, a crimson fireball fell from the sky.

There was a "boom".

After the flames subsided, a huge crater was left in the rock and soil. The Sand Shadow Scorpion was obviously also affected, but after a roll, it continued to run away as if nothing had happened.

And so, in the time that followed, Cui Zhengming and the others followed at a leisurely pace, and whenever the other side made a move to burrow underground, attacks such as wind blades or fireballs would immediately fall.

Although the Sand Shadow Scorpion was powerful, it clearly lacked intelligence, and was chased for several miles by Cui Zhengming and the others in a state of fright.

And under the continuous attacks, its body finally bore some new wounds, and the green smoke surrounding its body dimmed a bit.

……

After another half hour, the Sand Shadow Scorpion finally rolled to the ground and was unable to get up again.

Seeing this, Cui Zhengming breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't rush to chase after it immediately. Instead, he had everyone observe the Sand Shadow Scorpion not far away for a while before carefully going up to collect the scorpion's corpse.

Looking at the now stiff Sand Shadow Scorpion, the exhausted rogue cultivators said with a mixture of sighs and relief:

"Luckily, Cui Ying discovered the poisonous creature's trail beforehand. If we had been attacked, it probably wouldn't have been so easy for us to escape unscathed..."

Cui Ying followed at a distance, listening quietly to everyone's conversation. Her face showed no reaction, but a long-lost joy welled up in her heart.

that's nice!

Thank God I was able to come back, and that my family is safe and sound, and reunited.

After carefully collecting the scorpion's corpse, the group disagreed again on whether to continue or turn back.

Looking at everyone's pale yet excited faces, Cui Zhengming decided, in order to avoid any unforeseen complications, to first take the scorpion's corpse to the market in Thundercloud City to exchange it for spirit stones.

But neither Cui Ying nor the others were very interested in these things anymore. By the time everyone had hurriedly entered the city and exchanged the spirit stones, the sun had begun to set.

They had to walk back to the village.

They were all rogue cultivators struggling at the very bottom of the cultivation world, working themselves to the bone each month to earn a few spirit stones, barely enough to support their families. Where would they find the extra money to buy fasting pills and flying techniques?

Fortunately, Shuangling Village is only a few dozen miles from Leiyun City. According to the cultivator's pace, it would take more than two hours to make a round trip.

Shuangling Village is the largest village under the jurisdiction of the Lei family of Xiuzhen, and it is composed of multiple surnames.

Following the rippling Xiushui River, the group chatted and laughed all the way. The Sand Shadow Scorpion they had just exchanged for a total of 850 low-grade spirit stones in Lei Family Market.

The demon-hunting team has a total of seven members, and the sum distributed among them is quite large, comparable to what they would earn in several months in the past.

A gentle evening breeze caressed the banks of the Xiushui River, bringing comfort and soothing to everyone's hearts.

Zhu Chaoyun washed his hands on the shore before taking out a lotus leaf-wrapped object from his bosom, a sesame-covered pastry, and handing it to Cui Ying beside him.

Zhu Chaoyun's mother died early, and now he relies on his stepmother for a living. In addition to hunting demons in the mountains every day, he also has to take care of his younger sister, which has made him quite skilled.

"Sister Cui Ying, I heard that you promised that boy Gu Shiyin a few days ago that you would become his Daoist partner once you break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining?"

Zhu Chaoyun said with a smile as she swallowed the pastry.

"Shi Yin"

Cui Ying stared blankly at the scattered sesame seeds on the pastry, lost in thought.

Gu Shiyin was the most handsome young man in the entire Shuangling Village. Not only was he tall and straight, but he also had a gentle and refined temperament. His father was also a cultivator in the mid-to-late stage of Qi Refining.

Countless female cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage from both inside and outside the village wanted to hire him as their consort, but Gu Shiyin remained chaste towards Cui Ying.

Although Gu Shiyin had no spiritual roots, the Cui family did not mind and were just waiting to raise the dowry before the two got married.

In his previous life, Cui Zhengming was also in a hurry to collect spirit stones for this reason, which is why he died in this demon-hunting operation.

Her father's death not only completely extinguished her hope of being with Gu Shiyin, but also changed her fate.

Whenever she was tormented to the point of unbearable pain by Qi Ming, Cui Ying would often think at night:

If her father hadn't met with this accident, and she had been able to become Gu Shiyin's Daoist partner as she wished, would her life have been different?

Gazing at the rippling blue waters of the Xiushui River, Cui Ying couldn't help but murmur:

"Gu Shiyin, if you were to live again, would you still be willing to give up everything for me?"

"Cough cough cough... cough cough cough"

Just as these thoughts began, Cui Ying heard a series of coughs, so loud and painful, as if they were coughing up her internal organs.

She had just snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Zhao Sihai in front of her exclaim in surprise:

"Brother Cui, why are you coughing so badly?"

Seeing that Cui Zhengming's face had turned red, he quickly took the wine flask from his waist and stuffed it directly into Cui Zhengming's hand:

"This is a medicinal wine made from several kinds of medicinal herbs. Try it."

"Hiss, that felt great!"

Cui Zhengming took the opportunity to pull out the cork, took a big gulp of spiritual wine, and the spicy liquid slid into his lower abdomen, then transformed into wisps of spiritual energy that flowed into his limbs and bones, before returning to his dantian and turning into specks of magical power. Only then did he feel a little better.

Only then did Cui Ying notice her father's flushed face and the bulging veins on his neck.

If she remembered correctly, her father would often only take half a pill of the Barrier-Avoiding Pill in order to save spirit stones. Could it be that his lungs and internal organs were damaged by the poisonous miasma of Chiyang Valley?

Thinking of this, Cui Ying said earnestly:

"Father, let's find a spiritual healer to take a look at you when we get back."