Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Xue Lan, along with Xue Tong and Yin Hun, stayed at the Xuanhuang Sect for a while. They set up a weapon-refining stall at the foot of Xuanling Peak, trying their best to sell their skills to pay off their debts.

Xue Tong helped out with some small tasks, while Yin Hun was taken away by the Third Elder of the Crane Clan because he was too cute.

The old man loved children very much, and happily took the little soul guide to the habitat of the mountain-guarding cranes.

In the evening, Xue Tong looked at the fair and tender Yin Hun, then at herself and Xue Lan, whose faces were covered in soot.

[She's your sister, isn't she? I'm just a child laborer, right?]

Xue Lan didn't say anything, and prepared to escape with the iron box in her arms.

"You're feeling guilty, aren't you, Xue Lan? Say something!" Xue Tong shouted at Xue Lan from behind.

Senior Sister Jiyuan Peak ran away with her head down, disappearing like a wisp of drifting cloud.

Seeing that Xue Lan had disappeared, Xue Tong stood with her hands on her hips, panting for a while. Then she washed her hands in a bucket of water and carried Yin Hun to the Xuanling Peak canteen for a meal.

As for why they didn't make it themselves, Xue Tong said it was better to forget it; the only one among them who could reach the stove was someone who specialized in weapon crafting.

I cooked one a few days ago, and it was... utterly horrific.

Thinking of this, Xue Tong revealed a smug smile.

A message has already been sent to Zhuhe.

Ten thousand miles away at Luoxia Mountain, two sword masters were sparring on the battlefield; they were none other than Zhu He and Xu Qizhou.

After several months apart, Xu Qizhou's moves contained a unique murderous aura from the battlefield of Luoxia Mountain. Every move was ruthless and decisive, and Zhu He could only defend with his heavy sword.

"Senior Brother Xu, take it easy. Senior Sister said that Second Senior Brother's spirit-splitting ring is still unstable and we have to wait half a year!" Ji Jinjin, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but remind him.

"This is boring!" Xu Qizhou slowed down his attack, thinking that Xue Lan was really inefficient.

My junior brother, who had the innate sword bone, was finally able to cultivate and even secretly reached the Golden Core stage, but he couldn't have a proper battle.

It's boring.

Zhu He couldn't fight at full strength, and the two stopped fighting after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. A row of human prodigies watched the sunset from the city wall.

A demon cultivator hurriedly went up the city wall, holding a small white bird in his hand.

Long Siyin looked at the little bird in his hand: "Echo Sparrow, whose message is this?"

The demon cultivator, named Shi Zhong, was in his true form a pangolin and had been in charge of resource allocation at the rear. He was also acquainted with Long Siyin. He immediately replied, "A young lady from the Xuanhuang Sect asked me to bring him. She said a Fellow Daoist Xue asked me to bring him."

Ji Jinjin and the others immediately perked up and moved forward to grab the echo sparrow.

Shi Zhong gently raised his arm, and the echo sparrow landed on Zhu He's shoulder.

The little bird puffed out its fluffy chest and uttered a childish voice.

"Brother Zhuhe!"

"Your Majesty has blown up the kitchen!"

Zhu He's expression changed: "Oh no, my stove!"

Xue Lan, who was eating in the Xuanling Peak canteen, felt a chill run down her spine. She shrank her neck.

Zhu He sat by the city wall, holding Xu Qizhou's hand as he recounted his hardships, tears streaming down his face.

"You don't know, during the time Master was away, we couldn't compete with those beasts of a sword cultivator in the Xuanling Peak canteen, so my aunt and I took turns cooking. I only built this new stove last year!"

Xu Qizhou: I'm not sure if he cursed at me. Let me listen again.

He insulted me.

Then the two fought again over whether the sword cultivators of Xuanling Peak were animals.

The sky is dark and the earth is dark.

Long Siyin looked at the distant horizon: "There hasn't been a demonic tide for a month."

She was always somewhat uneasy.

Min Shang stood beside her, looking at the girl's tired face.

"It's been a year since the demonic tide struck, and the human race is utterly exhausted." The woman looked at the Shengyu Army soldiers and immortal sect disciples resting below the city walls. Then she looked at the sky where demonic flames were billowing.

Long Siyin understood Min Chang's meaning. Since the fall of Xuan Shuo Demon Lord, the Demon Clan has never produced a Nascent Soul stage fighter, and even the Golden Core stage is extremely rare.

More often than not, they are large swarms of low-level magical beasts, weak in strength and with clouded consciousness. Their advantage lies in their sheer numbers and tireless nature.

"Low-level magical beasts are probably not even considered animals in the eyes of true demons. The demonic tide is coming!"

While the two were talking, the sound of galloping horses came from the horizon. Long Siyin looked behind her, sword in hand, and saw that Zhu He and Xu Qizhou, who had been fighting, had already let go.

The group exchanged a glance, then jumped off the city wall and stood in front of the demon horde.

It is located in the deep forests of Luoxia Mountain, less than 100 miles away.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky. The young man, sword in hand, slew the last demon before him. He then looked up at the dark cave in front of him.

"Awu, this is the last hiding place of the monster." Lian Chuan turned to look at the girl behind him.

Cui Wu wore a black cloak, her face beneath the hood exquisitely beautiful. She held a map in her hand, and a pen materialized in her palm, its tip crimson.

Cui Wu raised his pen and crossed out the last dot. He then ordered Gu Yuan behind him, "Do it!"

Gu Yuan led her people into the cave, which was eerily quiet. It resembled a gigantic, man-eating maw.

The girl raised her hand, and several orbs of light flew out from her sleeve, illuminating the surroundings, revealing the hellish scene before her.

The cave was filled with people hanging upside down. Each one was deformed; some were completely black, others had bone spurs growing from their bodies, and countless eyes had sprouted from them…

In the very center of the cave, hundreds of corpses were piled up, and on top stood a short demon with a large hole in his stomach.

Upon seeing the group enter, the demon chuckled hoarsely, his small, blood-red eyes fixed on Cui Wu.

Cui Wu felt his blood rushing to his head, and the world seemed to be spinning.

The demon spoke up: "Immortals, look at this hell on earth. These mortals were killed by you."

Cui Wu was disturbed by the memories of that year. The girl stared intently at the short demon: "You killed them, what does it have to do with us?"

"They're not dead yet!" the demon sneered. "At the front lines of Luoxia Mountain, they'll have their heads chopped off by the immortals."

After speaking, the demon smiled and reached for his heart, but a flying ribbon wrapped around his arm.

Gu Yuan looked at Cui Wu to the side: "Senior Sister Cui."

Cui Wu forced himself to remain calm, his voice icy: "Gu Yuan, take her into custody. The others, check if there are any survivors or unconscious civilians. Junior Brother, come out with me for a moment."

Lian Chuan noticed that Cui Wu's expression was a bit off, and as soon as he stepped out of the cave, he asked, "A-Wu, what's wrong?"

Cui Wu's voice trembled, and the girl's breath was somewhat unsteady: "Junior Brother, you are fast, hurry to the front line for me and do everything you can to stop Senior Sister Long and the others from contacting the next demonic tide."

"The demons have cast their corrupted human subjects into the demonic tide!"

Long Siyin's sword energy swept away a large group of low-level magical beasts in front of her. She had been fighting tirelessly in Luoxia Mountain for a year, exhausted by the large and small magical tides, and only wanted to end this battle as soon as possible.

Strange magical beasts began to appear from the demonic tide in front of them. They were smaller than ordinary magical beasts, had no reason, and would kill each other.

Long Siyin paid no attention and continued to slay the larger low-level magical beasts in front of her, while the others stayed behind her.

Xu Qizhou originally thought this was just an ordinary small demon tide, which Long Siyin and the others at the front could easily handle, and he only needed to stay at the back to hold the line.

Xu Qizhou's expression changed when the small demonic beasts appeared in the demonic tide.

A small monster leaped up from behind Long Siyin and bit at the girl's bare neck.

Long Siyin subconsciously raised her hand, and a sword light slashed towards the little demonic beast.

"Siyin, that's a person!"

"Senior Sister Long!"

Two urgent voices reached her ears. Long Siyin's sword light landed on the "monster," cleaving it in two. Bright red blood splattered onto the girl's face, staining her light armor.

Long Siyin saw the eyes of that "monster"—bloodshot, human eyes…

A demon clad in black robes emerged from the horde of demons, his voice echoing across the entire battlefield:

"This is a great gift presented to you by our clan's Third Prince."

Long Siyin heard a faint sound, like an eggshell breaking.

Only she can hear it!