Starting as a cowherd, he sought a way to cultivate immortality.

Late at night, Wu Changkong emerged from the ground outside the Zhao family camp.

Without even having time to clean the mud off his robes, Wu Changkong steered his spirit boat and flew towards the location of the Zhou family cultivators.

After Wu Changkong left, Zhao Hongyue's figure drifted by like a ghost, following far behind Wu Changkong.

Chen Chi, who had concealed his presence in the shadows, pondered for a moment before giving chase.

Seeing the Zhou family camp right in front of him, Wu Changkong increased the speed of his spirit boat even further.

However, in the next instant, Wu Changkong realized that the spirit boat seemed to be stuck in the quagmire and could not move an inch.

His expression changed drastically. He was about to abandon the spirit boat and continue on his way when he suddenly saw a figure carrying a long sword floating in front of him.

Zhao Hongyue looked at Wu Changkong with an icy expression, then extended her slender finger and lightly touched the void.

The spirit boat beneath Wu Changkong's feet exploded with a roar, throwing Wu Changkong to the ground.

"Zhao Hongyue—"

Realizing that his right leg was empty, Wu Changkong's eyes turned bloodshot, and he wished he could tear Zhao Hongyue to pieces.

Zhao Hongyue's expression remained calm, but a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

This Wu Changkong is truly incredibly resilient; he actually survived a normal attack from someone with only early Foundation Establishment cultivation.

She landed in front of Wu Changkong, ignoring his roars and rage, and a thread with a faint golden luster appeared in her hand.

The rope was as thin as a hair, yet it shimmered with a magical light, wrapping itself around Wu Changkong and binding him tightly in an instant.

Wu Changkong's spiritual energy stagnated, and he couldn't mobilize it at all. His expression changed drastically.

"This is... a spirit-binding rope?!"

Ignoring Wu Changkong's shock, Zhao Hongyue, after confirming that the Spirit Binding Rope had locked his spiritual veins, prepared to take Wu Changkong back to the Zhao family camp.

"Leave him here!"

Before Zhou Qiude arrived, a short, green-glowing sword was already hurtling towards Zhao Hongyue in the darkness.

Zhao Hongyue remained calm and composed. The long sword flew out from her back, its light shining brightly, blocking the incoming green short sword.

In the darkness, two magical artifacts held by Foundation Establishment cultivators collided, unleashing a blinding light.

The next instant, Zhou Qiude appeared in front of Zhao Hongyue.

Centered on Zhou Qiude, the green vines formed from spiritual energy grew wildly, instantly transforming into a cage that trapped Zhao Hongyue inside.

Zhou Qiude glared at her and used the "Withering and Flourishing Finger" to strike Zhao Hongyue's forehead.

The Withering and Flourishing Finger is the most powerful secret technique among the cultivation methods practiced by Zhou Qiude.

With a single finger strike, one can rob a cultivator of their life force, causing their flesh and blood to wither instantly.

Faced with Zhou Qiude's ruthless offensive, Zhao Hongyue's expression turned solemn, and a layer of light golden protective light appeared around her body.

In a flash, the protective aura transformed into a thick barrier, blocking Zhou Qiude's Withering and Flourishing Finger.

"Overestimating yourself!"

Zhou Qiude smiled coldly, and his withered and flourishing fingers pierced straight through Zhao Hongyue's protective aura.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Hongyue's expression changed slightly.

The cultivation level that Zhou Qiude displayed tonight was much stronger than when he fought Zhao Hongyue on the first day.

Before Zhao Hongyue could think further, several magical artifacts appeared before her, emitting light of various colors.

The moment Zhao Hongyue's magical artifact touched the Withering and Flourishing Finger, its spiritual light dimmed rapidly, and it fell downwards like a pile of broken copper and scrap iron.

In the face of the critical situation, Zhao Hongyue bit her lip lightly and held her arms out in front of her to catch Zhou Qiude's withered and flourishing fingers.

As the finger force penetrated her body, Zhao Hongyue's skin became withered and cracked at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A sense of deathly decay surged through her meridians, heading straight for Zhao Hongyue's dantian.

Zhao Hongyue groaned and frantically circulated her cultivation technique, desperately resisting the withered power.

Zhou Qiude's expression was icy cold. He increased his finger strength by three points, determined to kill Zhao Hongyue tonight.

Zhao Hongyue, sitting opposite, was beginning to feel despair.

Suddenly, Zhou Qiude felt a chill run down his spine, and a sense of crisis arose in his heart.

A finger-shaped flame attacked from below, instantly breaking through Zhou Qiude's vine cage and continuing towards him.

Zhou Qiude's face turned grim, and he had no choice but to distract himself by summoning his short sword to defend against the flames.

Zhao Hongyue seized the opportunity and swung her longsword at Zhou Qiude's arm, deflecting his withering and flourishing finger technique.

Next, Zhao Hongyue took out a talisman and infused it with spiritual power.

"A Soul-Slaying Talisman?!" Zhou Qiude's pupils shrank as he recognized the talisman Zhao Hongyue was holding.

This talisman is specifically designed to target the spiritual consciousness of cultivators. Its production process is complex, and even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage find it difficult to obtain.

Before Zhao Hongyue could fully activate the talisman, Zhou Qiude unleashed a burst of spiritual energy and immediately fled into the distance.

Zhao Hongyue did not pursue, but stood in the air, dissipating the withered power in her arm.

After a long while, Zhao Hongyue's skin regained its vitality, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It was only then that she suddenly remembered Wu Changkong on the ground.

Having almost been defeated by Zhou Qiude, Zhao Hongyue's divine sense did not pay attention to Wu Changkong on the ground.

Her expression changed, and she swiftly descended from the sky, arriving in front of Wu Changkong.

Wu Changkong, lying on the ground, had been dead for some time, his face showing a look of utter horror before his death.

His storage ring had also vanished without a trace.

Zhao Hongyue's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she recalled the flame that had helped her escape.

"I killed Wu Changkong, but someone will help me..."

Zhao Hongyue flicked her green robe sleeves and flew towards the Zhao family camp with Wu Changkong's corpse in her arms.

……

Just as Zhao Hongyue and Zhou Qiude were dueling, inside Cloud Mist Valley...

Zhao Xia took out her talisman master token, her expression calm, and had the thick-browed man in front of her open the Cloud Mist Valley array gate.

The man with thick eyebrows glanced at her and asked in confusion:

"Where is Master Zhao going so late?"

"Our Talisman Hall's Steward Zhao wants to make a second-tier talisman and has ordered me to go out of Cloud Mist Valley to find the Moon Dew from the night before. I must retrieve it before dawn tomorrow; there can be no delay."

Zhao Xia spoke logically and clearly, her expression showing a hint of helplessness at being ordered around.

The man with thick eyebrows relaxed his brow.

"Since Steward Zhao is in such a hurry to use it, I will naturally not stop him."

As he spoke, he channeled his spiritual energy into the twelve-quarter disc, revealing an exit in front of Cloud Mist Valley.

"Thank you," Zhao Xia said with a slight smile.

The moment she stepped out of the exit, a Spirit-Eroding Pearl covered in array patterns appeared in her hand, which she fixed above the exit.

"What are you doing?" the man with thick eyebrows asked in a terrified voice.

He hurriedly tried to close the exit, only to find that the twelve-quarter disc in his hand was completely malfunctioning.

Zhao Xia curled her lips into a cold smile.

"Tonight will be the night of the Zhao family's destruction."

As Zhao Xia's figure disappeared in front of the thick-browed man, two powerful auras of spiritual energy swept over instantly.

"Zhao Jingming, get the hell out here!"

A thunderous laugh echoed across the sky above Cloud Mist Valley.

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Zhou family, Zhou Hanchuan and Zhou Wuhui, appeared in the Zhao family's Cloud Mist Valley and slapped the thick-browed man guarding the array gate to death.

The two walked on the air, on the Zhao family's territory, and with a wave of their hands, they dealt with cultivators at the Qi Refining Realm, and unleashed streams of spiritual energy towards the crowds.

In an instant, Cloud Mist Valley descended into chaos, filled with screams and cries.

"Zhou Hanchuan, how dare you offend my Zhao family?!"

Zhao Jingming, the head of the Zhao family, roared angrily and, together with Wei An, a respected elder of the clan, blocked the two's path.

Seeing the murderous intent on Zhao Jingming's face, Zhou Hanchuan felt extremely pleased.

He stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly:

"Zhao Jingming, your good days are over today."