After the path was cut off

Li Qinghan's figure quietly passed through the second-order illusion array light curtain that enveloped Baixi Town. In that instant, it was like passing through a layer of cool water ripples.

Then, the farmhouses disappeared, and the smoke from the chimneys vanished, leaving only a desolate mountain with craggy rocks and sparse vegetation, lying silently in the morning light.

When she came out, she bumped into a group of refugees.

That was a family of five.

The man carried a tattered bamboo basket on his back, the woman held a child in her arms, and led two toddlers behind her.

Further away, there were two or three more scattered teams.

There were children who looked like beggars, women who were barely clothed, and young men walking in groups. Without exception, they were all young.

Even though they couldn't see Baixi Town and the barren mountains in front of them were so steep, they still plunged in.

Li Qinghan did not stop.

She simply took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve and flicked her finger. A faint fragrance wafted from the bottle's mouth, condensing into a thread that circled around the noses of the refugees and slowly drifted towards the entrance of the illusion array.

The illusion array in Baixi Town was never meant to reject these unfortunate people.

Every so often, someone from the town would come out to guide the displaced people.

Li Qinghan did nothing but lend a helping hand, allowing these people to find the entrance sooner, enter the village sooner, and have a bowl of hot porridge sooner.

Perhaps then, a few more could survive.

Unfortunately, suffering can never be completely relieved.

Li Qinghan ignored them and untied the spirit beast pouch from his waist.

An earthworm is embroidered on the bag, with fine and lifelike stitches.

She crouched down and loosened the bag. A reddish-brown shadow darted out, growing longer as soon as it landed.

In the blink of an eye, a giant earthworm, several feet long and as thick as a stone millstone, appeared before her.

It is reddish-brown all over, with distinct segments, and carries a heavy earthy smell.

It's called a purple earthworm.

However, it is only a first-rank, first-grade creature with little combat power, but it is gentle in nature, naturally good at earth-related things, and has extremely strong vitality. It can survive on ordinary grains.

For decades, whenever a new site is chosen for Baixi Town, the purple earthworms would silently dig out a network of secret tunnels. Usually, they would wander deep into the fields, loosening the soil, diverting water, and turning over the mud.

With it, even the most difficult-to-cultivate land can always produce more grain. It is the silent hero that has enabled Baixi Town to survive to this day.

Ordinary people are actually quite easy to support.

A little grain, a bowl of hot porridge, and a road that shelters them from the wind are enough for them to survive for a long time.

But one shouldn't just endure it.

They too deserve hope, dignity, a future to look forward to, a home to return to, and a moment of peace without the struggle for survival.

But those high and mighty cultivators cannot see these things.

They saw the sustenance of blood and qi, the spiritual orifices and mouths, the pleasures and indulgences, and the endless stream of lives that could be driven, consumed, and harvested.

But no one can be seen.

If one cannot see people, then one is not worthy to be called a person.

Li Qinghan rolled over and sat cross-legged on the back of the purple earthworm, gently patting its slightly arched head.

"Let's go, Purple Earthworm."

"It's rare to be able to walk openly and honestly on this earth."

Do you also yearn for this kind of unrestrained freedom?

Purple Earthworm's entire body trembled slightly, as if in response.

The next instant, its segmented body suddenly contracted and sprang forward, galloping along the ground at a speed no less than that of a fine horse.

A gust of wind blew in, causing Li Qinghan's clothes to flutter loudly.

She placed the sword horizontally on her lap, her hands moving constantly as she took out various pills and powders from her sleeves one by one.

Some have the ability to restore energy, some to heal injuries, some to suppress injuries, and some to temporarily enhance strength.

She buried them one by one under her skin and wrapped them in spiritual energy to ensure that she could use them at any time during the battle.

Li Qinghan was well aware of her shortcomings. The "Sword Rain Listening to the Pines Technique" she cultivated was crude and unsophisticated, offering no miraculous enhancements other than making it easy to break through realms.

Both her spiritual energy level and recovery speed were at their lowest possible levels. This meant she desperately needed external aids, and if her great-uncle hadn't given her these pills, she wouldn't have dared to stray too far from the town.

Only after doing all this did she place her hand on the longsword.

This sword is named Suihan (岁寒).

The sword is three feet and one inch long and weighs seven pounds and nine ounces.

The sword blank was forged primarily from century-old gold, using a water-refining method. Even before the sword was drawn, a chilling aura emanated from it.

This sword was forged for her by Wang the blacksmith, and it was also a fine piece that Qingfeng picked out for her from a pile of scraps in Wang the blacksmith's yard.

She still remembers that day.

Qingfeng pointed to the dark, heavy metal and looked incredibly excited. He said:

"Qinghan, this piece of material suits you."

She didn't understand back then.

Later, when the sword was completed, the cold metal energy entered the sword like a dragon returning to a pool, and only then did she understand.

This sword perfectly matched the cold metal's aura, the "Sword Rain Listening to the Pines Technique," and even more so, her own essence. Moreover, it also carried the affection of Qingfeng and the craftsmanship of Wang the blacksmith.

The things we love are often beyond words.

Li Qinghan's fingertips gently traced the scabbard. The "Sword Rain Listening to the Pines Technique" slowly circulated. Within his dantian, a wisp of cold, golden energy quietly flowed, seeping out of his body and swirling around the Suihan Sword.

The air suddenly turned cold.

Tiny ice crystals condensed beside the sword sheath and then scattered in the wind, much like snow falling on pine needles in winter.

There are four levels of swordsmanship.

Sword light, sword energy, sword essence, sword intent.

When she first grasped the sword, it seemed to transcend the sword's edge, its energy surging forth. Later, the condensation of sword essence followed naturally.

Only the sword intent remained elusive.

It's not that it can't be done. It's just that every time she's about to take that step, a voice inside her always reminds her.

hold on.

hold on.

She had pondered deeply why her intuition had given her such a hint. The answer she finally came to was that there must be a sword intent waiting for her, a sword intent that was cold and solitary, unwilling to coexist with other sword intents.

Although this thought lacked concrete evidence, it reassured her, and she was not in a hurry. Even though she was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, below the Foundation Establishment stage, she was still confident that she feared no opponent. If she were to encounter a powerful Foundation Establishment enemy, whether she possessed sword intent or not, the outcome would be the same. The gap between cultivation levels was not something that talent could easily overcome.

Within her sea of ​​consciousness, the clear light of the [Mirror of Divided Radiance] flowed, reflecting the [Mirror Master's] panoramic view into her mind. Two evil cultivators, one tall and one fat, were rapidly closing in on her! They had clearly used some method to pinpoint her location.

Li Qinghan's thoughts suddenly drifted away at that moment. The faces of the souls who had perished under his sword over the past six years flashed through his mind:

The first few she encountered were greedy and arrogant; yet, on their deathbeds, they were utterly incredulous, begging for mercy and filled with resentment. Later, as her reputation as "Qinghan" grew, most of the evil cultivators she encountered fled at the mere sight of her, with very few daring to confront her directly. This group of people were extremely greedy for life and indulged in pleasure.

How could someone with such a mindset attain spiritual enlightenment and ascend to the path of immortality?

People like Qingfeng, with their clear minds, sincerity, and empathy, clearly deserve a path more than anyone else, yet they lack the knack for it.

Upon thinking of this, Li Qinghan felt a sharp pain in her heart.

Nothing in the world is more unjust than this.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness again:

The gentle breeze never complains or blames others.

He was always so content and composed, as if he had never thought of walking that long and lonely road of seeking with her.

But does he really not want to?

Li Qinghan didn't believe it.

Qingfeng once said:

Some people are so indispensable that their lives prevent others from living.

Some people live so that the majority can live better lives.

Li Qinghan did not entirely agree with this.

Life is an unbearable burden.

She is not the kind of person who can bear the weight of the lives and deaths of millions of people.

But she was born into the Li family and grew up in Baixi Town.

Grandfather, Qingfeng, uncle, and those who struggled to survive were all there.

She couldn't help but care.

And in order for them to live well—

A chilling, bone-deep killing intent silently spread through her heart, echoing the sharp edge of the "Suihan" sword on her lap:

"Then you must die."

As if to confirm her murderous intent, two dark figures suddenly sprang out from the withered grass ahead.

A foul stench filled the air.

Two yin zombies pounced one after the other, one aiming straight for Li Qinghan's face, and the other biting at the purple earthworm.

Li Qinghan did not draw his sword, nor did he even lift his eyelids.

His body suddenly radiated a chilling golden sword aura.

Zheng—

A clear, resonant sword cry rang out, spreading like ripples on water.

Before the two zombies could even get close, they were cleaved into several pieces by the sword energy. The fragments scattered behind the purple earthworm, and even after landing, they continued to wriggle and try to piece themselves back together.

But the purple earthworm had already sped away.

Soon, another strange cry came from the sky.

A decaying vulture swooped down, spewing forth emerald-green corpse fire from its mouth.

Li Qinghan remained unmoved.

The corpse fire collided with the sword energy, sizzling as it shattered into wisps of smoke in an instant.

Then came more corpses.

A rotting giant bear.

White-boned wolf.

A humanoid monster with its limbs pieced together.

They emerged from the weeds, slopes, and behind dead trees, howling as they surrounded us, spitting venom, throwing rotting bones, and stirring up eerie winds.

Li Qinghan simply lowered his eyes and stroked his sword.

Purple earthworms sped through the horde of corpses.

Anyone who gets close is shredded by the sword energy.

Although these zombies were crude, each one was equivalent to a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, yet they couldn't get even a fraction closer to Li Qinghan.

As the number of dismembered bodies increased, the person hiding in the shadows finally panicked.

High in the sky, an even sharper eagle cry rang out.

The sound was very far away.

Even the eagles and people in the sky are just small black dots.

Li Qinghan, through the [Mirror of Difference], clearly saw the sinister and cautious look on his face.

He dared not go anywhere.

It simply hangs high in the distance, and with a wave of its sleeve...

Dozens of light blue talismans fell from the sky.

"The barren land, when flooded, becomes a marshland, solidify!"

The talismanic light entered the ground, and blue light spread out.

The ground dozens of feet in front of Li Qinghan quickly collapsed and turned into a deep blue swamp.

The mud was cold and sticky, frantically dragging the purple earthworm's body.

The purple earthworm's speed dropped sharply.

The surrounding corpses immediately swarmed around them.

Li Qinghan then opened her eyes.

She slowly stood up, her posture as straight as a lone pine tree after a snowfall, seemingly oblivious to the churning mud beneath her feet and the approaching corpses.

Those clear, cold eyes pierced through the noise and filth, calmly locking onto the black dot hovering high in the sky like a mosquito.

The tall, thin cultivator in the sky felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason, and subconsciously urged the black eagle to rise several more feet.

This action only provoked Li Qinghan's ridicule.

Finally, they've developed some brains.

They knew she was slower than birds.

They knew that using the Yin Corpse would deplete her spiritual power.

Knowing that first trapping the purple earthworm would cut off her mobility.

But a pity.

Not very long.

In the blink of an eye, her fair right hand had already firmly grasped the hilt of the "Suihan" sword, which was as cold as jade.

"Hiding so far away."

"What are you afraid of?"