This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

The Xuanhuang Great World is a truly boundless and vast world.

Nanli Prefecture is one of the nine prefectures in the three domains and nine prefectures of the Xuanhuang Great World.

The northwest corner of Nanli Prefecture, spanning five thousand li, is entirely within the territory of the Qingyun Sword Sect.

On the edge of the Qingyun Sword Sect's territory, there is a lake that is 800 miles in size. Standing on the shore, you can't see the opposite bank at all.

There are many islands of varying sizes scattered in the middle of the lake, the largest of which is thirty or forty miles in circumference.

The island was barren and desolate, overgrown with weeds and with few trees tall.

The nearest point on the opposite shore of the great lake is at least a hundred miles away by water.

Therefore, there is no human habitation on this island.

Deep within the island, on a wasteland piled with boulders, there appears to be a stone platform slightly higher than its surroundings.

Perhaps due to the passage of time, the stone platform is dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, making it impossible to discern its original appearance.

As dawn broke in the east, the first rays of sunlight appeared.

Right above this island, something seemed to have ripped through the void in the heavens.

A golden beam of light flashed and appeared.

It disappeared in just a moment.

When the beam of light dissipated, a Taoist priest in a blue robe appeared among the rocks on the deserted island.

It was Li Daoxuan who left the Jingming Cave Heaven and came to this Xuanhuang Great World.

Li Daoxuan's figure solidified, and he curiously looked up and around. At the end of his line of sight, he could vaguely see the vast expanse of water.

"Is this the Great World of Xuanhuang?"

Li Daoxuan muttered to himself, subconsciously taking a deep breath.

However, his expression changed drastically immediately afterward, and a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body.

Li Daoxuan didn't have time to think much. He raised his hand and scattered several talismans to wrap himself up.

A temporary protective array was formed, and Li Daoxuan immediately sat down cross-legged.

The Taiyi Danjing began to operate wildly without its own intervention.

In an instant, wisps of energy surged in from all directions.

In just a few breaths, the dense mist condensed into a light fog, surrounding Li Daoxuan.

Gradually, the fog thickened, until eventually, Li Daoxuan's body could no longer be seen clearly.

Unbeknownst to him, the sun set and the moon rose, but Li Daoxuan remained seated cross-legged, motionless.

The area covered by the fog was also constantly expanding.

The sun rose again the next day, but Li Daoxuan still did not make a move.

The fog, which originally covered an area of ​​only one zhang in diameter, expanded overnight to nearly two zhang in size.

And so it went, day after day... until a month later, the fog finally enveloped the entire island.

It even reached the lake surface outside the island.

From a distance, it looks like a thick cloud floating on a huge lake, lingering there for a long time.

January, February... it lasted for half a year.

It wasn't until six months later that the shrouding fog finally began to shrink little by little.

It was as if something in the center of the island was absorbing the mist.

The island's full view, which had been previously hidden, was finally revealed, but it looked completely different from what it had been six months ago.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the eastern shore of the lake, there is a market town with about two or three hundred households.

In the most remote corner of the town near the lake lived a family of three. Last year, the husband of the family went out to fish on the lake and unfortunately died, leaving behind only a widow and her child.

Misfortune seems to target the unfortunate. Not long after the husband left, the wife of the household fell seriously ill and became bedridden.

The heavy burden of the family suddenly fell on the shoulders of a child who was only ten years old.

To pay for his mother's medical treatment, the little boy pawned everything of value in his house.

However, her mother's condition did not improve; on the contrary, it worsened.

Now the family is so poor they can't even afford to eat.

The little boy looked at the last bit of rice porridge in the bowl, and his eyes involuntarily reddened.

He glanced back at his frail mother on her sickbed, quickly wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, put on a smiling face, and carried the porridge over.

"Mom, the porridge is ready. Come on, have some porridge and you'll feel better."

The woman looked at her son's small figure and felt a lump in her throat.

She shook her head.

"Mother isn't hungry, Xun'er, you eat..."

The little boy patted his belly and grinned:

"Xun'er has already eaten her fill. This is what's left, Mother, you can have it..."

The woman almost burst into tears when she saw the little boy's deliberately bulging belly.

She blamed herself for being useless; after her husband's death, she not only failed to support the family but also caused her children to suffer.

"Mom, I really have already eaten, you eat..."

The little boy scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently, and handed it over.

The woman forced back her tears, nodded, and ate the porridge the little boy offered her.

The little boy's face lit up with joy. In his mind, if his mother could eat, then she must be alright.

He used to have a dog that was like that. It was sick for a long time, but one day it suddenly started eating again and got better.

However, the puppy eventually died, not from illness, but from being stolen, slaughtered, and eaten by that scoundrel in town.

The woman ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, then frowned and shook her head.

"Xun'er, Mother is full."

The little boy glanced at the remaining porridge in the bowl and pursed his lips.

When he looked up again, his face was full of smiles.

"Mommy ate three more bites today than yesterday. Do you feel any better, Mommy?"

A faint smile appeared on the woman's pale face, her eyes filled with heartache.

She gently patted the little boy's head and nodded, saying:

"Hmm... Mother is much better..."

The little boy beamed with joy, then carefully placed the porridge in a bowl, covered it with another plate, and saved it for his mother to eat that evening.

Then she gently tucked the blanket into her mother's clothes and said:

"Mother, you rest at home. I'm going out for a bit, and I'll be back before dark."

The woman nodded and gave the instructions:

"Be careful, don't go near the lake..."

The little boy responded:

"Okay, Mother, you can go to sleep now..."

With that, he tiptoed out the door.

As soon as he stepped out of the house, the little boy's smile vanished, replaced by a worried expression.

He was penniless, and his mother's medicine was all gone.

If we don't find a way to make money, we won't even have rice, let alone medicine.

But what ability does a child of ten years old have to earn money?

The only way is to rely on this lake and fish for money.

But... there are strange beasts in the lake, and my father was killed by one of them.

"I'll just fish for small fish in the nearshore waters; I shouldn't encounter any strange beasts, right?"

The little boy muttered to himself.

Previously, given his fear of strange beasts, he wouldn't have dared to approach them at all.

But now, the family is at its wits' end, and if they don't find a way to make money, he and his mother will starve to death.

With that thought in mind, the little boy disregarded the elusive beast and walked to the lakeside. He jumped onto the small wooden boat his father had once owned and, imitating his father, rowed the boat slowly away from the shore, paddling gently towards the vast expanse of water.