Qin Ran brought Li Shiyin down the mountain. Halfway down, he asked Li Shiyin, "Who is Zhao Yaqing?"
"She is the legitimate daughter of the Zhao family in Xuanqin," Li Shiyin replied.
"And what is the Zhao family in Xuanqin?"
"Zhao Yaqing's grandfather..." Li Shiyin thought carefully. She wasn't very sure about this. "I think her grandfather was the Prime Minister of Xuanqin... or was it the Imperial Tutor? I can't remember clearly."
"The Imperial Tutor..." Qin Ran understood. He fell silent in thought for a moment. Zhao Yaqing was the legitimate daughter of an official family, an inner disciple of the Cloud Heaven Sect, with a guardian by her side. On top of that, she was very scheming. No matter how you looked at it, she did not seem like the kind of person who would reminisce with the silly Li Shiyin for no reason.
Well, actually, if you look at Li Shiyin's background, she's not worse off than Zhao Yaqing.
The daughter of a prestigious family, personal disciple of the Dao Sword Sect, master an alchemist... Her resume wasn't any worse than Zhao Yaqing's.
Without saying anything more, Qin Ran felt wary and vigilant in his heart about Zhao Yaqing's ulterior motives.
Having finalized the sword forging arrangements, the main purpose of this trip was already half accomplished. As long as he could exchange the medicinal pills for the treasured sword in five days, the trip would be perfectly successful.
So Qin Ran relaxed a little and took Li Shiyin to appreciate some of the unique natural scenery around the volcano and experience the peculiar culture of the sword forging town for a bit.
The sky here was red, the land was black-brown lava, and the air was scorching hot currents.
Yet the flora here was as lush as a primeval forest, mostly shrubs, with the occasional coniferous or leafless tree...though none grew very tall. The fauna was mostly insects, with the occasional small mammals like foxes and rats.
Master and disciple walked slowly, chatting about random things. Li Shiyin picked flowers, chased snakes, and picked up one oddly shaped piece of lava rock after another.
After they returned to the sword forging town, they wandered around taking in the sights.
The unique natural landscape here existed because of the volcano, while the strange culture of the town relied on Xu Zhiye.
It was because many people came looking for Xu Zhiye to forge swords that this town appeared at all.
The "sword forging" in the name referred to the sword forging of master Xu Zhiye.
The sword and forging cultures were very prosperous in the town, with sword emblems and weapon shops everywhere, whether or not they had anything to do with Xu Zhiye. But they all used Xu Zhiye's name. There were also shops selling sword techniques and forging methods. In short, it was a lively place.
In particular, there were no locals here. Everyone had come from all over, each speaking in their own accent, which was quite amusing.
As master and disciple walked along eating, when it was evening and time to return to the inn, they didn't need to eat at the inn anymore and went straight back to their rooms.
Qin Ran went to check Li Shiyin's room again to make sure there were no strange magic arrays, tools, or medicines that had mysteriously appeared. Confirming there was nothing suspicious, he returned to his room to fetch Long Qiqi and brought her to Li Shiyin, telling her, "Starting tonight, I will be refining pills, so the less time spent on that, the more preparation I can make. It will probably take me three days. During this time, keep an eye on Long Qiqi... No, keep an eye on your own safety. Don't get into any trouble!"
Li Shiyin looked at Long Qiqi. She didn't like Long Qiqi, so she was very reluctant, but still replied, "Yes, Master!"
"Remember what I said. The immortal cultivation world is dangerous and unpredictable. No one can be trusted. When you're outside, always be extremely cautious!" Qin Ran gave Li Shiyin a final meaningful look and exhorted, "Protect yourself!!"
"I will," Li Shiyin nodded.
Qin Ran took a deep breath, seeming to want to say more, but in the end said nothing. He turned and walked straight out the door. He lingered for a moment outside before leaving without going back in.
These three days would be a test for Li Shiyin. In fact, the purpose of this trip to forge a sword was to forge Li Shiyin's personal sword, and at the same time, forge her heart sword!
The immortal cultivation world was never short of geniuses, even top talents like Li Shiyin. But there were few geniuses who could survive and reach the peak.
As Li Shiyin watched Qin Ran walk out the door, she could sense the deeper meaning behind her master's words, but...
"Master is too cautious. He lives too prudently. That's not good," she thought, shaking her head slightly. "He's overly cautious."
Qin Ran had left Long Qiqi sitting limply in a chair, still unable to move her whole body, only her facial features.
This snake demon was no ordinary snake demon. Putting everything else aside, just her depth of mind already set her apart. At least she was on a completely different level from Li Shiyin.
Seeing the casual look on Li Shiyin's face, her long, thin snake eyes immediately lit up. She knew this was a chance for revenge...for escape!
Well, it wasn't that she didn't want revenge, just that this silly girl...
She would probably never forget in her whole life the experience of being held by the tail and spun around wildly by Li Shiyin in a frenzy.
But why not try other methods, since she clearly couldn't win in a test of strength?
After all, raw power was never what her snake clan prided themselves on!
"People often talk about snakes and scorpions, speaking of their extreme venom..." she opened her mouth to speak. "But from my understanding, neither snakes nor scorpions are poisonous. Only the human heart is the true poison."
Li Shiyin was sitting on the bed fiddling with the clothes she had bought today when she heard Long Qiqi's words. She gave a mocking laugh. "You, a mere snake spirit, commenting on humans?"
"You humans, precisely because you are human, do not understand humans. That is called not seeing the forest for the trees. It is exactly because I am a snake that I understand humans more clearly," Long Qiqi retorted.
"Humans don't understand humans, but snakes understand humans?" Li Shiyin curled her lip disdainfully. "What kind of nonsense logic is that?"
"I am a snake, but now I am a demon—demons take human form. So although I was once a snake, now I am human. Having been both snake and human, I understand humans well enough," Long Qiqi explained smoothly.
"What? What are you talking about?" Long Qiqi's rhetorical twist left Li Shiyin confused. She suddenly felt Long Qiqi's words made some sense.
"Humans are the most poisonous creatures in the world!" Long Qiqi stated her thesis again. "Even more poisonous than I am!"
"Hmm..." Li Shiyin frowned in thought. She didn't know where she had lost the thread, but they had ended up here somehow.
She put the clothes down and stood up, wanting to refute Long Qiqi but not knowing how. She looked at Long Qiqi, then realized—this was just the defeated captive talking!
"So what if humans are the most poisonous?" she asked coldly with a mocking smile.
"Oh, nothing much..." Long Qiqi also smiled. "I just hope you bear in mind what your master said—to be careful and stay safe!"
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
