After slaying a cultivator that was at the Inner Pellet stage, Zhou Xuanji and Little Jiang Xue continued to flee.
They were afraid that another cultivator would come for their lives.
It was his first time using the Crimson Dragon Sword, and he was drained. His eyelids were heavy, and he could fall asleep at any time.
His opponent was an Inner Pellet cultivator after all. He was fully concentrating, making his sword move as quickly as he could. It was a massive mental load for him.
After moving for more than half a mile, he almost fell over. Fortunately, Little Jiang Xue managed to catch him in time.
"Little brother, are you okay? How about I carry you on my back?"
Little Jiang Xue asked with concern. She was heartbroken to see his little body run so haggard.
Zhou Xuanji waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I can still move."
Although he looked as though he was two years old, his soul was already mature. How could he let a six-year-old girl carry him?
He noticed that Little Jiang Xue's legs were quivering. Little Jiang Xue was extremely tired too.
After they continued moving forward for a few hundred meters, he could not hold on any longer. He sat down and rested.
The demonic cultivator was already dead, and Qiu Baili was severely injured. They should be safe for quite a while.
He could only console himself with this thought.
Fortunately, Qiu Baili did not chase after them.
After they had rested for a while and recovered their energy, they continued their journey.
Two months later.
The pair of them finally settled down.
They stood at the shoulder of a mountain. The terrain upward was barely covered by any trees, and there were only rocks and weeds. At the foot of the mountain, there was a small river, meandering like a snake. It followed along the hills and forests, toward the horizon.
Zhou Xuanji took out the wooden hut from the Supreme Storage and said with a smile, "Yes, let's settle down here!"
Little Jiang Xue jumped with joy and almost fell, but fortunately, he caught her in time.
As they relied on White Crane Sword Will and his Crimson Dragon Sword, the two of them did not meet with any danger. They even managed to hunt at times.
After the ordeal, he was also much more potent in battle than he used to be.
Little Jiang Xue started to tidy up the house. Zhou Xuanji, on the other hand, loitered around, while making sure that Little Jiang Xue was always within his sight.
This mountain was a few hundred meters tall, back-faced by a forest. Looking around from the peak, one would see continuous ranges of mountains of varying heights, but there was no trace of human beings.
Little Jiang Xue was quick in doing the chores. She ran up to the peak after she tidied the hut.
She was all excited. She held his hand and urged, "Little brother, you can teach me sword techniques already, right?"
She blamed herself because Zhou Xuanji was always the one who protected her, so she wanted to learn to use a sword too.
Since they had been traveling, there was no opportunity until now.
He smiled helplessly and then took out a wooden sword from his Supreme Storage. He had picked up a wooden stick when they were on the way. He sharpened the stick and stored it for Little Jiang Xue to use.
The Sword Spirit analyzed Little Jiang Xue's natural ability in the Way of the Sword, but she was very ordinary. She could not have much of an achievement in the Way of the Sword, even if she trained it all her life.
However, he planned to teach her the White Crane Sword Technique so that she could protect herself.
Based on Little Jiang Xue's talent, she would need ten years to learn the White Crane Sword Technique.
Zhou Xuanji was not worried since he could protect her.
Although Little Jiang Xue was not very gifted in the Way of the Sword, she was like an adult in terms of living. With her around, he could live a rather satisfactory life.
Whenever he saw Little Jiang Xue take care of him, he could not help but sigh with amazement.
How wonderful is this world!
If it were on Earth, a six-year-old girl walking alone would make her parents worry.
Maybe it was because of spiritual Qi that Little Jiang Xue behaved like a ten-year-old child.
It was still a long time before nightfall. The two ate some food and continued to do sword training.
The training continued for four hours, until dusk set.
Little Jiang Xue remembered seven moves. Although it was not a big improvement, she was very excited.
While there was still some daylight, the two of them went into the forests to pick some dried firewood.
After nightfall, they sat before a bonfire and stared up into the sky.
Little Jiang Xue supported her cheeks with both hands and stared into the night sky, perplexed, "Little brother, will we stay here forever?"
Zhou Xuanji replied as he took a bite from a roasted rabbit thigh, "Don't worry, give me ten years. After ten years, I will bring you back. No one will dare to bully us by then."
He would obtain a legendary sword each year as he grew older, as well as a Gacha opportunity. Ten years later, his power would be sure to increase drastically.
His purpose was not just to stay alive, but to reach the Great Zhou Royal Palace for revenge!
"Ten years... Really?"
Little Jiang Xue asked as she stared blankly. The night time always awakens one's loneliness and inner thoughts. Little Jiang Xue had been alone since a young age, and she was already mature in terms of thinking. It was inevitable that she was like this.
"Yes, it could even be less than that." Zhou Xuanji nodded.
It was a pity that, although there were many treasures in the storage ring and storage bag that the demonic cultivator left, the energy techniques were all demonic. The Sword Spirit did not allow him to practice those techniques, but only the Way of the Sword.
He did not want to lose his mind practicing those techniques either. So, he had not started his progress as a cultivator even till now.
He hoped that he could get an energy technique to start cultivating when he turns three.
When he saw that Little Jiang Xue was a little down, he started to tell her jokes, to help her quickly forget her sorrows. The sound of her laughter was like silver bells, and it rang across the night sky.
Just like this, the two of them started to settle down on this mountain slope.
To commemorate this place, Zhou Xuanji gave it a name and called it Sword Emperor Slope.
The wild beasts in this area were ferocious, and it could even be said that they were equivalent to demons. Fortunately, they were all low-level monsters, and just like Qi Nurturing cultivators, they were at their very first steps in the process of cultivation.
The two of them did sword training every day and hunted all over the mountain and fields, and life was not dull and boring for them.
Time flew by.
During that time, there was a massive thunderstorm. The rain was so heavy that it collapsed the wooden hut. This frightened Little Jiang Xue to tears and Zhou Xuanji used his body to shelter her from the rain. He brought her to a cave for shelter and continued to comfort her.
Since then, Little Jiang Xue began to not view him as a little brother, but as someone to rely on.
After the wooden hut collapsed because of the rain, he built another one.
That kind of storm was unlikely to be encountered again in quite a few years. Besides, they were living in a very open space. If they were in the forest, who knows how many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts lay in the darkness, waiting to kill them.
...
Half a year later.
Daybreak came, and the sun was slowly rising from the horizon. Sunrays shot across the mountains and forests. Zhou Xuanji and Little Jiang Xue were practicing wielding the sword.
The estranged prince was mainly teaching Little Jiang Xue since his White Crane Sword Technique had already been fully mastered and required no further training.
"Analyzed that the Sword Owner has reached three years old. Gacha started!"
The Sword Spirit's voice ringed suddenly in his mind.
He shook his right hand and stopped promptly.
It's finally here!
Day after day, night after night, the thing that he was waiting for was finally here.
"What happened?" Little Jiang Xue asked in confusion. She thought that he was feeling unwell.
Zhou Xuanji waved his hands and said, "You continue. Let me think about how I should teach you in the future!"
After speaking, he turned his body around.
"Amitabha, Buddha bless me, please let it be a cultivation energy technique!"
Zhou Xuanji prayed in his heart. Although his Crimson Dragon Sword was powerful, he could not utilize its full power without spiritual energy.
"Ding! Congratulations, the Sword Owner obtained a [Bronze] Frost Wave Sword, Golden Body Incantation, and Wild Ox Strength Pills!"
The voice of the Sword Spirit sounded again, and he was a little stunned.
He ignored the Frost Wave Sword that was a grade lower than the Crimson Dragon Sword, as well as the Wild Ox Strength Pills.
His focus was totally on the Golden Body Incantation.
Based on the name...
What the!
Isn't this an energy technique for cultivating the physique?
He wanted an energy technique for the Way of the Sword!