Crescent Moon World, the border of the Western Region.
The Western Region had always been a bitterly cold place. Yellow sand as far as the eye could see and snow falling in September were commonplace, but it was precisely this difficult environment that raised a group of bloodthirsty martial artists.
Yellow Springs Inn[1]—in any other place in the world, no one would ever give such an ominous name for an inn, but they could here in the Western Region.
Because this inn was located on the border of the Western Region. Danger lurked around every corner outside the inn.
Taking another step forward would lead the traveler to the Yellow Springs—this was the meaning behind the inn's name.
"Have you heard? Something will happen in Tianshui Prefecture again."
"It's the Yun family, right? The bigshots in the Alliance are going to single out that family."
"Yeah, I really didn't expect that kid Yun Tianyang to actually be cultivating the sword technique of the former Zhongli Sword Sect… Since he's a surviving member of that traitorous sect, it's not surprising that he's being purged by the Alliance."
"Hmph! Isn't this just because it's easy to bully that Yun kid? If the Alliance really is so powerful, then why don't they go after that Zhongli Goddess?"
Inside the inn, burly Northwestern men were drinking unfiltered rice wine and wantonly throwing around rebellious words, but no one took it seriously.
Everyone in the Western Region lived their life on the blade's edge. Who cared about some Martial Arts Alliance?
But Tianshui Prefecture belonged to the Northwest, while Yun Tianyang also came from the Western Region and made a name for himself with his strength, so he was well-liked by many people here.
But now he was implicated because of the sword technique he used, and even his family was about to be massacred. This made some people in the Western Region very indignant.
Just then, a servant rushed in from the doorway while shouting, "Latest news, latest news!"
"What news? Hurry up and tell us. Is there a result from Tianshui Prefecture?" Someone immediately asked from the inn's lobby.
Truly, Yun Tianyang's matter was the most eye-catching event in the Northwest recently. When they heard there was news from Tianshui Prefecture, everyone instantly thought of Yun Tianyang.
The servant didn't leave them hanging either and immediately answered, "That's right! I heard that in order to capture Tianshui Prefecture's Yun family and bring them to justice, the Alliance sent out Venerate Heaven Sect's Elder Mo Yundi this time…"
"Ah, Mo Yundi! Legend has it that he's already close to Transcendent Realm, right?"
"That's right! That Yun Tianyang is also extraordinary. He fought with Mo Yundi for hundreds of rounds and finally lost by a single move!"
"Hoh? He was just a half-grown brat a few years ago, and now he's so powerful? Wait a minute, you said the Yun kid lost, then isn't the Yun family…"
"Heheh, this is the most exciting part. It's said that just when it seemed like Yun Tianyang was about to be cut down by Elder Mo Yundi…"
...
"Mo Yundi was beheaded in a single strike," Red Tail stood in front of Gu Nan and reported the result of this operation.
"Was it Ah Xiu?" Gu Nan raised an eyebrow and studied the corpse in front of him with interest.
It was none other than the corpse of Venerate Heaven Sect's Mo Yundi. He was originally quite a handsome middle-aged uncle, but now his head was separated from the rest of his body, having died miserably.
"None of the witnesses we planted survived, but someone nearby saw that the one who attacked was a woman," Red Tail answered. There wasn't much surprise in her tone. Rather, she seemed to be eagerly awaiting something.
In fact, they had long anticipated this result. The purpose of sending out Mo Yundi, someone much stronger than Yun Tianyang, was to lure Ah Xiu out of hiding.
But Yun Tianyang's strength was a bit unexpected.
They originally thought that Mo Yundi could easily win against Yin Tianyang, but they didn't expect that he only won by a fluke in the end.
With Yun Tianyang's age and growth rate, Mo Yundi would probably be no match for him in a couple of days—of course, he no longer had that chance now.
"Go there in person and see if this Yun Tianyang is also a child of destiny," Gu Nan casually instructed.
Red Tail nodded. With Gu Nan personally backing her up, she wasn't afraid of Ah Xiu. To put it bluntly, Ah Xiu was at most a newly-advanced Void Cutter, while the one in front of her had killed more Void Cutters than the number of Void Cutters she'd seen.
But she also had some misgivings, "Since Ah Xiu could kill Mo Yundi in one strike, could she have already advanced to Void Cutter Realm?"
Ah Xiu was someone favored by the plane itself, so it was impossible for her to walk the wrong path and enter Transcendent Realm. Either she had already advanced to Void Cutter Realm, or she was still at Prodigious Realm.
If it was the latter, she shouldn't be able to kill Mo Yundi so easily.
"Not yet, but she's only half a step away." Gu Nan glanced down at the corpse on the ground again and smiled lightly.
With Gu Nan's current knowledge, it was no longer a difficult task to distinguish a cultivator's cultivation realm. Even with just a corpse, he could easily discern how far the killer's laws had accumulated.
To be honest, Ah Xiu's breakthrough was by no means easy. She didn't have any well-trodden paths to follow, nor any previous sage's techniques to draw inspiration from. It was entirely up to her to explore and discover her future path.
It was also because there was no cultivation technique to reference that her breakthrough became a gradual process, unlike ordinary people who ascended to Void Cutter Realm in one step.
"By transforming the sword path into laws, her power is already very close to Void Cutter Realm. She's much stronger than the Transcendent Realm warriors here. She's just short of the threshold and doesn't have the characteristics of a Void Cutter yet."
Red Tail remained silent. She knew that Ah Xiu's current level wouldn't satisfy Gu Nan.
What he wanted was a genuine Void Cutter child of destiny. Ever since this translation method came into existence, such a high-level material had never been used to make a mist mirror before!
"Go help her some more." The faint smile remained unchanged on Gu Nan's face. "What kind of child of destiny lives like a street rat? Ruling over the world—now that's someone blessed by destiny."
...
"Master, you're really incredible!"
"That Mo Yundi was so arrogant, but wasn't he still killed in one slash?"
"Master, did you achieve the legendary realm capable of shattering space?"
In a hidden forest in the Western Region, a young man in blue healed his injuries and immediately jumped up, asking nonstop questions while circling around his master.
The master he addressed was a woman dressed in light yellow gauze. The woman's face looked delicate and her figure was lithe, but her eyes always contained a cold glint that discouraged people from approaching her.
However, this youth in blue didn't seem scared at all and kept circling around the woman.
These two were naturally Yun Tianyang and Ah Xiu. They had just killed people from the Martial Arts Alliance in Tianshui Prefecture, so naturally they had to lie low for a while and send Tianshui Prefecture's Yun family to a safer place in the meantime.
Ah Xiu looked at her disciple helplessly, then waved her hand. "Can't you be a little more serious? Don't wander around all day…"
Speaking of this disciple of hers, she was satisfied with both his talent and diligence, and his personality was also quite pure-hearted… But his chatterbox tendencies really gave her a headache.
Yun Tianyang grinned. "Isn't it just because I'm too excited?! Master, you're already this powerful, so why don't we slaughter our way to Martial Alliance City and take revenge for Martial Ancestor?"
He didn't know about his master's identity when he was young, but as news about the former Zhongli Sword Sect became more and more widespread, he naturally learned a little about these inside stories.
Ah Xiu, however, shook her head as she recalled the silver figure in a small courtyard in Martial Alliance City twenty years ago.
"It's not enough. I'm still not strong enough."