The night was deep. The rain had stopped at some point, leaving only the sound of water occasionally dripping from the eaves.

Inside the dilapidated thatched hut, an utterly exhausted woman was slumped over the child’s bedside. At some point, she had fallen into a deep sleep, the corners of her eyes still damp with tear stains.

The child on the bed’s breathing grew ever fainter, like the flame of a guttering candle, as if it might be snuffed out at any moment.

Just then, a strange light quietly appeared outside the window.

It was not moonlight, but a faint, yet constantly pulsing, purplish-red spark, only about the size of a candle flame. It drifted erratically, exuding a malevolent aura.

Like a living Ghost Fire, it silently approached the hut. It paused for a moment before the window, which was riddled with holes, then flowed like water, slipping noiselessly through a slightly larger crack.

The spark fell into the room, and its light suddenly flared!

The next moment!

The light twisted and distorted, landing on the floor and transforming into the figure of a child about seven or eight years old!

This Demon Child’s skin was a bizarre purplish-red. Two sharp fangs jutted from its mouth, and its pupils were not black and white but two leaping, burning, purplish-red flames.

Its bare torso was covered in a dense, crisscrossing network of fine sword marks.

These sword marks were extremely deep and seemed to contain some kind of power that suppressed it, making the wounds extremely difficult to heal.

With the slightest movement, the fine gashes would split open again.

Countless tiny, scorching sparks, mixed with wisps of demonic blood, seeped from the wounds, bathing its body in a flickering light that made it look both wretched and terrifying.

"Hiss..."

The Demon Child couldn’t help but let out a low, suppressed cry of pain, its voice sharp and distorted:

"Those damned Cyan Sect lunatics... Shit, they chased me for a full three thousand li!

It gnashed its fangs, the flames in its eyes jumping violently, full of venomous hatred.

"Just you wait... When I get back to my father’s side, I’ll perform Soul Extraction and Refining on every last one of you in the Cyan Sect, young and old, and burn you all to ash!"

As it cursed viciously, its gaze fell greedily upon the barely breathing human child on the bed.

’Thankfully, there’s the Innate Yang Qi of this child, born in a pure-yin hour.

’It’s weak, but it should be just enough to neutralize some of this damned Sword Intent...’ the Demon Child muttered, extending a clawed hand that was also covered in fine sword marks and tipped with sharp talons as it approached the bed.

It prepared to cast an Evil Skill, intending to draw upon that faint life force to heal its own grievous injuries.

However, at that moment.

In the shadows of a dim corner of the room, a tall, straight figure stood silently. A pair of cold eyes fixed on the hideous, sparking sword wounds on the Demon Child’s body, as if examining an inanimate object.

Just as the Demon Child’s claws were about to touch the child’s forehead.

The Iron Sand that had been scattered throughout the room suddenly formed into a giant hand, seizing the creature in its grasp. In the next instant, Qi Yun appeared, and with a wave of his wide sleeves, he flung out a hundred Evil-Exorcizing Talismans as if they were free.

Although these Talismans weren’t the perfect counter for this kind of demon.

They were still effective against general evil and Evil Qi. They might not harm the Demon Child, but they could certainly suppress it.

The iron hand for the sneak attack, the Talismans for suppression.

In an instant, Qi Yun formed a hand seal for a Spell and forcibly dragged the Demon Child out of the hut. He had already put the woman and child into a magical slumber, so he wasn’t worried about them waking up.

"You... son of a bitch... How dare you ambush me!"

Terrifying wisps of purplish-red light suddenly flared up all over its body. The Demon Child struggled to free half its face and glared at Qi Yun in shock and fury, roaring its curses.

"Bullshit! I’m a Holy Sect Disciple. If I didn’t ambush you, was I supposed to challenge you to an honorable duel?" Qi Yun shot the Demon Child a look and continued to pull an endless stream of Evil-Exorcizing Talismans from his Storage Pouch.

He had built up quite a stockpile over the past year or so.

"The Holy Sect? You’re a disciple of the Infinite Demon Sect? A Demonic Cultivator like you is saving someone?!" Staring at Qi Yun with wide eyes, the Demon Child demanded in angry confusion.

"Who said I was saving anyone?"

Glancing back at the impoverished hut behind him, Qi Yun’s expression was composed as he said:

"You were going to harm that child to heal yourself. I ambushed you... ahem, I’m subduing you for the sake of my Refining Skill.

Makes perfect sense.

How can you call that saving someone?

Alright, you’ve said your last words. Goodbye."

Before his voice faded, Qi Yun increased the barrage of Talismans. But no matter how brilliantly the Talismans’ Dharma Light blazed, it couldn’t harm the Demon Child in the slightest, only hold it firmly in place.

"Hahaha, a mere ant at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer thinks he can use me for his Refining Skill.

Go take a piss and look at your own pathetic reflection.

You?

Are you even worthy?"

Seeing that Qi Yun was helpless against it, the Demon Child grew even more arrogant and began to curse loudly.

’Can I really not take him down?’

Qi Yun’s brow furrowed as he saw the Talismans were ineffective. ’My Sand Iron Skill is just a physical attack, and the Skull Curse is for defense. That bit of Yin Sha Corpse Qi would probably be even more useless against this Demon Child.’

’Then I can only try the Basic Sword Qi...’

Ignoring the Demon Child’s filth, Qi Yun raised his hand, formed a sword seal, and channeled his True Qi. A length of pale, cyan Sword Qi slowly emerged from his fingertip.

The instant the Sword Qi appeared, the Demon Child, who had been in the middle of its tirade, suddenly froze. An expression of uncontrollable pain flashed across its face.

Hmm?

Sharply noticing this change, Qi Yun narrowed his eyes. He instantly realized that the bleeding sword wounds on the Demon Child’s body seemed to have been triggered by his Sword Qi, and were now tearing themselves open wider, ripping at the creature’s flesh.

"Go on, scream. Aren’t you good at that?"

Looking down coldly at the Demon Child, who was in unbearable agony, the corner of Qi Yun’s mouth curved up slightly, and the vicious glint in his eyes intensified.

Sensing the threat of death, the Demon Child hurriedly changed its tune and begged:

"Don’t kill me! My father is—"

SHHNK—

Giving the Demon Child no chance to spout nonsense, Qi Yun simply pointed a finger, and the incomparably sharp, pale-cyan Sword Qi shot out, burying itself directly in the center of the creature’s brow.

The next instant!

The Demon Child’s expression suddenly stiffened. With the last of its strength, it looked at Qi Yun:

"My father... will not let you go..."

"Excellent!"

With a flick of his wide sleeves, Qi Yun stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent:

"If it wants revenge, tell it to come find me at the Holy Sect!"

"You..."

It struggled to open its mouth again, but the Sword Intent that had just been detonated inside it was already coursing through its entire body.

The next instant!

The Demon Child’s body suddenly crumbled like dry limestone, shattering into pieces, disintegrating into dust, and vanishing without a trace.

All that remained was a miraculous ball of fire, constantly shifting between a tangible and intangible state, faintly orbited by countless tiny, transparent swords.

Feeling an unprecedented, surging throb in his heart, a sharp glint flashed in Qi Yun’s eyes.

This ball of light was the highest-quality Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Object he had obtained so far!

He snatched it and, in an instant, began its Refinement!

The next second!

The Magic Technique Panel trembled slightly, and the progress bar after Basic Sword Qi instantly hit 100%!

After this, however, Basic Sword Qi did not update and upgrade as it usually did.

Instead, the originally plain white text began to gradually take on a golden hue.

"Huh?"

Noticing this change, Qi Yun raised an eyebrow. His eyes flickered for a moment before he said hesitantly:

"Could it be... a major update?!"

...