Isn't that just taking over someone else's body? Just as Juxi's foot was about to step into reincarnation, it paused in mid-air, mouth agape with anger.

"Is it so difficult for me to become famous that I have to bask in someone else's glory?"

Yama immediately refuted his thoughts and explained.

"This is not about taking advantage of others, but about redeeming the countless lives in the Shura realm that continue to exist!"

"Granting them equality..."

Yama's voice grew fainter as the cycle door opened, fading away completely in the gears of time, but Juxi couldn't make out the second half of the sentence.

"What's wrong with me?"

Touching the massive wounds on his body, Juxi felt a pair of warm hands in the blur, the person's face indiscernible.

Torrential rain fell on the eaves, creating a noisy din. Lifeless bodies scattered in every corner of the courtyard, and the household plaque at the Guo residence shattered into pieces and fell. Juxi's mind kept replaying the massacre, but unfortunately, during this slaughter, Grandpa Ling mysteriously disappeared.

"Xige, sob... Dad, Mom, they... sob!"

At first glance, it was a young girl with braided hair named Qing'er, bowing in front of him, covering her eyes and sobbing. She was only about ten years old, but on reflex, he reached out his hand to comfort her.

In the outskirts of Qingzhou City, two horses trotted swiftly in the dark night, heading east under the moonlight.

As they passed through a forest where the majority of bizarre creatures were concealed by the trees, including the eerie spirits singing, the horses sensed the danger and hurriedly pressed on, avoiding the attention of beings in the darkness who could easily bring about their demise with a mere movement of their hands.

Grandpa Ling might be the only one, besides the horses, unafraid of these beings. In every corner of this land, different rules and ways of survival existed, but ultimately, strength was the only path to take. Without power, one could only be like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!

Among them was the youngest, Juxi, only twelve years old and already frightened by the mournful cries.

After a sleepless night, he had dark circles under his eyes—a night of no rest!

His mother held him in her arms, sleeping soundly in the saddle. Helpless, he spoke up.

"Grandpa Ling!"

"Has the little one woken up?"

Grandpa Ling squinted his eyes, smiling as he handed over a jug of water, urging him kindly to replenish his fluids as much as possible.

"Hehe, a child may have special cultivation, but he mustn’t neglect food and water, or else he won't be able to endure the training in the future!"

As they chatted leisurely, Juxi finished half of the water in the basin-sized jug in one gulp, then spoke.

"Grandpa, after practicing spiritual arts for so long, your realm and strength must be remarkable, right?"

"Oh, are you already thinking of becoming a dragon or phoenix?"

Grandpa Ling teased Juxi, but the latter spoke earnestly.

"No, I aspire to have the ability to protect the people around me like you do. I don't want to be protected by others anymore!"

He always brushed off the childish requests, but after the fire at the Anlin Temple, Grandpa Ling had to patiently compromise with Juxi and start his first lesson in cultivation.

"Then you must listen carefully. Understanding spiritual cultivation is the first step to enlightenment in spiritual arts. The time you spend meditating to awaken your true energy and talents is closely related to understanding the ways of cultivation! Countless people fail to reach their cultivation because they haven't understood the principle or have unresolved mental blocks preventing them from progressing."

"I don't understand!" (In plain language)

The journey to Qingzhou City wasn't too far, but Grandpa Ling passed the time by chatting with Juxi, who seemed to nod along without really understanding.

The forest path was rugged, but luckily they reached a small stream before finishing the water in the jug.

"Ah, I don't know if you understand or not. I'll dismount to refill our water."

With that, Grandpa Ling whistled, and the horses stopped, grazing on the grass obediently.

The horses tucked into the tender grass on the ground, and Grandpa Ling didn't mind, as if this was normal for them. Juxi silently admired the fortitude of the two horses.

"Hehe, these animals are lucky. In this troubled world, you're lucky to be a horse and fortunate to be my livestock! If you were a fat pig, you'd be as miserable as me, with an empty stomach!" Grandpa Ling playfully punched the horse and then patted his own hungry belly, which rumbled loudly enough for Tianhua, several meters away, to hear clearly.

Reminded by this, Juxi realized they had rushed and opened his bag to find only two cornbread cakes left. He handed one respectfully to his mother and the other to Grandpa Ling, who was busy filling the jug by the river.

"Xier, you and your mother should eat more!"

Grandpa Ling pushed back the cake Tianhua was holding, patting his back and shaking his head.

"It won't be long before we reach the Guo family in Qingzhou City. Take a break by the river, my years of wandering the world can handle this much."

Seeing the cake Grandpa Ling handed back, Juxi swallowed hard, then returned the cake to him.

"No, Grandpa! You should eat first. I'm just a kid, I can handle hunger, but you're getting older, and not eating could weaken you at any time."

In that moment of kindness in his eyes, Grandpa Ling felt as though he was treating Juxi like his own grandson, and for the first time in years of wandering the world, he felt the bleak and cruel reality of life. The vicissitudes of life completely covered his face, and he turned his head to wipe away a tear.

Suppressing his hunger, Grandpa Ling smiled and said, "How could this old man shamelessly snatch his grandson's cake, right?"

"But how could Xier, the unfilial grandson, bear to watch his grandfather go hungry? Besides, if we blame anyone, it's Xier's fault for not bringing more cakes."

Juxi gave Grandpa Ling a sincere and innocent look, then gazed at him, holding the cake up high with both hands.

With his trembling hands, the old man picked up the cake, barely the size of two hands of a twelve-year-old child, and split it into two. Despite his objections, he handed over the larger half to Juxi on account of his youth and slender frame.

"Go ahead and eat more first. It's five kilometers to Qingzhou City after we cross this river."

As the horse hooves passed the outskirts of Qingzhou City, the crowded area in the distance became clearer. Although the layout of the city was discernible from the cliff, facing the actual city made them feel how insignificant they were.

Master Guo, who had presided as the lord of the Taihang Temple during the chaos of the eight major sects, narrowly escaped execution with his family thirteen years ago due to not being on the list of rebels. Given the Emperor's appreciation, he was relocated to the small city of Qingzhou to serve as the city lord.

As Grandpa Ling and Juxi entered the city, a strange fragrance wafted through the air.

"Grandpa, I..."

Seeing Juxi drooling at the sight of the bun shop, Grandpa Ling chuckled and pinched his nose.

"Hehe, rest assured! Grandpa Ling isn't short on money. Keep an eye on your mother, let's go enjoy the good food and drinks together!"

"Drinks... Aren't we supposed to just have noodle soup?"

Curiously, Juxi asked if the drinks meant having chili oil. The city folks had strange ideas.

"Hehe, children shouldn't be drinking alcohol, so it's not relevant to you!"

...

Surveying the surroundings, isn't this just what happens where death rears its head? Juxi thought for a moment, then held Qing'er close to his chest, silently making a vow.

"Let me start with protecting the first person by my side."

Suddenly, more than ten men in black surrounded them, led by a slender woman in a special outfit who seemed to be their captain.

The woman spoke in a vile tone, mocking them.

"Who do we have here? Just two immature little kids. Taking them would be troublesome; let's just..."

Before she could finish, a fiercely brutal slash with a sharp and savage broadsword, known as the Guo family's supreme skill—Night Ling's Thirteen Strikes!—cut across her waist. The black-clad woman deftly avoided the blade, but the remaining men were all shaken into the sky by the residual force. The woman steadied herself on a stone seat, inspecting the one who had just attacked her. A muscular, white-bearded old man who had nothing in common with Grandpa Ling stood protectively in front of Juxi and Qing'er.

"As long as I, Guo Fengdao, am here, who dares touch a hair on my granddaughter's head!"

It was Qing'er's grandfather, Guo Fengdao!

"Oh, it's Senior Guo, I thought you had been buried long ago, turns out you were just in seclusion for cultivation."

Guo Fengdao, the former head of the Guo family and the legitimate lord of Qingzhou City, had spent the past three years in seclusion, striving to break through the pinnacle of the Unbound Realm. Now, he emerged from seclusion only when the Guo family faced danger, but he was one step too late, full of self-reproach.

"Hmph! A group of ants who rely on others for strength, they won't be able to offer sacrifices for the three hundred wronged souls of the Guo family!"

"Hurry, take Qing'er away from here. It was me, the Spirit Immortal, they came for. As long as I'm here, you all can leave safely."

Guo Fengdao didn't let them say anything more, instructing the surviving Juxi and his mother to quickly leave with him.

"No, Grandpa is the only relative Qing'er has..."

No matter how Qing'er cried out, Guo Fengdao seemed to realize something and said only one thing.

"Xi! I entrust my granddaughter to your care. If you can make it back alive, I'll go to Qingfeng Mountain to find you all. Don't let me down!"

Juxi nodded earnestly, promising Qing'er's grandfather to protect her. Even as Qing'er suppressed her tears, she spoke to her grandfather.

"Grandpa, you can't lie to Qing'er. You must meet me and Qing'er at Qingfeng Mountain."

Watching his granddaughter make a promise to him as she departed, Guo Fengdao tightly gripped his sword handle, unsure whether to agree or not.

Outside, the sound of clashing weapons and armor was heard as a middle-aged man in luxurious red robes stood at the central gate of the Guo residence.

"Thirteen years, you finally come—Spirit Immortal!"