It’s late summer. The heat had not dissipated, and the sun on Dusu Mountain was scorching above people’s heads.

The mountain road on Dusu Mountain was steep with towering rocks. Between two cliffs, a stream of water flowed from the top to bottom. The splashing stream hit the green rocks and dispersed into tiny water droplets.

A carriage was parked in the shade of a tree next to the stream. People and horses were drawing water from the stream to cool themselves.?This was the carriage of the Wang family of Yue City, who was on the way to the disciple selection of Taiyan Sect, a major cultivation sect in Duzhou.

Taiyan Sect was one of the major cultivation sects in Duzhou. The disciple selection competition was held once every ten years, and the best talents from cities across Duzhou would gather here to display their talents, in order to stand out in the competition and advance their cultivation path to immortality.

The young lord of Yue City, Wang Shao was sitting in the carriage and enjoying the cool air. He was 17 years old, and already in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from the third level of Foundation Establishment.?There were still about ten days before they would reach Gufeng Mountain for the selection competition. In these few days, as long as he used spirit elixirs and pills every day, coupled with continuous cultivation, he may be able to enter the late stage of Foundation Establishment before the selection competition begins.

Wang Shao was the hope of the entire Yue City.

Yue City was a small border city, and it could not even be seen on the map of Duzhou.?There had been no cultivator from the city who had successfully entered the Golden Core stage for many years.?Wang Shao reached the Qi Refining stage at the age of 10 and achieved the Foundation Establishment stage at the age of 12. It took him five additional years to reach the second level of Foundation Establishment from the first level of Foundation Establishment.?If he could successfully breakthrough this time, he would be the first genius in Yue City to enter the late stage of Foundation Establishment before the age of 18. If he could successfully enter Taiyan Sect and become a disciple of the sect, everyone in Yue City would be elated.

Therefore, all the spirit stones, elixirs and pills in Yue City were given to this genius as tribute.

Beside Wang Shao, there was also a beautiful girl in green clothes. This was Wang Shao’s fiancée, Yang Zanxing, the eldest daughter of the Yang family in Yue City.?She was accompanying Wang Shao to the Taiyan Sect selection competition.?Miss Yang did not have much interest in cultivation. She was about the same age as Wang Shao, but she was barely in the early stage of Qi Refining.?For the women in Yue City, instead of working hard to cultivate, it was better to marry a cultivator husband. They would not only be honored, but also get to eat and wear without any worries, as well as be respected by others.

“Ah Shao, please drink some tea.” Miss Yang brought a cup of tea to Wang Shao’s mouth with a smile.

However,?Wang Shao’s gaze fell elsewhere, and he stood up and said, “I’ll go out for a while.”

He flung his sleeves as he got out of the carriage. Miss Yang looked at the direction he was walking towards, and a bit of ferocity appeared on her delicate and beautiful face. She gritted her teeth and said, “That vixen!”

Her servant girl, Hongsu came up to her, and asked worriedly, “Miss, does the Young Lord want to take that woman in?”

“She’s dreaming!”

Wang Shao walked for a while. He stopped and looked at the girl in yellow skirt sitting by the tree.?The girl was about 16 or 17 years old. She was very beautiful. Her skin was a little pale, and her weak look made her look more attractive.?Wang Shao looked at her, and he suddenly smiled. He asked, “Miss Liu, it’s so hot outside, do you want to sit in my carriage?” Liu Yunxin was a little afraid of him, and replied timidly, “Thank you, young master, for your kindness. I’m fine being here.”

Liu Yunxin was accompanying her elder brother, Mu Cengxiao to participate in the Taiyan Sect selection competition.?Mu Cengxiao and Liu Yunxin were not biological siblings. Liu Yunxin’s parents took in the orphan, Mu Cengxiao back then, and after the death of the Liu parents, the brother and sister depended on each other to survive.?Wang Shao has long taken a fancy to Liu Yunxin’s beauty, but Liu Yunxin’s family background was poor and not worthy of his status. It was impossible for her to be his wife, but to be his concubine… was more than enough.

It was a pity that Liu Yunxin did not appreciate his goodwill, and turned a blind eye to his overtures. Not only that, her elder brother, Mu Cengxiao, also guarded him like a thief, so that he couldn’t find a chance to do anything.

He had just said a few words to Liu Yunxin when Mu Cengxiao, who was fetching water, saw this and immediately strode over. He stood in front of Wang Shao, and said angrily, “Wang Shao, what are you trying to do?” Wang Shao looked at Mu Cengxiao who was in front of him.

He’s a young man with handsome facial features, thick swordlike eyebrows and bright starry eyes. Although he was wearing patched clothes, he had a clear and resolute spirit.?It was said that he reached Qi Refining stage at the age of 8. He was favored by the people of Yue City at that time, who thought that he was another seedling of a genius.?However, up till today, he had not been able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

“Miss Liu, I heard that you are not in good health.” Wang Shao was not angry, but smiled at Liu Yunxin in a personable manner. “Maybe your brother wants to join the Taiyan Sect for the spirit elixirs and pills in the sect to heal your illness. I can understand that you siblings have a deep bond but…” He glanced at Mu Cengxiao contemptuously, “Don’t you think it’s a little na?ve to pin your hopes on a waste who has not even been able to breakthrough to Foundation Establishment? Why don’t you be my woman, and when I join the Taiyan Sect in the future, you can use the elixir there…”

“Shut up!” Before he could finish speaking, Mu Cengxiao interrupted him and angrily said, “Shameless!”

“A trash, what right does he have to say about others?”

The two of them were arguing with each other, and when they were about to draw their swords, there was suddenly an exclamation from the side of the water, “Young master, it’s not good… come and have a look!”

The two who were arguing looked towards the stream together.

The weather was clear, with no wind at all.?As the stream water flowed down, there seemed to be a dark shadow passing under the surface of the water.?In the next moment, a few black shadows suddenly leaped up from the water surface, toward the shadows of the people.?Immediately afterwards, screams were heard one after another.

“It hurts-“

“Ahhh, help, what are these?”

“My eyes, my eyes!”

The horses were startled, and they wanted to run forward, but the reins were tied to a tree. People in the carriage fell out.?Miss Yang scrambled up, hid behind Wang Shao, and asked in panic, “My God, what is this?”

“This is the demonic monster, ‘Hu’.” Mu Cengxiao murmured.

“What is ‘Hu’?” Wang Shao frowned.

“It is a legendary monster that hides in the water and kills people secretly. ‘Hu’ has sand in its mouth and uses it to shoot people. People who are shot at will get sores, and those whose shadow got shot will die!” Mu Cengxiao ran to the stream without looking back, “I’ll save those people, Wang Shao, you protect Yunxin, and don’t let it touch your shadow!” Wang Shao looked at Mu Cengxiao. While pulling Liu Yunxin back, he laughed and said, “I’ve never seen an idiot who is rushing to die!”

At this moment, the water between the two cliffs suddenly swelled, and the water surface reached their feet in an instant, as if to submerge the ground they were on.?At the same time, the dark shadow in the stream became more and more distinct.?Hearing only a few “puff puff puffs”, the surrounding servant girls screamed, and the stream was dyed red.

Wang Shao was so frightened that he covered his head and ran away, not caring about his fiancée and Liu Yunxin.?Liu Yunxin was already weak, and after taking a few steps, she was out of breath. Seeing this, Miss Yang’s eyes darkened. She grabbed Liu Yunxin’s shoulder with one hand, and was about to push Liu Yunxin into the water.

A small drop of water fell out of the splashing stream and shattered on the moss-covered rocks, but in an instant, it returned to the appearance of dewdrops.

Liu Yunxin let out a cry, and her eyes widened.

A hand grasped her arm.

Liu Yunxin turned her head and saw Miss Yang holding her arm tightly, with undisguised concern in her eyes, “Are you okay?”

She was stunned, and was about to speak, when suddenly she heard someone shouting from behind, “Yunxin, run away! It’s behind you!”

The surface of the water suddenly rose. It was clearly a flat land, but being in the splashing stream was like being in a raging sea. Liu Yunxin turned her head and saw the true face of “it”, a blurred black shadow. It looked like a huge beetle, enveloped in a fishy water smell.

“Be careful!” A woman exclaimed in her ear.

Liu Yunxin felt a thrust pushing herself away, and the green shadow beside her was instantly swallowed by the black shadow.

The surface of the water gradually calmed down, and the damp land that was overflowing with water from the stream became exposed to the sun. Faint rainbow colors appeared, and everything seemed to be an illusion.

Liu Yunxin murmured, “Miss Yang… disappeared.”