Chapter 59 Part 1

Gao Chunqiu could never forget how his family had once been hunted down and slaughtered to the last member.

He had once borne the surname Qiu. The Qiu Family had taken root and flourished in a mountain city surrounding a small secret realm, which fell within the sphere of influence of Tianling Sect.

After over a hundred years of development, the Qiu Family had gradually become an utterly ordinary cultivator family in the True Realm.

One of the Qiu Family elders had encountered a cultivator surnamed Pei during his travels, and the two had gotten along quite pleasantly.

That senior was nearing the end of his lifespan and happened to have a daughter, so he secretly arranged for her and the Pei cultivator to be matched.

The two took a liking to each other and married, soon producing an extraordinarily talented child named Pei Ji.

At that time, Godly Seclusion True Person was scouring the world for gifted disciples. Upon encountering Pei Ji, he was utterly astonished.

Cultivation truly depended heavily on talent. Pei Ji’s parents were not particularly strong.

His father had started as a loose cultivator with insufficient resources and little prospect for advancement, while his mother was the only daughter of a cultivator family—free-spirited and carefree by nature. She had never aspired to cultivation or the Dao; she was content simply to spend a century with the one she loved.

Thus, Godly Seclusion True Person had a good talk with Pei Ji’s parents.

Since Pei Ji possessed exceptional talent, remaining in that small mountain city would be a waste of his potential.

Pei Ji’s parents agreed to let him join Jiuxia Mountain.

The first half of Pei Ji’s life had been bright and smooth, free of any setbacks. His parents loved each other deeply, holding hands until the end of their lives and being laid to rest together.

Meanwhile, Pei Ji gradually forged a reputation as a Sword Immortal on Jiuxia Mountain, his future shining brightly.

But then, Pei Ji vanished.

The Qiu Family initially did not take the matter to heart at first. Cultivators often went on travels from which they never returned; Pei Ji had simply encountered the troubles that all cultivators faced.

When word came that Pei Ji had fallen, the Qiu Family, as relatives, merely remarked that it was a pity and let it go.

However, the Qiu Family did not know that this marked the beginning of their misfortune.

First, the Qiu Family disciples who had gone out one by one met with various accidents. Soon after, the family received a major commission from Nine Spirits Sect. After mobilizing most of their forces, the majority of their disciples perished.

The Qiu Family appeared numerous, but most were low-rank cultivators.

Though a few talented disciples had joined Tianling Sect, the strongest among them was only at the Golden Core Stage.

The Qiu Family was in chaos at the time. Nine Spirits Sect even sent people to demand accountability, claiming that the Qiu Family had accepted their commission yet secretly sabotaged the beast eggs they were nurturing. They wanted to seize all Qiu Family disciples and force them into servitude as sect servants to atone for the family’s crimes.

The Qiu Family sought aid from Tianling Sect and contacted the Qiu Family cultivator who had joined it.

That cultivator was Gao Chunqiu’s father, Qiu Cultivator.

Upon learning of the family’s crisis, Qiu Cultivator rushed back from Tianling Sect immediately.

He did not return alone; he brought his wife, Gao Cultivator, and their child Qiu Chun, who had already entered the Qi Refining Stage.

The Qiu Chun of that time was none other than the current Gao Chunqiu.

Soon, Gao Chunqiu’s family suffered an ambush by an unknown force.

They fled in panic without regard for direction, only to be forcibly herded into a long-distance teleportation array. When the family emerged from it, they were stunned to find themselves in the Demon Domain!

It was not unheard of for True Realm cultivators to travel in the Demon Domain; the demonic cultivators would not swarm and attack every True Realm cultivator they saw.

But someone shadowed Gao Chunqiu’s family relentlessly. Qiu Cultivator suffered repeated assaults and was ultimately gravely wounded. During the battle, Gao Cultivator discovered she was pregnant again.

In utter desperation, Gao Cultivator used a secret art to extract the child, planning to entrust it to a nearby family first and retrieve it after they evaded their pursuers.

But Qiu Cultivator had already understood everything.

“The enemy’s target is the Qiu Family disciples. I’ve actually been abandoned by the sect long ago.”

Qiu Cultivator made his decision and said to his wife with heavy sorrow, “Though your vital energy is depleted now, you can use the overflowing blood essence to conceal Chun’er. Take Chun’er and go back. I’ll take this child and draw away the pursuers.”

“No matter what, our enemies are demonic cultivators. We must harbor no hatred toward the sect whatsoever.”

Qiu Cultivator said firmly, “You must survive first. Only by surviving do you have a chance to uncover what truly happened to the Qiu Family, understand?”

Gao Cultivator was filled with grief and rage, but she understood her husband’s meaning. Even if they suspected the sect’s involvement, they must pretend to know nothing.

In the end, she bid farewell to her beloved and left with the bewildered Gao Chunqiu.

Devastated by the death of her loved one and the unknown fate of her second child, Gao Cultivator struggled back to the True Realm but soon perished afterward, leaving only Gao Chunqiu—a child who knew nothing—under the care of Tianling Sect Master at the time.

The Qiu Family was a small family living within Tianling Sect’s sphere of influence, so in theory, Tianling Sect should have protected them.

But Nine Spirits Sect had approached Tianling Sect in advance, claiming they coveted a special secret treasure from the Qiu Family that could track spirit beasts. When the Qiu Family refused, Nine Spirits Sect wanted to swallow them whole and asked Tianling Sect to turn a blind eye.

Nine Spirits Sect offered generous compensation, so Tianling Sect paid the matter no mind.

But when all Qiu Family members were seized by Nine Spirits Sect, even Tianling Sect was not foolish enough to ignore it.

What Nine Spirits Sect truly wanted was not some secret treasure, but the Qiu Family’s bloodline itself.

What made the Qiu Family special?