"Papa... Papa..." Yao Qi'er struggled desperately to break free from Ye Xiu's embrace, watching the light vanish, tears streaming down her face. "Put me down quickly... put me down quickly..."

"Whoosh-shhh..." The Tianmiao Sword shot far away, finally coming to rest by a furiously surging river. A flicker of red pulsed faintly, as if offering a final tribute to Ba Fangjin.

"Qi'er." Ye Xiu steadied her, scanning the riverbank before them. A chill wind swept through the area, and a derelict boat was moored near the shore. "Don't worry, I will definitely deliver you safely to your mother."

Yao Qi'er was somewhat weak, her eyes never leaving the direction where Ba Fangjin had disappeared. She gritted her teeth, holding back her tears: "These people killed him, Papa. One day, I will have my revenge. I must have revenge."

Ye Xiu hadn't expected Qi'er to develop such a strong drive for vengeance so quickly. He finally released his hold, looking at the delicate yet resolute girl before him. "Regarding revenge, I will definitely protect you."

"Hahahaha, you think you can protect someone?" Suddenly, a swarm of dense black crows descended from the sky. They formed a wedge shape and slammed heavily into Ye Xiu. The leading crow had already transformed into a human form, striking out a claw towards him.

"Go!" Ye Xiu shoved Qi'er away, intending to summon his Black Flame. But at that moment, the power within his body was in chaos; the Black Flame exploded in his palm before it could fully manifest. He twisted to dodge but couldn't match the speed of the crows. Inevitably, he was pinned down by a sword strike and a claw attack, bleeding ceaselessly. "Damn it, what am I supposed to do!"

"Are you people from the Yaofeng Gate?" Seeing the ill intent of the newcomers, Qi'er immediately drew the Heaven-Defying Needle from her hand. As the needle dispersed, she tried to pierce the leader, but the surrounding crows swarmed forward, using their flesh and blood to block the attack.

The leading man in black was also covered in feathers, his beak pointed, and when he spoke, it sounded like a bird's cry: "All must die, all must die, wahahaha."

"Caw! Caw!" Hearing the black-clothed man's command, the mindless crows desperately surrounded Qi'er. Their attacks, delivered by their beaks, drew blood from her arms.

"You seek death!" Ye Xiu forced himself up, swinging the Tianmiao Sword forward. Once drawn, the sword shone with brilliant red light, slaughtering the surrounding crows without leaving a single survivor. Unfortunately, the sword light posed no threat to the man in black; his speed was incredible, and he slipped behind Ye Xiu.

"Is that all you've got? And you still think you can protect this woman." The man in black grinned, his long claws poised to sink into Ye Xiu's back. "I don't care who you are, you die here today."

"Clang!" Ye Xiu turned, trying to intercept the sharp claw with the Tianmiao Sword, but the slightest movement caused the energy within his body to surge violently, causing excruciating pain. He couldn't block the man in black's attack in time; his left shoulder was deeply pierced by the sharp claw. "Aaaargh!"

"Ye Xiu, run!" Qi'er sent her needles out to disrupt the attack from the man in black, but at that moment, the heavens filled with dark clouds, and an infinite flock of crows dove down again, dissolving her technique.

"Heh heh, little girl, don't rush. After I kill him, you're next," the man in black said, his face ashen, his eyes filled with a bloody fervor. "It's all your fault for getting involved with Death itself!"

"Boom, thud..." Suddenly, limitless Black Flame accumulated on Ye Xiu's body. He exploded like a bomb, sending feathers flying and waves crashing. Both the man in black and Ye Xiu were thrown back by the shockwave. Ye Xiu struggled to rise, snarling viciously, "Not only am I involved with Death, do you know what? I am Death."

"Ah..." The man in black and the surrounding crows were blasted down by the explosion. He lay motionless on the ground, nearly every inch of his body, save for his head, devoid of intact flesh.

Qi'er frowned, seeing Ye Xiu unleash a force similar to what her father had displayed. She rushed to his side, using her Heaven-Defying Needles to protect his heart meridian: "The energy inside you is too chaotic. If you forcefully use your soul energy cultivation, you risk being retaliated against by the other forces."

With the needles stabilizing him, Ye Xiu finally calmed down enough to breathe deeply, collapsing slightly. "What am I, really? I always feel like my power is immense, but every time I try to use it, it feels like another force is counteracting me. How can this be?"

"I don't understand either. Since neither of us has anywhere to go, why don't we find my master, Master Tianzhen? He is exceptionally skilled in medicine and will surely know how to cure your strange condition." Yao Qi'er had regained clarity after her grief and terror. She pointed to the small boat nearby. "We can travel by water. Those people from the Four Clans won't let us go easily, so we must leave quickly."

Ye Xiu nodded, stood up, and walked to the side of the small boat. He looked helplessly at the majestic river, where the cold wind caused the water to take on streaks of crimson. Gazing into the distance, he wondered if the path to the Boundless Realm was right or wrong, and what that fellow Lao Liu was doing right now.

The cold night was vast, a single thin boat on the river, two forlorn figures beneath the full moon—an infinite melancholy.

"Right, Qi'er, tell me about what happened in the Corpse Demon Forest. I have no real idea," Ye Xiu said, deciding to find a topic to ease Qi'er's anxiety and help her fully emerge from the shock of Ba Fangjin's passing, as the boat moved slowly.

Qi'er finally took a good look at Ye Xiu's attire. "Although people from the Two Realms rarely interact, the Boundless Realm isn't as absolute as you might think. Every place has its good and bad sides, and the Corpse Demon Forest is just one branch of the Boundless Realm."

Ye Xiu shook his head. Honestly, Qi'er was young. Despite being a fox demon, she possessed certain traits of Death itself. Yet, observing her pure dress, she was clearly a stunningly beautiful young girl, seemingly unrelated to demonic creatures.

"The people in the Corpse Demon Forest are different from other clans in that demons remain in their original forms until they gain cultivation; only then can they transform into human shapes," Qi'er explained, pointing to her own pair of adorable fox ears. "You see? This is just an exterior appearance; fundamentally, we are no different from the people of the established clans."

"Then what about that crow just now?" Ye Xiu recalled the recent attack. The sky full of crows was chilling; they clearly weren't on the same level as the Spirit Eagles of the Sunblind Clan. "That fellow must also belong to the Corpse Demon Forest, but why did they attack you?"

Qi'er tilted her ears, looking at the sky as she pondered. "From what I know, the Yaofeng Gate is the head of the three gates of the Corpse Demon Forest. Most people in the Yaofeng Gate are winged beasts, just like that crow earlier. And winged beasts mostly use their feathers as weapons of cultivation, which is similar to the Sunblind Clan."

"Oh, right, what's the situation with the three gates of the Corpse Demon Forest? Can you tell me about it!" Ye Xiu suddenly became interested. He hadn't expected that the Corpse Demon Forest was divided into three factions.

"The three gates of the Corpse Demon Forest occupy the entire Corpse Demon Continent. They are the Yaofeng Gate, the Yaoshou Gate (Beast Gate), and the Yaochong Gate (Insect Gate). The Yaofeng Gate is a branch of the Sunblind Clan, the Yaoshou Gate is earthbound, and the Yaochong Gate is the most bizarre sect," that was all Qi'er knew. "The Royal Family of the Demon Palace nominally rules the entire Corpse Demon Forest, but I don't know the specifics of the internal situation."

Ye Xiu gasped upon hearing this. He hadn't expected the three major sects of the Corpse Demon Forest to be so strange—all comprised of unpredictable flying birds, savage beasts, and insects!

Qi'er looked up at the sky. Where the sea met the heavens, she could faintly see the shadow of land. "Even though drifting for so long, we've finally arrived. This should be the Blood Maple River."

"Blood Maple River?" Ye Xiu stood up and looked out. On the riverbank visible to his eyes, red maple leaves clustered thickly. A gentle breeze blew, sending the red leaves scattering in a breathtaking display. He took a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief wash over him from his nostrils to his lungs, as if the two sources of malevolent energy within his body had dissipated.

The small boat slowly nudged the shore. With Yao Qi'er's support, Ye Xiu stepped onto the green bank. In an instant, he noticed a person sitting quietly under a paper umbrella by a waterside pavilion, seemingly talking to himself.

"Does your Master Tianzhen live here?" Ye Xiu glanced at the person in the pavilion. The figure wore light red clothes, with a sturdy back; by no means did he look like a master.

"Of course not that person. Let me go ask him," Qi'er pouted, reluctant, but Ye Xiu was right; the person was strange—it wasn't raining, yet he was holding an umbrella. Without overthinking, she skipped cheerfully towards the pavilion, intending to ask a question, but suddenly felt something was amiss.

The face beneath the umbrella was indeed refined, but the clothing seemed inappropriate. Qi'er noticed the left side of his attire and the accessories on the right were completely mismatched. What reason could there be for someone to dress so carelessly? Even stranger, the person's mouth moved constantly, opening and closing without pause.

"Heh heh!" The fellow in the pavilion first sat on the right, his voice slightly amicable. "Look, there's a little girl behind you watching you. Maybe she needs help. Are you going to help her or not?"

"Help? I am like this every day, so lonely. Has anyone ever helped me? Can you help me?" When he turned to sit on the left, his tone was completely different from before.

"With me accompanying you, who else do you need help from? I can solve anything for you. Why panic?" He turned sideways and added another sentence before switching back to the left, acting like a ventriloquist's routine. "With you here, what use is anyone else? Didn't I have to protect you? Otherwise, you'd already have been killed by those fellows."

"Excuse me!" Yao Qi'er watched for a long time before she could no longer hold back her patience. She stood in the pavilion, bowed, and asked, "Excuse me, young sir, what is your name?"

"He's asking you a question. He asked what your name is. Why aren't you answering? Have you forgotten your own name?" His right cheek turned back to show an amiable expression, but in an instant, his left cheek turned, and his tone reversed 360 degrees. "I hate it when people ask me questions the most. If you ask again, I'll kill her. No one can stop me."

"Don't mind him, little girl. My name is Jun Bugu. What can I help you with?" Jun Bugu faced Qi'er with his right cheek, teasing her. "Don't be scared by what my brother just said; he's just joking. He loves playing games."

"What joke?" Qi'er looked on, utterly confused how to interact with this person who conversed so smoothly with himself. Was he insane or what?

"Who is your brother? I am Jun Bugu! Heaven knows who you are!" Jun Bugu's left cheek turned to glare fiercely. "Little girl, you'd best leave quickly, or I might just kill you."

"Crazy!" Qi'er grew angry. She was merely asking for directions; who knew she would run into such an unlucky fellow.