Chapter 1

Longchuan Marsh was a vast swampland spanning ten thousand li, located a thousand li south of Beiliang City. Ordinarily, no one would set foot in it without good reason. After all, throughout the Northern Wastes, Longchuan Marsh was also known as the No-Return Marsh—those who entered never came back.

Yet today, a group was making its way through the marsh. There were ten people in total, each dressed in pale blue robes, with silver crowns securing their hair and strings of jeweled beads hanging from their garments.

Leading them was a young woman with a cold, detached expression. Her attire did not differ greatly from the others’, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly much more exquisite.

The pale blue dress made her appear even more aloof and otherworldly. Even in a filthy swamp such as this, she somehow seemed untouched by so much as a speck of dust.

In her hand was a longsword. Its scabbard was transparent, while the blade was ice-blue, thin and sharp, with snowflake patterns engraved along its length.

This was Moonbreaker, the renowned sword ranked tenth on the Sword Artifact Rankings. Ordinarily, a famous sword of such caliber would never appear in the hands of a young woman like her.

But this young woman’s name was Fu Sheng, and she was the only daughter of the city lord of Beiliang City, the largest city in the Northern Wastes.

The young city lord possessed extraordinary talent and was both brave and resourceful. Compared to her beauty, the people of the Northern Wastes paid even greater attention to her growth. After all, no one wanted Beiliang City’s next city lord to be incompetent. That would plunge the entire Northern Wastes into renewed chaos and leave its people without protection.

However, no one knew that the soul beneath this exterior had been replaced five years ago.

The soul currently inhabiting the young city stolen content lord’s body belonged to Wen Zhuqing, a woman from another world.

Wen Zhuqing led the group deeper into the marsh. Although they were still only at its outskirts, she did not dare relax in the slightest and remained highly vigilant at all times.

Five years ago, she had suddenly gotten into an accident while white-water rafting. Then, without warning, she had arrived in this world, taken over this body, and become the young city lord of Beiliang City.

Even now, Wen Zhuqing still felt dazed whenever she recalled everything that had happened. But she had no way to return and could not understand why she had come to this world, so all she could do was imitate everything about the original owner and live each day with the utmost caution.

Not only that, but she also had to work hard to shoulder the responsibilities that had originally belonged to the body’s owner and properly fulfill her role as young city lord.

The reason Wen Zhuqing had come to this marsh today was precisely because she was now Beiliang City’s young city lord.

Some time ago, they had received word that a group of evil cultivators had arrived in the Northern Wastes and were frequently abducting young men to aid their cultivation.

Her esteemed mother had entrusted the task of investigating them to her, the young city lord.

This was not the first time she had been given a similar assignment, so Wen Zhuqing had not thought much of it. Although she was reluctant deep down, she had no choice. After all, her distinguished mother, the city lord of Beiliang City, was exceedingly strict with her.

Recently, Wen Zhuqing had finally discovered that the evil cultivators’ lair was most likely hidden within this marsh. She could not understand why they would establish their base in such a godforsaken place, where miasma filled the air, demonic beasts ran rampant, and spiritual energy was scarce.

After all, according to all the information they had gathered, [Read on BaiLianTales]none of these evil cultivators possessed particularly high cultivation.

In other words, even staying at the outskirts of the marsh would be extremely dangerous for them. The demonic beasts here were all tremendously powerful, and a single careless mistake could cost them their lives before anything else happened.

Wen Zhuqing truly did not want to come, but since she was responsible for this matter, she had to come whether she wanted to or not.

Fortunately, the junior brothers and sisters accompanying her were not weak. At the very least, they were more than capable of dealing with those evil cultivators.

Wen Zhuqing knew that her mother probably also intended to use this opportunity to train her while allowing her to cultivate a group of trusted subordinates of her own.

She understood the reasoning perfectly well, but that did not stop her from feeling exhausted. Before coming to this world, she had merely been a laid-back artist.

She had never expected much of herself. As long as she could support herself, that was enough. Her life had not been especially carefree, but at least she had lived freely.

Unlike now, when she had to cultivate diligently every day, maintain her aloof persona, refrain from casually getting close to anyone, and never neglect her studies. She was constantly so busy she could barely breathe.

“Young City Lord, we should be nearing the evil cultivators’ lair,” a young woman behind her reminded her.

The thought of having to fight and kill again in a moment made Wen Zhuqing feel utterly exhausted. Nevertheless, she maintained her aloof expression, her face cold and her gaze composed. She merely inclined her head slightly to show that she understood.

“Be careful. Don’t split up.” Even when issuing a warning, she was sparing with her words.

They had been investigating this group of evil cultivators for some time, so they naturally understood their methods thoroughly.

The moment arrows shot out from the shadows, the array master in the group immediately raised a barrier, stopping the poisoned arrows outside it.

At the same time, Wen Zhuqing moved slightly, and at some unknown point, Moonbreaker had already left its scabbard.

Two other sword cultivators behind her followed. Several pale blue figures sped into the forest.

The moment the evil cultivators fired their arrows, Wen Zhuqing had already locked on to one of the masked men. He was hiding behind the others, his gaze vicious and a dense aura of blood radiating from his body. She was completely certain that every one of these people had drained and consumed the blood essence of living humans before.

At the thought, her gaze turned much colder, and the sword intent surrounding her grew even more biting.

When she had first arrived in this world, she had been afraid of seeing blood. But five years was more than enough to change a person. Wen Zhuqing understood all too well how many innocent people would be harmed if these evil cultivators were left unchecked.

She had also been an ordinary person in her previous life, so she understood the innocence of common people and their need for protection far better than the privileged children of Beiliang City’s great clans.

Moonbreaker’s edge swept across the minor leader’s throat, killing him instantly. The subordinates beside him had barely revealed their stunned expressions before a single sword strike pierced all their hearts.

Wen Zhuqing swiftly swung her sword again. The [read the original at bailiantales.com]leaves falling through the forest had yet to reach the ground when her sword intent enveloped them, transforming each one into a sharp blade.

It did not take them long to eliminate the evil cultivators. Although the evil cultivators’ overall cultivation was roughly equal to theirs, Wen Zhuqing had investigated them for three months and had come fully prepared this time, bringing more than enough artifacts and treasures. As a result, the battle was neither difficult nor prolonged.

Before Wen Zhuqing killed the leader of the evil cultivators, he spitefully demanded to know what right she had to cut off their path of cultivation.

“You privileged disciples of great clans stand high above everyone else and possess an endless supply of cultivation resources. People like us, with our mediocre aptitudes, only want to attain a higher cultivation level and carve out a place for ourselves in this world. What’s wrong with that?!”

The disciples of Beiliang City watched as their young city lord stood silently before the man, her gaze calm and utterly unaffected by the evil cultivator’s words.

Wen Zhuqing sighed softly. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to become stronger. There is also nothing wrong with wanting the strength to fight back when facing cultivators more powerful than you. But what did those young men you abducted, refined into pills, and drained of their blood essence ever do wrong?”

Wen Zhuqing did not dare examine the scene inside the cave dwelling too closely. It was far too horrific. She was even afraid that if she looked for another moment, she would lose control and flee in terror.

The severed heads scattered across the ground, the dismembered limbs, the half-naked bodies, and the traces of torment covering them all made the fury in Wen Zhuqing’s heart impossible to suppress.

She bit her lower lip lightly, then suddenly smiled. “You don’t want to die?”

“No, I don’t! I don’t! Please spare me, Young City Lord! Young City Lord, I know I was wrong! Please give me a chance to mend my ways!”

Wen Zhuqing looked at him and used her spiritual power to control his own bonded weapon, the Silver Moon Hook, pressing its point against his heart. She said nothing and merely watched him calmly.

After a long while, Wen Zhuqing stood, her voice as cold as ice. “Then I’ll spare your life.”

“Young City Lord, you mustn’t.” The disciples of Beiliang City behind her almost simultaneously voiced their objection to her decision.

“What are you so anxious about? Mother said I have the authority to hand people over to the Valley of Supreme Bliss, didn’t she?”

At her words, the way the Beiliang City disciples looked at her immediately changed. Their gazes grew far more reverent, even carrying a trace of fear.

The Valley of Supreme Bliss had a pleasant-sounding name, but it was a place that made every criminal sent there suffer a fate worse than death, unable to live yet unable to die.

Wen Zhuqing rarely became this angry, but the scene before her made it impossible to contain her fury. Those young men should have been able to live full lives instead of ending up like this.

“I’ve never sent anyone there before. You should feel honored.” Wen Zhuqing rose and prepared to leave. Behind her, the disciples of Beiliang City had already gone over and bound the evil cultivator without needing to be told.

Only after leaving the cave dwelling and reaching a place where no one else was present did Wen Zhuqing finally let out a long, quiet breath.

She truly was furious, but she had to maintain her persona and could not let her emotions show. She could not fly into a rage or curse to her heart’s content. For Wen Zhuqing, who had practically been a Zaun-tier trash-talker whenever she went online in her previous life, it was genuinely agonizing.

Just now, she had truly wanted to unleash a torrent of curses at him. After all, no matter how miserable his fate in the Valley of Supreme Bliss became, she would not be there to see it. Cursing him out on the spot would have been far more satisfying. Of course, he still had to be sent to the valley regardless.

After successfully completing their mission, Wen Zhuqing saw that it was already growing late. When the Beiliang City disciples emerged, she said, “It’s getting late. We need to leave the marsh as quickly as possible.”

Longchuan Marsh was far more terrifying at night than during the day. Once darkness fell, numerous demonic beasts and vicious ghosts would emerge even in the outer regions, which were barely considered safe at present. Although they would not necessarily die there, Wen Zhuqing had no desire to bring unnecessary trouble upon herself.

But sometimes, the heavens seemed to delight in tormenting people. Whatever one feared most was precisely what would come.

Just as the group was about to leave the marsh, they encountered two Bloodflower Snakes. These snakes were extraordinarily venomous, and their scales were exceptionally tough, rendering them impervious to ordinary blades.

The species had blood-red patterns covering its body, hence the name Bloodflower Snake.

Wen Zhuqing had been afraid of snakes in her previous life, and seeing them in this one still made her feel nauseated.

Especially when the two snakes were staring fixedly at them, flicking their scarlet tongues from time to time.

“Young City Lord, go on ahead. We’ll hold them off,” a young woman said, immediately stepping in front of Wen Zhuqing.

Wen Zhuqing glanced at the young woman before drawing Moonbreaker. “I’m afraid your cultivation isn’t enough to stop them, Junior Sister.”

Her voice remained calm, as though the sight before her had not alarmed her in the slightest.

“No one is staying behind. Form the array.” Wen Zhuqing weighed the strength of both sides. She felt that they might still stand a chance if all of them joined forces. But if only a few stayed behind, those people would most likely not survive.

Nor was she noble enough to let everyone else flee while she remained behind to hold off the snakes. Therefore, their only option at present was to face them together.

As everyone formed the array, Wen Zhuqing decisively sent a message to the city lord’s residence requesting reinforcements. If she could not win, then she would ask for help. Wen Zhuqing would never try to act tough.