YIN-YANG DEVOURER

"Let's go Viridis!! Faster!" A cheerful voice could be heard during the march of a group of fearsome mercenaries who advanced in a disciplined manner along a path surrounded by vegetation.

Among the soldiers you could see a little girl who was riding without worries on the head of a huge green snake which could only shake its head in resignation at the little girl's games.

This little girl was naturally the girl that Ruvan and his men had saved along with her mother from the bandits. The girl named Su Lingxi and she had become quite attached to Ruvan these days that they had been touring the jungle. Perhaps the lack of a father figure had led her to seek the protection of the individual who had saved her and her mother.

Ruvan for his part really liked this little girl, who brought a cheerful presence to a group of people who were only used to killing and looting. The mercenaries including Lira had also found a liking for the little girl.

On the other hand, the little girl's mother was called Su Meiyao. Su Meiyao was a quite kind and polite woman. Since joining Ruvan's caravan she had decided to cook for Ruvan and his men, quickly gaining the sympathy of the group.

The names of the mother and girl were quite curious, after asking it turned out that the ancestors of this mother and her daughter had come from the famous eastern continents. Just like Manager Lan of the Commerce Pavilion…

It was not unusual to see people with all kinds of names and surnames on the continent of Marxus after all there was a lot of migration by people from other continents.

The mother-daughter duo quickly grew in popularity within the group. While little Lingxi was adored by everyone, Meiyao had become the target of the group's mercenaries who were looking for all kinds of excuses to interact with her.

There were even some intrepid men who tried to flirt with Su Meiyao, however they were politely rejected by the woman who claimed to be only interested in raising her little daughter. Her experiences with men had not been all that good so it was natural that she was quite cautious on that subject.

"Lin'ger stop bothering Captain Jakob" Su Meiyao scolded briefly with a smile as she watched her daughter kick on the head of the huge snake. The first few days she stayed as far away as possible from Ruvan's mount because she had witnessed what that huge snake could do to a cultivator. However as time went by she understood that the snake was well trained by Ruvan and no one in the group seemed to be afraid of the creature.

'Since our home was destroyed I have never seen Ling'er smile like these past few days' Su Meiyao thought with a loving smile.

'Even now she finally has a friend' She thought as she glanced at little Xin who was sitting in one of the carriages. Due to her feminine appearance and clothing, Su Meiyao did not suspect Xin's gender in the slightest.

'I can only say that it was a blessing to have met these people...' Su Meiyao thought as she cast a glance at Ruvan who was currently tickling her daughter with a kind smile on his face.

'In the beginning I was willing to sacrifice my body if it meant protecting my daughter'

'However, this man did not ask for any of that in return, but on the contrary he even provided us with food and a warm tent to spend the night. '

'I think even I had already lost the feeling of what it was like to feel safe'

'Even the other night when the spirit beasts attacked us, they were completely annihilated by that man and his soldiers...'

Su Meiyao tried to take advantage of this time to finally relax. Her life for the past few years had consisted of running and hiding as she searched for food and shelter for herself and her daughter. She had finally managed to take a short break from all her worries.

"It seems like we are already close to the Path of the Giant Trees" Ruvan said while checking the map.

"What is the Path of the Giant Trees, big brother Jakob?" Su Lingixi asked curiously.

"They are giant trees that are found in the middle of this jungle. Legend says that they emerged from the bodies of powerful cultivators who were buried together after dying during a legendary battle" Ruvan said with a gentle smile. If there was a place to learn all kinds of myths and legends, it was taverns, places that Ruvan always frequented.

Little Lingixi was a girl full of curiosity about the world, so she quickly inundated Ruvan with all kinds of questions, which he tried to answer as best he could. Even Lira was dragged into answering the little girl's questions.

"Look, little Lin'ger! There are the famous trees" Ruvan said as he pointed to the enormous oak trees that towered over the rest of the trees. It was certainly a rather majestic sight to appreciate.

"Wow, I have never seen such big trees," the surprised Lingxi exclaimed as she looked up to where the branches of the trees seemed to have no end. Su Meiyao was also surprised after all it was her first time seeing a show like this.

"Wow, it seems that our Captain Jakob has become quite a responsible father" Just when little Lingxi was preparing to ask another question, a mocking voice interrupted her.

"Captain Wiltord, what a surprise," Ruvan said while rolling his eyes. His sarcastic tone undoubtedly stunned Wiltord himself who expected to find a nervous reaction from the golden-eyed young man.

 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

City of Waves, two days before

Alisa who had been left in charge by Nina was patiently waiting for the arrival of the guest of honor. Deacon Nina had told her that the person who was going to arrive was someone extremely important and powerful within the Thousand Desires Sect.

'For someone as important as Deacon Nina to react like this I guess it must be someone with the position of a Supreme Elder.'

'I heard that Deacon Nina's family has quite a bit of power within the Sect, few people could put it that way' Alisa guessed as she eagerly awaited the arrival of such an important visitor.

After a few minutes, a small but luxurious spiritual sailboat began to approach the coast.

'Wow~ I have never seen a spirit ship that could fly through the skies... It is said that only the most powerful and influential cultivators can afford ships like this' Alisa exclaimed inwardly as she watched rigidly as the ship slowly began to descend into the landing platform.

Finally, after a few moments that seemed eternal to Alisa, the ship stopped and its door finally opened. A woman with tanned skin, carrying a sharp spear and imposing armor, descended from it. She was undoubtedly a rather heroic figure.

'I can't sense her level of cultivation... That only means she is many realms above me' Alisa thought as she watched a second figure begin to descend from the ship.

"Disciple Alisa greets the distinguished guest" Alisa said as she quickly bowed so she could pay her respects to the mysterious woman.

"You can get up" An indifferent voice brought her out of her thoughts as she quickly straightened her back.

"Deacon Nina told me that she is preparing a flying spirit beast for you. She also told me to give to you this talisman, it contains the exact coordinates of Deacon Nina in real time" Alisa said while not wasting any more time. She was an intelligent young girl and knew that the last thing she had to do at this moment was entertain this guest who was clearly coming on urgent business.

'Mmm smart girl... I like it' The veiled woman thought to herself.

"Natia, stay in the ship and inform me if anything happens" Said the veiled woman as she followed Alisa in the direction of the stable where they had her mount ready.