Stella had a skip in her step as she walked up a winding dirt path that led to the base of Red Vine peak. Stella's hands lazily swung as she looked up at her home that was so close. The titanic mountain dominated the skyline, with fluffy white clouds obscuring the pavilion built thousands of meters up on its peak.

A part of her wished to rush back, but after spending a year slaughtering beasts out in the wilderness, the last thing she wanted to do was ruin this brief moment of calm.

Stella took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air that was extremely pleasant this time of year to calm her nerves. She'd never spent so long away from her pavilion before, and she was no fool. With nobody to protect itshe half expected it to be burned to the ground or taken over by a rival family. Of course, such a thing was illegal under sect law, but what demonic cultivator ever cared for such a thing?

She hated them all with a burning passion. Their nomadic way of life spent escaping the beast tides and backstabbing each other had taken everything from her. The last thing Stella wanted in this life was to be associated with these vermin who called themselves demonic cultivators.

Stella sighed. She had got herself worked up again.

A small weight shifted on her shoulder, and it yawned while stretching out its little limbs.

"Morning, Maple." Stella raised her hand and rubbed the fluffy white squirrel under the chin. Its little claws clasped her finger and showed her the perfect spot.

Stella watched as Maple's golden eyes were shut in bliss, and the squirrel sprawled out happily on her shoulder. However, she still had many questions regarding the squirrel.

Even though she had fainted, almost died, and slept in the deep wilderness with nobody to protect her. Somehow she survived every time completely unscathed.

The mysterious squirrel never lifted a finger to help in any fight. Always letting her almost die and pass out, but when she woke up, the monster she had been fighting was gone, and Maple would demand head pats.

If it happened once, she could ignore it... but it happened over a hundred times.

Stella removed the useless thoughts and just accepted that she was alive. Going out into the wilderness alone was an absolute mistake, but it had worked out, and she had become much stronger.

Reaching the end of the dirt path and looking up at the thousands of steps leading all the way to the pavilion, Stella couldn't help but feel nostalgic. When she was a child and first arrived here, her father punished her once and made her walk up these steps with only her 3rd Qi Realm cultivation.

It had taken eight grueling hours of climbing and made her appreciate the powers she now possed. Flexing her now 7th-stage Soul Fire cultivation, she couldn't help but grin at having gained two whole stages in a single year. At this rate, the chance of passing the Grand Elder exam in two years was an actual possibility.

Purple flames roared to life, and streaks of lightning arced between her fingers, down her hair, and around her feet. "Hold on tight, Maple"

She looked to her shoulder, but the fluffy squirrel was gone, "Why does he always do that."

The first few times, the squirrel vanishing had scared the life out of her. But by now, she was used to the squirrel disappearing for hours, sometimes days at a time, only to return with snacks from god knows where.

"That little bugger is a bigger glutton than Tree!" Stella was bubbling with excitement to see if Tree was doing well.

Her inferior spatial roots showed their worth as Stella shot up the mountain's steps in a flash. The steps blurred beneath her as she took a hundred at a time, leaving a blurry trail of purple flames in her wake.

Stopping instantly right in front of the pavilion's grand wooden doors, a sonic boom went off around her as the air rapidly filled the vacuum.

With a giddy feeling, she quickly pushed the doors open and rushed into the courtyardonly for an explosion of lilac Qi to send her stumbling backward. Her blonde hair, which was far too long, fluttered in the wind as she held up two arms to resist the incoming shockwave.

A moment later, she squinted but couldn't see much through the cloud of dust except a glowing dark blue figure. Then, as the high-speed mountain winds swept the dust away, Stella became enraged.

"What is a Ravenborne bitch doing in my pavilion?!"

Standing before Ashlock, shrouded in dark blue flames, was a dark-haired girl with a sword drawn. The girl looked over her shoulder and appraised Stella with her dull eyeswhich only made Stella's blood boil. She felt her month of life and death training was being looked down on by some Ravenborne girl about to attack Tree.

Stella channeled some Qi into her golden spatial ring, located the perfect sword from her small collection, and brought it out. It had a simple design but was made of the best materials she could afford as she still hadn't gone to Darklight city and sold the spoils she had acquired over the past year.

Her 7th stage Soul Core hummed to life, and she felt that sweet power course through her inferior spatial spirit rootsempowering every muscle in her body to inhuman levels. With a single step, lightning crackled around Stella's feet, and she appeared an inch away from the intruder's face.

The girl's dull eyes widened a little as Stella's lightning Qi discharged at point-blank range, causing the girl to stumble back and groan in pain.

"Wait"

Stella ignored her opponent's plea and reappeared behind the stumbling girlher sword crackling with energyraised high above her head in an executioner-style pose.

With a shout, Stella brought the blade down with all her might but was surprised to find herself forced back as the girl smacked her sword away with her own causing a clang to resound through the courtyard.

The girl stepped back and raised her sword in a defensive position with dense dark blue flames flickering across its shiny surface. Compared to Stella's rather ordinary-looking sword, the girl's was clearly an artifact befitting a cultivation princess.

"I am not here to fight with you..." The girl said in a monotone voice, her expression never changing. "This is simply a misunderstanding."

Stella tilted her head and debated activating her earrings as she glared at the Ravenborne girl. "What is there to misunderstand? Your despicable family slowly replaced my entire pavilion's staff with your servants, and even your Grand Elders brother was here pretending to be a gardener. "

Stella sneered, "So when did you plan to murder me and take this mountain peak for yourselves? You are here to finish the job, aren't you?"

"No." The girl shook her head, "I only learned of that plan from my father recently, and it's all meaningless now anyway."

"You call my suffering and isolation meaningless?" Stella dashed forward, and the other girl quickly met her blade and didn't falter. Stella grit her teeth. Was this the difference between a demonic cultivator pumped with resources and herself being a resourceless self-taught cultivator?

As the two exchanged a flurry of attacks, they sent cracks through the runic formation below. Qi swirled around the two cultivators as they battled with purple and dark blue flames.

A dense mist began to fill the courtyard. And before Stella knew it, she had lost sight of the intruder. "Stupid techniques." Stella cursed.

She knew a few techniques, but they were all relatively weak, as she'd learned them when her father was still alive to teach her. One was her favorite movement technique that she had already utilized a few times this fight. Unfortunately, her inferior spirit roots meant she couldn't learn real teleportation, but she could get close to the real thing so long as the distance was short enough.

As the mist swirled around, her spiritual sight became hazy. Deciding to rely on her mortal sight, Stella's eyes darted left and right in search of the intruder from house Ravenborne.

Just the thought of that family and how slimy they were made Stella's skin crawl. They had tried to pose as allies to her father, but their motives became clear when her father became a cripple and eventually died.

They wanted to take over Red Vine peak and didn't wish to care for her at all.

If not for the patriarch's kindness in paying back the debt he owed to her parents by declaring her protection, Stella doubted she would be alive today. She still hated the old man, but she had to admit his help had protected her thus far.

"Stella Crestfallen, I come in peace." Shadows lingered through the dense fog and spoke all at once like a haunted choir. "Do we really have to fight?"

Stella crouched low with her sword at the ready, and her eyes turned into swirling abysses as she looked around. "Let me slice your face up first, then we can talk." Stella sneered. If she hadn't enlisted help from one of her father's old acquaintances, the Ravneborne Grand Elders brother would have slit her throat in her sleep.

That scheming bastard had even fed the demonic tree rabbits in the hopes that it would grow enough to dispose of her corpse... Which was ironic, considering his decapitated head ended up in that exact situation.

Stella kept her wits about her as the mist dulled her senses, and the shadows moved closer and further away as if taunting her. As it started getting on her nerves, she felt something coming from behind with the senses she had honed in the wilderness.

Desperately ducking forward with inhuman speed, Stella felt a sword whistle overhead. Turning to kick, it felt like her foot had hit a wall of wet mud. Confused, she looked past her waist and saw the girl collapse into a puddle of water.

"An illusion? HowAgh!" Stella felt a sword hilt smash the back of her head, making her collapse face-first onto the cracked runic formation below. Despite the hit's brutality, Stella was a cultivator and naturally didn't suffer much with her superhuman body. She raised her head and arm shrouded in flames, ready to defend the incoming sword slash aimed at her neck

But rather than a sword aiming for her life, there was an open palm, inviting her to take it. "Your spatial awareness could use some work. But other than that, I am impressed. My name is Diana, by the way. Could we have a chat?"

Stella stared at the awaiting palm for a long time.

"Stella, what my family did to you was horrendous, but they're all dead now. House Ravenborne is no more, and I am just a rogue cultivator. If it pleases you, I will discard my family name."

Diana moved her palm a little closer, "I mean no threat to you, I promise."

"Fine," Stella grumbled and took the palm, allowing Diana to haul her to her feet. "But you better not have hurt Tree in any way."

Diana shook her head, "Quite the opposite, actually. Look how big it's grown."

Stella looked up at the beautiful scarlet canopy that shrouded the entire central courtyard and was baffled.

"Tree? Is that really you?"