Chapter 1

Gujiang is the first wonder of the Bugu Continent.

The river is a thousand feet wide, originating from the highest peak, Tian Shen Mountain, in the center of the continent, and flowing southeast for millions of miles, cutting through half of the continent.

The danger of Gujiang is such that there is no return from it. The river's current is swift, rushing for a thousand miles. Above the river, fierce winds and black waves rage. Standing by the riverbank, it feels like standing at the gates of hell, with the ears filled with the cries of ghosts and wolves, making one's hair stand on end!

Moreover, the banks of Gujiang are lined with steep cliffs, the lowest of which are over a hundred feet high, and the higher ones resemble towering peaks, with sheer cliffs that rise a thousand feet. Looking down from the riverbank, it seems like an endless abyss!

Indeed, from ancient times to the present, Gujiang has claimed countless lives. Whether they were humble slaves or unparalleled strongmen, all were swallowed by the fierce river. The might of Gujiang is such that no one dares to challenge it, and those who fall into it have never been heard from again.

In the Bugu Era, 13,624 years.

Tonight, Gujiang was abnormally terrifying. The river, for some reason, had become even more ferocious. Strong winds rose, and huge waves surged!

Above Gujiang, dark clouds gathered, with lightning and thunder! Torrential rain poured down, striking the rocks with a terrifying sound. Black lightning bolts shot down from the sky, plunging the world into darkness, as if it were the end of the world!

On a cliff by Gujiang, a woman was riding a giant beast, its body engulfed in red flames, rushing forward. In her arms, she held a newborn baby!

The woman was young and beautiful, worthy of the title of a national beauty. However, her beautiful face was pale as paper, and her cheeks were covered in water, making it hard to tell if it was rain or the sweat of exhaustion. The baby in her arms cried loudly in the rain, and she tried her best to shield it with her body, but the more she did, the weaker she became.

Suddenly, the woman's mind went blank, and her body swayed, nearly falling off the beast! The beast immediately sensed this and quickly shook its back to stabilize her.

After a brief moment of blankness, the woman regained some consciousness, but her head was so dizzy she could barely control herself.

The beast turned its head to look at the weak woman on its back, its eyes filled with anger, and let out a roar of frustration. It then ran even faster, its powerful claws digging into the ground, shattering the rock like steel!

No one knew better than the beast what the woman had endured. She had just given birth and was pulled from her bed, fleeing with her child. They had been running in the rain for three hours, which would be fatal for any woman!

Now, the beast regretted that it could not fly like a Vermilion Bird or a dragon. Although it was the fastest on land, moving like a rapidly spreading flame and leaving burning marks on the ground that even the rain could not extinguish, it was forced to run in one direction due to the enemies surrounding them. The end of the road was Gujiang, where there was no hope of survival, a fact the beast was well aware of.

Puff...

The beast suddenly felt the woman on its back about to fall, and this time the movement was so great that it could not stabilize her by shaking its back. In a panic, the beast turned mid-air while running, directly pulling the woman into its embrace and slamming its back onto the ground!

Boom!

The impact created a deep trench in the ground, and it took a long time to finally stop! Once it stopped, the beast quickly extended its front limbs, anxiously looking at the woman in its arms.

The woman's face was even paler, like a piece of paper soaked in rain. She struggled out of the beast's embrace, not caring about herself, but immediately looking down at the child in her arms.

The child, as if frightened, cried even louder, its cries merging with the lightning in the sky. The woman, seeing that the child was still alive, bit her lower lip, and tears streamed down her face.

Seeing that the woman and the child were unharmed, the beast's face showed a look of relief, and it stood to one side, its body suddenly emitting a mist. When the mist cleared, it had transformed into a tall, red-haired woman!

"Xiaoting, how are you feeling?" the red-haired woman quickly squatted down, looking extremely worried.

The woman looked up at the red-haired woman, managing a pale smile, and weakly said, "I'm fine, nothing to worry about."

The woman's voice was as gentle as water, as graceful as a flower in a secluded valley, and even in such a dire situation, her elegance remained, making the so-called noble ladies of the world feel ashamed.

The rain poured down, and the lightning and thunder increased. The waves of Gujiang crashed against the cliffs, causing the earth to shake.

Before the red-haired woman could say anything, the woman spoke again, weakly saying, "We are approaching Gujiang, and I have no way out, but you are different. You are so strong; if you don't carry me and the child, you can definitely break through the encirclement."

"What are you talking about?!" the red-haired woman, Xiaoting, said angrily, "Do you think I am a coward? Today, I will protect you, and if they want to kill you, they will have to step over my dead body first. I don't believe they dare to offend our Fire Lion Clan!"

"They may not dare to offend the Fire Lion Clan, but they dare to kill you," the woman whispered, coughing slightly, "There are too many of them, and you are alone. Once they decide to kill, who will testify for you? If you die because of me, I won't be at peace in the afterlife."

"Xiaoting!" the red-haired woman, not listening, became even angrier, shouting, "I said no one will die today! I will transform back and continue running!"

"Hongyi!" Seeing the red-haired woman about to transform, the woman could no longer hold back, scolding, "Snap out of it! We are at Gujiang, where else can we run?"

The red-haired woman, Hongyi, was stunned, standing still. A bolt of lightning struck behind her, and a desperate voice echoed.

"What can we do? I can't just watch you die!" Hongyi's eyes turned red, kneeling beside the woman, sobbing, "We promised, I still want to take you to the Fire Lion Clan..."

"In the next life," the woman smiled faintly, "Having a sister like you in this life, I have no regrets."

Hongyi, hearing this, turned away, tears streaming down her face.

The woman looked down at the child in her arms, who was gradually calming down, and smiled from the heart. Before dying, she was fortunate to experience the feeling of being a mother, a gift from heaven.

"Give the child a name," Hongyi, turning back, her eyes red, said, looking at the woman and the child, sobbing.

The woman was startled, quickly nodding, "You're right, the child shouldn't be nameless."

She looked down at the sleeping child, who, despite the lightning and thunder, slept soundly.

"I don't want him to have the same fate as his mother. I only hope he can live a peaceful life. Even if it's not possible in this life, I hope he can have a good life in the next," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek, "Let's name him Ye An."

"No!" Hongyi, hearing this, became furious, shouting, "Xiaoting, that man has hurt you so much, and you still use his surname? How can the child take his surname?!"

The woman was stunned, looking at the angry Hongyi, and then smiled faintly, "You're right."

She looked down at the child in her arms, gently saying, "Then you will take my surname, Lu An."

The child, as if sensing something, smiled in its sleep, a beautiful crescent moon-like smile.

"The child understands! The child understands!" Hongyi, seeing the smile, danced with joy.

The woman also smiled, and then thought of something, taking off her ring.

Hongyi was stunned, watching as the woman took off her necklace, removed the expensive pendant, and used the chain to string the ring, then put it around the child's neck.

"If in the next life, you are willing to be my child again, I will take good care of you," the woman leaned down, gently kissing the child's forehead, "This ring is a piece of jewelry I have always worn. Even if in the next life you don't want to be my child, I will find you and make up for it."

Boom! Boom!

The distant sounds of galloping and shrill bird cries began to approach. The woman and Hongyi turned to see a brilliant rainbow of light in the sky and a dense crowd on the ground.

Twenty miles away, a multitude of beasts were galloping, each looking extremely powerful, and on each beast sat a skilled warrior from the continent. They formed a line from north to south, mud splashing, the earth trembling!

In the sky, various flying beasts were also present, with people standing on their backs. Some beasts had over a dozen people on them, and the dense flying beasts even obscured the dark clouds!

"What a grand display!" Hongyi, seeing the approaching enemies, clenched her teeth, sneering.

"Hongyi, you must go!" the woman stood up, though unsteady, she pushed Hongyi urgently, "You don't need to die with me. You have your own family, go!"

Hongyi, seeing the woman pushing her, though she couldn't be moved, was in a state of panic.

Seeing the woman's increasingly anxious and pleading expression, Hongyi, unable to bear it, looked up and roared, then said loudly, "Xiaoting, I swear by the honor of the Fire Lion Clan, I will avenge you!"

With that, her body leaped into the air, instantly transforming into a red-flamed fire lion. She looked back at the woman with reluctance, gritted her teeth, and ran in one direction!

Seeing Hongyi leave, the woman finally felt relieved, a smile of satisfaction on her beautiful face. She turned to look at the approaching crowd.

The beasts were so fast that the twenty-mile distance was covered in less than half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and they were now not far from the woman.

The woman could see clearly that in the center of the beasts, riding a giant dragon in the air, was her beloved husband. However, her husband looked down at her with a cold, indifferent expression.

She had harbored some hope, but seeing such a cold gaze, she finally lost all hope.

The woman looked down, holding the child tighter, and as the multitude of beasts approached, she suddenly turned and ran toward Gujiang!

The man on the dragon was taken aback, then saw the woman leap from the thousand-foot cliff!

Everyone, seeing this, stopped their beasts, staring in shock!

Sadly, a woman and a child falling from a thousand-foot cliff would not even leave a trace.

As everyone was at a loss, a large green bird quickly approached the black dragon, and the person on it respectfully said to the man on the dragon, "Report to Young Master, I saw the woman and the child fall into Gujiang!"

Hearing this, a flash of pain crossed the man's eyes, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a victorious excitement.

"Saved me the trouble," the man smiled coldly, then looked up at the sky, shouting, "From now on, the Ye family of Jiangdong will rise again, returning to the ranks of the continent's elite!"

Everyone, hearing this, bowed their heads, shouting, "Congratulations, Young Master! Congratulations, Young Master!..."

This new book, infused with all my heart and soul, will make you scream, cry, and feel as if you are right there!

Starting today, this book will accompany you for two years!