Thin Gauze Dress

At the mention of this mission, Zhang Shuyang pondered to himself.

Royal affairs had always been tangled and complex. Though he stood with the Empress, who knew whether the Dao Sect or the imperial family had some reclusive old monster who would emerge to protect Li Haomiao?

If it truly came to that, he feared he would lose his life here.

Now that he was seriously injured, he might as well use this opportunity to withdraw and preserve his life.

Li Miaoyun seemed not to have heard Zhang Shuyang's words. She quietly gazed into the distance at the endless mountain ridges ahead, her eyes carrying an unfathomable depth.

After a long while, her eyes shifted slightly. Her red lips parted, and she coldly uttered two words.

"Trash."

Those two words were like a sharp dagger thrust straight into Zhang Shuyang.

Zhang Shuyang's expression instantly turned ugly, his face alternating between pale and flushed. Yet in the end, he said nothing, merely gritting his teeth, his heart full of resentment and humiliation.

Li Miaoyun did not linger. With light, graceful steps, she started forward.

With every step she took, her figure flickered a hundred meters away in an instant, so fast it was staggering.

Even stranger, her movements did not stir the slightest gust of wind, as though she were nothing more than an illusory shadow.

In the blink of an eye, her figure vanished into the vast curtain of snow.

Zhang Shuyang watched the direction Li Miaoyun had left in, his gaze falling upon the snow she had crossed. His pupils suddenly contracted.

There were no footprints at all on the smooth snow.

Treading on Snow Without a Trace!

This peerless lightness skill sent a chill through Zhang Shuyang's heart.

He knew well that if Li Miaoyun wanted to take his life right now, he would not even have a chance to react.

His whole body tensed, cold sweat unconsciously beading on his forehead, his back already soaked through. Only after a long while did his taut expression slowly ease, and he let out a heavy breath.

The personal guard waiting nearby clenched his teeth. "General, we..."

"Li Sima has taken over this matter. We will not involve ourselves any further. Gather the brothers' bodies. We're going home."

Zhang Shuyang's face was dark, his eyes flickering.

"Once we get over that mountain ahead, that'll be Qing Province, right?"

Xu Yunfan raised his eyes toward the towering mountain before him, nearly six thousand meters above sea level. Looking around, he saw mountain ranges stretching into the distance on both sides, like two towering walls piercing the clouds. They were magnificent, like a natural Great Wall.

Fang Mushan also looked up at the mountain, a trace of emotion in his eyes.

Thinking back on the past two or three months, it all felt like an unreal dream.

Li Haomiao's expression was complicated as he spoke with an indescribable undertone.

"Northern Border Qing Province is shielded from the biting cold currents of the Eight Hundred Li Barren River Ice Field by Accumulating Cloud Mountain. That is why Qing Province has such a pleasant climate and is known as Little Central Province. Once we enter, we'll have truly left the Eight Hundred Li Barren River Ice Field behind."

A broadsword stripped from a soldier hung at Xu Yunfan's waist. He looked up at the mountain before him. Cold Wind howled at the summit, savage gales carrying an icy chill. Layer upon layer of white snow covered the slopes, stretching from halfway up Accumulating Cloud Mountain to its peak like a white dragon lying across the land.

"Let's climb. I want to see what Qing Province of Great Zhou truly looks like."

Ever since arriving here, he had been thrown into a mine, living every day with no guarantee of survival. Now that a turning point had finally come, he wanted to experience the bustle and warmth of human life.

The days of eating raw meat and drinking blood had been truly miserable. The roasted meat tasted of nothing but gamey stench.

Fang Mushan took a deep breath, tightened the fur clothing around himself, and said firmly, "Let's push through in one go and cross Accumulating Cloud Mountain!"

The group hesitated no longer and began climbing upward.

Xu Yunfan used Fleet Foot. With every step, his leg muscles instantly tensed and exploded with force, his footprints sinking deep into the snow. Then he sprang forward fiercely, covering six or seven meters in a single great stride.

After these days of nonstop running and traveling, Fleet Foot had reached minor mastery. Each time Xu Yunfan exerted force, it became more natural and effortless. With every stride, the soles of his feet seemed to form a wondrous resonance with the earth, whose power held him steady, as though a spring-like force were launching him ahead.

Fleet Foot 378/1000 (Minor Mastery)

Effects: Traversing danger as if on level ground, light as a swallow, explosive leg strength, tireless movement, agile form

The effects of Fleet Foot allowed him to move through this rugged Barren River even more easily than Fang Mushan.

You used Fleet Foot. Your exertion touched upon the essence of this martial art. Proficiency increased.

You used Fleet Foot. Instinctively, you felt that you could swing your hips farther with each step. After trying it, you found it somewhat less strenuous. Fleet Foot proficiency increased.

"..."

Not until late at night did moonlight spill down through the sparse clouds.

Xu Yunfan stepped onto the summit and let out a long breath of stale air. In the extreme cold, the white vapor from his mouth was clearly visible, like a drifting cloud of mist.

He casually took a piece of jerky from his waist, stuffed it into his mouth, and said indistinctly, "Once we get past this summit, we'll have completely left the Eight Hundred Li Barren River Ice Field, right?"

Beside him, heat rose from Fang Mushan's body. Under the cold air, wisps of steam seemed to rise from his head, and his entire body appeared shrouded in a hazy mist.

He panted lightly and glanced at Xu Yunfan, who looked as though nothing had happened. He was deeply shocked. He had thought his own endurance was exceptional, but compared to Xu Yunfan's, it was truly nothing.

Climbing a mountain like this, the other man was not only more nimble and agile than him, but also moved through dangerous stretches with effortless fluidity, without the slightest stiffness.

Was this really a servant of the Jiang Family, and not some expert trained by a sect?!

Xu Yunfan looked over.

"Are you tired?"

"Tired?! Of course I'm not tired!"

Fang Mushan immediately straightened his back, composed himself, and answered, "It's only because the martial arts I cultivate make my vigorous blood and qi surge with every movement that I look like this... Once we descend from the summit, that's it. We just need to carefully avoid..."

"You won't be descending from the summit."

The group was startled. Raising their heads, they saw a woman dressed in thin gauze standing atop the icy, snow-covered peak. Her gaze rested on them as though she were looking at corpses.

"Li Miaoyun!"

Li Haomiao instinctively straightened on Xu Yunfan's back, his expression cold and his eyes full of gravity.

Xu Yunfan suddenly felt something pressed tightly against his backside and hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, you're digging into me. Let me put you down first."

As he spoke, Xu Yunfan quickly set Li Haomiao down.

Li Haomiao flew into a rage from embarrassment. Xu Yunfan was truly a mood-killer. If his arms and legs were not broken, he would definitely teach him a lesson.

He composed himself and looked once more at the still expressionless Li Miaoyun.

Sensing that the atmosphere was off, Xu Yunfan silently moved to shield the two of them behind him. If things went south, he would not hesitate to activate Sprint and run.