Yuan Qinghua was no longer the Yuan Qinghua of old, and Xu Yi was no longer the Xu Yi of old.
The old affection remained, but everything else had changed.
After leaving the Yuan residence, Xu Yi found a quiet tavern, reserved a private room, and unrolled a scroll. It was a map of Dayue's mountains and rivers.
The map stretched as far as the eye could see, so vast that its edges were marked with dotted lines, signifying the limits of what it covered.
Even so, many cities and towns had been omitted. It wasn't that they weren't shown; there simply wasn't room. Even famous mountains and great rivers were represented only by vast ranges such as Huiyin Mountain.
After searching for a long while, Xu Yi finally settled on three places: "Shenfeng Mountain," "Shengfeng Mountain," and "Ancestor God Peak."
So much time had passed that Yuan Qinghua could remember only the words "Shenfeng." He couldn't be sure of the tone, or even whether he had remembered the sounds correctly.
With his targets set, Xu Yi immediately shot into the sky and streaked away. His sudden appearance alarmed the patrol riders, and hundreds of them rushed after him, but not one caught sight of him.
Using triangulation, he pinpointed the three mountains and decided to start with Shengfeng Mountain, which lay at the center of the triangle.
Shengfeng Mountain was a full thirty thousand li from the capital, Shenjing. Xu Yi activated the Lightning Riding Technique and, sparing no true baleful energy, crossed all thirty thousand li between dusk and dawn.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, even with his current cultivation, he could barely keep going. As soon as he landed, he nearly collapsed. He drained a pouch of water, then sprawled on the ground, unable