Snowy Night

The snowy night was moonless, and the cold wind howled, wailing like a mountain ghost in the dark mountains.

The roof of the dilapidated house in the mountain village had a large hole, and snowflakes drifted down one by one. The Bright Pattern Lamp, along with a crackling bonfire, illuminated the ruined house.

Xu Yuan sat on a blanket, wearing a dark brown mink coat, fiddling with a black porcelain jar about half a foot tall in his hand.

The porcelain jar contained his and Ran Qingmo's late-night snack for the evening.

A White Fierce Bird that has been chopped into pieces.

This bird was shot down by Ran Qingmo yesterday. Although it is small in size, it is quite powerful.

With Xu Yuan's current strength, probably ten of him wouldn't be a match for this little bird that's less than half a foot long.

However, this does not prevent it from being a superior ingredient.

With the clinking of bottles and jars, Xu Yuan took out various seasonings from his Sumeru Ring and added them one by one into the black jar. After doing all this, he covered the black jar and placed it on the rack set up above the campfire to simmer and refine it over a large fire.

White Fierce Bird meat is firm, and only this method can marinate it to ensure it's flavorful and easy to grill.

After doing all this, Xu Yuan got up, went outside to wash his hands with snow, and then immediately shrank back into the blanket to sit down.

It was really cold in the dead of winter, the twelfth lunar month.

Although they have embarked on the path of cultivation, those below the fourth rank are all mortals.

He felt a pang of nostalgia for the Flame Spirit Fluid of the past.

Although it has aphrodisiac effects, it is excellent at dispelling cold.

Fortunately, there were various items in the Sumeru Ring. Besides the campfire, there was also a furnace with a Flame Gathering Array pattern inside the dilapidated house.

As the braising and marinating process took a while, Xu Yuan gradually became distracted, gazing at the abandoned mountain village covered in snow outside.

After collecting the remains of the old man surnamed Gui, building a tomb and erecting a monument, Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo headed north to search for the secret realm.

It took a month and a half to finally reach the Guanyin Mountain Range, where the secret realm is located.

Then a very serious problem was placed before them.

The entrance to the secret realm cannot be found.

The Guanyin Mountain Range in Cangyuan consists of only twelve small maps, but in reality it stretches for thousands of miles from west to east, with the highest point reaching over three thousand zhang (approximately 1,500 meters).

Xu Yuan had actually anticipated this.

The cave abode in the Wanxing Mountain Range was easy to find back then because the Hanging Sky Cliff of Heaven Gate Mountain was very recognizable, but these hidden realms in the mountains are naturally not so easy to find.

Based on information from his previous life, Xu Yuan was able to roughly determine that the entrance to the secret realm was in the northwest direction of the Guanyin Mountain Range, and that there was a river flowing down from the mountaintop nearby.

Xu Yuan originally intended to use Ran Qingmo's ridiculously high fortune and powerful cultivation to find the remaining matters.

Following the river, Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo found a long-abandoned village to settle down in.

Then

Then half a month passed.

Ran Qingmo did indeed gain something every time she went out.

Every night, this Big Ice Block brings back some "souvenirs".

It could be a rare, ancient herb, a precious mineral, or a rare Demon Beast that could be used in medicinal cuisine.

The claim of being of European bloodline is well-deserved, but the problem is that the Prime Minister's Estate already possesses all these things; what he wants is the Secret Method from that secret realm.

With that Secret Method, he could cultivate automatically 24 hours a day.

Thinking it over, Xu Yuan sighed and gathered his thoughts.

Judging by the time, she should be back soon.

While simmering and marinating the flamingos, they waited for Ran Qingmo to return, and time passed quietly.

About 15 minutes later, a rustling sound suddenly came from outside.

"Creak--"

"Creak--"

It was the crisp crunching sound of boots stepping on snow.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan smiled slightly, but then frowned again.

Because there was more than one sound of footsteps in the snow.

Did this Big Ice Block somehow find a living person today?

And just as he was thinking,

A strange female voice rang out; it was very young, even somewhat childish.

"Hey, Wood, why did you stop? It's snowing so heavily tonight, hurry inside and get out of the snow!"

Then a male voice sounded from outside:

There's someone inside.

"What's wrong with someone? This is the only house in Li Family Village that's still intact. Most of Brother Qi and the others spend the night here." The young woman said nonchalantly.

"If someone is involved, you have to get their permission first," the man said.

"."

The woman was silent for a moment, then asked tentatively, "Well, he doesn't agree. Where do you plan to stay tonight?"

The man hesitated for a moment before replying, "There is a cave about ten miles ahead."

"Ten miles?!"

The woman's voice rose slightly. "You can go if you want, I don't want to leave anyway, it's snowing so heavily."

The young woman's voice approached the dilapidated house as she spoke.

A moment of silence,

A woman's slightly embarrassed and annoyed voice came from behind her. "Li Erzhu, why did you pull me like that!"

Li Erzhu stubbornly said:

"We need his permission first."

After a struggle, the woman, seemingly unable to break free, angrily shouted into the flickering firelight of the house:

"Hey, you inside, stop playing dead! This blockhead is talking so loudly, you must have heard me, right?"

"."

Okay, it probably wasn't picked up from the Big Ice Block.

However, Xu Yuan did not speak immediately.

Judging from their conversation, the two seemed quite familiar with the place.

Moreover, someone who can walk on mountain paths in such a snowy night must be a cultivator, and their cultivation level must be quite high.

After a slight pause, Xu Yuan said slowly:

Come in.

Upon hearing the voice, Li Erzhu immediately released the woman's wrist and replied:

"Thanks."

The crunching sound of footsteps on the snow echoed again, and two figures appeared outside the door.

Xu Yuan also got a clear look at the two people's faces.

The man was dressed in a light blue, close-fitting outfit, with a sword and a bulging cloth bag slung across his back. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with an ordinary face and a seemingly honest and unassuming demeanor.

The woman was dressed in a red outfit resembling a cheongsam, draped with a heavy fur coat, and also carrying a sword. She looked extremely young and innocent, but the cheongsam she wore was quite large.

Once inside, it patted the snow, creating an enticing swaying sound.

Xu Yuan stared at the two of them, his Will Soul flickering slightly, and then he began to have some doubts.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he didn't Will Soul to probe the two's cultivation levels. He simply checked the surrounding Source Qi fluctuations. In the wilderness, casually probing someone's cultivation level is tantamount to telling them, "Get your weapons ready, I'm going to take you down."

However, this investigation revealed something unusual.

The woman seemed normal, emanating an aura of her circulating internal Cultivation Method to ward off the cold. Judging from the fluctuations, her cultivation level should be similar to his.

But this man was rather strange. He was only wearing a single layer of clothing in such cold weather, and there was no fluctuation of Source Qi to ward off the cold, nor any use of cultivation Cultivation Method.

Is it the Fusion Realm?

Only by Body Fusion can one be unafraid of severe cold and scorching heat; that's how Ran Qingmo did it.

After embarking on his journey, Xu Yuan encountered many things.

Travelers who stayed overnight, refugees fleeing their homes, and even Ran Qingmo who robbed them in the middle of the night.

However, this was the first time Xu Yuan had encountered a high-level cultivator since leaving Jingjiang Prefecture.

A fourth-grade Body Fusion around twenty years old must be a genius from some sect, and there seems to be a Wanxiang Sect near the Guanyin Mountain Range.

While Xu Yuan was sizing up the two men, they were also sizing up Xu Yuan.

A hint of amazement flickered in the woman's eyes.

Li Erzhu's eyes were full of vigilance.

The scene before me was very strange.

The interior was half dilapidated and half luxurious.

The Bright Pattern Lamp on the wall, the tiger-skin rug that covered almost half the floor, were emitting wisps of fragrant smoke, and there were mahogany tea trays and expensive porcelain cups, as well as two people sitting on futons.

It has been ten years since the massacre of Li Family Village.

Seeing such luxurious room furnishings in this deserted village is very strange.

Li Erzhu stepped to the side, shielding the woman behind him. He gripped the hilt of his sword, stared at Xu Yuan, and remained silent for two seconds.

road:

Are you even human?

"."

Quietly count your breaths.

Xu Yuan pointed to himself, his eyes looking somewhat strange:

"You suspect I'm a ghost?"

Even though Ran Qingmo wasn't around, Xu Yuan wasn't too panicked, since he had his old grandfather with him.

Although the old man had mostly secluded himself in his Soul Ring since the Ghost Mist trip, he would only occasionally come out and say a few words.

But he was indeed there.

Li Erzhu nodded. "Mm."

Xu Yuan: "Why?"

"You can't carry all this on you." Li Erzhu gripped his sword in a reverse grip, his eyes serious. "High-level demonic illusions are hard to distinguish from reality."

"." Xu Yuan.

"Li Erzhu, you're the devil!"

The woman in the cheongsam peeked out from behind Li Erzhu, then shoved him from behind, scolding in a coquettish voice, "Put your sword away! That's Sumeru Ring!"

Li Erzhu glanced at the woman in the cheongsam, his eyes filled with doubt:

"The Sumeru Ring?"

"."

The woman in the cheongsam rolled her eyes, ignored Li Erzhu, walked past him to a few meters in front of Xu Yuan, gracefully clasped her hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Wanxiang Sect, Zhou Xiaohe."

"I was rude just now, please forgive me, young master. My senior brother is just naturally dull-witted."

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, some information flashed through his mind, and then smiled and waved his hand:

"It's alright, it's always good to be careful when you're out and about."

He paused, then added:

"Wind Listening Pavilion, Zhou Chen."

Lou Ji Ji's Wind Listening Pavilion has a good reputation as an intelligence organization, and it's also quite mysterious.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaohe's eyes flashed with surprise, but she then smiled gracefully and said:

"It turns out you're from the same clan, young master. What a coincidence!"

Xu Yuan took out two prayer mats from his Sumeru Ring, held them with his Source Qi, and handed them to the other person, saying:

"It's quite a coincidence, I'm also staying at this house. I won't offer you any further hospitality, please find a place to sit."

Upon seeing the prayer mat that appeared out of thin air, Zhou Xiaohe's dark, beautiful eyes darted around, and she thanked her.

"We've traveled a long way, and if it weren't for you, young master, my senior brother and I might not even have a place to sit. Thank you so much, young master."

Xu Yuan showed no intention of continuing to speak.

This woman recognized the Sumeru Ring and was surnamed Zhou, so she must have some connection with the Wanxiang Sect Master. Currently, he and Ran Qingmo are searching for a secret realm on someone else's territory, so it's not appropriate for them to get too close.

Seeing this, Zhou Xiaohe's beautiful eyes flickered, and without saying anything rashly, she clasped her hands in a fist and palm salute:

"Then my senior brother and I will have to disturb you and your sister tonight."

"."

Xu Yuan was taken aback.

Your younger sister?

Ran Qingmo just got back?

Just as I was thinking,

Zhou Xiaohe smiled and waved behind him, her beautiful eyes crinkling.

"Little sister, you're so cute!"

There's something going on at home today, so this will be the last update. I'll make up for it tomorrow.