Winterfrost City, east side.
Cold Bamboo Valley.
Cold bamboo was a kind of bamboo that grew in cold places. It stood no higher than a person's knees, and walking among it felt less like walking through bamboo than through wild grass.
The hills here were covered in cold bamboo, which was how the place had earned its name: Cold Bamboo Valley.
Years ago, many cultivators had come to admire the scenery. Later, cultivators planted even more cold bamboo in several valleys north of Winterfrost City, where it grew lusher too. This place had gradually fallen quiet.
Whoosh!
A black streak of light descended from the sky and landed at the outer edge of Cold Bamboo Valley, taking the form of an old man in black robes.
The old man was Ji Yuan.
Upon arriving, he instinctively looked toward a small hill within the valley. Amid the cold bamboo carpeting the hills, a mound of earth rose from the hilltop.
A stone tablet stood before it.
"Master, this..."
Tu Yue stared at the sight, stunned.
Ji Yuan did not answer her this time. He took a step forward and went straight to the mound.
It was a small grave, not very tall. Some of the soil atop it was still fresh, as though someone had added more only recently.
The inscription on the stone tablet looked fresh too.
As though someone had carved it only recently.
Ji Yuan's gaze passed over the words. His lips moved, but no words came out.
A single line was carved into the tablet.
"Grave of Xue Yi, a Rogue Cultivator of Winterfrost City."
Ji Yuan raised a hand, sending threads of spiritual power into the stone. The inscription soon changed, revealing a different line: "Grave of Wen Jiu, a Rogue Cultivator of Winterfrost City, and