Heading to Lingjiu Mountain

Long before this, Shadow One and the others had already prepared all the carriages used for the journey.

Because the party of fifty was too large and easily aroused suspicion along the way, Xue Fuyao decided that Shadow One through Shadow Ten would stay by her side to be responsible for protection, while the rest of the people would split up-some hiding in the shadows and others rushing ahead toward Lingjiu Mountain.

Lingjiu Mountain was located in the borderlands of the Snow Dynasty, so their time was extremely tight.

Because there were Storage Bags in Xue Fuyao's possession, they did not need to carry any luggage; a single carriage and eleven horses set out on the road.

Perhaps because of good fortune, they were entirely smooth sailing along this journey. Aside from occasionally encountering a few displaced refugees, they did not run into bandits, nor did they even encounter searching government soldiers, which saved them quite a bit of time.

"Highness-Young Master, the border is up ahead."

Shadow One came to the carriage window and said softly.

Hearing this, Xue Fuyao put away the things she was writing, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked outside.

Wherever the eye could reach, there were only barren mountains and thick earth. Gazing as far as the eye could see, everything was hazy and completely unclear.

In the distance, a towering city wall loomed faintly amidst this sky-filling yellow sand.

"We won't enter the city first; let's go to Lingjiu Mountain first," Xue Fuyao commanded in a deep voice.

Today was the full moon, and that place could only possibly appear during a full moon, plus each appearance lasted for only a quarter of an hour.

Although she had previously let Shadow Eleven and the others go ahead of time to drive out all the people inside Lingjiu Mountain, what if something happened?

Before truly obtaining that thing, she did not dare to let her heart rest.

The carriage turned its direction and drove toward where Lingjiu Mountain was located, while Xue Fuyao inside the carriage could not settle her heart at all right now.

This was the first step of changing her destiny after her rebirth, and also the most important step; it absolutely could not fail.

On the way to Lingjiu Mountain, she began to recall the events of her past life.

In her past life, her cultivation aptitude was medium, belonging to the sort that fell short of the high but exceeded the low. Originally, she could easily have entered a decent sect, but because of the suppression by the Zhang Family, no sect was willing to accept her. With no other choice, she could only become a rogue cultivator.

The Zhang Family she spoke of could be considered part of the same lineage as the Zhang Family that usurped the throne, but compared to the Zhang Family of the Cultivation Realm, the Zhang Family here could only be considered a branch of a branch.

Xue Fuyao also did not understand why the Zhang Family went against her; she was merely a fallen princess of a ruined state in the Mortal Realm.

After escaping death several times, Xue Fuyao completely gave up on joining a sect, honestly acting as a rogue cultivator, concealing her name and identity, and not daring to show her face.

With bad talent and no backing, Xue Fuyao completely abandoned herself to despair. Her cultivation was not earnest, and she lived from day to day; her only hobby was liking to inquire about some gossip, and for this, she had even made quite a few friends.

And this Lingjiu Mountain was a piece of gossip she had once accidentally heard about.

A fifteen-year-old boy who was sickly and blind from birth suddenly possessed cultivation aptitude, and moreover this aptitude crushed countless Heavenly Prides of the Cultivation Realm.

Only, the boy did not understand the principle that an ordinary man holding a treasure is guilty of a crime, and after obtaining this supreme opportunity, he did not choose to conceal it, actually proclaiming it directly.

Xue Fuyao did not know the final outcome of that boy; she heard that he suddenly vanished without a trace, while the lineage that ultimately recruited the boy appeared with numerous disciples of outstanding talent in a short period of time.

At that time, when Xue Fuyao heard about this matter, she only felt a wave of emotional sighs, and even fantasized that if she could obtain such an opportunity, she would definitely not be like the boy, playing a good hand of cards into utter ruin.

An hour later, the carriage slowly stopped.

"Young Master, we've arrived!"

Xue Fuyao was gently lifted down from the carriage by Shadow One.

The instant her two feet touched the ground, she felt a wave of steady reassurance.

The space inside the carriage was small; even though she was a child, the space inside the carriage could not let her move about freely.

Moreover, they were hurrying on their journey without a moment's rest all along this way, and most of Xue Fuyao's time had been spent inside the carriage.

Xue Fuyao stamped her feet gently twice and said to Shadow One beside her, "Let's go."

"Young Master, the mountain roads are rugged; why don't you let this subordinate carry you as we walk?" Shadow One saw that Xue Fuyao was prepared to walk on her own, and thus spoke tactfully.

Hearing this, Xue Fuyao lowered her head to look at her own short legs, pondered slightly, and agreed, opening her arms toward Shadow One.

She was not someone excessively fastidious either; if she relied solely on walking herself, she estimated she might not necessarily manage to climb up the mountain by tomorrow, let alone having to search for the possible location.

Shadow One carried Xue Fuyao, followed closely behind by Shadow Two and the others, and rapidly advanced into Lingjiu Mountain.

Lingjiu Mountain was situated precisely at the border between the two countries, and barbarian tribes from the grasslands frequently came to hunt near here, so the people of the Snow Dynasty rarely approached this side.

After Shadow Eleven and the others arrived here, they had furthermore slaughtered those barbarian tribesmen operating in the vicinity, causing the barbarian side not to dare to approach easily either. Therefore, at this very moment, throughout the entire Lingjiu Mountain, there was only the existence of Xue Fuyao and fifty Shadow Guards.

Xue Fuyao was extremely satisfied with this outcome.

"Highness, according to the information you provided, we have found a total of three suspected locations: one at the foot of the mountain, one on the mountainside, and the last one is at the peak."

Listening to Shadow Eleven's report, Xue Fuyao carefully recalled the rumors she had heard back then, and subsequently said, "Go to that location on the mountainside."

Half an hour later, reaching the destination, Xue Fuyao was placed back on the ground.

The moment she touched the ground, she impatiently ran toward that rock which looked unremarkable and was covered in moss.

Looking at the rock that was identical to the descriptions in the rumors, and then looking at the surrounding environment, she was certain this was the place she wanted to find.

It seemed that person was quite honest indeed; those rumors were actually not adulterated with falsehoods at all.

However, honest people usually did not come to a good end in the Cultivation Realm.

This was the experience Xue Fuyao summed up after struggling and crawling through the Cultivation Realm.

"You all go and clear away all the tree branches around this area, and then go guard outside. Without my orders, no one is permitted to approach."

"This subordinate obeys."

Shadow One and the others moved quickly, and the obstructive tree branches all around were swept clean to ensure that when the full moon arrived, the moonlight could shine accurately onto the rock.

Although she was also unsure whether doing this was useful and whether that mysterious cave would appear, since the place had already been found, if this time didn't work she would wait for the next time. Could she possibly let a cooked duck fly away?

Xue Fuyao took out the things she had written in the carriage during this period and handed them to Shadow One.

"Take these back and practice with them first."

These were all Cultivation Methods she had collected in the Cultivation Realm that did not quite count as Cultivation Methods; they were things prepared by cultivating aristocratic households for descendants who were underaged and yet unable to cultivate, capable of strengthening the body and at the same time consolidating the foundational roots.