Li Yan was walking along a narrow path thick with slender bamboo, where drifting mist passed from time to time. He thought of the helplessness the Fragmented Poison Body had brought him more than half a year ago, then of the agony of having his meridians separated. A shudder still ran through him. Shaking his head, he seemed to cast those unpleasant matters aside.
He raised his head and looked around. Along this path, other narrow trails occasionally branched off at an angle. This reminded him of how he had searched for a place to practice immortal arts a month ago.
That day, after deciding to find a training ground outside his courtyard, he had left the yard and wandered around the surrounding area. This was all residential land. Although the open spaces between courtyards stretched for more than a li, and he could have cultivated there, Li Yan had not intended to do so. After searching for a while, he reached the rear of the western side of his courtyard and discovered a small path leading toward the mountaintop. He simply followed it deeper in.
The path wound through densely packed slender bamboo. White clouds brushed past the branches and leaves as they drifted slowly by, while birds occasionally flew across the azure sky. As he walked, he searched for a suitable place to cultivate while savoring the quiet, ethereal solitude here. After going some distance, he found another fork in the path. He casually turned onto it. The side path twisted and turned seven times and eight times through the slender bamboo forest. After walking and stopping like this for the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Li Yan found himself at a dead end.
Ahead lay an even denser tangle of slender bamboo,