The car drove all the way to the foot of the mountain. After parking, the group owner led the way toward a small path off to one side.
Both sides of the path were rather bare at first, but after a few minutes of walking, the path plunged straight into the woods.
After they walked into the woods for a while, the light around them dimmed. The blazing sunshine and somewhat scorching weather gave way to a slight chill.
"Phew! This place is so much more comfortable in summer. I nearly roasted to death!"
Beside him, Ming Lan immediately let out a breath upon entering the forest, seeming to perk right up.
Su Mu also felt much better now. The sun really had been beating down on him earlier.
"There are big trees all around, so naturally it's much cooler in here. You all brought some thicker clothes, right? It'll get cold at night."
At this, the group owner glanced at Su Mu.
It was clear that he had mainly meant those words for Su Mu. As for the others, they had all been here before and naturally knew more about the place.
"I brought clothes."
Meeting the group owner's gaze, Su Mu immediately nodded and replied.
The group owner smiled gently. "It's fine even if you didn't. I've left a few pieces of clothing up there, too. You can borrow them."
Clearly, the group owner had a very good disposition. All along the way, he had never failed to ask after their comfort.
Su Mu was also quite grateful for this.
They walked slowly along. The path, which had initially been level and easy to walk, had now begun to grow rugged, and they were essentially climbing the mountain.
After who knew how long, the path leveled out again.
Towering trees surrounded them. Only occasionally did sunlight filter through, scattering spots of light across the ground, while birdsong began to sound all around them.
The most noticeable were the cuckoo birds, whose calls were very easy to recognize.
Then there were the other cuckoos.
There were many varieties of those: Asian koels, hawk-cuckoos, lesser cuckoos, and the like.
Occasionally, they could also catch a glimpse of a squirrel darting through the trees.
The others beside him were starting to breathe more heavily as they walked, and among them, Su Mu appeared the most frail.
By the time he reached this point, his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and his back felt soaked through.
"There's still some way to go. Can you keep going? Do you want to take a break?"
The group owner and the others had been chatting all along. Noticing that Su Mu's head was now covered in sweat, he couldn't help asking.
The others also turned to look at Su Mu's sweat-covered face and smiled.
"If you're tired, just say so. There's no need to feel embarrassed. When we first came here, we didn't make it as far as you have."
"Exactly. We never exercised back when we were working. That uphill stretch earlier nearly killed us."
They all spoke up, evidently trying to spare Su Mu's pride.
Su Mu responded with a smile. "It's fine. I can still keep going. I'll just treat it as exercise."
Hearing this, they exchanged glances, assuming that Su Mu simply didn't want to admit defeat. Figuring that walking a little farther along the mountain trail wouldn't hurt, they stopped trying to persuade him.
Finally, after another half hour of walking along the mountain trail, Su Mu spotted traces of human habitation in the distance ahead.
There was a pile of stones that looked like a stove, as well as a house built against a large tree nearby.
The little house immediately caught Su Mu's attention, entirely because it was a wooden cabin that blended perfectly into its surroundings.
As Su Mu looked at it, he couldn't help marveling a little.
"This house really is beautifully built!"
Su Mu offered his heartfelt praise. Such craftsmanship truly commanded admiration!
"Of course it is! The group owner spent over a million to have people come here and build it specially!"
Hearing this, Ming Lan immediately covered her mouth and chuckled.
Su Mu froze at her words, then the corner of his mouth twitched. The group owner really was so rich it defied humanity.
He had actually spent so much money building a wooden cabin in a place like this.
"Come on, take a break first, everyone. You can pick any of the rooms inside, but clean up after yourselves when you leave. Other group members will be coming here in the future, after all."
The group owner gave them this reminder, and Su Mu nodded lightly.
Although the wooden cabin looked extremely beautiful, leaving Su Mu rather curious about its interior as well.
At the moment, however, all of Su Mu's attention remained on his surroundings.
He could sense that there really was a little Spiritual Power here.
This discovery invigorated Su Mu. The Spiritual Power here was far more abundant than what he had previously found in the parks around him!
Su Mu casually set his backpack on a rock nearby. After he walked a few paces, the view suddenly opened up before his eyes.
Right in front of him was a cliff.
A large rock jutted straight out, like a platform.
Standing here, the wind howled past, whipping his clothes with a crackling flutter. Even the heat of the blazing sun was greatly diminished by the fierce wind.
"Well? The scenery here is great, isn't it? This spot stunned all of us when we first came here."
At some point, Ming Lan had also come up beside him. Looking at the scene before them, she couldn't help sounding a little boastful.
From this enormous rock, they could see the dense, undulating canopy below, a forest stretching beyond the limits of their sight.
Su Mu nodded lightly. "This trip was well worth it!"
As he spoke, Su Mu sat cross-legged on the large rock. He wanted to try to see whether he could smoothly circulate his cultivation method here and reach the initial stage.
With that thought in mind, Su Mu closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
After his dozen or so previous cultivation sessions, Su Mu could now enter meditation quickly.
Once he entered meditation, within his immaterial perception, Su Mu immediately sensed Spiritual Power dozens of times more concentrated than before.
For a moment, Su Mu was like a fish finally returning to water, greedily absorbing the Spiritual Power around him.
At this moment, the cultivation method seemed to have received enough gasoline and began circulating madly.
The fierce wind sweeping toward him died down the instant it drew close to Su Mu.
The rustling leaves falling from above should have dropped straight down or been blown into the distance.
Yet at this moment, an inexplicable pull drew these leaves into a whirl around Su Mu.
"Qingyuan."
After watching for a moment, Ming Lan was about to call out to Su Mu, but before she could get the words out, she froze.
What... was going on?
Watching the leaves spin madly around Su Mu and the fierce wind around him begin to vanish into thin air, Ming Lan's eyes widened.
After thinking for a moment, Ming Lan took to her heels. She had a feeling.
Someone extraordinary seemed to have slipped into her Foundation Establishment group!