(This work is completely fictional, please do not relate it to reality.)
Blue Star, Huaxia, Emperor Huangdi era year 4725.
In the southwestern border, Yunnan Province, deep within the primeval forests of Xishuangbanna, halfway up a certain mountain, sat a small ancient courtyard.
Xuanchen, dressed in a green robe, stood with his hands behind his back, floating effortlessly in midair as his long hair rippled gently in the breeze.
At this moment, ignoring distance and obstacles, he gazed with gentle eyes at a person in the distance, a faint, ambiguous smile curving across his handsome face.
...
A team of capable-looking people trudged with difficulty through the overgrown, bush-tangled forest.
The leader wore a headlamp and swung a machete in his hand, clearing away a patch of blocking bushes.
"Lín Fēng, can you even do this? It's almost dark. If we don't find a suitable place to make camp soon, we're all going to feed the wolves."
Behind him, a petite girl carrying a military-green hiking backpack said with dissatisfaction, her tone tinged with slight fear.
This guy insisted on showing off by taking the lead and clearing the way, and yet after wandering around for so long, he still hadn't found a place to spend the night.
"Miss Murong, I told you not to come, but you insisted. Now you're scared?"
Murong Xue rolled her eyes and said, "Hmph, if I weren't afraid you'd harbor evil intentions toward my sister, this young lady would never have come to this deep, secluded forest."
A dark flash crossed Lín Fēng's eyes. With a fierce chop of his machete, a wrist-thick branch hanging down from a tree was cleanly sliced off.
He opened his mouth to cover up his embarrassment: "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
"You're feeling guilty. Whether this young lady is talking nonsense or not, you know very well in your heart."
Xia Yueyou, third in line in the group, furrowed her delicate brows. Just now, she had sensed a trace of killing intent—though not intense, it was very real.
Her gaze involuntarily turned toward Lín Fēng, who was clearing the path, a cold light flashing in her eyes.
She had come deep into this southwestern mountain range this time to search for a spirit herb.
While her grandfather was fighting a Rank 2 Demonic Beast, he had sustained heavy injuries and urgently needed a second-grade healing spirit herb.
Yet in today's Age of Dharma Decline, where Spiritual Energy was scarce, a Second-grade Spirit Herb was already a miraculous treasure found only by chance, never by seeking.
Although Xia Yueyou possessed a prominent family background, even she found it difficult to obtain such a supreme treasure.
All cultivators knew that in deep mountains, Spiritual Energy was much denser than in the outside world, but correspondingly, it was also far more dangerous, so under normal circumstances, people would not rashly venture deep inside.
During a secret auction once, a Second-grade Spirit Herb had originated from these southwestern mountains.
Xia Yueyou had thought of coming to try her luck and see if she could find the spirit herb.
However, somehow the news had leaked, and Lín Fēng caught wind of it, stubbornly insisting on tagging along like plaster.
The Xia and Lín families were both prominent clans in Kyoto with some ties, and coupled with her eldest uncle's persuasion, she had eventually agreed.
To have some company, she had press-ganged Murong Xue, whom she had played with since childhood.
Bringing along two accompanying bodyguards, they crossed a distance of over a thousand kilometers, traveling from Kyoto to the southwestern border.
Now they had been inside this primeval forest for a whole day, and forget a second-grade one, they hadn't even caught a glimpse of a first-grade spirit herb.
"Miss, something isn't right. It's too quiet here." The bodyguard responsible for the rear guard said in a deep voice.
At these words, the group instantly halted their steps. Without the sound of footsteps treading the ground, the surroundings grew even more silent.
Even the bird chirps and insect calls most commonly heard in the forest were absent, as if the heavens and earth had lost their voice.
"Gulp."
The sound of someone swallowing saliva rang out. Murong Xue nervously shifted her steps slightly to get closer to Xia Yueyou.
Her sister practiced immortality and could easily lift three or four hundred pounds with one hand; staying close to her provided a strong sense of safety.
"We are heading north."
After sensing the surrounding environment, Xia Yueyou spoke thus. Deep within, there was a sort of guidance, as if the north held a presence that could bring her peace of mind.
"Miss, heading north leads straight to the heart of the forest. It's likely to be even more perilous there."
One of the bodyguards hesitated. The primeval forest was inherently a giant beast capable of swallowing lives.
The outer fringes were fine with plenty of human traces, but if they ran into danger deep inside, crying out to heaven would yield no response and calling to earth would bring no help.
"What, scared? If you're scared, you can return the way you came. The Xia family won't blame you."
Xia Yueyou's voice was chilly. These two bodyguards were merely hired help paid by the family, and she could understand their actions.
Under normal circumstances, who would risk their life just to earn money?
Even if no one accompanied her, she would not give up. The closer to the center of the forest, the more abundant the Spiritual Energy, and the greater the chance of a Second-grade Spirit Herb being born.
Even if there was danger, she had to brave it. The physician had said her grandfather could not wait much longer.
However, Xia Yueyou was not acting blindly. Although her cultivation realm was ordinary, she carried quite a few good things on her person.
The two bodyguards exchanged glances, a desire to retreat flashing in their eyes. "Miss, we're sorry, but we don't dare to go."
With that, the two left behind some wilderness emergency supplies and turned to stride away.
They had spent over thirty years breaking away from the realm of ordinary people, reaching Qi Refining Realm Level 4.
Right now, they still had wonderful lives ahead of them, and the money they had earned was enough to live carefree for half a lifetime; they had no wish to take risks.
Moreover, the pillar of the Xia family was still lying on a sickbed, and no one knew whether he would ever recover.
If the head of the Xia family were fine, the two of them naturally wouldn't act this way—after all, he was a Foundation Establishment expert.
"Hey, you two cowards, your guts aren't even as big as mine as a girl. Shameful!" Murong Xue shouted resentfully at their retreating backs.
"Alright, Xiao Xue, pay them no mind."
Gathering up the flashlight and military rations the two had left behind, Xia Yueyou rubbed the girl's small head to comfort her.
Lín Fēng, standing ahead, hooked the corner of his mouth into an unfathomable smile, turned around, and said, "Yueyou, I'll clear the path. You guys follow right behind me."
"We aren't that close, don't call me that." Xia Yueyou said in an icy tone.
"Fine, Miss Xia." Lín Fēng turned around to lead the way as if he didn't care, but deep in his eyes, boundless fury churned!
They had known each other for over a decade, but ever since they were children, her gaze had never once landed on him.
She always wore that untouchable, "high and mighty" look, even though they were a perfectly matched pair!
Xia Yueyou turned on another high-intensity flashlight, led Murong Xue around Lín Fēng, and walked ahead of him.
Although her back was to him, her awareness remained locked onto him to prevent Lín Fēng from pulling any little stunts.
A strange intuition in her mind urged her to head north and enter the central region of the forest.
The setting sun completely sank below the horizon, and the primeval forest—already stingy with light—became almost pitch-black.
Even with the illumination of the high-intensity flashlights, the surroundings remained pitch black, as if any momentary lapse in attention would result in being swallowed by giant beasts hidden in the darkness.
After walking for about an hour, a slightly open, flat patch of ground appeared ahead. Just as they were preparing to pitch camp and spend the night here—
A loud roar erupted from the forest not far away, sounding exceptionally piercing in the dark, silent forest.
Xia Yueyou's expression tightened. She quickly pulled a hand crossbow from her hiking backpack, assembled it, and shoved it into the arms of Murong Xue, who was covering her small mouth with wide-open eyes.
"Xiao Xue, don't be afraid. With me here, it's probably a wolf pack. You know how to use this thing—later on, don't hesitate, got it?"
"Mm-mm."
Murong Xue nodded vigorously. Although she felt nervous and afraid inside, her small hands still gripped the crossbow steadily, ready to fire at any moment.
Xia Yueyou nodded with satisfaction. Although Xiao Xue hadn't stepped onto the path of cultivation, she wasn't just some ordinary, fragile woman either.
Before long, pairs of greenish-phosphorescent eyes appeared in the dark like ghosts, looking extremely eerie. A rough count showed at least twenty-some pairs.
Xia Yueyou drew a long sword strapped to the side of her military pack, executed a graceful and stylish sword flourish, and faced the wolf pack head-on.
Lín Fēng crept backward in terror, the machete in his hand trembling slightly.
He had always lived in Kyoto, the safest place in Huaxia, and had never encountered such a situation; facing a life-and-death crisis, how could he possibly keep his composure?
Although he was a novice cultivator at Qi Refining Level 1, facing this dense pack of wolves, he was hardly any better off than an ordinary person.
He couldn't help feeling a wave of regret. He truly shouldn't have come to this deep, secluded forest to suffer—and potentially lose his life—just for a woman whose eyes never held him!
With another roar echoing through the air, the wolf pack moved. As if receiving some command, they lunged fiercely toward the three of them.
Xia Yueyou's gaze hardened. With a wave of her long sword, a white sword aura slashed out, instantly flipping a black wolf head over heels.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
Holding a repeating crossbow, Murong Xue fired three bolts in rapid succession. The first two missed, but the final bolt pierced into a black wolf's neck, penetrating right through from the back of its neck.
With a burst of snow-like spray, that black wolf thrashed twice and collapsed to the ground, motionless.
With her first taste of success, she cast aside the fear in her heart. The crossbow in her hands basically resolved a wolf every two bolts.
In stark contrast, Lín Fēng could only swing his machete on pure instinct as he faced the encirclement of three black wolves, solving nothing while burning through his stamina at an extreme rate.