The following two months went by peacefully. She was training during the early morning, battling in the afternoons, travelling during the evening and cultivating at night. Every day spent was a day in which she grew more powerful, which, in turn, made her feel more confident.

Standing at the edge of a cliff, Xue Yueliang looked upon the mountain her master had pointed out, her destination and marvelled at its majesty. This mountain was the tallest she had seen in the Misty Mountains, and it was covered by a thick fog, making it hard to see its actual shape or whether beings lived in it. A faint restriction hung in the air, informing her that flight was not possible in this region, meaning, that if she wanted to get to its top, she had to scale down one mountain and climb the other like a mortal.

"Why make life so tedious?" She sighed.

She doubted this was a natural occurrence, which meant someone had set it up, trying to make it harder for others to reach whatever existed in these mountains.

"If we don't work to get something, we didn't really deserve it in the first place." Yao Mig said, taking it as an educational moment.

"No one deserves anything," Xue Yueliang disagreed, "We just work for what we want."

Flashing a smile, she added: "I would not give up so easily, so there's no need to worry."

Though Yao Ming seemed content, she knew no one would be happy to die. He acted the way he did to not pressure her or make her resent him. To him, revenge was more important than holding onto the slightest chance of survival. As for why he was so determined, it was something she would find out eventually.

"Hei Yu, why don't you enter my mind palace?"

Letting out a sad squeak, Hei Yu agreed and turned into a black streak entering her mind. It was much more convenient for her to scale down a mountain if she didn't have a small beast hanging onto her. Even a cultivator like her would die if she fell from this height.

"Are you nervous?" Yao Ming asked.

"I've never been." She smiled.

She stabbed her sword onto the cliff, using it as a holding point; she stared at the amount of distance left for her and couldn't help but complain: "If I had known this would happen, I would have prepared rope."

"You can't prepare everything in advance."

"Yeah"

She was just complaining as there was no way she could get a rope this long anyway. She used her pure physical ability to create hand-sized holes in the rocks, using this method to slowly descend. Though she could go around this cliff, it would take her another month to reach her destination. She did not feel like wasting any time, especially with this sense of urgency. Moving this way, it would only take her a few days to reach a walking ground, and by then, she could mark her journey arriving here as complete.

Just as she was getting used to travelling in such a manner, she noticed a small creature in one of the many holes she had created. It was a small scorpion, half the size of her hand, but the aura it released made her wary though she knew little, she could tell that it was highly venomous.

Slowly moving her hand away, she hoped it wouldn't bite, controlling her breathing and retracting her aura, appearing as insignificant as possible. Noticing it wasn't bothered by her, she let out a breath of relief and continued her way down.

"Did you notice it?" Her master asked, sending the message spiritually instead of saying it loudly.

"Yeah, do you think they have bad intentions?"

Since a few moments ago, she had felt an aura lockdown on her, but she could not tell where it was from or what their intentions were, making her feel nervous. Showing a fake weakness was the best way to garner a reaction as if they had ill intentions, they could use it to try and harm her. Both poisons and venoms were weak in front of fire users, so she was assured of her safety.

Time slowly trickled as she pretended to be unbothered, and the attack she had anticipated did not come, causing her to relax. However, at that moment, she felt a cool sensation land on the nape of her neck before turning into a burning one.

The searing pain spread from the nape of her neck throughout her body, causing her to feel her vision darken as pain wracked her. Clenching her teeth, she controlled the Berserk Dragon Flame to combat the venom in her enemy, and smoking fumes escaped her body. They burned the scorpion, causing it to jump off as her vision cleared.

Looking up, she saw a young man smiling at her, staring at her with interest before disappearing from her sight and even using her divine sense, she could not see him. He had disappeared.

"What was that." She said exasperatedly.

She had done nothing to provoke him, and she was now unable to even locate him.

"What sort of technique is that?"

If he disappeared from her senses like that mid-battle, she did not know how she should react, but she knew it could be fatal. Surprisingly, rather than feeling despair, she felt curiosity. There were many marvels in this world, and, so far, she had only met three. This would be her chance to fully step into the world of young geniuses rather than messing with those she considered to be mediocre.

Noticing her mood changes, Yao Ming felt gratified, as there were many talented people in this world, but few ever made it to the top. It was not due to their lack of power but lack of character. Their fear of what they did not understand and their lack of will to improve. Luckily for him, his disciple was no such person.

As the master-disciple duo had their own thoughts, so did her attacker.

"How curious," he whispered, "She had noticed me."

He had complete confidence in his stealth capabilities and was surprised a nobody he didn't recognise could notice and trick him. A smile appeared on his pale face as he thought that this trip may not be as boring as he thought.

"Young Master, I'm glad you seem to be enjoying yourself."

A gruff voice sounded as a man stepped out from behind, bowing to him. The man had wrinkles around his eyes and a hunched back, clearly subservient to the young man.

"Doesn't mean I enjoy being followed."

"It's all for your protection. I hope you understand."

"And you think you can protect me?" He snorted, causing a look of shame to appear in the other's eyes.

Noticing his quiet, the young man sighed and asked, "What powers will be here?"

"From what I know, there's Li Hua of the Silver armour sect, Sun Wei of the Hidden Ocean Sect, Qin Wen of the Qin Clan and the third prince, Mao Ya. Many others are from weak powers or had hidden." He answered, relieved he did not have to continue talking about a difficult issue.

"What about that girl?" He asked, "Is she really a nobody?"

"It seems that way, but she would be hard to recognise with that veil."

"How curious," he repeated. Wind formed under his feet, and he glided down the mountain, going at a much faster speed than before.

"Phew." Xue Yuelieng sighed as her legs touched the solid ground for the first time in a few days.

"I'm exhausted." She had to stay concentrated this entire time. Carefully choosing the amount of strength she could use and staying on the lookout for unexpected attacks had drained both her mental and physical energy. Being on flat ground took a load off her shoulders.

She sat down and began cultivating for the first time in a few days after popping an Energy Restoring Pill in her mouth. Perhaps this would be her last cultivation session in a while, and if she did not play her cards right, it could be her last cultivation session ever. This time she had only cultivated for about an incense stick's worth of time, as she had only wanted to rejuvenate her energy.

Stretching her arms, she got up and looked at the thick wall of fog that stood between her and the mountain. Taking a deep breath, she walked in. As soon as she entered the foggy barrier, she felt a new restriction surrounding her. She no longer could access her mind palace or use her divine sense.

"Soul suppression?" She asked herself.

Although not being able to fly or use your divine sense was an annoying matter for cultivators, it was not enough to cripple them. At the very most, it showed that whoever set this up did not want a pure soul cultivator. However, she chose to step out, as she needed to retrieve Hei Yu.

"I wouldn't want to be without you." She said, petting him.

"I will not be able to help you when you get in there." Her master's grave voice sounded. "My soul was completely suppressed in there. You will be on your own."

Xue Yuelieng was startled, then smiled: "I won't be alone. I have Hei Yu with me. Besides, you should trust in my ability."

"You know if you want, you could just turn back." Yao Ming reminded.

His only hope of revenge rested on her. She could not die.

"You worry too much," she replied, reentering the barrier.

"You hear that, Hei Yu? That's the sound of our freedom. No more nagging for a while." She laughed, causing Hei Yu to happily purr in her arms.

The fog in the surroundings made it so she could not see further than an arm's length, and with no other way, she had to walk into the unknown, but both she and Hei Yu appeared too relaxed in this foreign environment.

Soon Xue Yuelieng reached the mountain base and saw herself in front of a giant door with strange drawings. Feeling that she could not see the whole picture, Xue Yuelieng concentrated her Qi on her legs and jumped up forty li into the air, managing to see its top at eye level.

The illustration showed what seemed like two dragons charging toward each other. The door opening was the split between them, not allowing them to harm the other, forcing them to keep a distance. Pushing herself to levitate for another moment, she took in their expression of greed, anger and some sadness before being compelled to land by the rules.

However, only one question appeared in her mind, "Who needs such a giant door?" She questioned out loud.

"People like to appear grander than they are," a voice said from behind her, "It's nice to meet you again, Lady Yuelieng."

"Young Master Sun Wei, what a surprise." Xue Yueliang replied, forcing a smile on her face as she turned around.

The bandit look-alike clearly perked up and replied, "There's no need to be formal. You can just call me Sun Wei. We can be considered old friends after all." Xue Yueliang resisted the urge to roll her eyes as her gaze landed on the lantern Sun Wei held in his eyes, It dispelled the fog that surrounded them, allowing them to clearly see each other.

Oh, the joys of coming prepared.

"Sun Wei, I did not expect we would be headed to the same place. If I had known, I would have travelled with you earlier." She said, but the coldness in her eyes did not disappear, intensifying his gaze.

"We could always travel together now." He said almost hurriedly, and the men behind him shot disapproving glances but said nothing.

Looking at the people behind him, she noticed Zhong Xi and couldn't help but ask, "She's still alive?"

The more she saw her, the more curious she grew but did not know how to ask.

"Of course," Sun Wei replied, wrapping his arm around her, "She's someone special."

Zhong Xi flinched at his touch but did not let out a word, bearing with the humiliation she felt. Though Zhong Xi looked terrified, she did not seem to be harmed in the slightest, but Xue Yueliang did not dare make eye contact with her, fearing what happened last time.

Nodding, Xue Yueliang said, "Let's enter then," radiating that cold aura that intrigued him so much.