Chapter 1 The Sound of Explosion

Boom!

Without any shock-absorbing posture, Su Zhou didn't even bend his knees. He fell straight down from a height of dozens of meters in a standard standing position, smashing into the ground and creating a cloud of dust.

After the snow dust settled, Su Zhou straightened his slightly askew backpack strap and walked out of the snow pit with a leisurely air.

"It seems the height before the transmigration is related to the height after the descent? I was at home on the seventh floor before teleporting, and just now it was probably seventy or eighty meters high."

Thanks to the wind, he wasn't injured. At most, the snow was unexpectedly deep, seeping into his trouser legs, which was a bit uncomfortable.

Su Zhou briefly summarized the relevant rules, but he didn't overthink it. In any case, he could roughly see the area of descent in the light sphere before the teleportation. Thinking about it now, the snowy mountain forest he saw at the time was indeed a俯视视角 (fǔshì shìjiǎo, bird's-eye view), and it was quite high.

——Next time, be careful. He thought to himself, remembering it especially deeply because of his personal experience.

To quickly observe the surrounding situation, Su Zhou found a sturdy tree and climbed it to get a better view. As a result, he found it was a world of ice and snow, with the earth covered in silver. The snowflakes obstructed his vision, and even with his eyesight, he couldn't see clearly at a distance.

The sky was a grayish expanse, with some inkiness in the clouds. Forget about stars and constellations, he didn't even know where the sun or moon were, let alone judge the difference between the weather here and back home. If there was none, how could he determine where this was?

"I can tell that I'm in the mountains—these towering snow mountains layered upon each other. If this is within Zheng country, it seems it should be near Black Province or Liao Province. Of course, Tibet Province isn't impossible either."

"As for the spiritual energy, it's three times denser than back home!"

After managing to determine this much, Su Zhou was quite pleased. Ignoring Yala's吐槽 (tǔcáo,吐槽: retort, complain, or give a critique, often delivered in a humorous or sarcastic manner) of 'Is that all you're after?', he nodded and said, "It looks like finding someone in a short time is out of the question, but even if I cultivate in seclusion here, my spiritual energy cultivation speed will be more than twice as fast as on Earth—that's already a great gain. If I find some spiritual plants and treasures, and encounter some powerful妖魔鬼怪 (yāomó guǐguài, demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits), that would be an even greater boon."

————Rumble!!!

But before he could finish speaking, a thunderous roar came from the distance!

Not too far away, at the highest peak of this mountain range, black clouds suddenly rose, and smoke billowed into the sky!

This smoke and dust, spewing out from the earth, surged through the atmosphere like a wave. The gray-black torrent submerged into the clouds, dyeing the heavy sky with a touch of ink—it seemed that the inkiness in the clouds earlier came from this.

It was the roar of a volcano!

"Damn it, this is actually a volcanic zone?! Could it be Fusang?"

But Fusang didn't have this many snow mountains, did it?

This unexpected discovery startled Su Zhou, and he immediately turned around, his feet itching to move.

After all, if a volcanic eruption really occurred, the vicinity would be dangerous. While an Awakened-level cultivator was certainly stronger than ordinary people at this time, why bother to contend with the power of heaven and earth?

But after sensing it slightly, Su Zhou relaxed a little. His perception, more sensitive than an animal's instinct, and his related spiritual energy sensing, told him that the earth's hot blood vessels showed no signs of erupting, let alone a暴动 (bàodòng, riot) of the earth's spiritual veins.

The rising smoke and dust just now was merely a slight cough from the earth's veins.

Even so, there was no need to stay in this place any longer. Earlier, he surveyed the surroundings, and in his spiritual vision, he didn't see any noteworthy spiritual light. There were no妖兽 (yāoshòu, demon beasts) or spiritual plants worth mentioning, so there was no point in staying.

With heavy snow falling and everything white, finding the right direction to move forward in the snow was difficult. But with the volcano behind him as a landmark, Su Zhou easily chose a direction—the farther away from that thing, the better. After confirming this, he exerted force in his legs and moved forward in the snow like a snowplow, creating a white wave while also leaving a beautiful snow groove behind.

It wasn't that Su Zhou didn't want to be elegant and float gracefully, instead of transforming into a snowplow, but he hadn't learned轻功 (qīnggōng, light body skill/aerial combat) , and he was carrying a big package on his back, so it was really beyond his ability.

But he was strong, and ordinary snow was no different from air to him.

About half an hour later, Su Zhou, still running quickly, unexpectedly discovered a strange mountain path in the snow.

Saying it was a mountain path wasn't quite right. It wasn't a path, but rather some black wooden stakes protruding from the snow in this boundless white snow mountain—these wooden stakes were clearly man-made, extending along a curved line towards the depths of the distant mountains.

They seemed to be used to guide the direction, and also to prevent people from accidentally entering some valleys and pits hidden by the snow.

"The presence of guiding markers means that people come and go."

Stopping in place, circling the wooden stake a few times, and observing carefully, Su Zhou scratched his head and said, puzzled, "But there's a volcano ahead, and a snow-covered volcano—who would be bored enough to go deep into the snow mountains on a snowy day?"

Just as he was puzzled, Su Zhou's ears twitched slightly, and he heard something.

He turned his head and looked towards the distance obscured by the heavy snow.

There, some small, still-somewhat-bright dots of spiritual light were rushing closer.

"It seems there really are people—Yala, do you think I should stay here and wait for them to come over, or hide to the side and see what's going on?" Su Zhou's tone was interested.

"Whatever." Yala seemed to dislike this icy and snowy environment very much, and just stayed in the young man's warm ear and temple, lazily saying, "It's your own trial, you decide."

Squinting his eyes, observing the density of the spiritual light, comparing them to the Mu Centipede and the Twilight True Devil—after a while, Su Zhou had made up his mind, and he said softly, "They don't seem very strong… even if we have to fight, I'm not afraid."

"Then let's see what's going on."

Saying this, he simply threw the backpack on his back into the snow beside him. Su Zhou picked up the cruciform spear wrapped in cloth, stood on the black road marker wooden stake, and quietly waited for the spiritual lights to approach.

In his steady breathing, there seemed to be anticipation.

On the other side.

In the snow.

A small team of fourteen people was rushing forward.

No one in the team spoke, only the rhythmic sound of breathing could be heard, and the atmosphere was icy and frozen, just like the world around them.

This team wasn't riding horses. In the Taibai Mountains of the Northeast, not to mention horses, even mountain beasts found it difficult to walk. Under their feet, they had smooth, lightweight wooden boards, engraved with Dao纹 (Dàowén, Taoist patterns), assisted by long sticks in their hands, or pushed by internal force. Although it wasn't fast, it seemed light and quick in the snow, allowing them to move freely.

Everyone was wrapped tightly from head to toe, only half of their faces visible. Among the fourteen people, there were men and women, young and old. The leader was a tall young man with clear eyes and a rosy complexion, but for some reason, his temples were white. The remaining thirteen people vaguely formed a formation, with twelve people protecting an old man carrying a large box in the middle, seemingly protecting and transporting something.

"Stop."

But the young man at the front suddenly raised his hand and ordered, "There's someone ahead."

His orders were promptly obeyed. Everyone immediately stopped and quickly formed a circular protective formation.

"Zhou, Nephew-Master, how many people are there ahead? Are they Undead Demon Troops, or northern hunters?"

The old man carrying the large box coughed and reached into his waist pocket, grabbing something. He looked around vigilantly and asked, "You have reached the 'Heart-Eye Clarity' realm. You can observe from afar by looking at the Qi. Are there any Demon Troops ambushing nearby?"

Although the young man's temples were white, showing some signs of premature aging, his eyes were firm and deep, and his aura was steady. He also placed one hand on the long sword at his waist, gazing intently into the distance, then looked around and frowned. "There's only one person, and there are no ambushes nearby—but I can't see the depth of this person. He seems to be just an ordinary hunter without internal force?"

"But how could an ordinary hunter travel in this blizzard, and remain still for so long?"

The young man surnamed Zhou thought for a few breaths, then said solemnly, "…Time is of the essence. Abbot Fkong's relics must be sent to Taibai Heavenly Mountain as soon as possible. Leaving the guidance of the Blackwood Markers, who knows how long it will take to return to the righteous path."

"Go straight ahead. If it's an ordinary person, advise him to leave quickly. This is no longer a peaceful place. If it's those An Dynasty Demon Soldiers…" Without saying much, he simply made a decisive downward gesture, and everyone silently nodded.

After speaking, the group reactivated their internal force and sped through the snow again.

Before long, the group saw the figure who seemed to be waiting for their arrival.

It was a young man wearing light gray, simple, close-fitting clothes, standing on a Blackwood Marker.

He had short black hair, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes. His aura was like fire. He held a seven-foot-long spear with its head wrapped in white cloth, resting it on his shoulder. Although his posture was casual, for some reason it gave people the feeling that he had his own rhythm.

The black-haired young man was also sizing up their group, seemingly pondering.

The moment they saw him, people couldn't help but take a closer look, but then they seemed to be stung by him, subconsciously averting their gaze—only those with 心目通灵 (xīnmù tōnglíng, heart-eye spiritual connection) could know that there were waves of dangerous fluctuations stimulating their hidden spiritual energy!

——This was clearly not an ordinary hunter!

From afar, with just one glance, the young man surnamed Zhou couldn't help but grip the hilt of the sword at his waist, wanting to draw it. His premonition told him that the guy in front of him, who looked much younger than him, was undoubtedly stronger than him!

And because of this, his heart couldn't help but sink.

"No luggage, just a weapon, is he a robber? No, wearing such clothes in this snowy weather, and with inward-concealed spiritual light, and unrevealed true energy… he's at least in the Postnatal Realm, a master who has reached the 'Unaffected by Cold and Heat' state. And with this appearance and skill, if he's not a heaven-gifted genius, then he's a grandmaster close to the Innate Realm, who has touched a bit of the 'Reverting to Youth' mysteries!"

"Greetings, brother ahead. May I ask your name? Why are you blocking the road and hindering our progress?"

Speaking from afar, probing the situation, although it seemed like a normal inquiry at this time, the group had already subtly spread out, presenting a semi-circular formation, surrounding the other party.

And among them, the three strongest, two men and one woman, were respectively holding straight swords, thick-backed long sabers, and an ironwood long staff. Their clothes were also quite thick, seemingly with a layer of soft armor inside… The entire formation was subtly led by these three, beginning to approach.

And Su Zhou, sensing the other party's obvious hostility and unease, blinked and scratched his head.

"It's Chinese. Judging by their decorations and attire, this should be within Zheng country… But Yala, isn't my behavior very provocative in ancient times?"

His mind's波動 (bōdòng, oscillation) was a bit innocent: "Moreover, what principles does this transmigration follow? How does it seem like I'm encountering trouble as soon as I arrive? They seem to be in a hurry."

"Who knows? Just blocking the road to ask a question, that's normal, right?" The snake spirit also shook its head innocently. It thought for a while, then said uncertainly, "But according to what I know, the Heavenly God Imprint's transmigration might throw you into the center of 'conflict' in this world? But it's also possible that you're just having bad luck."

"So that's how it is? How can this Heavenly God Imprint have such a strange function." Although he thought so in his heart, in the real world, Su Zhou simply said calmly, "My name is Su Zhou. I'm staying here only to ask for directions. May I ask you brothers, where is this place, and how can I leave the mountains?"