Four hundred years of ice and snow had frozen nearly ten thousand miles of sea into a solid expanse. Towering icebergs stood upon the vast icy plains, and the world was reduced to a single dazzling white hue, appearing desolate and lonely.
Ri Yan said, "The enormous forested island where the Building Tree stands is extremely remote. There are some surrounding islands, but they're completely devoid of human traces now. Back when Qingcheng and I followed the north wind here, we saw remnants of shattered houses on several nearby islands. Though in ruins, one could still sense their once-thriving past. I suspect they were likely settlements of the Yaksa tribe. Tens of thousands of years ago, the relationship between the Yaksa and the Graftwood Seed probably wasn't as twisted as it is now. Look at the island where the Building Tree stands—doesn't it seem surrounded by these Yaksa settlements like the moon encircled by stars? You, my girl, were born at the wrong time. Had you been born tens of thousands of years earlier, you might have been an empress!"
At the time, he'd been too eager to see the Graftwood Seed and paid no attention to the Yaksa's grand islands. Qingcheng had been hurried along by him like a man possessed, leaving no time to dig through the ruins for any remaining records. Now, when he wanted to see them, they were gone—everything buried beneath layers of ice. The once-glorious Yaksa tribe had long withered away, with the last two members even having their horns broken. It was truly lamentable.
Li Fei closed her eyes, carefully searching for Lei Xiuyuan's presence. Suddenly, Ri Yan's tail coiled around her and tossed her onto his back. "You won't find him this way. Follow me."
Four hundred years had passed, and this fox seemed even stronger than before. He flew against the wind with lightning speed, the endless ice and snow vanishing in an instant. The azure sea reflected the setting sun, dotted with countless emerald islands like pearls scattered across the water, reminding Li Fei of the scenery at the East Sea Trial Grounds from years past.
"That kid was severely injured back then. Even after exhausting his Source Spiritual Qi Net, there wasn't much improvement. I thought he was going to die," Ri Yan said as he flew, recounting many events that had transpired afterward.
Though the Yaksa were iron-skulled and formidable, nearly equal to the Graftwood Seed and deeply entangled with it, they couldn't withstand the Heavenly Thunder Fire Sea. Conversely, the Graftwood Seed couldn't move as swiftly as them, ignore all Barriers effortlessly, or perfectly conceal its traces and presence like they could.
Such was the nature of strengths and weaknesses. Facing others' strengths with one's own shortcomings, even the iron-skulled Yaksa would suffer.
"I took him to the Building Tree's island, hoping the dense spiritual energy there would help him, but it didn't seem to do much," Ri Yan inhaled sharply. "After observing for three days, just when I thought he would die, his body suddenly became covered in Golden light, and he fell into a deep sleep—or what I assume was sleep. I don't know much about the Yaksa. Anyway, he didn't die but slept like that for nearly four hundred years. Then, two years ago, he suddenly woke up. I wasn't there when it happened. By the time I came to check on you two at the Building Tree's island, he was already gone."
The Yaksa were a tribe cursed by the Graftwood Seed. Ri Yan had considered all possibilities—that Lei Xiuyuan might remain beneath the Building Tree after waking, or even climb to its summit to approach the fruit. The one thing he hadn't expected was for him to leave, and to do so without a trace, leaving not the slightest hint behind.Ri Yan continued, "I suspect he might be like Hu Jiaping—after his horn broke, the curse somehow disappeared, which is why he left the Building Tree. I searched the surrounding area for nearly ten days and finally found him here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he landed steadily atop a mountain peak. Li Fei was awestruck by the scenery below. This must be one of the countless islands among the Thousands of Islands, yet it was so vast it resembled a sprawling nation. The mountain beneath her feet wasn’t particularly high, nor did it have jagged peaks, but what was astonishing was that nearly every ten steps along the mountain, there stood a tree shimmering with light, as if adorned with countless pearls. From the summit to the base, the entire mountain seemed draped in a cloak of luminous jewels.
A warm breeze brushed against her face, and the mountain air was serene and refreshing, lifting her spirits.
Seeing the girl gaping in wonder, Ri Yan couldn’t help but laugh triumphantly. Knowing everything about the Graftwood Seed didn’t mean she knew everything about the lands beyond the sea. At heart, she was still that ignorant little brat, her eyes nearly popping out of her head at her first glimpse of the true Thousands of Islands.
"This island isn’t actually that big," Ri Yan said, swaying his five tails as he resumed his lofty, condescending tone, eager to enlighten her. "The combined territories of those Yaksa islands are far larger than this. And the island of the Rakshasa tribe to the south—now that’s what you call a true giant, easily a hundred times bigger than this one."
He shook his body, and his massive form suddenly shrank to the size of a thumb, just like during their days at the Academy. Nimbly leaping onto Li Fei’s shoulder, he declared arrogantly, "Let’s go. Walk down yourself—spares us the trouble of those ignorant foreigners pestering me again."
Every island beyond the sea had its own unique customs and traditions. The people of this island, the Isle of Binding Tassels, were exceptionally skilled in Demon Manipulation. When he had appeared in broad daylight searching for Lei Xiuyuan, the islanders had been overjoyed, scrambling to tame him—an utterly vexing ordeal.
Li Fei was still stunned. The mountain was clearly meticulously cared for. Though there were no man-made paths, every trail was free of weeds. Approaching one of the glowing trees, she realized the shimmering objects weren’t pearls but countless flowers woven from luminous leaves. The mountain’s aura was immaculate—something unheard of anywhere in the Central Land.
Seated on the Horn of the Rhinoceros, she descended slowly along the pristine mountain trails, glancing around until she couldn’t resist asking, "What’s the deal with this mountain? Why hang these glowing leaves?"
Ri Yan snorted disdainfully. "Fool, your ignorance is downright pitiful! The nearby islanders revere this mountain as a deity! Haven’t you heard those Central Land tales about worshipping thunder and lightning? It’s the same here! Since they treat it as a god, they naturally keep it pristine, just like how Central Landers maintain their temples. The islanders, with their simple customs, adorn it with flowers woven from Bai Guo leaves."
Of course, she’d heard all sorts of legends about deities—but those were just myths. The concept of gods was ethereal and unfounded. Cultivators believed in the Heavenly Dao, in karma, in perseverance—not in nonexistent deities. She never imagined foreigners would believe in such things, much less worship a mountain as a god. It was utterly unheard of."I'm telling you," Ri Yan's voice suddenly turned serious, "when you see that brat, don't get too excited. He seems to have forgotten everything, and I can't sense his spiritual energy or aura anymore. Don't expect him to be the same person who catered to your every need four hundred years ago—he's living quite well now. Hmph! I always knew that brat was sly to the core! He'd never come out on the losing end anywhere!"
Li Fei nodded with a wry smile. In truth, she'd already had a premonition—that Lei Xiuyuan, like Hu Jiaping, might lose his memories after his horn was broken. The Yaksha Horn wasn't as simple as they'd thought; it wasn't just the source of a Yaksa's power but might even be connected to the curse of the Graftwood Seed.
But whether he'd lost his memories or become an ordinary person didn't matter. As long as Lei Xiuyuan was alive, that was enough.
The Horn of the Rhinoceros flew lightly over the mountain forest. Under the glow of the evening clouds, a massive village appeared in the distance. The houses, built from black and white stones, looked completely different from Central Land architecture—from afar, they resembled giant seashells standing on the ground. It was dinner time, and wisps of smoke rose straight up from the bases of the houses, creating a peculiar sight.
Just as Li Fei was about to ask where Lei Xiuyuan was, she suddenly sensed something amiss. With a flick of her wrist, she immediately cast Earthen Guardian around herself. From the dense foliage above came several spiritual energy fluctuations—strange and subtle, utterly different from those of Central Land cultivators, and extremely difficult to detect.
As the orange glow of Earthen Guardian flared to life, a sharp shout came from above, followed by a series of metallic clinks. Over a dozen gleaming white iron hooks, attached to ropes, bounced off her body and clattered to the ground.
Seeing that the hooks were imbued with spiritual energy, Li Fei was inwardly shocked. The hooks were clearly meant to snag and restrain her—what a savage weapon! Worse, the attached spiritual energy made them infinitely sharper than ordinary metal. Without Earthen Guardian, she'd have been riddled with hooks by now.
Suddenly, her vision blurred again as over a dozen bizarre-looking Monstrous creatures swooped down from all directions—front, back, left, right, above, and below—leaving no angle uncovered. It was clear the Restrained Tassel People hiding in the trees were well-coordinated, their attacks seamless.
Too bad Monstrous creatures were useless against her.
Li Fei whistled a few times, and the creatures froze mid-air against their will. With a wave of her hand, they were sent flying back the way they came.
Gasps of disbelief rose from the trees. Someone exclaimed in surprise, and then several figures landed before her like lightning. Li Fei saw that they were all short in stature—the tallest no taller than herself—lean and dark-skinned, with hair tightly bound atop their heads regardless of gender. They wore strange gray short robes, though their faces were no different from ordinary people's. Their eyes, however, were filled with awe and wonder as they stared at her. After a long pause, the tallest among them suddenly spoke rapidly, his tone suggesting a question, but she couldn't understand a single word.
Not wanting to waste time with them, Li Fei urged the Horn of the Rhinoceros upward and sped toward the village.
Ri Yan suddenly burst into laughter on her shoulder, his tiny body nearly toppling backward. "They actually asked if you're a mountain god! Humans, humans! Whether in the Central Land or beyond the seas, they're all equally foolish!"
Li Fei gasped. "You understand their language?!"After all, she was a matured Graftwood Seed—how tragic was it that she couldn’t even understand her own native tongue?
Ri Yan shot her a glance. "I’ve been here for four hundred years! Did you really think it was all just a dream?"
Just as Li Fei was about to ask him to teach her, a sharp gust of wind whistled past her ear. Ri Yan roared furiously, and the next moment, a scorching hand clamped around her neck while another mercilessly yanked her collar, dragging her straight off the Horn of the Rhinoceros.
But she was no longer the same as before. With a mere thought, several layers of Earthen Guardian shields materialized around her body, and flames gathered in her palm as she tried to force the attacker’s hand away. Yet suddenly, a familiar scent reached her nose—cool and lingering, like the incense burning in the Bronze Cauldron of a grand hall.
She gasped, grabbing the person’s sleeve and straining to look up. There, she met those pitch-black eyes that had haunted her dreams. But gone was their usual gentle mockery—now, they were utterly frigid. He lifted her high, as if intending to hurl her to the ground.
Seeing the Golden light shimmering around him and the single Yaksa Horn protruding from the left side of his head, Li Fei feared he was about to strike hard. Immediately, she forced his grip open with flames, twisting midair before landing steadily on her feet.
Ri Yan leaped onto her shoulder, snarling, "If he keeps this up, I’ll grow big and bite him to death!"
But Li Fei barely registered his words. Her attention was wholly captured by the figure descending before her on a glow of Golden light.
Was this Lei Xiuyuan? Why—why was he dressed like this?
She stared in astonishment at his opulent black robes. He seemed taller now, his figure and face devoid of the slightly awkward youthfulness he once had. No longer tied with simple ribbons, his long hair was now gathered with pearls, and his clothes were unmistakably luxurious, embroidered with golden threads. She had never seen such a resplendent Lei Xiuyuan—where had the frugal, unassuming boy gone?
From all directions, the clamor of approaching voices grew louder. It seemed the entire village had been roused, gathering in a flustered yet orderly manner. Then, to her utter disbelief, she watched as they bowed respectfully to Lei Xiuyuan. Her mouth fell open in shock.
Ri Yan snorted coldly. "See? Told you he was doing just fine!"
This was a mountain king, through and through.
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