The snowfield stretched endlessly into the distance.

Wind and snow blew from afar, cutting across faces like knives.

Mendong’s two pink lotus flower hair buns were blown askew, and he couldn’t help but cover his head with both hands, saying, “This is too cold!”

The treasure land in the cold wasteland was indeed very cold, with wind and snow that seemed endless. All that met the eye was a vast expanse of white.

Zanxing wrapped her rose-colored cloak tightly around herself—this was what Hong Su had specially selected for her. However, by unfortunate coincidence, Gu Baiying was also wearing crimson brocade robes. He usually loved wearing white, but for this trip to the treasure land, he had changed into exceptionally vibrant red clothing, embroidered with exquisite swallow patterns in black thread, his ponytail tied high, making him look more like a young master from a wealthy family in the mortal world—passionate and vivid.

Looking at the two of them, they very much resembled a couple wearing matching outfits.

Mendong covered his head, his gaze sharply scanning back and forth between the two of them. Zanxing felt uneasy under his stare, then heard him say: “Hmph, my Master Uncle still looks better.”

Zanxing: “…”

Gu Baiying threw him a bamboo hat, saying disdainfully, “Put it on. Your hair could serve as a bird’s nest.”

Mendong quickly put it on.

Meng Ying looked into the distance: “There’s nothing here.”

On the treasure map, there were still trees and stones drawn, streams and bridges, but this treasure map had been drawn many years ago. The legendary kingdom had long been buried under accumulated snow, and now there was nothing here but snow.

“Then how do we search?” Tian Fangfang scratched his head: “There’s not even a direction.”

“It’s not entirely without direction.” Mu Cengxiao pointed to the map in Meng Ying’s hand: “According to the map, the Sacred Tree grows in a snow valley. If we keep walking north, we should be able to see the snow valley. It’s just that the wind and snow here are too heavy, and it’s easy to get lost, so we need to walk and observe. When night comes, we can look at the constellation directions to know if we’ve gone the wrong way.”

“Master Uncle…” Tian Fangfang looked inquiringly at Gu Baiying.

“Let’s do it that way,” Gu Baiying said.

Everyone continued walking forward. Because the wind and snow were too heavy, and Mendong couldn’t yet wield a sword, his pace was slower. After walking for half a day, the snowfield ahead gradually began to change. They saw that in the middle of the snowfield, a crevice had suddenly appeared. Looking down, it was a deep valley that divided the plain into northern and southern halves.

From the cliff cracks in the deep valley came the sound of flowing water. Zanxing looked at the treasure map: “According to what’s drawn on the map, the Sacred Tree grows in the cliff cracks of this snow valley.”

“That’s quite dangerous, though,” Tian Fangfang muttered to himself.

The snow cliff was indeed very dangerous. Looking down, the snowy abyss seemed bottomlessly deep. Some miscellaneous trees grew in the valley, covered with heavy ice and snow, looking like jade from a distance.

To go down would mean deep snow and treacherous paths, with some places only wide enough for one person to pass sideways. A single careless step could send someone tumbling into the ten-thousand-zhang abyss.

Just as Zanxing was hesitating, Mendong had already put on his bamboo hat and walked forward first, urging, “Hurry up! This place has many spiritual herbs and fruits—I can already sense them!”

Mendong possessed the Celestial Spirit Aperture, so if he said there were spiritual fruits here, there were. Meng Ying looked at the snow valley: “The Sacred Tree might be down there. Let’s go down quickly, harvest what we need quickly, and leave.”

Gu Baiying pulled Mendong behind him and instructed everyone: “I’ll go first.”

He had the highest cultivation level, so naturally, everyone had no objections. They followed him carefully down into the valley.

This place was uninhabited, with no roads. To go down, sometimes there was nowhere to place their feet at all, and they could only use knives and swords to hack out a temporary path. The snow grew deeper and the path more slippery. What looked like a short distance was particularly arduous to traverse.

By the time they reached halfway down the mountainside, the sky had completely darkened.

“We can’t continue forward. Fierce beasts come out at night.” Gu Baiying stopped, using his Embroidered Bone Spear to push aside a cluster of miscellaneous trees in front of him. The accumulated snow on the trees was shaken off with a “rustling” sound, revealing a pitch-black cave entrance. He said, “Let’s rest here for the night and continue tomorrow.”

This mountain cave was hidden on the cliff wall, with no footholds above or below. Unless they were flying fierce beasts, it was still safe. Tian Fangfang felt around his body: “Oh no, I forgot to bring illumination talismans. Who brought some?”

Meng Ying shook her head. Mu Cengxiao rummaged through his Qiankun Bag: “I don’t have any either.” Mendong turned his face away: “Don’t look at me. My Qiankun Bag is very empty—I need to use it for collecting spiritual herbs.” However, Gu Baiying, hearing this, said indifferently: “Aren’t there tree branches at the entrance? Gather some to make a fire.”

Mendong looked at him incredulously: “Make a fire? Master Uncle, we’re cultivators—how can we make fires like mortals?”

“You can eat like mortals, so why can’t you make fires like mortals?” Gu Baiying clearly wouldn’t indulge him: “Less nonsense. Go gather branches.”

Mendong reluctantly went to gather branches.

Zanxing accompanied him in gathering branches, saying as they worked: “Illumination talismans are for lighting, but making a campfire can not only provide light but also warm the body. Isn’t that better than talismans?”

“You make a good point, but if I’m cold, I can use warming talismans.”

Zanxing: “Did you bring warming talismans?”

“…No.”

Zanxing clapped her hands: “There you have it then.”

The snow cliff had many trees, so dead branches were quickly gathered in a large pile. They were arranged in the mountain cave, and Mu Cengxiao formed a fire incantation, causing the firewood to ignite.

Warmth immediately filled the snowy landscape.

This mountain cave had accumulated snow near the entrance, so the campfire was built further inside. The north wind couldn’t enter, but at night the wind grew even stronger. Outside, they could only hear the wind wailing like crying fierce beasts.

Mendong couldn’t help but shrink into himself.

Gu Baiying glanced at him: “Scared?”

“How could I be?” Mendong stiffened his neck in defense. “There are so many of us here. But…” he hesitantly asked: “Was there once a small kingdom here?”

No matter how you looked at it, this place seemed like a desolate ghostly wilderness.

“In the library’s ‘Travels Throughout Duzhou: Vanished Cities,’ it was once written that there indeed was once a kingdom here, called the Yuezhi Kingdom.” Meng Ying spoke in a light tone: “But because of the cold climate, the people migrated elsewhere, and the cities were gradually covered by snow, so the Yuezhi Kingdom’s location could no longer be found on maps.”

“But what I read was different,” Zanxing said.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward her.

“Before coming, I specifically went to the library to find books about this place. The books recorded that the Yuezhi Kingdom didn’t disappear because of the cold climate and population migration. Over a hundred years ago, the Yuezhi Kingdom already existed. I heard that the Yuezhi Kingdom was very prosperous, with people living and working in peace. Later…” she paused: “The ruler of Yuezhi Kingdom went mad and killed all the people, leaving none alive. After those people died, they all turned into dried corpses, and the city became a dead city. Since then, no one has ever seen people from this kingdom again.”

Meng Ying was stunned: “Really? I’ve never heard of this.”

Gu Baiying looked at her suspiciously: “What was the name of the book you read?”