Bing Meilu's cold blue eyes gazed across the sparse plains and fields of the northern lands. Occasionally bleached white boulders protruded from the earth, breaking up the monotony of the vista. A few tall trees were peppered throughout the meadows, rising into the sky and spreading their branches wide. Small blue feathered birds chirped loudly from within their nests, singing melodious songs.

Although Bing Meilu was barely a day's walk from Jiang City, all signs of civilization had long since faded into the underbrush. Immersed in the pure wilderness, Bing Meilu inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh, earthy fragrance of the outdoors. It was... nice to simply enjoy the sights and relax.

For a moment, Bing Meilu wondered how long it had been since she had stopped to simply enjoy herself? From the moment her cultivation had begun, all those years ago, it had been a constant struggle. She had fought battle after battle, war after war, the only breaks in between being sessions of bitter cultivation and harsh training. Such was the life of a cultivator.

For a moment, Bing Meilu entertained the thought of abandoning that life of hardship, to forsake the treacherous politicking and constant fighting of the cultivator world and simply enjoy a quiet life of peace. However, Bing Meilu shook her head, dismissing the idea.

'The Great Dao is merciless and only the strong may walk it. To seek the Dao is to live a life wrought with danger and suffering, but I've already stepped onto this road and there is no turning back now,' Bing Meilu thought, her resolve firm.

The only path for her was the path of cultivation. The only life for her was the life of cultivation. Regardless of the difficulties, Bing Meilu would not give up now.

"I need to hurry up," Bing Meilu sighed. "I have a long trip ahead of me..."

Indeed, to reach the extreme south where the Moon Crying Swan Palace resided, Bing Meilu would need to travel some sixty thousand miles. As a Cultivator in Qi Condensation, such a trip could take more than a year or two by foot, and that was counting perfect conditions. When one considered weather, natural obstacles like mountains, rivers and oceans and the need to gather food and other resources, it could take more than triple that time.

However, that was time Bing Meilu was not willing to waste. She was currently in her prime cultivation years and every moment she wasn't chowing down on rare spirit herbs and exquisite elixirs was a moment wasted.

"If only this godforsaken Continent had transportation formations," Bing Meilu sighed, rubbing her forehead.

The Bird Talon Continent was relatively primitive and weak as far as Continents go, the first cultivators having appeared less than a million years ago. It was still lacking many of the more advanced techniques and tools commonplace elsewhere in the world of cultivation, such as transportation formations.

If Bing Meilu were anywhere else, she could simply head to the nearest city and teleport across the Continent in the blink of any eye. Sadly that was not an option for her here on the Bird Talon Continent.

"If I want to reach the South fast, there are still some options..." Bing Meilu muttered, falling deep into thought.

Over hundreds of millennia, the Bird Talon Continent had been thoroughly explored, every hidden nook and cranny, every obstructs mountain trail and landmark. Over this time, travellers, in search of ways to speed up their journeys had discovered many special sites that allowed one to cut down the time it took to cross the continent.

There were seven such sites, each one different from the last, each with bizarre special properties that could be used in travel.

The Malignant Road, the Xiaomi Jin, the Folded Seas, the Gates of Marrow, the Peela Baadal Secret Realms, Meng's Hollowed Veins and the Flesh Mountains. Of these seven places, only two of them were close enough that Bing Meilu could reach them in a reasonable time frame. The Folded Seas and the Flesh Mountains.

However, navigating the Folded Seas was no simple task. Safe routes through the interwoven dimensions and warped spaces of the Seas was information jealously guarded by whoever had discovered it. Each sect generally knew at least a few survivable ways one could travel through the Seas, but Bing Meilu had neither the time nor the resources to acquire such information. At that point, she might as well just walk all the way south.

Meanwhile, the Flesh Mountains were far simpler to navigate. All Bing Meilu would have to do was enter the Mountains and head south. The difficult part would be to survive, but Bing Meilu could rely on the protection of the massive traveller caravans that constantly moved through the place. She would just have to buy her way into one.

"It's decided, then," Bing Meilu murmured. "I'm heading to the Flesh Mountains."

Having decided on where she would be travelling, Bing Meilu began to pick up speed. Qi poured into her legs, a slight blue haze appearing around her. Bing Meilu raced across the grass as fast as a gazelle.

As Bing Meilu travelled, days quickly passed. The grassy plains began to turn into thick woods, trees appearing more and more as she left behind the Qi-barren north of the Continent. Before long, the girl was running through a vast and thick forest trail, nimbly dodging between trees as she ran, not stopping to slow down for even a moment. While running, Bing Meilu began to catch the far off sound of humans talking. Wondering who it was, Bing Meilu immediately slowed down. Silently walking forward, Bing Meilu approached the source of the noise, until the talking became distinct.

"- is a great idea, isn't it? We just wait for travelling merchants to walk through the pass and we can grab all their shit! It really is a foolproof plan!" a male voice spoke excitedly.

"Stop jacking yourself off, Hao. We get that it's a good strategy already," another voice responded, slightly annoyed. "Let's just eat already and head out."

"Fuck you, Bai, you're just jealous of how great a tactician I am!" the first voice said smugly.

"Great tactician my ass-"

"Both of you shut the fuck up. You're giving me a fucking headache," a third voice tiredly interjected.

Bing Meilu raised an eyebrow. That was a rather strange accent. It looked like it was just some bandits. They were probably planning on picking off merchants who were heading to the Flesh Mountains and stealing their cargo.

Bing Meilu walked forward, quickly breaking the treeline and stepping into a small clearing. A large fire burned in the center, upon which sat a large metal pot that emitted the scent of cooking meat. An elderly woman stood next to the pot, stirring it with a large wooden spoon. A half dozen men sat on logs around the fire, all wearing dark brown leather armour studded with metal plates. That was expensive armour that no normal bandit group would be able to afford.

As Bing Meilu stepped into the clearing, one of the men turned his head, catching sight of her.

"Hey!" he shouted, drawing a knife from a sheath on his thigh. "Who're you?!"

Started by his shout, the other five men turned around, noticing her as well.

"It's just a little girl," spoke the voice Bing Meilu recognized as 'Hao'.

"It just looks like a little girl," said the third voice, which belonged to a tall, broad shoulder man whose face was peppered with scars. "Don't let your guard down. This close to the Flesh Mountains, it could be any number of strange creatures!"

"Yes, Boss Liang," Hao responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

The six men stood up, grabbing large Ji, polearms with crescent moon blades that had rested on the floor. Bing Meilu snorted slightly, waving her hands dismissively at the bandits.

"Put down the weapons before you get hurt," Bing Meilu said. "I don't plan on killing you but I wouldn't mind doing it either."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" shouted the man who had first noticed her.

"Shut up Meng," spat Boss Liang, who then turned to Bing Meilu. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm in need of funds right now, so I will be confiscating any money you have," Bing Meilu smiled. "If you obediently hand over all your valuables, I'll let you live. As for who I am, that doesn't really matter."

"No, I think it does," Boss Liang smiled. "Because I think you're bluffing."

"Oh, you do? Then allow me to put those concerns to rest," Bing Meilu smiled coldly.

With a flash of blue light, a dozen knives of ice began to coalesce around Bing Meilu, large jagged blades that glowed ominously in the shaded underwood.

"You have ten seconds to drop your weapons before you die," Bing Meilu said flatly.

Boss Liang immediately dropped his Ji, raising his hands in surrender. A flattering smile appearing on his face.

"I had eyes but could not see Mount Tai. I don't suppose you still plan on sparing us?"

"I don't particularly care if you live or die," Bing Meilu responded, shrugging carelessly. "So long as you hand over your valuables and run away, I won't bother putting in the effort to kill you."

"Sounds like a plan then," Boss Liang laughed, pulling out a large sack of gold from his pocket and dropping it to the floor. "Boys, you know what to do."

The other men immediately followed suit, dropping their weapons and pulling out any valuables they had. A large pile of jewels, precious metals and other trinkets slowly formed on the ground.

Bing Meilu looked over to the elderly woman who was still cooking, completely unperturbed by Bing Meilu's presence.

"Don't look at me. I don't have any money on me," the old woman said offhandedly.

Bing Meilu shrugged. She was pretty sure the lady was lying, but she already had enough money and there was no point wasting her valuable time scouring for more. Bing Meilu leaned down, gathering the pile of money and valuables and placing it within one of the sacks of gold coins, which was conveniently large enough to store all of the money.

"I'll be on my way then," Bing Meilu smiled pleasantly, waving as she left.

Now with this money, Bing Meilu could buy a spot in one of the large caravans that traversed the Flesh Mountains. She had originally been planning on collecting the money from some villages along the way, but this was far more convenient for her.

'Now it's time to continue travelling,' thought Bing Meilu.