The morning sun wove threads of pale gold light through the branches of colossal pines, their boughs laden with pristine white snow. This pine forest lay many dozens of li from the walls of Glittering Pearl City. It was silent here. There was no stench of blood, no barked orders from patrolling guards, none of the frantic chaos of cutthroat ambition.
There was only the rhythmic crunch of leather boots treading upon the deep snow.
Old Master Lin trudged onward, his breath escaping in thick white plumes. Though he had once practiced the most rudimentary breathing exercises to strengthen his body in his youth, age, and a life spent behind a ledger desk had severely eroded his stamina. Trekking through this wilderness of snow since the early hours of dawn had caused beads of sweat to seep across his forehead, even as the air around him remained so bitingly cold it could chill the bone.
Yet whenever he looked at his son's back, walking those three paces ahead, the exhaustion seemed to be displaced by a sense of wonder.
Lin An walked upright, clad only in a simple black tunic and that same gray traveling cloak. He wore no thick, heavy snow boots, nor a scarf wrapped around his neck, yet his body showed not the slightest tremor of cold. Even more uncanny were the footprints he left behind in the snow so shallow and faint it was as if his body weighed no more than a leaf drifting upon the wind.
Lin An was not actively employing any lightness skill that wasted energy. He simply allowed the 'True Essence' within his deep azure lake to circulate naturally through all thirty-six of his meridians.
This was the unparalleled elegance of the Foundation Establishment realm. His body was now like an engine running at one hundred percent perfect efficiency. Qi power seeped into his muscles and bones, maintaining his internal temperature at an absolute constant. It severed him completely from the influence of the external environment. He felt no cold, no heat, and his heart rate slowed until it was almost in rhythm with the drifting descent of snowflakes.
"Shall we rest a while, Father?" Lin An asked offhandedly, without turning his head back. He had sensed the quickening of his father's heartbeat through the spiritual sense loosely expanded around them.
"No... no, I'm fine," the Old Master deflected, trying to draw a deep breath. "I can still manage. We left only a few hours ago. If we stop to rest now, my body will only get colder until my legs seize up. It would be a waste."
Lin An did not press the issue. He merely slowed his pace slightly to match the old man's rhythm, while secretly radiating a gentle, softened Yin energy around them to shield against the gusts of frigid wind buffeting his father's form.
The two of them navigated along the lines of the giant pines. The atmosphere around them began to shift subtly. The trees grew progressively larger, more ancient. Moss and lichen clinging to rocky outcrops began to emit a faint, ethereal green glow within the shadows an unmistakable sign that they were stepping beyond the boundaries of ordinary mortals and into a region with a higher density of natural spiritual energy.
"An'er," the Old Master spoke up, breaking the silence once he had steadied his breathing. "You said we are heading to Zephyrstone City... I recall glimpsing that name years ago in the trade logs of the Cross-Continent Trade Guild. They shipped silk and iron ore there, but no merchant in Glittering Pearl City ever journeyed to it in person. What is that city like?"
Lin An used a dry branch to brush aside the snow clinging to a vine blocking their path before answering, his tone casual and relaxed.
"Zephyrstone City is not governed by the laws of the Jade Dragon Empire, Father," Lin An explained. "It is an independent city-state situated right on the fringe of the 'Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range,' the natural barrier that separates the arid Western Territories from the bountiful Eastern Domain."
"Not subject to the Emperor?" the Old Master frowned. "Then who sets the rules and regulations there? An Immortal Sect?"
"The Cross-Continent Trade Guild," Lin An replied. "But not a guild of mortal merchants trading in silk or rice. They are a power bloc comprised of cultivators who specialize in commerce. Their commodities are high-grade elixirs, spirit weapons, intelligence, and, most importantly, 'transportation.'"
Lin An gestured ahead, past the pine forest towards a far-distant horizon where the dark, looming shadows of a colossal, towering mountain range stretched, blotting out the sky. The range appeared formidable and menacing, wreathed perpetually in swirling gray mists and clouds.
"The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range is too vast and too dangerous for low-level cultivators or ordinary caravans to cross on foot," Lin An continued, his voice factual and logical. "It is teeming with sentient demonic beasts and natural formation arrays that warp one's sense of direction. To cross these mountains safely into the Eastern Domain, there is only one viable method: one must fly over them."
"That is the reason for the Airship Port in Zephyrstone City, isn't it?" the Old Master deduced, connecting the threads of the story.
"Precisely. The Cross-Continent Trade Guild holds a monopoly over the airship routes in this region. They founded Zephyrstone City to serve as a waystation and a toll collection point. It is a city teeming with wandering cultivators, mercenaries, various minor sects, and merchants from every corner of the world. No one there cares whether you are an Imperial Magistrate or a fugitive from justice."
Lin An turned his head slightly to glance at his father, a faint smile tracing the corner of his mouth. "In Zephyrstone City, the only law that holds any sway is the 'number of spirit stones in one's purse.' If you possess enough spirit stones, you can purchase absolute safety and every conceivable creature comfort."
Hearing this, the Old Master instinctively patted his own cloak pocket. Though it contained not a single spirit stone, he knew very well that the son walking before him had just robbed a hundred mid-grade spirit stones from an elder of an Immortal Sect. It was a fortune vast enough to buy even an airship itself.
The anxiety of leaving their homeland began to fade. Wealth was a language a merchant like him understood better than any other. Whether the mortal world or the world of immortals, the economic system was ultimately the engine that drove all things.
"In that case, we should blend in as itinerant merchants," the Old Master chuckled softly, feeling much more at ease. "I may not be proficient in magical combat or qi manipulation, but when it comes to negotiating the rental of a room or purchasing airship tickets at a reasonable price, that is a task you can leave to me."
"I am relying on you, Father," Lin An agreed naturally.
Having his father handle the petty haggling and negotiations had been his plan from the start. Acting like a reclusive, isolationist cultivator often drew unnecessary, unwanted attention. Having a kind-faced old man serve as a front for transactions would do much to lower the wariness of those around them.
They trekked deeper into the snowy forest for another two hours. As the sun climbed towards its zenith, the sunlight that streamed down helped warm the air slightly. The snow on the branches began to melt, dripping down in tiny rivulets of water.
Lin An swept his gaze around before leading them into a wide, open clearing of stone. At the clearing's center stood the remains of an old wooden shrine, so decayed that its roof had completely collapsed. However, one remaining wall still offered adequate shelter from the wind.
"We shall rest here to eat our midday rations," Lin An announced, using his foot to sweep the loose snow off a flat section of stone for his father to sit upon.
The Old Master collapsed onto the spot in complete exhaustion. He hastily unshouldered his bundle and pulled out a strip of dry, hardtack flatbread and a water skin wrapped in animal hide. He bit into the bread, chewing with ravenous hunger.
Lin An did not eat. He merely sat down cross-legged upon a nearby boulder, closing his eyes in perfect tranquility. He allowed the profound silence of the forest to seep into his consciousness, while his spiritual sense continued to expand outward silently, surveying the path ahead and calculating the remaining distance to Zephyrstone City.
The atmosphere within the wide, open stone clearing was profoundly still. There was only the sound of the cold wind whistling through the gaps in the decayed shrine's roof and the dry crunch of Old Master Lin chewing on his roasted flatbread.
Lin An sat cross-legged upon a boulder he had swept clean of snow. His pitch-black eyes were serenely closed, his breathing so slow and steady it seemed to dissolve into the ambient sounds of nature itself.
In the practice of most elite experts, deploying 'Spiritual Sense' was akin to blasting out a wave of energy to sweep across the surrounding area much like shining a searchlight into the darkness. While it allowed one to perceive an enemy, it simultaneously announced one's own position to all others.
But for Lin An, whose 'Ethereal Meridians' were connected to the dimension of emptiness, his method of perception was fundamentally different.
He did not blast out power. He simply 'opened himself to receive.'
The lake of deep azure qi within his dantian acted as a miniature black hole. It drew in the fluctuations of energy, the heat signatures, and the vibrations within a five-li radius, pulling them into him before they were filtered through his Ethereal Meridians. Every piece of data was processed in his mind with silent, flawless precision, as if he were reading figures from an accounting ledger.
Gait is steady... footfall pressure heavier than the average person... faint emanations of low-level fire and earth-attributed qi...
Lin An opened his eyes slowly. His gaze remained calm and utterly devoid of emotion.
"Father," Lin An called out, his tone perfectly normal neither a whisper nor a shout. "Please gather some dry branches from that corner of the shrine and build a small campfire in the center of the clearing. Just enough to produce some smoke and flame."
The Old Master, who had just swallowed his last bite of bread, paused. The hand holding his water skin stopped mid-air before he turned to look at his son's face. "Someone is approaching?"
"Yes. About two li away. They are heading this way along the mountain pass trail. Five people in total," Lin An explained flatly. "Three are cultivators at the mid Qi Gathering realm. The other two are ordinary mortals. They appear to be traveling merchants who have hired escorts."
The Old Master did not panic or make a fuss. The brushes with death over the past few days had drastically lowered his threshold for alarm. He promptly stood up, brushed the breadcrumbs from his lap, and quickly gathered dry scraps of wood from the shrine's ruins, stacking them in the center of the stone clearing.
"Why do we need to build a fire? Shouldn't we be hiding?" the Old Master asked as he struck a piece of flint to ignite a spark.
"Hiding in an open area like this if their escorts have even a hint of sharp perception, they will detect it. And it will immediately give off an air of suspicion," Lin An explained logically, moving from the boulder to crouch beside his father by the fire. "We are assuming the role of a middle-aged merchant and his son in frail health. Lighting a campfire to rest and eat our midday meal in a ruined shrine by the roadside is the most ordinary, unremarkable behavior a traveler would exhibit."
The Old Master nodded in immediate understanding. In the world of commerce, making oneself visible and appearing utterly harmless was sometimes a far better disguise than trying to appear mysterious.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sound of trudging snow and faint conversations drifted from the direction of the pines to the west.
A party of five emerged at the edge of the stone clearing. They were led by three large, rugged men in weather-beaten leather armor. They wore fur hats and had heavy weapons—broadswords and axes—dangling at their waists. The aura of qi seeping from them was relatively rough and unrefined, marking them as independent mercenaries rather than disciples of a major sect.
Behind the three mercenaries were a stout middle-aged man swathed in a thick brown fox-fur cloak, clearly a man of some means, and a youth who appeared to be his assistant, lugging a large bundle of luggage.
The moment the lead mercenary noticed the campfire and two silhouettes within the ruined shrine, he raised a hand as a signal to halt immediately. His right hand instinctively moved to touch the hilt of his sword, his eyes sharp with wariness.
Seeing this, the Old Master took the initiative to open the dialogue. He beamed a wide, merchant's smile, honed over decades—a smile that appeared sincere, guileless, and radiated pure friendliness.
"Oh! This mountain afternoon air truly chills one to the bone, elder brother!" the Old Master called out in greeting first, his voice clear and hearty. "Have you traveled far? There is a warm fire here and some semblance of shelter from the wind. If you don't mind, please come in, rest your weary legs, and share the warmth with us!"
The large mercenary narrowed his eyes, assessing the kind-faced old man and the young man in a gray cloak huddling his shoulders by the fire beside him.
Lin An did not make eye contact with the newcomers. He simply gazed down at the flames, feigning a cough, bringing his sleeve up to cover his mouth as he let out a few dry, weak hacks. His heart rate had been deliberately slowed to appear frail. All his qi power was utterly suppressed and sealed deep beneath the azure lake in perfect concealment. In the eyes of the mercenary, Lin An was nothing more than a sickly youth who looked like he might freeze to death at any moment.
"Lower your weapons, Da Hu," the stout man in the fox-fur cloak stepped forward. He patted the mercenary's shoulder lightly. "They are just ordinary merchants like us. I don't sense a shred of a cultivator's aura from them."
The mercenary named Da Hu lowered his hand from his sword hilt but still led the way into the stone clearing with deliberate caution. They chose a spot on the opposite side of the campfire, maintaining a safe distance from the two Lin family members.
"Thank you for your kindness, elder," the stout man cupped his hands and bowed to the Old Master with polite decorum. "My surname is Gu. I am a merchant who deals in medicinal herbs, currently heading back to Zephyrstone City. And you two?"
"My surname is Liu," the Old Master replied, the alias rolling off his tongue with practiced ease. "I am a silk merchant from a small town in the south. I'm taking my son to Zephyrstone City as well, in hopes of buying some proper, body-nourishing elixirs from the Trade Guild to treat his chronic illness. This cold weather makes him cough without end."
Lin An played his part flawlessly. He gave two more delicate, shivering coughs before nodding weakly in greeting towards Boss Gu.
"Ah, no wonder he looks so pallid and wan," Boss Gu nodded sympathetically. He took out a metal tea flask and placed it near the fire to warm. "But you two have chosen a rather inopportune time to travel. Things are quite chaotic in Zephyrstone City at the moment. The price of transcontinental airship tickets from the Trade Guild has tripled!"
"Tripled?!" the Old Master feigned shock, his eyes widening dramatically. "Why has it become so prohibitively expensive? I thought the Trade Guild's airship routes maintained fixed, standard prices?"
Boss Gu let out a long sigh, accepting a piece of dried roast meat from his assistant to chew on. "Normally, that is the case, Brother Liu. But about a month ago, major news broke from the Eastern Domain. Word is that several top-tier major sects there are locked in a dispute over a newly discovered spirit stone mine. They've set up formation arrays to blockade the airspace and multiple border crossings to prevent smuggling."
The mercenary Da Hu, who was sitting nearby wiping his blade, chimed in with a gruff voice, "Aye. When those Immortal Sects start tearing at each other, the Trade Guild suffers. Many airships are being forced to fly long detours around the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range routes that are farther and far more dangerous. The risk fees have gone up, the spirit stone energy cost to run the ships has gone up. The Guild has no choice but to squeeze it out of the passenger fares."
"And there's another rumor," Boss Gu lowered his voice slightly, as if divulging a secret. "Next month, a grand auction will be held at the central Trade Hall in Zephyrstone City. Insider news says some artifacts have slipped out from an ancient ruin of the old-era immortals. It's causing wandering cultivators from the north and south to flock and gather in the city in droves. Lodging there is practically at full capacity now. Finding a vacant room is harder than finding a needle at the bottom of the ocean."
The Old Master nodded, absorbing the information with rapt attention. He turned and exchanged a fleeting glance with Lin An through the dancing flames of the campfire.
Lin An still sat huddled by the fire, motionless, appearing like a drowsy young man on the verge of sleep. Yet inside his mind, he was rapidly processing and organizing the acquired intelligence.
Airship ticket prices tripled... Not an issue. Elder Zhao's mid-grade spirit stones are more than enough to charter an entire ship.
A city flooded with wandering cultivators and an auction event... Means entry inspections will be lax, overwhelmed by the sheer number of strangers entering and leaving a perfect environment to remain hidden.
Artifacts from an ancient ruin... Potentially interesting resources for the expansion of his Ethereal Meridians.
The exchange of information continued for a good while longer. The Old Master employed his superb conversational skills, putting Boss Gu completely at ease until the man had spilled every last detail of the regional situation. Lin An's side had barely spent a coin or revealed anything about themselves in return.
Seeing that the sun had begun its descent and the cold wind was picking up again, the Old Master brushed the dust from his cloak and rose to his feet.
"Alright, we have imposed upon your rest long enough. We, father and son, shall take our leave and travel on ahead," the Old Master cupped his hands in farewell. "May Boss Gu and the elder brothers here journey safely back to Zephyrstone City."
"Safe travels to you, Brother Liu. Take good care of your son. The snow is starting to fall heavier," Boss Gu replied with a smile, cupping his hands in return.
Lin An rose slowly, deliberately hunching his back slightly, and trailed behind his father as they departed from the ruined shrine, leaving the stone clearing and the warm campfire behind for the traveling merchants.
Once they had navigated back into the dense pine forest and put a considerable distance between themselves and Boss Gu's party, Lin An straightened his back. The weak demeanor and the rasping cough vanished completely, without a trace.
"You performed superbly, Father," Lin An said, his tone calm and even in praise. "That negotiation just now provided us with a complete picture of the price structure and the internal situation within Zephyrstone City, without us having to risk investigating it ourselves."
The Old Master chuckled softly, a sound of good humor. "A matter like this has always been my specialty. Making others feel they are superior and more knowledgeable is the key to making them willingly cough up information... But this news about the auction and the tripled ticket prices it won't affect our travel plans, will it?"
"It won't," Lin An replied, his voice laced with a cold, absolute confidence. "On the contrary, chaos is our best friend. The more tumultuous and disordered Zephyrstone City is, the smoother our infiltration and the harvesting of benefits will be."
He continued to walk across the snow, his gaze piercing through the forestline towards the dark, imposing shadow of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range rising before them.
"We will reach the gates of Zephyrstone City before dusk tomorrow," Lin An estimated the distance. "Prepare yourself for a new form of entertainment in the world of cultivators, Father."
The journey into the central trade hub of the wandering immortals had begun. Armed with valuable intelligence and capital plundered with flawless subtlety, the two Lins were stepping onto a playing field far vaster and more dangerous than before. Yet for a true predator... this was merely a change of hunting grounds.