Lu Fan sat cross-legged halfway up the mountain peak, waiting for the right time while practicing his flying sword. He had taken quite a tumble last time, so he had to be careful this time. It seemed that sword-riding was indeed not an easy skill to master.
The sun gradually climbed to the summit of the peak, and the entire Yuxu Peak was enveloped in sunlight, casting almost no shadows. *Swish...* The barrier above indeed slowly opened a gate-like opening. Lu Fan's figure moved, and he instantly appeared within the barrier.
*Swish...* The scene before him instantly shocked Lu Fan. He saw a world of ice and snow. Pristine white snow covered the upper half of the peak, a stark contrast to the lower part. The path up the mountain was completely buried under ice and snow.
Looking back, the barrier seemed to have lasted for more than ten breaths before returning to its original state. To get out, he would have to wait for the next noon.
Lu Fan didn't hesitate and started walking forward. However, after only a few steps, the snow reached his knees. In such conditions, it seemed impossible to proceed.
*Swish...* Lu Fan took out his Falling Blossom Sword. With a thought, the Falling Blossom Sword slowly lifted off the ground, hovering above the white snow. Lu Fan leaped onto the treasure sword. *Whoosh...* The sword sank into the snow.
Lu Fan tried a few times and finally managed to lift the Falling Blossom Sword out of the snow, and it slowly flew forward. Although it was very slow, it was already quite good.
After flying a distance, Lu Fan gradually mastered some techniques and became more proficient, his flying speed gradually increasing. Lu Fan experimented with a few skateboarding-like maneuvers and found he was quite good at them.
He opened the treasure map in his sea of consciousness and flew upwards according to its instructions. Suddenly, Lu Fan stopped abruptly. He quietly concealed himself behind a huge ice rock.
Ahead, there was a large flat area, and several people had appeared. Lu Fan looked closely and saw five teenagers, four boys and one girl, all around fifteen or sixteen years old. They all seemed to be practicing sword-riding.
There were people on Yuxu Peak? Had he really entered a realm of immortals? Lu Fan couldn't help but be astonished.
The teenagers ahead seemed to be new to sword-riding as well, practicing while playing around, treating the place as their own backyard.
"Junior Sister Lingxue, come here, I'll take you flying."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Lingchun!"
One of the boys reached out and took the girl's hand, slowly flying towards Lu Fan. Seeing this, Lu Fan realized he couldn't hide anymore. With a flash of inspiration, he fell backward onto the snow. *Whoosh...* The surrounding snow seemed to be acted upon by a force, covering Lu Fan, leaving only his eyes exposed.
Lingchun and Lingxue slowly flew past Lu Fan and then returned shortly after. Suddenly, Lingxue's gaze fell upon Lu Fan's eyes.
"Senior Brother! I... I think I saw someone!" Lingxue quickly said to Lingchun beside her.
"Junior Sister Lingxue, no outsiders have ever been able to come up to our Yuxu Peak. You must have seen wrong!" Lingchun said, completely disbelieving that an outsider could appear here.
"But Senior Brother Zhu Han came up from below!" Lingxue immediately retorted.
"Senior Brother Zhu Han is an exception. If it weren't for our master valuing his annual offerings of gemstones, why would they keep him in Kunlun Palace? Hmph! He's just a mortal, after all!" Lingchun said disdainfully, clearly not holding the so-called Zhu Han in high regard.
Lu Fan's heart stirred slightly. It seemed this place was indeed inhabited by immortals. But who was this Zhu Han? Gemstones? Lu Fan suddenly remembered that he had also obtained a ruby last time, which had even upgraded his Dark Blade.
Right, and that person with the gemstones, who would rather kill him with a palm strike than let him search his soul. Could it be...
As Lu Fan was contemplating, he suddenly noticed a pair of large eyes in front of him. Those large eyes were staring at his own, with a look of astonishment!
Lu Fan blinked, and the large eyes blinked in response.
"Hehe! You're alone, and you don't want to be discovered!" Suddenly, Lingxue giggled, placed a finger to her red lips, and said in a low voice.
Lu Fan blinked again.
"Alright! I won't tell anyone! But I want to see what people from the lower mountains look like." Lingxue smiled, pushing the snow off Lu Fan's face with her hand as she spoke, revealing Lu Fan's face.
"You're so handsome! Much better looking than Senior Brother Zhu Han!" Lingxue said, her large eyes sparkling.
"Thank you!" Lu Fan said, blinking his eyes.
"Lingxue! What are you doing? We should go back," Lingchun's voice called from a distance.
"I have to go!" Lingxue said, waved at Lu Fan, stood up, and chased after Lingchun and the others.
*Whoosh...* Lu Fan sat up from the deep snow. He hadn't expected this little girl Lingxue to be so kind-hearted, actually not telling the others. Seeing them walk away, Lu Fan headed towards the location indicated on the treasure map.
Since immortals lived on the mountain, he didn't need to cause trouble. He would take the treasure and leave as soon as possible. Ahead, in a large snowdrift, Lu Fan stopped. The treasure map's location should be here, but with snow everywhere, could it be buried under this thick layer?
Lu Fan determined the direction and then slammed his palm down. *Whoosh...* Snowflakes scattered, and a large pit was revealed in the center.
Indeed, a square box was exposed in the pit. Lu Fan reached out and took the box. Using his clairvoyant eye, he exclaimed, "Holy cow... there were over a dozen gemstones of various colors inside. Beneath those gemstones was a palm-sized round object, like a lump of iron."
Lu Fan didn't dare to linger, put the box away, and hurried down the mountain. He returned to the barrier, found a spot, and sat down to cultivate. Then, he waited for noon the next day when the barrier would open so he could slip away.
However, things did not seem to be as simple as Lu Fan thought. In the evening, a person flew down from the mountain peak. The person rode a sword and quickly arrived at the treasure's location. Seeing the snow pit there, they were instantly startled. When they found the treasure box missing, their face changed dramatically.
"Bastard! Who dared to steal my gemstones? If I don't hand over the gemstones this month, that old geezer will beat me to death and throw me down the mountain." Zhu Han cursed under his breath and suddenly chased down the mountain.