Chapter 343: Corrupted Bloodline

"I don't need you to go easy on me," Yuan Yao hummed lightly.

She lifted her step and walked forward.

Xie Yan's eyes held a smile as he watched her silhouette, then he lifted his step to follow.

Xie Yan turned his head toward her, "I heard you never left the Carefree Sect before."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Yuan Yao replied with righteous confidence, "Because I'm lazy, and I don't want to leave the Carefree Sect."

Relying on his understanding of her, Xie Yan thought her words weren't the real reason and that she was hiding something, and said, "Then why did you choose to leave the Carefree Sect and go out to train?"

She glanced at him sideways, "Because I want to become stronger."

"You've already been growing quickly."

When first met, her cultivation was only the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, but now she has already broken through to the Initial Golden Core.

Moreover, her spiritual power surpasses that of many strong cultivators.

In less than a year, she has already reached this level, showing how powerful her cultivation talent is.

"Xie Yan," she called suddenly.

Xie Yan turned his head toward her, his voice low, "Hm?"

Yuan Yao said, "If in the future I cultivate to the same realm as you, let's have an official duel. I believe in myself; not ten years, no, five years, I can cultivate to the same realm as you!"

If he had heard Yuan Yao's words a few months ago, he would have mocked her, but now having witnessed her terrifying growth speed, any contempt has long vanished; he said calmly, "Yuan Yao, while you get stronger, I will also get stronger. So you may not be able to catch up to my cultivation realm."

"Then let's see," Yuan Yao raised an eyebrow.

Xie Yan chuckled lightly, "Fine."

…

Meanwhile.

On the other side, in a snowy valley, a party that had finished resting was preparing to set out again toward the treasure site.

Dozens of young disciples dressed in sky‑blue garments followed orderly behind.

At the front were four people.

A middle‑aged male cultivator and a woman in her thirties, both clad in white robes.

The two of them surrounded the two in the middle.

The two in the middle were a gray‑robed elder and a girl wearing a white cloak; she was delicate‑faced, her brows and eyes cold yet showing resolve.

The gray‑robed elder asked, "How much longer until we arrive?"

"Almost there," the girl replied, "Just another one and a half hours of marching, and we'll reach the treasure site."

She paused, then continued, "The treasure site's perimeter has 7×7 = 49 traps; to truly enter will take considerable time. Moreover, there's the Mountain King stage..."

The Mountain King is the spirit beast guarding the treasure site!

The treasure site's owner once was not only the Mountain King's master but also a famed prodigy over five hundred years ago!

He was also the top of the Heavenly Pride List that generation—Yue Liu.

Later, for unknown reasons Yue Liu attracted a mysterious force that wiped out the entire Yue clan, leaving only him alive.

To evade pursuit, he entered the Sky‑Snow Mountain Range.

The Sky‑Snow Mountain Range is a place easy to defend but hard to attack.

He stayed there for more than twenty years.

Yue Liu finally cultivated to the peak of the Body Integration Realm and wanted to leave the Sky‑Snow Mountain Range to avenge his clan.

He knew this journey was likely a one‑way trip.

So he sealed his own body and the treasures accumulated by the Yue family over generations within the Sky‑Snow Mountain Range, along with three Heavenly Pride Tokens.

One Heavenly Pride Token was his own.

The other two Heavenly Pride Tokens came respectively from his sister Yue Dan and his close friend Hong Xiu.

Before leaving the Sky‑Snow Mountain Range, he drew a map and split it in two.

He gave each half to the two people.

One was Hong Xiu's younger brother.

The other was an ancestor of the Ao Clan who had once helped him.

But to mislead, he sent half a true map and half a false map to dozens of cultivation families.

Only when the two true halves are combined does the map reveal the terrain of the Sky‑Snow Mountain Range and the treasure site.

Thus, even if a true half and a false half are joined, nothing will be shown.

Yue Liu's trick indeed effectively confuses observers.

Yet the world does not know that Yue Liu once had ties with the small Ao Clan of the Ninth Province, nor would they think he gave a half‑true map to the Ao Clan's ancient ancestor.

The direct Ao Clan descendants also keep silent, for they know that half‑map is not only a treasure but also the source of calamity.

Over a hundred years ago, Hong family's descendants courted disaster, resulting in the entire clan being avenged and killed.

That half‑true map then surfaced.

Until this year, a disciple of the Water Mirror Immortal Academy overheard Ao Su's grandfather's conversation and spread the news.

…

And Yue Liu never returned.

No further trace.

Over these centuries, countless people entered the Sky‑Snow Mountain Range seeking treasure, only to die from the harsh environment, be slain by snow beasts, or be killed by the Mountain King.

During these centuries, a few cultivators did locate the treasure site, but all were ultimately killed by the Mountain King.

The Mountain King is fiercely loyal to Yue Liu, and it has also been waiting here for Yue Liu's return.

The gray‑robed elder heard this and tilted his head slightly, calling out, "Hong Zhengqing."

As soon as the words fell, a young man stepped out of the ranks; he appeared gentle and refined, raised his hand and performed a bow toward the gray‑robed elder, "Second Elder."

The gray‑robed elder asked, "If the Mountain King appears, do you know what you should say?"

Hong Zhengqing heard this, nodded, and replied, "In response to Second Elder, I understand."

At this moment, the girl looked at him.

"Then I shall trouble Senior Brother Hong."

Hong Zhengqing heard the girl's voice, his heartbeat quickened a few beats, his earlobe flushed slightly, he dared not look up at her, and responded, "This is what I should do, Lu junior sister, no need to be formal."

The girl was Lu Xiangxiang; she gave him a gentle smile.

Immediately, they continued on their way.

After roughly more than an hour, they finally arrived at the outer perimeter of the treasure site.

Everything before their eyes looked no different from an ordinary snow mountain.

Lu Xiangxiang knew there was an invisible seal here; only by touching the sealed barrier would a trap mechanism be triggered.

To enter safely, one must first break through forty‑nine layers of trap mechanisms.

However…

There is another method.

"Senior Brother Hong." Lu Xiangxiang turned her head to look at Hong Zhengqing.

Hong Zhengqing heard this, cleared his mind of distractions, and stepped forward.

He drew a dagger from his hand and slashed toward his own palm.

The palm tingled with a sharp pain.

Immediately, fresh blood seeped from his palm.

Guided by the gray‑robed elder, Hong Zhengqing walked slowly to the sealed barrier, extended his hand, and carefully touched this invisible seal.

When his palm made contact with the sealed barrier, in an instant—

Countless ice arrows shot out from the sealed barrier toward him.

The gray‑robed elder let out a boom.

The ice arrows shattered instantly, dissipating in midair.

"What is happening?" the gray‑robed elder frowned.

"It must be that Senior Brother Hong's bloodline is not pure enough," Lu Xiangxiang said at this moment.

"Then I…" Hong Zhengqing began, but stopped.

The white‑robed middle‑aged Cultivator, after receiving Lu Xiangxiang's eye cue, immediately spoke gravely.