Endless Aroma Tavern—Evening.
"Did you hear about it?!" a loose cultivator whispered excitedly to his friend.
"Hear about what?" the other loose cultivator asked, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.
"There's a rumor going around—the Southern Sea, not far from here... they say an immortal mountain fell from the sky!" The first cultivator's voice trembled with excitement.
The second loose cultivator paused for a moment, then smirked.
"Oh… I've heard about that. This nonsense rumor has been spreading for quite a while now," He said with a playful tone, but his eyes were like he knew something.
"It wasn't just a rumor! The guy said it was exclusive intel—claimed it came from someone who saw the mountain descent through the clouds with his own eyes!" a loose cultivator said.
"Wait... don't tell me… did you actually pay for this information? If you did, you got scammed. I was there when the rumor first started—already confirmed it was fake." The second loose cultivator could not believe his friend was stupid enough to pay for such a rumor.
The first loose cultivator was shocked when he heard what his friend said.
"Dammit!" the first loose cultivator cursed, his reaction clearly confirming he'd paid for the news.
Just then, a cold voice chimed in from a nearby table.
"You two are idiots. Even if it was real, do you think people like us could get close to an immortal mountain without getting killed first?"
The two loose cultivators turned to look. A woman in black robes leaned back in her chair, sipping her wine lazily. Her presence was quiet, but the pressure she gave off made it clear she wasn't ordinary.
"I've seen too many fools chase fairy tales and end up as beast feed or get robbed blind," she continued.
"If a real immortal mountain did fall, the Great Southern Empire would have sealed the place off before the dust even settled."
The first loose cultivator frowned, unconvinced. "Still, if there's even a chance it's real… it might be worth checking out."
The woman narrowed her eyes. "Then prepare your will and say your goodbyes."
The second loose cultivator laughed nervously. "Maybe we should stick to raiding minor ruins for now."
…
Later, Gu City — Midnight.
The woman in black robes made her way through Gu City, a capital city of the Great Southern Empire, ruled by the Gu Dynasty.
When she was about to reach her temporary residence around the corner, suddenly she sensed the surrounding Qi shift.
Then, the entire surroundings changed—the buildings on both sides disappeared, becoming a misty, dark space. It was as if she had been transported to another dimension.
Despite this sudden change, she did not seem to be panicking, since she had already expected something like this to happen. She stopped her feet and turned.
"Who are you? You've been following me since I left the tavern, haven't you?" the woman in black robes said lazily.
From afar, one figure emerged from the misty darkness. The figure was a man wearing black with golden-edged cloth. When he stepped closer, the misty darkness faded, revealing his face clearly—the face of a young man around his early 20s who had not yet reached the peak of manhood.
The man did not answer, instead asking a question.
"Are you the Icy Claw Fairy?" the man asked.
"I asked you first…" she replied with the same lazy tone.
The man was annoyed about something, but when he thought about the mission.
Then he started again.
"Apologies. I am Lan Xiaorong, Director of Intelligence at the Endless Wealth Company," Xiaorong said.
"Endless Wealth Company, huh… Yes, others call me that—'Icy Claw Fairy'. Why does the director want to meet me?" the woman replied.
She did not know what the weirdly named position the other side had stated even meant, but she knew of this oddly named faction, since they'd been quite famous lately
The rumors said this entire faction ascended from the lower realm a year ago. They started to run around accomplishing various businesses—pills, artifacts, rune stones, etc.
They were quite rich, as their business spread rapidly. In just six months, their network covered almost all the small and big cities of the Southern Sea Kingdom.
Their wealth drew many hungry wolves to come after them, but surprisingly, this faction was not only rich but also strong.
The biggest wolf, the Xi Dynasty, which ruled the South Sea Kingdom, had decided to assault the company's headquarters at South Sea Gulf City, attempting to seize control of the entire faction and their business.
However, it failed under the might of the mysterious chairman of the company, who resides at the company headquarters. Many of the Xi dynasty's soldiers died, and their general was captured—it was a total defeat.
After that, as everyone knows, the Xi Dynasty mysteriously disappeared without a trace, but everyone knows who did this.
The people who lived there thought they were about to have a new ruler. Yet, to everyone's surprise, the company did not choose to become the new ruler of the kingdom, which confused both ordinary mortals and cultivators.
Instead, they decided to support a small noble family that ruled over South Sea Gulf City, having them crowned as the new King and dynasty of the Southern Sea Kingdom.
The company itself did not seem to intervene in ruling the Kingdom either—at least on the surface. They continued doing what they had been doing, spreading their business network wide. It had now reached Gu City; the tavern she had been hanging around in was also one of their businesses.
Their story was quite memorable, as no one had ever heard of such a move being taken before.
Lan Xiaorong's voice rang out, interrupting her thoughts.
"In truth, I didn't come to meet the one called 'Icy Claw Fairy'. I came to meet you—Xia Zhenxue, the...."
Clang!
The wooden sword blocked the blue ice claw; it stood firm and did not back down.
"Let me finish, please…" Lan Xiaorong said as he pushed the wooden sword forward, sending Xia Zhenxue hurling backward.
Xia Zhenxue seemed not to want to talk anymore.
She immediately triggered her bloodline, no longer bothering to hide it—since the other side already knew her identity, she would end him quickly and escape.
The image of a snow phoenix manifested above her, and a pair of large, icy wings sprouted from her back. Her body and Qi surged, growing several times stronger.
She disappeared from her spot and reappeared behind Lan Xiaorong, swinging her hand, the massive translucent Ice Qi claw appeared, aiming for his head.
BOOM!
The powerful Qi claw shattered instantly under a simple sword swing from Lan Xiaorong.
Xia Zhenxue's eyes widened in disbelief.
She could not understand how the other side could effortlessly destroy her technique like this.
The other side was just the first gate of the True Body realm, while she was already at the third gate.
She should have had more advantage in a direct confrontation, but it appeared not to be the case.
'How was this possible?!' Xia Zhenxue thought.
Lan Xiaorong's hand moved with elegant precision as he thrust the wooden sword into her right shoulder.
She tried to block with one of her ice wings, but the power behind his strike far exceeded her expectations.
CLASH!
Her ice wing shattered, and the tip of the wooden sword struck her pressure point precisely, rendering her right arm numb and immobile.
She used her other wing, sweeping horizontally, stopping Lan Xiaorong from following up with an attack.
ClASH!
Another ice wing was shattered under the might of the wooden sword, but she succeeded in stopping Lan Xiaorong from coming closer.
Her icy wings instantly grew back, and she flew upward into the misty dark sky at incredible speed.
Her icy wings flapped lightly, releasing countless ice feathers at the opponent, causing a small blizzard to form around the swordsman at the center.
However, her move was futile. The image of the verdant sword appeared at the center of the storm.
SHING!!!!!
The verdant sword roared with a sharp sound, cutting through the storm and causing it to dissipate completely.
Xia Zhenxue was shocked—even her bloodline technique had been easily negated by the other side.
She immediately flew backward, deciding to maintain distance further.
She recalled the early exchange. She sensed a sharp sword intent within his sword when the wooden sword tip touched her shoulder—this man was clearly a sword cultivator, and close combat with such people usually spelled disadvantage for most.
She stared at Lan Xiaorong, who moved toward her slowly; she did not dare to blink, afraid she could not follow his movement.
On the other hand, she tried to revive her right arm to normal.
"Can you just listen to me…" Lan Xiaorong said.
"I'm sick of talking to people like you," Xia Zhenxue replied.
Lan Xiaorong shook his head, recalling what Hengsheng had suggested to do when the other side refuses to talk.
He did not want to follow it, but… "You leave me no choice then…"
In Xia Zhenxue's eyes, Lan Xiaorong stood before her in the distance, yet his voice appeared close to her ears. Her eyes widened when she finally noticed Lan Xiaorong no longer stood before her, but behind!
Her wings burst outward with powerful ice Qi.
CLASH!
Both of her ice wings shattered.
At the same time, her whole body lost its sense of control.
Before her body even fell to the ground, countless wooden swords materialized and locked her in place, in a standing posture.
Xia Zhenxue thought about her fate after being captured. She who had possessed the true bloodline of the Divine Beast—her fate undoubtedly would face countless humiliations.
A small tear leaked from the corner of her eye.
"Now listen, Xia Zhenxue, the descendant of the Xia Dynasty of the Great Northern Empire, the possessor of the true Snow Phoenix Bloodline," Lan Xiaorong paused as he tried to remember something.
"I am a representative of the Endless Wealth Company. I will make you an offer—an offer that you can't refuse. Come, join us. We will help you reclaim your ancestor's land," Lan Xiaorong said.
He thought about why Hengsheng had suggested he speak such a line specifically.