The heavy snow pressed down, making it hard to breathe, the weight on her shoulders as if trying to force her into the snow.
A figure wrapped in a bulky cotton coat trudged through the snow, a faint layer of protective spiritual energy shielding her from the biting wind and snow.
The figure, holding a shovel, wandered through the mountainous terrain for a long time, finally reaching the highest point of the mountain range. Her vision blurred by the snowstorm, she pulled the cotton cloth covering her face slightly to reveal clear eyes, then turned her head to her shoulder and asked in confusion.
"Is this really the ancient battlefield? It doesn't look like it at all."
Her voice was clear and delicate, unmistakably that of a young woman.
From the left shoulder of her coat, a small, delicate creature with the appearance of a dragon, though with only a single horn on its left side, squeezed out. It pouted and said,
"Of course! I, the Dragon Lord, personally witnessed the battles on this ancient battlefield thirty thousand years ago. Back then, countless mighty figures fought here, and even several Zhun Di perished in this very place."
"You're not lying, are you? Zhun Di? Really?" The girl eyed the single-horned dragon suspiciously. She had long known that this dragon had a penchant for exaggeration. If it weren't for the immense pressure from her family, she would never have traveled this far with the dragon to search for treasures in this ancient battlefield.
"Trust me, the Dragon Lord never lies. Just take the magical shovel I gave you and start digging."
The single-horned dragon stood on the girl's shoulder and began to direct her.
"Dig there, yes, right there!"
The girl worked hard, her hands covered in spiritual energy, but after digging for a long time, all she unearthed were piles of bones and tattered clothing, not a single magical treasure in sight.
Exhausted, she threw down the shovel and sat in the snow, glaring at the single-horned dragon on her shoulder and demanding,
"Where are the treasures you promised?"
"Maybe we just haven't dug deep enough?" The dragon scratched its chin with a small claw, looking puzzled. After surveying the vast snowy mountain range, it suggested to the girl,
"How about we try a little harder? We're probably close. Just a bit more effort, okay?"
The girl rolled her eyes, carefully pulled out a spiritual energy replenishing pill from her coat, swallowed it to sustain her energy in the freezing cold, and after a short rest, picked up the shovel again and said to the dragon,
"Fine, I'll trust you one last time!"
She gripped the shovel and began digging elsewhere in the snow.
The snowstorm grew fiercer. With a clang, the shovel struck something beneath the snow, first clearing the snow, then digging into the soil.
"Deeper, you need to dig deeper," the dragon urged.
The girl dug with all her might, unearthing soil that hadn't seen the light of day for who knows how long. Suddenly, with a thud, the shovel got stuck.
A hand reached out from the soil and grasped the shovel.
The girl's face froze, unsure of what to do. The single-horned dragon on her shoulder was equally stunned, never expecting that digging in a graveyard would lead to such a scene.
"Are you grave-robbing me?" A gentle male voice sounded as the soil shifted, and a young man in tattered clothes slowly emerged, looking completely out of place in the desolate snowy landscape.
"A zombie! I know, it's a zombie!" The single-horned dragon pointed at the man and shouted urgently.
The girl tensed up, quickly raising her shovel—one of her few magical tools—and apologized,
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your rest. My apologies, my apologies…"
Her clear eyes soon paused, for she noticed that the so-called zombie wasn't looking at her but was instead gazing up at the snowy sky, watching for a long time amidst the howling wind.
The atmosphere fell silent.
The girl's heart raced, her pulse loud in her ears.
"What… what era is it now?" the so-called zombie suddenly asked.
"Era?" The girl was confused but, after a moment's thought, quickly bowed and replied, "This is Zhengyang City. I'm the youngest daughter of the Zhang Family. Please, sir, forgive my intrusion. I didn't mean to disturb your rest. Spare me, please."
The figure looked at her for a long time without speaking. When the snowstorm momentarily subsided, he finally said,
"I'm not a zombie. I've just been here… for a very long time."
"Oh… then are you here to search for treasures too?" The girl's tension eased slightly, and she asked curiously.
"No," the figure replied, then fell silent again, his gaze sweeping over the vast white landscape.
His eyes were filled with confusion, appearing even paler and more indistinct in the snow.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then tightened her grip on the shovel and boldly said, "Then I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave now."
She began to move away.
"Don't go. You'll die," the figure suddenly spoke.
The girl froze, her body stiffening at the threatening words. Just as she was about to look to the single-horned dragon on her shoulder for help, a chilling gust of wind swept up behind her, accompanied by an overwhelming killing intent that made her feel as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss.
A snowflake drifted by.
A flash.
The chilling sensation at her back vanished abruptly. She turned around in shock to see the massive corpse of a snow demon behind her, its size suggesting it was at least at the Nascent Soul Realm!
"It's been following you for a while, waiting to strike," the figure said calmly.
The girl was overwhelmed with relief and quickly bowed to the figure, saying,
"Thank you, senior, for saving my life!"
"No need to thank me. I'm known for my love of helping others," the figure waved his hand lightly and smiled at the girl.
Perhaps influenced by the man's gentle smile, the girl smiled back, and the atmosphere lightened slightly.
The girl also let her guard down, realizing that someone who could instantly kill a Nascent Soul Realm snow demon could easily end her life with a flick of a finger. What good would being cautious do?
The two began to talk more, with the girl doing most of the speaking and Chen Xia listening.
Their figures moved slowly through the snow.
The girl, bundled in her cotton coat, stumbled as she walked.
The man, despite his tattered clothes, walked as if on flat ground.
Their conversation was sporadic, and at one point, the man suddenly asked,
"Do you know of the Blue Sky Sword Sea?"
The girl frowned slightly, thinking for a long time before hesitantly replying,
"I think I've read about it in a book, but I can't quite remember."
"Hmm," the man nodded lightly.
They walked in silence for a while, and just as they were about to leave the snowy area, the girl suddenly asked,
"Senior, what is your name?"
The man paused, then, as the girl grew increasingly anxious, he softly replied,
"Chen Xia. Xia as in summer."
"Ah, Senior Chen. My name is Zhang Yue," the girl quickly replied. After a moment's hesitation, she mustered her courage and asked nervously,
"Senior Chen, where are you heading? If you don't have a destination in mind, perhaps you could stay with the Zhang Family in Zhengyang City for a while."
"Alright," Chen Xia nodded lightly.
Zhang Yue's face lit up with joy, and she hurried ahead to lead the way.
Chen Xia thus took up residence in the Zhang Family.
The Tree of Time had now fully grown within his consciousness.
The system's three points had all turned into "???", perhaps due to a malfunction, but Chen Xia had no idea how to address it.
Two days later, Zhang Yue suddenly came to Chen Xia with a book in hand and said with a smile,
"Senior Chen, I found the mention of the Blue Sky Sword Sea in this book. It's on page seventeen."
Chen Xia nodded, took the book, and flipped to page seventeen. It read:
[The Blue Sky Sword Sea, a dominant sect from five hundred thousand years ago, was destroyed four hundred and fifty thousand years ago, leaving only ruins behind.]
Zhang Yue didn't know why Senior Chen was asking about the Blue Sky Sword Sea, but she noticed that after reading the book, he remained silent for the rest of the day.
Only Chen Xia himself knew the truth.
He had become a ghost from a bygone era.