The biting cold wind, mixed with dust and sand from the ground, howled past, and although it was daytime, the light was dim as if it were dusk.
The temperature had long dropped below freezing, and on the bare mountain peaks along the way, not to mention beasts, there wasn’t even a single bird to be seen.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing except a ruined road that stretched deep into the mountains.
Zhao Ya, draped in a cloak, looked at all this outside and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.
No wonder, despite this land being vast, a powerful force has never formed here over the years.
In such an end-of-the-world-like harsh environment, even slightly weaker psychological resilience could easily spiral into a vortex of sadness and despair, it wouldn’t be surprising if one went mad.
So unless completely at the end of their rope, ordinary people would never come to a place like this.
The path Zhao Ya was currently following was the shortest route from the Great Yan to Beyond the World.
Before coming, he had meticulously researched the route and also consulted Mo Qi and Lu Dingtai.
They all said there were several routes between Great Yan and Beyond the World, but most were extremely dangerous, and only a few were passable.
The shortest of these paths required passing through a vast no-man’s-land, usually crossed in groups, rarely by an individual.
After all, in such a large no-man’s-land, if a person travels alone and encounters some danger, it could spell disaster.
But a path that ordinary people saw as an insurmountable barrier posed no obstacle to Zhao Ya.
After all, with Zhao Ya’s current strength, he could be said to be invincible below the Meridian Opening, exchanging one for one with ordinary Meridian Opening cultivators.
So facing such a no-man’s-land, Zhao Ya didn’t take it to heart at all.
Zhao Ya had already been traveling along this path for half a day, covering over a hundred miles.
This was a terrifying number because the road was rugged and difficult to traverse, and an ordinary person, exhausted, would only cover sixty or seventy miles in a day, which was considered fast.
If it were a merchant caravan carrying goods, they would cover no more than forty or fifty miles a day at most.
However, merchant caravans usually wouldn’t take this route; they’d rather detour than take the risk.
It was just past two o’clock in the afternoon, and the sky was about to turn dark.
The wind was blowing fiercer and fiercer, with a few snowflakes mixed in.
In an instant, heavy snow like goose feathers began to fall, quickly blanketing the distant peaks in white.
Such harsh weather not only didn’t deter Zhao Ya but instead stirred a sense of heroism within him.
He lightly tapped the ground with his toes, leaping up, and astonishingly, he dashed forward against the wind and snow.
With his body technique fully unleashed, Zhao Ya moved as fast as a ghost, advancing rapidly through the darkness.
With each leap, he could cover dozens of feet, and while airborne, Zhao Ya would take every opportunity to use the force of the wind to his advantage.
He would only lightly tap the ground with his toes to gain momentum when he was utterly exhausted.
If someone were to examine Zhao Ya’s footprints, they would find only a faint imprint on the thin layer of snow, unlike the marks left by a person passing by.
Though not exactly Stepping on Snow Without Leaving Traces, it was still quite impressive.
In fact, Zhao Ya had been pondering how to improve his Lightweight Body Technique to another level.
If he could elevate it from Returning to the Essence to Extraordinary to Saint, his body technique speed would undoubtedly soar to a new height.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t found the opportunity yet.
In terms of body technique speed alone, there were very few in the entire Great Yan who could match Zhao Ya.
How could he improve further?
It seemed he would have to go Beyond the World to find his target.
And so Zhao Ya dashed for more than an hour and covered another hundred miles before gradually slowing down.
It wasn’t because he was tired.
But because Zhao Ya saw faint firelights ahead.
As he moved closer, Zhao Ya could hear voices carried by the wind.
A merchant caravan!
Zhao Ya didn’t expect his luck to be so good as to encounter a merchant caravan in this desolate land.
He just didn’t know what the caravan was transporting, daring to take the risk of crossing the no-man’s-land.
By now, the sky had completely turned dark, the snow on the ground was more than half a meter deep, and it kept snowing.
Zhao Ya slowed his steps and soon arrived at the site.
Once closer, Zhao Ya understood why this merchant caravan had set up camp here.
It was a mountain hollow surrounded by several peaks, providing maximum shelter from the wind and snow, making it a perfect campsite.
From afar, Zhao Ya noticed that the scale of this merchant caravan wasn’t very large, but the strength of its guards was quite formidable.
On the surface alone, there were seven or eight Fourth Realm Martial Artists, and the rest were at the peak of the Third Realm.
Zhao Ya observed for a moment and ultimately decided to rest nearby as well.
After all, with such a heavy snowstorm, continuing the journey would drastically deplete his stamina, which wasn’t worthwhile.
So he revealed himself from the darkness.
"Who goes there!"
A guard standing watch on high ground immediately noticed Zhao Ya, startled into a shiver, and loudly questioned while gripping his blade, ready to respond.
Not only him, but the rest of the caravan guards also reacted instantly.
Some formed a battle formation, standing ready, while others dashed to the wagons, prepared to defend.
Zhao Ya stopped, and said loudly, "I am also a traveler, I saw the firelight in the darkness, so I came over."
Even after hearing Zhao Ya’s explanation, the vigil wasn’t for a moment reduced among these people.