Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

"Really?" Xiao Anran's face was full of surprise, and the anticipation in her eyes grew stronger. She couldn't believe her ears.

"Of course it's true." Su Mu nodded with a smile, his tone certain.

"That's wonderful! Thank you, Eunuch Su!" Xiao Anran was overjoyed, a bright smile spreading across her face.

After breakfast, Su Mu changed into ordinary clothes, carefully picked up the still-sleeping Jinzi, and got into a carriage that Xiao Anran had arranged in advance.

The carriage slowly drove out of the library, through the palace, through the south gate, out of the imperial city, and sped towards Huitai County in the south.

Although Huitai County is not too far from the capital, it is still a thousand miles away. If one were to travel there by flying, it would consume a great deal of internal energy—in this era of scarce cultivation resources, even grandmasters would not fly for extended periods of time unless they encountered an extremely urgent situation.

Although traveling by carriage is slower, it saves a lot of energy and allows Su Mu to continue absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and concentrate on cultivation along the way, achieving two goals at once.

Based on past experience, whenever the treasure trove left behind by ancient powerful figures is about to be revealed, it usually takes several more days after the signs of unusual activity appear before it is truly exposed to the world. Therefore, Su Mu and Xiao Anran were not in a hurry along the way, but rather quite calm.

The official roads of the Great Qian Empire were built in a very orderly manner, with not only smooth and wide surfaces, but also extremely solid roadbeds. After all, this was a fantasy martial arts world, where martial artists were everywhere, and human and material resources were all supported by martial artists, making its productivity level far superior to that of ordinary mortal dynasties.

The royal carriage that Xiao Anran brought was exceptionally exquisite. The carriage was spacious and roomy, with soft cloud brocade cushions inside, and the furnishings were elegant and luxurious. The two fine horses pulling the carriage were also exceptional breeds that had been carefully selected, with strong stamina and extremely fast speed, so they would not easily tire even after long journeys.

Including the time for the horses to rest and eat along the way, Su Mu and Xiao Anran should be able to reach their destination in Huitai County in two days at most.

During the journey, Su Mu did not waste any time. He sat cross-legged in the carriage, closed his eyes and concentrated on comprehending the way of the sword. He slowly adapted to the changes in his aura, power circulation and sword comprehension after building the foundation of the sword soul, striving to integrate the advantages of the foundation of the sword soul into his own combat power as soon as possible.

If Jinzi awakens from its slumber, Su Mu will feed it with Spirit Essence Pills and his own essence blood. Jinzi is now increasingly dependent on Spirit Essence Pills, and Su Mu's essence blood can nourish its bloodline and help it stabilize its realm.

Xiao Anran wasn't idle either. She also sat cross-legged, eyes closed, her mind focused on her dantian, silently channeling her inner energy to refine the Yuanling flying sword with all her might. She knew her own strength was weak, and only by refining the flying sword and improving her cultivation as quickly as possible could she secure a place in this chaotic world.

The journey was smooth and without any unexpected incidents.

A day and a half later, the carriage slowly entered the territory of Huitai County. The villages and towns along the way gradually became denser, and a faint spiritual energy fluctuation began to permeate the air—clearly, as they approached the ruins of the ancient sect, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth became increasingly abundant.

After traveling for another two hours, the carriage could no longer proceed—there was no longer a wide official road ahead, only rugged mountain paths and dense forests, and the destination was less than a hundred miles away.

"Let's go, let's fly over there," Su Mu said, then stood up first, pushed open the carriage door, and leaped into the air. Xiao Anran followed closely behind, circulating her inner energy, and flew lightly to Su Mu's side.

As for Jinzi, being a avian demon beast, it doesn't need anyone to carry it. If it spreads its wings at full speed, its speed is so fast that even Su Mu can hardly match it—human warriors, without using special escape techniques, are inherently slower than avian demon beasts of the same level, let alone Jinzi, which is a uniquely gifted avian species, whose speed far surpasses that of ordinary birds.

The two people and the bird flew slowly through the air, and after about a hundred breaths, they landed gently on the ground.

The sight before them made the two stop and look around – a vast lake stretched out before them, its surface shimmering and shrouded in mist; the lake was surrounded by rolling mountains, with ancient trees reaching for the sky and overgrown with weeds, creating a very tranquil scene.

In the middle of the great lake stands a solitary island, stretching for no less than twenty miles in length and width, with a vast area. From afar, one can vaguely see broken walls and ruins on the island, clearly the site of that ancient sect.

In the very center of the isolated island, a dazzling ray of light shot straight into the sky, piercing through the clouds. Even from a hundred miles away, it could be clearly seen. Within the ray of light, there was a powerful fluctuation of spiritual energy, which captivated people's hearts and minds.

In fact, Su Mu and Xiao Anran had already seen the glow of the sunset from afar before they even arrived at the lake. Besides that, they also noticed that a number of people had gathered around the lake.

Along the shores of the lake, people dressed in various colors stood, mostly martial artists and ordinary people from the surrounding area. They were all there to try their luck and watch the excitement. Because of the powerful aura on the island, no one dared to venture into the lake or onto the island.

Su Mu scanned his surroundings with his divine sense and knew that besides those who were in the open, there must be many other powerful individuals who were not in a hurry to land on the island and expose themselves. Instead, they were hiding in the mountains and dense forests around the lake, silently observing the situation and waiting for the best opportunity to make a move.

The people on the isolated island were all calm and composed, with extraordinary demeanor and a strong martial arts aura emanating from them. They were clearly accomplished cultivators, including many Grandmaster-level experts.

Su Mu, carrying Xiao Anran, landed on a secluded corner of the lakeshore. Jinzi swooped down from the sky and landed steadily on Su Mu's shoulder, tilting its head and curiously examining the large lake and the isolated island in front of it.

The two did not rush into action, but instead quietly observed for a while, getting a general idea of ​​the situation on the island. Afterwards, Su Mu found a boulder not far from the lake shore, calmly sat down, his divine sense still covering the entire lake and the isolated island, closely monitoring the movements of all sides; Xiao Anran, on the other hand, sat cross-legged under a large tree nearby, continuing to refine the Yuanling Flying Sword while keeping an eye on the surrounding situation, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Jinzi was clearly bored. Seeing that Su Mu and Xiao Anran did not make any further moves, it flapped its wings and flew up into the sky, circling the soaring rosy light again and again. Its clear chirping echoed for a long time on the empty lake surface.

It was still a naive little creature, full of curiosity about everything strange and magical in the world, especially the radiant glow that soared into the sky, which naturally made it linger.